"Have you been able to find out anything new about Miss Benson, Mr. Reese?"
Harold looked at the monitor, which, as it always did when everything went to plan, gave him the exact location of his associate.
"Not yet. 30 minutes ago she left the building where, according to the foyers schedule, she attends a Spanish class twice a week. At first it seemed like she was heading home, but apparently she's changed her mind and decided to stop at a convenience store."
For a second there was silence on the leased line connecting the two partners.
"The Spanish course coincides with a debit that has been made quarterly for the past 14 months", Harold confirmed.
"The question is why she´s taking those classes. Is it nothing more than a hobby or moreover a necessary asset for future plans."
"That too needs to be found out, Mr. Reese. The only thing that´s certain is that the machine didn´t give us her number without a reason."
John turned onto 2nd Avenue, at which Danielle Lawrence sped up her steps towards her apartment. In contrast to the otherwise quieter area of New York at this time of day, today the street was filled with a reveling crowd from the sci-fi genre. A circumstance that did not necessarily support the pursuit of a target person.
"You know about her history, John. If she is not a perpetrator herself, she is most likely in imminent danger."
"That's why I'm staying with her, although..."
"What's the matter, Mr. Reese?"
"Staying tuned seems to be a bit more difficult than expected right now..."
John looked out over the busy intersection of 7th Street, which after a rear-end collision offered no scope for an adequate overview. "Looks like I lost her."
"Based on the location of her cell phone, she's not too far from you, at the beginning of 3rd Street", he heard the information that made his steps quicken again. Glancing down the side street, he had to admit a certain confusion when Danielle Lawrence seemed to be waiting for him at the corner of a building.
"Another 10 seconds and I would have thought you'd lost sight of me."
John looked into the wary eyes of the 5'7" slim woman who wore the sides of her auburn hair pulled back. Like her gaze, her voice revealed a focused attention.
"For a moment I actually did", he confessed.
"At least you are honest. So, would you tell me why I´m having the honor of you follwing me around since yesterday morning?"
Admittedly, John felt a certain surprise at being noticed. Regarding the woman's history, he however realized that she must have lived in constant fear up to this day.
Victim, not perpetrator, the sudden realization came to his mind.
"Usually I don't get discovered that easily. What gave me away?"
"Park Slope is not exactly Wall Street. Next time you're going after someone in this area, you better don't walk around like one of those slick stock market machos."
John couldn't help but frown.
"Do I look like that?"
"Seems you should reconsider your everyday wardrobe, Mr. Reese", he heard Finch's almost entertained voice in his ear. In his mind he saw the amused look of his employer, who in turn stood no less behind his clothing style, consisting of inconspicuous brown and beige tones and a matching tie.
"How about we answer the questions in order. I think it's your turn. Why are you following me?", his counterpart steered the conversation back to the essentials.
"Because I think you are in danger."
His answer came without hesitation. While he occasionally preferred to develop a trusting connection with the target person under some pretense, he was certain that in Danielles case an honest confrontation was the right move.
"In danger of who? A man in a suit who seems to have a penchant for stalking foreign women?"
Not giving him a chance to reply, she took a step closer.
"Do you really think I'm that naive? Now that I've discovered you, you'll need a different tactic, so let me guess. You want to play my savior from an unknown threat, the ominous Mr. x, who is, as you found out by chance, after my purse. So what´s next? Do you want to offer me a ride to the police? A place that I will never reach?"
"I'm nothing of what you think I am", John began in a calm voice.
"Listen Jenna, or should I rather call you Danielle? That's your real name, isn't it? Danielle Lawrence from Baltimore. However, for the past 16 years you have preferred to be called Jenna Benson."
Watching the onsetting realization that he in fact was not a simple peeper, John paused. Cornering a target person like this was a part of his job he didn't enjoy. Just as he preferred to keep personal matters to himself, he was able to understand the discomfort of her privacy´s invasion. Last but not least, it was however this kind of relentless openness that paved the way for an equally open communication.
"Who the hell are you?", she hissed at him, ready to not only verbally defend herself if necessary. Nonetheless he noticed the sudden breaking of her otherwise strong barrier to the outside world; a moment from which he knew, that it was time to lay his cards open.
"It doesn't matter who I am, but I know you´ve chosen your alias as a cover identity, after the man who abducted and nearly killed you at age 17, threatened to complete what he began as soon as he´ll be out of jail. The man's name is Samuel Cardiff and he had already raped and strangled two young women before you. Contrary to them, you were very lucky enough to free yourself in time. After the court ruling, however, you fled to New York and cut ties with your former life, to protect of your family and friends. During the first years you made a living with temporary jobs like in the data collection. Later on, you´ve worked for about four years in the back office of a medium-sized company, until you are now working as a team assistant in a pharmaceutical company. To others your life appears conformist and unremarkable, but in reality you always have lived and still live in constant fear. Also you know that your former kidnapper has been released from prison three weeks ago. Since that day you are on constant alert, which is why you discovered me", he summed up Finchs information along what he had learned based on her reactions.
For a second, John was able to see the fear in her eyes, before her strong facade won the upper hand again.
"Listen up." Taking another step towards him, so that only an arm lengths seperated them, her body language stated a high vigilance.
1 step apart - the perfect distance to dodge an attack, block it or use the opponent's body's momentum to bring him down, he became aware of her obvious knowledge which he too, learned as one of the first points in his combat training.
"I don't know who you are or who hired you, and frankly I don't care. I only know one thing. If you follow me again, it won´t be me who is the victim this time. Are we clear?"

Knowing that further attempts at persuasion would be futile, John decided to let her leave for now.
"What are you going to do now, Mr. Reese?", was it Harold's questioning voice that made him raise his eyebrows.
"What do you think that I will do? I'll keep watching her."

His words didn't go unnoticed for long, when he spotted two men at the end of the street who slowly approached the woman.
"Forget what I said, Finch. I think the observation is done."
"What's the matter, Mr. Reese?"
"They're coming for her now."
It only lasted a fraction of a second when one of the two strangers grabbed Danielle by her shoulders.
"Wouldn't you rather try your hand at someone your stature?", John asked the black-clad men, whom he categorized as Latino based. The two strangers exchanged a look. "Take care of him, I'll get the woman away", the taller of the two instructed his apparent helper, pulling a knife out of the side pocket of his jacket.
"Dream on!" Slamming her head in the direction of her attacker, Danielle managed to break free after another well-aimed kick at his shin. John on the other hand used the welcome distraction to take on the smaller but more muscular one of the duo.
"Go, run away", he instructred Danielle, while also the taller one obviously had decided to eliminate the source of the interference. For a moment the baffled woman seemed to hesitate, while he still fought with now both of the two men.
"Run away", he urged her again as she finally followed his instruction. It wasn't long before John managed to overpower the taller of the two, when he suddenly heard the click of a gun at his neck.
"Game over. I think you´ve been a disturbance long enough", he heard the words that made him stand still. Knowing that with the surprise effect on his side he still had a chance of surviving, the situation wasn't one of his favorite moments nonetheless.
It was the unexpected sound of clinking porcelaine, followed by a short groan, that made him look down at a body slamming heavily beside his feet. With a certain surprise in his eyes he turned to Danielle who was smiling at him, clutching the thread of an old lamp.
"Bulky waste - I've always said that far too many useful stuff is thrown away", she summed up with satisfaction.
John frowned. "Obviously."
Directing his gaze to the attackers who were lying on the ground, he turned back to the Danielle. "Do you know them?", he asked nodding in the direction of the two knocked out men.
"I've never seen them before."
The suddenly worried look on her face made him pause.
"Do you think he's still alive?", she asked insecurely, also nodding to the stranger who she had knocked down with the lamp socket.
"Don't worry, he certainly will have a headache when he wakes up, but he´s alive", John stated, examining the even breathing of the sleeping stranger. "However, it seems best if I get you away from here", he suggested.
„I think you should take care of yourself first", his counterpart pointed to an injury on his arm.
John looked down at an approximately 4 cm long cut in his jacket; the edges of which were becoming more and more soaked with blood. As with previous injuries, he seemed to block out most of the pain with the still lingering adrenaline of the moment.
"Here, press the tissue on it", Danielle stated, holding out some handkerchiefs from her handbag.
"Not that bad", John tried to intervene, pressing the clothsdo onto the wound.
"You like to play the hero, don't you?"
Again he didn't get a chance of a reply, when she wrapped the light scarf she wore in a kind of compression bandage around his injury.
"It should stop the bleeding for now, but it needs cleaning. The knife doesn't exactly look like it was sterilized before use. So if you still want to get me away from here, we can combine the tasks."