HEY ;)

SO HERE'S CHAPTER THREE. I'M AWARE THAT THIS STORY IS SOUNDING FAMILIAR TO ANOTHER ONE I WROTE. I CANT REMEMBER THE NAME NOW. YES IT HAS A JO FAMILY THEME GOING BUT IT WON'T BE ANYTHING LIKE IT THAT ONE. WE HAVE ALOT OF STORY TO GO YET. :)

OH AND NEARLY FORGOT. I'M PROBABLY IMAGINING 'INWOOD HILL PARK, NYC' A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. I'M NOT SURE IT HAS A STEEP HILL OR CLIFF, RIGHT NEXT TO THE HUDSON RIVER IN REAL LIFE. IT DOES IN THIS STORY THOUGH. :)

PLEASE R&R HUGS 2 U ALL.

What happened at the end of previous chapter.

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Mac snatched the envelope out of Don's hand. He tore it open and pulled out the note.

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Mac.

I have to go away.

I have to finish this once and for all and I don't think I'm going to be able to come back.

The FBI will know the truth soon enough and I can't be here when they find out.

I'm sorry for everything.

Please don't search for me.

I need you to move on with your life.

I need you to be happy.

P.S I Love You.

Jo x

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CHAPTER 3.

Mac collapsed down on the edge of her bed and stared at the note. He sat perfectly still, but his mind was racing and his stomach was turning somersaults. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. He said nothing. Couldn't put together a thought that wasn't shrink wrapped in terror to make sense of any of this.

Don strode toward him and took the note from his hand. He stared down it, shook his head, his brows furrowing in abject bafflement. "Why is she doing this alone? My God. We've got to find her."

Mac swallowed back a wave of nausea and got quickly to his feet.

Don watched him bolt out of the bedroom. He stared back at the note.

P.S I Love You.

He blew out a long, unsteady breath and went after Mac.

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Jo released the hand brake and pushed her car to the edge of the steep Cliff. She gave it one final push and watched it disappear over the side. Totally out of breath now, she moved to the edge and looked down as it plunged through the air. It hit some rocks half way down and exploded, sending shards of glass and metal flying in all directions. She swallowed hard and released a long, shaky breath. Dammit. It was suppose to go into the damn river. She whirled around and scanned the area. There was no one in sight. She took one more look over the edge of the cliff. Her car was now enveloped in a ball of flames. She tore her eyes away from the burning wreck, grabbed her rucksack and hurried away.

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Don found Mac in Jo's study. He walked up to him and stared down at the large metal bin. "She's been burning stuff."

Mac sighed inwardly. "She did a good job. This was a lot of paperwork. Now it's a pile of ash."

Don pulled on a latex glove and fished around inside. He lifted out a partially burnt card. "Not quite."

Mac took it from his hand. "I can't read this."

Don looked closer at the faded emblem at the top left hand side of the card. "I recognise that sign."

Mac's eyes widened. "That's . . ."

Don's eyes flashed back at him. "Layton's. The Car Sales Company at Inwood."

Mac muttered a curse and straightened up. "I'll take care of this." He moved past him.

Don gripped his arm. "Oh no you don't Mac."

He spun around and fixed Don with a stern glare. "Stay out of this."

"You think I'm just going to let you go off on your own after everything that's happened tonight?"

Mac yanked his arm free. "I'm not planning on giving this information to the FBI. Not yet anyway."

"Good. I was thinking along the same lines."

Mac shook his head at him in disbelief. "Have you forgotten how much trouble you could get into for with holding evidence?" He could see the stubborn determination on Don's face. He wasn't going to back down.

Don stared at him for a long moment. "I haven't forgotten Mac. Let's go."

Mac watched him dash out of the room. Dammit Don! He took a final look around her office, then jogged out after him.

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Alex Cole stared down at the monitor and swore loudly. He turned angrily to Nolan, grabbed the front of his Jacket and slammed him up against the wall. "Where is she?!"

"I . . . don't know! One minute the signal . . . was there, the next it was gone!"

Alex muttered under his breath and released him. His eyes flashed back at the monitor. "Whereabouts on the map did the signal disappear?"

Nolan took a deep, unsteady breath. He hadn't been watching the damn screen. He'd been playing Online Poker. "Inwood."

Alex rolled his eyes and glared back at him. "Where in Inwood?!"

Shit! "I'm . . . not sure. I think it was Seaman Avenue."

In a mercurial fit of rage, Alex grabbed his glass from the desk and threw it across the room.

Nolan ducked, his eyes wide as the glass shattered behind him.

Alex glared across at him. "Get down there. Take Ed and Carlton with you, and find her. You'll regret it if you mess up this time." He poured himself another drink and started pacing around the room. "She's been digging around again these last few months, just like Seth did. I've had enough of keeping tabs on her all these years."

Nolan cursed inwardly, as he pulled a shard of glass from his hair. "You . . .want us to kill her?"

He spun around and stared sternly at him."No!"

Nolan frowned. "But you wanted her dead . . ."

"You're to bring her back here alive! Got it?!" He interrupted furiously. "If there's evidence out there that's gonna incriminate me, I need to find it." He turned and stared out of the window. "I need to know what she knows." A vicious grin spread across his face. "I'll deal with Jo myself."

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Mac and Don hadn't found anything else at Jo's apartment so they'd jumped in Mac's car and tore off to Inwood at brake neck speed.

Less then ten minutes later, Mac's car shrieked to a stop outside Layton's. He glanced quickly across at the vehicles lined up on the tarmac and inhaled sharply. "There's a car missing."

Don stared wide eyed at Mac. "What did you just say?"

Mac scrambled out of his vehicle and jogged across the road to the building.

Don came to an abrupt stop beside him and looked at the ground. "There's burnt rubber markings here."

They moved quickly up to the main entrance and Mac pulled a pen knife from his pocket.

Don raised his eye brows. "What are you doing?"

"Breaking in." Mac murmured.

Don's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?"

Mac released a long, pent up breath. "Do you want to find Jo or not."

"Crap." Don turned around and scanned the area. "She stole a car?"

Mac swore inwardly and glanced around the front of the building. "We don't know that for sure."

Don turned back and glanced down the street. "Hurry up and get us in there."

Mac located the fuse box, got it open and several minutes later he'd managed to disable the alarm system.

Don scanned the perimeter once again and followed Mac inside. They crossed the Show Room, moved quickly to the front desk and checked the computers.

Mac sighed heavily as he glanced across at the monitor. "According to this, there should be a Black Ferrari, number plate VIT 458 sitting out there."

"Jesus Christ. She . . ." He stopped mid-sentence, paused and frowned back at Mac "Wait a minute. This is Jo. She wouldn't steal a car."

"No She wouldn't." Mac turned the screen to Don. "She brought it."

Don's eyes widened as he glanced down at the computer screen.

"An hour ago $160,000 was paid into Layton's bank account." Mac looked back at the other monitor. That's the exact price of the car."

"Bloody hell. You're saying she took that much money out of her account?"

"It's an untraceable money transfer." Mac shook his head at the screen. "How the hell did she manage this?"

Don glanced nervously back to the front entrance. "Look. She may have had a card advertising this place, but there's no real evidence, Jo had anything to do with this Mac."

"I know she did this." Mac gazed back at the monitor. "I just know."

"Well we can't stick around and look for evidence. We have to get out of here."

Mac swore under his breath and quickly shut down the computers. "Let's go."

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They left the building and quickly got back into Mac's car. Mac pulled off the latex gloves and placed them carefully in a seal-able bag. Then he started the engine and accelerated back up the road.

Don's phone started ringing in his pocket. He took it out and checked caller ID. "It's Gary Winters." He slowly met Mac's anxious gaze and pressed down on loud speaker. "Hey. What's up?"

Gary glanced around the Police Department and moved back to his desk. "Don, a Samuel Kenton phoned the station a few minutes ago. He was out walking his dog at Inwood Hill Park and noticed a burnt out car lying half way down that large rocky incline at the end of Calham Street. Apparently he went down there and had a look. He said It was a dark red Mustang with New York Plates. He could make out the numbers 263 on the license plate."

Don's throat constricted to the size of a very thin straw.

Mac slammed his foot on the brake pedal. Oh God. No. Suddenly feeling light headed and a little off balance, he gave himself a few seconds to steady himself. Then he slammed his foot back on the gas pedal, skidded the car around and floored it back up W 218th.

"I'm . . . in the area, so I'll check it out." Don hung up and glanced quickly back at Mac. "It's Okay . . . She's just tried to get rid of her car. She's covering her tracks remember?"

Mac's eyes flashed back at Don. "Two shots were fired in Seth's house tonight. What if these bastards were aiming for Jo as well?! You said it yourself. She's not safe right now."

Don swallowed into a dry throat. "Go faster!"

"I'm going as fast as I can dammit!" Mac skidded onto Seaman Avenue and sped up the road. Several minutes later, he turned a sharp right into Calham Street and slammed down on the brakes. "I can smell smoke."

They charged out of the car and ran to the edge of the small cliff face.

Don looked over the side and saw the raging flames

Mac cursed inwardly and climbed over the edge.

Don's eyes widened. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"She could be lying down there hurt or . . ." He blinked back the moisture from his eyes and forced out a steady breath. "This way's quicker than the foot path."

"Yea . . . Okay." Don released a long, pent up breath and followed him down.

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Jo had tried to think of other things as she drove, but the rage and grief continued to slam through her heart. She swallowed into an aching throat and tried to focus on the case instead, but it was becoming harder to keep her emotions in check.

She'd crossed Harlem River and stuck to the minor roads. She'd driven through the towns of Mt Eden, Claremont and Foxhurst and had finally got to the Bronx River Parkway. Half an hour later she'd turned into Metcalf Avenue. She'd slowed her speed slightly when she'd reached the end of the road and turned right up a secluded side street. A few minutes later, she'd brought the car to a stop and glanced across at the house. It was partially hidden by half a dozen tall trees and stood at the edge of a quiet Park. Not a bad place to hide away. It was secluded enough.

The property had only stood empty for about three weeks. Clare Adams, the owner, had just travelled abroad to work in New Zealand for a year. Jo had met Clare eighteen months ago at a Work Conference and they'd been friends ever since. Clare didn't want to sell the house, so she'd asked Jo to keep an eye on the place while she was gone. She'd handed Jo the house keys and told her she could use the house any time she wanted. Jo hoped she wouldn't mind her actually moving in here for a while. Jo was just relieved she hadn't got around to telling Mac, or anyone else about this place.

She sighed heavily, got out of her car and walked across the small field to the edge of Bronx River. She stood there for a long time, looking out at Mid town Manhattan in the distance. "God I miss you already." She released a long, shaky breath, turned away and wandered back to the house.

It took a little longer to move the two computers, her laptop, rucksack, suit case and several bags of grocery shopping, into the house, but finally she got inside and slammed the front door shut behind her. She turned to lock it and cursed inwardly.

I need better locks on these doors, and an alarm system like . . . Seth's. . .

She froze to the spot as her mind suddenly flashed back to several hours ago.

She felt his hand on her arm again.

"Jo . . ."

"Seth. You need to stay still."

"I have to . . . tell you why I followed you . . . here to New York."

"You can tell me when you're better . . ."

"Jo . . . I needed . . . to protect you. . . You're my . . .half sister . . ."

She couldn't hold it in any longer. She buried her head in her hands and sunk to the floor. Tears filled her eyes and the silence was broken as her sobs echoed through the house.

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Mac and Don had finally made it down the steep incline. The flames had died down so they were able to get close enough to look inside the car. Mac moved away from the burnt out wreckage and forced himself to take some steady breaths. "She's not in the car."

Don caught sight of the licence plate and swallowed into a dry throat. "Well this is definitely Jo's vehicle."

Mac moved quickly towards him and stared across at the plate number. It was charred and black from the smoke, but he could easily make it out. Fear and panic slammed his chest. "Jo!" He pushed to his feet and stumbled around the twisted metal and debris trying to find her. "Jo! Can you hear me?!" He moved away from the car, hurried to the next steep drop and looked over the edge.

Don jogged up to him and looked back at her car. "She wouldn't have fallen in the river Mac. The car didn't drop or roll far enough."

Mac forced himself to calm down. "Yea. . . I know that." God. His throat felt drier than the badlands.

They searched for another five minutes.

Don came to a stop and shone his flashlight around the area another time. "Mac. She's not here. She's dumped her car over the edge of this Cliff and taken off in that black Ferrari."

Mac muttered a curse and glanced around. "I just want to find her Don."

Don walked towards him and gazed out at the river. "We're gonna find her. C'mon. We've got to get out of here, before the FBI turn up."

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Okay Jo. Calm down and breathe. Seth was . . . He was just confused. She picked herself up off the floor and stared down at the tech equipment. I've got to find the box.

She turned on the lights and hauled the equipment down the hallway. There was a large room at the back of the house. It was the perfect place for a computer room. Half an hour later she'd moved everything inside and got the two computers up and running. She collapsed into the chair and released a long, weary breath. God. She felt so exhausted. She looked down at her watch. It was 04:00. Several minutes passed, before she became aware that she was drifting off to sleep. She blinked twice and quickly sat up in the chair. There was no time to sleep. She had to locate this box. She forced herself out of the chair, went to find the groceries, then carried them to the kitchen. She filled the kettle and slammed it down on the kitchen counter.

Suddenly the painful memory surfaced once again.

Tears swam in her eyes. She knew he wasn't going to make it. A sob escaped her. "I need you Seth. I can't find this box on my own."

Seth slowly closed his eye's.

"No, Seth. Look at me. . ."

"Cain . . . Jackson. . . ."

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Shakily she leaned on the kitchen counter and released a long, shuddering breath. She blinked back the tears, steadied herself. Those two words had been his last. Cain Jackson. She forced herself to focus. She grabbed a mug from the cupboard, poured herself a black coffee and hurried back to the study.

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Nolan drew the car up at the edge of the road and turned off the engine. "See anything?"

Ed turned and scanned the perimeter. "No. But I can smell something."

"It's burnt rubber." Carlton replied.

They exited the vehicle and glanced around.

Carlton turned around and pointed. "This way."

They jogged down Calham street and glanced over the edge of the cliff face.

Nolan yanked his night vision googles out of his pocket and peered through them. "There's a burnt out car down there."

Ed grabbed the goggles off Nolan and took a look. "You think that car belongs to Jo Danville."

"Well it would explain why the tracker stopped working." Carlton heard several vehicles up ahead. "Okay stay cool. There's several FBI Van's coming this way."

Nolan swore loudly and turned around. "How the hell are we going to be able to search for her now."

Russ swallowed back the lump in his throat and forced out several steady breaths, not an easy thing to do when his heart was jack hammering like a freight train in his chest. He floored it to the end of the road and skidded the van to a stop. He jumped out the van with Ben and Reece and they ran to the edge of the cliff. "Jo!" Russ shouted anxiously as he stared down into the darkness. Suddenly, out of the corner of his vision, he caught sight of a vehicle parked at the edge of the road. Then he noticed Ed, Nolan and Carlton standing to his left. He moved quickly toward them. "Have you seen her?"

Nolan turned around. "No. We've just got here."

Russ cursed inwardly and turned to Ben.

"We'll get down there and take a look around!" Ben turned to the rest of the team. "Get the night vision, and we need the ropes."

Russ whirled back around and snatched the goggles from Ed. He peered back down the cliff and saw the burnt out wreckage. It was now a smouldering heap of metal. He swallowed back the fear and forced himself to stay focused. "What are you three doing here? You're not involved in this case."

"We were on our way back from Yonkers. We heard what happened on the radio and decided to take a look." Nolan replied.

Russ sighed inwardly. That was true. Several dozen agents had been up there for a couple of weeks helping with the surveillance on an Undercover Op. He turned back to them. "Well Martin Howell doesn't want you anywhere near this remember?"

Ed raised his hands in mock surrender. "We're outta her."

Nolan kept his gaze steady on Russ. "Call us when you find her."

Russ glanced back at him.

Carlton cut in quickly. "We heard about what happened at Upper West Side. We're concerned."

Russ tore his gaze from Nolan and looked across at Carlton. "Sure. I'll let you know how we're getting on."

Carlton plastered on a grin. "Good. We'll let you get on."

Russ glanced back at the team. Mike and Ben were now abseiling down the rock face. "Yea. See ya later."

Nolan watched Russ jog back to the others. He cursed under his breath. "C'mon. We've gotta get out of here."

They walked back across the road, got in the car and sped away.

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The next day.

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Mac walked wearily into the elevator and pressed the button.

He and Don had got absolutely no sleep. They'd gone back to Mac's apartment and looked through the three documents Kye Simmonds had given Don. Mac however, spent more time studying the more personal information.

According to Alex's file he'd left Alabama when he was seventeen and had gone to study Criminology and Law in Washington. He'd trained at the FBI Academy when he was 23 years old and was working as an agent in the field by 25.

He'd moved up the ranks quickly, cracked every case he'd worked and scoring top marks for Undercover Ops. Through the years he'd become the head of the Cyber Crimes and Counter Terrorist Divisions and had finally accepted the position of Assistant Director on 14/05/2000. After two years as Assistant Director, he'd announced his retirement and left the FBI September 2012 and several weeks after that he'd moved out and put his house up for sale.

Then he'd suddenly disappeared off the radar.

There didn't have to be a sinister motive in this. Hypothetically speaking, someone in Alex's position may have moved abroad to a quiet Island because they'd wanted to live out the rest of their life in peace. Is this what Alex had done? Moved far away, hidden away, just in case the FBI discovered he had indeed been a corrupt Agent. Maybe not. Alex would have covered this up so well, it may not have concerned him.

Which meant he was out there somewhere still carrying on with his criminal activities.

Next Mac had checked Jo and Seth's family history.

Jo had grown up with her parents in Richmond Street. She'd left Alabama when she was eighteen and studied at college in Philadelphia, before moving to Washington and training at the FBI Academy when she was 23. She'd started work at the FBI Head Quarters at 26 years of age and Washington was where she'd stayed before moving here to Manhattan in 2009.

As for Seth, Mac could find nothing on his family history. All he'd managed to dig up, was the copy of Seth's fake birth certificate. Seth's D.O.B was dated 14/03/1958. According to this data, Seth was three years younger than Jo. This had totally confused Mac. Don said he didn't understand that either.

Jo had told Mac, she'd known Seth since she was twelve. Kye told Don that Seth had moved into the same road as her when he was twelve. Maybe she'd met Seth before he'd moved to Alabama?

Mac thought he was getting no where, then suddenly he'd found a pattern.

When Seth was seventeen he'd moved to the same town in Philadelphia as Jo. He lived just several blocks from her. Next Mac discovered that Seth moved to Washington in 1984. That was the same year Jo started her training at the Academy there. Then three months after she'd come to Manhattan and started her job at the CSI Department, Seth moved to W88th street. He'd been following her. Why?

Mac was torn from his thoughts by the sound of the elevator doors sliding open. He looked up and found Lindsay gazing anxiously at him from the corridor.

She walked quickly toward him as he stepped out of the elevator. "Are you . . . okay." He was dressed in the same clothes as yesterday and his suit was absolutely filthy.

"I'm . . . fine." He replied, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

She continued to stare up at him for several seconds. He started to walk passed her. "Mac." She stepped back and blocked his path. "Where's Jo?"

Mac drew In a breath, let it out. "She's taking the day off."

"I heard about last night. Danny said that Jo's friend Seth . ." She stopped mid – sentence when she saw his expression change.

Ah crap! Mac watched Russ as he walked quickly towards him. He tore his eyes from him and met Lindsay's concerned gaze. "Jo's gonna be fine. She just needs some time off. . A couple of days maybe . . ."

Russ moved around Lindsay. "We need to talk." He interrupted abruptly.

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Danny nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard the doors to the lab come flying open. "Lindsay?" He moved around the work surface and walked quickly toward her. "What's wrong?" He gazed down the corridor and notice Russ following Mac into his office. "Crap! This is about what happened last night."

"I've never seen Mac so . . . on edge." She gazed anxiously up at Danny. "We have to find out what's going?"

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Mac shut his office door and glanced back at Russ. "Can I help you?"

"Cut the crap Mac. Your car was at Calham Street early this morning. You did a pretty good Job trying to cover it up."

Mac's gaze remained steady on his. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"And you cut yourself" Russ pulled out the DNA Results from his pocket. "Your blood, found a few feet from Jo's burnt out car. "

Dammit! "Okay fine! Gary got the call! He phoned Don and we went down there to check it out!" He turned away and released a long, pent up breath.

Russ glanced at the deep gash across Mac's hand. He sighed inwardly and collapsed down on one of the chairs. "You should go to the hospital. You may need some stitches."

"Russ. It's nothing." Slowly Mac turned back to him. "Did you . . . find anything?"

He gazed back at him for several seconds. "No. Where is she Mac?"

Mac took a deep unsteady breath. "I don't know."

Russ's gaze remained steady on his. "Kye's gone missing."

Mac's eyes flashed back at his. "Kye . . . Simmonds?"

"Yes. The FBI arrived at his place around 05:00 after neighbors reported hearing a disturbance. There was a struggle. It looks like he was taken."

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OKAY. . . SO WE DIDN'T GET THE MAC / CHRISTINE SCENE IN THIS CHAPTER AND WE HAVEN'T SEEN SHELDON OR ADAM YET, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY GET THAT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. SORRY. I DIDN'T REALISE THIS NEXT PART OF THE STORY WOULD TAKE SO LONG TO WRITE. LOL.

ALSO. . . WILL MAC SHOW RUSS THE NOTE JO WROTE TO HIM? ;)