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 9

Day 2 7:00 PM

The Office

Viv asked very surprised "So Martin could recognized Nichols, Talbot and Fanning?"

"Yes, now I wonder if we'd already sent them all the photos, or if we'd filtered them the right way, maybe there are more agents involved that we don't know"

"Let me try Jack, I've got some connections in DC, maybe I can get more, I'll try in the other cities too" Viv couldn't believe she had suspicions over everybody, except the team, she knew Jack felt the same way

"Thanks Viv, I think I can't trust anyone, I'll tell Victor and you check those agents backgrounds, partners, friend, etc."

"Ok Jack I will" and then she couldn't hide her concern anymore, "You think they are safe there?"

"Viv! Even I don't know where they are, what do you mean?" now he couldn't believe what he was thinking...

Viv, very calmly, like she always was, said "Well, I'm just saying that always there's a way to get things done, these guys obviously have connections, they sure know by now what had happened in that worehouse, the hospital would be the first place to check, I would do that. I don't know Jack, I would call Danny and ask him where they are before it's too late, maybe we can go there and make some surveillance, cover their back... take them to another place... even here!"

"But Viv...I don't think here would be safe either!" he was amazed of what he was about to say "They are FBI agents, they can get here anytime"

"But we can wait for them, I think that would be the best for Brian too"

"Thanks for your advice, I'll talk to VanDoreen and we'll see what it's the best thing to do"

He went to see his supervisor, he knocked at the door, she was on the phone and she continued her chat while he sat on a chair in front of her desk "Yes agent Nichols, I know the agent and the boy got away from where they were being held, but I don't know where they are. He called us but just to let us know they were going somewhere" She then hang up the phone. "Well Jack, I asume you've got news for me."

"Yes, you were talking with one of them, and also there's another one from Washington, Joshua Talbot, maybe there are more in anothere offices" and he told her what Viv just said to him "Viv thinks is better to have them here, she said anybody can find them on the streets"

"I think she's right, and also here Martin could get new infomation faster, it would be better for the investigation"

"Ok, we'll go get them"

"Take whomever you want to help you with the security, and watch out!" she called back Victor again to know more about this Talbot.

Jack went back to his office and approached Viv's desk "Come on Viv, we're going out there". He took his cell phone and called Danny "Get ready, wait for us, we're getting out of there, tell me where you are"

"It's a motel going south of NYC name is ..." here is where you put a name and address Laurel

Martin was with Brian reading him stories from a book, making different funny voices for all the characters, the kid laugh with each of them, he was really having a good time; but Martin still could hear the conversation over the phone. He tried to hide from Brian the sense of fear that filled the room.

Danny cut the phonecall and faced Sam "we have to go, Jack's coming for us, something must be wrong"

Martin had felt better in the last hours, thanks to Sam's soup he finally had some real food in his stomach, he had helped Brian with his own soup too, and there was a strange and new feeling for him: Sam had coocked food for him that was a new one.

He made the story shorter than it was, so he could help with all the things they had, to be ready to go when Jack come for them. "Look buddy, I have to hel Danny with some things there, can you go with your coloring book over there?"

"Yes Martin" and he went to the other bed to color his book.

Martin turned to Danny "What's up?"

"Viv thinks it's not safe here" he looked very worry while saying that.

"They will be here soon to pick us up, we have to get ready Martin" said Sam and she turned off the computer and started to pack all the files and everything they had there. "Are you up to this?" she asked him

"I'm fine, I think I could help too", he replied, he didn't like to feel weak and helpless

"No Martin it's OK, you keep an eye on Brian" said Danny "Doctor's orders" he went by the window to look outside, he didn't see anything out of place, it was dark now. His phone rang, he thought it was Jack again "Hello?"

"Agent Taylor, we know where you are, we want the boy" said the voice

Danny didn't know that voice "What for? Where are his parents?" he made a sign for Sam to call Jack

Sam made as she was told while Danny was still on the phone. She told Jack what was going on.

Martin grabbed Brian's hand and told him to hide under the bed, trying not to frighten him, he then tried to move the other bed to and turned it to cover for the one where Brian was hidden, Sam helped him, knowing it was to heavy for him, in his condition

"So why should I give you the boy?" continued Danny and at the same time going behind the bed like Sam and Martin. Everyone had a gun drawn

The voice answered "because you and your partners want to live"

"Yeah, and you are telling me you will let him live after all?" he was talking about Martin, of course.

"You have five minutes" and they finished the phone call

Martin talked again to the little boy "Brian keep yourself under the bed, don't get out untill I call you, allright?"

"OK Martin" he said and he took his beloved picture with the warrior with him, he needed it now more than before.

"Danny, how many guns do you have, we have to hold here until Jack comes" said Martin

"Do you think you can do this? You feel up to this?" he knew they needed Martin too, he didn't know how many men were out there.

"Just give me another gun, I'll do it; we have to hold until help comes"he said to Danny

Sam said with a very confident voice "Viv said they were almost here"

"Yeah, but I don't think we'd have the five minutes they promised" replied acidly Danny, and as he finished, he heard gunshots at the door.

Suddenly, two men got through the door shooting, Danny and Sam answered properly and killed one of them. But another one showed up and Martin shot him in the chest. Sam shot one of the other but they kept coming by the frame of the door shooting. They kept answering with more gunshots, but praying for Jack to show up because they were running out of bullet.

Finally more shooting guns thundered outside from the street and in the parking area, and the men by the door backed off and ran away. When silence return to the place, they heard the familiar voice of Viv with the usual 'clear' meaning everything was fine on the way to the room, and she was by the door frame calling for them. "Everybody's fine?" was her only question and a big smile showed up on her face as she saw Martin's face appearing behind the turned bed, "it was about time we see your face sweetheart" was her greting.

"Thanks Viv" and as he struggled to make his way out of there, he moved his good arm under the bed looking for Brian. When his hand was held tight between two little ones, he knew everything in the world was perfect again "Hey Brian, you OK?" trying to keep calm so the kid wouldn't be afraid and shocked after the recent shooting.

"Yes Martin, I'm alright, my warrior is watching for me" and he showed the picture he had in his hand.

"Brian, we have to go" answered Martin and he pulled the boy from under the bed. Danny then helped him to stand and walk to the door. Martin had managed to craddle Brian with his good arm but he was too weak to walk carrying the boy, but since the little kid was holding him very tight around his neck, Danny helped him to get to Viv's truck.

Jack would wait for the crime scene crew to show up and will hold the remained felons to the office to question them and called Victor to let him know they had Martin safe. Danny Sam and Viv will return to the office with Martin and Brian.

The other agents at the scene were still looking for the missing felons but they had a hard time to find them. So they knew, soon whoever had tried to get Brian will know they had failed the attempt, and they would be in danger again until everything would be over.

It was now late at night when Danny drove inside the parking area of the federal building, Martin and Brian were dozzing holding each other in the back seat. It was clear to Danny, Sam and Viv how hard had been the last days for both of them. Martin was obviouly in a lot of pain and this last challenge had left him near to collapse, the last day wasn't what his doctor had planned for him. Danny knew that Martin still felt responsible for Brian; even with them there, he never left the little boy alone, nor for sleep or eat, he was after the kid's needs all the time; that made his own recovery time longer, but apparently he didn't care about that, the boy was his only concern.

Viv took Brian in his arms carefully to not awake him while Sam and Danny helped Martin to walk to the elevators. Then they headed to Jack's office, closed the rail curtains, shut the lights and help Martin to lay on the couch. He was covered in sweat and phisically spent, he just lay there as tjey left him. They put Brian by his side, knowing it would be the best for both.

"I'm gonna get some food and coffee for all of us" said Danny.

"I'll get the remaining lists for the air cargo places, he still needs to look over it"

"No Sam, you keep an eye on them, I'll get the list and also I'll check if I'd received the photos from my contacts in Washington, he said I'd have it by now" said Viv

When Sam was alone, she heard Martin calling for her "Sam..." he begged while he was asleep.

"Yes Martin, do you need anything, How do you fell?"

"Tired...water?" he was cold, it was hard to get warm there.

"Here" and she gave him a glas of water, but she realized he wouldn't wake up to drink it, so she held it close to his lips. At the touch of his skin, she felt he was warm, he had a fever. "You have a fever running Martin..." she was worry now, she knew this one was the kind of things they have to watch as the doctor said, but he couldn't go back to the hospital, it wasn't a safe place for him.

Martin didn't reply.

"I need your pills, just stay here, I'll go get them, I think Danny had it in one of the bags" and she went ot find Danny.

The elevator's doors openned and a man walked through the hallway, looking inside of each office. He found what he was looking for and stepped into Jack's office. He handed his gun and pointed it to his victim.

A gunshot was heard all over the MPU floor.

Martin woke up with a jump at the sound of the shot, he saw the body on the floor and recognized the man from the photos "Nichols...", he remembered Brian was with him and picked him up, forgetting for the moment his pain and weakness, he lead Brian to another office keeping his face away from the horrible sight. The kid was still half awake and confused by the noise and didn't know what had just happened.

Martin passed by Viv's side, she was still at the dood holding her gun and keepind an eye on the hallway, he looked at her straight in her eyes and with a sincere feeling he just said "Thanks..." it wasn't so much, but it was all he could say, knowing it was nothing compared with the real feeling deep in his soul. He had failed protecting the boy. He knew he'd failed and that could have cost the life of the person he cared the most in the whole world. He made a silent promise to himself, this would be the last time he would allow himself such a mistake.

Danny was back from the parking lot and had heard the unconfused sound. He thought the worst and as soon as he left the elevator he ran to Jack's office, at the same time Sam and Mac were there too, with Viv who was by the body's side. She'd already called Jack and they were trying to figure out what to do now.

As Danny saw the face of the corpse he could only say "Nichols..." and then with a frantic look in his eyes he asked "Martin... and Brian?"

"They are in that office, they are fine" she also felt the deep guilt, they could have died because she wasn't there "I just went to find Martin's pills, he has a fever... I thought they were safe here, it was just a minute..." she couldn't find the words

"It's Ok Sam" said Danny "You couldn't know"

"But that was so fast, how did they know that they were here so fast?" asked Viv, she was still stunned by the sudden attack. "We just got here almost twenty minutes ago, and they already know!" and she added "they're not safe here either!"

"Don't worry Viv, we'll close the floor, I'll call security to lock the elevators to preempt them to stop in this floor. I think the target was Martin, they want to get that boy back and kill Martin" said Danny.

She was embarrased, she felt very useless since the shooting, she almost loose him, it was her fault... "I'll check on Martin and Brian, you have the food?" she asked

"Yes, here, and this is for Brian" said Danny and he handed the takeout bag to Sam "and here, take his pills" he remembered.

She got into the office where they were since the shooting. There was only one of the desk's lights on. In the shadows, sitting on the couch was Martin holding Brian very close against his body and rocking him, clapping his back. He was talking to the boy very calmly, maybe some tale about a king and a warrior, as she could hear; she saw his face looking at her, she could see his eyes, and she knew he felt guilty too, and she knew, he was fighting to make his charade go on, trying to reassure the kid everything was fine. She could feel what he felt, he wanted to keep his own strenght to make the boy feel confidence. There were two Martins there, one fearless, self confident for the kid, the warrior in him; and the other totally spent, disoriented, unsure weak and with a sense of guilt invading him fighting a battle against that warrior. She wanted to recover the first one from the abiss of the second. She went to sit on the couch "Hey! I have your food" was all she could say, and she set the plates over the desk.

"What is it?" asked the boy

"Baked chicken and french fries for everybody"

Martin took the lead and guided Brian to a chair near the desk "Here you go, I'll cut the chicken for you, and you go on and take the french fries with your hands", he laso poured a glass of water for him. When he was done, he reluctantly stared at his own food.

"No way Martin", said Sam "you have to eat yours too" and she gave him the pills "here, you take these, you have a fever running and you need to eat, that's why you are so sleepy and weak, you know what I mean, right?" she didn't want Brian to get the point, but she thought Martin did when he answered

"Even so...I shoudn't fall asleep..."

"And I shouldn't have left you alone, I'm sorry", she said "if it wasn't for Viv..."

"Brian saw that Martin wasn't eating at all and he said "Hey" Simon says you have to take some french fries and a piece of chicken into your mouth!",

Martin looked at the boy and a smile was drawn in his face, lighting his eyes, he did as Simon said.

But Brian added "And Simon says you cannot split anything out of your mouth... and you have to swallow it all!" remembering his own cheating on their first game

Both started to laugh aloud showing all the food inside their mouths and not aware of some spliting out. Sam looked in atonishment, she didn't get the joke, maybe it was a private one, but there she could see two 4 year old boys laughing like everything was fine, she couldn't believe it, the change in Martin's face was amazing (the first Martin, the warrior had won the battle).

Then Brian took a long french frie and pointed it to Martin's chest "on guard!" he said

As an answer, Martin took one long enough from his own plate and said with a strong voice "I take this is a showdown!" and they faught with their sourcerers like 'french fries' until Martin's doubled and broke in two pieces, so Brian caught him in his chest and said "Now I'll take you to the king!" and Martin fell from his chair "Augh, I surrender" and then they continued eating and laughing at the story they had made so spontaneously.

Then Martin caught Sam's eyes and said "It's alright Sam..." just that and she knew he wasn't 100 buying his own story, but he was making a big effort.

Jack was leaning against the door frame watching the scene, he was happy to see Martin looking better, compared with the last time he'd seen him. "I take this as that you feel better, right?"

Martin didn't know Jack was there, he was a little ambarrased of himself playing with the boy with everybody looking, well, he didn't care of Sam looking, he was glad she could see this side of him, but Jack... "yes, I'm feeling better, I'm eating too" he replied

Sam added "he's a fever too"

"You stay here Sam, I'll go check the other...things" and he went to his office. VanDoren was there with a pair of agents, Danny and Viv.

Danny was talking to Viv "... and he coming here... it's like he thought we didn't know what was going on"

"That gives us some advantage for a start, we could say he didn't fail in his attempt" said Viv

"I'll make sure of that" said Jack looking at VanDoren who nodded, she would call Victor to let him know.

Danny went to the office where Martin was and gave him the list with the airports and pilot schools in Florida, Chicago, Washington and NY areas. He started to read the names one by one. Brian was finally sleeping over him, using his right arm as a pillow. It was late at night, and they didn't have any other place to go. He was by the forth page in the Florida area and he read a familiar name. He told Sam, who was also working with the financial records for the Coltwell's companies, and she looked for the place in the map she had with her.

"Are you sure?" she asked

"I'll keep looking on the next pages, but I think it could be, sounds similar to the one in that photo"

"I'll call Jack" and she used her phone to call Jack to his secure line "Jack? Martin thinks he has the place"

Jack came to the office, copied the name and address on a paper. We'll stay here for the night Sam, you better get a place to sleep"

Sam looked at him, she couldn't let Martin and Brian alone "I'll be here"

"Ok, Danny is in the office to the right, Viv's going home, I'll take my couch, if you need anything, you call me" and he left.

They locked the elevator and the stairs' door and turned off the lights, the office was quiet and they could sleep most of the night.

Day 3 7:00 AM

Everybody was at the conference table, having their breakfast, Brian was sitting on the floor playing with some bricks, trying, and failing, to make a truck. Martin saw him, and helped a little until a red truck appeared from his hands lighting the kid's eyes.

"So Danny you call the Hoskins, to know if they'd had more phonecalls" said Jack in a tone Brian couldn't hear. It was cruel, they'd never do something like that to a family, but it was for the kid's best interest. They were criminals, and would possibly and in jail or worst. They were hidding something from the beginning. "I'll work with VanDoren on this place in Florida, to see if it's something we can get there about Coltwell or their business working there. We have to know when is the deal taking place"

Paula VanDoren had called the Florida supervisor, and they arranged a surveillance on the place, trying to get all the 'clean' agents for that work. They'll have to wait until the dealing was over, and keep Martin and Brian safe during that time. They would stay at the office with all access to the floor locked, only Jack and Danny had the keys.

The phone rang, Jack answered and passed the call to VanDoreen "This is supervisor VanDoreen" she said.

"Hello, agent Collins speaking, I need the details of what had happened to agent Nichols there last night, ASAP"

"Do you want me to go there to talk?"

"And please, come with Malone, Taylor, Johnson and Spade"

"We'll be there within minutes" and she hang up "They want all of us there"

"That would leave Martin and Brian alone here" said Jack realizing that maybe it wasn't a good idea to go to that meeting

"But the report said Martin was dead" said Danny "You still believe they keep looking for him?"

"Maybe now they just want Brian" said Sam

"And maybe they 'know' Martin is still alive" Viv wasn' believing in anybody's saint soul within the FBI anymore. "I just trust in all of us right now" she added

"Ok, lets do this" said VanDoren "Jack, Danny, Viv and I will go, I'll make an excuse for Samantha, ok?"

"I still don't want them to be here" Jack complained "I can see it isn't a safe place anymore"

"I'll help them go to my truck in the parking area, then I'll go to the fifth floor" said Danny "Sam can keep driving until we call them"

"They can't keep running all the time " said Viv "maybe last time we made a mistake and there was someone else who knew where they were"

"Lets see...it was me on the phone with them all the time... Victor gave me that secure line, they can't trace it" said Jack, he couldn't trust in anybody, but Victor wasn't a suspect in this case, no against his own son.

"I'll call Victor, I'll ask him about that line, maybe somebody else knows" said VanDoren.

"So if that's the case, if we send them out, this time I'll send them alone" said Jack "I'll ask Mac for something"

"One of the photos I saw..." started to say Martin

"What? " said Jack, everybody was looking at him

"Well, you never send all the agents' photos, there are a lot missing, I mean I saw a lot of pictures in that album that didn't match with any photo you sent to Danny. I saw one...it was..."

"What happen? What aren't you telling to us" asked Jack getting nervous at Martin's reluctancy to talk

"It was a friend of my father, a very good one, from Washington. I never made the connection at the time...but now you're talking..." he felt tired again,but he also felt dissapointed, that was a very good friend of his father, it couldn't be.

"So you say he betrayed your father"

"But I know him...since years!"

"It doesn't matter now, give us the name, I'll call Mac" said Jack, he understood Martin's feelings but now it was a matter of life, Martin's life and he'd fight against whatever to keep him alive. So he called Mac to know what to do

"Let Sam shut her cell phone, even if she doesn't use it, they can trace it (if they know the number). They won't know the exact address but they will know the area where they are." As always, Mac had the right answers, but in this case that let Sam, Martin and Brian alone. The only secure way to contact them was the e-mail account Danny had openned specially for this case.

"Well, Danny, go on, we'll wait for you" said Jack "Take the computer and all the money you can, I don't want you using credit cards"

Danny held Brian up with one hand, the computer case with the other, Sam helped Martin and they went to the elevators and to the parking lot. They got into Danny's truck and will have to wait until the beginning of the meeting. Then they'd head out to somewhere else. Martin kept reading the list of the air landing facilities, to be sure he had the right name the first time. He knew he had to read the whole list to be sure.

"I think they are getting nervous as the time gets close to the day they scheduled for their deal" said Sam, she didn't like the silence in the truck. She was also wondering why the kid didn't miss his parents, he had never talked or asked for them. Everything was strange with this family...

Brian had spread the contents of his backbag in the rear seat of the truck, there were crayons, scissors, glue, the bricks, paper and more paper. Danny would be glad when he would get his truck back. But the boy was a quiet one, he was just drawing and cutting colored paper and gluing it all together, well, maybe that wasn't a good idea, since the little fingers were now very sticky and he was touching the seat and everything there.

"Hey, hey, hey!" said Marin "I think uncle Danny won't like what you're doing here in his truck, do you want some help with that?" MArtin was smiling thinking of Danny's face when he see his truck

"No, it's ok Martin, I'm making a good work myself" said the boy, he was happy with his 'art'

"Yeah, I can see that" he said

"Time to go" said Sam, and she turned on the engine and headed the truck to the streets. She kept driving around the city, looking by the rear mirror if somebody was following them. There wasn't anybody. Suddenly Martin stopped in the list, she saw his face by the mirror, something was wrong, "What is it?" she asked

"There it is, the place, I've got it" he just said

"But you'd said that about that plce in Florida... they are making a surveillance already"

"No, the name... the words were misplaced, this one is the right one, her in NY"

"Are you possitive?"she didn't want to sound like that, but she knew he was tired, the last days wasn't the more easy days in his life, the stress he had suffered, maybe he was wrong...

"I'm possitive!" he said "call Jack or ... anybody"

"I can't, Mac said I can't, they'll trace the phone call to us"

"Whatever, call from a street phone!" he was restless now, they needed to know, so to do something and stop them from running away, he was so tired of running...

"OK, take it easy Martin, I think you're tired, don't get stressed..." she said trully concerned about him, but those words worked different that she thought, she didn't want to upset Martin, but he was now on the edge, he was breathing faster and his eyes were lost in somewhere outside the car, she could see him by the mirror. She didn't know what to do, maybe take him again to the hospital was a good idea.

"Go, go and make that phone call... go Sam...please!" he begged, he was now struggling to breath, the phone call, it was very important, they could be doing that deal now and they never would know. He was having a hard time just for breathing now.

"If you don't calm down..." and she was now scared, something weird was happening to Martin "I'll take you to the hospital right now, then I'll make that phone call"

"Martin, Martin! what happen?" asked Brian seeing Martin breathing like that

But it was too hard to breath, his heart was punching against his chest...and everything went dark.

TBC