Disclaimer: I do not own Person of Interest or its characters.
A/N: I bet you all thought I gave up on this story. Sorry it's taken me so long. I've been really busy and haven't had much time to write. I've also been struggling with this story. I hope this chapter is worth the wait. We're building to a showdown. Please review. I appreciate them more than you know! And for those of you reading Crisscrossing, I'm hoping to get chapter two out sometime this week or next weekend. Thanks for staying with me!
Chapter 7
Two years ago
John Reese listened to the message on his voicemail for the fifth time after receiving it. He had immediately recognized Joss Carter's voice on the line. "Hey, it's me. I know you're not responding to any of my calls these days. I still don't understand what happened with us, John. I finally thought I had someone watching my back, but I guess I was wrong. You've probably heard from Finch that I'm leaving New York. The FBI made me an offer, and I fly out tomorrow for Quantico. Taylor will follow me when he finishes up his finals. I know I'm rambling, but I guess I wanted to try one more time. Please, John, if we were ever friends, meet me at the Queensboro Bridge. At least let me tell you goodbye. I'll be there when my shift ends at 9:00 tonight. I hope you're there but if not, I guess this is goodbye. Take care of yourself, John. I clearly don't understand you, but I know deep down you're a good man."
When he received her message, there was no question he was going to go to the park. Even though he had promised himself he would stay away from her, he had to see her one last time. He couldn't pinpoint when Joss Carter had become so crucial in his life. He had felt a connection with her the very first day they met, and he never wanted to go back to a time before her. However, after the close call with Donnelly, he knew what he wanted didn't matter anymore. What was most important was protecting her.
John quietly approached, careful not to draw her attention. She stood leaned against the railing, in much the same place as the night they were arrested. He stared at her a long time that night, but he couldn't bring himself to go to her. He kept telling himself that a clean break was best for both of them. He watched as she continued to gaze across the water, occasionally checking her watch and blowing into her hands for warmth. After what felt like both an eternity and the blink of an eye, she turned from the railing and began to walk towards the street. He saw her swipe at her eyes and then disappear from view. As he turned to go in the opposite direction, he felt his own face was wet.
Present Day
Kara sat at a back table, facing the door and casually sipping a glass of Chianti. She glanced at her watch—Reese should be walking through the door in two minutes. As if he read her mind, the door opened and he strolled to the table, silently taking the seat across from her. Kara took another sip of her wine and then set the glass on the white and red checked table-cloth.
"So glad we could get together and have this little chat, John" she stated.
"Where is she, Kara? I'm through with your games. You tell me where she is or I'll . . ." he started.
"Or you'll what, John. You'll kill me. You and I both know that is an idle threat. If you kill me, you'll never find her, and I know how attached you are to the good Detective. I'm growing tired of your demands, John, so listen carefully and your detective might survive. I can't, however, make the same promise for you."
"What do you want, Kara?" John growled as he leaned in closer to his former partner. From an outside observer, they looked like a couple having a romantic dinner. After years together, they slipped back into their comfortable cover.
"You're going to help me track down the man responsible for ruining my life," she responded. Coolly, Kara slid a folded piece of paper across the table to John. He picked it up and read the name: Harold Finch.
Sam Shaw sat in a chair facing the hotel room door with only one lamp dimly lighting the room. She perked up as she heard a key card slide into the slot. Shaw tightened the silencer on her gun and trained it on the door. The woman paused as she spotted Shaw leveling the gun at her head. "I'm so glad you could come back to New York, Leah. All of your official orders have you in Managua," Shaw stated matter-of-factly.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Leah Wong asked the intruder.
"First you're going to shut the door and have a seat on the bed. Put your gun on the table," Shaw demanded. Leah complied with Shaw's instructions and sat facing Shaw. Shaw continued, "You have some information I need Agent Wong and I don't have a lot of time, so if we could skip the 'I'm an agent and I won't tell you anything crap,' I would appreciate it."
"I don't even know who you are. It's clear you're some kind of agent, but I have no idea what your agenda is. Why would I tell you anything?"
"I was once a lot like you. I worked for the government and then they screwed me over. If you step out of line, it won't be long before you're put in for early retirement, but right now you have a bigger threat. Her," Shaw said as she showed Leah a picture of Stanton on her cell phone.
"What the hell is going on here?" Leah demanded.
"It's simple, Leah. Stanton is on a one woman crusade of destruction. Because of your connection to her final mission in Ordos, you're on her hit list. Now you can either help me or I can hand deliver you to Stanton. Do I make myself clear?"
"Oh my God. So Stanton's killing spree is about Ordos? I'll tell you what I can, but the real expert on Stanton is Rebecca Redding," Leah explained.
"You mean the fresh-faced redhead that follows Snow around like a puppy dog?" Shaw questioned.
"That's the one. She's been obsessed with Stanton since she became an agent. She drilled me on anything I knew about Kara. At first I thought it was idol worship. Kara was one of the best in her day, but then I caught Redding looking at Kara's personnel file, including her background information before she became an agent. Don't let Redding fool you. She's not some naïve young agent. She's got an agenda of her own," Leah finished.
"But Redding wasn't involved in Ordos?" Shaw asked.
"No, she was still a baby agent at that time," Leah responded.
"So do you know who gave the retirement order on Reese and Stanton?" Shaw pressed.
Leah glanced around the room for an exit, and Shaw leveled her gun again at the CIA operative. "That would have come straight from the top." She paused taking a deep breath, "Snow couldn't have given the order without the approval of Charles Lawrence."
Shaw turned to walk out the door when Leah called out, "Wait, I thought you were going to help me?"
"You're a trained agent. You can handle yourself. I would suggest you make that flight to Managua for real this time," Shaw responded nonchalantly.
As Shaw shut the door to the hotel room, she tapped her earpiece. "Did you hear that, Finch? My guess is that this Charles Lawrence is her number one target."
"Her own father," Finch said softly.
"What?" Shaw questioned. "Lawrence is Stanton's father?"
"Was, Ms. Shaw. Charles Lawrence died of a pulmonary embolism six months ago."
"So if Daddy Dearest isn't her target, who is?" Shaw asked.
"I'm afraid, Ms. Shaw, it appears that it's me," Finch responded evenly.
"So what's the plan, Kara?" John said as he increased his pace to match Kara's weaving through the streets of Little Italy.
"It's need to know, John. Right now, we need to ditch Mark's baby agent that's been tailing us since we left Bertinelli's," she responded.
John silently cursed to himself. Kara was off her game and he had hoped she hadn't noticed the young agent following them. He wasn't looking forward to another confrontation with Snow, but the added complication would throw Kara off-balance, possibly giving him a chance to get to Carter without putting Harold at risk.
"I'm not stupid enough to think you didn't spot her John. Stop playing games unless you want Carter returned to you in a body bag. You want to know the plan. Here's the plan. We're going to have a private chat with Mark about Ordos and Harold Finch. I imagine the dumb redhead has already called him, so it won't be long now before we have our little reunion and I finally get to the truth." As John continued to follow Kara, he slipped his hand into his pocket and dropped his phone in a trashcan. If he didn't survive this rendezvous, he knew Harold would keep searching for Joss and he couldn't let Snow or Kara find his link to Finch.
Finch noticed immediately when John's phone stopped moving. He was cutting ties in an attempt to protect everyone, but himself. Finch knew the only chance of saving John was to find Joss without Kara Stanton's help. Before he could focus on that task, he needed to have eyes on the ex-CIA agents. They were both headed to meet the devil, a devil named Mark Snow. Harold also had another variable to figure out: Agent Rebecca Redding. Something was off about the young agent and Harold had a sinking suspicion she had an agenda wholly separate from Kara and Mark Snow. She was proving to be an additional wild card for which Harold felt completely unprepared.
Finch opened his link to Shaw. "Ms. Shaw, my last location on Mr. Reese and Ms. Stanton had them heading for Coney Island. I would expect this time of year it would be a private place for a clandestine meeting. Mr. Reese is trying to protect us by cutting off contact. Our only chance to help him and Joss Carter, is for me to have eyes and ears on this meeting."
"I understand, Finch. I'm on my way," Shaw responded. Finch sighed as he disconnected the call with Shaw. He stared at the agency photo of Rebecca Redding.
"How do you fit into all of this, Ms. Redding? I'm afraid if I don't fit your piece of the puzzle into the bigger picture, I will not only lose the match but I'll lose the war."
Joss shivered as she continued to pace the root cellar as far as her shackle would allow. Kara was smart. After hours of searching, Carter hadn't found a single tool she could use to try to jimmy the lock. Furthermore, even if she did manage to escape the shackle, Kara had taken her coat and shoes. She wouldn't be able to run with the impending snowstorm. Joss could continue to feel the temperature dropping as she curled up in a ball to preserve her body warmth. She thought to herself, "Figure this out, Joss, You've been in worse situations. No one is coming to save you. Your only chance is to save yourself."
She shook her wrist again and managed to move the shackle as far as the top of her wrist. Suddenly an idea dawned on her. It was going to hurt like hell, but it was her only shot. Once she was free to move around, she could figure out step two. Joss placed her free hand over the thumb of her restrained hand and yanked. She heard the sickening crack of her thumb breaking and almost passed out from the pain. She leaned against the wall of the root cellar, breathing deeply to calm her pounding heart. Placing her left hand on the shackle, the metal slipped from her arm, without the impediment of her thumb bone.
"Now what, Joss?" she asked herself as she surveyed the dank, dark cellar for a way out.
