Author's Note: Once again, thanks to everybody who's
been reading and reviewing. Hopefully the pace isn't going too slow or
too fast for you guys. I'm reeaallllyyyyy flattered you guys are
supporting this fic. So, what do you guys think? Should Jack be with
Sue or Sylvia? Hmmm...
Chapter 11 – Flowers for Sale
"I don't see what the problem is," Eric stated. "You said you talked to her, she didn't seem to be under duress and she didn't ask for help in anyway."
"But something is wrong, I know it," Jack protested.
"Did she say or do something suspicious that made you think that?" Sue asked.
Jack sighed. "Nothing in particular…she was just…mean."
Myles sighed, resigned. "Jack, the AUSA said that the last time they talked, she had been pretty insistent on not testifying in court. So, maybe she had a few choice words for you because she truly did want to be left alone."
D piped up. "If she doesn't testify we're not going to be able to get anything on Sam and we're probably not going to be able to convict the Fisherman with attempting to kill her or get an indictment on Boon's murder. He's already facing attempted murder of a Federal Officer so I doubt he's going to feel the need to give us any more details. The AUSA isn't feeling generous enough to lighten his sentence."
"What about all of the alleged evidence that Boon was collecting against Sam?" Sue asked.
"There was nothing there when we got there …we only found these," Bobby explained picking up the pictures of Sam and Patsy.
"Um…Jack?" Tara piped up from looking over a couple of files on her computer. "What was the name of the flower shop you talked to her at?"
"It was something like…Johnson's Boutique? Or something like that."
"Well…this is interesting," Tara remarked typing away on her computer. "Johnson's Boutique is run by a couple named Peter and Shelly Johnson. Apparently they were drowning in debt around a month ago then magically, one day, they were all taken care of."
"The Shens?" Myles said. "Nice to see they like helping out the local businesses."
"Yeah at a 200 interest rate," Bobby responded. "So they took her there…maybe as a stop point to deflect any attention or suspicion."
"Well we have to go back there," Jack replied. "Try to find something, anything."
"We're going, you're not." Eric explained firmly.
"I don't think so," Jack shot back.
"Look, as of now you're just a civilian and you have absolutely no authority or clearance to go in so just sit tight and let us do our jobs, okay?" Eric argued.
Jack looked to the rest of the members for support, his former co-workers, his friends who would usually back him up in times like this. But they merely looked at him sheepishly and followed Eric out of the bullpen. The moment of betrayal was only fleeting. Deep down he knew that they couldn't break the rules. It was true, he wasn't an agent anymore and he had no authority to go in and they could be held liable should something happen to him. Jack Hudson was often passionate about the cases he got when he worked for the surveillance unit, and he would do anything to solve a case, as long as they didn't break any rules. But Jack Hudson had changed over the last three years. He grabbed his coat and left the building.
The surveillance team parked an unmarked van a couple of blocks up the street from the flower shop and sent three teams to scout the flower shop. One team went around the back while another patrolled the main road for signs of the Shens while another tried to get in contact with the owners. Sue and Tara manned the surveillances from inside the van through various security screens.
"It doesn't look like there's any sign of the Shens in the area," Tara explained. "They probably hot-footed to another location already."
Lucy sat next to Sue in the van and looked at her concerned. "Are you okay?" she signed to her.
Sue blinked. "Sure," she signed back. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Does it bother you?" Lucy replied. "That Jack is showing all of this concern for another woman?"
Sue gave her a comforting smile and shook her head. "No…it's one of the things I…love about him," she signed slowly in response.
"Things are going to be pretty weird when this is all over, isn't it?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah," Sue took in a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face. "But weird has always been the basis of my relationship with Jack anyways."
A knock came from the van and Levi trotted over to the door of the van, scratching against the door. Tara walked over and opened it, letting somebody in.
"A little later than we were expecting." Tara said as she walked back into the van.
"Sorry, traffic was a little tighter than I expected." Jack replied and sat down in front of the cameras.
"So much for by-the-book," Sue said with sly grin.
"You know I do whatever I can do to get a case solved," Jack answered with a smile.
"Yeah," Sue replied. "Even more so when your heart's involved." Jack turned to Sue and gave her a small smile, which she returned. "It's funny…I'm pretty sure if your positions were switched, you would have said the exact same thing to Eric that he did to you."
"I know," Jack said with a dry grin. "But I couldn't just sit there twiddling my thumbs could I?"
"We didn't know what kind of people we were getting ourselves caught up with," the shopkeeper, Shelly Johnson explained, pacing around the store nervously. "We didn't know they were so violent…we just knew they could help solve our financial problems." Her husband, Peter, walked over and pulled her into a tight and comforting hug as she dissolved into sobs.
"Do you guys know anything about what they were planning on doing with that woman they brought in?" Bobby asked.
Peter shook his head. "No…but they took her away maybe half an hour ago with one of our vans…"
"Your vans, are they equipped with anti-theft systems?" Myles inquired.
Peter nodded. "If you can get the company to activate them then you can find out where they are."
"Tara? Lucy?" Bobby said into his microphone.
"I'm on it," Tara replied from the van and started typing away on her computer while Lucy made a phone call. Soon enough a map appeared on the screen of Tara's laptop with a red dot showing the location of the van. "It's parked near the harbor of 47th and Quentin."
Bobby, Myles, D and Eric carefully approached the van to make sure that there wasn't anybody in it while the rest of the team kept a lookout on the area for any signs of Sam's posse. Eric and Myles pried open the back of the van and their face fell when they found it completely empty. Myles jumped into the van and knelt down, running his finger on a stain in the middle.
"It's blood…looks fresh," Myles said quietly. His eyes wandered over to the lake aimlessly, which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the team. "You think maybe we should—"
"No," Sue cut him off. "There's a chance she might still be alive…just injured." She looked to Jack concerned who gave her a grateful but forced smile.
