As always huge thanks to anmodo for betaing this chapter. Also huge thanks to everyone that has reviewed.
Chapter 11
Jack rubbed his temples and wished he had taken Sam up on the offer of black sludge or what they called coffee. It should come with a health warning, Jack thought, along with all forms of instant coffee. In the hours Jack had been sitting here, Danny had only briefly returned to the land of the living. He had opened his eyes and had looked bleary-eyed at Jack. Before he had inquired about Jack's well-being, Jack had managed to reply before Danny had promptly fallen asleep again. But had he expected anything less? The poor kid had been shot, had been through hours of major surgery, was now drugged up to his eyeballs and had been through god knows what before all of this started. Did he really expect a full on conversation that would detail every event that had taken place in his agent's life over the last ten months? He glanced across to see the person in question stirring.
Danny felt a flash of pain across his chest, as he began to leave the security of his drug-induced sleep. He vaguely remembered waking up briefly before and talking to Jack – but he couldn't be sure. He didn't want to return to reality… to the questions. He really didn't want to endanger the team any farther than he already had. But considering he could barely keep his eyes open – running wasn't an option. In a strange, possibly drug-induced way, he was glad he had gotten himself shot. Because under all of the uncertainly… under all of the fear, he knew Jack would do everything in his power to sort the mess he had got himself into. The time he thought he had woken up earlier, he hadn't seen an angry Jack, but an extremely concerned looking Jack. After their last words before the shooting, Jack had been furious with him, but he understood why.
He opened his eyes to slits; letting the rest of his senses guide him back to reality. He opened his eyes fully to see the same extremely concern looking Jack smile slightly. It was time to try and explain why he was forced to let them believe he was dead. It was time to tell Jack that he may be considered a terrorist. It was time to tell Jack that he was behind the hit on a team member's father. He just hoped that after all of this, he wouldn't be abandoned again.
"Ah Danny, you're finally awake," Jack said smiling; he soon frowned in concern when he saw pain flash across his agent's face. "Are you ok? Are you in any pain?"
"I'm fine," Danny replied. He wasn't fine, but he needed to stay alert for when Jack questioned him. He smiled slightly despite the pain. He couldn't tell Jack or anyone else for that matter, how much it meant to him to be called Danny again. But for how much longer would he be called Danny Taylor? Or would he be called Danny Taylor, but staring at four grey walls? Jack had always fixed the messes they had gotten themselves into – but was this a step to far?
"I need to talk to you… I want to… I'm sorry Jack b-but I can't," Danny finished suddenly losing his nerve.
"You can tell me. I know you and you know I won't judge you," Jack said. But silently he was screaming; 'you have to tell me Danny. I owe it to you. I owe you my life. I need to make it up to you'.
"Who am I?"
Jack stared at Danny in disbelief, had whatever he had been doing for the last ten months really messed with him to such an extent that he didn't know who he was. Or was it that he believed that he would have start his life over again, for the fourth time. Jack had so many questions that he needed to ask Danny about the last ten months, but right now he had reassure Danny that he didn't have start his life again. That he could go back to his previous one, as Danny Taylor an FBI agent who worked at the violent crimes department, New York branch on his team.
"Your name is Danny Taylor; you were born in Hialeah, Florida, on the 1st November 1972. You graduated from Columbia University in psychology. Then you went to law school and later joined the FBI for two years before I recruited you to my team. That's what your file says. What your file doesn't say is that you are an incredibility gifted agent with huge charisma especially towards kids. Do you want me to continue?"
"Jack I am so sorry," Danny said suddenly finding his hands fascinating. "I am really sorry; I never wanted any of this to happen."
"Danny, answer this one question. Did you have a choice?"
Danny looked up at Jack and tried to look him in the eyes. "No, I didn't. But they…they…" Danny stopped as he remembered the photographs.
"Danny who are 'they'." Jack asked
"Jack I can't, I am really sorry but I can't."
Danny closed his eyes as he felt himself break down. He didn't want to disappoint Jack farther but he had no choice. He would just have to disappear and start his life again. "I am sorry. You have to believe me, but I can't tell you."
Jack looked down at Danny. He felt the lump grow in his throat. His agent was genuinely scared. He sat down next to Danny. "I know you and I believe you, but you can trust me."
"No, Jack. You may have once known me, but I am different person now. You don't want to know me now," he replied in a desperate, lost tone.
"You may have changed slightly, so have we all, but you are still Danny Taylor. " Jack paused, as he tried to think of a way to reassure Danny… tried to think of away to get Danny to tell him about the last ten months. "Danny whatever happened, whatever you were forced to do, I will work it out, I promise. I need to know, so I can protect them. So I can protect you."
"I want to tell you—believe me—I really do, but I can't." Danny said his eyes wildly looking around the room. "I'm sorry Jack, but I can't. T-they said that if I-I did t-they would kill you and your family. They would kill Sam, Martin, Viv and their families… they would kill my family. They said they would start with the kids first. I'm really sorry Jack, to bring this threat to everyone. But you have to understand why I can't tell you anything; I don't want to put you guys at risk. I'm sorry."
Jack clenched his fist in anger. These people had really known how to get to Danny. They knew that Danny didn't really care much for himself, but deeply for the people around him. They knew that threatening kids… that hurting kids was like torture for Danny Taylor. These bastards had not only threatened Danny, but had also threatened his family. They had threatened Hannah and Kate… they would pay for they actions. "None of this is your fault. But I don't want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life, and I doubt you do as well. So tell me what happened, so I can work it out and so I can have you back on the team."
"You're not abandoning me?" Danny asked in a surprised tone.
"No, why would I do that?" Jack replied, looking at Danny in concern,
"Because everyone else did."
"I'm not everyone else, nor is Sam, Viv or Martin. I said I would sort it out. I said I was watching your back. I said I would protect you. You know I don't go back on my word. So tell me what happened, so I can do what I said I would." Jack said, watching Danny. He watched as fatigue began to sweep over him. He hoped that he could help Danny. He hoped that when Danny was protecting them, he hadn't got himself into a hole from which there was no escape. "Danny I owe you my life. Please tell me what happened so I can help you. It's the very least I can do, especially after you saved my life." Jack said as he continued to plead with him.
"You don't owe your life to me, Jack. I was just doing my job. I-I had to protect you guys; I-I brought the threat to you. I-I'm so sorry that I did. I-I mean, I-I." Danny looked at Jack and knew he was telling the truth. He knew that Jack and the rest of the team weren't like everyone else he had known. He felt fatigue sweep over his body. He had to tell Jack now; he didn't have a choice. The longer he waited, the longer the team and everyone else would be in danger.
"You saved my life. And even if you didn't, I'm your boss and therefore I am responsible for you. So please Danny just tell me, so I can protect everyone and deal with bastards that did this."
"Ok-ok, a-about a week before the ambush, these CIA agents approached me and told me that I had to meet with them the next day. I-I stupidly told no one and met with them. That's when it started." Danny paused and then started to tell Jack about the undercover op, the drug cartel, and the weapons. He told Jack everything, just leaving out the parts that concerned Lucia – not believing it was necessary for Jack to know about her. He waited for Jack to walk out and abandon him. He waited for Jack to yell at him, like he did outside the motel. He closed his eyes and waited for the onslaught of words.
Jack listened in disbelief as Danny told his story, he just hoped he'd get Danny out of this mess he had been forced into. It wasn't Danny's fault – he had been threatened into a CIA op and then threatened by this drug cartel. And after all of this, he could bet that the CIA was setting Danny up to take the fall. He saw the fear and guilt in his agent's eyes. He had to fix this, he had to make sure the CIA wouldn't let Danny take the fall, he had to make sure had this drug cartel wouldn't come after any of them. He gently squeezed Danny's good shoulder, wincing as he felt the tension.
"Danny can you tell me the name of the CIA guy who set this up?" Jack asked.
Danny felt Jack squeeze his shoulder, he couldn't believe after all of what he had just said Jack was sticking by him. But should he really be that surprised, Jack was a damn good boss. He was hard on them at times, but he always protected his team from outsiders. He heard Jack asking him for Michael Clarke's name.
"His name is Michael Clarke." Danny paused, as he remembered what his suspicious nature had led him to do. "I recorded all of the meetings, including the set up and when he told me to carry out the hit."
Jack smiled; of course Danny would have an ace up his sleeve. He now had the evidence that Danny had been set up, that Danny had been forced to try and kill the Director of the DEA and Victor Fitzgerald. That Danny in fact had saved their lives. "Nice one Danny." Jack congratulated. "Where are the recordings?"
"Most of them are in my backpack." Danny said looking around franticly. He saw Jack move his backpack into his line of vision. He breathed a sigh of relief. "The set up one is buried in a box, on the waste land outside my apartment. If you line up the two white posts, and walk six paces in, it should be there."
Jack grinned. "That's brilliant Danny. I am going to make some backups and then I am going straight to DC to sort this out."
Danny was too exhausted to argue. He really didn't want Jack putting himself at risk like this, but he doubted he could talk Jack out of it. "What do you want me to do?"
Jack looked at Danny; he looked exhausted, scared and lost. But there was something else there that wasn't there before. There was hope and determination. Trust Danny to ask if there was anything he could do when he was in pain and exhausted. "Yes there is something you can do for me. I want you to rest and not to worry about anything. Let us do the worrying now." He watched as Danny finally began to fall asleep again.
"I'm scared."
The words stopped Jack; he doubted Danny had been conscious that he had said them. "I know Danny, I know. But next time you see me, you will officially live as Danny Taylor, you will officially be back as a FBI agent on my team and I will have sorted all of this crap out. So relax Danny and get some rest, and enjoy being fussed over."
Jack picked up the backpack and stood up; he had his work cut out for him. This was his most important case he had ever had to work on, and he was determined to see that this case had a positive outcome. He walked out of the room and pulled out his cell phone. "I need the next flight out to DC."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jack leaned back and massaged his temples. He had just listened to all of the recordings Danny had made. His cell phone rang, glancing at the caller ID; he threw it against the wall. He couldn't cope with talking to Van Doran right now. He couldn't cope with talking about Danny's replacement right now – even though Danny was alive. But after listening to the recordings, he didn't know if he would even get Danny back on his team. But he owed it to Danny to work it out, he promised Danny he would fix it, he was going to do his best. He picked up the phone and dialled Viv's number.
"Viv, its Jack."
"Is Danny alright? Has anything happened to him?" Viv asked urgently.
"No-no Danny's fine, but I need to see you in my office."
"Jack, I was just about to go to the hospital to see Danny." Viv replied.
"It concerns Danny and it will only take a couple of minutes."
"Sure, I will see you in a couple minutes." Viv said, knowing this was probably about Danny's last ten months.
Viv stepped into Jack's office, noticing the shattered cell phone that lay on the floor. She moved her glaze to Jack, who was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. "Whatever did that poor cell phone do to you?" Viv asked light heartily.
"Van Doran." Came the reply.
"Oh. What do you want me to do?" Viv asked.
"First, look after Danny. He feels really guilty about the last ten months even though it's not his fault. Second." Jack paused, and handed Viv the digital backup of Danny's recordings. "Look after this. Guard it with your life. If anything happens to me, listen to it and take it to whoever you believe is necessary."
"Jack, of course I will look after Danny. We will fuss over him and make sure he knows we don't blame him." She paused, as she fingered the USB memory stick. "Jack what's this about. What did Danny get forced into?"
Jack stood and put on his coat. "Sorry I can't tell you. I've got to go to DC now, please look after everyone, especially the boys."
Viv looked at Jack. In the years she had known him, she had never seen him look this tense. "Of course I will." She watched as Jack walked out of the office. She called after him. "Look after yourself. We've only just got Danny back; we're not going to lose you now." She watched Jack smile and nod before he walked into the elevator. She hoped whatever Jack was doing for Danny, he would complete his task and the team would be complete again. But she had she task to complete, but unlike Jack her task was easy. She smiled and got her coat and headed towards the hospital to fuss over Danny.
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Viv slowly opened the door, and smiled. Danny looked so young and worn out, but he was definantly her Danny. The same Danny, that was so cruelly taken from them ten months ago. The same Danny, who so bravely spent ten months protecting them. She quickly crossed the room and stood over him, noting the dark circles under his eyes. She hesitantly moved her hand over his forehead. Trying to bring herself to touch him. As her hand met his warm, alive skin, she felt tears fall. Her Danny was alive; she gently pushed his untamed hair off his forehead. She took his hand in hers and lightly kissed it. She collapsed into the chair next to Danny, not letting go of his hand, as if was her only connection to Danny's living, breathing soul. She would stay here until he woke; she would stay here until her got a smile that reached his eyes. He didn't deserve any of this; he deserved to be loved.
Viv didn't know how long she had sat there holding Danny's hand. She hoped her gestures were comforting; they certainly were to her. Just to sit there and hold Danny's hand knowing he was alive, knowing that he was going to be ok, was one of the best things that had happened to her all year. She had never realised how much the boys had meant to her until that day in May. But god forbid Reggie was taken from her. She knew she had some idea what it would feel like. She never knew why the boys drew out her maternal instincts – maybe it was because of their childhoods. She had tried to look after Martin after Danny's 'death'; she hoped she had made a difference. But she was going to look after her Danny. She was going to be beside him through every step of his recovery.
She felt Danny stir next to her, she squeezed his had and gently stroked his forehead. "Hey there Danny."
"Vivie," Danny said slightly smiling. He was so glad to see Viv looking a picture of health. The last time he had seen she was about to undergo major heart surgery. But she was ok now and she appeared to like Jack, be sticking by him. He had to apologise. He had to make sure she knew that he never wanted to put any of them through this. That he loved them and what he had put them through would haunt him to his dying day. He knew it wasn't his fault, but he had been alive when they had thought he was dead. "Vivie, I am so sorry, you know that don't you. I never wanted to put you guys through this."
Viv tighten her grip around Danny's hand and stroked his cheek. This was the guilt Jack was talking about. Danny was the kind of person that would blame everything on himself. He would feel guilty if he thought about himself for a second. But there was nothing he should feel guilty about. He had been out there alone – protecting them. Now it was their chance to repay him – although Viv believed she like the rest of the team would feel indebted to Danny for the rest of their lives. Jack was sorting out whatever Danny was forced into, which left the rest of the team with an equally important task – protecting Danny.
"Oh sweetie, I know you are sorry. But there is nothing to be sorry about. It's us that should be thanking you." She looked at Danny's confused face. "Sweetie I know you only did it to protect us. So there is nothing to be sorry about." She lightly kissed Danny on the cheek, and started to fuss over him.
Danny shifted slightly, flinching as he moved his shoulder. The small movement brought tears to his eyes. He tightly closed his eyes and tried to will the pain away. He tried to relax and concentrate on something other than the pain, but it was near impossible as it overwhelmed his body. He felt and heard Viv fuss over him. He tried to concentrate on it. Viv's comforting gestures seemed to draw the pain away. If he closed his eyes tight enough and thought hard enough, he could imagine himself as a five-year-old kid again, with his mother fussing over him. He could think passed his father, he could think passed the hell that consumed his childhood home. Maybe this was the reason he found Viv's gestures so comforting. Or maybe it was the feeling that someone cared… that someone loved him. He let Viv's comforting actions draw him back to the security of his drug-induced slumber. He let her draw him away from his fear and guilt ridden reality.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Martin sat in his car mesmerized by the snow that fell before him. He watched as the snowflakes swirled around the car. He needed to concentrate but he could not. He couldn't understand how or why Danny was alive. After Jack had told them about Danny, he had gotten into his car and drove – not caring were he ended up. He just needed to think. Jack wasn't the kind of person to joke around – especially not with something like this. So Danny was alive - but how? Jack had been covered in Danny's blood. What the hell had happened out there? Judging by the amount of blood it was serious. Was Danny still alive? Martin punched the steering wheel. How the hell could he have taken off like that? Something had happened to his boss and his friend, and he had just taken off like the pathetic wimp he was. After his behaviour today he doubted that Jack wanted him of his team anymore. Why would Jack want a pathetic wimp like himself, when he had Viv, Sam and… Danny. At a time when they should have stuck together he had taken off. He was scared of the team's reactions to his stunt. He waited for them to disown him. He wondered if that job was still going available in DC – he would need it especially now he doubted he had a job here in New York. But it wasn't totally his fault – it was Danny's fault as well. If Danny hadn't faked his own death. If hadn't let them believe he was dead – none of this would have happened.
Martin pulled his car into the FBI building's car park. He rested his head on the steering wheel, and tried to think of his next move. He jumped when he heard a bang on his window. He looked up to see, an annoyed-looking Sam standing outside. He tried to put on a natural face, despite his confusion and anger. He slowly opened the door and stepped out, not knowing how Sam would react.
"S-Sam" Martin said nervously.
"How the hell could you have done that to us Martin? How could you of done that to Jack… how could you of done that to Danny?" Sam asked coldly, no longer trying to suppress her anger.
"Ok I'm sorry about walking out on you guys. I'm sorry I walked out on Jack. But – But Danny!" Martin growled. "Well if he hadn't pissed around in the first place, then none of this would have ever happened."
"And I thought you weren't like your father. But why should you be any different, you share the same DNA. You're just as arrogant and pig-headed as he is." Sam yelled.
"Oh that's rich coming from you" Martin said coldly. "Don't dump this shit on me, when we all know the person who we should blame. He was a screw up from birth, and nothing will change that – not even a new name."
Sam couldn't take it anymore. She lifted her hand, and slapped Martin across the face. She hoped to god it would leave a mark. How dare he talk to her like that? How dare he talk about Danny like that? "If you understood just one tenth of Danny's childhood, if knew he put himself through high school, collage, law school and the FBI without the slightest bit of support. You would know he is ten times the person we are." She paused as she felt tears threaten. "He saved Jack's life; Danny took a god damn bullet for him. Danny has spent ten months protecting us. He never wanted any of this to happen. He feels so damn guilty about it, especially about you. He damn near died. The very least you could do is listen to his side of the story." Sam turned and quickly walked away as she felt tears begin to fall. She didn't care about Martin, if he was going to behave like that. She was now going to see her Danny, the person that had always been there for her. He always made time for her. If she was any kind of trouble he would drop everything to help her. Now it was her turn.
Martin watched at Sam's retreating form. He was still searing with anger. Was he the only one that saw Danny's actions for what they were – cowardly? He jumped slightly as he heard a car's window shatter behind him. He saw one of the car park pillars explode. He dove behind a wall, dragging Sam with him. Pulling out his gun, he tried to look around the wall to see who was shooting at them.
Sam felt Martin come up behind her and pull her behind a wall. She was just about to yell at him, until she saw the shattered windshield and partially destroyed pillar. Someone was really trying to kill them. She glanced across to Martin, to see him trying to look around the wall. She grabbed him and pulled him back. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" She yelled, not out of anger but concern.
"No, I'm trying to kill the person who wants us dead!" He yelled back. He looked down at his hands and noticed they were shaking. "I'm sorry Sam I didn't mean to yell at you… I-I just saw Danny's death or whatever it was, all over again!"
Sam blinked in shock a couple of times as she tried to process Martin's last words. Jack's fears that they were in danger finally registered. But it wasn't just Jack's fears – it was their reality. Danny had been forced into something. He had only done it to protect them and if he had any choice in the matter he would've disappeared again. He would've never wanted this, Sam thought, but she was glad to be a target if it meant Danny was back with them. She felt Martin tap her shoulder.
"Let's move. We're too exposed here. Stay close to the wall." Martin said urgently.
Sam nodded and started to follow Martin. As they reached the door, a glint of metal caught her eye. She bent down and picked it up. Feeling Martin close the door behind her, she started to examine the metal object. Unless she was mistaken, it was the bullet.
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Jack stood outside Reagan International, trying to find his rental car. He hadn't cared about the cost of the flight and he didn't care about the cost of the car or the hotel. He had his team to protect and Danny's life to get back. He never liked DC, probably because he could never deal with the bureaucrats that ran it. Now he was going to drive out to Langley – the CIA HQ – and sit down with a couple of spooks. He was lucky that one of his ex-army friends worked for the company and had agreed to meet him. He clutched the bag containing Danny's recordings tightly to his chest.
He eventually found the rental car, and slipped into it. He knew he shouldn't have flipped out on Martin like he did. He knew the poor kid was trying to deal with it… just trying to understand. But he couldn't help it. He had become very protective over his team over the last ten months. To an outsider… to someone that didn't understand, would consider him overprotective. But Jack didn't believe he was overprotective, in his mind he was just doing his job. The people on his team were his responsibility; it was his duty to ensure that they weren't put in any unnecessary danger. But that still didn't excuse his actions. He would apologise to Martin once he got back. But right now he had to fulfil his duty as a boss to Danny Taylor. He slipped the car into gear and headed towards Langley.
He found the gently winding roads through the Virginia countryside strangely relaxing. Although he didn't believe his meeting with David James – his ex-army friend would be at all relaxing. But he didn't care as long as the outcome was positive. After all his team had been through – didn't they deserve some positive news? He looked ahead and saw the meeting place. It was a roadside café, a café that wouldn't ask any questions. He pulled over and walked into the café. Always looking about, as though he expected another sniper to try and take him out. He wondered how much this op had cost Danny's soul. He wondered what the fallout of this op would be for everyone.
As he waited for David James to arrive, he nursed a mug of steaming black coffee, hoping that the outcome of this meeting wouldn't be as black as his coffee. He glanced up to see David had arrived, wearing a simple suit, nothing too flashily or expensive. He silently laughed as he tried to imagine Danny in a conservative suit; it was so unlike Danny. He stood up as David approached his table. Extending his hand, he greeted him.
"Long time no see, David. How's the company been treating you?" Jack asked.
"Good, and how is our sister agency treating you?" David paused, as he looked Jack up and down. "By the look of things, not that well."
"It's been a tough ten months." Jack replied.
David paused as he tried to remember something that happened ten months ago that would affect his friend. "Did you know the agent that was murdered by terrorists?"
"Yes I d-"Jack stopped himself just in time. "Yes I did, he was on my team." Jack finished sadly.
"Jesus Jack I'm sorry. So Fitzgerald's kid is on your team as well."
"Yes he is. Look David I would love to chat, but I need to ask something." Jack replied tensely.
"Ok, sure fire away." David said, judging his friend wanted information. He guessed by his haggard look it was personal.
"Does the CIA employ an agent that goes by the name of Michael Clarke? And if so, do you have any information you give me on him?" Jack asked, trying to engage David's reaction. But he expected none from the CIA agent, who had been long trained to give no body language away.
"Michael Clarke?" David asked. "Yes he's a CIA agent. Why do you want to know about him?"
"Because he-he." Jack paused. "Because he messed with one of my agents."
David raised an eyebrow. "Really, do you have an evidence of this?"
Jack eyeballed David. "Yes I do have evidence on this matter. Why?" Jack asked.
"Because we believe he has been acting outside of the CIA." David looked at Jack's frown. "You know illegal ops; sometimes they have a terrorist slant."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, if it was my agent, I would get him the hell away from all of this. You don't want see him hanged for it." David replied.
"But he didn't have a choice! Da-," Jack stopped himself, and took a moment to try and calm down. "My agent would never knowingly participate in terrorist activities."
"I'm sure you're right, but it doesn't change the fact that – the op was not a CIA op. Your agent whether he knew it, or not, took part on in a terrorist attack."
Jack stared at David in disbelief, before just at his coffee mug. His thoughts and hope was as dark as the coffee he was staring into. He vaguely heard his cell phone ringing and answered it on autopilot. "Malone."
"Jack, u-mm." Martin paused. "There's no easy way to tell you this, but someone just took a shot at Sam and me."
"WHAT!" Jack exploded, then softening his tone. "Are you guys alright? Do you know who did it? Where are you now?" Jack said firing off questions that he hoped to be answered.
"We're both fine." Martin quickly reassured. "We're in the office, and the bullet, I got a friend to run it off the books."
Jack sighed in relief; he really couldn't bare to lose an agent, all over again. But he wasn't about to throw Danny to the wolves.
"And?" Jack asked.
"It's a military grade, unmarked, bullet that was in a plastic sleeve." Martin said referring to the type of bullets that were coated in plastic. Therefore making it near impossible to identify the gun it was fired from. "It wouldn't hold up in court, but I am pretty sure the person that shot Danny was the same person that shot at Sam and I. I mean how many people carry military grade, plastic sleeved bullets in their back pockets. Whoever this guy is, he is a professional with a lot of backing."
Jack tightened his grip around his new cell phone; he had a feeling that he would need a new phone before this was over. He took a deep breath before he relayed his instructions to Martin. "Martin I want you to leave the investigation as is. Do you think you can make a plausible explanation for the bullet, that doesn't include the bullet? Also make sure you all look out for each other. I will be back soon and hopefully this will all be worked out."
"Will do." Martin replied. "Oh and Jack, I'm sorry about before, I don't know what happened there. I'm-I'm sorry ok."
"Don't worry about. Martin, I've gotta go. Bye." Jack said as ended the call. He turned to David. "Someone is trying to kill my team. Someone has tried to destroy one of my agent's lives. And I believe one of your people is behind it. You want to bring down Michael Clarke, so do I."
"Jack" David said quietly but in an angry tone. "Firstly none of my people would do that. If you're referring the CIA then sure, Clarke has his followers. I will do very thing in my power to help you… to protect your agent. But you're going to have to give me something in return."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In her dreams, she had been through this moment over and over again for ten months. In her dreams, she believed it would happen, but knew it couldn't happen. But because some sort of miracle – well a CIA op – this moment was about to happen. She walked into the room, and saw Danny smile at her. She found herself break into a run and throw her arms around his neck. "Oh Danny, I've missed you, like you won't believe." She said in between tears.
Danny winced as Sam hugged him. But it felt so good; it felt so good to be around the team again. Maybe he could go back to his life before the CIA had destroyed it. But there was one thing he would, well two people he would want to bring back from his life in Colombia. He loved being back with the team, but he missed Lucia and Chris. He inhaled sharply. "Hey Sam." Danny said as he tried to put on a brave face.
"Oh Danny." Sam repeated, as she tried to wipe away the tears but found she could not. She did not want to let go of Danny. She didn't want to lose him again. "Do you know how much I missed you? How much we all missed you?"
Danny gently wiped the tears from Sam eyes. He hated seeing her cry, he so badly wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't come up with the words. "Sam if you missed me half as much as I missed you guys… how much I missed you, then I understand."
"Danny, oh god, Danny." Sam said, as she felt the tears continuing to fall. They weren't tears of pain that so often fallen over the last ten months but tears of joy and confusion. "I never thought I'd see you again." Sam finished. She couldn't tell Danny, what his 'death' had done to them. She couldn't tell him about the attempts on their lives. She knew the guilt he laid on himself.
"Sam what aren't you telling me? Did something happen to Martin? Please Sam tell me." Danny pleaded.
"Danny calm down, Martin's fine." She looked to his eyes; she owed it to him to tell him. But how? How could she tell him what had happened over the last ten months, how could she tell him about the attempts on their lives, how could she tell him all of this and not add to the guilt he already laid on his shoulders. "Danny I can't imagine how hard the last ten months has be on you. It was also hell for us, god Danny we thought you were dead. And- and well Martin has been having a really hard time dealing with it-"
"Sam you know I'm sorry. You know I never wanted any of this to happen." Danny said franticly.
Sam laid her hand on his shoulder. "I know Danny, I know. We all know that Danny, you saved Jack's life-"
"Sam what are you not telling me? I need to know, please tell me." Danny said he hated being left in the dark.
Sam looked around; she didn't know how she was going to phase the next part. "This isn't your fault Danny, but as well as the attempt on Jack's life, someone took a shot at Martin and me."
Danny looked at Sam and felt tears sting his eyes. He should never on gone to get food. He should of left New York as soon as Clark had dumped him. Then none of this would have ever happened. "I'm sorry Sam, you know I never wanted this to happen."
"I know and it's not your fault. It's-" Her sentence was cut short by her pager. She picked it up and read to the display, it was from Martin. She almost dropped it--no this couldn't be happening. Why couldn't they leave them alone? She closed her eyes and reread the pager. But the message was the same.
Lost contact with Viv.