Chapter Nineteen: Trouble Is

"The trouble with finding Martin is that we don't have anything to go on," Jack said. He was pleased to hear that his voice was steady and even. The last thing he needed was to sound like someone who couldn't keep their cool under such dire situations. Though he was beginning to sweat a little and he felt a bit uncomfortable he remained in the position he'd taken. Shifting around would only give away his real emotions. He wasn't cool under the pressure. Not the pressure from someone like Victor Fitzgerald. Martin's father never liked him; he knew that because of Martin. Now Victor was convinced that this whole thing could have been avoided had Jack been doing his job properly. Jack kept thinking it would have been easier if Martin had only confessed in him that he had been dating the lawyer. Why had Martin kept it from him?

"What about that lawyer? Why can't you get anything out of him?" Victor asked his voice gruff and unhappy.

"We're trying everything, including talking with him but he's in the hospital," Jack felt the need to point out. "He took a blow to the head so there's a chance that he might have lost any vital memories."

"There isn't time for him to get them back. I want my son and if you can't get him back for me then I will do it my way," Victor said in a way of dismissing him.

Jack was all too happy to get up and leave the office. He hated feeling like a specimen under a microscope. If only he didn't have to talk with Victor. But what could he do? They weren't able to find Martin. After taking Danny to the hospital he had ordered teams to check for any buildings matching the lawyer's description. He was even able to send some people back to the alley where Danny awoke a few hours before. Now all he needed was for his phone to ring so that someone, anyone would tell him that they had found something. He needed to get a lead soon or he was going to lose his job; he could feel it. Losing a member of his team was bad enough but the son of an FBI Director? Not noticing the signs of the relationship and the fact that Martin was going to do something drastic? He had really fucked up this time around. He just prayed that he would get the chance to make it right.

--

Danny wasn't content with sticking around the hospital. Word would get out that he was there and before long he'd be seeing old clients, current clients and possibly even his brother. Usually he'd be happy to see them, put on a smile and listen to them. It was the kind of person he had become. But today the last thing he wanted to do was pretend that nothing was wrong when the most important person in his life was dealing with the same two bastards that he had. Lucky for him he wasn't plugged in to any of the machinery in his room. They had just wanted to keep him for observation and to put a cast on his wrist. Well the cast was in place and no doctors had been by in the last hour so he was going to slip out. And on his way out maybe he'd pay Rafi a visit, give him a piece of his mind.

--

His phone rang as he pulled the yes to his car out of his pocket. Checking the caller ID he saw that it was Sam. Quickly he answered the phone and listened as she told him that one of the teams had gotten a hit on one of the buildings. Then she went on to tell him that there was evidence in the alley Danny had come to in; which one was he more interested in? He told her to send Vivian and Elena to the alley while she met him at the building. He figured their luck was finally looking up but he wasn't going to let this little step forward get to him. There was no telling what they would find or if there was even anything for them to find. All he knew was that he had to get Martin back. Not to save his own ass but so that he could have his friend back, so that he could reunite the agent with his boyfriend.

Boyfriend. The word still sounded weird, even though he'd spoken it allowed not too long ago while talking to Danny. It would take some time. A little adjusting.

Martin was still the same Martin. The same hardworking agent trying to get out from under his father's thumb. The same Martin that dated Sam. He was human and Jack wasn't going to tell him who he could or could not love. Though Victor might not be too happy in learning that his son liked men over women. Why did he keep coming back to that? What did he care if Victor hated his son because of his sexuality? Easy, because a parent should accept their child for whom they were and this happened to be out of Martin's hands. He was born this way and there was no way of changing it.

He would support his daughters in any way. He would always love his daughter. Even if the oldest one didn't really love him anymore. He was their father and his love wasn't going anywhere.

So lost in his thoughts, consumed by all the conflicting emotions he almost ran a red light; which most likely would have resulted in an accident. He wasn't going to be of any help to anyone if he couldn't focus on what he was doing.

--

"Danny," Rafi said happy to see his brother standing their in his hospital room. Danny ignored the fact that both Rafi's girl and son were in the room. He didn't care. He walked over to the side of Rafi's bed, anger clouding his eyes.

"How could you?"

Rafi looked confused. "How could I what?"

"How could you do that to him? You let him get a foolish idea in his head and you let him act on it. What the hell is wrong with you?" He was trying to keep from yelling but it wasn't working that well.

"I…he came to me, Danny. He wanted my help," Rafi tried to explain, telling him the truth. "I thought that if I helped the FBI that you would be found quicker and maybe the authorities would leave me alone for a while."

"So that you could start back on your old habits?"

"Danny," Rafi protested, amazingly managing to keep his voice calm. "Do not do this here. What's done is done. He wanted my help and I helped him. I didn't know it would end this way."

Danny grabbed the front of Rafi's hospital gown in fisted hands. "He's not from our world, Rafi. He grew up with a silver spoon. You never should have taken him anywhere with you. You're a bad influence. And I swear, if you got him killed…"

"My son…" Rafi said.

He looked over at his nephew before letting Rafi go and heading toward the door. Before stepping out he only had one more thing to ask. "What bar did you take him to?"

His brother hesitated in answering. Then said, "I took him to the same old joint."

--

There wasn't any evidence at the alley. Nothing that screamed important amongst the trash. They did manage to find some blood along one of the walls but when the tests came back it tested as Danny's. That only proved that he'd been in the alley. They found nothing to suggest how he gotten there or who placed him there. It was a frustrating call for Jack. The sun had come up an hour ago and before long Martin would be missing for twenty-four hours. He hadn't slept in forty-eight hours. He was starting to feel taxed. Before long he would be making mistakes. Mistakes they didn't need. But he couldn't sleep knowing that someone had Martin, not knowing what they were doing to him.

He watched the forensic people poke around the apartment in hopes of finding something. He could hear the sounds of agents in the hallway as they spoke with the few tenants in the rundown building. All he needed was one little nugget of evidence. A few minutes ago Sam had disappeared into the bedroom that turned out to be the place Danny had spoken of. His blood was there, too. The place reeked, smelling like excrement and mold. This is where they kept the bait so where did they keep their prime catch? He was hoping the place was cleaner. All the disease in this apartment just waiting to get a foothold on some poor sap.

He tried to hide the fact that he jumped a bit when his phone rang. He'd already talked with Elena so who would be calling him? The number belonged to dispatch back at the office. He listened while the man on the other end told him that someone was requesting his presence. Looking around he figured that the place would be fine without him. He had only been standing in the same spot for the last ten minutes, holding his breath. Getting away for a few minutes might make him feel better.

--

He pulled into the bar parking lot, recognizing the place as the bar Rafi claimed to have taken Martin to. They had been all over the place once before and got nothing. Maybe someone had finally remembered something. But the two police cars with swirling lights told him a different story. Stepping into the dimly lit bar he had to let his eyes adjust before he went further. He could hear the sound of someone yelling, the voice vaguely familiar. He heard someone else, a voice of authority, trying to explain something to the irate person. And as he came into the bar proper he saw that a cop had cuffed Danny and was holding him by the arm. The lawyer saw him first, much like that moment in the lobby.

"I just want to find him…"

Jack looked at him. "I know you do, Danny, but doing things the way he did…it didn't exactly work the first time."

The lawyer looked pained. "I just…I can't…"

Jack motioned for the cop to remove the cuffs, wondering momentarily how the officer got them on over the cast. "Why don't you come back to the office with me? I have teams of forensic scientists going over the alley and building. Maybe they'll have something for us."

Danny shook his head, rubbing his good wrist. "No…not until you talk to the bartender. He knows something."

"What makes you say that?" Jack asked, looking at the unsuspecting man behind the bar, who was rinsing glasses.

"I used to come here with my brother when I was younger…when I was still an alcoholic. That's the same bartender and he never missed a thing back then. He never…he got used to keeping his mouth shut after getting beat. Nothing happens in this bar without him knowing. He just…"

Jack held up a hand and headed toward the bar. In a booming voice edged with threat he said, "If you have information that I need and you plan on keeping it from me even longer then I will haul your ass into the Federal Building. I won't be the one to grill you. No, I think I'll leave that to my missing agent's father; a director of the FBI. The guy's a pain in the ass, a royal pain in the ass. His one and only child is missing, do you really want me to sit you across a table from him and tell him that you know something about it?"

All the color drained from the bartender's face.

He took that as answer. "Tell me what I want to know. Or you're going for a ride."