Thursday, March 20, 2008; 1:18 PM PST

Thursday, March 20, 2008; 1:18 PM PST

Jogging toward the door with his gun raised, Charles glanced back over his shoulder at Jess.

'Go… just go, Charles!' She may have been shaking and even crying, but there was a victim lying on the pavement outside and the suspect… she grabbed her phone off of the table.

'Dispatch, this is CSI Jessica Mitchell. I need an APB put out on Jacob Evans 5'11" brown hair approximately 30 years old; last seen at 8210 Rosecrans Boulevard, Point Loma driving an early model blue Honda with no license plate and wearing tan board shorts and a hooded grey sweatshirt. I also need you to send units and a Crime Scene Unit (CSU), preferably not my own… oh, and rescue to my location as well. Is that all clear?'

'Yes, ma'am. I have the APB posted, units, CSU and rescue en route to 8210 Rosecrans. Do you need me to stay on the line Detective Mitchell?'

'No, thank you. I'm going to be a little busy.'

Charles scanned the parking lot quickly before opening the door. The only sounds he could hear outside the door were the traffic on Rosecrans and crying. Wait… crying. The suspect can wait, victims come first.

'Ma'am… ma'am, can you open your eyes? My name is Agent Charles Dewey. Now I don't want you to move just yet… well, other than opening your eyes if you can.' He smiled to himself as her eyes fluttered. Good, she is waking. Now I doubt that Evans is going to return, but I need to remain focused until backup arrives. I sure hope that Jess pulled it together enough to call in backup.

'Aahhhhh. Ummm… what?' She tried to sit up.

'No, no, no. No moving just yet, ma'am. I am unsure if you heard me before, but my name is Charles, Agent Charles Dewey. I was inside the restaurant with you. What is your name?'

'Ummm… o-okay. I… my name is Bethany, Bethany Carlisle. What… oh my, where is he?' She struggled again.

'It is okay, Bethany. It is going to be okay. The man is gone. Did he hurt you anywhere?' She closed her eyes again. 'Oh, no, Bethany; no going back to sleep on me now.'

He knelt down beside her, using the back of his hand to check her breathing. Her eyes flew open as she sensed his hand in front her face. Charles started.

'I am not passing out, Agent; I am thinking about the traumatic event that just happened and if I am in fact injured.' She rolled her eyes. 'I would have thought the title of Agent came with an ounce of calm attached to it.'

'I would guess that you did not think of any major injuries, considering your quick wit.' Sirens sounded on the Boulevard. Jess took care of things; thank goodness! 'Either way, I still need you to remain still until the paramedics check you out, okay?' She nodded. 'Maybe you can answer one other question for me while we wait for them to arrive.'

'Okay. I am not sure what I can tell you; I have never seen that psycho before.'

'I thought not. No, I am wondering if the man said anything to you, before he tossed you on the pavement, that is.'

She closed her eyes again; this time he knew she was thinking.

'He had the knife to my throat… thanks for not shooting me, by the way. Then we left out the door. Right before we arrived at the car, he started talking.' She paused, breathing deeply as she relived the experience in her mind. 'Let's see. Tell them this is not over. Jess is much too innocent to suffer through my plans for her if she continues to pursue me. Who is Jess anyways?'

Paramedics rushed over to their location and tried to push Charles out of the way. He held fast though. In this instance, time was of the essence.

'Jess is the woman I was having lunch with. Did he say anything else, Bethany? This is very important.'

'Ah, the pretty one. No, he didn't. He just pushed me down and got in the car. The next thing I remember is you beside me, which is not a bad view to wake up to, by the way.' She grimaced as she tried to laugh.

Chagrined, he smiled slightly as he stood. 'Thanks for your help, Bethany. I will let these gentlemen take care of you now. Someone from the SDPD will be down to take your statement, I am certain, but thank you for giving me this information ahead of time.'

'No worries. I was just lying around anyways.' She smiled as he backed away.

Jess took a deep breath and turned to face the restaurant patrons, revealing the badge at her hip as she moved.

'Ladies, if you are anything like me, then that scared you a lot.' The women laughed shakily. 'My friend is going to take of the young lady that was taken by Mr. Evans, so you and I are going to work together, okay?'

They nodded. The eldest spoke first. 'Is Bethany going to be okay? Why would he grab her like that?'

'I am confident that Agent Dewey is going to take very good care of your friend out there. And as for why, I wish I could tell you. Right now, I need you to stand up and follow me outside. Please try not to touch anything on your way. I will open the door for us. Everyone ready?'

'Can we take our purses?' The only brunette in the group questioned quietly.

'Not right now. I am certain that those will be released by the police rather quickly though. Does anyone else have any questions?' The ladies shook their heads and Jess led them out the door just as the first police unit pulled into the parking lot, lights flashing.

Jess felt like she was going to be sick; the last 20 minutes came rushing into her mind and she turned quickly, searching the parking lot for the only face that could currently soothe her. Her world began to go black just as his confident stride came into view.