Hi everyone!

I just want to point out before you read this chapter that there is an Author's note at the end. Read and enjoy!

Chapter 5

Getting in the car, all Harm could think about was that he couldn't just stay there. He needed to do something. It didn't take him long though to realise that he didn't know where he was going, but he still kept on driving. It was better than sitting around waiting for another call feeling everybody's eyes on him. He needed some time alone. When his phone rang, he was expecting Mac, and was surprised when he didn't recognise the number.

"Hello."

"Harm, it's Webb. I heard about your daughter. I'm sorry... I have some information for you."

"What?"

"You know that murder you were investigating. There is an Agency connection. Apparently there is this group of ex-CIA agents who have started their own little intelligence gathering unit, which is not very popular higher up in the food chain. They know too much about us, and now they sell their intelligence to the highest bidder. They have managed to stay hidden so far, mostly because they frown upon personal relationships."

"What does that have to do with Janice or Hope?"

"I believe one of their operatives got involved with your friend, and when his superiors found out she had to be eliminated."

"I repeat, how is this going to help me find my daughter?"

" I have a location for him..."

The same time
Harm and Mac's House

Mac was once again sitting in her daughter's room. This time feeling twice as worried, if that was even possible. She could understand Harm feeling frustrated, and she could understand him driving off, she might even have done the same thing herself, but it was time for him to come home now. She couldn't do this alone.

An Hour later

Harm had left the SUV as soon as he had seen the cabin and now he was sneakng up to the house to get a better look. He had begged Webb to keep this to himself for now. It wasn't that he needed or even wanted to handle this himself, he just didn't want Mac to get her hopes up if this turned out to be nothing. He was now at the house and looked through the window. This was the kitchen and no one was there. He went around to the other side of the house and looked through the window there as well. His heart skipped a beat as he saw his little girl on the bed at the far side of the room. His first instinct was to break the window and just get her out of there. Fortunately his years of millitary training helped him stay calm. Her kidnapper wouldn't have just left her alone, he had to be near by, perhaps in another room. He would need some kind of plan to get her out.

The same time
Harm and Mac's house

Mac snatched the phone out of it's cradle the moment it rang, ignoring the people around her telling her to wait until they had gotten the trace ready. She needed her husband now.

"Harm!" she practically yealled.

"I'ts me... I've found her.

"Where is she? Do you have her?"

"No not yet, but soon. I need you to bring the Admiral and come up here." The rest of their conversation consisted of him telling her the adress and telling her not to bring the police. After what had happened at the Wall he didn't want this guy to get spooked.

Harm hung up the phone and looked through the window again. Hope was still asleep on the bed and her kidnapper was nowhere to be seen. He figured, he might as well try the door.

The door was open and harm walked in moving straight for the bed. He gently shook his daughter who wanted to scream with joy when she saw her father, but Harm managed to silence her before it was too late. He picked her up and moved towards the door again.

"I'd stop right there if I were you." Came the voice from behind him.

Harm turned around and looked at the man who had kidnapped his daughter, holding the little girl tighter to him.

"So you're Janice's fiancé. I guess we would have met at your wedding if you hadn't killed her." He said as he watched the man point a gun at him.

"You couldn't have left it alone. You had to stick your nose in where it doesn't belong. Now you've made an even greater mess than we had before. There is no way I can let you leave. How did you find this place anyway?"

"A little bird told me. Along with why Janice is dead. Did you really think you would get away with it? Just because she had problems in the past, it doesn't mean she would kill herself."

"I guess I underestimated her. I thought she had told me everything about herself, bur she forgot to mention you Commander. If she had I would have found some other way, maybe an accident. As it were, i felt it was the perfect way to make her go away. She had no family and no real friends she spent time with. I guess I have to learn to do my homework better."

As Harm looked at the other man he suddenly felt sorry for him. He seemed so lost. He had no one. The woman he had planned to spend his life with was dead. He had killed her himself, and thereby sealing his own fate. He didn't doubt this man had killed many times before, but never anyone he was that close to. It would haunt him for the rest of his life, and Harm felt that was the best punishment Janice's killer could ever get.

"You loved her, didn't you?" When the other man didn't respond, Harm saw tears in his eyes ready to fall. "Couldn't you just have left her?"

"You don't know the people I work for. They'd do anything to keep this organisation secret."

"Including kidnapping little girls." Harm stated.

"Including kidnapping little girls..." The other man repeated feeling his motivation failing him. He couldn't kill them.

"I never wanted Janice dead, she was a wonderful person who I very ikely would have spent the rest of my life with if things had been different. I never meant to hurt your daughter either. I wanted to give her back all along. She was only a means to an end which was to scare you off, and that failed, so please just leave," he said and lowered the gun.

Harm stared at him to see if he was serious, then he turned and walked away. When he opened the door he came face to face with a man in his fifties. The man quickly pulled out a gun of his own and pointed it at Harm and his daughter. Then he looked over at Michael who was starring at him.

"Mr. Douglas..." was allMike could say as the other man shot him in the chest.

AN: Hi again. I don't know much about locations in the US. I really don't find it very important for the story either, but just so you know, I left the location of where Hope was held blank because I didn't feel secure enough in my geographical knowledge to put a name to it. I hope you enjoyed the story anyway. Please review...

/Emma