Chapter 9

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The night felt quite decidedly dismal. Darkness had mercilessly descended upon the city's more remote areas where working streetlights were few and far apart. And the rain that had started about 10 minutes earlier ensured an even more impenetrable quality to the gloom.

When Carter arrived at the scene of the 10-50 her stomach dropped. The flashing lights of a patrol car and an ambulance were flicking over the scene, reflecting in thousands of pieces of broken glass littering the asphalt, and flashing off the mangled remains of a car blocking the road.

She stopped her car and got out. Passing through a group of onlookers she drew nearer to the twisted pile of metal. The driver's side door was severely dented, the window's glass scattered all over the inside. There was blood on the deployed air bag, as well as on the seats, and she had to swallow a lump that was forming at the back of her throat. From the little information that Finch had been able to give her, the chances were great that John had been involved in this accident. And her stomach was quite certain that it was his blood that she was looking at right now.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I need you to stay back."

Carter turned to face the young uniformed officer, already digging for her badge in her pocket. "Detective Carter, Homicide," she said, flashing her credentials. "I just drove by and stopped to see if I could assist?"

The officer visibly relaxed immediately at seeing the gold shield and nodded. "Thank you, ma'am. Help's always appreciated."

Joss nodded and turned to look at the wreckage again, forcing herself not to pay attention to the bad feeling in her stomach, and to focus on acquiring information instead. "So ... what happened? Hit and run?"

"We just arrived on the scene approximately five minutes ago. But given this neighborhood and the condition of the car we're not treating this as an ordinary hit and run."

"How do you figure that?" Carter asked with her brows knitted in confusion.

"Well, for one we found this in the car," the uni said, pulling out two evidence bags containing a gun and a smashed phone. He then proceeded to walk towards the rear of the vehicle with Joss trailing behind. He used his flashlight to illuminate specific areas of the pile of metal in front of them. "And these bullet holes have raised several red flags."

"You think this may be gang related?"

The officer shrugged. "Gang or drugs. Or both."

"Well, did you get anything out of the driver?" Joss tried her best at keeping her voice neutral. There was just so much riding on the answer to this question. Was John still alive? And if so, how badly was he injured?

When the officer started shaking his head a knot in Carter's stomach started to pull tight. "It appears he or she has fled the scene. My partner is already checking the perimeter for signs of the driver and for witnesses to the accident. I've put out a BOLO for any vehicle with front end damage consistent with a head-on collision and called in for the crime scene techs. Hospitals have been advised to report newly admitted patients with injuries suggesting a vehicular accident."

Now that didn't really help to loosen the tight knot in her stomach. It was clear to her that John had been injured by the accident - or by any of the projectiles that had left neat, round holes in the trunk lid. There were only two scenarios that came to her mind: John had indeed fled the scene - and was now either wandering the streets, hopefully in search of a phone, or perhaps lying unconscious somewhere. The other possibility was that someone had taken him. Either scenario was unfavorable.

But she couldn't let her worry distract her. She still had to play the role of a detached homicide detective who had stumbled upon the scene by accident. "Do we know who the car is registered to?"

"Yes, ma'am." The young cop took out his notepad, referring to his notes. "It's registered to a Claudia Blackwood."

"But we don't know if she was actually driving the car."

"No, ma'am."

Carter let her eyes wander over the scene and into the darkness of the streets that lay beyond, and sighed. If Reese was indeed out there, three people out looking for him wasn't going to be enough. "Have you called in for re-enforcements?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay," Carter nodded. "Looks like you've got this scene under control. How about I assist your partner with the canvass?"

"That would be appreciated, ma'am."

She circled the car in hopes of finding any indication as to what had transpired there earlier, and which direction Reese might have taken off in. However the rain had been busy washing away any clues. The only thing she was certain about was that the scene was a mess.

With nothing definite to go on Carter slowly took off into the dark streets, and hoped that she'd find John before someone else did. However a soft voice in her head kept telling her that they were wasting their time.

After she was sure she'd put enough distance between herself and the scene she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Finch's number, knowing that what she was about to report wasn't anything he wanted to hear.

"Finch?" she said, after her call was answered on the third ring. "John's not here."

There was silence on the other end, and Joss almost thought that her phone had lost the connection until Finch finally spoke up. "I really had hoped for better news."

"So, I gather you haven't heard from him yet?" Cater stopped, turned and looked back at the scene of the wreck, her levels of trepidation shooting up a few more notches. One of these days I'll get an ulcer because of these two.

"No, I have not. Are there any clues of what might have transpired, Detective?"

"You could say that," Joss said - a humorless laugh escaping her lips. "I'm looking at the car I'm assuming John was driving. Or rather what's left of it."

"Detective!" the voice of the officer called across from the intersection, interrupting her conversation with John's boss.

"Hold on, Finch." She dropped the hand holding her phone beside her, keeping the connection open, and met the officer at the crash site. "Have you found the driver?" she asked and almost dared to hope that her gut feeling was going to be proven wrong.

"No. But a witness came forward claiming to have seen an injured person being transferred to a second vehicle."

Carter had to seriously fight the urge to close her eyes and sigh in frustration. "Could the witness give you a description of the persons? Type and model of vehicle?"

Again, the officer shook his head. "Says it was too dark to make anything out but silhouettes, and that it was some kind of dark SUV."

How very helpful, Joss thought. The distant sound of sirens drawing nearer finally announced the arrival of the re-enforcements. Using the commotion of the new arrivals as cover, Carter stole away towards her car with the intention of finishing her conversation with Finch in private.

The moment she got behind the wheel of her unmarked police vehicle she put her phone to hear ear. "Did you get all that, Finch?"

"Yes," replied the hacker's matter-of-fact voice. "It appears that Mr. Reese may have been captured."

Joss closed her eyes and sighed. Of course he has. Nothing easy with those two. "Do you have any idea by whom?" she asked, slightly exasperated. In a way she already anticipated Finch's answer.

"No," he said slowly. "But I think I know someone who does."

Carter waited for him to elaborate. "Finch?" she asked eventually, but her only reply was silence. She looked at her phone in annoyance, confirming her suspicion that the man had hung up on her.

"Great," she muttered to herself. She looked at her watch. Her shift had officially ended an hour ago, however after seeing the remnants of John's car - and learning that he'd been taken by an apparently unknown third party - there was no way in hell that she could go home now and catch up on some sleep. The worry for John alone would keep her up, but she also wanted to be ready when - not if - the call for her assistance came.

She had her hand on her keys in the ignition, but hesitated to turn them as she realized just what had gone through her head. Just a little over a year ago she would have gladly tossed 'The Man in a Suit' into a cell. And now, there she was, keeping vital information from the law and eager to assist both John and Finch in what she suspected were illegal activities.

And the most unsettling part: she didn't even feel guilty about it.

Shaking her head she turned the key and the car's engine purred to life. She had no idea where to go, but she also didn't have the desire to stand still. With a muttered curse Joss pulled her car away from the curb

Knowing John and the kind of trouble he and Finch liked to get into, she figured it was probably wise to pick up some more fire power...

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To be continued...