Chapter 19: A House of Cards
"Sorry about dinner. I guess some of us aren't blessed with culinary talent," Jack joked, as they walked over to Sam and Mary's.
"No, Jack, it was good," Sue insisted. "I just wasn't very hungry. I've got a bit of a stomachache, probably from nerves. I just have to try and relax and not let this case get to me."
"I understand," Jack said sympathetically as they stepped onto the Ryan's porch. "Are you sure you want to do this? We could always call them and tell them you're not feeling well."
"No," Sue replied firmly. "We have to do this. I'll be fine."
"Okay," Jack agreed, eyeing her with concern before reaching for the doorbell. "Here goes nothing."
The four of them sat down in Sam and Mary's living room as Jack and Sue filled the other couple in on their interview with Jodie. Jack could tell that Sue was fighting hard to relax and hoped that it was only noticeable to him because he knew her so well. From their demeanor, it didn't appear that Sam or Mary had noticed anything unusual. They seemed genuinely interested in how the interview had gone, but Jack had to admit he was beginning to find some of their questions oddly intrusive. He was trying to think of a way to change the subject without seeming too obvious when he felt the vibration of his cell phone on his hip.
Reaching for it, he saw Dimitrius' number on the display and knew he had to answer it. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I have to get this. Do you mind if I take it in the other room?"
"Not at all," Mary replied. Sue gave him a curious look and he grinned at her.
"Work," he said, shrugging his shoulders; Sue nodded at him in understanding. Jack walked out of the room quickly and made sure he was a safe distance away before answering.
"Jack, it's D. We've got some news." Jack frowned at the tension in his friend's simple greeting.
"What's up?" Jack asked him, beginning to feel uneasy.
"SOG has been on Dr. Lee and they just let us know that he's in the car and appears to be heading to your neighborhood. His home is in the opposite direction. They're going to stay on him, but we wanted to warn you that he's only minutes away." D replied tersely.
"Sue and I are at the Ryan's right now," Jack told him, as his uneasiness grew.
"We'll send backup Jack, but you should get out of there. If that doctor recognizes Sue…" D's voice trailed off, but his concern was apparent. Jack shared it, and knew that he needed to get Sue and himself back to the safety of their house---and quickly.
"Got it. We'll be in touch once we're back home." As Jack hung up the phone, he heard a sound from the living room that made his blood run cold.
There was no doubt in his mind that the cry of panic he'd heard had come from Sue. Jack raced back to the living room, silently praying that she wasn't in any danger. Please let it be nothing, he prayed.
But it wasn't. Sam had a firm grip on Sue with one hand and a gun pressed to her head with the other. Fear shone in Sue's eyes and Jack wished for a moment that he could take her place. Mary turned to him with eyes as cold as ice. "You almost had us fooled," she hissed at him, the pretense of being a kind, caring neighbor long gone.
"What are you talking about? What's going on?" Jack asked desperately.
"You can stop pretending you don't know what I mean. We have the upper hand here," Mary said, gesturing to Sam and Sue. "One wrong move from you and your wife's brains will be all over the carpet," she said cruelly, then turned to Sam. "Honey, we'll have to tell the cleaning lady not to come by tomorrow. She might get suspicious of the mess." Sam chuckled, moving the gun against Sue's head. Sue gasped, and Jack could tell she was holding back tears. He was glad that Sue hadn't been able to see Mary's previous statement; she was terrified enough as it was. Jack looked at her helplessly, unsure of what his next move should be. He hadn't even thought to bring his gun because they had been under the mistaken impression that their cover was secure. Looking at the metal barrel pressed against Sue's head, Jack doubted that his weapon would have done any good now.
"Look, I don't know what's going on," Jack said, trying to stay calm. "Please let my wife go; there's been some kind of mistake."
"Just be quiet," Sam barked. "There's too much at stake to let you mess this up for us. We've worked too hard." Sue couldn't see what Sam was saying, as he was standing behind her. She could feel his rage though and remained as still as possible, not wanting to do anything that might set him off. Her eyes continued to hold Jack's and she prayed that they would make it through this.
Jack wracked his brain, trying to figure out how things had gone so horribly wrong. "Your story was very convincing," Mary told him, as though she were reading his mind. "I wouldn't have suspected a thing, except for something that happened the other night when we had you over for dinner." Jack shook his head, at a complete loss. "That little phone call you received…from a client was it?" she chuckled, and Sue held back a shiver as she watched Mary. "I must have forgotten to mention in any of our little chats that while I don't know many practical signs in ASL, I do know how to fingerspell," Mary told him, a smile of satisfaction on her face. Jack looked into Sue's eyes, seeing a realization dawn in them that mirrored his own feelings. "Since I don't know many men named Tara, it certainly made me wonder what you were hiding."
A soft knock on the door put a stop to Mary's monologue. She motioned for Jack to follow her to the door, while Sam and Sue followed behind. Sam kept Sue and Jack out of sight, while Mary peered through the peephole. She unlocked the door and opened it to allow their visitor to enter. Sue gasped as Dr Marsh, a.k.a. Dr. Lee, stepped through the door.
"John, so glad you could join our little party," Sam said. "You're just in time."
"Ah, Mrs. Hudson, how nice to see you again," John said softly. Sue kept quiet and turned her nose up at the doctor, meeting Jack's gaze once again. He saw quiet strength in her gaze and felt the anger at their situation welling up inside him. He felt absolutely responsible for this mess, considering he was the one who'd slipped up. He was the experienced one, the one who should know better. Now he'd made a mistake that could get them both killed. Jack could only hope that back up would arrive in time to save them.
"Jodie's been caught red-handed trying to kidnap another infant." Myles heard Tara's voice in his ear and smiled to himself.
"Yes!" he exclaimed. "Finally, things are going our way!"
"They've taken her into custody and we've got people on their way to the agency right now. If there are any babies there, we will certainly find them," Tara said.
"Has she confessed to the other kidnappings?" Myles asked hopefully.
"Not yet," Tara replied. "She insists that she won't say anything without a lawyer. There's no way for her to get out of this, though. She was caught with the baby in her arms. The doll and the note had been left in the crib. I just wish she would tell us who else is involved. Have you reached the Ryan's yet?"
"I'm en route, probably five minutes away. I hope Jack checks in soon, though. The doctor should have arrived by now," Myles said worriedly.
"He has and he just went inside the house, but there's still no word. He and Sue are still inside and we haven't been able to make contact with them." Worry was evident in Tara's voice as well.
"D and Bobby should be arriving there any second and I'm certain Jack has the situation well under control," Myles told her, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.
Sam pressed the gun into Sue's back, roughly forcing her back into the living room. Jack helplessly followed with John and Mary closely behind him. His mind raced, knowing that SOG was now outside the house.
"I'm told you were sneaking around in places where you had no business being today," Mary said, eyeing Sue accusingly. Sue stared right back at Mary, still in shock over the woman's complete transformation. "You'll pay for that later," she promised, smiling at the doctor.
"I'm looking forward to it," John replied. Jack gritted his teeth, using every ounce of willpower he had not to wipe the leer off the shorter man's face. The gun that Sam had pushed into Sue's side left him no choice.
"You know, I'm still a little blown away with the performance the two of you have been putting on," Mary said, sounding impressed. "If I hadn't done my research, I might still believe that you're struggling with infertility. With the sources I have, it wasn't hard to discover the fact that there is no record of either of you receiving any sort of fertility treatments; not here in D.C. or in any other state for that matter. It was a good try, though," Mary said with a smirk.
"Sweetheart, I know you're enjoying this but maybe we should just get this over with," Sam suggested. Jack and Sue eyed each other, and he signed I'm sorry, to her. Sue shook her head at him, tears of sadness and anger stinging her eyes. She wanted to tell him not to blame himself, to tell him that she loved him, but the gun pressed painfully against the side of her abdomen forced her to keep silent and still.
"Don't be hasty, Sam," John said calmly. "There's plenty of time for that later. Why don't we give them some time to say goodbye first," he suggested sarcastically, "then we can take care of business." Sue looked at Jack in shocked disbelief at the doctor's words.
"We'll put them in the basement," Mary announced. Sam nodded and motioned John over to him, handing him the gun. Jack stiffened as Sam approached him and began searching him for a weapon. He took Jack's cell phone, which was now vibrating continuously, and threw it across the room. "You certainly won't be needing that," Mary informed him coldly. When Sam was finished, he took the gun from John and looked at him with a grin.
"Shall I let you do the honors?" he asked the doctor. Sue stood frozen in horror as the doctor's hands began to wander slowly over her body. He took Sue's blackberry out of her pocket and handed it to Sam before returning to his task. Sue forced herself to keep still as John's hands traveled to where his eyes had frequently rested during their first meeting. Seeing the look in Sue's eyes as the doctor's hands violated her, Jack snapped. He dove forward, lunging at the other man, but Sam intercepted him and used the gun to deliver a sharp blow to the back of Jack's head. He was aware of Sue calling out his name as he fell and then…darkness.
"What's our status?" Myles asked as he walked over to Bobby and D.
"Well, we have no way of knowing what's going on in there," Bobby answered in frustration. "We haven't heard from Jack or Sue, but we know they're still in there, since SOG never saw them leave." The Aussie ran his fingers through his hair, worry for his friends' safety written all over his face. They were stationed just down the street from the Ryan's to avoid being spotted.
"Do we know if Jack is armed?" Myles asked.
D shook his head. "We've got people going through his things right now so we should know pretty quickly," he answered. The three of them looked over at the street as a beige station wagon in terrible need of a tune-up rumbled past them and parked near the Ryan's. Myles held a pair of binoculars up to his eyes to get a better look. A young woman got out of the car, and he took a sharp intake of breath.
"What is it?" Bobby asked him.
"I recognize that woman. It's Marina Murphy, Annie's mother," Myles replied.
"Maybe she's involved in this somehow," Bobby suggested.
Myles shook his head. In the two brief meetings he'd had with the woman, he'd witnessed her pain over her missing child and felt certain it hadn't been an act. "I highly doubt it," Myles said firmly, believing that Marina's anguish was truly genuine.
"Well then, what is she doing here?" Bobby asked. As they watched, Marina walked right by the Ryan's house and entered the neighboring yard. Walking up to the door, she rang the doorbell and stood there for a few moments before walking over to the front window and peering through.
"That's Maura's house, isn't it?" Myles asked D, who nodded. "I'm going to go and talk to her." Myles was overwhelmed by curiosity as he approached Marina. She was almost back at her car before she looked up and saw him walking toward her. She gasped in surprise, putting a hand over her heart.
"Agent Leland, you scared me! What are you doing here?" Marina asked.
"Sorry about that," Myles replied gently. "I'm here on FBI business. What brings you to this neighborhood?"
"My grandmother lives here. I haven't been able to reach her by phone all afternoon, so I decided to come and check on her," Marina answered worriedly. Myles' eyebrows shot up in surprise. He was willing to bet that this was no coincidence. "There's no answer at her door, though. I don't have a key and I'm not sure what to do now." The young woman's eyes filled with tears and Myles put a comforting hand on her arm.
"Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of it," Myles assured her. He was about to say something more when he heard D's voice in his headset. His face broke into a wide smile as he listened, and Marina shook her head at him, wondering what was going on. "I need you to come with me," he told her.
"Where are we going?" Marina asked him hesitantly.
Myles smiled gently at her before answering. "We're going to go get your baby."
Sue cried out in fear as Jack fell to the floor, and instinctively she rushed to him. However, Sam stepped in front of her, pressing the gun to her head once more. Sue couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face as she looked at Jack lying so still on the floor. Sam handed the gun to Mary, and she roughly pushed Sue out of the living room and into the hallway. Once they reached the end, she opened a door, and Sue saw a set of stairs leading into the basement. Mary pushed her through the door, and Sue grabbed the railing so that she wouldn't fall. She looked worriedly behind her and saw John and Sam carrying Jack toward them. Mary nudged Sue, and she continued down the stairs into the cold unfinished basement.
There was a single light bulb hanging from the low ceiling and while it was dim, it was enough for Sue to be able to see that Mary was speaking to her. "We'll be back for you soon," she told Sue coldly. Sam and John dumped Jack on the floor near Sue and headed back up the stairs after Mary. Sue went to Jack and felt for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when she found it to be steady and strong. A hand on his chest reassured her that he was breathing normally, too. After gently running her fingers through his hair to make sure he wasn't bleeding Sue looked around, taking in their surroundings. While she highly doubted she'd be able to find a means of escape, she had to try.
Suddenly, her eyes rested on something that made her heart stop. A small figure was crumpled on the floor just a short distance from where she was sitting. As Sue approached, she realized with a heavy heart that it was Maura and that she wasn't moving. Her face was covered with blood, and she was so pale that Sue was certain she was dead. Taking one of the elderly woman's hands in her own, Sue felt for a pulse and was relieved to find one. It was weak but it was there. Looking around the room, Sue saw a sleeping bag lying in a pile of other odds and ends. Grabbing it, she unfolded it and covered Maura. Sitting down next to Jack, Sue prayed silently that help would arrive in time. Jack stirred suddenly and slowly opened his eyes. Sue grasped his hand with one of hers and gently touched his cheek with the other. "Jack, I'm so glad you're awake," she said softly, tears overflowing onto her cheeks again.
Jack tried to sit up but winced in pain and lay back down on the floor again. "Where are we?" he rasped, closing his eyes again.
"We're in the basement. They said that they're coming back soon, though," Sue replied fearfully. "Maura's here, too," she added.
Jack opened his eyes again and looked over at Maura's still form. "Is she alive?" he asked her, fearing the worst.
Sue nodded. "Just barely," she choked."
Jack saw Sue's tears and reached up to brush some of them away. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" His eyes were full of concern as he struggled to sit up.
"I'm okay," Sue insisted. "I'm more worried about you right now."
"My head is throbbing pretty badly. Other than that, I'm okay, too," Jack told her with a weak smile, then winced as he touched the painfully swollen knot on the back of his head. He frowned as he looked up at her. "I'm so sorry for getting us into this mess," he said, his own eyes filling with tears.
"Don't say that," Sue said in a shaky voice. "You didn't make them do this, Jack. You're not to blame," she insisted firmly.
Jack lifted his head and then winced in pain again. "Sue, there's something I have to tell you, in case we don't get out of here," he told her, squeezing her hand. Sue looked at him sadly and choked back a sob, shaking her head in disbelief at the situation they were in.