Chapter 8
Back at FBI Headquarters, Danny Taylor stood with his mouth wide open in disbelief as he observed his disheveled boss exit the elevator accompanied by his daughter. He couldn't quite believe his eyes. He had heard Elena describe his injuries, which to him sounded quite serious. Seeing the drawn and bruised figure approaching him, he was left in no doubt that Jack should not be out of the hospital, let alone be at work.
"Jack!" he said, unable to disguise his astonishment.
"Hey, Danny," Jack said wearily as he reached the young Latino. "Any news on Finn?" he asked, getting straight to the point.
"Should you be here?" Danny asked, unintentionally ignoring his question.
"No, he shouldn't," Hanna interjected crossly from behind her dad. Danny looked at her, surprised by her fury, and then turned back to Jack.
"I told you, I'm fine," Jack retorted. "So… any word?" Jack asked again.
"Eh, well, Martin and Sam are following a lead upstate in Binghamton. We think Donovan got off a bus up there," Danny explained as he followed Jack through to the bullpen.
Again, Jack's arrival, not to mention his battered appearance and unusual attire, drew stunned looks from staff around the office. Vivian and Elena were sitting at their desks working, and stopped what they were doing when they saw him approach.
"Madre Dio," Elena exclaimed in dismay. "What are you doing here?"
"Goodness, Jack, sit down before you fall down," Vivian insisted as she stood and pushed her chair towards him. "Are you out of your mind? You look terrible."
"Oh, gee, thanks!" Jack replied, feigning offence but gratefully accepting the chair.
"I can't believe they let you leave the hospital," Vivian said, still understandably surprised.
"They didn't," Hanna piped up brazenly once more.
The women exchanged querying glances before Hanna's words registered with them.
"AMA, Jack? Are you out of your mind?" Elena asked, not at all worried about speaking inappropriately to her boss but genuinely concerned for his well-being.
Jack shook his head, not in the mood for defending his decision. He had one killer headache and didn't plan on getting into a debate about his health with any of them. So choosing to ignore their concerned looks and questions, he asked;:
"Have you heard from Martin and Samantha lately?"
"Martin called an hour ago. They were almost in Binghamton," Vivian told him.
"Anything else?" Jack wondered.
"No, once they arrive they're meeting with the Broome County PD and they will start enquiries at all hotels and motels in the area," Viv told him. "Jack, there's really nothing you can do here. Go home and we'll call if we hear anything."
"Thanks but I'd rather stay. I'll wait in my office. Come get me if you hear anything," he said, standing up slowly and carefully, using the desk as support.
Hanna followed him, still annoyed, as he made his way to his office. He flopped heavily onto the sofa and released what sounded like a sigh of relief. It was a mixture of relief and exhaustion.
"Can I get you anything?" Hanna asked, concern replacing her annoyance.
"Some water would be good," Jack said, feeling guilty for putting his daughter through all this anguish. "I'd better do as Nurse Batista ordered and take my pills," he said, hoping that she might mellow a little, knowing that he was at least taking his medication.
He sat back and waited for her to return with the water. He knew that there was little else he could do. She returned and he took his meds and tried to ignore her grumbles and rest a little.
They weren't long waiting when Danny Taylor knocked on the door and told him that there were two detectives looking to take his statement about the assault. Jack was far from in the mood for making a statement, but he also knew it had to be done. It would also help pass the time, he thought. He told Danny to show them in.
Detectives Kellerman and Quincy entered his office and introduced themselves.
"We called to the hospital and they said that you'd left," Kellerman said, looking around the senior agent's office, suitably impressed by the diplomas and commendations on the wall.
"I have work to do," Jack told them, letting it be known that he was a busy man.
"I understand," Quincy said, taking a seat without being offered. "This shouldn't take long. Would you rather do this in private?" he asked, looking towards Jack's daughter.
"It's okay," Jack replied, glancing towards Hanna. "She can stay."
"Up to you," Quincy shrugged, taking out his notebook and pen.
"So, you and Agent Spade, how long have you two been….you know?" Quincy asked.
Jack sat forward, instantly on the defensive. Immediately, he took a dislike to the detective. How dare he ask such a personal question? It was none of his business.
"Know what?" Jack asked, determined to make him say it.
"You know, sleeping together," Quincy replied with a hint of sleaze.
"That's none of your business," Jack said angrily with fire in his eyes.
"Well, it is our business, Agent Malone, because you were assaulted by persons unknown in the home of Agent Spade," Kellerman interrupted. "It is obvious that you two have a relationship that goes beyond professional. So what happened? Did she have another guy's kid and then come crawling back, expecting you to play daddy. That had to hurt. So what happened yesterday? Did you fight? Did she hit you?"
Jack was stunned, almost beyond the point of answering. He just couldn't believe how wrong they had got it. Were they seriously sitting there accusing Samantha of assaulting him? As the ridiculousness of that thought coursed through his brain, he started to laugh aloud, which surprised the two detectives and his daughter.
"You find that funny, Agent Malone?" Kellerman asked seriously. Jack's laughter only became more uncontrolled. It took him a minute to compose himself.
"Em, guys, you need to get with the program here," Jack said, smirking broadly. "Have you even checked this morning's BOLO's. We've issued a warrant for the arrest of Brian Donovan, that would be Agent Spade's ex, the guy who clocked me, for suspected kidnapping and attempted murder of a federal officer. In fact, two of my agents have followed him upstate. In case I need to spell it out for you two….detectives, Donovan assaulted me, not Agent Spade. I think we're done here. You can show yourselves out."
The two detectives stood up slowly and skulked out of the office with their tails between their legs, feeling incredibly foolish and suitably embarrassed. Jack and Hanna exchanged telling smiles as they watched them leave. Hanna was impressed by how easily her father had dealt with them and admired his unorthodox yet effective methods. For an old man, he was pretty cool, she thought.
Meanwhile, in the gas station in Binghamton, the cashier was kneeling over the downed agent, Martin Fitzgerald, trying to check if he was all right. Slapping him gently on the cheeks, he came around quite quickly and sat up with urgency, rubbing his head.
"Are you all right, man?" the cashier asked.
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Martin exclaimed, furious with Donovan and even more furious with himself.
He knew there would be hell to pay having accidentally located the missing child and then allowing himself to be overpowered by Donovan. Worse still, Donovan now had his service weapon. He was going to have some explaining to do to his superiors, not to mention to Samantha. He stood up, holding the back of his neck and probing the rising lump. He looked out to the forecourt, hoping to see Samantha, but there was no sign of her. His town car was also missing.
"My partner….have you seen her?" Martin asked the cashier anxiously, a feeling of dread growing steadily within.
"Good looking blonde chick?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's her," Martin replied.
"Man, she got in the car with the dude that whipped you," he told him.
"Ah, God damn it!" Martin yelled, spinning around and thumping the cash desk. This couldn't be happening. "Did you call the cops?" Martin asked the stunned cashier.
"Yeah, man, they're on their way," he replied.
"Good. Did you see which way they went?" Martin asked, trying to keep some semblance of professionalism.
"Eh, turned north towards town," the cashier told him.
"Thanks," Martin said, as he withdrew his cell phone from his pocket and made an unenviable call to the office.
"Yeah, Johnson," Vivian replied as she answered her phone.
"Hey, Viv," he said sounding hesitant. "Em, Viv, I screwed up."
"What? What's wrong, Martin?" Viv asked, her unease growing.
"He's got Sam," Martin blurted out.
"Sorry? What are you talking about? Who's got Sam?" Viv asked thoroughly confused.
"Donovan. God damn it!" Martin exclaimed once more, still unable to bury his frustration. "The son-of-a-bitch jumped me at a gas station. He took my car. I didn't see what happened, but it sounds like Sam went voluntarily."
"I don't believe it!" Vivian said, flabbergasted.
She stood, phone to her ear and hand on her head. She looked to the heavens for inspiration. What was Sam thinking? She obviously had her reasons and would only go with him if she felt it was necessary. Then again, the man had her son. How would they handle this? Then inspiration came to her.
"Your car has GPS, hasn't it?" Viv asked, sounding pretty sure.
"Yeah," Martin replied.
"Right, so we can track the car. I'll call you back," Viv said eagerly as she hung up the phone and turned towards Danny and Elena.
"He's got Sam," she told them without elaborating.
But she didn't need to elaborate. Her statement said it all.
"I'd better let Jack know," she sighed, knowing he would be furious.
Danny and Elena watched as Vivian marched with assertion towards Jack's office. This news was the last thing that he would want to hear. She paused outside the glass door of his office, observing him as he sat on the sofa with his feet up and his head back, his fingers massaging his temples. He looked dreadfully pale and she had no doubt that he should still be in the hospital. Hanna sat behind her father's desk, texting some unknown friend.
She proceeded to knock and let herself in.
"Jack," she said, announcing her arrival.
"Hey, Viv, come on in," he said, straightening up and taking his feet from the sofa. "Have you heard something?"
Vivian's face looked stern and serious. Jack began to sense that what she had to say was not going to be good.
"Martin called," she said, looking him straight in the face. "Donovan has Samantha."
Jack looked at her, his face scrunched up with confusion. His eyes widened and he looked at her more intensely.
"I'm sorry. I thought you said Donovan had Sam," Jack said, shaking his head as if to clear it.
"You heard correctly, Jack," Vivian confirmed. "He overpowered Martin at a gas station and took his car. I don't have any other details."
Jack got to his feet, swaying slightly as he did so. He felt sick to his stomach. He paced around his desk with his hand unconsciously rubbing his forehead, desperately trying to make sense of it all.
How the hell could this happen? Martin has a whole lot of explaining to do. If anything happens to her…
He couldn't think straight. He looked over at his daughter. He knew what he had to do, but he could also tell that it would disappoint and worry her. But sitting in his office waiting for this drama to unfold was not going to work for him.
"Hanna, I have to go," he said, praying she would understand.
"Daddy?" she said, unable to conceal her fear.
"Please understand, I have to do this," Jack said, looking his daughter in the eye. "Sam and Finn need me."
Hanna looked at him, wanting to stop him, wanting to scream at him that she needed him too. But she knew it would do no good and only act to make him feel worse than he did already. So she nodded, her silence not meant to ease or intensify his guilt. He looked lovingly at her, gently touching her face, a gesture of thanks and of pride.
"No point staying here then," she said, putting her bag on her shoulder. "I'll be at home."
Jack kissed her on the check and gave her cab fare.
"Bring them home, Dad," Hanna said as she left for home.
Once she was gone, Jack turned to Vivian.
"Where are we on this?" he asked with zeal.
"I was just heading to the tech room. Martin's car has a GPS locator on it. We should be able to get a location pretty quickly," Viv told him.
"Right, let's check it out and have a chopper on standby," he said, as he followed her to the tech room. "We'll get there as soon as possible."
A/N - I know, I know...a major coincidence, bumping into Brian at the gas station. But coincidences happen, don't they, kinda, sorta?