A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 16 (Meeting of Powers)

The office was filled with enough anxious energy to make even the most stalwart nervous, and for Jade it gave her an overwhelming sense of urgency and relief. Today was a meeting of alliances, the connections they were making had agreed to come talk to Sikowitz about the case.

Cat was there doing her duty as secretary and was going to draft up a transcript like she often did; it was nice to see her doing something and taking an interest in it. Even Sam though she had a future as a court reporter.

Robbie would be coming with his father, hoping to fill the man on everything he could. Sam was gone, meeting with Jonah in order to brief him and his connections before guiding them to the location. Andre and Beck were already present, seated on either side of her on the couch.

Jason was talking with his uncle at the desk about possibly getting some assistance from the military; but it sounded like Sikowitz didn't think the military would have much of a reason to get involved.

While they were discussing that matter, Jesse was at a table in the center, leaning over it and making some markings to a sheet of paper that appeared to be blueprints of some kind. "Finally," she whispered, "All the contacts have agreed to come by."

"And a couple others." Beck leaned sideways, sliding his arm around her shoulders. She blinked twice, curious who else would be joining in this conference. Then it hit her, Beck had already mentioned his family's disapproval with the Chief's continued orders to ignore the disappearance of a major homicide detective's family; and she knew just about everyone in his family was or had been a part of the LAPD.

"Your parents are coming?" Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes grew wide as Beck's mouth turned up into a smile.

"Well, my mother as well as my dad's father." She almost fell out of the chair wanting to scream out for joy. His paternal grandfather and mother were likely the best people inside the actual police department to help. His grandfather was a retired Police Commander, well known for his handling of the police force during his many years on the force, and his mother was currently one of the Police Captains who was in charge of a prescinct with some of the higher numbers of arrests made.

Beck scratched his cheek and made a motion towards his boss. "I haven't been able to tell Sikowitz yet since he's in the middle of talking to Jason. My mother texted me about five minutes ago that they were on their way…"

"How much do they know about what's been going on?" She was okay with him talking to his family about it, since she trusted them as much as he did; but she hadn't ever thought to ask just how much of the case they knew. "I figure you haven't told them much because you can't really talk about a case to outsiders, but…why do they want to come all of a sudden?"

"Mom and Dad have recently been upset with the Chief's inaction, and I might have let it slip that our investigation was considering him as a prime suspect. Grandpa, of course, is furious."

Jade understood how the man could be furious. Beck's grandfather, Lance Oliver, always talked about how proud he was of the police force and how strong he helped make them during his tenure.

More than that, however, he personally trained Hank Ross when the Chief was a young recruit. Surely there could be no greater insult than knowing someone you trained was potentially involved in a high profile case as well as corruption of the very department you helped bolster.

"This is going to be interesting to watch. It feels like something's finally going to get done."

"Maybe. It's still a process, but at least this time we have our allies on board." Beck turned his head upright and stared at the table for a moment while the silence filled the air. His chest expanded slowly and Jade smiled as his hand gently pat her shoulder. "Have you checked out Jesse's blueprint map? It's basically the floorplans and layout of where the family's being held."

"I haven't seen it yet. I'll go look." He drew his arm from her shoulders and she moved over to the table. Looking over Jesse's shoulder, the man flinched and turned towards her. "You must have gone through a great deal of trouble to get that, Jesse." He shrugged and returned his focus to the paper.

"Not really. All the key people have this. My brother and myself, Ross and his father, Daniel, Stephen and Marcus." She furrowed her brow, annoyed that all four of the exes-five counting Jerome-were leading this mess.

Jesse straightened himself and raised a hand to his jaw, sliding his fingers under his chin. "As you can see, there's a basement. Which would be the easiest place to get into if you're trying to sneak in."

As he spoke, the door opened and people began entering. Jade didn't notice at first until they started to surround the table, each listening to the explanation of Jesse's layout. "That is of course, if you need to sneak in for whatever reason-I think it would be better to go in without tipping the guys off."

Jade leaned forward, studying the map. There were multiple floors to this facility, and it didn't appear to be much larger than a house. "It's like a tower," she stated. Jesse nodded slowly.

"Something like that." There were five floors, not counting the basement. The ground floor was the largest, and the building seemed to rise with each floor shrinking a small amount in size. "It's some family mansion or condo that Chief Ross owns. Some sort of shit." Jade raised her eyebrows and watched him point to the third floor. "The family is being held on that floor in some kind of soundproof room." He rolled his hand in a circular motion, squinting one eye and groaning. "Have you seen the movie Panic Room?"

"Yeah, a long time ago. Why?"

"The room is kind of like that." He pushed his finger along to the very back edge of the third floor. "They're tucked away into the back corner." He slid his finger to the top floor and raised his eyebrows high. "Ross is tucked away in his father's office. When everyone's at the facility, this is where he's going to be. Rarely will he be anywhere else."

"Why is that?"

"He prefers as little involvement as possible, I guess." Jesse scoffed, the disgust in his voice betraying the calm of his statement. "Unless it involves messing with Trina, getting under her skin." Jade frowned and looked at Jason, watching the muscles in his body tense up. "Truth of the matter, I can't tell whether he thinks his father is insane or if he's just as insane as the man. He's a monster one way or another."

Sikowitz seemed to stretch, locking his wrists behind his back and breathing in deep. "How involved is he? Why are all these people involved? Sinjin seemed to imply his father is the one calling all the shots."

"He is." Jesse looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Far as I can tell, Ross keeps himself locked away up there and refers to his father at times with irritation. It's anybody's guess why; but I know my brother told the Chief about some of the exes, so the Chief instructed Ross and Jerome to gather the exes hurt by the Vega parents and get them involved one way or another."

"Are you suggesting that they're being forced?"

"No, at least I don't think so." Jesse paced to the right, still facing the others. "I know Daniel is in on this because he wants to get back at the Vegas, and so is Stephen. Marcus, I think could care less-he's more pissed at David. Jerome is having fun with it, but his role is more using my Knights as guard."

Jade took a step back, not wanting this conversation to keep from the introductions of the key contacts. When she looked back, she was startled by the full office.

Standing nearest to them was Sam and Jonah, who had two official looking investigators with them. One man and one woman, dressed in suited outfits. "These are my superiors," Jonah remarked casually while turning to the pair. "Agents Beckett and Harding." Beck raised an eyebrow at the woman, chuckling once. "They're here to gather information and decide what needs to be done with their agents. If any course of action is needed…"

Harding looked to be the superior. He was an older man with a face that resembled actor Tom Bosley. His grey hair was short and in curls, and a pair of dark shades rested on the top of his nose.

Robbie and his father stood beside the group. Thomas was a bit taller than his son, and looked almost exactly like the boy but older and more mature. Along with Thomas was a woman whom Jade barely recognized. She was an elder woman with wavy grey hair and a stern expression. "Who do you have with you?" Sikowitz asked while turning towards Thomas. The man paused, his lips parting. "Ah Judge Quinn, I apologize I didn't recognize you at first."

"It is alright," The woman remarked, "I am here to see what all the fuss is about."

Thomas nodded slowly. "I was shooting a game of pool with an old friend at her son's business. I may have mentioned my son was working on a case involving the Vegas disappearance and involvement of the LAPD."

"I cannot say I'm a fan of Chief Ross. He's only been Police Chief for a few short years, and he's done less more harm for this city than he has done good." Before much else could be said, three more entered the office. Jade recognized the tall man with thin grey hair framing his ears and the back of his head, along with the woman about a foot shorter than he was. She had long brown hair and a piercing sharp gaze.

The third person was a bit more of a surprise. He was an older gentleman with broad shoulders and a heavy face. His arms were folded neatly against his chest and he looked ready for a fight. Beck stepped forward, expanding his arms. "Mom, Grandpa, how are you? Who is this with you?"

"Colonel Abraham Wallace," the man answered firmly. "I ran with Detective Malone, and I'm curious why the police have not investigated his disappearance along with the family being captive."

"We know him well," Mrs. Oliver said, "We put word that we were coming to take part in this investigation and he took it upon himself to join." Jason saluted the man in greeting.

"Well now that everyone is here." Jesse faced the group and raised his hand partially. "I will answer the burning question. Chief Hank Ross is not only involved, he's in charge of the entire operation. But I think some of you knew that already, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now. Let's move past that."

Lance Oliver growled and took a small step forward, his face twisting with disgust and anger. "If I could get my hands on that man. Who are the key people? Why can no one act right now? What's your role in this?"

"My brother is in charge of the gang involved, and my best friend is the chef in charge of preparing the meals for the Vegas. We are the best chance of getting those people out alive." Jesse snapped his fingers and started to grin. "But one thing I can do for you…Jerome's right hand with the Knights, and top enforcer, is his girlfriend. Hayley Ferguson."

"We've heard of her," replied Camille Oliver replied, "she's known throughout the police department." The woman leaned her head back and Jesse gave her a fervent nod.

"Handle it delicately and you can arrest her without the Chief or anyone else thinking it's related to the Vegas." Camille raised her eyebrows slowly and the grin on her face spread.

"I've been wanting to arrest that tart for a few years now. She's been causing my department a great deal of trouble."

"Well here's the thing." Jesse swept his hand towards Jade. "Jade here was recently attacked by Hayley for what is assumed revenge for something happening at a karaoke bar a few years back." Jade shivered as she recalled the memory, shaking her head slowly. "Haley also implied responsibility for the murder of her father and the disappearance of Tara Ganz."

"If you have anything more concrete…"

"I do. I was with my brother when she showed him the location of Tara's corpse." Jade's jaw fell open and Jesse moved his hands behind his back, raising an eyebrow at the stunned group. "In the Jans landfill on the outskirts of town. I'm sure you might find some physical evidence under Tara's nails, since Hayley talked about how made she was Tara fought back and scratched her." He shrugged as if it were nothing and moved towards the table. "Just say a few teenagers found the body and you've got yourself a case…one less Dark Knight as I call them."

"'Dark Knight'?"

"Yes. The people who follow my brother's way." He leaned over the table, sliding his hands along the edge and sighing heavily. "If I had it my way, we'd be a group of law abiding motorcycle enthusiasts."

"Okay." Thomas leaned forward, his eyes scanning the map along with the two FBI agents. "You're on the inside. Tell us why we can't start making arrests? Aside from Hayley for an unrelated murder?"

"The Vegas are essentially hostages. You make an open investigation, arrests of any sort and you will lose that family. The Chief is prepared to kill them all the minute they're discovered. You have to get the family out first. Then open the investigation."

The group fell quiet and Jesse shook his hand in the air. "I know it sounds backwards. If the judge can write a warrant and you can get a task force ready, you should be able to get them out safe." His expression tensed and he sucked in a heavy breath of air. "Of course you have the problem my brother poses."

"What do you suggest?"

"We don't have time on our side, but I need to take control of the Knights. It's the only way. If I can take them from under him, I can order them away from the facility so that you can get inside. If I can't, you won't be getting anywhere close to the key people or that family. The gang must be removed first."

"So we're running an infiltration?" Jason asked with a widening grin. Jade couldn't help but to chuckle, though she was just as eager. "A raid, maybe?" Jason cracked his knuckles. Jesse glanced up to him and then towards the others, shrugging in reply.

"Honestly, as much as I hate to say it, it may be best. If you want to make arrests, you should go in on a day when everyone is at the facility. Don't give them a chance. If you're just looking to get the family out first with minimal issue, then do so when there is no one there."

Sikowitz grunted, his eyes scanning across his former students. "Is there ever a chance of that? The second part?" Jesse frowned and shook his head, giving Jade a moment of dismay.

"The Black Knights are the guard. They surround the Chief's home mansion, they're stationed at both Ross's house and Danny's house. Then of course, Jerome himself very rarely comes out from where he's located…right at the facility with an entire array of Knights roaming the facility. So with them, there will always be someone present."

"Shit." Sikowitz crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Well whatever it takes for you to take over the Knights and order them away, do it and do it fast."

"Understood, sir." Jesse reached into his pocket, clearing his throat while moving his gaze towards Jason. "Also, I just remembered. I was told to give this to you." Jason's eyebrow rose and Jade leaned over, looking in earnest as Jesse handed a folded sheet of marked up paper to the man.

Jason unfolded it carefully, his fingers trembling and crinkling the paper. "Trina." His voice was soft and quiet, her name seemed to roll from his tongue as his eyes started to glaze over. "She says she's scared, but she got my note and everything." Jason cupped a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes.

"Oh yeah, this too." Jesse continued to dig in his pocket, grunting and looking down at it. "It's in here." Jason lowered the note and his entire body shook like a mountain ready to crumble. "She wants you to hold onto it until they get out." He removed a small, glistening ring and extended it to Jason with a smile. "So you've given her a little hope of rescue and something concrete in the future for her to hold on to."

Jason took the ring carefully, his breathing trembled and he stared to choke on his words. "I-I…"

"That's the best thing you could have possibly done for her right now. Just saying." Jason smiled gently. "Sinjin told me how much you want to charge in, guns blazing. Hopefully you realize now how futile that would be…let us handle thing from within, that's the best way you're going to be able to save that family."

"From within, huh?"

"Yes. The exterior may be strong, but the interior is weak." Jesse ran his hand along his chin, stroking it gently while examining Jason. "Tell me, you're probably well attuned to fitness with your martial arts and all that. What happens to the human body when the interior has a bunch of problems?"

"It starts to shut down."

"Exactly. Right now all that any of these people have is anger and poison, it's going to their head. Their ego is also full, they think they can't and won't get caught, and that makes them cocky. Let me do my work, and I can almost guarantee you'll get your people."

"And your brother? How do you plan to unseat him, so to speak?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I have my ideas. I need to get Hayley and the big oaf out of the way first."

"Oaf?"

"The guy that was supposed to kill Ross when he was in prison. He's also one of Jerome's trusted confidantes...but his loyalty is easily swayed." Jade scrunched her nose and cocked her head as Jesse took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before finishing his statement. "Obviously. Why else would Ross be alive and not murdered in prison?"

So all of the big-wigs are on board. The next step surely won't be easy, but at least there's a plan.