Not as long as I'd have wished,
but it's such a good breaking point.

Cho's Sun
Chapter 03
(Bad Day)

The bright morning sun snapped Cho's eyes open. He started to executed his morning bridge, but a warm body next to him caused him to freeze. Last night came rushing back to him. He relaxed and smiled a smile that CBI would probably never see. He rolled toward her and found himself in a very warm embrace.

"You make fifty push ups look easy," Sunny said. "I've never been good at those and it really irritates me."

Cho bounced, again, not breathing hard. "Not to worry, Sunny. We all have different capabilities. You run like a gazelle, so that's your strength. A wise woman once told me that I should play to my strength. Go with that."

Sunny grinned, stood on tip toe and kissed him. "You know, I could get to like you and having you around! You make me feel good."

"The feeling is more than mutual." He hugged her, stepped back and slipped his shirt on. "What do you say we go find some food. For some reason, I feel really calorie depleted."

The three day weekend passed far quicker than Cho would have liked. As he entered the bullpen, he wondered what Jane was going to have to say. He shook his head. "I don't give a damn," he thought, offering Jane a challenging stare.

Patrick smiled and held up both hands, palms showing. "Peace. I'm not saying a thing. Not a word. My lips are sealed." His irritating smile widened. "Even when I know all, I do not always tell all!"

Cho grunted. "Lucky for you," he muttered just loud enough for Patrick to hear.

The day was proceeding at a normal pace when Cho's phone chirped. He flipped it open an called up the pending text message. Jane, who had started watching him when he heard the cell phone chirp, realized something serious had just happened. Cho looked frozen. Jane covered the intervening distance almost instantly. "Tell me," he commanded Cho.

Cho turned the cell phone so Jane could read. It was a text message from Sunny. It said: "Don't bother to come. She's been chosen."

Jane read it and sharply exhaled. "Let's go," he said. "I'll drive, you tell me where we're going." Jane pulled Cho from his chair. "Lisbon, we'll be back as soon as we can." Neither waited for an answer and they ran out of the building.

The apartment showed signs of a struggle and there was the lingering odor of pepper spray. The chain on the door was broken. Apparently, Sunny had opened the door on the chain, not realizing those chains are worthless. A good hard smack on the door and the screws will pop out, the heads will rip off, or the chain will break. Most are actually worth less than what you pay for them, and most of them are cheap.

They both read forced entry as the method. Jane closed his eyes and sniffed. "Under the odor of pepper spray," he said, "I smell ether. Ether's a good sign."

"Ether? Good?" Cho asked.

"Ether is available at any gas station as starting fluid. It takes no special skill to use or obtain. The chain on the door is broken, so whoever it was didn't know her schedule or wasn't willing to wait. We're not seeing a lot of planning here. Also, ether means he didn't want to damage her. We have every reason to believe she's alive."

"Hope you're right. Now we have to figure out who..." Cho paused. "I'll check the businesses around and see if there are any security cameras that are covering the area. Maybe we can get a picture of him leaving with her."

Jane nodded. "I want to spend a little more time, here. We can meet at the car."

The ride back to the office was silent except for Jane explaining what was going on. "Right, he said. "You're OK with it being a team effort." He nodded and smiled. A thumbs up sign flashed to Cho indicated her assent. "We'll be back with surveillance video in a few..... Yes.... OK....." He flipped his phone shut. "Cho, I'm not going to be so stupid as to tell you not to worry. I just want you to know that the whole team is with you and we're working on it together. We'll get this done."

Cho weakly smiled. "Pull this one out of your hat and we're even."

Jane smiled and added another ten miles per hour to their already excessive speed.

oOOOo