Carter had barely gotten inside when there was an insistent knock on her front door. She loosed the snap on her holster at her waist and walked slowly to the front door with her hand on her gun. She moved it when she saw that it was Cal waiting for her to open the door.

"Cal." She said as he pushed past her and walked inside the living room. "Well hello to you too." She said closing the door and walking behind him. "What's going on?" The look on his face told her that he was pissed and she wondered why.

"You tell me, Joss. I couldn't reach you last night, you tell me you were sleeping and tonight I see you jumping out of some other guy's car."

Carter didn't realize he'd seen her and John together. He hadn't mentioned the kiss so she assumed he hadn't witnessed that. She kept her expression neutral as she prepared to lie. "Cal, come on. Are you seriously accusing me of going out with someone else?"

"Who is he?"

"He's an old friend of mine, Cal and I don't think I like your tone."

"What's his name?"

"Are we really doing this?"

"How come I've never met him?"

"I don't think I'm acquainted with every friend of yours. Is this how it's gonna be Cal? Do I need to make a list of every friend and family member and present them to you for your approval?"

"What do you expect me to think Joss? Things haven't exactly been all roses between us lately and you still don't seem to want take the next step with me…."

"Cal things haven't been 'roses' as you put it between us because of work, you know that. And yes I was reluctant to take the next step with you because I have to factor Taylor into every major decision I make, so excuse me for not wanting to jump into bed with you. I had planned on telling you that I was going to accept your invitation to take the trip with you but now I'm not so sure."

She watched as his face changed from slight anger and frustration to regret for going off on her like he just did.

"I'm sorry. It's just that….look I've never seen this guy before and…I really care about you. I see a future with you, Joss. And I guess I didn't want someone else moving in on you when I feel like we could have a real chance."

He walked toward her then, holding her hand and leaned in to kiss her. "So we're taking the trip? Together? You and me?" He said smiling.

"Yeah." She said as he hugged her. She knew John and Finch listened to her conversations from time to time. She hoped to God after what happened between her and John tonight, he wasn't listening to this one.

Thankfully Taylor came home a few minutes later and she could use the excuse of having to fix him dinner and help him with his homework.

She pretended that everything was fine and made conversation with Cal over dinner, even spent the rest of the night snuggled in his arms on the sofa while they watched a game on TV all while she pictured herself next to John and being held in his arms instead.


TWO DAYS LATER

Carter stood by the pier, with her hands in her pockets looking out at the water. Her collar was pulled up on her coat and though it was bulky and wool lined on the inside she shivered at the cold in the air. The weather had changed unexpectedly over the last two days and it was supposed to get even worse.

She took a deep breath, and looked around. The area was pretty much deserted especially since it was starting to get dark. She wondered if he was still going to show up and then she heard it; the uneven gait of someone with a limp. She glanced him from the side of her eye as he came to stand beside her holding out a covered cup of coffee to her which she accepted gratefully.

"Detective."

"Finch." She took a drink from the cup, loving the feel of the hot beverage as it went down, doing a little to warm her a bit. "I thought you changed your mind there for a second."

"I'm wondering if it's a good idea to keep John in the dark about this."

"I need to handle this alone, Finch. Besides, Cal saw John the other night when he brought me home. I don't think he'd keep believing my story about him just being an old friend if he sees him around even more."

"So you think he still trusts you?"

"He does. Especially since I agreed to take that trip with him this weekend."

Finch turned to look at her and she could tell he wasn't 100% comfortable with what she planned to do.

"What do you have for me?"

"The shipment of drugs is coming in the day after tomorrow, sometime around 11pm. It's taking place at The Port of New York and New Jersey. Manny plans to make the exchange and he and Beecher are supposed to go looking for Facile shortly afterwards."

Carter shook her head while she listened to details of everything Finch heard. She thought she knew Cal. She thought she knew what kind of man he was. She couldn't believe she'd been such a poor judge of character. She remembered the things he'd said about a future between the two of them. How could he have expected things to go further when he was a crooked cop? She didn't want a man like that in her life, her son's life.

"You are keeping copies of the audio tapes right? Cause I'll need them for evidence afterwards."

"I have them Detective."

"Thanks, Finch.

"Detective, I don't question your capabilities as an officer, I'm well aware that you are good at what you do. But I feel incredibly uneasy about you taking all of this on by yourself."

"Fusco will be with me."

"I know that Fusco is capable as well, but this….this is too much for you to do alone."

"Finch….."

"It's not only Manny you're dealing with. It's also the Italians, Beecher and whoever Manny is getting the drugs from. Please tell John about it, and let him help you."

"I'll think about it." She said offering a smile. "I have to go take Taylor to my mom's. Thank you, Finch."

Finch stared at her as she walked away and took a sip of his coffee. He turned to go back to the library and ran straight into Reese.

"Mr. Reese."

"Having a secret meeting with Carter without me, Finch? What's going on?"


The Machine

AUDIO INTERCEPT: 917-XXX-XXXX XXX-XXX 5462

PASSIVE CELL MONITOR

CONVERSATION ANALYSIS…..

NLP RUNNING…..

NAMES RECOGNIZED: Elias, Manny Gabric, Facile

Anthony Marconi AKA Scarface: "…they're bringing in the shipment earlier than expected. It was supposed to be day after tomorrow, but they've moved it up to tomorrow night instead."

"Gabric?"

"Yeah, Elias isn't too keen having the Croats bringing in product without his permission. We plan to crash the party. Have your men ready."

"What about Facile?"

"We'll deal with him too."


"I want you to stay at grandma's till I finish this case."

"Something's not right mom. I don't like that look on your face. You're starting to worry me."

She mustered up a smile to give him as he finished packing his suitcase and they walked outside together.

"Now Taylor baby remember we had this conversation before. I told you I can take care of myself, but I just need to know that you are okay. Can't be out there working and worrying about you at the same time. Besides you know whenever I'm working something big I always let you stay over at grandma's."

They got into her Impala and she started the drive over to her mom's house in Brooklyn.

"Yeah. But this time something feels different. You don't even want me to go to school tomorrow. You never ask me to miss school on purpose so this time it has to be bad."

"It's nothing that I can't take care of."

"Maybe you should ask John for help." He averted his eyes at her expression. "I'm just saying he is a bad ass."

"Watch your mouth please? Thank you. Don't worry about me. As long as you're okay, I'll be okay."

"Alright."

"I'll call the school later and tell them you won't be there for the rest of the week."

She ignored his questioning glance and kept her eye on the road. The last thing she wanted was to alarm Taylor, but now that she thought about it, maybe it'd be best if he and her mom stayed at one of Finch's safe houses. She didn't want to take any chances.


"Start talking, Finch." They'd just gotten back to the library and he took off his coat.

Finch knew he'd promised Carter that he wouldn't tell Reese about the surveillance he wanted on Facile and Beecher, but given the increasing level of danger he decided it was better the risk her anger at him than risk her life.

"Carter asked me get eyes and ears on Manny and Beecher and Don Facile. She's trying to build a case and she plans to move in on them when they bring in the shipment."

"When is it coming in?" He asked.

"The day after tomorrow."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for her to handle this alone?"

"I did. And I advised her that we needed to bring you in on it when she first asked me to do it, but she refused. When we met today I told her again to inform you and she said she'd think about it."

"Which just means she had no plans to tell me."

"Well that remains to be seen Mr. Reese."

"What is she planning to do?" He asked as Finch's cell phone rang and he picked it up.

"Detective Carter." He answered and looked up at Reese who watched him with an intense gaze.

"Finch I'm sorry to do this, but I need another favour."

"Yes, what is it Detective?"

"I wonder if there's a safe house that I can use for a couple of days. I don't want my mom and Taylor to stay at her place right now. I just want to make sure they'll be alright."

"Of course, Detective. I have a brownstone in Cobble Hill you can use." He gave her the address and she hung up along with the code for the alarm and the hiding place of the spare key.

"She wanted someplace safe for Taylor and her mother to stay for a few days." He explained.

Reese was glad to know at least she was trying to keep Taylor and her mom out of the line of fire. But he was not happy about being kept in the dark by both her and Finch.

"Finch, we're going to talk about this later. I'm heading over there right now."


It took a lot of convincing and a whole bunch of cajoling to get her mother to go along with the idea of spending time away from her own house and not being able to tell anyone where they were going to be but Carter finally managed it.

She was hounded by countless questions by both her mother and Taylor on the drive over to Cobble Hill. It did nothing to calm her nerves.

The small brownstone was nice. It had three bedrooms and was fully furnished. Carter got them settled in fine and helped them put away the groceries they'd stopped for before they got there.

"Does this place have cable?"

"I have no idea Taylor." She said avoiding her mother's gaze. "I have to go. I have some things I need to take care of."

She walked over to Taylor hugging him. She had a real bad feeling about this case, she couldn't shake it. She wondered if it'd be the last time she'd be seeing him. She found herself getting misty eyed and shook her head. This wasn't the first bad situation she had to face on the force and she'd been okay. She was sure she'd be alright once this was over.

"Remember what I said now, Taylor. Don't tell anyone where you are." She finally let him go, turning to her mother. "You too mom. I'll call you both when I can."

She walked outside getting into her car when she saw the front door open and her mother hurrying out.

"What is it, mom?"

"Jocelyn, is everything okay, baby?"

"It will be mom."

"You take care of yourself baby. You hear me?" She said while squeezing Carter's hand.

"I will. Now go on back inside and lock the doors."


Reese wasn't able to catch up with Carter in Cobble Hill. By the time he got there, there was no sign of her.

He tried calling her on her cell phone, but didn't get an answer. Finally he tracked down Fusco who was at a game with his son.

"Lionel, have you heard from Carter?"

"Not since yesterday, no. What's going on?"

"Are you aware of her plan to take down Gabric along with Beecher and Facile?"

Fusco hesitated for a minute. As far as he knew, she hadn't wanted Reese involved in it and he wasn't sure just how much he knew right now.

"Finch told me everything so if you know where she is right now you better tell me."

"I told you I haven't spoken to her since yesterday. As far as I know, nothing's going down with Gabric until the day after tomorrow. If she's making any moves before then, I don't know about it. Listen I gotta go, my kid's waiting for me."


7:00pm

"When's Taylor coming home?" Cal's question brought her back to the present moment. Carter had been sitting there with him for the past hour, but her mind was elsewhere. He'd stopped by earlier with dinner, but she'd barely touched it.

The TV was on, they were watching a game, and she was lying on his chest on the couch. She wanted to be anywhere but here.

"He's at my mother's." She said softly.

"On a school night?"

"Yeah a few of his cousins are there too; they're having a sleepover with her so….I let him go."

"So that means we have the apartment to ourselves tonight?" He asked and she heard the hint of hope in his voice. She wanted to shoot herself in the foot right now and thought about how she'd have to think of a way to get out of going to bed with him. With the place to themselves she couldn't use Taylor as an excuse for not sleeping with him. Hell she'd already accepted the invite for the trip; it wouldn't make sense for her not to sleep with him right now.

"I guess you could say that, yeah." She said trying to keep a smile in her voice.

She felt his hands sliding up and down her back and he leaned down to press his lips on hers. One of his hands drifted down her waist and onto her ass, squeezing it and pressing her closer to him. She felt his mouth becoming more insistent, his hands more probing and her mind was racing, thinking of Reese.

Just then his phone rang but he ignored it. His tongue was in her mouth, his hands grabbing for her shirt. The phone rang again.

"Don't you want to get that?" She suggested. He swore under his breath, answering it finally and the conversation was heated.

"What was that all about?" She asked when he hung up.

"I have to go take care of something." He said impatiently.

"Your case?" He looked at her then and she swallowed hard realizing that soon everything was about to come to a head.

He nodded and got up from the couch, kissing her on her forehead and left.


9pm

Reese walked down the steps of Carter's apartment building and closed the door shut. He'd broken in looking for her, but she wasn't there. Another call to her cell phone had proven unsuccessful. He was beginning to get worried.

He knew she wasn't stupid, he knew she wouldn't do anything to endanger herself carelessly. He thought she might be with Beecher tonight, but judging by his location when Finch had tracked him, there was no way she'd be with him right now.

He got into his car and called Finch.

"Finch, track Carter's phone for me. Find out where she is."

He pulled out into traffic, trying to think of where she could be and waited as Finch did his search.

"Mr. Reese, it appears that she is at…..810 Baxter St."

She was at his place. The information put a tiny smile on his face and he sped up a little, heading home. "Thanks, Finch." He said hanging up.

He wondered just how long she had been waiting. He wondered if she was okay.


Carter didn't know how it happened. But as soon as Cal left, she found herself in the shower, then getting dressed and heading out her front door. She didn't take her car, but she hopped in the back of a taxi and headed over to Reese's apartment on Baxter St.

She told herself not to think. She told herself not to analyze it too much, but to just go. When she walked into the lobby and headed up to his floor, she never thought that there was a chance he might not be home. But as soon as she got there and knocked on the door several times, she realized he wasn't there.

She felt like an idiot. She felt like a fool. Something inside her had wanted to see him so badly that she just came over and he wasn't even there. Whatever it was that had compelled her to come over wouldn't let her leave and she stood there in the hallway waiting, sitting on the windowsill near the far wall past his front door.

She'd sat there for a half an hour when the dinging of the elevator sounded in her ears. She didn't even realize she was holding her breath until she saw Reese's familiar form get out of the elevator and she finally stood up and slowly walked towards him, not quite knowing what to say.

He looked down at her, and sensing that she was troubled, offered her a reassuring look.

"Joss." he said by way of greeting and she closed her eyes looking down. "Why didn't you call me?"

"If I did, I might have chickened out. I might have turned around and gone straight back home." She admitted.

He opened the door and they both slipped inside. He took her coat, and draped it over the back of the couch inviting her to sit down.

"Would you like something to drink?" He asked and she nodded. He went into the kitchen, coming back moments later with two glasses of red wine.

He watched as she took a drink and set the glass down on the small table in front of her.

"What is it, Joss?" he said, resting his hand on her arm.

"Can I stay here…with you tonight? I don't want to be alone."