Chapter 2: A Break

So suddenly so strong
My prejudice
Was gone
You needed me
I found my place
I'm different now
These days...

"I'll just go and make sure she's okay," Tara said, her eyes bright with tears as she followed Lucy out of the room. The guys watched in silence for a moment, all of them at a loss for words.

"I'm going to leave my phone on so please call if anything happens," D said, grabbing his coat and looking guilty for being the only one going home.

"No worries, mate. Just go home and give your wife a hug," Bobby told him. D nodded and gave Jack a pat on the back as he walked by him on his way out.

"This whole thing has such a surreal quality. It's like a bad dream," Myles muttered.

"It's a nightmare," Bobby agreed, polishing off his sandwich. "Still no sign of Howie Fines?"

"No," Jack replied, shaking his head as he balled up the wrapper from his sandwich and tossed it in the trash. "We've got word out to all of our snitches to look out for Howie, too. The call placed to Sue was definitely traced back to his cell phone but he's now MIA. I don't think he's behind this though."

"I don't either," Myles agreed. "At least, not by his own volition. There wouldn't be any way for Sue to really know who was on the other line. Someone could have been impersonating Howie to set her up." Myles shook his head angrily, the hopelessness of the situation written all over his face.

"I had a feeling something wasn't right, and I blew it," Jack muttered.

"Jack, she wasn't even alone for ten minutes, you had no possible way of knowing what was going to happen," Myles insisted.

"Who's to say that whoever has Sue wouldn't have taken her whether you were there or not? They were obviously determined and would have found an opportunity later if they hadn't had one today," Bobby added.

"I should have alerted other agents as soon as I suspected something wasn't right--I feel like an idiot. This could have been prevented...if she's hurt in any way..." Jack's eyes filled with tears, and he slammed his fist onto the desk. He put his head in his hands and couldn't help imagining all of the possible situations Sue might be finding herself in, none of them good.

Jack heard a bang, followed by the sound of the filing cabinet sliding open. Moments later a stack of files landed on the desk next to his head. He looked up to see Myles standing over him, looking very determined. "What is this?" Jack questioned.

"These are the files of some of the people Sue has helped to put away since she joined our team. We'll each take a stack and follow up on each person as well as their associates. Maybe the name of the game here is revenge." Jack nodded listlessly. He knew that Myles had a point, but he couldn't help but feel like there was a piece of the puzzle they were missing; something that was being overlooked.

He just couldn't put his finger on it.

Thursday

"Sue!" Jack shot straight up in bed, the sound of Sue's screams still ringing in his ears. She had been calling his name, begging him to help her. He struggled to remember the dream, but it was already slipping away as the sunlight streamed through the window, forcing him awake. Rubbing his eyes, Jack looked at the clock and was shocked to realize it was late morning.

His mind was still foggy with sleep as he stumbled out of bed and went into the kitchen to put the coffee on. He was glad he'd been able to sleep, maybe it would give him the clarity of mind he needed right now. With no breaks in the case, it was hard to think positive, but he had to. He couldn't even consider the alternative.

The hours since she'd disappeared had really opened his eyes to how important she was to him. It was amazing the things you took for granted on a daily basis. He missed being able to make eye contact with her throughout the day, sharing her reactions to all the things that happened—big and small alike.

He missed the dimple that would appear in her cheek when she smiled, seeing her play with Levi, spar with Myles or gossip with Lucy and Tara---just the simple things that he had never given a second thought until he didn't get to experience them anymore. And Jack wasn't the only one missing her. David had come into the office the day before to see if they were making any progress and Jack could tell that he hadn't been sleeping either.

Sue's relationship with David had always been a question mark in Jack's mind. He knew they were seeing each other and had been for a while but didn't know exactly how committed they were to each other. David had been noticeably absent on several occasions when Jack felt he should have been there for Sue.

He knew that David ran his own business and had gotten considerably busier as of late, often going out of town. Still, there was a small part of Jack that hoped the real reason for David's scarcity in Sue's life was that their relationship just wasn't that serious yet. He had to admit that he could see that they cared for each other, but it was difficult to tell how deep those feelings ran. When Sue focused her soulful eyes on Jack there was something there that was missing when she looked at David. Then again, maybe he was only seeing what he wanted to see. Since he and Allie had decided to break things off for good Jack had been able to define his feelings for Sue with even more clarity.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" David had asked Jack, almost pleading with him. "I need to do something."

"We're on it; we're doing everything we can." Jack tried to put aside any feelings of jealousy he had for David, imagining that the guy must feel even more helpless than Jack did. After all, Jack was involved in the investigation while all David could do was watch from the sidelines. Of course, David was free of the guilt that Jack felt over the fact that Sue was missing in the first place.

Lucy approached them and put a hand on David's arm. "David, what are you doing here?"

"I just came to see if there was some way for me to lend a hand...to help you guys find her."

"That's sweet of you...I wish there was something you could do, but honestly, we're covering all the bases. There are a couple of leads that are being followed up on, but no news yet. We aren't giving up hope though." Lucy had swallowed, looking teary-eyed again.

David squeezed her hand and gave her a hug. "Thanks for the update, Lucy. I guess I should go." David nodded at Jack as Lucy walked with him to the door. Jack had watched him leave, suddenly feeling that he had no right to the emotions he felt for Sue. At least David was willing to step up and tell Sue how he felt instead of taking the coward's way out...

Jack was pulled out of the memory by the sound of the phone ringing, jarring him back to the present. He answered it, his heart pounding with anticipation.

"Jack, it's Tara. We've found Howie."

He'd been admitted to the hospital on Tuesday evening, as a John Doe. Someone had found him huddled beside a dumpster in an alleyway only a couple of blocks away from Christie's. He had been beaten unconscious and didn't' have any identification on him. One hour ago he'd woken up and told the nurses who he was and that he needed to speak to Jack Hudson at the FBI. Jack and Bobby looked at Howie's black and blue face as he lay in the hospital bed.

Howie looked back at them through his one good eye--his other eye was still swollen shut. "Hey guys," he said, avoiding making any real eye contact with either of them. "Any news on Sue?" he asked hopefully.

"No. So if you know where she is then you need to tell us," Bobby snapped.

"I don't know," Howie said, shaking his head and then groaning. "I've got a pretty good idea who's got her, though."

"Who?" Jack looked at him, the desperation written all over his face. If Howie hadn't been lying in a hospital bed, Jack would have had to fight the urge to grab him by the collar and shake him. As it was now, he was tempted...Howie was moaning and groaning, and Jack could feel time slipping away...

"Howie, spit it out, man!" Bobby said, raising his voice and looking at Jack in exasperation.

"Carl Lamont," Howie muttered.

"Who?" Bobby asked, shaking his head.

"Carl Lamont," Jack repeated. "I helped put him in prison for drug smuggling a few years ago. He must be out on parole. How do you know him, Howie? What does he want with Sue?"

"He's a friend of a friend," Howie replied. "He's been hanging around lately, told me he was trying to get away from a life of crime, like I had. He'd found out some guys he knew were going to be moving large shipments of illegal drugs and told me he wanted to make sure they didn't get away with it. He didn't just want to make an anonymous call to the cops, though. He wanted to make sure that his story was taken seriously."

"So you told him you were an FBI informant," Jack said angrily.

"No way. I'm not that dense. Howie Fines would never betray the FBI, especially not Sue." Howie's face crumpled for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and continued. "I told him that there was someone we could talk to who would make sure that his story reached the right people. I mentioned that she was a woman and she was deaf, and suddenly he wanted to come along with me."

"Where's Sue? What has he done with her?" Jack demanded, all of the memories of Lamont were coming back to him, and the thought of Sue being held by him made him sick.

"He grabbed her outside the restaurant, flashed a gun in her face and then stuck it in her back, forcing her into his van. It all happened so fast that I don't even think Levi realized Sue was in danger until she was in the van. He started to whine, and I yelled at him to run away---I was afraid he would just make things worse if he started barking. Then two of Carl's thugs came out of nowhere. They dragged me into the alley and knocked me around. I had no idea any of this would happen, honest," Howie said.

"I'm sure you didn't Howie," Jack assured him. He had some understanding of what a master manipulator Lamont could be, and he knew that Howie wouldn't have purposely led him to Sue. But what could Lamont possibly want with her?

An hour later, the gang stood in the bullpen watching Garrett give a statement to the press, requesting anyone who had information on the whereabouts of Sue Thomas or Howie Fines to contact the FBI. Hopefully Lamont would see it and think he'd succeeded in eliminating Howie from the equation. If he still believed that no one knew he was the one who had Sue, then maybe he would finally make contact, feeling content with his anonymity. Or he would make a mistake, and they would grab him the second he did.

"We're going to get him," Jack said out loud.

Lucy looked at him, biting her bottom lip as she held back her tears. "What do you think he wants with her, Jack? Sue never busted Lamont. She doesn't even know him."

"No, but I did. I think we were right to think this was revenge, but instead of revenge against Sue, I think it's revenge against me." As Jack said it aloud, it suddenly made sense. If Lamont wanted to use someone to get to him, Sue was a good choice. They spent a lot of time together when they were working and often went out for lunch or dinner together. The two had been mistaken for a couple on a number of occasions, so if Lamont had been watching Jack he may have just assumed that Sue was his girlfriend.

"So Lamont is using Sue to get to you...I wonder why he hasn't made contact yet?" Myles commented thoughtfully.

"I'm guessing that he's playing games with us, the not knowing where Sue's at is his way of torturing us," Jack replied. What Jack was really afraid of was the torture he could be inflicting on Sue. He clenched his jaw as he forced himself to stop imagining what she may be going through.

"Do you think he'll hurt her?" Tara asked softly, voicing what no one had dared to say aloud.

"I don't know Tara; I hope not. He's definitely got a violent personality, but all of the violence on his record stems from shoot-outs involving drugs. It's hard to say what he'll do in a situation like this," Myles answered, when Jack didn't show any indication of responding.

"Right now we've got agents on his home, his work and all of his known associates. Anything unusual and we're on it," Dimitrius assured them.

Everyone's spirits had picked up since the break in the case. They were still worried about Sue, but at least now they had something to go on---some hope that they were a step closer to finding her. Jack walked back to his desk and began to pore over all of the case files involving Lamont. He needed to get into the guy's head and figure out what his next move might be.

Three years ago, Jack had led the investigation that ended in a drug bust, incriminating Carl Lamont and two of his drug smuggling buddies. Lamont had given chase, forcing Jack to shoot him in the leg. Despite his less than stellar criminal record, it turned out Carl Lamont was a family man, with a wife and baby daughter. When he had been sentenced to five years in prison Lamont had openly threatened Jack in the courtroom, but that fact had never caused Jack to lose any sleep.

It's not like he hadn't had other criminals make idle threats before...he hadn't given Lamont a thought since that bust years ago. And now Lamont was coming back to haunt him, and by taking Sue, he was making good on his threat. Jack just prayed that they'd get another break soon. Sue's life may depend on it.

"Jack, wake up. There's been some news." Jack woke up to the sound of D's voice in his ear. He sat up quickly in his chair, immediately awake as the meaning of the words washed over him.

"What news?" he demanded.

"There was a sighting of Lamont, we've got agents tailing him now--hopefully wherever he goes he will lead us to Sue," D replied.

"I need to be there," Jack said, grabbing his coat.

D put a hand on his shoulder. "You're too close to this one Jack---we can't know what they're going to find. I think you should stay here."

"I need to be there. She's been missing for more than two days; I have to be there for her," Jack insisted.

D saw the look in his friend's eyes and knew he wasn't going to change his mind. "Okay but you need to be in the background Jack."

"Whatever. Let's go," Jack told him, putting on his coat as he ran out the door.

Jack was like a man possessed as he stared at the house Lamont had entered just ten minutes before. He felt like his whole body was thrumming with adrenaline---it was all he could do to stop himself from going and breaking the door down to get to Sue. They had the house surrounded, and from what they could tell from the outside, Lamont was alone in the house. There was no sign of an accomplice but no sign of Sue either.

"We're going in, Jack," Myles said, coming up beside him. "We can clearly see Lamont, and Sue isn't with him. We're not going to waste any more time."

"You're going to need to hang back until we're clear, okay?" D told Jack, looking straight into his eyes.

"Got it." Jack nodded and turned his gaze back to the house. Agents knocked down the door, catching Lamont completely off guard. Within seconds they'd ascertained he was indeed without an accomplice. Jack raced toward the house, following D and Bobby inside.

"Agent Hudson. I knew I'd be seeing you eventually. What took you so long?" Lamont sneered at him.

Bobby put his hand on Jack's arm. Jack nodded at him. He was going to keep his cool. As much as he'd love to pound Lamont's face into the carpet, he knew that wouldn't help Sue. "Where is she?" Jack asked through clenched teeth.

"Who?" Lamont asked, feigning ignorance. Jack turned away from him with a look of disgust, joining the other agents as they combed the house.

"You know who, you maggot," Myles said, inching closer to Lamont until they were face to face. "If you've hurt her in any way, shape or form, you're going to pay. I wouldn't want to be the one cleaning up that mess, if you get my meaning." Lamont glared at Myles without an ounce of remorse.

"I think we've got something here!" Bobby called from a bedroom. Jack ran into the room, four other agents on his heels. Bobby had pulled up the area rug, revealing a trap door hidden in the floorboards.

Together, he and Jack pulled open the heavy trap door and found themselves looking down into a tiny room. Staring into the dimly lit space, Jack let out a gasp, his eyes filling with tears.