"Is adult amusement killing our children, or is killing our children amusing adults?" ― Marilyn Manson
VI. Crosshairs
Location: Glenwood/Yonkers NY, NY …1:10PM Tuesday
"We have a lead now Finch, his name is Ace." Shaw stated as she and Ross made their way to the car.
"Ace?" Finch questioned.
"He's some kind of criminal broker who dabbles in everything from kidnappings to professional hits." Ross clarified.
"Yeah he's the go to guy when people need to arrange man power that they don't want traced back to them" Shaw followed up.
"Did the kidnappers give you a full name or an address for this Ace." Finch asked.
"No but they did tell us he likes to spend his free time at a poetry club/bar in the Upper Westside." Shaw explained as she turned the keys in the ignition and backed out of the parking lot onto the main road.
"How will you identify this Ace without a photo?" Finch asked warily.
"From what the kidnappers say he's always wearing a suit and vest with his sleeves rolled up and he has a tattooed of an ace playing card on the back of both hands." Ross interjected.
"We're are on our way there, in the meantime Finch I think it's time to clue Fusco in and let him know what's going on." Shaw stated as she merged into traffic cutting off four other cars.
"Of course" Finch replied as he disconnected his line with Shaw as he quickly dialed Detective Fusco's number.
Location: Unknown… 3:05AM Wednesday
'4797 4798 4799 4800' Jacob rattled off the seconds in his head as they waited for the hunter to fall asleep. "Okay he should be asleep, hand me the knife." Jacob asked as he prepared to climb down the tree.
Joss handed the knife to him as she readied herself to intervene if necessary.
"I'm surprise you're letting me do this by myself?" Jacob whispered with a smile.
Joss smirked at him "He's got at least 8 inches of height on me and probably 100 or more pounds, I know my strengths more importantly I know my weakness's, you have a better chance of subduing him with without getting injured than I do."
"Beauty and brains, I like that in a woman." Jacob winked, biting down on the knife handle before he quietly made his way down the tree.
Joss shook her head as a tiny smile graced her face. She watched from her perch as Jacob took the direct approach dropping down on the sleeping man, startling him before he effortlessly palmed the man's and smashed his head into the tree twice before snapping his neck.
"All clear."
Joss rolled her eyes as she made her way down the tree, crouching next to the hunter and checking his pulse.
"He's dead I figured one lest problem to worry about especially since we don't know how many are out there hunting us."
For now let's salvage what we need. If he has teammates out there, they probably know his location, so I think it's a bad idea to stay here. We need to find another camp for the rest of the night and head north once the sun comes up.
Jacob nodded in agreement as they began to rummage through the hunters belongings.
Location: Unknown… 3:55AM Wednesday
John chewed on the inside of his mouth to keep himself awake and alert as he sat with his back propped up against the siding of a boulder as Robin laid curled against the side of his leg, sound asleep.
He had tried to enclose them as much as possible giving their immediate surroundings, with the boulder to their backs, the thick cluster of bushes and trees to his right and the creek to his left he had found a proficient spot to take cover, should someone stumble upon them on foot. Though he was quite wary at their odds should a long range attack come into play.
A tug on his pants interrupted his thinking process and he watched Robin's tiny hand clenched his pant leg as she mumbled softly in her sleep.
He couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. He raised an eyebrow when Robin let out a sneeze and a tiny snort.
His eyes lit up with a sense of nostalgia, Joss had done the same thing once when she had fallen asleep in his car during a stakeout.
His smile immediately fell, he had been thinking about her the entire time, wondering where she was, if she was safe. When the two gun shots rang out he felt a sense of dread rear its ugly head as his mind ran rampant with possible scenarios to her fate, all of which ending in her dying.
He then felt guilt as he remembered the last words he had spoken to her in the café.
"If Ross hadn't brought you back to New York, would you have ever let me know that you were alive?"
He watched as she fiddled with her coffee cup, looking out the window to avoid eye contact. His heart clenched as he realized her answer before she even said it.
"I wanted too…I wanted to come back to yo..New York…and tell the truth. Every day I tried to justify it by saying that it was for the greater good, that I did my part and save thousands of lives….it took me two months to realize that I broke the cardinal rule."
'Don't bring your heart into the field John thought as he remembered his training from his days on the Farm. Although the DIA and the CIA where two different agencies, he was almost positive they all learned from the same textbooks.'
He was brought out of his thoughts as he felt her gently touch his hand, he wanted to reach out and hold hers but he refused to acknowledge the feeling and roughly pulled his hand back. A part of him enjoying her hurt expression, the same part of him that wanted her to suffer even a fraction of the heartache she had willing inflicted on him.
"Actions speak louder than words Carter…..what we were, what we had…was trust…..and I don't think I'll ever be able to trust you again."
John felt his eyes sting as he thought of the last words he said before they were taken. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he reigned in his emotions and focused on his surroundings and staying awake for the rest of the night.
Location: Upper Westside, New York City… 3:25PM Tuesday
Shaw and Ross sat at the bar watching as patrons came and went, they had been there for over an hour waiting for Ace to show up while they listened to terrible spoken word poetry being read.
"If this guy doesn't show up I'm going to shoot this place up…"Shaw muttered throwing back another beer. "...why can't this asshole spend his free time at a titty bar like every other low life…I bet he's some hipster turned wannabe thug."
"Hipster?" Ross questioned at the colloquialism.
Shaw smiled "You're not that old Ross."
"I suppose not but I really only got up to the early 2000's in my study of American culture and popular reverences and phrases."
"I knew you weren't American…" Shaw smirked "…so where were you born?"
Ross smiled sipping her beer "It looks like our friend is here."
Shaw watched as a slender looking man who looked like a poker dealer wearing a fedora strolled into the bar as if he was royalty before taking a seat near the stage, his two lackey's standing close by.
"Do all Hipsters dress like that?" Ross questioned.
"Yep, bunch of counter culture douche bags" Shaw retorted getting up.
"So how do you want to handle this?" Ross asked standing up as she followed Shaw.
"The direct way."
Before she could ask what that entailed, Shaw grabbed the back of the guy's head and slammed it into the table before pressing her gun into his neck. Ross reacted on instinct and punching the lackey closet to her before pulling her gun on the other one.
"Thanks for the warning!" Ross gritted out.
"Don't worry newbie you'll get the hang of it. Now onto you." Shaw redirected her attention to Ace.
"Do you bitches know who I am?" Ace yelled out his face still pressed into the table.
"You assigned a snatch and grab job to a crew this morning, the victims where two middle age individuals, a white male and a black female. We want to know who hired you and where we can find them." Shaw demanded pressing her gun harder into the guy's neck.
"Go to hell cunt!"
Shaw smiled, "you like poetry right? So here's one for you. Roses are Red, violets are blue and you got to the count of ten, to tell me where my friends are or I'll empty my clip in you."
Ross scrunched her face in confusion and frowned "That was…an absolutely terrible poem Shaw.
Location: Unknown… 10:15AM Wednesday
Jacob watched Carter silently as they made their way through a denser section of trees, he was starting to admire the woman he was stuck with. The way she carried herself and her speaking tone made it seem that she was probably a few years older than him. He was only 38 but he wouldn't put her past maybe 42, though her baby face could be throwing his age guess off by a few years. Although she hadn't told him anything directly about herself he assumed that she had some kind of military or survival training. Time to test the waters.
"So what branch did you serve under, judging by the way you carry yourself I'd say Army."
Joss smirked "What makes you think that."
"Well if you were air force you'd be belly aching right about now, you don't look crazy enough to be a Marine and I know you're not Navy…Jacob deduced.
"Whys that?"
Jacob smiled "Because I know my own kind."
"Whatever you say Squid."
Jacob chuckled "Spoken like a true ground-pounder."
Joss rolled her eyes at the nickname for Army members.
"So were you enlisted or an officer?"
"Why do you need to know?" Joss questioned back.
"Just trying to have a friendly conversation to get to know you better."
"Has anyone ever told you, that you talk too much?"
"No, but I do get told I'm devilishly good looking and the only ones who disagree are usually taken," Jacob smiled back.
Joss snorted.
"So I take it you got a man somewhere, his name's John right?"
Joss stopped mid-step and glared at Jacob "How do you know his name?"
Jacob saw the look of suspicion on her face and held his hands up "I just assumed he was your husband or boyfriend you keep calling out his name while you were unconscious. I'm guessing he was with you when you were abducted like my daughter and is probably out here somewhere."
"I wish I knew…" Joss mumbled and exhaled through her nose "and he's not my man, were just…frien…colleagues" she corrected herself, she honestly wasn't sure what they were anymore and from his words at the café colleagues might be pushing it.
Jacob opened his mouth to speak but promptly closed it as she continued walking, realizing she wasn't in the mood to chat anymore as she picked up her pace.
Trying to block out her thoughts of John, Joss quicken her pace not paying attention to her surroundings. Suddenly a hand to reach out from behind a tree, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and grappling her to the ground, knocking the air from her lungs.
"Joss?"
She inhaled deeply and stared up at the man poised above her. She didn't know what surprised her more; John's cocked back fist readied to strike her in the face or the little black girl that was standing near him.
"Carter!" Jacob yelled ready to engage the man holding her to the ground only to stop as he noticed the little girl standing next to him.
"Daddy?!" Robin turned her head around as she heard her Dad's voice.
"Robin?"
Amidst the confusion John felt a sudden tug around his ankle as Robin bolted from his side and ran into the arms of the tall black man behind him, who instantly dropped to his knees and embraced the little girl.
Location: Brooklyn New York…4:00PM Tuesday
"What the hell do you mean they were kidnapped?" Fusco yelled into his phone "..by who?"
Harold sighed, "that's what we are trying to determine Detective. Ms. Shaw and Ms. Ross are on their way to follow the lead that a source gave them. His name is Victor Bishop. We need you to see if you can find out if he's involved in any illegal activity."
"I swear you and the Fantastic Four are going to get me fired!" Fusco yanked on his jacket and grabbed his car keys.
"I understand the predicament Detective but time is not on our side at the moment."
"Yea I know Glasses, I'll find out what I can on Bishop but in the meantime tell your deadly divas not do any illegal or violent shit until I get there." Fusco stormed out of his apartment slamming the door behind him.
Location: Unknown…11:12AM Wednesday
Joss sat crossed legged as she braided Robin's hair to keep it out of her face, her eye glancing up as she watched John and Jacob scouting their surroundings. Her thoughts broken by Robin's sudden laughter.
She smiled and looked at the girl "What's so funny?"
"My Dad and Mr. John remind me of a funny song."
"Oh really, what song would that be?" Joss asked amused.
Robin cleared her throat "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, His name is my name too. Whenever we go out, the people always shout, there goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. Dah dah dah dah, dah dah dah"
Joss couldn't stop the laugh that erupted from her mouth at the nursery rhythm.
Hearing the sound of laughter Jacob turned back around to see Carter and his daughter laughing at something "I wonder what that's about?"
John turned to see the same sight, smiling softly "Who knows but more than likely it's at our expense."
Jacob nodded in agreement as he looked over the expanse of forest he could see from the bluff before he glanced back at the campsite "So her name's Joss right?"
"Yeah"John replied with a quick glance before continuing to walk a perimeter around their camp.
"Do you know if she's seeing anyone?" Jacob inquired nonchalantly as he looked at the other man.
'What the hell?' John thought tensing at the man's random question.
Jacob smiled at John before turning back to look at Joss, completely missing the evil look he was getting "They say life and death situations bring people closer together and I wouldn't mind getting closer to her."
John felt his fingers twitch slightly as he resisted the impulse to strike the man in the throat and tell him that she was off limits.
He clenched his teeth and avoid eye contact as he replied, "Not that I'm aware of."
"You got this sweet heart, just pick one and fire away when you're ready." Max encouraged his wife as he scouted the four targets below them.
Meredith looked through the cross hairs of her scope, bouncing between the four possible targets, "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch an animal by the toe… Eeny, meeny, miny, …mo"
Meredith smiled as her line of vision fell on the little black girl, she flicked on her laser sight, the red dot traveling up the little girl's chest and settling on her forehead.
"Night, night little one."
The echoing bang of a high power rifle resonated off the cliffs and trees of the forest.
AN: ...Sorry for the long wait. Thanks for reading and reviewing. :)