Hazel had been working at Finch's computer for close to three hours without a word. Reese sat across the room, contemplating this new turn of events. He wanted to ask about her knowledge of the machine. Perhaps Finch had taught her everything. Was this his contingency? Whatever the circumstance; if she could help him get Finch back he could care less.
"Reese! Remind me when we get Root to slap her. I want to kill this women just for the hassle. Equal match for Finch, impressive. This is going to take a lot of time and effort." Reese couldn't hide the smirk at her frustration. For someone raised by Finch she certainly had the opposite of the reframed attitude.
"You didn't expect it to be an afternoon effort. Can I help?"
She glared over the monitor before responding. "Yeah I've got something for you to do. Business as usual, here's your new POI."
Reese walked over to receive the picture. A women, with the name and address on the back. He looked back up at Hazel. "Aren't you going to focus everything on finding Finch?"
"Yes. But it's going to take awhile to go through everything. You need something to do; and besides the machine waits for no man."
Reese smiled as he walked away; he was starting to see the resemblance.
ooOOoo
"Catherine Parsons, 20. Unemployed. No family. Lives off of any current boyfriend."
"Any vengeful ex-boyfriends?" Reese asked as he followed Catherine down the city streets.
"Probably. Just because you've got the look doesn't mean everyone is an admirer. I'll dig around and see whose paid her bills over the years." Hazel cut the connection to begin her research. Catherine walked along the busy streets oblivious to the world around her. Headphones blasting some modern pop song. Reese almost had a mind to mute his pairing with her phone. But that would have been a short silence; just after she grabbed a cup of coffee someone approached her. Reese went for his handgun in his jacket, edging slightly closer.
"Miss Parsons right?" Catherine looked a bit surprised at the intrusion of space.
"Y-yes. Why?" The man flashed her a reassuring smile.
"I work for a man called Mr. Flynn. Ever heard of him?" The man gesture to nothing in particular.
"Uh - the name might sound familiar…I suppose."
"Oh come know Miss Parsons! You applied for the modeling position in the magazine Mr. Flynn publishes, remember?" Catherine's face lit up with a smile in realization.
"Yes that's right I did! Is the position still open?"
"Yes it is. That's what I came up to you about."
"Well how did you find me?" The man turned around and pointed to the building across the street.
"Isn't that your apartment?"
"Oh right. I hope you weren't waiting on me long or anything."
"Anything interesting yet Reese?" Hazel reestablished the connection.
"You could say that. How's the search for her ex-boyfriends?"
"Complete." Catherine and the mysterious man continued their conversation. Reese could make out something about meeting for an interview at a later date.
"Well that was fast."
"I like to get work done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Come back in when it's convenient, this list is to long to go over on the phone." Again she cut the connection with no room for a rebuttal. The mysterious man had ended his conversation and left. Catherine went right back to her music as she entered her apartment complex. Reese couldn't believe how unfazed she was. Did she not find it odd a potential employer would show up at her apartment? No one does that. How could she not realize that he recognized her in a street full of people, as if he'd known her all her life? For now though he concluded her safe enough to leave for a moment. He headed back to the library to look up this Mr. Flynn.
ooOOoo
Upon arriving at the library Reese had Hazel look up Flynn; the ex-boyfriends seemingly forgotten. It took only minutes for her to compile data on the man.
"Robert Flynn, 51. Just as the man claimed at Catherine's apartment; he's a publisher for an up and coming fashion magazine."
"Does he have a criminal history?" Reese asked.
"Hmph, oh yeah. Last year he was the lead suspect in a women trafficking ring." Reese walked over to see the monitors himself.
"What made him a suspect?"
"One of the women who went missing had a roommate that filed a report saying she never came home from an interview for his company. All the women who've gone missing have had one thing in common."
"What's that?" Reese turned his head to face Hazel.
"They all had no family. At least no one who would notice their absence till the next major holiday." She turned to face Reese as well. "He's getting urgent for women. He probably messed up in his research."
"And I guess we can assume Catherine is his next target." Reese mumbled to himself as he headed to his arsenal. A plan forming in his head to get to that meeting point and intercept Flynn. He vaguely noticed Hazel following him to the next room, leaning against the entryway.
"You've forgot to ask why he's never been convicted, and all the charges have been dropped." Reese turned around to give her his attention, so she would continue. "The police had video footage of him and the women who would disappear at local clubs together. They figured he put something in their drink and lead them out of the building. However they could never find any such drugs on his person nor his home. He would be seen without the girl coming back into the club."
"So he could claim he only saw her out."
"Right."
"Which means he's got a team."
ooOOoo
A/N: Hey everyone, sorry I didn't get the chance to update yesterday. So 2 chps for the wait :) Just a courtesy, any speech in italic is over the earpieces. Thanks to all those that faved & alerted!
~Sierra