A/N: Thank you SWWoman for your beta skills and so much more. Disclaimer: I own nothing of POI.

Breaking Point Chapter 8

"Everybody ready?...let's go" John pushed open the right side of the double glass doors while Shaw opened the left. Following close behind John was Joss and Finch with Fusco tailing Shaw as she circled behind the dumpster to take out the guy waiting there. They hadn't spotted the second guy but John was sure he would show soon now that they were in the open.

Sure enough, as they made their way to the SUV, bending low and weaving through the parked cars for cover, the second gunman appeared out of nowhere in the parking aisle across from them, blocking them from their car. John saw him first and let loose a barrage of rapid fire forcing the man to take cover. John knelt down in front of Joss and Finch who were hiding behind the front end of a Chrysler. Joss held her gun tight in her right hand, but she didn't want to use it unless she absolutely had to. Being injured already, she was at a disadvantage and would prefer to let John take the lead. She would back him up if necessary.

"You two okay?" John asked as he shoved another magazine in and chambered a bullet. They both nodded okay and he grinned. Joss grinned back. John was loving this. John wasn't a violent person but he was a man of action and to finally be actively doing something was making him very happy. "Stay here. I'm gonna try to circle behind him and flush him into the open so I can capture him. I want to ask him a few questions." John said with a wicked smile.

"Please be careful." Joss said quickly as turned to leave. He turned back around and took her chin in his hand and kissed her so sweetly. "I'll be right back, sweetheart. I promise. Do you remember what I said?" he asked her.

Joss nodded her head. "You always keep your promises."

John nodded his head. "I'll be right back." He repeated then turned and left.

Harold watched this exchange with fascination. It was no wonder The Machine was interested in them. They were a unique pairing of individuals. Each were exceptional in their own way, together they were extraordinary, building the other up, learning from each other. They were remarkable. Harold was pulled from his thoughts when Joss reached over and touched his arm.

Holding a finger to her lips to remain quiet she then pointed around the left side of the car where they were hiding. In the background she could hear rapid gunfire and could only assume Shaw and Fusco had found their target but the gunman wasn't going down without a fight. Meanwhile their gunman had somehow circumvented John and was now walking behind the very car where Joss and Finch were crouched. She motioned for him to crawl around the right side of car. He shook his head vehemently. He was crippled. He could barely walk much less crawl. Just staying in this crouched position was taking all the strength he possessed. He pointed to his injured leg which was pointing in an awkward angle and she nodded a look of fierce determination on her face. Just as she stood to step around the left side of the car the gunman appeared right in front of her, taking her by surprise. He grabbed her wrist and twisted until she dropped her weapon then pointed his own directly in Joss's face. Joss stood straight, without flinching, without showing any fear, and looked him in the eye. Harold scrambled to his feet, not knowing what he could do in a situation such as this. He had no weapon and didn't know how to, and couldn't, fight back. He just stood there, frustration building inside him at his inability to help.

"Well, well, it looks like we were able to capture you after all," the gunman said in a deep smooth baritone completely ignoring Harold. "Too bad, I was hoping I'd get to shoot you on the run just for sport." Oddly enough, he had a nice smile and wasn't a bad looking guy. He had collar length wavy blonde hair with bangs curling over his smooth forehead and bright blue eyes that sparkled mischievously.

Joss genuinely smiled back at him. "I'm not going anywhere with you. If your boss thought it would be this easy to catch me, he's not nearly as smart as he thinks he is." She said with all the confidence in the world. The gunman cocked his head sideways and looked at her strangely because he could see that she meant every word she said, which made him wonder what made her so confident. Just then he felt someone at his back and spun around to look into the coldest dark blue eyes he had ever seen. Goose flesh erupted all over his body and his eyes widened in alarm. Before the gunman knew what was happening, the man had disarmed him and was coming at him with murder in his eyes.

John had seen the man disarm Joss and fury exploded inside him. He had to remain calm, though, for Joss and that Finch man who wanted to help them. He placed his weapon back in his jeans at the small of his back and quietly made his way back to the Chrysler where they had been hiding. He arrived about the time the man said he wanted to shoot Joss for sport and his blood ran cold. If not for the fact that he needed answers he would kill this guy with his bare hands….but that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun with him. He waited for Joss to finish speaking, he didn't know if she saw him or not, then walked right up behind him and as soon as he turned, he disarmed him as easy as taking candy from a baby. Then he stood in front of him measuring him up. He could be a challenge depending how well he had been trained. John let him throw the first punch, but it wasn't just a simple punch, it was Krav Maga. Oh this was going to be very interesting indeed.

Joss stood back and watched as the two men fought ferociously, their movements so fast and precise it was hard to keep up with them. Harold limped over to stand beside her and eventually they were joined by Shaw and Fusco. They had left their unconscious gunman tied up over by the dumpster when they heard the commotion and came to check it out. The gunman Reese was fighting was very good. He was quick, sharp, and able to rebound and reset quickly. But Reese was better. He had more experience, was faster, stronger and more accurate with his strokes. In the end John finally cut him down with a round-about to the chin that knocked him to the ground and he didn't get back up. Of course Joss had to give her champion a smoking hot kiss for his reward for a job well done while the others just rolled their eyes and groaned. John and Joss just laughed at them. They better get used to it.

They bundled the would-be kidnappers unceremoniously into the back of the SUV then everyone piled in and headed for a remote location to hold the gunmen for further questioning. Harold asked Joss if she wanted to be dropped at the safe-house so she could rest, she gave him an absolute no which ended that debate.

They arrived at a seemingly abandoned warehouse where Shaw pulled up to a bay door, punched in a code on her console and the door slid smoothly open. She drove under the door and stopped only a few feet inside before repeating the code and closing the bay door behind them.

The warehouse was expansive but Shaw obviously had a destination in mind as she drove between two cement posts toward a large, brightly lit, enclosed area at the other end of the building. When they pulled up to the enclosure John and Joss noticed another expensive vehicle already parked.

"It would seem Ms. Groves has made it here before us." Harold said distractedly as he gathered his things to leave the SUV. "Mr. Reese? Could you and Detective Fusco escort our guests into the building, please?" Harold asked as John and Joss stepped out of the SUV. John glanced over at Fusco who shrugged and headed for the back of the car.

"Sure. No Problem. Where do we take them?" John asked curiously. This whole deal was getting stranger by the minute.

"Detective Fusco knows where to go, just follow him." Harold answered and then turning to Joss, "Ms. Carter, would you follow me please?"

Joss glanced at John a little uneasy at being separated but went along after he nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.

John walked to the back of the car where Fusco already had one of the guys out and standing beside the car. John reached in and grabbed the other guy he knocked out and pulled him to his feet. He looked at John and smiled. "You're not getting anything out of me."

John just smiled back and said softly, "Oh yeah, well, we'll see about that. I like to hunt for sport too." The gunman's smile vanished. John grabbed him by the arm and followed Fusco around to the back of the enclosure. They stopped in front of a door where Fusco punched in a code then hit delete after the door was open and they went in.

"Why did you do that? How are we gonna get out of here?" John asked perplexed as he looked around him. To him it looked like a gym where you would work out, not some place you would interrogate hostiles.

"I had to delete it in case one of these jokers memorized it as I entered it. Glasses will reprogram it with another code and send it to my phone so we can get out." Fusco replied to John's question. John glanced at the two men and sure enough the guy he had clocked was frustrated by what Fusco said so he must have done just that. John grinned at him.

They escorted the two men to the center of the room where there was only cement flooring surrounded by blue exercise mats in a square.

"Watch these two for a minute, I'll be right back." Fusco said and turned toward a door in the far right corner. When he returned he had two folding chairs and eight pairs of handcuffs. John wasn't sure what the plan was but he didn't think this was going to work. The handcuffs for the legs, he assumed, would just slide off. At least that's what he thought until he saw the chairs. These weren't ordinary folding chairs. For one thing, that wasn't ordinary metal they were made of. If he had to guess he would say it was titanium. The chairs had circular hooks on each leg, they would be able to move but they weren't going anywhere. The same was true for the wrist restraints. There were small circular hooks on the back side of the chair where they could move, but not unhook them. They couldn't get their hands close enough together to try to pick the locks. It was genius.

They finally got the men situated in their new home and Fusco checked his texts. He had the new code so they were good to go. They left with a chorus of swear words bidding them goodbye and they couldn't care less. What they didn't see was the self-satisfied smile on the nice looking blonde gunman as he tapped the heel of his boot against the leg of the chair activating a tracking device.

"So how long you and Carter been an item?" Fusco asked bluntly.

John didn't mind, he kind of liked the guy. "Eight months. Yeah, it's weird how we met. She had flat tire and I stopped to help her and it just went from there." John said smiling at the memory until he realized that flat was probably planned. Oh well, it was still a good memory.

Then he thought of something. "How long were you partners with Joss?" He asked deliberately.

Fusco stopped walking and looked at him. Fusco knew he had a reason for asking. "Four years. Why?"

"Then you were around when Donnelly was around the precinct…." He started but was interrupted by Fusco's outburst.

"Don't even mention that son of a bitch's name to me. I can't stand it that she has to report to that sleaze, much less trust him to be her handler. He was always sniffin' around the precinct, makin' the moves on Carter, made me sick to have to watch it. Wasn't a damn thing I could do about it either. Carter wouldn't report him, said he was harmless. Well, they always are at first, aren't they?" John stood stone still after this barrage of information while Fusco tried to gain control of himself. Joss never mentioned that Donnelly ever sexually harassed her. Why would she want to work for someone who was actively harassing her? Something wasn't adding up. He knew Joss, she would never stand for that kind of treatment. Something was going on and he was damn well going to find out what!

Leaving Fusco in the dust he stormed his way to the door he saw Harold and Joss use. He was going to find Joss and for once he was going to get some straight answers!

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I definitely make up for it in the next chapter. But, Uh Oh. Seems like Joss might have some more explaining to do. How will John take this latest omission of the truth? Here's a hint:...a lie of omission is still a lie...how was he supposed to feel about that? John thought....See you soon...