Nowhere To Run
Chapter Nineteen
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We're coming down to the homestretch here, boys and girls. Be prepared for a few twists and turns along the way! *wink*
And as always………THANK YOU for the very thoughtful reviews!!!!!
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Frank stood by the window and peered out for the hundredth time. The bright afternoon sunshine had given way to evening's dusk and as the last vestiges of light crept beneath the horizon, Frank's nervousness began to escalate. Exponentially. He couldn't explain it. He had no concrete reason to believe that they were in any immediate danger, but his instincts were screaming that something terrible was approaching.
He'd spent what was left of the afternoon and early evening pacing the warehouse, running possible scenarios through his head. He was fairly sure that he'd covered all the bases, but if he knew one thing about this business, it was that you always had to expect the unexpected. The dilemma was that sometimes you couldn't react to trouble until it was staring you directly in the face.
So here he stood, gazing out at the creeping darkness trying to mentally prepare for whatever the next day or two would bring. He sighed softly and turned to look at the woman sleeping peacefully on the couch across the room from him. When he hadn't been walking back and forth throughout the building, he'd been content to merely watch her as she slumbered. He'd promised to wake after a few hours but she seemed so serene, that he had decided to let her sleep longer than was probably prudent. He knew that she needed the rest. If he'd been in her situation, he wouldn't have been able to sleep well either. Some of her exhaustion could be blamed squarely on him. During the nights that he would visit her, to say that they got little or no sleep, would have been an understatement. He smiled thinking about the endless hours that they'd made love.
"What are you smiling at?" she asked in a sleepy voice.
Frank started a bit, not realizing that she'd awoken. "I was just thinking."
"About??" she continued as she slowly rose from the couch, stretching as she did so.
"About you."
Kate approached him and gave him her best sultry smile. "Hmmmm………now that sounds promising. What about me?" she questioned as she wound her arms around his neck.
Frank ran his hands lightly up and down her back and stared down into her still sleepy eyes. "Everything……….I was remembering everything about you. How I feel like I'm drowning when I look into your eyes. How silky your skin feels when you're lying in bed next to me. How soft and warm your lips are when they meet mine. How your whole face lights up when you smile. But mostly………..I was thinking about how I never want to live another day without you."
Kate gazed into his eyes and wondered, not for the first time since they'd met, how she'd gotten so lucky. Her heart felt like it was swelling to near bursting with all that she felt for him. Tears once again threatened to fall, but she willed them not to. She'd cried enough over the last week or so. She was tired of crying. She wanted to get through whatever was soon going to happen and then concentrate on a future that she'd never dared let herself hope for. A future that included the man she now held in her arms. Then, as if they had a will of their own, the tears that she'd been trying desperately not to shed, began to fall.
"God damn it," she quietly said.
"Not exactly the response I was hoping to get," he responded playfully.
"I'm crying again! Why do I feel like I've spent half of the short time that I've known you, crying??" she asked as she fervently wiped the moisture from her face.
"It's alright. I take it as a compliment."
She looked up at Frank with a confused look on her face. "Compliment? How's that?"
"Considering your background, both personal and professional, I would've expected you to be distant, keeping any feelings you had to a minimum and most importantly to yourself. The fact that you respond so openly when you're around me, just makes me realize that you feel comfortable with me. The façade is gone and the woman in front of me is the real Kate Dawson."
"Wow. You really are good at this psychoanalyzing thing. I think you could have a bright future as a profiler."
"I thought you said I had a promising future in stealing cars?"
Kate laughed briefly and then said, "You're right. Make that auto thief slash criminal behavior analyst, how's that?"
"Nah………I don't think all of that would fit on a business card."
Kate laughed once again and then leaned in to give Frank a quick kiss on the lips before wrapping her arms snuggly around him. Just as she was melting into his embrace, the phone rang. Startled, the two jumped away from each other and stared at the offending object making the sound.
Kate glanced briefly at Frank trying to gauge his reaction. He continued to intently stare at the phone, which rang only three times and then stopped.
"Answering machine? Voice mail?"
"No…….neither," he answered quickly. Then just as he replied to her, the phone began to ring once again. This time it sounded four times before stopping.
Frank turned quickly to the window looking out at the alleyway below. His gut instinct was telling him to move, and this time he was planning on listening.
He ducked quickly below the window and then began scrambling for the door leading to the lower level.
"We have to go…….now!" he hissed at her.
"Frank? What's out there?" she asked quietly as she followed him out the doorway.
"I'm not sure, but I'm not about to just sit here and find out. We need to get out of the building immediately."
They made their way to the bottom floor and when they were within 15 feet of the exit, Frank suddenly stopped with Kate nearly running into the back of him.
"What is it?" she questioned just barely louder than a whisper.
"Sssshhh……..," he instructed as he listened intently. He turned suddenly, grabbed her hand and headed toward the back of the building.
"Someone's outside the font door," he informed her.
There was a back door, but Frank was assuming that if someone was trying to gain access through the front, they might have the rear exit covered as well. He stopped once again, this time in front of a bank of windows. He hesitated briefly before picking up a chair that was close by. As he did so, he heard the sound of someone trying to open the front door. Without hesitating further, Frank swung the chair and smashed the window sending shards of glass flying everywhere.
Kate had realized what he was about to do and had scrambled back out of the way. After the window was broken out, she saw him make quick work of the remaining pieces along the lower edge, effectively clearing the way for them to make their way out without getting scratched up.
Turning to Kate, Frank motioned for her to climb out the window. "Quickly," he told her quietly, "and be careful. There's glass everywhere." She nodded in response and swiftly hurtled the windowsill. After glancing over his shoulder once more, Frank rapidly followed her.
Once outside, he grabbed her hand and the two made a quick dash down the alley toward one of the many warehouses and office buildings in the area. Hearing another noise, Frank grabbed Kate and hauled her back into the darkness provided by recessed doorway. Listening intently, the two could hear muffled voices coming from close by. Frank turned around and studied the door in front of him. There was a heavy dead bolt lock but no evidence of an alarm system that he could see.
"Keep an eye out while I try to open this door," he whispered to Kate who nodded quickly in response. He then took a set of tools out of his jacket pocket and proceeded to try and pick the lock.
Kate kept her eyes peeled to the darkened alley. She could still hear some barely audible sounds, but she couldn't tell what direction they were coming from since the sounds were being bounced off the buildings. A she peered into the barely lit street, she thought she saw some sort of movement. A person or persons passing in front of a nearby light source casting a shadow on the wall.
"Frank" she whispered, "they're coming! You better hurry!" As she did so, she heard a sound come from behind her and realized that Frank had indeed been able to open the door. He took hold of her arm and swiftly pulled her through the door, shutting it behind them.
Locking the door behind them, the two turned to survey the building that they'd just forcibly entered. It was another abandoned structure, probably an old manufacturing warehouse much like the one that the team now used as their headquarters except much larger. Much of the space was completely empty save some old machinery of some sort that had no doubt been discarded when the business had shut down. There were three levels all together, the bottom one being below the level of the street, with the center of the building actually being open from bottom to top. The two milled around examining the area, trying to find an adequate area to hide out if need be.
After checking the place out and making some mental plans, Frank crossed to the windows facing the alley that they had just exited. Although it was very dark and the windows were extremely filthy, he could still see enough to detect movement headed their way. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell who was approaching.
"Do you see anything?" Kate asked as she sidled up behind him.
"Not really. Movement, nothing more."
"Any idea who it is?" she questioned nervously.
"No. And that's the main problem right now. If it's the team, then we might have a chance, but if it's anyone else……..," he informed her, letting the last part of the sentence linger in the air, the meaning implicit.
"Do you think that whoever it is saw us come in here?"
Frank paused before answering. "I doubt it. If they had, they'd probably have a battering ram at the door as we speak. But if they had seen us, they might be planning how best to breach the building, or……..they could be waiting for enough back-up."
"OK, I like the first scenario better." Frank glanced at her briefly before returning his gaze out the window. In the dark he reached out for her hand and squeezed it lightly.
"It's going to be OK, you just have……….."
"To trust you?" she interrupted. "Really Donovan. We're going to have to get you a new catch phrase. You're wearing that one out."
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15 minutes earlier
Jake and Alex had been the first to arrive at the Nest. They had parked Jake's truck about a block away and walked the remaining distance. From what they could tell on the outside, the building looked exactly as it should, completely empty. No lights were on except those that came on automatically at dusk. Shortly after they made their way to the building, they saw a flash of lights causing the two to draw their weapons and hide behind the nearest structure they could find. They quickly realized that what they had seen was the headlights from the surveillance van pulling into the alley. They waited for the other two agents to approach.
"Damn it, Cody! I told you to turn the lights off BEFORE you pulled onto the street!" Jake hissed.
"Sorry!" the tech-op replied. "You try pulling that thing into a dark alley blind! It was either leave the lights on for a few more seconds or I take a chance at running the damn thing into a wall."
"Will the two of you cut it out!" Alex interjected. "In case you don't remember, we're here for a purpose. So, now that we're here, what's the plan?"
All heads turned to look at Jake as it seemed that he was now the temporary head of the unit. "First of all, we're not 100% sure that they're in there. But if they are, if we simply go in through the front door, we may come off as being not much of a threat."
"Soooo……..we're just going to walk in the front door and ask them to surrender to us. That's the plan?" Cody asked sarcastically.
"Look……..you gotta better idea? If so, I'm all ears. All I'm saying is that you've got two very dangerous individuals in there. If we go in guns blazing, somebody's liable to get shot, and I'll lay bets that it'll be one of the four of us. You wanna take your chances?"
Cody looked around at the other three agents and finally replied, "I see your point."
"Good. So here's the plan. I'll go in the front with Monica. Alex, you and Cody cover the back exit. Questions?" Everyone shook their heads, so they dispersed and took their positions.
"Alex?" Jake asked through the mic around his ear.
"Yeah. We're in position."
"Alright, we're going in."
Jake then proceeded to punch in the access code to turn off the alarm and after doing so unlocked the door. Just as he had his hand on the door and was ready to open it, they all heard the sound of breaking glass. A sound that came from inside the building.
"Shit!! OK, enter the building but be careful!! Call out if you see anything."
The four entered quickly but cautiously, searching left and right making sure that the broken window wasn't just a ruse. After a few minutes it became evident that they had indeed fled.
"Damn it! Alright, let's investigate the area. Check every door and building in the area, and I'll say it again, be careful. If you see anything, wait until the rest of us catch up before pursuing."
"Right," Alex replied. "Cody stick with me."
So the team split in two and started to comb the area. They tried every door and peered through every window, and they continued to find nothing.
"Alex."
"Yeah. Go ahead Jake."
"Monica and I are going to start back at the Nest and retrace our footsteps. We're going to make sure we didn't miss anything."
"Got it. Be careful."
So Jake and Monica did indeed start again from where the window had been broken. After several minutes, Monica spotted something on the ground.
"Jake. Over here." Jake turned and found Monica hunched down on the ground intently studying something.
"What do you have?"
"Look at this," she said pointing to a spot on the ground. Jake joined her and stared keenly at the place where she was pointing. At first he couldn't make out what it was. Then he shifted position, giving the area some more light. That's when he saw it. Blood. One of the two must have been cut by the window glass.
He looked up at Monica and communicated wordlessly what their next step would be, and that was to search the area looking for more of the same. They both rose and started searching the ground around the area. A few feet away, Jake found another blood stain and then another. The smattering of blood was like following a trail of bread crumbs and the trail was leading to an abandoned warehouse not more than 50 feet away.
"Monica. Over here." He waited for the profiler to join him. "The blood leads in this direction. They have to be in this building. Let's search the outside and see if there's another entrance." She nodded her head in agreement and the two headed off.
"Alex."
"Go ahead Jake."
"We found where they went. They're hiding out in an abandoned building to the north of the Nest. We're searching the outside for another entry point."
"Understood. We'll be there in a couple of minutes."
Jake and Monica walked around the outside of the building looking for another entrance and could find none. If Donovan and Katherine were indeed in the building, Jake had no doubt that they would be closely guarding the entryway. Frustrated, he joined Monica once more.
"There has to be another way in," he stated. "You don't build a structure this size and have only one doorway."
"Actually," she began, "they did used to build them this way. This place probably dates back to the 30's or so. They weren't too concerned about health and safety back then. In fact the owners probably preferred having only one door. That way they could more closely monitor their employees coming and going. That way no one could sneak out or in without the boss knowing about it."
"Nice. That certainly makes it hard as hell for us." Jake once again eyed the building this time looking for something out of the ordinary. After a moment or two he noticed an open window about 8 feet off the ground near the back of the building. He quickly scanned the area and found an old wood crate that was about 2 feet high. It wasn't much, he surmised, but it would have to be enough. He pulled it over and placed it below the window.
"What do you think you're going to do?" Monica questioned.
"I'm going through that window."
"Alone? I don't think so. Wait for backup or at least wait until I find something taller so that I can go in with you, because I'll never be able to reach the window just standing on that box."
Jake looked at her and said, "There's no time Mon, we gotta get in there now. It's just a matter of time before someone else traces them back here. Wait here for Alex and Cody then the three of you can make your way in." And before Monica could protest, Jake bounded up on top of the box and then jumped the remaining few inches to grab hold of the windowsill. He then pulled himself up until most of his body weight was resting on the ledge. He paused briefly to take a look inside making sure that he wouldn't be facing down the barrel of a gun. When he saw nothing he proceeded quickly and as quietly as possible to lever himself over and into the building, dropping down on the floor with ease. After touching down, he turned, still in a crouched position, and surveyed the area. The place was dimly lit, so it took a moment or two for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he looked around and saw nothing. If they were still here, he doubted they were on the main floor. Slowly he stood, drew his weapon and proceeded to make his way further in.
"Alex," Monica called over her mic, "You better hurry, Jake's decided to go in by himself."
"Shit. We're just about there. Hang on."
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About the time Jake was landing inside the abandoned warehouse, Director Lindford and his band of goons were arriving at the Nest. Thanks to the tail they'd put on Jake, they now had a good idea about where to look for Donovan and Katherine.
After exiting the vehicles, Lindford gave orders for the Nest to be searched while he, of course, stayed out of harm's way. He remained near the cars and was annoyed to notice that Tom had decided to stay along with him.
"Why don't you go in there and search too," he told the CIA assassin.
Tom gave him a smirk and said, "You really think Frank's just cowering in there waiting to be picked up? Good Lord! Even if he had still been in the building when we arrived, he's long gone now. You and your men pulled straight up to the front door, lights on and all, and you really thought he wouldn't notice?"
Daniel clenched his jaws together tightly trying to maintain whatever shreds of self control he had remaining. "Fine. What exactly are you waiting for anyway? You're assignment is to take out Frank Donovan. So why are you still here?"
Tom stared at the man for several long minutes and was pleased to see him getting uncomfortable. "In answer to your question. I'll do my job. Don't worry about that. When the time comes and not a second before." Daniel turned away quickly deciding it was best just to ignore the man.
Just then a couple of his men exited the building. "We found a broken window and nothing else. If they were here then that's the way they got out."
"Search the area. Alert me the second you've found anything." The man nodded and relayed the order to the others.
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Jake inched his way into the old factory, gun held high, senses on full alert. As soundlessly as possible he continued forward until some movement caught his eye. He quickly retreated into the shadows and peered at what had captured his attention. Whatever it was had been on the third level. Since the middle of the building was open, he could see up to that floor. It was then that he spotted Frank slowly making his way along the upstairs, gun in hand intently staring out the upper windows at the outside. After watching for a few minutes, Jake deduced that his whole attention was on what was happening out there and was paying little or no attention to what was occurring inside. The next question, of course, was where was Katherine.
Jake skimmed around the outside of the perimeter on the second level always mindful of where Frank was. After completing the round, he knew for sure that she was not on the main level. Having kept Frank in sight the whole time, Jake could only deduce that Katherine was on the bottom floor. He slowly made his way to the stairs that led downstairs. He descended the stairs which thankfully were enclosed and not open metal grating. If that had been the case he would have never been able to make it to the bottom floor undetected. After several tense minutes, he finally set foot on the lower level. The light was almost nonexistent there and he knew that Katherine would have him at a distinct disadvantage, so he stopped once again and allowed his eyes to adjust. As he paused, he thought he heard a sound, but for the life of him he couldn't tell what direction it was coming from. Because the old building was so empty, the sounds tended to reverberate. He cocked his head and waited for anything further. He did hear something else and was fairly sure this time that it was coming from one of the upper levels. After a few seconds he could hear Frank descending the upper level steps heading for the main floor.
The sound caught not only Jake's attention but Kate's as well. When she heard Frank move, obviously responding to whatever had been heard earlier, she stepped out of the deep shadows that had originally hidden her away. It was then that Jake spotted her.
He moved away from the stairs and pointed his gun directly at Kate who noticed him a fraction of a second too late. She began to raise her own weapon, but Jake made it very clear that if she did so, he'd have no trouble shooting her.
"Put your gun down," he commanded.
"Jake……look……we can talk about this. Just……just give me a chance to explain," she pleaded.
"Explain?? Don't you mean you want to poison my mind just like you've done to Frank?? Hmmmm……….it's all lies Katherine, and you know it. I don't know how you managed to persuade him, but I'm not falling for it. So put your gun down before anyone gets hurt."
Frank had just made it to the main floor when he heard Jake's voice. And once again, because of the acoustics of the structure, he couldn't tell where he was. But when he heard Kate's voice answering him he knew that they were both on the bottom floor. He quickly made his way to the stairs leading to that level.
When Jake heard Frank at the top of the stairs, he started to inch his way around so that he was facing the stairwell and Kate had her back to it. And that's how Frank found them when he reached the last tread on the stair.
"Jake……don't do this," Frank tried to reason with the other agent. "You don't know all the facts. Let us explain."
"I've heard it all Frank. You may have fallen for it, but I'm not. I'm taking her in. Period."
"Frank???" Kate pleaded. "You can't let him take me. They'll kill me Frank……I know they will."
"Shut up Katherine!! It's over! Don't you get it!" Jake yelled. "There are Federal agents surrounding this building as we speak. There is no way out!"
Kate had had enough, she raised her gun and pointed it directly at Jake. The movement had been so swift that Jake didn't have time to respond before she had her weapon trained on him. The two stood face to face some ten paces apart guns drawn and both ready to shoot. Frank watched in agony as the two faced off. He desperately wanted to protect the woman that he loved but he also couldn't allow Kate to shoot Jake.
As the stand-off continued, the other agents, Alex , Monica and Cody included, finally made their way into the building. They could all hear voices, but it took a few moments to focus on where they were coming from. Several agents made their way around so that they had the three in sight from their vantage point on the main floor. Alex was one of those agents as was Tom. Daniel moved in behind them and surveyed the scene.
"Shoot them," Daniel commanded.
"No!" Tom quickly said to the others. "If you shoot Katherine, she's likely to take Jake down with her. No……let's wait to see how this plays out. Jake may be able to take care of it for us."
"What about Donovan?" Daniel hissed at Tom.
"Donovan's my problem. I told you I'd do my job."
Alex watched the exchange between the two men and wondered what they were talking about. She'd met Tom before but had no idea what his position was. The only thing she knew was that he was CIA.
Back on the bottom floor, the tension was escalating quickly. All three had heard the others enter the building just shortly before and knowing that fact had only made things go from bad to worse.
Frank watched as Kate seemed to be falling apart before his eyes. Her hand seemed to be shaking and he swore he could see her whole body tremble.
"Katherine," Jake tried to reason once more, "put the gun down………if you put it down, we all can walk out of here. If you shoot…….then there are at least four or five agents ready to take you out."
Kate laughed almost hysterically. "Don't you get it Jake?? I'm dead either way! Do you really think that they're going to just let me walk away?"
"Katie…….listen to me….please," Frank began, "shooting Jake is only going to make it worse. He's right. There's no way out. Please put down the gun."
"We can make it Frank," she said in a trembling voice. "We just need to get out of here. But he's not going to let that happen. If we get out, we can run away somewhere………somewhere safe………..somewhere they can't find us."
"Katie………there is nowhere to run. It's over, baby. Put the gun down……..please don't do this."
"I won't let them take me Frank!! I can't!! Don't you get it?? Jake's the only one standing in the way! If he hadn't found us…….he's the reason this is happening, don't you see that?!?!" Kate was nearly shrieking now, coming completely unhinged, the gun wavering wildly in her hand. Suddenly she seemed to regain control and pointed the gun directly at Jake's chest intent on firing. In the cavernous interior of the building a single shot rang out.
All who witnessed the occurrence stood in shock as Kate slowly fell to her knees staring blindly at Jake as blood began to pour from her open mouth. She collapsed face first to the factory floor and Jake slowly raised his eyes to Frank and stared in shock at the man as he held the smoking gun in his hand. Frank slowly lowered his weapon and with the gun hanging limply from the hand at his side he slowly backed away and stopped only when his back met the cold concrete wall. He slowly sank to the floor, knees drawn up before him and continued to stare at Kate's now lifeless body. His eyes were wide, his face devoid of any emotion other than shock.
Jake continued to watch Frank, still shaken by what had just occurred. He'd seen the look in Kate's eyes just milliseconds before Frank had fired and in that space of time, he knew that she was going to kill him. But instead here he stood staring at her lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. He approached her and knelt briefly at her side reaching out to feel for a pulse at the side of her neck. There was none. Frank had saved his life and in turn had sacrificed the woman that he loved.
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Next chapter: Repercussions
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Chapter Nineteen
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We're coming down to the homestretch here, boys and girls. Be prepared for a few twists and turns along the way! *wink*
And as always………THANK YOU for the very thoughtful reviews!!!!!
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Frank stood by the window and peered out for the hundredth time. The bright afternoon sunshine had given way to evening's dusk and as the last vestiges of light crept beneath the horizon, Frank's nervousness began to escalate. Exponentially. He couldn't explain it. He had no concrete reason to believe that they were in any immediate danger, but his instincts were screaming that something terrible was approaching.
He'd spent what was left of the afternoon and early evening pacing the warehouse, running possible scenarios through his head. He was fairly sure that he'd covered all the bases, but if he knew one thing about this business, it was that you always had to expect the unexpected. The dilemma was that sometimes you couldn't react to trouble until it was staring you directly in the face.
So here he stood, gazing out at the creeping darkness trying to mentally prepare for whatever the next day or two would bring. He sighed softly and turned to look at the woman sleeping peacefully on the couch across the room from him. When he hadn't been walking back and forth throughout the building, he'd been content to merely watch her as she slumbered. He'd promised to wake after a few hours but she seemed so serene, that he had decided to let her sleep longer than was probably prudent. He knew that she needed the rest. If he'd been in her situation, he wouldn't have been able to sleep well either. Some of her exhaustion could be blamed squarely on him. During the nights that he would visit her, to say that they got little or no sleep, would have been an understatement. He smiled thinking about the endless hours that they'd made love.
"What are you smiling at?" she asked in a sleepy voice.
Frank started a bit, not realizing that she'd awoken. "I was just thinking."
"About??" she continued as she slowly rose from the couch, stretching as she did so.
"About you."
Kate approached him and gave him her best sultry smile. "Hmmmm………now that sounds promising. What about me?" she questioned as she wound her arms around his neck.
Frank ran his hands lightly up and down her back and stared down into her still sleepy eyes. "Everything……….I was remembering everything about you. How I feel like I'm drowning when I look into your eyes. How silky your skin feels when you're lying in bed next to me. How soft and warm your lips are when they meet mine. How your whole face lights up when you smile. But mostly………..I was thinking about how I never want to live another day without you."
Kate gazed into his eyes and wondered, not for the first time since they'd met, how she'd gotten so lucky. Her heart felt like it was swelling to near bursting with all that she felt for him. Tears once again threatened to fall, but she willed them not to. She'd cried enough over the last week or so. She was tired of crying. She wanted to get through whatever was soon going to happen and then concentrate on a future that she'd never dared let herself hope for. A future that included the man she now held in her arms. Then, as if they had a will of their own, the tears that she'd been trying desperately not to shed, began to fall.
"God damn it," she quietly said.
"Not exactly the response I was hoping to get," he responded playfully.
"I'm crying again! Why do I feel like I've spent half of the short time that I've known you, crying??" she asked as she fervently wiped the moisture from her face.
"It's alright. I take it as a compliment."
She looked up at Frank with a confused look on her face. "Compliment? How's that?"
"Considering your background, both personal and professional, I would've expected you to be distant, keeping any feelings you had to a minimum and most importantly to yourself. The fact that you respond so openly when you're around me, just makes me realize that you feel comfortable with me. The façade is gone and the woman in front of me is the real Kate Dawson."
"Wow. You really are good at this psychoanalyzing thing. I think you could have a bright future as a profiler."
"I thought you said I had a promising future in stealing cars?"
Kate laughed briefly and then said, "You're right. Make that auto thief slash criminal behavior analyst, how's that?"
"Nah………I don't think all of that would fit on a business card."
Kate laughed once again and then leaned in to give Frank a quick kiss on the lips before wrapping her arms snuggly around him. Just as she was melting into his embrace, the phone rang. Startled, the two jumped away from each other and stared at the offending object making the sound.
Kate glanced briefly at Frank trying to gauge his reaction. He continued to intently stare at the phone, which rang only three times and then stopped.
"Answering machine? Voice mail?"
"No…….neither," he answered quickly. Then just as he replied to her, the phone began to ring once again. This time it sounded four times before stopping.
Frank turned quickly to the window looking out at the alleyway below. His gut instinct was telling him to move, and this time he was planning on listening.
He ducked quickly below the window and then began scrambling for the door leading to the lower level.
"We have to go…….now!" he hissed at her.
"Frank? What's out there?" she asked quietly as she followed him out the doorway.
"I'm not sure, but I'm not about to just sit here and find out. We need to get out of the building immediately."
They made their way to the bottom floor and when they were within 15 feet of the exit, Frank suddenly stopped with Kate nearly running into the back of him.
"What is it?" she questioned just barely louder than a whisper.
"Sssshhh……..," he instructed as he listened intently. He turned suddenly, grabbed her hand and headed toward the back of the building.
"Someone's outside the font door," he informed her.
There was a back door, but Frank was assuming that if someone was trying to gain access through the front, they might have the rear exit covered as well. He stopped once again, this time in front of a bank of windows. He hesitated briefly before picking up a chair that was close by. As he did so, he heard the sound of someone trying to open the front door. Without hesitating further, Frank swung the chair and smashed the window sending shards of glass flying everywhere.
Kate had realized what he was about to do and had scrambled back out of the way. After the window was broken out, she saw him make quick work of the remaining pieces along the lower edge, effectively clearing the way for them to make their way out without getting scratched up.
Turning to Kate, Frank motioned for her to climb out the window. "Quickly," he told her quietly, "and be careful. There's glass everywhere." She nodded in response and swiftly hurtled the windowsill. After glancing over his shoulder once more, Frank rapidly followed her.
Once outside, he grabbed her hand and the two made a quick dash down the alley toward one of the many warehouses and office buildings in the area. Hearing another noise, Frank grabbed Kate and hauled her back into the darkness provided by recessed doorway. Listening intently, the two could hear muffled voices coming from close by. Frank turned around and studied the door in front of him. There was a heavy dead bolt lock but no evidence of an alarm system that he could see.
"Keep an eye out while I try to open this door," he whispered to Kate who nodded quickly in response. He then took a set of tools out of his jacket pocket and proceeded to try and pick the lock.
Kate kept her eyes peeled to the darkened alley. She could still hear some barely audible sounds, but she couldn't tell what direction they were coming from since the sounds were being bounced off the buildings. A she peered into the barely lit street, she thought she saw some sort of movement. A person or persons passing in front of a nearby light source casting a shadow on the wall.
"Frank" she whispered, "they're coming! You better hurry!" As she did so, she heard a sound come from behind her and realized that Frank had indeed been able to open the door. He took hold of her arm and swiftly pulled her through the door, shutting it behind them.
Locking the door behind them, the two turned to survey the building that they'd just forcibly entered. It was another abandoned structure, probably an old manufacturing warehouse much like the one that the team now used as their headquarters except much larger. Much of the space was completely empty save some old machinery of some sort that had no doubt been discarded when the business had shut down. There were three levels all together, the bottom one being below the level of the street, with the center of the building actually being open from bottom to top. The two milled around examining the area, trying to find an adequate area to hide out if need be.
After checking the place out and making some mental plans, Frank crossed to the windows facing the alley that they had just exited. Although it was very dark and the windows were extremely filthy, he could still see enough to detect movement headed their way. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell who was approaching.
"Do you see anything?" Kate asked as she sidled up behind him.
"Not really. Movement, nothing more."
"Any idea who it is?" she questioned nervously.
"No. And that's the main problem right now. If it's the team, then we might have a chance, but if it's anyone else……..," he informed her, letting the last part of the sentence linger in the air, the meaning implicit.
"Do you think that whoever it is saw us come in here?"
Frank paused before answering. "I doubt it. If they had, they'd probably have a battering ram at the door as we speak. But if they had seen us, they might be planning how best to breach the building, or……..they could be waiting for enough back-up."
"OK, I like the first scenario better." Frank glanced at her briefly before returning his gaze out the window. In the dark he reached out for her hand and squeezed it lightly.
"It's going to be OK, you just have……….."
"To trust you?" she interrupted. "Really Donovan. We're going to have to get you a new catch phrase. You're wearing that one out."
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15 minutes earlier
Jake and Alex had been the first to arrive at the Nest. They had parked Jake's truck about a block away and walked the remaining distance. From what they could tell on the outside, the building looked exactly as it should, completely empty. No lights were on except those that came on automatically at dusk. Shortly after they made their way to the building, they saw a flash of lights causing the two to draw their weapons and hide behind the nearest structure they could find. They quickly realized that what they had seen was the headlights from the surveillance van pulling into the alley. They waited for the other two agents to approach.
"Damn it, Cody! I told you to turn the lights off BEFORE you pulled onto the street!" Jake hissed.
"Sorry!" the tech-op replied. "You try pulling that thing into a dark alley blind! It was either leave the lights on for a few more seconds or I take a chance at running the damn thing into a wall."
"Will the two of you cut it out!" Alex interjected. "In case you don't remember, we're here for a purpose. So, now that we're here, what's the plan?"
All heads turned to look at Jake as it seemed that he was now the temporary head of the unit. "First of all, we're not 100% sure that they're in there. But if they are, if we simply go in through the front door, we may come off as being not much of a threat."
"Soooo……..we're just going to walk in the front door and ask them to surrender to us. That's the plan?" Cody asked sarcastically.
"Look……..you gotta better idea? If so, I'm all ears. All I'm saying is that you've got two very dangerous individuals in there. If we go in guns blazing, somebody's liable to get shot, and I'll lay bets that it'll be one of the four of us. You wanna take your chances?"
Cody looked around at the other three agents and finally replied, "I see your point."
"Good. So here's the plan. I'll go in the front with Monica. Alex, you and Cody cover the back exit. Questions?" Everyone shook their heads, so they dispersed and took their positions.
"Alex?" Jake asked through the mic around his ear.
"Yeah. We're in position."
"Alright, we're going in."
Jake then proceeded to punch in the access code to turn off the alarm and after doing so unlocked the door. Just as he had his hand on the door and was ready to open it, they all heard the sound of breaking glass. A sound that came from inside the building.
"Shit!! OK, enter the building but be careful!! Call out if you see anything."
The four entered quickly but cautiously, searching left and right making sure that the broken window wasn't just a ruse. After a few minutes it became evident that they had indeed fled.
"Damn it! Alright, let's investigate the area. Check every door and building in the area, and I'll say it again, be careful. If you see anything, wait until the rest of us catch up before pursuing."
"Right," Alex replied. "Cody stick with me."
So the team split in two and started to comb the area. They tried every door and peered through every window, and they continued to find nothing.
"Alex."
"Yeah. Go ahead Jake."
"Monica and I are going to start back at the Nest and retrace our footsteps. We're going to make sure we didn't miss anything."
"Got it. Be careful."
So Jake and Monica did indeed start again from where the window had been broken. After several minutes, Monica spotted something on the ground.
"Jake. Over here." Jake turned and found Monica hunched down on the ground intently studying something.
"What do you have?"
"Look at this," she said pointing to a spot on the ground. Jake joined her and stared keenly at the place where she was pointing. At first he couldn't make out what it was. Then he shifted position, giving the area some more light. That's when he saw it. Blood. One of the two must have been cut by the window glass.
He looked up at Monica and communicated wordlessly what their next step would be, and that was to search the area looking for more of the same. They both rose and started searching the ground around the area. A few feet away, Jake found another blood stain and then another. The smattering of blood was like following a trail of bread crumbs and the trail was leading to an abandoned warehouse not more than 50 feet away.
"Monica. Over here." He waited for the profiler to join him. "The blood leads in this direction. They have to be in this building. Let's search the outside and see if there's another entrance." She nodded her head in agreement and the two headed off.
"Alex."
"Go ahead Jake."
"We found where they went. They're hiding out in an abandoned building to the north of the Nest. We're searching the outside for another entry point."
"Understood. We'll be there in a couple of minutes."
Jake and Monica walked around the outside of the building looking for another entrance and could find none. If Donovan and Katherine were indeed in the building, Jake had no doubt that they would be closely guarding the entryway. Frustrated, he joined Monica once more.
"There has to be another way in," he stated. "You don't build a structure this size and have only one doorway."
"Actually," she began, "they did used to build them this way. This place probably dates back to the 30's or so. They weren't too concerned about health and safety back then. In fact the owners probably preferred having only one door. That way they could more closely monitor their employees coming and going. That way no one could sneak out or in without the boss knowing about it."
"Nice. That certainly makes it hard as hell for us." Jake once again eyed the building this time looking for something out of the ordinary. After a moment or two he noticed an open window about 8 feet off the ground near the back of the building. He quickly scanned the area and found an old wood crate that was about 2 feet high. It wasn't much, he surmised, but it would have to be enough. He pulled it over and placed it below the window.
"What do you think you're going to do?" Monica questioned.
"I'm going through that window."
"Alone? I don't think so. Wait for backup or at least wait until I find something taller so that I can go in with you, because I'll never be able to reach the window just standing on that box."
Jake looked at her and said, "There's no time Mon, we gotta get in there now. It's just a matter of time before someone else traces them back here. Wait here for Alex and Cody then the three of you can make your way in." And before Monica could protest, Jake bounded up on top of the box and then jumped the remaining few inches to grab hold of the windowsill. He then pulled himself up until most of his body weight was resting on the ledge. He paused briefly to take a look inside making sure that he wouldn't be facing down the barrel of a gun. When he saw nothing he proceeded quickly and as quietly as possible to lever himself over and into the building, dropping down on the floor with ease. After touching down, he turned, still in a crouched position, and surveyed the area. The place was dimly lit, so it took a moment or two for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he looked around and saw nothing. If they were still here, he doubted they were on the main floor. Slowly he stood, drew his weapon and proceeded to make his way further in.
"Alex," Monica called over her mic, "You better hurry, Jake's decided to go in by himself."
"Shit. We're just about there. Hang on."
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About the time Jake was landing inside the abandoned warehouse, Director Lindford and his band of goons were arriving at the Nest. Thanks to the tail they'd put on Jake, they now had a good idea about where to look for Donovan and Katherine.
After exiting the vehicles, Lindford gave orders for the Nest to be searched while he, of course, stayed out of harm's way. He remained near the cars and was annoyed to notice that Tom had decided to stay along with him.
"Why don't you go in there and search too," he told the CIA assassin.
Tom gave him a smirk and said, "You really think Frank's just cowering in there waiting to be picked up? Good Lord! Even if he had still been in the building when we arrived, he's long gone now. You and your men pulled straight up to the front door, lights on and all, and you really thought he wouldn't notice?"
Daniel clenched his jaws together tightly trying to maintain whatever shreds of self control he had remaining. "Fine. What exactly are you waiting for anyway? You're assignment is to take out Frank Donovan. So why are you still here?"
Tom stared at the man for several long minutes and was pleased to see him getting uncomfortable. "In answer to your question. I'll do my job. Don't worry about that. When the time comes and not a second before." Daniel turned away quickly deciding it was best just to ignore the man.
Just then a couple of his men exited the building. "We found a broken window and nothing else. If they were here then that's the way they got out."
"Search the area. Alert me the second you've found anything." The man nodded and relayed the order to the others.
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Jake inched his way into the old factory, gun held high, senses on full alert. As soundlessly as possible he continued forward until some movement caught his eye. He quickly retreated into the shadows and peered at what had captured his attention. Whatever it was had been on the third level. Since the middle of the building was open, he could see up to that floor. It was then that he spotted Frank slowly making his way along the upstairs, gun in hand intently staring out the upper windows at the outside. After watching for a few minutes, Jake deduced that his whole attention was on what was happening out there and was paying little or no attention to what was occurring inside. The next question, of course, was where was Katherine.
Jake skimmed around the outside of the perimeter on the second level always mindful of where Frank was. After completing the round, he knew for sure that she was not on the main level. Having kept Frank in sight the whole time, Jake could only deduce that Katherine was on the bottom floor. He slowly made his way to the stairs that led downstairs. He descended the stairs which thankfully were enclosed and not open metal grating. If that had been the case he would have never been able to make it to the bottom floor undetected. After several tense minutes, he finally set foot on the lower level. The light was almost nonexistent there and he knew that Katherine would have him at a distinct disadvantage, so he stopped once again and allowed his eyes to adjust. As he paused, he thought he heard a sound, but for the life of him he couldn't tell what direction it was coming from. Because the old building was so empty, the sounds tended to reverberate. He cocked his head and waited for anything further. He did hear something else and was fairly sure this time that it was coming from one of the upper levels. After a few seconds he could hear Frank descending the upper level steps heading for the main floor.
The sound caught not only Jake's attention but Kate's as well. When she heard Frank move, obviously responding to whatever had been heard earlier, she stepped out of the deep shadows that had originally hidden her away. It was then that Jake spotted her.
He moved away from the stairs and pointed his gun directly at Kate who noticed him a fraction of a second too late. She began to raise her own weapon, but Jake made it very clear that if she did so, he'd have no trouble shooting her.
"Put your gun down," he commanded.
"Jake……look……we can talk about this. Just……just give me a chance to explain," she pleaded.
"Explain?? Don't you mean you want to poison my mind just like you've done to Frank?? Hmmmm……….it's all lies Katherine, and you know it. I don't know how you managed to persuade him, but I'm not falling for it. So put your gun down before anyone gets hurt."
Frank had just made it to the main floor when he heard Jake's voice. And once again, because of the acoustics of the structure, he couldn't tell where he was. But when he heard Kate's voice answering him he knew that they were both on the bottom floor. He quickly made his way to the stairs leading to that level.
When Jake heard Frank at the top of the stairs, he started to inch his way around so that he was facing the stairwell and Kate had her back to it. And that's how Frank found them when he reached the last tread on the stair.
"Jake……don't do this," Frank tried to reason with the other agent. "You don't know all the facts. Let us explain."
"I've heard it all Frank. You may have fallen for it, but I'm not. I'm taking her in. Period."
"Frank???" Kate pleaded. "You can't let him take me. They'll kill me Frank……I know they will."
"Shut up Katherine!! It's over! Don't you get it!" Jake yelled. "There are Federal agents surrounding this building as we speak. There is no way out!"
Kate had had enough, she raised her gun and pointed it directly at Jake. The movement had been so swift that Jake didn't have time to respond before she had her weapon trained on him. The two stood face to face some ten paces apart guns drawn and both ready to shoot. Frank watched in agony as the two faced off. He desperately wanted to protect the woman that he loved but he also couldn't allow Kate to shoot Jake.
As the stand-off continued, the other agents, Alex , Monica and Cody included, finally made their way into the building. They could all hear voices, but it took a few moments to focus on where they were coming from. Several agents made their way around so that they had the three in sight from their vantage point on the main floor. Alex was one of those agents as was Tom. Daniel moved in behind them and surveyed the scene.
"Shoot them," Daniel commanded.
"No!" Tom quickly said to the others. "If you shoot Katherine, she's likely to take Jake down with her. No……let's wait to see how this plays out. Jake may be able to take care of it for us."
"What about Donovan?" Daniel hissed at Tom.
"Donovan's my problem. I told you I'd do my job."
Alex watched the exchange between the two men and wondered what they were talking about. She'd met Tom before but had no idea what his position was. The only thing she knew was that he was CIA.
Back on the bottom floor, the tension was escalating quickly. All three had heard the others enter the building just shortly before and knowing that fact had only made things go from bad to worse.
Frank watched as Kate seemed to be falling apart before his eyes. Her hand seemed to be shaking and he swore he could see her whole body tremble.
"Katherine," Jake tried to reason once more, "put the gun down………if you put it down, we all can walk out of here. If you shoot…….then there are at least four or five agents ready to take you out."
Kate laughed almost hysterically. "Don't you get it Jake?? I'm dead either way! Do you really think that they're going to just let me walk away?"
"Katie…….listen to me….please," Frank began, "shooting Jake is only going to make it worse. He's right. There's no way out. Please put down the gun."
"We can make it Frank," she said in a trembling voice. "We just need to get out of here. But he's not going to let that happen. If we get out, we can run away somewhere………somewhere safe………..somewhere they can't find us."
"Katie………there is nowhere to run. It's over, baby. Put the gun down……..please don't do this."
"I won't let them take me Frank!! I can't!! Don't you get it?? Jake's the only one standing in the way! If he hadn't found us…….he's the reason this is happening, don't you see that?!?!" Kate was nearly shrieking now, coming completely unhinged, the gun wavering wildly in her hand. Suddenly she seemed to regain control and pointed the gun directly at Jake's chest intent on firing. In the cavernous interior of the building a single shot rang out.
All who witnessed the occurrence stood in shock as Kate slowly fell to her knees staring blindly at Jake as blood began to pour from her open mouth. She collapsed face first to the factory floor and Jake slowly raised his eyes to Frank and stared in shock at the man as he held the smoking gun in his hand. Frank slowly lowered his weapon and with the gun hanging limply from the hand at his side he slowly backed away and stopped only when his back met the cold concrete wall. He slowly sank to the floor, knees drawn up before him and continued to stare at Kate's now lifeless body. His eyes were wide, his face devoid of any emotion other than shock.
Jake continued to watch Frank, still shaken by what had just occurred. He'd seen the look in Kate's eyes just milliseconds before Frank had fired and in that space of time, he knew that she was going to kill him. But instead here he stood staring at her lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. He approached her and knelt briefly at her side reaching out to feel for a pulse at the side of her neck. There was none. Frank had saved his life and in turn had sacrificed the woman that he loved.
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Next chapter: Repercussions
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