Disclaimer: Don't own the characters. Not making money off of them

Rating: K+ (Genfic, just a little of violence).

What is it about? A kid is missing, some strange things happened all around and the team have to find out what, why and who is behind all of the...'twisted facts' in the case.

Characters: All of them, well, lets think a little... Oh! I forgot somebody... well, guess you all know who...

Thanks Laurel for your beta work!

Part 5

Back at his office he downed two Tylenol with the last of his coffee, now cold. He rubbed his face with his hand and thought about his next course of action. His only course of action at this moment. With that decision made he stood up and went to where Mac and Sam continued to work.

"Alright you two, enough for now." It hadn't escaped his notice that both were slumped in chairs, struggling to remain focused on their task. "Go home, get some sleep, be back in at 7:00 and we'll start again."

Not waiting for their answer he turned on his heel and went back to his office and closed the door. They would go, they knew better than to argue.

Sighing deeply he pulled out his cell phone and punched in the number.

"Fitzgerald."

"It's, Malone."

"What's going on." Jack heard the sleep disappear from the Deputy Director's voice and instead heard the worry that only a father can express in the middle of the night. Jack remembered that it hadn't been that long ago when that concern had been real, the threat real, the danger known, and the chances slim. Now, he was having to put Victor and himself through that pain again, only this time, he didn't know what Martin's condition was; it wasn't a shooting this time, but he didn't know what to say, he didn't know where he was, he didn't know if he was alive this time.

He wryly thought back to his parting shots to the other agents on the fifth floor, not only did they not know where, who, what, why, but neither did he.

"It's Martin. He's been taken."

"What! By whom! When! How! Why! What do you need!"

Jack felt a huge sense of relief surge through him when Victor offered help. They had come a long way from distrust and open dislike, to something akin to an uneasy truce. Right now he would use any ally he could fine. He knew that Victor would never hurt his son, oh he might disagree with his son's choices, but he would never put him in harm's way.

"How much do you know about the Florida-Chicago-DC case?"

Victor's tone was guarded when he responded. "What does that case have to do with my son?"

"They have Martin and the kid, Brian, he's the chemist's son."

Silence.

Then, a weary, soft sigh.

"What do you need Jack."

"I need whatever information you can give me in that case without anyone knowing."

"That's going to be a bit difficult. No doubt they'll know this call is being made and both of us are going to be watched. But, I have some contacts who can do this quietly."

Jack could hear the steel in the man's voice. He knew Victor was angry, and for once he knew the anger wasn't directed at him. Like Jack, Victor had been kept out of the loop, he wasn't going to tread quietly once Martin was safe.

"OK Victor, we're going to need to know who is inside, if he knows Martin."

"I'll get it. I'll have my secretary contact you in the morning with a number for a secured line. Until then, use a street phone if you need to contact me again tonight."

"Will do. Victor, we'll get him back alive."

"Yes. Thanks Jack." But his voice was tinged with doubt, the uncertainty that comes with a parent's worse nightmare.

With deep frustration Jack hung up the phone and realized there was nothing else he could do. His team was home, getting something close to rest, per his orders. Orders he was now loath to follow. But, the team is only as good as its leader and if he didn't follow his own orders, he was going to do no one any good, especially Martin.

So he slipped off his shoes and stretched out on his couch. He didn't know if he could sleep, where was Martin? Was he hurt? Was he tired? Hungry? Thirsty...

Morning came all too soon. The office was bustling with energy by 7:00 a.m. Vivian, Danny, Sam were all in the bullpen, mugs of coffee in hand, computers on, files open.

Jack strode from his office and motioned with his head for them to follow him. Startled they all followed him out onto the landing outside the office and felt the breeze of the day caress their faces. Jack felt a little better. He had managed a few hours of sleep and had awoken in time to shower, shave, change and be at his desk before the first agent arrived; Vivian. He wasn't surprised. As much as Vivian kept her distance from the intense personal issues, he knew she looked at her fellow agents as more than colleagues, they were hers to guard.

He breathed in deep, the early morning air filling his lungs, and he began.

He recounted VanDoren's orders, Nichols smug, cold assessment of 'his' case. He watched as Vivian shook her head sadly, Sam's face reflected fear and anger, Danny's eyes flashed with fire at the betrayal. Then, the hardest part.

"We have to sit still for the next 48 hours."

Silence was never so deafening. As he saw them about to protest he held up his hand to stop them.

"I said we have to sit still. Officially. That doesn't mean we can't quietly do some work, a lot of work. Yes, Vivian, before you ask I contacted Victor last night."

Vivian smiled at him. He had seen her about to voice her demand knowing full well he didn't like talking to the Deputy Director, but she knew he had done it, because the team came first. She just needed him to say it out loud to give them all something to hold onto.

"Victor is going to work with us. He's getting us a way to contact him that's outside normal channels. We have to be careful inside. We can be heard. Someone is listening."

They started then, the crack team that he had assembled shifted into professional work mode. The personal issues were still very real, but now they had to work as professionals and put the emotions aside.

"We have to focus on the properties that located within the city." Vivian looked to Sam then to take up the ball.

"Mac's finishing the cross-reference we started last night. We should have some addresses and locations shortly."

"Okay, so if Martin and Brian are being held in one of these buildings how do we go in there quietly and get him out without alerting everyone upstairs?"

"One bridge at a time Danny. Make sure that anything you do on the phones or computers Mac protects so it isn't traced. VanDoren and the others don't want us to make any moves until they tell us. If they catch us, it could be risky for Martin and Brian."

"And Hoskins knows more than he's saying. He's strange..." Danny's voice trailed off and he shook his head in frustration then he opened the door for Vivian to enter before him. Sam slowly followed and then turned back to Jack.

"God, we don't even know if he's alive right now." Her words were little more than a whisper, he wasn't even sure she had spoken them.

He tilted her chin up towards him and fixed his eyes on hers.

"No, Sam, we don't. We just have to hope." With that he opened the door and they both entered the office. His mind was still on Danny's words, Hoskins does know more than he's saying. His mind flicked back to the cellphone that Hoskin had put in his pocket, obviously finishing a call. A call, they had no record of.

He had just reached the bullpen when Vivian swung around, arched her eyebrows and said loudly; "I've got an idea. Next time the kidnappers call to prove that Brian is still alive we'll trace the call and cross it with this one. That way we'll know if they are moving them or not."

Jack grinned, their orders were not to make any moves. No one said they couldn't continue working. Oh well, he sighed, he'd have some heat from above but that was nothing new.

TBC