CHAPTER 13 – DISTRACTIONS OR NOT
After the third day of being waited on hand and foot, Carter, let her frustration be known.
"Mom I think I can go to the bathroom by myself, besides I need the exercise, my ass is beginning to hurt from sitting on the sofa and in this wheelchair all day."
"I know jo, but the doctor gave specific instructions, you still have some swelling around your lumbar spine area that would take at least two weeks to go away once you do as little as possible."
"Yeah well I feel fine, so I'll do what I want."
"Young lady you will not take that flippant tone with me, because I'll really give you a reason to be in that wheel chair permanently."
"Marilyn De Gauzon, whatever do you mean?"
"I mean if you don't follow your doctor's orders I'm going to hire you a care taker for the remainder of your recovery and don't ever call me by my full name I am not your friend, I am your mother, so you will address me as mother, mom, ma ma'am, respectfully you got that Jocelyn Carter, formerly De Gauzon?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Glad we understand each other, now go potty and find your-self back here in ten minutes for lunch."
John was busy; he was working on two different numbers at the same time, the only break through that they got was that the two clients work for the same company.
Reese however kept up-to-date about Carter through Fusco, by asking in a non-technical way, he knew that the two of them were communicating even more now, just to get her pov on a case that might have him stumped a bit.
Watching the latest number, enter her apartment, the hairs on Reese neck immediately stood up, he moved quickly and quietly into the building, he heard a loud crashing sound and picked up pace, he busted in the semi darkened room, the only light coming from the apartment window street light, he made out the guy in the pizza delivery outfit who shoved the woman to the side and reached behind him for something, Reese anticipating this drew his gun first…
"Make another move; give me a reason to shoot you in the head."
"Who are you?"
"A friend, who are you?"
"A friend likewise,"
"Do you always smash your female friends face in like that?"
"Usually its men, but to me man, woman, child it doesn't matter."
"And to me it does," Reese said shooting him in the right shoulder the shot silenced by the silencer barrel.
"I'm unarmed, you gonna kill an unarmed man, that's a bit unfair isn't it?" the guy said heaving hard trying to come to terms with the pain.
"I don't know where, was your conscious when you attacked this defenseless and unarmed woman?"
"I asked her to cooperate but she decided to make a run for it and well I couldn't very well let her escape, I swear it was an accident hitting her in the face."
Reese smirked as he squeezed the trigger hitting the guy in his right knee… "My bad, for shooting you in the knee, can you forgive me?"
"You fucking piece of shit, you don't play fair… show me your face, I want to see my killers face… oh fuck …please come on you can't let me bleed to death here, you need to call the medics."
"I don't have to do anything, but I am willing to help you, if you cooperate with me."
"Fine what do you want?"
"Who sent you and why are you after her?"
"I don't know who the guy is, I was hired by someone who said that someone wanted a job done, they paid me ten grand upfront and once the job was completed I'd get the rest."
"So who is the guy that hired you for the job?"
"What I know is that he's a cop, works for the New York PD."
"Anything else you want to volunteer?"
"That's all I know, I swear man, come on call the medics I'm bleeding to death."
"You'll be dead anyways once your handler finds out that you sang like a bird, but here is a once in a lifetime offer, you give me a name and I'll get you medical help and I'll also make sure that you live."
"I can't man, I do that and they'll kill me for sure."
"I just said that, which is why I am offering to help you beat the drop by your handler."
"You a fed or something…?"
"I work alone. So what's it gonna be?"
"Okay they call themselves HR and a guy name Sim calls when he needs a job done."
"Is 'sim' short for something?"
"I don't know, I've never seen the guy, but that's what he calls himself."
"You got that 'H'"
"Already running it through,"
Reese placed a call to Fusco and told him to swing by the woman's place; he took the other guy with him. If this guy was right that one of the boys in blue hired him, then he was as good as dead, so he'd use the bastard to flush out this sim guy afterwards they could do what they wanted to him.
~~ 8pm
He dropped the guy off at a clinic and instructed the security to not let him leave under any circumstances; he also made sure he was cuffed to a bed in the basement. With no escape through the iron door, there wasn't even a window present in the small room.
~10pm
Reese kept track of the other number; he wondered what these people did or knew that required a hit be put out on them? He watched as Mr. Stilts entered the restaurant and sat opposite an older distinguish gentleman. He took a few photos and sent it to Finch. When Finch got a hit, he relayed his findings to Reese. They conversation so far was useless idle chit chat, until Mr. Stilts gave them something to go on.
"Judge Glen… is it alright if I call you Glen?"
"Whatever suits you Mr Stilts," he replied his tone shifting from casual to dangerous.
"Glen, I understand the predicament that you're in, I honestly do, and I did think hard about what I was going to do with the information that I have. I could have hold onto it and you would owe me more than one for life, but I figured I wouldn't live that long either, so my demands seems reasonable enough, I know you can afford it."
"And I told you I don't have that kind of money at my disposal right now, you know how expensive it is to maintain an ex-wife and child alimony and a current young wife?"
"Not to mention your little past time on the side, he seems like a nice boy, how old is he eighteen, twenty?
"Finch it would appear the judge doesn't want his dirty little secret to get out,"
"It is so Mr. Reese, but apparently Mr. Stilts does not understand just how far these men powers of persuasion reach, I think it's safe to assume that Mr. Stilts has given evidence to Ms Weeks to keep, so that if anything should happen to him, police would have every reason to believe that his death wasn't an accident."
"I guess so,"
"Oh dear,"
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"If you're thinking that he has a few NYPD on the payroll then yes."
"Great minds think alike, so the question is how best to handle this?"
"Well for one we need to get all the evidence that they have on judge glen proving what Mr. Stilts know and then relocate both Mr. Stilts and Ms Weeks to a new city, and let Judge Glen know that his secret will be safe as long as he doesn't try to find them."
"It's settled, I'll stay close to Stilts, and hopefully I'll have all the hard evidence by the end of the night, until then Finch."
"Be careful Mr. Reese."
"Will try my best Finch,"
~~ WEDNESDAY~~
Jocelyn was bored out of her mind. She'd flipped through the entire cable channels three times, before she tried reading some book that she had been meaning to read for the longest time now, after the second page she flung the book on the coffee table and wheeled over to the window.
"Jo would you like to go outside?" her mother asked.
"I don't want to get dressed."
"Well you still need to change out of that tattooed sweat suit you've been donning for the last two days."
"Fine then, let's go outside for some fresh air."
She got dressed but just swapping her sweats for jeans only as she sat on the bed not moving. What awaited her out there she didn't want to face yet? What exactly awaited here out there that she didn't want to face, she'd rather not put a name to it. Finally it was also the very reason she didn't open her bedroom drapes, and had cut the power to her intercom and doorbell. And yet somehow he'd got a note under her door letting her know that she had a package to collect, she wanted to become like the furniture if nothing else because she hated her boring life at the moment. She had an epiphany to go to the movies like she would when she wanted to entertain herself, she wanted to be able to go out and buy herself dinner, she wanted to spoil herself rotten like people did when they were alone. The knock at her bedroom door interrupted her tirade she was aiming at herself.
She allowed her mother to push her, she just said yes and no whenever her mother said something, not really paying attention. And at the end of their half hour walk she had to admit that she felt a little better.
~~1 month later~~
Carter was feeling much better and she was able to walk about without the wheel chair, she didn't overdo it, everything seemed to be healing nicely and she didn't want to delay her recovery any longer, another two weeks and she'd be able to go back to work, she knew she'd probably be stuck on desk duty for a while but I would be better than sitting home dying of boredom.
John Reese had gotten himself into some tight situations, and the last one had left him with a huge gash on his left breast. Finch had ordered him to take the rest of the week off, which he did without a fuss, and this told Finch that Mr. Reese had other things on his mind distracting him. But he wouldn't pry, what Reese did on his own time was his business.
At the end of the week Carter breathed another huge sigh of relief, she had one more week home and her mother was also leaving today, it's not that she didn't want her mother around, but her attention had become just a bit to smothering and she needed her space. Taylor was at school, but he'd told her that he was spending the weekend at his friend Darrel. She knew Darrel and trusted that Taylor wouldn't get into any trouble.
"Mom, I swear you ask me one more time if I am going to be fine, I'm going to jump."
"Okay fine, I am just concerned, Taylor isn't going to be home tonight, and you're all alone."
"And very capable of taking care of myself, I've more or less recovered, next week Tuesday you'll have a full report."
"I'd like that; I just want you well and safe."
"I try to be, thank you mom for putting up with me."
"That's fine baby, okay I am going, and I will call the minute I get in."
"Looking forward to that call, as I am sure your people are looking forward to seeing you after so long."
"Yeah me to, just because you ain't hitting anything don't mean I gotta do the same."
"MOM…! I don't want to know."
Her mother hugged her and kissed her before letting herself out. Jocelyn watched from the window as she got in the waiting cab.
It was just after 7 in the evening and Carter had just finished preparing herself something to eat when she heard a knock at her door.
'Lizzel!" she thought. Jocelyn's heart sank within her, she really didn't want company and she certainly didn't want Lizzel's. She would not answer the door. So her plans of eating dinner in front the TV while watching a horror flick would be halted. Her place was in darkness save for the dull kitchen light, so soon she should go away, Jocelyn hoped. She could only imagine what Lizzel came by for. It would be some session of romantic girl talk; oh she was happy and blah … blah…blah! It had to be Lizzel, and Lionel knew better than to show up without calling first.
The knock sounded again still she didn't move a muscle either. An hour had passed and still there was a knock at her door. "Lizzel please just -go away…." She pleaded inward silently. Jocelyn figured she didn't have to answer at all, everyone played her like a fiddle for their own selfish gain and now she would take her liberty of being selfish, she didn't want to see her, not now, maybe not for a long, long time. Just when she thought Lizzel had given up knocking, her door rattled on its hinges as the knocking became loud banging.
"What the fuck is wrong with that girl? Is she trying to break down my door?" Jocelyn said out loud to herself.
"Bang…bang…bang… bang… bang"
Dammit it was just after 8 pm and with that loud noise the next door neighbors would hear it in this quiet part of the city at this hour.
"Bang… bang…. Bang…"
With each bang she moved closer to the door, angry now. On the seventh bang she flung the door open all ready to give Lizzel a piece of her mind but stopped cold in her tracks….
"Thorpe... I... Uh … you- I mean!" she gasped in surprise as her breath hitched for a moment. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?" she asked noting he smelled the same but looked a different man in front of her, his hair much shorter and graying at the sides, no scar, his beard gone, his suit sharper than the jeans and blazers he wore then, the man looked like he walked right out of a GQ magazine.
"I've come to see you of course… I did say you would be seeing me around,"
"And I promised I'd shoot you on sight, how unfortunate my gun is in the bedroom."
"Lucky me,"
"Lucky? No, I slipped up."
"Oh I also came to return your belongings since you didn't return for them…"
She nodded, then cleared her throat … "No thanks I figured since you and your friends have been through it maybe you guys would keep it as a souvenir or find something in there your girlfriends could use." She said snidely, not moving or bothering to be courteous and invite him in.
"May I come in please?"
"No I am afraid not, I... I uh have company."
"Where…?"
"What do you mean where?"
"I mean is he in your bed?"
"It's, none of your business, now if you will excuse me I believe that's all there is to say between us." She said closing the door and finding it blocked "Please will you remove your hand?"
"No, not till you invite me in so we can talk."
"There is nothing to talk about."
"Yes there is and you are mistaken if you think I am going to take these two suitcases back with me."
"Well then leave them there; I'll just stick the charity collection tag on it."
"Joce stop behaving like a spoiled child. I waited weeks to see if you'd come back for them but you didn't and I want to know why you placed yourself in front of a bullet?"
"I just told you why and it's my damn job to protect innocent people even if I have to use my body as a shield, it's what I do, it's who I am what more do you want?"
"You!" he said
"Go away."
"Not till we talk."
"I told you there is nothing to talk about."
"Well fine then- you don't, have to say anything, but will you please hear me out, I just want to set things straight."
"You want to talk now huh?"
"Not really, I'm not much of a talker."
"Could have fooled me?"
"Joce- that guy you met Thorpe was a part of my cover, he talks, I- I john, am not good with emotions I've closed myself of to feeling, I thought I did, but meeting you,"
"That's just the thing I didn't meet you, I met your cover Hamilton Thorpe, I slept with your cover the talented Mr. Thorpe, I actually started to feel something for your cover Hamilton Thorpe, I don't know you, nor do I care to."
"I might have used a false alias, but everything you felt was for me, it was my body that you touched, it was me that you knew you could trust."
"NO! Everything about you was an illusion, it was deception and manipulation of my feelings, I bet you knew I hadn't been with anyone in a long time so you figured the first dick I fucked I would fall for and I almost did."
"Everything I said and did in character when with you intimately I meant all of it. Meeting you, being with you, arguing with you it all felt new and real to me, I haven't felt that in a long time, it was like learning to walk again."
"I've heard enough."
"I haven't said enough, Joce I am a guy who's always in control of my emotions, but as of late I don't know how to get that control back, you've stripped me of the hard edge armor I wore with pride, my heart impenetrable, I have become sloppy in my job, I have nearly lost my life five times in the last couple weeks because I can't stop thinking about you. The latest wound came very close to taking what is yours," he said ripping three buttons from his shirt to show her the still very raw and jagged cut starting from his armpit to stop above his left nipple.
"To bad it didn't hit a main artery." She supplied face emotionless.
"I know I hurt you and I only deceived you with the details of what I was doing in Kef, but everything else was real, just give me a chance to show you who I am."
"What's your name?"
"John,"
"Any last name,"
"Reese,"
"Well John Reese, I want you to get out of my home and my life, which means leave me the hell alone you even think about coming near me again I promise you I will have my gun and your name carved on a bullet."
"I'm sorry for what I did, but you haven't seen or heard the last of me, if it's a fight you want then I'm game, you're going to have to kill me Carter to get me to stop."
"That can be arranged."
John gave her a small smirk, as he stepped beyond her threshold, causing her to move back, but not fast as she should, he grasped her wrist and pulled her into his body, eyes never wavering from hers, he watched her swallow, then leaned in close to her to smell her, he was sure she could feel his hot, heavy breath on her skin, he looked her once more in the eyes before he spoke_
"I am not going away, nor am I giving up on you. The only way you're getting rid of me is by killing me. Knives, grenades, poison even stray bullets are harmless to me, might slow me down, but I will live, and if you really want me gone for good, to leave you alone, then the next time you see me, make sure you aim your gun, right here…" he said placing her hand over his heart and wound…
"I won't run, I'll be standing still, and my heart will be beating just as it is right now, before you send that bullet with all your hate for me to it, I'll only accept death at your hands. So I am promising you I won't die by anyone else hands, if it's the only way to undo the hurt I caused you then. I'll fight death just to give you that satisfaction. You are the one that's resurrected me fully. This is yours to do with as you please." He said pulling her in to lock his lips to hers in a gentle pressure before asking for more.
Her response came because she needed to break for air , but he used her need for air to seek her tongue out, and only released her when she used her other hand to push him away, wrenching her mouth from his.
"Next move is yours Joce." He husked low so only she could hear, he noted the sudden rush of goose bumps litter her skin from head to toe. He smirked once more and left her without a backward glance