There was no time for cuddling the next morning. John was already dressed when he woke Jessica.
"Pack up whatever you brought from home. I'll get anything else we might need. Come see me in the living room after you're dressed and I'll get your vest on you."
Jessica nodded. She took her cue from him and kept it all business. If that was what they needed to do to be focused and safe, then that was what they would do.
"Do you have a thin undershirt," he asked.
"Yeah, I do."
"Good. Put that on. The vest will go on top and you can put another shirt over that... just so it's not obvious you're wearing one."
"Got it."
"You've got enough time to eat a little something, too. I'll be out there," he said as he nodded to the living area. "Dorian's up, too."
"This is almost over," Jessica said.
"Almost. You still have to testify, though."
John smiled and walked out. Jessica put on a camisole and a pair of jeans, then packed everything else. When she joined John and Dorian in the living room, Dorian smiled.
"Good morning," he said.
"Good morning."
The droid's gaze held hers a bit too long with a knowing smile, and she felt the blush rise up in her cheeks. She turned away and cleared her throat.
"What time do we head out," she asked.
"I have to check in with Captain Maldonado in about thirty minutes. We were supposed to be there at two-thirty, but it got moved up. The hotel is expecting a real delivery at that time, and we don't want to add more people to the mix. We'll probably leave right after we check in." John grabbed the bullet-proof vest from the chair and began helping Jessica into it, making sure it was secure. "If everything goes smoothly, it should be less than five minutes from the car to the room."
Jessica nodded and blew out a breath.
"You'll be fine," John said.
She looked into is his eyes and smiled. "I know."
They were on the road within the hour, with Jessica in the back seat, and soon arrived at the hotel. John pulled up and there were several members of the staff standing by.
"Those are all cops," Jessica asked.
"All except the manager," John said. "You ready?"
"Yeah."
John was parked with the passenger side door facing the hotel. He and Dorian exited the vehicle. Dorian waited with his door still open while John walked to the back door to get Jessica out. They were just a few steps from the entrance when one of the cops jerked from a bullet and fell to the ground.
"Get down," John yelled.
He grabbed Jessica and pushed her into a squatting position. The doorway was filled with cops trying to locate the shooter. The only option was to turn back to the car. Jessica heard a bullet whiz by as John pulled her. He threw the keys at Dorian and yelled for him to drive. Dorian wasted no time and slid behind the wheel.
Just as she was climbing into the back seat, Jessica felt three powerful blows at her back, and a searing pain on her left shoulder. She yelled and fell into John, who pulled her into the car with him, not bothering to close the door as he yelled.
"Go, go, go!"
Dorian sped off and the door slammed shut on its own. John sat up with Jessica lying face down across his lap. He knew she was alive because of her moans of pain, but there was blood.
"Jess," John said, "I need you to sit up so we can get this off and see how bad it is. I need to figure out where to take you."
She slowly sat up and grabbed her arm. "My shoulder feels like it's on fire."
"You were hit. There's blood."
He carefully removed her top shirt, but she winced and sucked in a breath when the blood-soaked material pulled away from the wound. John examined it without touching and sighed.
"It's a flesh wound. You'll be okay. Just needs to be cleaned and bandaged."
"It hurts like hell," she said.
"Yeah... so do papercuts. Listen, I want to leave the vest on for now, but I'd like to make sure all the bullets were caught."
Jessica nodded, and John loosened the vest enough to get his hand up the back. He ran his fingers lightly along the areas that were hit and pulled his hand away. No blood.
"Okay," he said. "We're good."
"John," Dorian said, "I used the sound of the gunfire to work out the trajectory."
"What gunfire," John asked. "I didn't even hear anything."
"It had a silencer, but I could still hear the bullets. The gun that hit Jessica was fired from the doorway."
John glanced into the rear-view mirror to meet Dorian's eyes. He pulled out his phone and handed it to the droid.
"Can you turn this into a secure line," John asked.
"Sure can."
Dorian took the phone and held it as he drove. The blue lines beneath his skin went to work and he handed the phone back. John punched in the number for Maldonado's private cell phone.
"John?"
"Captain, she's been hit. Dorian thinks that the fire came from one of the undercover cops at the hotel."
"We'll look into it. Bring her back here and we'll-"
"Negative. I'm not bringing her back to the station when we don't know who's on the take. That's why I'm calling your personal phone from a secure line. I only trust you right now."
"Understood."
"I'm taking her back to my place. No one will think to look for her there, and I can take care of her wound."
"Is it bad?"
"Flesh wound. She'll be fine."
"Okay. Stay alert, John."
"You got it."
Jessica winced as Dorian changed his course a little too sharply, and it jerked her to the side.
"You trust her, John," Jessica asked.
"With my life. She's a good friend."
Jessica nodded. That was good enough for her.