A/N - this one is Kimberleah's bonus birthday chapter!
Chapter 2
Several hours later, Jack woke to the tantalizing aroma of freshly brewed coffee. He opened his bleary eyes and saw Samantha tip-toeing away from him.
"Hey," he said, his voice huskier than usual.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Sam apologised.
"No, it's fine. What time is it?" Jack enquired.
"It's 4.45am. I thought you might be hungry."
Jack thanked her. He sat up and rubbed his face and eyes roughly with the palms of his hands in an effort to help him wake fully.
"Anything new?" he asked hopefully.
"Nothing. We've been tracking down Bartlett's history. There's nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe we're leaning in the wrong direction," Sam dared suggest.
"I can't explain it, Sam, but I just know he's involved."
"Okay, but what if you're wrong?" Sam asked.
Jack glared at her before hanging his head. What if he was wrong? What if he'd wasted all this time following a lead that was going nowhere? What if in that time, whoever had taken Amy had gotten away with her? He began to doubt himself.
"What else do we have to go on?" he asked Sam.
"Danny and Martin have been trawling through traffic camera footage from intersections near the Nolan home, car by car, all night. Viv and Elena went home a few hours ago to get some sleep. They'll be back in an hour. I've been checking the Mom and Dad's background, extended family, jobs-you name it. So far, it's a blank," Samantha informed him.
"Okay, we'll keep at it. When Elena and Viv get back, you go home and rest. You've been up all night," Jack said.
"I'm okay," Sam insisted.
"That's an order," Jack said, playing the superior officer card.
"Okay, whatever. Enjoy breakfast," Sam said, referring to the sticky-looking Danish she had left beside his coffee.
Sam left and Jack took the opportunity to change his shirt. He kept a couple of spares in his filing cabinet. He sniffed under his arms and cringed. He really could do with a shower but it would have to wait. He hadn't time to go home. He tried to disguise the odour with a generous spray of deodorant before putting on the fresh shirt. He ate the Danish and drank the coffee at his desk. He flicked through the files that Sam had left there hoping to find something, anything.
Viv and Elena arrived back to the office at 6am. Sam followed her orders and went home after that. Danny and Martin were out checking a lead that they had from the traffic camera footage. They had seen a red sedan at an intersection with what looked like a dark-haired child appearing very upset in the back seat. They traced the licence plate to an address in Brooklyn. However, it just turned out to be a child having a major tantrum while her Dad took her home from the playground. Another dead end!
Early that afternoon, Elena stuck her head through the door of Jack's office to tell him that Matthew and Liz Nolan were outside, asking to speak to him. Jack's heart sank, knowing that he had no good news for the distraught parents. He asked Elena to show them in.
As he waited for them to arrive, he stood and walked to the door. He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself. Meeting the relatives was always tough but so much worse when a child was missing. As Elena showed them in, they exchanged pleasantries and handshakes. Jack guided them to the chairs in front of his desk.
"Agent Malone, we need to know what's happening with the investigation," Matthew Nolan asked.
"Yes, have you any news?" his wife asked eagerly.
Jack looked into the faces of the two people sitting in front of him. He could only imagine their pain and their fear. It was so hard for him, knowing that their investigation was hitting brick wall after brick wall of dead ends. How could he tell them this? He shook his head slowly.
"I'm sorry. We've been following every lead and morsel of information that has come our way. So far, they've been unproductive," Jack began.
"Are you saying you've got nothing?" Matthew asked, his voice rising slightly.
"I'm saying that we have some leads that we are following at the moment. We have yet to see where they take us," Jack told him.
"Well what are you doing sitting here? Why aren't you out there looking for my little girl?" Liz Nolan snapped.
The mother's frustration was getting the best of her. She began to cry. Jack looked on awkwardly as Matthew Nolan put his arms around his devastated wife. Matthew locked eyes with Jack, who struggled to maintain eye contact.
"You think she's dead, don't you?" he said to Jack, with a hint of venom in his words.
"No! No, I don't. But I do think our window of opportunity is closing," Jack replied honestly.
He saw Matthew Nolan's outer façade falter as he tried to keep it together.
"I promise that I will do everything in my power to bring your daughter home," Jack said with commitment. What else could he say?
Once the meeting with the Nolans had finished, Jack went out to the bullpen to check how his team were getting on. The white board was full of pictures of potential suspects and time lines. They sat around the meeting table and tried to put every bit of information they had extrapolated together. It was early evening by the time they finished. Again they were swamped with information and tips but had nothing solid to go on. Jack's frustration was increasing by the minute. Samantha arrived back after having slept and showered. She looked refreshed, the antithesis of Jack. Jack took some more files and returned to his office. He could almost feel this little girl's life slipping through his hands.
He looked at the bundle of files but his eyes were drawn to just one-Paul Barrett's. He opened it and stared at the photo clipped to the front cover. Jack usually had no problem relying on his instincts. They had gotten him out of trouble on more than one occasion in the past. He remembered Olzcyk's warning and then thought of Amy.
After all it had been four long days and nothing! He stared, trance-like at the file photo of Amy Nolan, her beautiful smile beaming from the page. He looked out at his exhausted team, who he knew would be more than willing to risk their careers for him, but he had no intention of letting them. He made his mind up that he would act on his suspicions. In his mind, the risk to his career was worth it if his actions led him to the girl. He left the office without saying a word to the team. He checked a car out from the motor pool and drove to Paul Bartlett's neighbourhood.
By then it was starting to get dark. There was a light visible in the living room of the house. Jack parked up the street and on the other side of the road, deliberately trying not to attract attention to his presence. He observed from a distance. Amy Nolan was not at Bartlett's house, he knew that, but Jack still believed that this guy knew where she was and maybe he would lead him to her. He had made up his mind to watch this guy. It was going to be a long night.
Back at the office, Viv went to Jack's office to get him to sign off on the overtime. She was surprised when he wasn't there. She returned to the bullpen and asked around if anyone knew where Jack was. They all responded similarly, thinking Jack was in his office. They waited a short while, expecting him to return but when there was no sign of him, Viv decided to call his cell.
"Hi, Jack," Viv said when he answered. "Where are you?"
"Oh, hi, Viv! I'm, eh, gone home for a while. I really needed a shower," Jack lied, not wanting her to know his true location.
"Right," Viv replied a little suspiciously. It was an unusual thing for Jack to do in the middle of an active investigation.
"I'll be back in a while. What is it?" Jack asked.
"I just need you to sign off on something. It can wait. I'll see you when you get back," Viv said.
"Okay, see you then," Jack said before hanging up.
He sat there, engine off, watching the house up the street. It had started to rain and he silently cursed, as it obscured his visibility. He was starting to feel the chill of the autumn evening and folded his arms tightly around his chest. He resisted the urge to turn on the engine and the car heater for fear that it would attract attention. He sat there for over an hour before the light in the living room went out. It looked like Bartlett was going somewhere. He emerged from the house, wearing a rain jacket and got into his car. The car reversed out of the driveway and headed south. Jack started up his car and waited until there was a little distance between him and Bartlett. Jack was extra careful to stay well back so as not to attract suspicion. He maintained a safe distance, all the while not letting Bartlett's car out of his sight.
It was dark now but luckily traffic was light. Jack followed Bartlett's car until he parked on the street in a dodgy part of the South Bronx. Jack drove on past and pulled in a bit further up the road. He got out of the car, pulled the collar up on his jacket and walked in the rain back towards where Bartlett had parked his car. He looked around, trying to see where Bartlett had gone. He caught sight of him as he rounded a corner down an alley. Jack quickened his pace and until reached the corner. He peered around it in time to see Bartlett enter a dilapidated building through a side door in the dark alley.
Bartlett's actions were definitely suspicious. Jack couldn't help himself. He had to follow him. As he walked down the alley, his cell phone rang again. Damn it! It was Samantha. He had to answer it.
"Hey, Sam," Jack said, speaking low as he answered.
"Jack, where are you? Are you all right?" Sam asked, sensing something was up from his tone.
"I'm fine. I've been following Bartlett," Jack told her.
"You're what? Are you crazy? Olzcyk will kill you" Sam said, astonished by his actions.
"I'm in the South Bronx," he said, ignoring her comments and giving her the address. "It's an abandoned building. He's gone inside."
"Jack, don't go in there without back-up," Sam said crossly.
"No, Sam. Don't say anything to anyone just yet. You're right, if Olzcyk gets wind of this, he'll kick me off the case for sure. Don't worry. I'll call in back-up if I need it. I'm only checking this out. It'll be fine," Jack insisted.
"Jack!" Sam said, her worry evident.
Much to her annoyance, Jack hung up the phone. Sam didn't know what to do. She wanted to tell someone but didn't want to land Jack in it. She also wanted to be sure that Jack wasn't walking into a whole lot of trouble, so she decided to back him up herself. She told Viv that she had to pop out for a half hour but didn't elaborate as to why. She took a car and drove to the address Jack had given her.
Meanwhile, Jack continued down the alley and stopped outside the metal door. He tried the handle and it opened. He felt for his weapon and drew it before going any further. The door creaked slightly as he pulled it open. There was no light as he entered the building, so he took out his penlight and shone it around. There was a stairs to his left, a door straight ahead and a corridor to his right. He wasn't sure which direction to take. He shone the light to the floor and noticed that the floor to the right was dusty and dirty while there appeared to be little or no dust on the stairs. So he chose to climb the stairs. He did so silently, keeping the light shining at his feet, hoping not to draw any attention to his presence. He crept up to the first floor. He couldn't be sure which floor Bartlett had gone to, so he knew he would have to check them all.
Carefully, he entered the second floor. There was no apparent light, with the exception of the few stray beams of moonlight that peeked through the window at the end of the hall. The building looked like it had once been an office block. Many of the doors had glass panels and painted names which had long since worn away. He checked each room as he passed it. Many still had dust-covered furniture inside. The first floor appeared empty, so he doubled back to the stairwell and began to climb to the second floor.
As he opened the door to the third floor, he stopped in his tracks. He thought he heard something. He strained to hear the sound again, but there was nothing. Keeping his penlight shining a few feet in front of him, he did what he had done on the previous floor and checked each room one at a time. As he neared the final few rooms on that floor, he came to one room that was locked. He tried the handle again but it wouldn't budge. He put his ear to the door, listening for any sound. He was convinced he could hear movement. Without thinking, he stood back and put all his strength into one solid kick, which successfully broke the lock.
As the door flung open, Jack trained his weapon and penlight around the room. Jack was stunned by what he found. There was a terrified little African-American boy, had to be no more than seven or eight years old, sitting in the corner of the room. There was a cot bed, a bucket, an empty plate and a half full bottle of water. He hadn't been expecting that. A realisation suddenly hit him that this case had to be linked to a much bigger abduction ring. He also recognized that the likelihood of Bartlett operating this alone was slim. He shuddered to think about the implications and the potential danger that both he and the boy were now in.
He signalled for the boy to be quiet. He crouched down and slowly approached the child.
"Sshh!" he whispered. "It's going to be all right. I'm a police officer. I'm going to take you out of here," he said, reaching his hand out.
The little boy took hold of his hand and slowly stood up. Jack rooted around in his pocket and found his cell phone. He dialled Samantha's number. She answered as he walked towards the door.
"Sam, it's me. I'm not sure what I've walked into, but it's bigger than just Bartlett," he whispered as he reached the door. He was about to tell her to send back-up when out of nowhere something smashed him in the face, causing him to drop the phone and sending him sprawling back onto the floor of the room.
On the other end of the line, Samantha heard the commotion and knew immediately that Jack was in trouble.
"Jack!" she yelled helplessly from the other end of the line.
She heard the little boy screaming and another voice yelling at him to shut up, then heavy footsteps before the call was lost. Sam stepped on the gas, knowing that she was already close to the address that Jack had given her. She prayed that she wouldn't be too late. She was so caught up in helping Jack that she couldn't think straight and neglected to carry out one of the most basic protocols and request back-up. She reached the address after 5 five minutes, jumped out of her car and ran down the alley, which Jack had described to her. She found the doorway, opened it cautiously and made her way inside.
A/N - Hope you like it so far. Updates might be slow as its still a work in progress.