Chapter 7
After Jo had feasted, well eaten very slowly and in excruciating pain, The Beast cleaned up her cuts with a damp cloth. Her cuts weren't that extensive she was manly badly buried.
The plan was now, for the beast to take care of her, sort of. He had to make her believe that at least, but on the other hand she couldn't die either, not when there is a profit to be made. The beast realised he could make a new life for himself and Katherine. He'd do it with the power of Mac and Jo's love, granted it wasn't very nice. He took a moment to think, at the end of the day, he wasn't a very nice person, not anymore. In his life too many things had gone belly up, too many wrong decisions and turned away chances.
He flipped the water cap of the floor and watched it bounce. Jo was feeling sick, she was sure that something was wrong, she had not been told what plan B was, and it scared her. All she knew was that she wanted to see Mac again and her best chance of achieving that was being completely compliant to what he wanted. The beast had changed his attitude completely, to start with, she was sure that he had intended to kill her, and she was sure that it was her thoughts about Mac that kept her alive. He had dealt with so much already; she wanted to make him happy.
She wondered how he was, if he was worried about her and she hoped that he'd be the first one she saw as she got out of this hellhole… Then it struck her, the first 72 hours are the most crucial in an abduction case and she didn't know how much time had passed by. What if she never got out? What if they'd run out of evidence? What if he'd given up? Jo suddenly regretted this Job, she didn't want to know the statistics, the chances, she wanted only hope.
She thought back to the night they were supposed to eat at the Italian restaurant, the pain she saw in his eyes pained her. She didn't ever want to see pain like that in anyone that she loved. Jo couldn't help thinking that she was jealous, Claire could be out there with Mac, her husband, playing happy families. She then felt a complete emptiness; she was beginning to think that was possible. Nobody was going to find her here.
-0-
Mac stood in his glass office for a short while; his eyes followed Katherine and the boy in amazement, much like the rest of the lab's. He'd said he wanted to see James, but realistically he'd meant in time. He of course wanted to meet his son; he was just so busy with work. Now with what he felt was his own life on the line, it was too soon.
Katherine knew exactly what she was doing; it was part of her plot. In many respects she did feel guilty for the way she'd left Mac after she was rescued, by saying that James's father was a one-night thing. However as soon as she saw Nicholas, she had to have him. Just like now, she had to have Mac.
Katherine smiled at him through the glass and ruffled James' hair up slightly.
"Hey" she said in her velvet soft voice, "I'm sorry it's taken me so many years to tell you… This is your son James"
She turned slightly to James "You remember what I told you, James?"
"Yes Mom" he nodded defiantly to show he'd tried hard not to forget.
"Hello James," Mac sad kindly as James looked into his eyes. James had his father's eyes in every way.
Katherine looked up at Mac, "Look I'm really sorry to drop this on you so late. I wish I'd told you earlier, you had a right to know…" A tear rolled down her cheek
The tear was partly true emotion; the rest was in vain, she was jealous of Jo. She was using her son to get at Mac and lower his defences, and by all accounts it was working.
The truth of the matter was, Jo and Mac had not been a couple when Katherine spotted them in the crowd last year, she could have simply gone up to Mac and he would have more than likely taken her back, after all he did love her. Jo and Mac had been Christmas shopping, he'd never really got the idea of window-shopping but it was a night out with a close friend.
When Katherine and James came in Mac did wonder about his decision, was it wrong for him to leave his wife and child, especially what they have been put through? On the other hand he felt more for Jo than anyone one else. Of course he wasn't going to abandon his son or Katherine, if anything she abandoned him.
Katherine burst out in tears, Mac wasn't stupid, there was something about her now that he didn't sense 10 years ago. He sensed alternate motive but he had no idea what she was really up to. She had a darkness, something evil hidden about her. He found himself engaging in an awkward hug, not for himself, not for Katherine, mainly because he didn't want his son to think his daddy was an arse.
-0-
Overseeing all of this Adam also felt the sudden desperateness from this woman. Adam didn't even know who she was until Flack filled him in earlier that day.
Mac came out of his office with his son, according to Lindsey he had the Dad shock look, as she'd seen it many times with Danny when she gave birth to Lucy. Mac looked quite confused in many respects, after all this had come as rather of a shock and to be honest it was not the ideal situation to suddenly be blessed with fatherhood.
The team in the office were generally getting a familiar feeling about Katherine, they all thought she didn't seem that nice, a feeling they get when the encounter criminals, they did not like it.
Mac went down the hall with James to the vending machines, trying to make a good first impression and bond with his son. The plan was working; Katherine has successfully stopped Mac from working on the case. He was never going to work out was going on! Katherine smiled to herself; she took great pleasure with this thought. Slyly, she pressed the fake call button on her phone in her pocket; after it'd rung she put it to her ear. "Hello. Yes, No no, not really. What do you mean?" She put on a serious tone, "Right" now she looked slightly angry, "I'll be right there."
Katherine went over to Mac, "Mac I'm really sorry about this, Nicholas' parents are being over dramatic and freaking out. Sometimes happens when Nicola's there with them. Do you mind if I leave James with you? I mean you won't be in the way will you sweetheart?" and stoked through his hair, "It not a good place for James," She explained, "James' isn't related. You know how it is." She looked into Mac's eyes. "Its just not fair"
The final words she said were true but they had a different meaning completely.
How could Mac turn her down? He knew something was wrong, very wrong, but he couldn't let Katherine know that.
"Sure, if you'd like that buddy?" he looked down to James
"urh huh. Okay," he said nodding his head.
"Okay, see you later Katherine then," Mac said
Just as swiftly as she'd come, she was gone.
Just because he had other responsibilities he couldn't just ignore his work, his top priority was still finding Jo, maybe he needed to get in priorities straight but he could shake the way he felt. Bad timing, he thought to himself. 'There's no such thing as a coincidence,' as he'd often say to his team when they were trying to solve a case. This was the key.
"Adam," Mac called over. Adam came scuttleing quickly. "Yes Boss"
"This is James" Mac stated.
Adam looked at the small boy; he had dark mousey brown hair, blue green eyes, and a perfect button nose.
"He's… erhh…" He hadn't said it out loud yet, "He's my son."
This was a lot for Adam to take in, but he listened closely.
"I have something I have to do quickly. Do you mind looking out for James?" Mac looked down at James, " I won't be long" and then smiled.
"Erhhh, no sure boss."
"Okay James, I have some people I'd like you to meet" James nodded and Mac introduced James to the team, Ellie and Tyler who were still waiting. Mac had a lot of explaining to do, especially to them.
Mac swiftly went to see if his hunch was correct. He felt bad for leaving James with them although he knew he wouldn't be very long. Katherine had just made it very inconvenient for him.
-0-
Adam was fooling around with James in the conference room, who was intelligent for a 9 year old.
"What's that?" He said pointing at a polygraph.
"That tells us who tells the truth and who lies" Adam said with a funny voice for the word 'lies'
"Its bad to lie," James told Adam "mommy lies lots"
"She does?" Adam asked, "Come with me a minute." From where James was sitting on the desk, Adam picked him up and put him on the floor, and took him to a lab.
"Wanna see something cool?"
"Yeah!" James smiled and nodded eagerly.
"This here is a clever computer," Adam said as if he were telling a story. "It knows what my special numbers and what my code is, It doesn't have an eye but it know what I look like…"
James looked at the computer with interest.
" My numbers are the same Allies I have in common with my parents, some are similar to my mom's and my dad's it shows that we are related."
"We did a bit about that at school." James said. "Why some children have the same colour hair as their parents,"
"Do you wanna see your code?" James hadn't got to do that at school so he grinned and nodded.
Adam got a cotton bud and put it in his own mouth, then gave one to James who mimicked him exactly.
Adam then cut the buds off and put them in the appropriate tubes, "Watch this"
Adam selected James's DNA on the computer and then pressed, "Search relatives".
If James were indeed Mac's son it would show up, everyone in Law enforcement was on the Database.
-0-
The beast grabbed Jo's phone and thrust it in her face.
"Call him" He spat. Oh god, Jo panicked. She was still weak and could not take another beating. One more punch last time, she was sure it would have been lights out for her. Was he changing his mind again?
She dialled his number and waited for it to ring. The beast then shoved a piece of paper in her face.
"Read it! And be Quick!"
"Hello? Jo? Are you ok? Where are you?" Suddenly Mac answered and she was flooded with questions. She grinned, just because she heard his voice
"Hi Mac." She hadn't used her voice for a while and she felt a tingling in her throat. It wasn't on the paper so a gun was shot. The bullet was fired into the ceiling and then the gun was pointed at Jo.
"Jo?" Mac said in an extremely worried tone.
Jo took a second to read the paper.
"JO?" Mac shouted down the phone in a panic.
"I am being held hostage, I am fine." Jo could hear Mac eagerly listen on the other end of the phone; her voice alone told him that she certainly wasn't fine.
Jo continued, "Please deliver…" Jo swallowed, she didn't want to read it out loud, and she didn't want Mac to hear. "Please deliver One Million dollars to the junction of West 30th Street and 12th Avenue by 7pm tonight, come alone, no tags no tracking devices, and no tricks otherwise you'll never see me again." Jo heard him stop breathing; she'd stopped breathing too.
Suddenly the phone was snapped out of Jo's hand and Mac was torn away from her again.
-0-
"Damit!" Mac threw his fist across his body in frustration. And then put his hand on his forehead. That conversation wasn't anywhere near long enough to trace the call, he'd had hawks try back at the lab, although it seemed forever when the gun was shot until she replied the call only lasted 36 seconds.
Mac had been trying to contact the other officers in Montana that would have dealt with Claire; he wanted the details about her witness protection so he was down at the precinct. Unfortunately he'd had no luck.
"Why don't you let the detectives do the detecting?" Flack said as he came into the room.
"You Okay?" Flack was concerned "Mac?"
Mac came out of his daydream and moved his hand from his face.
"I just spoke to Jo," He said
"Hey, that's great," Flack said "Where is she?"
"She'll be at the airport a 7pm"
"Come again?" Flack fully showed his New York accent in his confusion.
"I have to bring One Million Dollars to the Airport, alone. That Monster will kill her otherwise" He said quietly and he chocked out a few tears whilst Flack stood there in amazement, Mac never cried in front of people, Mac was always such a private man.
Flack sat down and looked at Mac, "you've fallen for her, haven't you?"
Mac wiped away his tears. "Yea" and smiled, he really had.
"So how are we going to get one million dollars?"
Mac looked at Flack he felt his emotions surfacing again, forced back more tears, and chocked "I don't know."
