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Chapter 17

Natalie looked at her phone and heard the words playing over and over again in her head. He had John, it was John's phone he called from, the killer had John and she needed to figure out all the clues, which he was and why it was so important for her to be the best. She caught herself just as she was about to lose it, about to become emotional, emotional about him having john. She had to be on her A game today, she needed to be the best so she could find john, save him from this killer and put this psychopath behind bars where he belonged, she also needed to be the best cause that was what this guy wanted, for some crazy reason this guy wanted her to be that.

Natalie turned to Mattie.

"He's got John, I need to understand this quick and get to him before anything happens to him, lets go over the clues quickly, help me "

"Maybe we should call Lt Harrison" Mattie suggested

"No, I need to do this alone, that's what he wants and I...I.. haven't completely ruled him out as being the killer, if I call him and he is the killer John's as good as dead" she told Mattie and she brought out her notes from earlier today, she looked over them first.

Llanview

Note: I did it all for you, all for you, you should have stayed close but now you're here and so am I, a glass to match your color hair.

Female vic. found note in back pocket, ordinary paper

Llanview

Note: I did it all for you, you want to find me, you know where I'll be, back where it all began.

Male vic. fitting John's description, note on Philly forensics paper, LPD cap

Philadelphia

Note #1: to be the best you need to catch the best, I've made that possible now catch me... PS there's a present for you in the kitchen

2nd Male vic-- fitting Jakes description, on plain paper, Philly forensics cap, XL

Note #2 in kitchen: you have too many men but they can't give you what I can, eliminate them or I will and then we'll meet

Empty wine bottle, written on cloth napkin

Natalie quickly continued to go over the clues, one by one she said them in her head, she needed to figure this out, figure out where he could be and where he might have john. As she read the clues over and over again she couldn't bring herself passed one

"I did it all for you, you want to find me, you know where I'll be, back where it all began."

Where did it all begin? She asked herself

"The warehouse on Fowley street" Natalie said out loud and she grabbed her stuff, she told Mattie she was pretty sure she was right, her gut knew it and she learned to not ignore her gut, she raced out of the station. Mattie called a few officers over and they followed behind her to the warehouse.

Natalie raced to the warehouse as if her life depended on it, it did, John's life depended on it and that meant her life did too. He was her life and as much as she tried at one point to ignore that fact she couldn't.

Natalie arrived at the warehouse ten minutes later, she took out her gun and approached the front entrance, she stopped briefly, turned and headed towards the back entrance instead.

She approached the back door and noticed a note taped on it. It had her name on it and she quickly opened it and read it out loud.

"Good thinking, now lets prove you are the best," the note said and she entered thru the back entrance with her gun out and ready to shoot if she had to.

Natalie knew this wasn't going to be easy, she had a strange suspicion that the game would be continuing, she walked into the first room she saw and she saw it set up like a mock crime scene, just like Jake had it set for them with his preliminary tests. There was a note taped to a near by door, she grabbed it and read it.

"Do it alone, I know you can. This one is easy, look at the clues, which room do you proceed to. Which room will lead you to me, to him." Natalie said the note out loud as she saw a few officers that had followed her walk in to with their guns drawn. She walked over to them, as they looked around puzzled

"No!" she shouted at them

"You can't be in here, get out! I have to do this alone, I have to" Natalie yelled at them, they looked at her like she had three heads but they left, she needed so desperately to do this alone, she couldn't chance anything happening to John.

She looked around the mock Crime scene, it was set up like a living room, it looked familiar, it was the same scene she and Dougie was assigned on the prelim, the day it all began, she continued to look around it remembering the things they found that day, remembering all the mistakes they made that day, trying to make sense of all of this, trying to find John.

There was a clue in here somewhere, a clue that would lead her to him, to John. She continued to study the room for another minute or so and she spotted it, a bottle of Red Wine spilling out onto the carpet, she reached over and picked it up, there was a note taped to the side of it.

"That was an easy one I'll give you that, second door on the left" Natalie read the note and walked over to the second door on the left, she was about to open it when...when it just didn't feel right, it was to easy, her gut told her something else, she turned back towards the mock crime scene and studied it again, she walked closer to the front of the room and saw a coat rack with a jacket hanging on it, she pulled the jacket off the rack and underneath she found a Forensics Cap.

Natalie took the cap of the coat hook and turned it upside down, there was a piece of paper attached to it, she removed it and began to read it.

"You really are the best or maybe not yet, figure out what door I'm behind and then you will be"

Natalie continued to stare at the note for a few minutes, she was having a hard time breathing, she was starting to lose it, beginning to feel the fear come upon her, the fear that she wasn't good enough to find him, the fear that she wasn't strong enough to keep it together, the fear that something would happen to him. She pushed her fear, her emotions down, down deep, she regained her bearings and she turned looking at the three doors that stood on the one side of the mock living room, and the three doors that stood on the left.

"Which one, which one is it" she asked herself out loud, she just didn't know, she just didn't know which one to try and she was so afraid to try any, what if she tried a door and it was wrong, what would happen then, what would he do to John. The fear in her body was now evident as she stood and shook still not knowing what door to open. As tears gathered in her eye's, she again had to pull herself together, she was the best she had to act like it, even if she was trying to save the man that she loved she had to focus.

"Okay" she to said out loud as she moved closer to the three doors on the right.

"Talk to me" she said towards one of the doors, she studied it, looked it up and down, she crouched down on her knees, she studied the floor leading to the first door there didn't seem to be anything leading to that door, not even a foot print, she knew it couldn't be that door, she proceeded to the next, it was the second door on the left, the one the wine bottle clue told her that was the right one, she studied the floor in front of it, she saw something glimmer, her breath caught in her throat and she knew this was the right door, she put her hand on handle and she just knew, she felt him, felt him behind it, she turned the knob and as soon as she did, she pushed it open and heard a noise.

Natalie walked into the dark room, threw on a switch and she heard the noise get faster.

"OMG!" she choked out in a horrified whisper, she knew what the noise was; it was a bomb. She ran to where it was coming from, to John and Jake. John and Jake were sitting back to back, tied together with something. 'Duct tape' she realized almost immediately. Both men were gagged and she stood frozen from a few seconds before noticing the timer on the bomb that was taped across John's chest. It was moving quickly and according to the clock it had only three minutes left before detonating.

Natalie blinked, now standing in front of John as fear crept inside her body. It paralyzed her, she couldn't speak, couldn't move. She stared into John's beautiful blue eyes numb with fright. Their eye's met blue for blue, his calmed her, gave her strength, they said so much to her, his eyes'. They told of his love for her, how proud he was for her and his faith in her, that she could do this and that was all she needed to beat the fear down.

Natalie pushed her fear away and she took the rag that gagged him out of his mouth, still staring into each other eye's, she leaned around and took Jakes rag out to, she gave one last look at John, he mouthed a soft I love you and she concentrated on the bomb.

"Tell me what to do John, I've never done this before" she asked him and he saw she was calm

"Ok, Nat, look at the bomb, do you see wires?"

"Yes"

"How many are there? What color are they?"

"There's three, red, yellow and white"

"No Blue?"

"No, there's no blue is that bad John." When he didn't answer for a second she asked again, more urgently, " John is that bad?"

"No honey its okay, its alright but I need you calm okay, I know you can do this, I know you can"

"I know you can to babe" Jake said behind John, John shook his head ignoring him. He saw Natalie look away from the bomb for a second and look towards Jake; she needed to concentrate on the bomb, they were wasting so much time already.

"Natalie, Natalie look at me," he told her as her glassy eyes looked up at him.

"Just listen to my voice to my words, just do as I say. Do not hear anything but me telling you what to do, we are going to turn this bomb off together I know you can do this, it will be a snap for you and then we can move on with our lives, alright?" he told her calmly and she nodded yes

"Remember I love you and none of us are going to die today, not even Jake