"Jake, what are you doing in Manhattan," McCoy demanded as he followed the Suffolk County ADA into the kitchen. "I'd of thought Jackowicz would be short handed enough without you taking the day to babysit me."

"Jackowicz sent me," the younger man said as he set the assortment of bags he'd been carrying on the counter."Listen Jack, I know the last thing you need is one more person holding your hand and telling you not to blame yourself. So I won't waste my breath."

"I appreciate that," McCoy said with a sigh."Help yourself to coffee if you want it. It's not fresh, but it's hot."

"Look, Michael's been monitoring the situation from our office. He called your old boss, Senator Branch and managed to get an update on the investigation. Since the kidnappers want you to leave law enforcement out of it... something we all know you couldn't do even if you wanted to...Jackowicz wants you to let the police use him as a go between if ,you need one. Let me relay whatever you need to the lead detective. I have reason to be in touch with you and since these people didn't plan on having Brooke in the first place, they won't even know who I am. When you are contacted again, just call me on Brooke's cell. Chances are they are monitoring your phone, somehow. There's no way they could have her number, at least not yet."

McCoy nodded wearily as he watched the other man empty a bag of assorted food staples, placing the perishables in the refrigerator.

"Jake I appreciate the effort, but you really didn't have to… What am I supposed to do with this," McCoy asked as he picked up a skein multi-colored yarn that had fallen out of the bag in front of him.

"Nothing," Cohen said as he returned the yarn to the bag."It's for Brooke. She'll need it when she comes home."

"Jake, what the hell are you saying," McCoy sad impatiently."In the time I've spent with Brooke, I've never seen her knit..."

"She doesn't knit, she crochets," Cohen replied firmly."She crochets and she does a God awful job of it, too."

"I hardly think the first thing on her mind is going to be starting a craft project if she..."

"When, not if she makes it home," Cohen injected sharply,"But, you're right about one thing, Jack. When she comes home, crocheting won't be the first thing she does. The first thing she'll do, is put up a front to try to reassure us. Next, she'll want to dive into a bottle of tequila. You're going to need to keep her busy to avoid that. That's where the yarn comes in."

McCoy stared at his fiancées best friend, as if the man had finally lost his mind. Cohen smiled confidently, as he busied himself with making a fresh pot of coffee. His smile widened as his eyes fell upon the empty casserole dish in the sink.

"I see someone successfully fed you last night," he said with approval."That is, unless you managed to put the tamale pie down the garbage disposal, like you tried to the first time Brooke made it for you."

"God, she does tell you everything, doesn't she," McCoy said shaking his head in amazment.

"Up to and including your favorite sexual position," Cohen joked, as he gave the DA a sly wink.

"Listen, Jake. I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but..."

"I'm doing exactly what she'd expect me to do, Jack. And for the record, the only one that is blaming you is you, which is the last thing she'd want you to do."

"I thought you weren't going to do that," McCoy shot back as Cohen poured each of them a cup of the freshly brewed coffee.

"I didn't say you shouldn't blame yourself. It's a natural response. I said she wouldn't want it. So if you plan on doing it, you better figure a way to it keep to yourself when she sees you, unless you want her to start giving you hell the minute she walks through that door."

"When she walks through the door, she's welcome to give me as much hell as she likes."

Cohen nodded as he sipped his coffee.

"I almost went to your place," Cohen said frankly. "I wasn't sure…I didn't know if you could be here right now."

"Actually, I have someone staying at the apartment."

Cohen listened as McCoy explained that his best man had flown back to Manhattan with him and had opted to stay in McCoy's old apartment while he used his connections with Interpol to try to help with the investigation.

"That's good news," Cohen said encouragingly. "If you have an in with Interpol, may you can cut through some of the red tape and get the Russians to give you access to this Rostov."

McCoy nodded and continued to bring the younger man up to date. By the time he had finished speaking Cohen had begun making a second pot of coffee.

"You know she doesn't expect you to let felons go free just to try to buy her time," Cohen said gravely."The kidnappers will be thrilled with your bluff when they read the paper, but Brooke..."

"I did what I had to do, Jake," McCoy said gruffly. He winched, immediately realizing what he'd said. "It was the only way to keep her alive until we can find her. I'll make her understand later. Besides, when this is over, I intend to refile the charges against..."

"You can only refile if the guy stays in the country."

"If you expect me to apologize for doing what I would have done for any other kidnap victim in this situation, you might as well take your...yarn...and go," McCoy snapped.

"Don't misunderstand. I get what you did. We all want her back, Jack, But the bottom line is, when they ask the next time, it won't be such an easy call for you to make. You need to remember what's important to you, is what is important to Brooke. She takes 'the search for the truth' and 'not giving into the demands of terrorists' or in this case the demands of criminals every bit as seriously as you do. If you can't …. if something goes wrong...she'll know the impossible situation you were in and understand."

"Will worry about the next demand when it comes," McCoy retorted.

Although he wasn't ready to admit it to Cohen or himself, McCoy knew the other man was right. He knew the next time the demand would be higher. Maybe even unattainable. He couldn't afford to care. Not yet. Until the choice was in front of him, he was determined to focus his thoughts on finding a way to bring Malinowski home.

"Jack..."

"Look, I need to shower and put on some fresh clothes. I have to meet with Collins in an hour and return a voice message from the lead detective."

"You haven't done that yet," Cohen said incredulously.

"Of course I did! I tried Green's cell phone just before you arrived. But it went to voice mail. He should have gotten my message by now."

"Jack, take your shower and will try Green again on my phone. With any luck he's got good news that I can pass on to my boss, as well."

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By the time the pair had arrived at McCoy's apartment, Cohen had Detective Ed Green on his cell phone. Green finished bringing McCoy up to date on his conversation with Nadia Brezin, as the pair left the cab. As Cohen replaced his cell phone in the pocket of his suit jacket, McCoy opened the lobby door of the converted brownstone.

After grabbing his mail and exchanging pleasantries with the doorman, McCoy pressed the button to call for the elevator. As they waited for the elevator both men began to loosen the collars of their shirts in response to the warmth of the building.

"You either owned stock in Con Ed when you stayed here or went broke on the heating bill."

"Trust me Jake, the way things break down in a building like this, the heat wave won't last very long. I can assure you by the time anyone needs it, the boiler will either be broken or on its last leg again."

Before Cohen could reply, the elevators doors opened and McCoy found himself face to face with Jeff Collins.

"Jack, I thought I could make it to the corner store and the newsstand before you got here," Collins said apologetically. "I didn't expect to see you for a half an hour."

"I'm early. There's a diner around the corner. We can talk there," McCoy said before making the necessary introductions.

By the time the three men had been seated at the modest eatery, Collins had told the pair of Greens conversation with Nadia Brezin.

"When did Green contact you," Cohen asked after the waitress had taken their orders.

"Just before six this morning."

"Good," Cohen continued. "That's means the police have had time to start searching..."

"Jake, a house to house search would tip her captors off immediately," Collins interjected."Besides between the DA's office, Jack's apartment, and the loft there have to be hundreds of buildings that fall under Miss Brezin's criteria. According to Detective Green the Commanding Officers of both your Major Case and Homicide divisions are planning to contact the utility companies to help them with the search."

"We did that with another kidnapping a few months ago," McCoy said somberly."Six hours and over a hundred buildings later we found what was left of the victim."