Jack is Back
Author's Note: Again, I must thank the wonderful usagi636 for her help with this. I finally have some time off of work to write this. I hope you all enjoy
Disclaimer: same as always
Follow the Evidence
"I don't understand why we can't just go in there and arrest the idiot," Andy complained as he watched the PI pace back and forth in the hotel lobby.
"Because we have to wait for word form Sykes and Tao to see if they can find anything," Provenza said for the millionth time.
"Yeah well, if they don't find anything soon," Andy growled, "I am going to go in there and shoot him and Jack before they can even blink."
"You're an idiot," Provenza rolled his eyes, "I guess the Captain was right about wanting us to carry these bean bag guns."
Andy watched as their psycho PI looked up, and walked over to Jack Raydor as he stepped off the elevator. They started to argue before Pierce shoved an envelope into Jack's hands and walked away without another word. Andy turned to Provenza hoping to have some confirmation that Amy and Mike had found something, but Provenza shook his head.
"We'll just have to follow him then," Andy started the car, but was stopped by his partner.
"We need to figure out what he gave to Jack," Provenza got out of the car, "We will let Julio follow him."
Andy shook his head, but got out to follow his partner as he watched Julio's car pull out and start tailing the suspect. He knew that they had to figure out what was in the package that Jack got, but he was hoping that somebody else could do that. Unfortunately, here he was, walking into a hotel lobby to talk to the lousy ex-husband of the woman he loves. The same man who hired the creep that has been spying on her for way too damn long.
"Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza," Jack said sarcastically, "Let me guess, Sharon didn't want to deal with me again, even though I am the one who called you," he held up the envelope he had only just acquired.
"As always, your powers of perception are uncanny," Provenza grumbled.
"We just need to know what he gave you," Andy said impatiently.
"You're lucky that I already agreed to help Sharon, or else I wouldn't be doing anything to help you," Jack growled, his face slowly turning red.
"You are the one who started this mess in the first place!" Andy matched his tone.
"I'm not the one who went around sleeping with another man's wife," Jack pointed his finger at him.
"Ex-wife! And we haven't slept together," Andy stepped forward to tower over Jack, "We didn't even start dating until a few days ago."
Provenza could see that both men were ready for a fight, so he stepped in between them and pushed Flynn back.
"We both know that you two are going to place the blame on the other, so why don't we cut the bullshit and get right to the point," Provenza held out his hand, "The envelope?"
Jack was still glaring at Andy, but he reluctantly handed the envelope over to Provenza, "I hope you don't mind a frigid bitch in bed with you."
Flynn lunged for him, but Provenza beat him to it, "Jack, I hope you don't mind the sting of a bullet hitting you in the ass as you walk away."
Jack took that as his cue to leave before the Lieutenant held true to his statement. Provenza continued to hold Flynn back until Jack was in the elevator and headed back up to another floor. They both walked back to the car, Flynn storming back to his side of the car and slamming the door shut as he threw himself into the seat. Provenza was sure that he heard him mutter something like "scumbag asshole" under his breath, but he ignored him and opened the envelope, and poured out the pictures that were inside.
The first few were taken by a camera inside her bedroom, and both Lieutenants cursed as their Captain was shown asleep in some, but nearly naked in others. They quickly flipped through them until they came to some of her stepping out of her car. She was in a garage that looked familiar, but they couldn't really place it. There were several of her bent over trying to get stuff out of the backseat of her car, and even more of her leaning over to check her makeup in her side view mirror.
Something suddenly occurred to Andy, "Isn't she wearing this same outfit today?"
Provenza rolled his eyes, "How the hell should I know, Flynn! I am not the one who pays attention to her 24-7."
Flynn shook his head and groaned, "No, I mean I think these pictures were taken today. Look," he pointed to the small sign that they now recognized hung in the police department's garage.
"But how did he get in to the garage?" Provenza grabbed the picture from Flynn and held it out to get a better look.
"I guess we will have to ask the attendant," Andy pulled out of the parking lot and took off towards the station.
Meanwhile…
Sharon was nervously waiting to hear back from Mike and Amy, about whether or not they had found anything in Pierce's house. So far they were coming up empty handed, but she still hadn't talked to Taylor about what SID found in her condo and Jack had called to tip them off to a meeting with Pierce. Maybe things were going to change and she would be able to arrest this creep. There was a knock at the door, and she called them in softly.
"Captain," Taylor came in and shut the door behind him, "I have the report back from SID, and I think you need to see it now."
He sat down in the chair across from her and she simply nodded, "I take it they found something."
"Mhmm," he handed her the official report before starting to brief her, "They swept your entire condo and found quite a few things. In addition to the camera we found hidden in a photo frame in your bedroom, they also found several other cameras throughout the condo as well as a few microphones."
Sharon listens to him as she read the report in front of her, "They found cameras in every room?"
Taylor nodded, "I'm afraid so."
Sharon threw the file down and huffed out a sigh of frustration, "Is there any way to link them back to Pierce?"
"SID said that the router they found in the condo next to yours would have allowed him to store pictures on to it and then send them to a computer somewhere else. They are working on tracing a transmission back to the computer," he said as he watched her run her hand through her hair, "but it looks like he isn't transmitting until around 5 pm each night."
"Which would make sense since that is usually when I get home," Sharon said softly just as another knock on her door caught her attention, "Come in."
Andrea came in and took a seat next to the Chief, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but have you heard back from Amy and Tao?"
"Not yet," Sharon gestured to the file now lying discarded on her desk, "but I am hoping they can find something that will connect him to this."
Andrea scanned through the report quickly, "Can we tie this nut job to these bugs?"
"We're working on it, Andrea," Taylor rolled his eyes.
Sharon was about to say something about his attitude when her phone rang, "Yes, Mike?"
"Captain," Tao spoke into the phone as Amy started the car, "We didn't find anything. Pierce wasn't there, and we didn't even find a laptop."
Sharon shook her head towards the two occupants of her office before returning her attention to the Lieutenant, "Thank you, Mike. I will brief you two when you get back."
"We'll get something on him, Captain," he said softly, looking over at Amy who was listening in.
"I know," she smiled into the phone, "Tell Amy I said thank you to her as well."
"Will do, Captain," he said before hanging up.
"If we didn't find anything at his place, what should we do know?" Taylor asked as he looked at the Captain as she stood up and started to pace.
"Maybe we don't do anything," Sharon looked down at the report that Andrea had in her hands, "Chief, has SID removed the bugs yet?"
"No," he said cautiously, "They were waiting to see if it would broadcast again."
"Let's have them set up all of the equipment that they need to out of sight of his cameras," she said grabbing her purse, jacket, badge and gun, "When he broadcasts again, they can trace the feed back to the laptop."
"Where are you going?" Andrea asked, trying to stop her friend from leaving.
"I am going back to my condo to get ready for when this guy decides to start broadcasting," she said without hesitation.
"But why?" Taylor practically screamed, "We are going to have guys ready to trace the feed. Why do you need to be there?"
"Because if you haven't looked at the clock recently, I have a little less than a half an hour to be home before he starts broadcasting, and if I'm not home when he does, he will know something is up," Sharon said as she walked out of the door, leaving Taylor and Andrea in her office.
Sharon quickly made her way down to the parking garage and got into her car. Before she pulled out, she texted Rusty to stay away from the condo while they figured all of this out. He replied before she even had time to make it out on the street, that he was going out with some friends and, to call him when it was all settled. She smiled down at her phone and hurried home to make sure that they got this guy ASAP. As she got closer and closer to her condo, she let her anger about the situation simmer and build. By the time she made it to her condo and was making her way up to her floor, she was convinced that she would put a bullet in him the next time she saw him.
Opening up her front door, Sharon took a deep breath and crossed the threshold. She went through her normal evening routine of hanging up her jacket and taking off her pumps. Deciding she needed to unwind, Sharon went to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of Merlot from the fridge and a glass from the cabinet. All she could think about was the idea of Pierce watching her right now, and she had to fight the urge to turn and face the camera that she knew rested above her fridge. She felt her phone buzz and picked it up too see a text message from the Chief saying that they were tracing the feed now. Sharon shook her head at the reality of the situation before she headed to the living room and settled down on the couch. All she could do was wait until she got the 'all clear' from Taylor.
Her phone rang and she quickly answered it, "Captain Raydor," she said into the phone.
"Hey, Sharon," Andy greeted as he walked around the murder room finishing up the last of his paperwork.
"Andy," she smiled to herself, "What can I do for you?"
"Provenza and I just got back to the murder room with the package Pierce gave to Jack," he looked down at the evidence folder that held copies of all of the pictures, "It had more pictures in it, and some of them seem to have been taken from inside your condo. I think we need to sweep your place for bugs."
Sharon held her breath as she thought about the pictures that she'd never showed him, "I think you are right. I will talk to Taylor tomorrow about getting it done," she had to be careful what she said with the bugs still working.
"I'm still at the office," he said quickly, "I will go talk to him right now."
At first she was going to stop him, but she figured Taylor would tell him what was going on, "Thank you, Andy."
"Of course," he smiled as he headed out of the murder room and towards Taylor's office, "Hey, have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet, no," she laughed at the eager tone his voice took on.
"Why don't I bring something over," he offered, "I can protect you from all of the possible bugs too," he joked.
She let a genuine laugh slip out as she imagined him grinning like a fool as he spoke, "My hero," she giggled.
"That's what I'm here for," he chuckled, "What are you in the mood for? I can pick up anything."
"Hmmmm, I'm thinking Italian would be great," she said lightly.
"I meant I could pick up food," he smirked, "But if you are in the mood for me, that works too."
"Very funny," she blushed, "You can never have too much Italian."
"Then Italian it is!" he said, "There is a new place I have been wanting to try. I will call it in on my way to your place. I'm guessing you want your usual?"
"Yes please," she hummed.
"Ok," he smiled as he arrived outside of Taylor's office, "I will be by soon with your food."
"I can't wait," she laid back on the couch and looked up to the ceiling.
"See you soon, Sharon," he said softly as he entered the office.
"I'll be waiting," she said lightly before hanging up.
At the office…
"Hey Chief," Andy said as he walked into the office and took a seat in a chair in front of the large desk.
"What can I do for you, Flynn?" Taylor said without looking away from his computer screen.
"We picked up a package from Jackson Raydor, and the pictures in it led us to believe that the Captain's condo has been bugged," he said seriously.
Taylor looked at Flynn and took off his glasses, "We already know."
"What?" Flynn gasped.
"I got a package of photos as well as a note threatening you. The Captain thought it would be best not to tell you about the possibility of bugs because you might freak out. We already swept her condo for bugs and we found them. Now we are waiting for the information to be traced back to the computer it is being broadcast to. That's why the Captain is already home. She figured that if she continued with her usual routine, we could trace him without raising too much suspicion."
Andy brought his hand up to his face and tried to rub away the exhaustion of the day, "I just called her, why didn't she tell me any of this?"
"Because we also found microphones in several of the rooms of her condo," Taylor explained, "she was probably worried about tipping this guy off."
Andy sighed, "But you have a trace on this guy?"
"We've just got a location, and I've already sent patrol to pick him up."
Andy nodded before standing up, "Okay, I am going to head out then."
Taylor stood up and called out to him, "She was just trying to make sure that you didn't overreact."
"I know," he said as he walked out and headed straight for his car.
Condo…
Sharon had just dozed off when she heard a knock at her door. She quickly righted herself and headed to the front door to let who she assumed to be Andy in; however, when she opened the door, Jonathan Pierce was standing outside her door. Before she could do anything, she felt a sharp pain in the side of her head as she was struck with what looked like a tire iron. Sharon fell to the ground and instantly clutched her head when she felt blood pouring out of the wound. She heard the door close and lock and Pierce walk towards her. She mustered all of her strength to start to crawl in the direction of the entry way table, which is where her purse and gun were.
"Where do you think you are going, Sharon?" he chuckled and started to follow her.
Sharon bumped into the wall and used it to guide herself to the table. She could hear his footsteps behind her, slowly closing in on her. By the time she reached her purse, Pierce yanked it out of her grasp and dug around in it. Once he found her gun, he shook his head at her and smiled. He then continued to search her purse until he found her phone.
"What do you say we make sure the Lieutenant gets here quicker?" Pierce sneered at he dialed Andy's number and put it on speaker.
"Sharon, I talked to Taylor and I understand why you didn't tell me about the bugs and the package, but we really should talk after we get this guy. Apparently they are picking him up now, so we should be able to talk soon. Are you still in the mood for Italian or did you change your mind?" Andy said in a rush as he drove in the direction of the Italian restaurant.
"I think she has changed her mind about the food," Pierce replied with a smile on his face as he looked down at Sharon, "And I don't think I am about to be picked up considering the fact that they are tracing my laptop back to my apartment and not here."
"Pierce!" Andy yelled as he sped up and headed for Sharon's condo, "If you harm her, I swear you will not see another sunrise you son of a bitch!"
"I have no intention of listening to you desperately trying to stall until you get here, Lieutenant. You are to come to her condo alone and without alerting anybody," Pierce adjusted the gun in his hand and held it out towards Sharon, "Do as I say or she will die. You better hurry."
With that he hung up and bent down to look Sharon in the eye.
"You know that the only way you are leaving here is in a body bag, right?" she said weakly.
"The only one leaving in a body bag is going to be your Lieutenant," Pierce laughed before reaching out to grab her arm, "Now let's enjoy ourselves while we wait for your boyfriend to arrive."
TBC…
