A.N.: Yet another chapter…

I wanted to take the chance and thank all of you people for your very kind reviews. You make my day!

Now – on with the story.

Chapter 8:

Jack had taken the unknown female back to the department. She hadn't insisted, she hadn't struggled and she hadn't said a word, she seemed deeply sorry about what Jack last had told her. He didn't clearly get why, but the young woman definitely felt responsible for what had happened to Danny in some way – he just wasn't sure why.

He had lead her to one of the interrogation rooms and had told her he would be back in a few moments. He had hoped for her to show some reaction to the surrounding she was brought to, but there was nothing after all. Like she was used to it, like it didn't scare her after all.

As he reentered the room – all alone – he had no idea, not even a slight feeling about how this would proceed. If she would be cooperative or not, if she would give information to him or not, but the one thing he knew was, that she was the one decisive connection he had been searching for and he would make her talk – no matter what. He had a serious tone in his voice when he addressed her first, not allowing any word of insistance.

"First of all – who are you?"

His worries about her will to help him were vanishing to dust right now as she put a small, sad smile on her face. Her voice was low and he could still hear that emotion of guilt and sadness in it, but she was answering his question.

"My name's Elizabeth Tejar. Just call me 'Beth'. I'm a private detective, that's my profession. I have been assigned by a Chilean non governmental organization in search for "los desaparecidos". You ever heard about that?"

"Yes, I heard about it."

"Then you do know that it's the idiom to be used for those who have been taken by their own government, have been tortured, killed and thrown into some hole in the earth without anyone ever finding them. It's a euphemism – no doubt about that."

"Definitely... but what's that got to do with you exactly?"

"I'm in search of a group of people who lead an isolated prison in the Chilean back-country, where the civilians fighting against the system were brought at. The organization has proof of about 250 people that were murdered there – kidnapped, tortured, broken, executed and buried in some nameless, dishonorable mass-grave.

Their corpses have been found about four months ago, when the organization finally was able to detect the location of the prison. Their families – mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives and husbands finally have been able to bury their loved ones on a grave yard, in holy ground, with a grave stone that states their names. They finally have a chance to properly grieve...

I'm here to find the persons responsible for that massacre and call them to their account, to get them in front of a court so they finally will be sentenced for what they have done. I'm here to serve justice."

Jack started to understand how Danny fit into that puzzle, he understood how he had gotten involved in this. He could feel emotions rise up inside of him – Danny probably just had wanted to help, had wanted to support Elizabeth Tejar in her wish to serve justice and find these Chilean criminals. He hadn't done anything wrong, but he had ended up in hospital fighting for his life and with lifelong consequences none the less. The injustice of it all made his voice tremble as he went on questioning the private detective.

"But you couldn't find them. That's why you were in contact with Agent Taylor, you asked him to help you."

"That's right. I mean I had some information about them, I knew they were living in the States, in New York and I hoped to find out any more information, but I had to experience that my possibilities were extremely restricted. I didn't even get a step closer to them. It was that extremely frustrating – I had all this information about what they had been doing, about their crimes, I had proof – goddamn it, but I didn't have a damn chance to track them down. That's why I asked Agent Taylor for help."

"How did you get to know each other anyway?"

"Let's say it happened by accident. I have an apartment downtown and it appears we are living next door. We got a chance to talk a little and I don't even know how we got there, but he told me about his profession. That's when the idea first came to me, but I didn't ask him right then. I tried myself for some more time, but I finally had to realize that I needed a more professional help. I have been careful – we have been talking about Chile, I told him about the organization... Finally I asked him and he agreed to help me almost immediately."

"But why have you been hiding in that abandoned warehouse and why have you been threatening me with a gun? Who did you believe I was?"

"I had to, I thought they would find me at home. I knew something was wrong – Agent Taylor was supposed to call me Friday evening to tell me if he had made any progress, but he never did. I tried to catch him at home, but he hadn't been there for the whole weekend. I was pretty sure it was their work, that they had kidnapped him… I believed he had been talking, Agent Taylor I mean. I believed he had betrayed me to them, had told them where I was living. I believed it was a trap when I called you, I believed you had been hired by these men to track me down and kill me. They wanted the information I have – the pictures and documents – they wanted all this proof to vanish. That's why I thought they came after me, that's why I was hiding, that's why I threatened you with the gun. And I meant what I said: I'd rather die than give the information I have to them or be taken alive. I know about their methods of torture – they could break anybody. And I didn't want to reveal anything to them, I rather would've given my life."

"Your reaction on the phone. As I didn't tell you immediately what happened to Agent Taylor – you knew it. You knew what happened?"

He could see the emotion on her face, barely kept under control. It was a mixture of fury, desperation – and guilt. Her voice trembled as she answered and he could see how she clenched her fists until her knuckles went white.

"Yes I knew, I knew damn well – probably into the last sickening detail. I have seen what these miserable bastards have been doing to their victims, I've seen so many pictures and read so many reports – it makes one feel sick. Good lord, I'm so sorry! I didn't see it coming, I couldn't even imagine this to happen. He had promised me to be careful and I never had believed that these people would get after a federal agent. They are extremely careful, I believed they wouldn't have wanted to draw any attention. But Agent Taylor obviously rather got too close to them or he didn't care about my advice and was incautious. It doesn't matter anyway – it happened, we can't do anything against it anymore."

"Yes we can – we can track these bastards down. And that's what we're going to do!"