Myles, D, Lucy, and Sue were back at the bullpen. Sue had Ella in her car seat, and the toddler was fast asleep. She kept an eye on her while watching the others talk.
"Any update on Bobby?" Lucy asked.
"He's at the hospital now. Once he's cleared, he'll be back here I'm sure," D answered. "Although, he really should rest up after getting a beat down like that."
"He won't," Lucy said. "Not with Jack missing."
Myles was quiet. He was thinking about the other dead agents and how it could have been him. When the phone rang, they all looked at it with the exception of Sue. She noticed, though.
Dimitrius answered, and for a moment he said nothing, just listened. Then he spoke.
"I need proof that Jack's alive," D said.
Myles felt his body start to vibrate with anticipation. When D turned on his computer and opened his email, he saw the link there and opened it. They all gave a start when an image came up on the screen of Jack sitting with his knees pulled to his chest. He wasn't aware of the camera. When D slowly hung up the phone, he looked at them all.
"What?" Lucy asked, sounding afraid.
"He's giving us five hours to deliver Natalie's laptop and Ella to him or else..." D trailed off.
"Or else what?" Lucy pressed.
"He's gonna put gas in that room and kill Jack," D finished. Lucy gasped, and Sue inhaled sharply in fear.
"So what do we do, D?" Myles asked. "We can't give him either of those things."
"I...I gotta talk to the boss," D answered, getting up to go do so. The others were left feeling shocked and horrified in his wake, staring at Jack on the screen.
...
Tara was fiddling with her fingers as she watched the doctor examine Bobby. He was prodded and poked and taken for scans. He was top priority given the urgencey of his situation. The ER was fairly quiet at this moment, though.
"I'm fine, doc," Bobby insisted. "I gotta get back out there now."
"Not without my clearance, you're not," the doctor replied. He was looking over Bobby's torso and feeling his ribs now.
"Ah!" Bobby yelped when he pressed on one. Tara winced, feeling his pain.
"I'd say this one is cracked, possibly broken," the doctor surmised. "The x-ray will tell me for sure."
"Is that coming anytime soon?" Bobby asked.
"As soon as it's done," the doctor answered.
"My friend is missing," Bobby said, frustrated. "I can't be sitting here doing nothing while he's in danger."
"I'm sorry, but this is how it is," the doctor said. He bustled out, leaving Bobby fuming.
"Unhook me," Bobby instructed Tara.
"No way," she shook her head. He reached to do it himself, but she moved quickly to grab his hands and stop him.
"Tara," he said, his tone a warning.
"You were almost killed," she shot back. "You're going to sit tight until you're cleared, or I will shoot you myself."
"Go ahead. I can work with a limp," he said.
"You think I'll shoot you in the leg?" she asked. "Think again."
He gave her a level stare before sighing loudly and resting his head back against the pillow. Tara knew he wanted to get back out there, but she didn't want him to further hurt himself if something was seriously injured.
"I was supposed to keep him safe," he said after a moment. "I failed him, Tara."
"We will get him back," Tara promised, squeezing his hand. "We will."
Bobby said nothing, and she kept holding his hand as they waited. She knew the team would need her soon, and she knew she had to leave him, but she couldn't. She didn't exactly trust he wouldn't yank out all his wires and IV and walk out.
...
Jack hugged his knees, waiting. He thought about Sue while he waited. He knew she'd be terrified for him. He wished he could tell her not to worry. He imagined Renner had given his demands by now, and he knew they'd include handing over Ella and that laptop. He hoped Tara was sending a team for him right now, and they could pick up Renner at the meet for the laptop. He knew there was no way anyone would take Ella near Renner. At least, he hoped they wouldn't.
...
"Absolutely not," Sue argued when D returned and said they would be taking Ella when they met with Renner.
"We're not handing her over," D explained. "We're just making him feel secure in knowing he got what he wanted, and then we take him down."
"And what about Jack?" Sue asked. "We don't even know where he is, and Renner is going to kill him."
"She's right," Myles chimed in. "He could have it set that if he dies, that gas goes off. Or, he could have it set to go off anyway and not care about the time limit he gave us."
D pressed his fingers into his temple. He felt on edge. He needed Bobby and Tara, but he couldn't ask Bobby to leave the hospital and he couldn't seem to get a hold of Tara.
"Does anything look familiar?" Lucy asked, scanning the video again. Jack hadn't moved much except to scratch his nose or head every so often. Sue wished he knew she could see him. Maybe he could give her a clue.
"No," Myles shook his head. "It's just a room."
"Does Natalie have a place she used to go with Renner? Maybe something significant?" D asked.
"How would I know?" Myles countered. "I haven't seen her in years."
"I'm desperate, Myles," D said back.
"I'll call Tara again," Lucy said, going to the phone. "If anyone can pull something from that live feed, it'll be her." Sue did her best to remain calm for Ella's sake, but she was about ready to burst. She couldn't lose Jack. She just couldn't.
...
"You should answer that," Bobby said as Tara's phone rang again. She saw it was Lucy this time. She knew she should answer it, that they needed her, but she didn't want to leave Bobby.
"If I leave, you'll follow me out the front door," she said accusingly. "I can't do that, so I have to stay here."
"You need to help find Jack," Bobby insisted.
"Can I trust you to stay here if I leave?" she asked. When he said nothing, she sighed. "See? I know you. I can't leave."
"If the damn doctor would just hurry up and get back here to clear me, we'd be all good," Bobby growled.
"If you just stay put, then I could go and help," she countered.
At this point, the doctor had returned, and he went to stand beside Bobby.
"You are a very lucky man, Mr. Manning," he said.
"I've been told," Bobby replied.
"Nothing major is broken or cracked like I originally thought. You have some bruised ribs, but everything else looks intact," the doctor went on. "I would recommend taking it easy..."
"Not a chance," Bobby cut him off. "Unhook me, doc. Right now."
"Is it wise to discharge him so soon?" Tara asked the doctor.
"He looks worse than he is," the doctor answered, gesturing to Bobby's beat up face. "But yes, he can go." He looked at Bobby. "A nurse will come to get you ready to go."
"Thank you," Tara said.
"Yea, thanks, doc," Bobby added. The doctor left them alone, and Tara released the breath she had been holding. It was time to get back to work.
...
Sue couldn't take her eyes off of Jack on the screen. He was tapping his knees with his hands lightly, doing some sort of rhythm. She imagined it was a song that was currently stuck in his head. He did that occasionally. Levi got her attention when Ella started to get fussy. She had slept for a while, but she was awake again. Sue had kept herself distracted by Ella for as long as she could, but her fear was beginning to take over.
"I'm trying not to be afraid," Lucy said after getting her attention. "I mean, Jack doesn't even look afraid, does he? If he's not, then I shouldn't be."
Sue peered at Jack's face and realized Lucy was right. He didn't look afraid at all. What did that mean?
"Why would he be so calm?" she asked Lucy. "Unless..." She trailed off. He wouldn't have. Would he?
"He knew it was coming," Lucy answered for her. "And he was prepared." It was true. Jack had wanted Renner to come for him all along, but had he known he was going to get kidnapped? Lucy wasn't sure.
"He let himself intentionally get taken," Sue said, feeling slightly angry.
"So how did he prepare for it?" Lucy asked, trying to figure it out. If Jack hadn't known he was going to get kidnapped, how would he have prepared himself for it? Or had he known? Lucy's brain was going overtime.
"Okay," D said, coming back with Myles. They had a lifelike infant doll with them in a car seat. "We got this figured out. Fake baby."
"What about the laptop?" Lucy asked.
"I really need Tara to finish finding out what's on it other than all that surveillance stuff, but she's not answering," D said, frustrated. "We'll have to risk it."
"I'm here!" Tara called, rushing in with Bobby behind her. Both of them gave a start upon seeing Jack on the big screen.
"Where have you been?" D demanded.
"With Bobby," she answered.
"Do you realize that we needed you here to figure this out?" D asked, angry. "Bobby is a big boy. He would have been fine alone. He was only there to be checked out. The medics said he had non life-threatening injuries."
"He was going to walk out of there if I didn't stay and make him stay put," Tara argued.
"That wasn't your job..." D started.
"Let's not waste time arguing," Bobby interrupted. "She's here now. Get her to look at it now."
"We have less than two hours to meet with Renner or else Jack is gonna die," D said. "We don't have time."
Tara had the laptop open and was going through it for new information. She had her computer on too, and after it booted up, she received a notification. She stared at it for a moment, trying to comprehend what she was seeing. Then she looked up at the others, who were talking angrily with each other.
"Hey!" she called.
"What?" D asked, turning to face her.
"I've found Jack," she answered. There was surprise in the room.
"How?" D asked, going over to join her.
"He turned on his tracking device," she answered.
"That's why he's so calm," Lucy said, smacking her hands together as she realized Jack had planned to be kidnapped after all. "That boy. I tell you, when he's back here, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. Scaring us all to death like this while he knows he's going to be okay. Unbelievable!"
"Come on," D urged to Myles and Bobby. "Let's go get him."
The girls were left behind. Sue knew Tara felt bad about not answering her phone, but she understood wanting to keep Bobby in the hospital. Heck, she probably would have done the same thing. It was all right now anyway. They knew where Jack was, and they'd have him back soon. She looked at him on the screen again.
"Hang on, Jack," she said. "We're coming."