Chapter 4

When Joss Carter received the call from John's bespectacled friend that something unexpected was going on with her partner and John she'd almost arrived at the appointed meeting place. She'd been instructed to halt immediately and to await further instructions and even though she hated being left in the dark, the clipped tone with which Mr. Finch spoke told her that something serious was going on and she better did as she was told.

The area John had chosen as a meeting place could only be described as desolate. Though this attribute probably made it into the perfect place for a secret meeting in the eyes of a paranoid ex-CIA agent.

Sitting in her car in the dark she didn't have to wait long for Finch to call her back and fill her in. She cursed.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"For now, sit and wait, Detective." replied Finch. "I'm running a trace to find out the location of the kidnapper and hopefully Detective Fusco's son will be near by."

"But John said that he thought the guy should be close, right?"

"Yes, Detective."

"Then I'll go ahead and try to sneak closer to their position. As soon as you have the location you'll let me know."

"Of course I will." Finch sounded almost affronted, but Joss didn't really care. She got out of her car and went to her trunk. She donned her bullet-proof vest and picked up a few additional clips for her gun. After closing the trunk again she leaned with both arms on the lid, trying to collect herself.

Going into a hostage situation without back-up and no real information about pretty much anything. Just great. The things she would do for John Reese.

She sighed, pushed herself off the trunk lid and stalked through the semi darkness in the general direction of where she was sure all hell would break loose pretty soon.

She kept herself to the shadows. Finally squatting down behind a dumpster at the other side of the street across the opening of the alley. She could make out two cars parked in front of the alley, but couldn't spy John or Fusco anywhere from where she was hiding.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and answered it.

"Yeah?"

"I've located the kidnapper's phone. He's in the building right behind you. Mr. Reese seems to have spotted him on the second floor, third window to the left."

"Third window from the left, second floor. Alright. I'll go and check it out." She started to creep towards the front door, hugging the wall. "I'm going to leave the line open."

"Good. And Detective?"

"Yes?"

"It seems hurrying up might be in order."

"Great."

Joss put her phone back into her pocket and proceeded to enter the building. As fast and as quiet as she could she made her way up the stairs to the second floor. She took a quick look around the hall but didn't see anyone else lurking in the shadows. The kidnapper must be alone, she thought, adding a quick prayer of thanks.

There were several apartment doors on either side of the hallway. Some of the doors were gaping open, the apartments having been ram sacked a long time ago. She thanked her lucky stars for the old, musty carpet still lining the floor and muffling her steps.

As she reached the second to last door on the side facing the alley she stopped and pressed her ear against it. Even though her heart beat all the way up to her ears she was able to hear muffled talking on the other side of the door. This is it.

With no time to waste and her gun at the ready she kicked in the ram shackled door and found herself face to face with the silhouette of a man looking out the window of what appeared to have once upon a time been the living room of the apartment. She pointed her gun at the man and yelled "NYPD! FREEZE!"

Then everything happened so fast. The man in front of her went for his weapon while the unmistakable sound of a gun going off nearby could be heard. Joss didn't hesitate and pulled her trigger. The man was hit twice in the chest and his body was thrown back against the wall by the force of the bullet impacts. Making her way over to the slumped figure, she kicked away the dropped gun. Reaching down she felt for a pulse, finding none. Then she checked the other room for more assailants but found it all clear.

So far, there had been no sign of the boy. But there was still one more room left to check. She went into the small bathroom and there she found Lee Fusco. Tied up and gagged with duck tape he was huddled up in the tub. She went over to Lee and carefully removed the tape around his wrists and off his mouth. Then she took the trembling boy into her arms and let him cry on her shoulder. She held him tight to her body with one arm while with the other she was fishing for her cell.

"I've got him! He's safe." She practically yelled into the phone. "Finch? Did you hear? I've got the boy!"

"Yes, Detective. I heard you." came the reluctant reply. "But I'm afraid we were too late."