Thanks to everyone who is following along, faving etc. but most especially thanks to those people who took time to review. Without your feedback I wouldn't still be writing and posting.

Thanks as per usual to Faldo for knocking this chapter into shape. All mistakes are mine. Some answers in this chapter but plenty remaining still. Enjoy :)

Rising to the Bait

Chapter 26

Lauren Hendrix entered the foyer of the Centennial Plaza Building in downtown D.C. She came here every second Tuesday of the month after lunch making the rounds of all of the doctors, dentists, psychiatrists and other allied health professionals that had consulting rooms in the high rise building. She worked as a drug sales rep for Smauer Pharmaceuticals in the D.C. Metro area. Although drug sales reps rated about as highly with most people as the IRS, used car salesman and politicians in terms of popularity and were considered to be generally lacking integrity, Lauren really loved her job for the most part. The truth was that she was a people person and really enjoyed doing her job.

She'd had actually completed a pre-med course before realising that being a doctor wasn't for her. Discovering that you have a phobia to the sight of blood is quite an impediment when it comes to entering the medical profession. Initially she had assumed that it could be treated psychologically like other phobias like fear of flying, fear of heights or fear of clowns but just her luck that she'd picked a phobia that wasn't psychologically based. In fact fainting at the sight of blood was the only truly physiologically based phobia and therefore not something easy to deal with as a doctor. Patients tended to lack confidence in their medical practitioner if they passed out at the first sight of blood.

Lauren had ended up gaining a commerce degree but her familiarity with medicine and doctors had lead her into applying for this job when it was advertised. It was definitely an advantage to understand the drugs that she was promoting and it made it much easier to establish a rapport with her clients since she was still friends with doctors who had done pre-med with her so many years before.

Yep, she was pretty satisfied, all things considered, with how she earned a crust Lauren mused, as she struggled to unload the case out of her trunk. It was loaded to the brim with drug samples, literature and nutreceutical samples as it was recognised that supplements were expected to be the new cash cow. Smauer's Head of Sales insisted that she cart the out sized case around with her to all her appointments and drop-ins. At least it was one of those cases with rolling castors, which was fortunate since it was as big as a bus. Maybe that was a slight exaggeration but seriously it was at least as big as the one she took on her week-long vacation to St Barts last year. Even with her car, getting it in and out of the trunk was a ginormous pain it the butt and she frequently joked to her boss that she could hide a dead body in there.

Bob always snorted and responded wryly with the quip, "I'd really prefer you'd curb those homicidal tendencies, Hendrix."

Several hours later after schlepping her products around to her numerous clients, starting on the top floor and working her way down, she had reached the fifth floor. As usual when she visited this building, she took advantage of the Ladies Room which for some reason was always particularly clean and smelt really nice on this floor. Even if she really didn't need to go, she always took advantage of the facilities and indulged in a few minutes to freshen up her hair and make-up. In Lauren's job, appearance was important, so vanity and regular primping was actually encouraged by the company.

As she approached her preferred powder room she noticed an older looking guy, standing outside looking antsy. He was not bad looking for an old codger and he looked as if he had some serious money. Lauren wondered if he was a doctor – perhaps a new one - although she quickly discounted the possibility since he wouldn't be hanging out outside of the Ladies Powder room. He must be waiting for someone… his wife, lover or a daughter perhaps. Once inside, she ducked quickly into the disabled toilet she always used, since it wasn't possible to fit inside the normal ones along with her sample case. As she closed the door, Lauren notice someone in the next door cubicle was upset. She could hear the uneven breathing of someone trying not to cry…indeed trying not to make a noise. Lauren's head told her to mind her own business while her heart told her someone was in trouble and she needed to help.

When she emerged from the double sized cubicle after taking care of nature and washed her hands, the drug rep knock on the cubicle door. "Are you okay in there?" She asked and got no answer but she could practically sense the fear oozing through the door and threatening to overwhelm her.

"My name is Lauren…Lauren Hendrix and I'd like to help you if I can."

A sob erupted, quickly suppressed. "You can't help, it isn't safe, "A childish voice stated brokenly.

Lauren realised it was a just a child inside and any thought of following her head not her heart rapidly disappeared. No way could she ignore a child in trouble.

"Not going anywhere sweetheart so you might as well come out and tell me what the problem is."

A sigh of resignation and the sound of the door being unlocked indicated that she had succeeded in convincing the little one to share what was troubling her. Lauren observed a little girl clutching onto a cell phone for dear life. Kids were starting younger and younger these days… what did such a little kid need with a cell phone anyway? Looking more closely at the little girl who had shoulder-length honey blonde hair and enormous green eyes, she noticed she was shaking and silent tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Hey," She called softly. "Are you okay? Tell me what has made you so scared."

The child who was far too skinny in Lauren's opinion, looked up fearfully. "No I'm not okay! There's a bad, mean man out there that's trying to take me away from my daddy, again. Why won't they leave me and my daddy alone?"

"You mean that man out there with the white hair and the grey suit?" The child clutched her phone even tighter and nodded. "He's trying to make you go away with him against your will?" Lauren clarified, wanting to make sure she hadn't misunderstood.

The little girl nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. "He says he's my Grandfather but he's lying. He doesn't even know the safe word that my daddy taught me so I'd know if it was safe to go with someone I don't know. That bad man told me my dad sent him to get me but he's telling lies, big fat ones. I talked to Daddy and he didn't send anyone to pick me up and he said to hide." She explained tearfully. "My daddy's a Federal agent and he's going to send the police but what if the bad man comes in here before they get here and makes me go with him. There's nowhere to hide." She whimpered trying not to make a noise. "What if he hurts you too? You're not safe," she started crying silently.

Lauren hugged the child, and the girl attached herself like an octopus, her small frame trying to meld itself with her would –be- protector. "My name is Lauren, what's yours?" She told the child, realising she might not have taken in her name when she'd introduced herself before.

"Antonia Jessica Mae Cooper," The child responded through her tears. "Do you work here?" Sniffles prompted Lauren to proffer her a passable clean tissue to wipe her nose.

The drug rep frowned trying to decide how to answer that question. "Sometimes," she settled on, knowing that it wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth.

"Are you a doctor too?"

"No Antonia, but I know all the doctors that work here and the dentists and lots of other people too like the therapists," she explained, trying to put her at ease. She had a plan forming in her head but she needed the little girl to trust her.

"Doctor Siobhan is my doctor and my other doctor Prue BB works here too," the child confided.

Lauren knew that Siobhan O'Reilly was a well-respected paediatrician who had consulting rooms on the third floor. She always had a waiting room full of kids plus their parents and the word was that she had a long waiting list of parents wanting her to treat their little darlings. Prue BB had to be the child trauma specialist on the fifth floor otherwise known as Prudence Bowen-Brown PhD. She was not only a medical doctor specialising in child psychiatry but had completed post- doctoral studies on PTSD in children. The drug rep wondered if Antonia was attending therapy because of the previous kidnap attempt which she'd alluded to.

"Where is your Mommy, Antonia," she asked.

"She's in the Bethastar hospital with the doctors and nurses who are making her better. We were in a car accident and she hurt her head and wouldn't wake up but Daddy and Jessie say she's like Sleeping Beauty and she's gonna wake up real soon."

"Oh… I sure hope so, Antonia. So who brought you to see the doctor today? Lauren inquired as she had said that she had texted her father.

"My nanny Megan brought me and she isn't supposed to leave me alone… ever. Not after the other bad men with guns took me and Daddy away and hurt him." She looked scared. "Do you think that he's hurt Megan?" she wanted to know, jerking her head at the door to indicate the man who was waiting outside who had taken Tia.

Seeming to sense the question she volunteered, "He was waiting for me when I came out of Dr Prue's office. He said that Megan had to leave and that Daddy had sent him to pick me up. He showed Dr Prue BB his wallet and told her he was my Grandfather but when I asked him the safe word he didn't know what it was." She repeated what she had said previously about the man trying to take her away and her safe word.

"So why did you go with him, kidlet?" Lauren wanted to know.

"Because he was wearing a gun underneath his jacket. I saw it when he showed Dr Prue his wallet," she whispered. "I didn't want him to shoot her like the other bad men did with Karen. She and Buddy were my friends until she made friends with the bad men that kidnapped me… but then they got mad at her and they killed her and they shot my Daddy. I didn't want him to shoot Dr Prue. Do you think he's killed Megan too?" she demanded trying not to make too much noise.

Lauren didn't know but she was rapidly reassessing her opinion of the handsome older guy outside who had seemed harmless and rather charming. If Antonia was right and he had a gun, and it sounded like she knew about guns from bitter experience, then they couldn't stay here and wait for the cops to come to their rescue. The tentative plan that she had formed became imperative to implement ASAP. Lauren had been a gifted volley ball player at high school and in college. She'd even represented the US in an Under 21's championship before tearing her Achilles tendon which had derailed her tilt at spot on the Olympic team but as a competitive athlete she was well aware that the best defence was to attack first. So they needed to get out of here.

"Okay Antonia, I think I know a way to get you out of here and where we can hide you till your Daddy and his friends can get here." She smiled confidently at the little girl, rapidly describing her plan and bustling around making preparations as she outlined the plan.

"Send a text and tell Dad where we are going to hide," She instructed calmly, hoping that this would work.

Lauren excited the ladies room smiling coquettishly at the attractive older man who had clearly been ridiculously good-looking in his youth even as she reminded herself that attractive didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. She noticed his interest in her as he checked her out before his expression became flirtatious. Good – well not good, euww actually but if he was thinking with his extra male appendage then that was definitely a good thing.

"Are you waiting for that little girl in there?" she inquired casually.

"That's right," He smiled smoothly and Lauren realised how hard it was to see this guy as a piece of scum, although she bet his many conquests would see it differently.

"Oh, well I think you are going to be waiting for her for a while yet. She is constipated I think and she is have trouble moving her bowels," she revealed candidly, seeing the look of genteel horror on his face at her candour and giggled inwardly. "She probably needs to eat a lot more fruit and vegetables and drink plenty of water." Lauren confided.

The old guy smiled and nodded but this time he looked disgusted and embarrassed rather than lustful. "Um thanks!"

Reaching into her handbag she drew out a sample pack of a sachet of a probiotic and prebiotic combination supplement. "Here, this is a neutraceutical supplement that the company I represent manufactures and markets. You might have heard of us, Smauer Pharmaceuticals? Anyway give her that tonight when she goes to bed and if it hasn't worked by tomorrow you might need a suppository to move things along," the drug rep instructed.

By now the guy was so flustered that when she said goodbye and left, dragging her suitcase full of samples, he was looking extremely happy to see the back of her. The topic of bowel health was a real lust killer she thought snarkily. Calmly proceeding to the elevator, she heaved a sigh of relief when the elevator arrived and she made it inside and hit the button for the 3rd floor. When the doors closed and she was alone she was seriously contemplating having a panic attack but knew that she couldn't afford to fall apart just yet. Getting off at the 3rd floor she proceeding at a brisk pace to Dr Reilly's office, noting in passing that the waiting room was full of mothers and kids. That was definitely a problem.

Mary, Dr Reilly's nurse/receptionist looked askance at her as she reported to the desk. "Aren't you a bit early, Laur?" She usually tried to call in during the doctor's slack period just after lunch.

"I need to talk to Siobhan, it's an emergency. It's about her patient Antonia Cooper," she whispered urgently.

Mary looked at the drug rep somewhat dubiously, but Lauren wasn't like most run- of-the-mill drug reps; several of the male reps were sleaze personified, constantly looking to get into her pants. The nurse was never sure whether they thought that if they were sleeping with her it would give them entre to her boss to purchase more drugs or simply that they were randy jerks. However, Lauren seemed to be a nice young woman and Mary sensed that she was terribly anxious and disappeared into the exam room to pass on the message to Siobhan.

Appearing again swiftly, the paediatrician following closely behind her, Siobhan beckoned the drug rep into the kitchenette. Looking intrigued when Lauren closed the door, she watched the drug rep turn to her sample case, bending over and quickly unzipping it, helping to extract the curled child out from the close-confines of the case. The drug rep had dumped the drug sample contents out of the case and hidden them in an air vent in the ladies room to make room for Tia to hide. She was going to tell Bob that she'd been right – you could conceal a body in their corporate sample cases.

Seeing her doctor, Tia let out a shriek and launched herself into the shocked arms of her Dr Siobhan as Lauren explained briefly what had transpired. A moderately difficult proposition considering it took place over the top of the child sobbing hysterically. Reaching for the phone on the wall Siobhan instructed Mary to lock down the practice and call security and inform them that Tia Cooper was safe and in her custody.

Seating the sobbing child in a chair she quickly instructed Lauren to make a hot chocolate for Tia and she slipped outside to make sure that the practice had been locked down properly. She would need to speak to the people in the waiting room.

"Attention everybody," she addressed those waiting." We have a security issue, folks. Building security and the police have been notified and as per emergency procedures, we will remain on lockdown until the police advise us that it is safe to leave. Hopefully this is just a precaution and there is no cause for alarm, so if you can keep your children calm, this should be over soon."

Stepping over to her nurse she asked her to contact Lt Lawless and Special Agent DiNozzo. "Inform them that Tia is safe with me. Then can you bring me a dose of sedative in case we can't get her to calm down?"

Not waiting for a response she stepped into her office briefly as she quickly alerted security that there was an older man who may be waiting outside the 5th floor ladies room, who had grey suit and a white hair who was possibly armed with a gun. She also called Dr Bowen-Brown, Tia's therapist – specialising in childhood grief and trauma to see if she was safe and to alert her that the kidnapper may return to her office looking for Tia. When there was no answer on her office phone she called Prudence's personal cell phone and left a message asking her to call back STAT. She didn't dare leave any more information in case the kidnapper was holding her hostage. Hopefully, she was just in therapy with a client but she wished she could give her a heads up to lockdown her office.

Returning to the kitchenette she found Mary already there with there with the requested meds plus their SOP kit for calming distressed patients. Mozart was playing on the iPod, the volume down low, an essential oils diffuser with lavender oil had been set up and was already permeating the room, creating a gentle but calming aura. Finally there was a bottle of what Siobhan had labelled as new- age hooey until she had seen its effects on distraught children and their parents, something called Bach Flowers Rescue Remedy. She had initially put it down to the 'placebo effect' when it worked but Mary had argued that rubbing it onto pulse points on the wrist or the soles of the feet of infants negated that explanation. In the end, Siobhan had reasoned that it didn't really matter why it worked, as long as it did, and it did work on most types of shock and hysteria. Looking at one of her newer but definitely one of her favourite patients sipping a cup of hot chocolate, Siobhan had to concede that she was acting less distressed, although this kidnapping attempt on top of the first one was going to set back any progress she had been making in therapy with Dr Bowen-Brown.

Schooling her features, carefully she smiled gently. "Tia, Jessie and your Dad are going to be here really soon. Until then, you're safe now," she promised, marvelling at the ingenuity of the little girl to get away from her kidnapper although clearly Lauren Hendrix had some kudos coming for her equally quick thinking.

"Have you found Megan? He didn't kill her did he?" The little girl asked anxiously, desperate to know what had happened to her nanny. Although she was still crying and sniffling, Siobhan and Mary were both old hands at figuring out what distraught kids were saying, despite their tears. Unfortunately, there was no word on the child's nanny who was also her personal protection detail. The paediatrician felt anxiety too since she knew that Megan would never just leave her charge and disappear. She really hoped the former cop was still alive.

"Sorry Kiddo, I don't know but hopefully when you dad gets here he'll find out for us," she temporized, hoping that the child wasn't going to face further horrors of losing someone close. Assessing Tia with a professional eye, she could see that the little one was calmer, her respiration was less laboured and although still on high alert, she was able to focus more. As much as Mary's crazy assed touchy-feely methods went against the grain of empirically based medicine, Siobhan couldn't argue with the results… and frankly anything that meant she didn't have to drug her kids to the eyeballs when they were hysterical was a good thing. What Tia needed most was to see her father and get reassurance that she was safe. After that, well she was in for one hell of an adrenaline crash so if she could avoid medicating her, so much the better.

Within minutes, Jessie had arrived along with a squad car full of Metro cops to secure Dr O'Reilly's office and not surprisingly, Tia flew into her arms and wrapped her arms and legs around her god-mother, sobbing in relief. Although she knew that she was safe when she was with her paediatrician. It wasn't until she was wrapped in Jessie's fiercely loving hug that Tia was able to grasp that the nightmare was really over.

"Is Daddy coming?" She managed to gasp out pathetically between sobs.

"Yeah, Sweetheart, he was a few minutes behind me," Jessie promised. Over the months, Tia had become pretty close to her, no longer seeming to feel like she was being disloyal to her mother by bonding to her god-mother but no one could replace Tony when it came to being able to soothe her fears and anxiety. Whether it was an innate biological imperative or the result of their shared trauma of being kidnapped, he had an almost magical power to relax her after even the worst night terrors. So Jessie didn't mention that Tony was going to investigate Dr Bowen-Brown's office first to make sure that she was okay and to try to figure out what had happened to Megan. Everyone was concerned at the former cop's sudden disappearance when she was supposed to be guarding her charge.

Ten agonising minutes later Tony appeared, looking like he was ready to kill someone but Siobhan watched in astonishment at how he pushed down his anger when he saw his daughter. She saw the way he visually assessed Tia from top to toe obviously trying to reassure himself that she was unhurt… well physically at least before he exchanged eye contact with Jessie. Shaking his head, he was trying to communicate something when Tia realised he was there and flung herself at him, obviously intent on being reunited with her knight in shining armour. Opening up his arms, Tony invited Jess to join them in what he told Tia was a sandwich hug, with the little girl in the middle as they both enveloped her fiercely.

Siobhan wasn't sure whether Jess and Tony were together, although Jessie had told her that they had been partners back when Tony was a cop. Whatever their relationship now, watching this tight knit little family and the resolute look on both of the adults' features the paediatrician was glad that she wasn't on their bad side. Whoever had tried to take Tia, she wouldn't want to be in his shoes when then they found him.

Looking at Tia who had already been badly affected by the first kidnap attempt, resulting in horrible nightmares, clinginess to the point of developing separation anxiety with her father and cognitive disturbances, her heart broke for the girl. The nightmares were brutal before this – she hated to imagine what effects this latest fiasco would have on Miss Antonia Jessica Mae… would have on the whole family. One thing the doctor was certain of … this fiasco sure wouldn't help.