Hey everyone. Sorry it's been taking so long to update. But I'm doing better so hopefully I'll have more soon. I want to thank EVERYONE for reading and reviewing. It means a lot so thank you very much! And huge thanks to Brinchen86 for betaing.

And I don't own anything.

Andie

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Chapter Ten: Hidden Reasons

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Phoenix, 1992

Adam walked into the library, immediately being grateful for the lack of noises. The only thing that could be heard was the slight humming of the air conditioning and the sounds of books as their pages were turned.

He had been at home but the arguing had gotten too loud and he just couldn't take it. He was careful in sneaking out of his bedroom, sure that his father wouldn't hear him.

Knowing that the public library was the only place within walking distance, 13 year old Adam quickly made his way there, doing his best to keep the tears from falling from his eyes.

He had kept begging and begging his mother to just leave and then the two of them could find their own place and live together. All she would say was that she didn't have the money.

His mother didn't work. It wasn't by choice, well at least it wasn't her choice. Adam's father believed that women weren't supposed to work, only stay at home, cook, clean, and be a punching bag for their husbands.

Adam sucked in a breath as he took a seat in at one of the public computers available.

He was used to sitting there, as were the librarians. They saw him regularly but never asked questions, something which he was grateful for. No one knew of his family's situation and he liked it that way.

Logging on to the computer, he sat for a moment, thinking about what to do.

And that's when the idea came into his head.

He hesitated, knowing it was illegal and if he got caught, he would probably be in a jail cell for the rest of his life. It wasn't until the sounds of his mother's screams entered his mind did he realize that the risk of going to jail was one he was just going to have to gamble with.

Quickly moving his fingers in the keyboard, he swiftly executed the plan that had come together in his mind.

Ten minutes later, he stared at the screen, shocked at what he had just done.

All the screen said was: Funds from the account of Eric Ross successfully transferred to the account of Brenda Ross.

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"Um, excuse me," the voice spoke behind her.

Stella took in a deep breath before turning around to face the woman behind her. She found herself staring into the eyes of the one and only Peyton Driscoll Hancock.

There was no denying that Peyton was a beautiful woman, with dark hair that flowed over her shoulders gracefully, like a waterfall. Her face had prominent features that did nothing but highlight the natural beauty that existed in her. Her green eyes watched Stella full of concern as she opened her mouth to speak again.

"I couldn't help but notice that you seemed to be a little frustrated. Perhaps I could be of assistance."

Stella put on a polite smile as she brushed a curl from her face. "Oh, do you work here?"

Peyton nodded. "I do, well, more like volunteer but even when I'm not on the schedule, I still seem to find myself wandering the rows of books," she answered with a light chuckle. "I'm Peyton Driscoll," she said, extending her had towards Stella.

Stella did her best to hide the expression that she wanted to make when she noticed that the woman didn't add Hancock to her name. Pushing the thought back, she extended her own hand to meet the woman's in a shake. "I'm Melina Harris," she said with a bright smile. "Nice to meet you Peyton."

"Likewise," Peyton returned. "So what exactly were you looking for Ms. Harris?"

"Oh please, call me Melina," Stella said with the wave of a hand.

Peyton let out a light chuckle. "Alright Melina, how can I be of service."

"Well, see, I'm new to the city and I really have a passion for reading but I have no idea how to find any books in this gigantic library," Stella said, using her hands to exaggerate her point. "I have a true passion for classic books, actually."

"Oh really?" Peyton asked surprised.

Stella laughed playfully and nodded. "You probably think I'm weird huh?"

Peyton shook her head. "Oh, not at all. In fact, I like books like that as well."

Stella smiled brightly at the woman. "Really, that's so interesting. Most people don't."

Peyton nodded in agreement. "I know exactly what you mean. What's your favorite if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, it's Wuthering Heights," Stella said, knowing what was coming next.

Peyton eyes widened as she looked at Stella with a wide smile. "Oh my, that's mine too. I've actually lost count of the amount of times I've read it," she told Stella.

"Ha, I have too," Stella said. "And I thought I was the only one."

Peyton shook her head. "I guess not anymore," she told her before looking around. "If you want, I could show you to some of my other favorite sections."

Stella gave the woman a satisfied smile. "I would love that."

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Never in her life had Lindsay been happier to see five o'clock. Working in Hancock's office gave the same schedule as most of the workforce in the city: the dreaded nine to five.

She never knew why but she hated the idea of working all day long. Normally she would have a simple waitressing job that would allow her to work evenings or early mornings so she never ran into the rush hour traffic that most had to.

Now was different however as she sat at her desk, staring at the clock. The moment it hit five, she stood from her desk and grabbed her work bag which had been ready for a half hour. She had no idea why she was even there since Jack had meetings all day in a different part of the city. She assumed that she would go as well, but apparently she was the office assistant, not the traveling one.

Pushing her chair underneath the desk, she straightened her jacket and headed towards the elevator doors, waving bye to the various works her were still there.

She continued walking until she heard someone call her name…or rather her fake name. She turned around to see Sean walking up behind her.

"Hey Sean," she said with a smile.

"Hey," he returned. "You heading home?" he asked.

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah."

Sean paused for a minute before speaking again. "Well a couple of us were gonna head out for some beers to celebrate the fact that it's Friday and the boss man is going away for the weekend…"

"Wait, Jack's going out of town this weekend? I thought he normally worked then too," she interrupted, surprised at what he was saying.

Sean nodded. "Yeah normally he does but he has to go to D.C. for the weekend which means we're all going to be off," he answered.

"And the office is going to be empty?" she asked enthusiastically.

Sean nodded slowly, confused by her reaction. "Yeah pretty much. I mean, some of us our scheduled to work but I doubt anyone will show up," he said before eyeing her curiously. "Why?" he asked.

Lindsay quickly recovered, not wanting to seem as eager to go as she was. "Oh, nothing. I just didn't know that this office was ever actually empty," she said with a light chuckle. She began to move closer to the elevators, eager to spread the information she had just received.

"Hey," Sean started. "What about those drinks? You wanna come?"

Lindsay shook her head. "Oh, no thanks. I got a lot to do, you know errands," she said, backing into the now open elevators. "But thanks for the offer. See you Monday," she finished, though Sean didn't hear all of it since the doors had then closed.

Sean stood there, puzzled for a moment. Shaking his head, he walked back his desk so he could start his weekend as well.

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"Are these the blueprints to the office?" Aiden asked.

Danny nodded. "Yup," he said, coming to stand next to Aiden.

He and Aiden, along with Mac, Don, Jess, Adam, Sheldon, and Sid, stood around the large table in the warehouse. They had the entire floor plans of the buildings laid out, creating a large map across the table.

Adam leaned over and pointed to piece of the blueprint. "Hancock's office is on the side," he said.

"While the elevators are on the opposite end on this side," Don picked up, pointing to another portion.

"So basically, we need to figure out how to get Aiden from this side to that side without anyone noticing," Danny said.

"Well, according to Lindsay, a lot of people stay late into the night, including Hancock himself," Mac said.

"What about the weekend?" Aiden asked

"The weekends they are almost just as busy as the weekdays," Sheldon told her.

"Well maybe we should try it during the day. Maybe it's easier to have her blend in with the office," Jess proposed.

"The only problem would be Hancock himself. If he's on his office, he would notice," Sid added.

"That won't be an issue."

Everyone turned to see Lindsay enter the room with a smile on her face, moving to stand in between Mac and Sid.

Aiden eyed her for a minute before glancing at Don who nodded slightly. They both then turned to look at Danny who seemed to stand up a little straighter.

"What's got you so happy, Montana?" he asked.

Lindsay rolled her eyes and prepared to say something when she noticed Aiden beside him. "You must be Aiden. I'm Lindsay," she said with a polite smile.

"Nice to meet you, Lindsay," Aiden said with a smile.

"You too," Lindsay replied before giving Danny an annoyed look.

"Lindsay, you were saying something about Hancock won't be an issue," Sid asked.

Lindsay nodded, the smile she had returning to her face once more. "Apparently Jack is going on a business trip this weekend. Even though a lot of people are supposed to work, a lot of people don't show up and even if they do they don't stay late."

"Which means that by Saturday night, the office is going to be practically empty," Mac said.

Lindsay nodded. "Which means that that's probably the best and only opportunity we have to get in there."

"So, you're saying that Saturday night is the night?" Sid asked.

Lindsay shrugged. "I don't think we have any other options."

Mac nodded. "I agree. We need to plan to be ready to break into that office on Saturday night."

"Uh, Mac," Adam said.

"Yes Adam."

"Um, it's just that Saturday night is tomorrow. That means we pretty much have less than a day to plan."

Mac nodded. "So I guess we better get started."

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Stella made her way into the warehouse later that evening, her arms full of books that she had checked out of the library. She entered the main room, dropping the books on a side table, before looking around the room.

She was surprised to see everyone deep in conversation, standing around the table. She moved closer, curious to the meaning of all of serious looks.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked.

Lindsay looked up and nodded. "A little stressed I guess."

"We have to figure out how to plan everything out for tomorrow," Aiden told Stella.

"Tomorrow?" she asked surprised.

Jess nodded. "Jack's going to be out of town and the office is going to mostly empty so Mac figured it was the best time."

Stella nodded in understanding, before glancing around the room. "Where is Mac anyway?"

"He stepped outside for a minute," Don said, motioning towards the door.

Stella nodded and followed his nod.

She walked out of the warehouse into the warm summer evening. It was the point of the day when the sun was beginning to go down and the sky seemed to becoming a bluer blue. The sounds of grasshopper competed with the sounds of cars driving along the busy streets; carrying New Yorkers who were eager to start there weekend.

Stella saw Mac standing on the side walk, looking out into the street.

"Mac," she said softly.

He turned around and gave a small smile when he saw it was Stella. "Hey Stella. How'd it go with Peyton?"

"Great actually. We're meeting for tea on Monday," she said. "But Mac, I still don't see what she has to do with it."

Mac sighed and turned back towards the street. "It'll come together later," he told her.

Stella crossed her arms as she joined Mac in looking out at the street. "So tomorrow, huh?"

Mac nodded. "It's the perfect opportunity."

Stella shrugged. "I guess. But, you don't think it's a little too soon?" she asked

"I don't see any other choices," he answered.

"Well, maybe we could do some more research or something. I mean, doing this tomorrow adds a lot of risk to this whole thing."

"Listen Stella, tomorrow night is the best option we have. If we want to get Hancock, we have to act now," he said, his voice growing louder.

Not at all intimidated, Stella stood her ground, her voice raising as well. "I know Mac but we also have to act smart and I don't know if doing this so soon is the smart thing."

"Stella, just drop it okay," he countered

"No, Mac. I refuse to let you put this team at risk for some personal vendetta you may have against Hancock?"

"What makes you think I have a personal reason for robbing Hancock?" Mac replied, both of their tones growing stronger.

"Oh come Mac, I can see it in your eyes. You want Hancock for more than just his money."

"That's not true," he said. His level of his voice dropped heavily, yet the frustration was still there.

"Really, Mac. You know, you're not that great of a liar."

Mac sighed as he stuck his hands in pockets. "It's because of what he did to Claire," Mac said softly.

Stella eyed him confused. She opened her mouth to say something when she was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Hey Mac, we have a question for ya in here," Danny said.

Mac nodded, and followed Danny inside, glancing at Stella before he left.

Standing alone, Stella turned back to the street, with one question in her mind. Who was Claire?