AN: Sorry the update took so long.I was suffering from a little writers block,but hopefully I'll be back on track. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Happy New Year :)
"I wanted an ideal animal to hunt...So I said what are the attributes of an ideal quarry? And the answer was of course: It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason."-Richard Connell (The Most Dangerous Game)
II. Character Selection
As the ding of the elevators sounded out into the lobby, Megan looked up from behind her receptionist desk as two burly looking men walked towards her.
"Good morning gentlemen. How may I help you?" Megan asked as she plastered a welcoming smile on her face. While she waited for a reply she took the time to study their appearance, one was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, the other, a dark blue dress shirt and black slacks.
"Yes we're here to speak with a Mr. John Warren about some financial advice," The man in the blue dress shirt asked.
"I'm sorry sir, did you schedule an appointment with Mr. Warren, because he's currently out of the office right now. Perhaps we can reschedule your appointment for when he returns," Megan replied as she tried to control her facial expression.
"That's all right I'll have my portfolio manager contact him directly. Thank you for your time Miss."
"Of course sir, have a good day," Megan stated as she watched the men head towards the elevators.
Once the doors closed behind them, Megan quickly picked up her desk phone and dialed her manager, "Sir you told me to inform you if any one came looking for Mr. Warren."
"Thank you for informing me Ethan, I'll look into it," Harold replied as he hung up his phone, staring at his computer screen.
"Good morning Finch, I was bored, so I came in early," Ross stated as she entered the library.
Harold let out a sigh of relief, "Ms. Ross, you don't know how relived I am that you are the first to arrive this morning."
"Thanks Finch…. I think," Alex replied as she looked questionably at the relieved expression on Harold's face.
Harold turned slightly in his chair to face Ross as he held up John's photo. "Ms. Ross we may have a potential situation and I am at an impasse as to how we should proceed."
Alex looked at a photo of Reese dressed in a US Army uniform and raised an eyebrow, "Is he the new number?"
Harold sighed, "Maybe, I'm not sure"
"Maybe? I don't understand. I thought your source was always right about the information they give us."
"It is, but unfortunately I have reason to believe that one of Mr. Reese's alias's may have drawn some unwanted attention from an unknown party and I've come to the conclusion that my source hasn't been able to connect the dots, so to speak." Harold stated.
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you're so glad to see me this morning." Ross replied as she sat down.
"Of course Ms. Ross, the reason that I'm glad you've arrived first, is because we will more than likely have to come up with a solution to make Mr. Reese accept our help before he tries to handle the situation on his own." Harold stated.
Alex let out a snort, "How do you expect us to do that?"
"Well, Ms. Ross, I was hoping that given your height and skill sets…" Harold trailed off as he squinted his eyes slightly.
Alex smiled "Just because I'm taller than the average female doesn't mean I can subdue Reese against his will."
"Yeah Finch just because Ross looks like she can bench 200 pounds, doesn't mean she won't get a beat down by Reese" Shaw stated as she strolled into the library with Bear on her heels.
"Damn is that dog always here?Is he suppose to be the team mascot or something" Ross replied as she watched Bear walk up to Harold.
Shaw smiled as she cut her eyes towards Ross "Awe still afraid of dogs Ross."
Ross glared at Shaw "No,I'm just not a fan of over sized fur balls with fangs."
Shaw rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to Harold. "So is that your plan Finch? Have Ross knock John around, I can already tell you now that your plans not going to work."
"I realize the plan isn't ideal, but unless you have any other suggestions,it's the best course of action to take to ensure John's safety."
Alex sighed as she looked around the library, "Okay, before we get ahead of ourselves, is he even in any danger right now? Matter of fact does anyone know where Reese is?"
Harold turned back around to his computer "No. But I can track his phone's location, just give me a…"
"He's at a café three blocks from Carter's new place," Shaw stated as she sat down at the table.
Harold and Ross looked at Shaw questioningly.
Shaw rolled her eyes as she cracked her neck, "What I may or may not have been ease dropping on him and Carter, was hoping for some action but all I got was hand holding and intense eye staring."
"Anyway, Finch what's the name of the alias that you think might be a threat to Reese. I'm flattered that you think I can take on Reese without any help but if you don't mind, I'd rather do a little investigating instead getting my ass kicked so early in the morning." Ross replied as she stood up.
Harold turn his attention back toward Ross "A few years ago, before even Ms. Shaw began working with us, John was apprehended by the FBI. In order to keep his true identity secret, myself, with the help of Detective Carter, built up a background alias that could hold up against the FBI's scrutiny. Thus creating John Warren, investment banker."
Shaw looked at the displayed information of John Warren on Harold's screen. "So if these people are after John Warren, it shouldn't be a problem, if Reese isn't using anything of Warrens, then they have nothing to go on. What all is connected to Warren's name?"
"Warren's permanent home address is a condo in Manhattan, his work address is a financial building on Wall Street, and he has a cell phone, home phone, three cars and a few credit cards. Just enough to make the identity seem real." Harold stated.
"Well if Reese doesn't use anything of Warren's then he should be in the clear. How often does Reese assume his alias? When's the last time he used anything of Warrens?" Ross asked.
"I'm not sure. I had suggested to Mr. Reese to use Warren's credit cards for minuscule purchases just to keep the identity active, just in case the FBI decided to do anymore snooping," Harold continued, as he searched through Warren's recent credit purchases.
"Oh dear!" Harold exclaimed as he eyed the last log of Warren's credit card activity.
"What is it Finch" Shaw asked.
"Mr. Reese just used Warren's credit card at a café 10 minutes ago," Harold frantically stated as he began to dial John's number as he watched Shaw and Ross hurry out of the library.
John walked quietly alongside Joss as they exited the café, rounding the corner towards the parking lot. They had spent the past two hours talking about where they stood and although there was still a big part of him that was still angry with her, a bigger part of him was glad she was alive and around for him to be angry at.
As he reached into his pocket to retrieve his keys John heard his phone go off, before he could answer it he was distracted by the sound of screeching tires as a black windowless van sped into the parking lot. As the van stopped in the middle of the lot the, doors opened revealing a multiple figures wearing full tactical gear. While his brain was trying to catch up to what was happening, two flash grenades were tossed towards where he and Joss were standing.
Before he could recover fully from the deafening sound and bright flash he felt two men trying to subdue him. He quickly threw an elbow backwards striking one of them but before he could turn around to confront the other, he felt the force of something solid strike him across the back of his head, as he sunk to his knees the last thing he could hear was Joss calling out to him before his vision faded to black.
"John!" Joss yelled out as she watched him fall to the ground after getting struck in the back of the head. She struggled as one of the other men from the van locked his arm around her neck as he quickly disarmed her tossing her gun across the ground.
"Hold still bitch!," The man grunted out while another one of his teammates approached them, shaking out a black hood.
As the man went to put the hood over her head, Joss used the leverage of the man holding her to lift her legs up before slamming her feet into the other mans chest, as she continued to struggle the other man stumbled backwards dropping the hood.
Joss watched as the man she kicked recomposed himself and angrily marched towards them. The last thing she saw, right before she felt a sharp pain was a black gloved fist coming towards her face.