OHHH we are getting so close to the climax of the story. I'm so eager to see what happens (I have the basic plot done, but there are always little things that change) I can't stop writing it. I hope every one likes this chapter. :D
Becker's POV
"A little further," Connor said in Becker's earpiece. Becker obediently took another step back towards the doorway of the ops room.
"Got it," Connor's triumphant voice nearly deafened Becker, who winced and just barely managed to resist taking the damn thing out. "You're in a perfect blind spot. Can you see the ADD?" Connor asked. Becker held his hands up like a camera and twisted until he found the angle that matched the picture on his camera. He dropped his hands with a sigh.
"Yeah, this is where he took the picture from," he said resigned to the fact that they wouldn't get this guy on camera taking a picture of Jess. At the thought of Jess he looked over at Lester's office where she was waiting for him to finish up their secretive investigation. She was sitting in one of the chairs looking tired and a little scared. Becker felt his heart clench because he knew there wasn't really anything he could do for her. He could do everything in his power to protect her physically, but mentally she was on her own. He hated that!
"Maybe he just got lucky," Connor said hopefully. Becker turned his attention back to the man sitting at the ADD and shook his head.
"What he just happened to find the one blind spot in the cameras on pure luck? I don't think so." He said making a mental note to have the cameras adjusted to cover the blind spot.
"We still have the footage from outside the locker room. Maybe we'll catch someone who doesn't belong."
"Right, can you make a copy of the last two days and bring it round my flat tonight. If we go over it here and people might wonder what we're doing," he said remembering that Jess wanted to keep this as quiet as possible.
"Is this cause Jess doesn't want anyone to know," Becker swore he could hear the smirk in Connor's voice.
"Yes," Becker grumbled knowing the tech genius was going to tease him about this forever. Connor let out a short bark of laughter.
"She's got you wrapped around her little finger doesn't she?"
"Temple, you say anything else and I'll tall Abby you told me all about your sex life."
"I didn't!" Connor practically shrieked. Becker could see Connor going red and fought back a smile.
"I'm sure I can be pretty convincing," he said and watched as Connor's shoulders slumped in defeat.
"You win," he said.
"I always do," Becker walked over to the office where Jess and Lester appeared to be discussing something that Jess was less than pleased about. Becker mentally steeled himself for the tongue lashing he was most likely going to get from Lester, one that honestly he deserved. He was about to go in when his phone beeped, alerting him to a new text message. He glanced at his phone quickly and saw it was from Abby.
Meet me and Connor in the menagerie after you're done.
Becker looked over at the ADD and saw that Abby was now standing next to her boyfriend. He met her gaze and nodded before entering the office.
"Good you're here," Lester said standing taller with his arms crossed over his chest, "I was just talking Ms. Parker here out of a very bad idea."
"What plan if this?" he asked leaning against Lester's desk so he could look at Jess, who hadn't gotten up from the chair.
"I send him an email telling him I want to meet," she said looking her lap. Becker fought against his initial reaction to say "hell no" and find a different way. He asked himself if he would consider the plan if it were anyone besides Jess. He sighed and rubbed a hand across his face, not really believing what he was about to do.
"It's something worth considering."
Jess' POV
Jess' head snapped up in shock. Had he really just said that? She snuck a glance at Lester, who looked just as shocked as she did, before looking back at her boyfriend.
"Really?" she asked putting as much disbelief in her voice as she could. It looked like Becker caught it because he gritted his teeth as he spoke.
"As much as I hate the idea on a personal level, on a practical level it makes sense." He said earning surprised looks from both Jess and Lester. Jess was shocked, she hadn't expected Becker to agree with her plan. Okay so he hadn't agreed to implement it, but he said he would consider it. Lester cleared his throat, causing Jess to jump and blush when the two men looked at her.
"Sorry," she said, "I was off in my own little world for a moment." Lester raised an eyebrow at her and Becker smirked, obviously guessing where her thoughts had been.
"Do you think Ms. Parker would be safe if she were to meet this man?" Lester asked looking at Becker who shrugged. Jess hoped he was acting distant so people wouldn't know they were together. She hoped that he didn't think they were breaking up just because of what she'd said earlier.
"He hasn't given any indication that he wants to harm her," he said, "All the violence has been aimed at me, being the closest man to her." Lester considered Becker's argument for so long that Jess was beginning to squirm in her seat. Becker noticed and frowned.
"You alright?" he mouthed. Jess nodded and did her best to remain still. She didn't have to wait long.
"Alright, we'll take it under advisement. But only as long as there are no threats of violence against her." He said pointing at Becker to get his point across. Jess jumped up from the chair and ran out to the ADD, leaving both men staring after her.
Becker's POV
"What's got her so excited?" Lester asked pulling Becker from his concerned thoughts. He really didn't like this plan, but he would do pretty much anything to keep Jess happy.
"She'd probably just happy to have some kind of plan to get this guy away from her." Becker looked over at Jess and saw her talking to Matt. Abby was standing off to the side and motioned for him to come with her when their eyes met. He sent a tiny nod in acknowledgement and turned to Lester.
"About earlier sir, I…" Becker stopped when Lester held up a hand.
"No apologies needed Captain. Just don't let it happen again."
"Yes Sir," Becker said smartly, he turned on his heel and walked out the door before Lester could change his mind. He was standing next to Jess in an instant looking over her shoulder at the screens.
"I'll try to listen to you, I promise," he said quietly so only she could hear and was rewarded by her wide smile. He straightened and looked at Matt.
"One of the team has to be with her at all times," he told the Irish man, who nodded his face serious as usual. Becker looked over at Abby who seemed impatient to talk to him, and for Abby that was pretty unusual. He pulled Matt away from Jess, he knew she wouldn't like being watched after.
"Can you keep an eye on her for a while? I have something I need to do." He asked. He wasn't really keen on Matt and he knew Matt felt the same, but for some reason they still trusted each other.
"Sure," he said, "Have some things I need to talk to her about anyway." Becker nodded his thanks and walked over to Abby who slipped out of the ops room when she saw him coming. Becker frowned and picked up his pace. He stopped when he saw her standing just outside the door.
"Here," she said handing Becker a folder. He gave her a confused look and opened it to find Sargent Howell's CV. He sighed. He hadn't told anyone, but he'd gone over it just after they'd all finished filling Lester in on the latest incident.
"I've seen it Abby," he said handing it back to her. She took it with a frown.
"And nothing stood out?" She asked looking surprised.
"Not really. Raised in Scotland by his parents, only child, excellent… What?" he asked when he saw Abby's eyes go wide.
"He told Jess she reminded him of his sister." She said.
"Let's find him." Becker growled.
Jess' POV
Jess was beginning to get bored. There hadn't been any anomalies lately, though she was rather grateful for that, and she'd already caught up with all the extra paper work she had to do. Matt was sitting at one of the desks nearby and she had a difficult time not laughing at the thought of him being her babysitter. A quiet ding brought her attention back to the screen. She clicked on the alert that had just popped up a dread the request for a new access bracelet. She huffed out an annoyed breath.
"This is beginning to get on my nerves," she mumbled to herself as she pulled up the person's CV. Once it was up Jess started the process for the info download while reaching into the drawer where she stored the extra bracelets. She frowned and opened the drawer further when she didn't feel anything. Sure enough the drawer was empty. She groaned at the thought of walking all the way to the storage room downstairs. All the stress from the stalker combined with regular work days had left unusually tired lately. Not to mention sex with Becker, she thought, that would leave anyone exhausted, but in the most pleasant way. Jess smiled at the thought and suddenly felt more energized than before. She slid from her chair carefully, making sure her skirt didn't slide up and give people a show.
"Come on Matt," she said patting him on the back as she walked past him, "We're going on field trip." Matt sprang up and followed her out.
"How you holding up?" he asked as they walked down the stairs to the lower levels of the ARC.
"As well as can be expected I suppose," she said a little nervous. She'd never really liked this floor, it just felt so empty. The only rooms down here were for storage. Well the menagerie was on this level too, but it was on the other side of the ARC so Jess count it. Plus it was technically storage, just for creatures. Jess smiled to herself as she thought of Rex. Maybe she'd visit Abby in the menagerie before she went back up.
"It's creepy down here," Matt said looking around the empty floor. Jess giggled and Matt looked at her in what she guessed was surprise. "You don't think so?"
"Totally!" she said, "When I was here by myself for those two weeks I wouldn't come down here at all if I could help it."
"Then why the giggle?" he asked. His lips quirked a little into what the team had come to realize was Matt's actual smile.
"Because I never would have expected for you to think so." She said laughing again. Matt just shrugged as they made their way to the electronics store room. When they reached it Matt swept his wrist over the lock and entered a code to keep the door open.
"I'll wait out here," he said. Jess nodded and began looking through the boxes for the access bracelets.
"What do you need down here anyway?" Matt called from outside.
"Extra access bracelets, I could have sworn I had some at the ADD, but I guess I used then all. Aha!" Jess called over her shoulder in triumph as she found the right box. She heard a muffled thump from the hallway that made her jump, then silence.
"Matt? Are you okay?" she asked. She edged closer to the door and saw Matt lying on the floor unconscious. She gasped and ran to his side, frantically feeling for a pulse. A strong heart beat met her fingers and she let out a sigh of relief that turned into a squeak of alarm when someone grabbed her from behind.
"You belong to me," an unfamiliar voice whispered in her ear. Jess screamed as loud as she could.
"Becker!"