John took Christine out of the Cadillac and into a building. She was still blindfolded. "Am I going to have to wear this blindfold the whole time?" she asked.

"Of course not," John replied in his almost whisper. "Just a minute."

They soon arrived in a room that looked fairly normal. It had a bed, and a bathroom and even a small kitchenette. "You can stay here until this is over," John said.

"What about my restaurant?" Christine asked. "Who's going to compensate me for that?"

John looked at her. "If you're dead, there won't be any worry about that, will there?"

Christine shook her head. "Bear!" John called.

A dog came running in there and sat down beside him. "Watch after her," he said.

Christine realized that John was leaving. "Where are you going?" she asked. "You're just going to leave me here?"

"You'll be comfortable here," John said.

Christine could not believe it. "When do I get to talk to Mac?" she asked.

John walked over to her and dialed Mac's number. "Just for a minute."

Christine took the phone and it was ringing…

Mac took his phone off his side as it was ringing. The ID said "Private". "Hello," he answered.

"Mac."

"Christine? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but I'm…I don't know where I am."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like an apartment."

"You'll be fine. They're serious about this."

"I realize that, but I don't like being kidnapped…for my safety."

Mac almost smiled at that fire he heard in Christine's voice. "It won't be for long, I don't think."

"I hope not because I want to run away with you."

"Don't worry. We are going somewhere far away and we're gonna get married."

"I love you, Mac."

"I love you too, Christine."

Christine ended the call with that and gave it back to John. "You don't want to lose those dreams," John said. "Just make yourself at home. There's plenty of food in the kitchen there."

Christine watched him leave. She looked at the dog who was just lying there on the floor watching her. She thought it was a German Shepherd. "Well, hello, Bear," she said.

The dog barked once. Christine stared at it a moment. She thought it must be one of those highly trained dogs. She laid down on the bed to try and get some rest but she could not help but worry about Mac. They did not know who was trying to kill him or why they were trying to kill him. She supposed both of those questions would be answered at the same time.

Mac put his phone away and looked at Finch. "I'm sorry about this," Finch said. "But this way you won't have to worry about Christine. I would think you would want it that way."

Mac had to admit, it gave him a little peace of mind. "I do," he said.

"Hopefully this will be over soon and the two of you can go on with your lives."

Mac looked at him. "And what kind of life do you have?" he asked.

"A lonely one most of the time but not always."

Mac sat down on the couch. "I was lonely and had given up on ever finding anyone again until I met Christine," he said.

"Yes, I know about your late wife. I know that can't be an easy thing to get over."

"I don't know if you really get over it, you just learn to cope with it and learn that your life is still going on."

Finch seemed to absorb that and consider it. "You're right," he said.

Mac looked at him. "So, what do we do next?" he asked.

"You go on with your daily routine and we will be watching. My associate will be close by either you or the killer."

"And what if he loses track?"

"I assure you, he is quite good at what he does and you probably won't know he's there."

"The guy in the black suit, right?"

"Sometimes."

Mac was not sure what that meant but he was glad he would have some help from someone who knew who they were looking for. "Do you guys work with the police department?" he asked.

"We have connections," Finch replied.

Mac figured that was about all the answer he would get so he leaned back on the sofa. "So are you going to stay here or what?" he asked.

"As soon as my associate is in place, I will be leaving."

"And what am I supposed to call your associate?"

"John. But you might not see him."

"I saw him."

"He was making sure you weren't in danger and he was preparing to get Christine to a safe place."

Finch looked into space a moment and then looked at Mac. "Okay, I am going now," he said. "Good luck."

Mac locked the door after Finch left. He looked at his empty apartment. It seemed even worse now because Christine was not even within reach even by phone. He realized he did not take the keys back to the landlord, so he went out into the hall and to the elevator. He waited while the elevator was coming. He looked around the empty hallways feeling like someone was watching him. The elevator dinged and opened. Mac stepped into the elevator and hit the "close door" button, but before the doors could close, someone stuck their arm in to get into the elevator. Mac reached to his side but he had not brought his weapon with him.

A man got into the elevator, but it was not "John". Mac knew he could not keep being nervous about everything. He could not stay locked up in his apartment and everyone he saw was not following him or trying to kill him. He looked at the guy as he moved to the other side of the elevator. Mac pressed the button for the floor that he was going to. He felt the inertia as the elevator started up toward the floor the landlord lived on. He did not want to say anything to the guy in the elevator. He was surprised at himself because of how few people he knew in his own building.

Mac got out of the elevator at the right floor. He paid close attention to whether that other guy got out or not, but he did not see him. He walked down to the landlord's apartment and knocked. He soon heard the locks on the door. Alfred was there with a beer bottle in his hand and from the smell and the look of him, Mac thought he must have spent all this time since he had been here drowning his sorrows. "I brought your keys back," Mac said.

The landlord took them. "Thanks," he said and threw them on the table close to the door. He looked at Mac. "You want anything else?"

"No."

Mac walked away from the apartment. He did not like the idea that the guy was getting drunk like that but he supposed it was none of his business as long as the guy did not disturb the peace or cause any trouble. Just as Mac had that thought, he heard loud music start up down there in the landlord's apartment. He stopped and looked around but then he shook his head and went on to the elevator. He pressed the down button and stood there waiting for the elevator again. He had the fleeting thought that he waited for elevators a whole lot in his life. Everywhere he went, he had to get into an elevator to get where he wanted to be, even at work.

The elevator doors opened and Mac got in but then he saw three people coming down the hall toward the elevator. He pressed the close door button and the doors closed before they got there. He did not think those people looked right because they were all dressed in black and he thought one of them was the guy who had ridden up in the elevator with him. He pressed the button for his floor and the elevator started down. He wondered what would be waiting for him when he got down to his floor. He stood to the side of the elevator so that no one could shoot him before he could move. He knew he was being panicky but he could not help it.

The elevator stopped and dinged. The doors opened and Mac got ready if anyone came in that door. He peeped around the edge of the elevator and then moved over into the doorway. He did not see anyone in the hallway so he went on out and headed for his apartment, taking his keys out as he went. As he arrived at the door, he heard the elevator ding again and then he saw someone coming down the other hall. He hurried and got the door open and got inside. He ran to his room and got his weapon, and then he heard someone break out the glass on his patio door.

Mac made sure his weapon was loaded and then moved over to the door of his bedroom. He knew there was someone in there and he thought it must be that hit woman, and the men in the hall were there to help her keep him from getting away. He wondered where his bodyguard was. He thought he was supposed to be helping him.

Mac stood beside the bedroom door and listened hard. Then he heard whoever was in the living room unlock the locks on the door. He locked the bedroom door and headed toward the other bedroom which he could enter from the other door in the bedroom. He ran through that bedroom to the larger window which had a fire escape. He did not like running from danger, but he thought five to one were not good odds for him, when he was the ONE, and especially when one of them was a hit woman.

Mac opened the window and climbed out onto the fire escape. He did not like heights in the first place, but it was also COLD out there on that fire escape, and his jacket was hanging on the coat rack. He put his weapon in his holster and headed down. His phone began ringing and he took it off his side. "Taylor," he answered.

"Just keep going down," someone said in an almost whisper.

Mac thought that must be John. "I thought you were supposed to be helping me," he said.

"I am."

The call ended and Mac kept going down. He heard someone step out onto the fire escape up above him. He started trying to go down faster, and he was getting out of breath faster in this cold air. It was a long way to the ground because he lived up high to get away from the noise of the city. He did not hear every siren that went by and every horn that honked from his apartment.

Just as Mac was going around one of the fire escape balconies, he heard something hit the metal beside him and it sparked. He realized it was a bullet. They must have a silencer because he did not hear anything. He tried to go faster. He thought it would be even more eerie to be hit by a bullet that you did not even hear leave the gun. However, he did not think he had heard that gun when he was shot. The bullet travels so fast that one might not hear the sound before they are hit… and in this case, the gun had no sound.

As Mac continued down, he thought he heard more than one person on the fire escape and they were not talking to each other, only moving toward their goal…killing him. He knew they were with that hit woman. He had not seen her but he was sure she was nearby somewhere. He figured she would be waiting for him when he got down but he could not have his weapon ready while he was going down these steps.

By the time Mac got to the bottom of the fire escape, he knew he had at least three people coming down behind him. He jumped off the last step and started to run but then she was there on the sidewalk. Mac darted into the alley as a bullet split the air he was just occupying. When he got into the alley, John was there. He grabbed Mac by the arm and shoved him in front of him as the woman came into the alley entrance. John fired at her and she got out of his line of fire.

"Let's go!" John said in his whispery voice.

Mac was running down the alley and then there were two at the other end of the alley. "Looks like we're going to have to fight," John said.

Mac wished he would not be so calm and nonchalant about that. He had his weapon ready and fired behind them as the woman was coming into the alley. Then the two in front of them had weapons too. Mac and John got behind a dumpster. "We're trapped here!" Mac said.

"No, we're not," John said. "They won't fire at each other because they may hit her and she may hit them." He was typing in his phone as he was talking.

Mac looked behind them. They were between two dumpsters and he knew they could come up and just open fire on them. However, he heard a siren just then. "Come on!" John said. He grabbed Mac by the jacket and shoved him out of their hiding place. "We have to move!"

Mac was confused now but when they were out, they did not see anyone in the alley at the moment. They ran down the alley in the direction they had been going before. As they rounded the corner into an even darker alley, the other two were there. John grabbed one of them by the hand and jerked him around in a headlock, and brought out his weapon at the same time and shot the other one before Mac could even move. Then he knocked the one he was holding out.

Mac looked at the two on the ground and then at John. "Let's move!" John said.

Mac went with him, wondering who this guy was. They soon came out of that alley and arrived at the black Cadillac. "Get in!" John said as he went around to the driver's side.

Mac got in the car and they were on their way. "Who are you?" Mac demanded. "I want to know who you are!" He was still amazed at how fast the guy had taken down those two.

"Why does it matter who I am if I am trying to save your life?" John asked.

"Because, I don't want to be running around with a criminal."

"I'm not a criminal."

"So you're working with the police department?"

"I have friends in the police department."

"So that was one of them that came along out there…just by chance?"

"It's good to have friends."

Mac looked out the window. "So, where are we going?" he asked.

"They're tracking us."

Mac looked at him. "What?"

"They're tracking you, not me. They know exactly where you are."

"And just how do they know that?"

"Your phone and they also have a bug on you somewhere."

Mac was shocked. "How would they get a bug on me?" he asked.

"They're professionals," John said matter-of-factly. "Take the battery out of your phone."

"What if some of my team wants to get in touch with me?"

"Turn off the locator."

Mac took his phone and turned off the locator. "I'm sure they can override that," he said.

Just then, Mac's phone rang. "Taylor," he answered.

"You may have escaped for now, Detective Taylor, but you won't escape the next time."

Mac frowned as he heard the call end. He looked at John. "She disappeared before anyone could get her," John said. "She's not the kind who can be captured. The only way to stop her is death."

Mac knew that was true. He did not like to think of a person like that but he had seen them before. They would not stop killing people until they were dead and they would not surrender to the police. "So, do you know who she is and who hired her?" he asked.

"We know who she is but we don't know who hired her yet," John replied. "She is deeply coded and private."

Mac nodded. "Well, we need to figure this out because I can't keep running like this and staying away from my lab."

"Who said you were going to stay away from the lab? You're going to do what you normally do so that we can catch her."

"I'm going to be bait?"

"It's the only way."

Mac figured it was a plan and he would go along with it. He did not want this maniac running around the city and he did not want to keep looking over his shoulder and hiding.