Here is the much anticipated update. It's all beginning to snowball!

I'd Come For You

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, but the forest creatures were slowly coming back to life. Thru the large Evergreens the sun streaked to cast an ethereal feeling over the flora and fauna. But Reese paid no mind to that as he stood at the edge of the perimeter. He was playing the nightmare over in his head and tried to figure what it meant.

The snap of a twig brought him back to the moment, but he didn't reach for his gun. Sniffing the air, he didn't turn around, but he slowly relaxed.

"You left me," Joss chastised softly as she took her place beside her protector.

"I had to find a place where I could think," Reese replied. His eyes stayed ahead and watched for anything out of the norm.

"Is that why you are outside getting hypothermia?"

A mockingbird sang his song and the wind rustled the leaves in the trees. Reese stayed quiet. Although the muscle in his cheek twitched.

"It must have been a pretty bad dream," Joss observed. "You were pretty upset. Want to talk about it?"

"Nothing to talk about," Reese replied in a voice strained by emotions he was trying to keep inside.

Joss lightly touched his arm. "I think there is plenty to talk about, John. You were ready to shoot anything that moved," she pointed out. "You had me scared for a moment. What happened?"

"Nothing."

Joss shook her head. "You can't lie to me, John. I know we haven't exactly been communicating recently, but I want to rectify that. Tell me what happened."

"You wouldn't understand."

"And what makes you an authority on that?" She tried to keep her temper at bay. "I was shot too. I was bleeding to death on the sidewalk that night, John. I almost lost my life trying to defend you from Simmons," she replied hotly.

"Joss, it's..."

"It's what, John? Your fault? You're feeling, what? Guilt? Remorse? Are you going to crawl back into a bottle again? Tell me what is going on." Joss tugged on Reese's arm. "Let me in."

Reese spun to face her. "I almost lost you, Joss! That's what!" he shouted loud enough to cause the birds in the nearby trees to fly for safety. "I watched as you were gunned down like a dog in the middle of the street and I couldn't do anything because I was unarmed! I was helpless!"

"It wasn't your fault," Joss replied.

"The hell it wasn't, Joss! I made a vow to protect you and I couldn't."

"But you are now," she observed.

"For how long, Joss? Between the three of us, we have sixty rounds. The men coming after us will be armed, but they'll have reserves. Then what? I can't fight a bullet," he replied bitterly.

"No one is asking you to, John."

"I am. I'm the one asking myself to do this."

"You're not Superman."

"No, I'm not," he agreed bitterly. "I'm just a man in a suit."

"Oh, now you're feeling sorry for yourself."

"Facing the grim reality that I might not be able to protect you. I can't lose you, Joss."

Joss reached up and touched Reese's cheek with her good hand. "You're not going to lose me, John. Not if I have any say in the matter."

Reese met her eyes. Contained in his blue eyes was so much sadness, Joss nearly wept. Stroking his cheek, she felt the stubble under her palm.

"I almost lost you twice," he reminded her.

Joss' smile was small. "Almost only counts in horse-shoes and hand grenades," she half-joked. "Didn't you know? I know you and Shaw will do your best to protect us. I have no doubt in that."

Reese covered Joss' hand with his. "You once told me that if anything happened to me, you would hate me forever."

Joss' voice was choked with emotion as she replied, "Yeah, I did. But I'll also love you forever, too."

"I don't deserve you, Joss."

"No, you don't. But I'll take you anyway." Standing on tip-toes, she pressed her lips to his for a gentle kiss.

Wrapping his arms around her, Reese pulled her closer to him – careful not to injure her wrist – and deepened the kiss. A sense of peace came over him to make him feel that no matter what happened, he would forever be bonded with the woman he loved. If he could stayed wrapped in her arms for the rest of his life, he wouldn't object.

"Hey guys," Shaw's voice interrupted the moment. Guiltily, the pair pulled away. "Nice to see that you've decided to kiss and make up, but we've got a bigger problem right now."

His senses suddenly went on high alert as Reese asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ray's taken a turn for the worst."

"A turn for the worst?" Joss asked. Her gaze jumped from Shaw to Reese. "What do you mean?"

"Either we get her to a hospital or she dies," Shaw replied with finality.
*****

"Are you sure that Detective Fusco is going to lead us to Quinn?" Bogle asked Womack.

"I can almost guarantee it," Womack boasted with bravado. "I overheard him talking to someone this morning. I couldn't make out exactly what they were talking about, but I'd bet my paycheck that it had something to do with that bastard Quinn."

"But what makes you think that he is going to lead us to Quinn?" Bogle demanded. "We need to find that money before we end up taking a permanent dirt nap."

"Fusco is predictable as the day is long. He won't let us down." Womack leaned back in his chair. A confident smile broke on his face.

"Then what?"

"Once you find out where Quinn is, I don't care. His fat ass has been a thorn in my side since the day he arrived at the 8th. You have my permission to kill him and put him out of my misery."

"You're giving me permission to kill a cop? Won't that get a little messy?" Bogle wondered.

"I'll take care of the paperwork on this end, Agent," Womack assured quickly. "You just make sure that whatever happens occurs in the process of protecting that scumbag Quinn. Capisce?"

"Sure. Whatever. You're the boss."

"I am the boss. Don't you forget it." Womack slammed the receiver onto the base. That fat fuck Fusco was almost out of his hair for good.

"When he's gone for good, I'm doing a fucking Irish jig in the middle of Wall Street," he vowed to himself.
****

Finch limped slowly up the hallway. His uneven footsteps echoed off the walls as he approached where Quinn was being held. Stopping within a foot of the gate, he looked with disinterest at his captive.

"I need to step out for a while," Finch announced.

Quinn looked up from the book he was reading to cast a disinterested gaze at the man he despised. "I'll be sure to remember that should anyone call looking for you," he remarked dryly.

"I won't be gone long."

"And you are telling me this...why?"

"Because Bear won't be here to guard you, and I want to make sure you remain on your best behaviour," Finch replied.

"You think I'll escape?" Quinn acted insulted by the accusation.

"I think you'll do whatever you can to take any opportunity to flee."

"And here I thought we had established some kind of trust," Quinn mocked with unveiled condescension.

"The day I trust you, Mr. Quinn..." Finch left the remainder of the sentence unsaid. His hand gripped the leash tighter as Bear began to growl. "I'll be returning shortly. Detective Fusco will be in charge of your surveillance until then. Try to behave yourself." Turning on his heel, Finch commanded Bear to follow.

Quinn sat quietly at the desk and waited for the footstep to fade away. Then he put his plan into action.

The seconds passed into minutes, and he could feel the sweat run down his face as he desperately tried to pick the lock. Swearing under his breath, his fingers fumbled numerous times. He had to get out.

Wiping the sweat away with the back of his hand, Quinn took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried again. A second later he heard the click as the mechanism gave way. Almost afraid to breathe, he pulled the gate open.

He was free!

Looking at his watch, he realized there wasn't a moment to lose. He needed to get a car and then find his daughter. The locations where she was being hidden were too numerous to list, but if he could find the location of where the crash occurred, then he could narrow it down.

Hurrying thru the hallways, he tried to find where the bespectacled wordsmith kept his computer. Turning a corner, he nearly jumped for joy when he saw the computers and hard-drives.

Was it luck or chance that the idiot had left his computer logged on? He didn't have time to analyze it all as he tried to find answers. Sitting down, his fingers flew over the keys with expert ease to find the answers he needed.

When the location came up on the screen, he grabbed the pen and wrote it down. He would decipher the coordinates later, he figured to himself. Right now he needed to get the hell out of Dodge before the cavalry arrived. Ripping the note off the pad, he jumped up and ran out of the office.

Down the hallways he sped. He nearly jumped down the stairs as he made his get away. He could see the front door of the library. He wanted to dance.

Across the marble floors he side-stepped the books strewn haphazardly until he was at the heavy oak doors. Pulling the handle, he tugged the door open and stepped out into the sunlight.

FREEDOM!

Quinn looked around. The coast was clear, but he needed to get a car. His eyes darted around the area. Nothing. He groaned to himself and swore under his breath. Where was a car when he needed one?!

Up the street, one block away, a car pulled up. The driver emerged from the vehicle before disappearing into the nearby store. Yes! That was his chance.

With quick steps, Quinn started forward before he was pulled to an abrupt stop.

"Good try, you son of a bitch," Fusco bit out and turned Quinn around. "Time to get you back where you-" The detective's words were cut off as something cuffed him on the back of the head. He crumpled to the ground silently. Stunned by the sudden event, Quinn looked up with fear at the man who had just assaulted Fusco.

"Hello, Quinn," Bogle greeted without warmth. "We meet again."