HIGH STAKES

A/N: Thanks for the lovely weekend reviews and follows. I'm so glad to know that people are still enjoying this. Your comments keep me going!

Chapter Nine

Rain was falling on the rooftop, soft and nasty, like a sinking mist. Adam felt as though he were being bound inside a cloud. Ghostly fingers stroked his face and ghostly whispers promised numb forgetfulness. The feeling made his flesh begin to crawl, and so he did what he always seemed to do when he was nervous. He tuned out the horror movie playing in his head and started talking.

"Detective Flack? You hungry? I know I am, okay, 'cos I had my breakfast at, like, four o' clock this morning. What time do you start work? You always seem to be around - in fact, I sometimes wonder if you go to bed at all, or if you're like this superhuman being that doesn't need sleep..."

"Hey, Ross? You're rambling."

He chewed his lip, embarrassed. "Yeah. I know. But I really am hungry."

"Didn't you bring any food in those pockets of yours?"

"Oh, sure. A Snickers bar. Always be prepared, right? It's sitting in that little heap over there..." Adam pointed forlornly. Flack sighed.

"I'm sorry. And I know why you're talking. Helps to pass the time, right?"

"Something like that." The lab rat sounded doubtful, but did not elaborate. Absently, he fingered the swollen mark on his neck and winced. Bet Detective Flack's not scared by a little bit of rain. You're such a wuss.

"You must be frozen." Flack looked down at his companion. The lab rat's short-sleeved shirt hung open since Bob had cut off most of the buttons, revealing nothing more than a thin grey t-shirt underneath. His vest was sleeveless too, and his arms were soaking wet. Droplets fell from the twisted collection of leather and beads on one wrist. On the other, an angry, bruised circle was beginning to form beneath the metal cuff. Sliding his eyes across, Flack saw the same mark on his own wrist. He had been twisting his arm to get free, even though there was really no need, since he still had the key in his pocket. Maybe it's my superhuman instinct...

"Oh, hey, no, I'm fine." Adam's lie was obvious, but Flack chose to ignore it. Give the man some credit - he was trying to stay upbeat.

Eager for distraction, the lab rat tried again.

"Detective Flack? Does it feel like an hour to you?"

"More like twenty minutes." Flack smiled at him kindly. "Your sense of time sucks, Ross. Guess you don't know everything."

"Oh, no - there's lots of things I'm bad at." Adam swiped a raindrop from the end of his nose. "Knowing how to talk to people. Knowing when to stop..." He gave the detective a wary, sideways grin and lifted one eyebrow. "Makin' jokes...?"

"You can say that again." Flack played along. "Although I think his jokes are ten times worse than yours."

As soon as the words had left his mouth, Flack wished that he could claw them back again. Turns out I suck at conversation too. Adam stared across at Bob, who was sitting on the low wall, farther round the rooftop, gazing at the city through the heartless rain. The lab rat's eyes grew wide.

"You really think he'd do that?"

"Do what?" countered Flack, though he knew all too well what the lab rat was asking him.

"Throw us... me... off..." Adam could barely bring himself to say it.

"'Course not. Far as he's concerned, he doesn't even have the key to these cuffs." Logic, not always Flack's best friend, came to his rescue in the nick of time. Adam looked relieved.

"Oh. Yeah. That's so stupid of me. Thanks, Detective."

"You know what?" Flack sighed. "We've been chained up here a while now. I think you can call me Don."

Adam's answering smile made them both feel just a little bit warmer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sid Hammerback was one of Jo's favourite people. He might work in a place that smelled of death and chemicals, but to someone who would always be a profiler at heart, he was a source of endless fascination - from his remarkable glasses to his weird conversational segues. More than that, however, he was warm and full of compassion. He had the typical - and necessary - M.E.'s ability to distance himself from his subjects. But that did not mean that Jo had mistaken the look in his heavy-lidded eyes on those occasions when the bodies struck too close to home. Young girls, in particular, made him pause. That much she understood herself, because of Ellie. In their line of work, having children was a comfort, but it could also make you afraid. Very afraid.

"How're you doing, Sid?" she said lightly, rousing herself as she walked into the room. The Medical Examiner looked up, and he was clearly pleased to see her.

"Jo! Any news?" Those were his first words, just as she had known they would be.

"That depends on what you've heard already." Jo wasn't sure just how much of the situation had filtered through from the crime lab, or travelled back with the body.

"I know that Detective Flack and Adam are in trouble. Held hostage - on a rooftop? And that this man is involved somehow." Sid gestured to the body on the table. John Street looked pale and innocent in death, but Jo really hoped that he was hiding something useful.

She sighed, and Sid peered into her face.

"You're scared for them," he said. It wasn't a question, but Jo nodded anyway.

"We know they're alive. We've heard their voices. And Don says they're both okay. But, Sid, I'm so worried. We don't have much time. So I need to know what you've got already - as much as you can tell me."

The doctor looked hesitant. Turning back to the body, he shook his head slightly and repositioned his glasses. "Unfortunately, very little. It was a clean shoot, close quarters, straight through the left ventricle. No bullet in his body, and no signs of a struggle. Clearly, he wasn't frightened for his life."

"That doesn't really help us, Sid."

"I know." His voice was troubled. "There's just one other thing, I'm afraid, and it's probably not that important. An excessive amount of spice upon his skin, and in his hair of all places. I've taken samples so you can identify the blend. Was he cooking at the time?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, I tell you, ever since I did my initial examination, I've had a craving for Kung Pao chicken. Make of that what you will."

"I think your stomach's trying to tell you something." Jo managed a smile as she picked up the evidence, but it was dimmer than usual. "Lindsay's checking the clothes right now. I'd better find out if she's having weird cravings too."

Sid nodded. "Jo," he said nervously, as she left. "Keep in touch. Don't forget about us. They... they're my friends too."

"Of course, Sid." She came back over to him and squeezed his arm for a moment. "I wouldn't dream of leaving you out of the loop. You know that. We're a team."

"Okay. Okay, thank you."

Satisfied, the doctor followed her out of the room with his eyes and then turned back to work. There simply had to be more to find, and he wouldn't rest until John Street had given up all his secrets.