hengrimm - Life got busy and this chapter was ending up so terribly that I just abandoned it for awhile. Coming back to see a review with constructive criticism and showing interest in the finished product just made my day. Thanks for taking the time to review. :) I do indeed intend to finish it. And thank you for pointing that out! Rereading what I already have, I found another instance of that. I fixed the one in chapter 9 and will do my best with the other case.

Also, enjoy the extra long chapter. Couldn't find a way to cut it up into two so it'll just be long.

Disclaimer: I do not own T.J. Hooker or any of the characters. I do own Jessica and Ginger.

It was just a matter of time. He knew it had to be. He just didn't know what was coming when the clock stopped ticking. Getting to escape? Their kidnappers moving them from the trunk to somewhere else? Certain death? One thought lingered in the back of his mind whenever he started to say something. That thought was that everything about their current situation was eating away at both of them, and maybe the clock was counting down to one of them snapping at the other. That thought was enough to keep him quiet for fear of saying something he would regret, which he'd already done much too often over the years. At any rate, the thought did not keep him from almost saying something, and cutting himself off mid-word earned him a curious glance from his older friend each time.

He glanced over at Hooker. The sergeant had taken to the corner, silently shivering in the frosty air. His eyes were closed and his face held no emotion. In fact, if it were not for the occasional movements and opening his eyes every time he heard Romano move to see what the younger officer was doing, Romano would have completely believed that he was asleep.

"I-"

There was a lapse in his focus, but he caught himself with a bite to his lower lip when he remembered why he wasn't already talking. Hooker sighed.

"Alright, what's up?"

"Huh?"

"For the past ten minutes you've been starting to say things, then stopping and never continuing. What's up?"

He contemplated explaining but eventually settled for shrugging.

"Then what were you going to say?"

Again, Romano shrugged. "Just that I wish we'd stop soon. Even if we can't escape, just getting out of this trunk would feel good." He paused. "And for your sake, I hope we get out to somewhere warmer."

Hooker tried to glare, but dissolved into soft laughter. "Can't say I wouldn't agree," he admitted.

"So since you laughed, does that mean I have a good sense of humor and don't need to learn how to tell a good joke?" Romano asked with a grin.

"I... I don't... you..." Hooker faltered before reaching over and giving his young friend a hard shove on his shoulder.

Romano leaned back into the wall of the trunk and laughed before falling silent. Hooker might have said something else, but a sudden jolt erased that idea from his mind. The crunching of the tires on the ground slowed until the car had completely stopped. There was a clicking sound as one of the doors opened, and a low chuckle. The duo in the trunk looked at each other with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

A thin slit of light appeared at the place where the trunk and the rest of the car separated from each other to let the trunk open. It grew almost instantly, and a painfully bright white light shone in. Hooker and Romano were both forced to squint, and they had only a moment to get used to the light, for a dark figure stood above them and reached towards them with something in its hand, and just a few seconds later, both officers were unconscious once again.

The dark figure chuckled and shut the trunk again. It looked over the top of the car to its companion, who stood next to the open passenger door dressed in a similar dark outfit and watching.

"Can't have them alerting anyone to the fact that they're back there once we get into town, can we?" the figure standing by the trunk asked in a hoarse voice. It went to the back door and opened it, pulling out a tail light, having anticipated a tail light being kicked out by a desperate captive. It walked back to the back of the car, placed the tail light in the empty space, and gave it a firm hit to make sure it would stay in if they traveled over a rough road. The figure returned to the driver's side and looked off into the distance. On the horizon in the direction they were travelling, a city was visible. Heading towards such a large city was a risky business for them, but they had decided that their plan was foolproof, so they could risk it. The driver nodded to itself before it and its partner got in as well, and soon they were driving towards the city again.

Jessica kept up her brisk trot towards the precinct, and Ginger loped by her side. Anyone watching them might have guessed that they were cold, but because they were both used to much colder temperatures, it was more the rush to get to the precinct a bit early so that they didn't become late for patrol again. Well, that was Jessica's goal. Ginger's goal was to keep looking around and keep up with her owner at the same time.

Or at least, that was her goal until she stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. Jessica let out a small yelp when she failed to notice and kept going until she caused the leash to slip from her hands. She backtracked and picked up the leash again, looking curiously at Ginger. The German Shepherd was staring in the direction they had come from. Jessica raised her gaze slowly to see a gray car that had stopped in the middle of the road.

The car had several dents in it, the license plates were caked in mud and illegible, the paint was almost completely scratched off of the right side and hood, and the car was rusted through in several spots, mostly along the bumper. It looked like it might break down any second, but that wasn't what caught Jessica's eye. When she looked a little harder, she realized that this was a car she had seen behind her not five minutes ago. With no other cars or people on the road to slow them down and a rather high speed limit, their determination to stay behind her made her a bit wary.

Jessica looked up a bit more and her breath briefly caught in her throat. Two men stared back at her, and both were wearing black sweaters and ski masks. She forced a smile and raised her hand in a wave before turning back. Muttering something to Ginger, she started off again at her brisk walk, this time with Ginger following. She swallowed hard when she glanced over her shoulder and discovered the car slowly creeping after her. Jessica glanced around in search of anything or anyone that could help, but wilted a little when she saw nothing.

It didn't matter. The engine behind her suddenly revved and the car sped a few feet ahead of her before screeching to a halt. The passenger threw open the door and charged towards her. Jessica jumped slightly and made an effort to move aside, to no avail. Her arm was grabbed and, despite her best efforts, she was pulled back to the car, releasing Ginger's leash in the process. The canine glanced around carefully before following with a low growl.

"Get in the car!" hissed the man that held her arm as he blindfolded her, tied her hands behind her back, and then opened the back door and shoved her towards the inside. "You know too much, and we can't have you ruining things for us."

Jessica yelped softly as she tripped into the car, and Ginger started barking furiously.

"Shut your mutt up!" snarled the man, drawing a gun and waving it at the dog even though Jessica could not see.

"Ginger, quiet," Jessica called reluctantly. One final bark and Ginger quieted down, but glared daggers at the man holding the gun as he slammed the door and got back into the car.

The man quietly uttered something to the driver, who nodded before slamming his heel into the gas pedal and speeding off, leading dark black marks on the pavemenet.

Ginger turned around again to stare at something none of the humans had noticed. A dark colored car slowly rolled forward and the passenger door opened. Without hesitation, Ginger jumped in. The door closed again and the tires squealed as the driver of the darker car hit the gas. They lurched into top speed and chased after the gray car.

...

Ear-piercing screeches could be heard coming from near the alley. Mere seconds later, two masked men shoved a blindfolded Jessica into the alley, forcing her to trip her way down the wide, trash-filled area between two abandoned buildings until she crashed into a wall. Once she hit the cold brick she was grabbed by the shoulder and whirled around so that her back touched the rough surface.

"You know too much," said a raspy voice that sounded like it was trying to be disguised. It had a hint of familiarity, though, Jessica thought. She assumed it was the voice of the driver. "We can't have you around any more. Any final words?" He paused as if he intended to actually give her the chance to answer, but silence was the only thing that filled the gap. He chuckled. "Alrighty then."

Jessica heard the unmistakable click of a gun about to be fired, and for a brief moment her mind resigned itself to what was about to happen.

Or, what she thought was about to happen. Instead, a moment later she heard angry barking and a scuffle before something dropped to the ground. The gun, she decided, when she considered how metallic it sounded when it landed. Jessica shifted her weight nervously, trying to determine what was going on before she felt a hand on the back of her head grabbing the blindfold and sliding it off. She blinked a few times to bring her surroundings into focus and found herself face-to-face with Stacy.

"Impeccable timing," she breathed as Stacy nudged her shoulder to make her turn around to undo the ropes that were tangled around her wrists. "How did you...?"

"Find you? Yeah, Jim and I were taking a different route today and pulled up right behind you all just as you were being dragged back to that gray car. Picked up Ginger and then took off after you," Stacy answered as she got the ropes untied and let them fall to the ground. "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you two," Jessica answered as she twisted her wrists, trying to regain the feeling in her hands. She looked over Stacy's shoulder and raised an eyebrow at what she saw.

Jim and Ginger stood at the opposite end of the alley, blocking the only way out. The ski masks on the two kidnappers had been abandoned on the ground. Marten stood with his arms tightly crossed and a death glare aimed towards Jessica. Henderson looked jumpy and turned his head this way and that, refusing to look at anyone.

"Hey, why don't you two go back to the precinct and get someone that can help, and I'll stay here to make sure nobody tries anything?" Jim called.

Stacy nodded and scurried past Marten and Henderson, out of the alleyway, and to her dark car, with Jessica close on her heels.