In this chapter we will find out who the real fans of Paul Guilfoyle are, lol. You hard core PG addicts will recognize some things from his past. Please, enjoy.

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Jim and Sofia went through the motions of normal life out of habit. She cooked supper, even though neither felt like eating. He helped her clean up, though neither cared if the dishes were clean or not. After the kitchen was clean, he flipped on a hockey game but couldn't have told anyone who the teams were and had no clue about the score. She seemed to be reading a magazine but the page hadn't turned in half an hour. Both jumped when his cell phone rang.

"Brass," he answered.

"Jim, it's Annie."

"Yeah…did you find her?"

"I went over to her place…no sign of her and her neighbors haven't seen her in several days."

"Damn."

"Jim...you ever hear of Nicky Thermopolis?"

Jim frowned. "Name sounds familiar…."

"What about Frankie Salvino?"

"Ah…yeah, I think she was a mule for him for awhile." He didn't really want to think about what she was involved in now, but he had to get a line on Ellie. Both of his children's lives depended on it.

"Well…Thermopolis is one of the biggest weapons dealers on the West Coast. Word is that he had a shipment stolen a couple of days ago and that Frankie was behind it. One of Frankie's guys was found in a dumpster a block away from Ellie's usual corner."

"So, you think Ellie saw something?" He was feeling a little queasy.

"Jim, I think she was in on the heist. Why else would she have something that the kidnapper wants?"

"You think it is Thermopolis that has Jeb and Maria." Fear gripped him. Gun dealers were usually cold and vicious.

"Yeah, I do. But they are probably still in Vegas. No sense bringing them back here. We're looking for all the players and will tail them as soon as we get a fix on them. I'll stay in touch."

"Okay, thanks Annie."

He closed his phone and looked across at Sofia, who was watching him nervously. "It ain't good, baby." Then he shared what Annie had told him, watching her go pale as the new information settled in.

"So Annie thinks Thermopolis' people have them?"

"Yeah." Right now he felt like he could strangle Ellie, if she were in the room. That feeling was mixed with extreme fear for her. And Jeb…he was too little to even know what was happening. They had to get to him before the unthinkable happened. Otherwise he'd never be able to look at Sofia in the eyes again, nor would he be able to look at himself in the mirror.

Sofia was in a horror scenario of her own. These were brutal people that had her son. Annie's news shook her to the core. Looking across at her husband she whispered, "Jim if Ellie survives this, I'm going to kill her."

Jim looked in her eyes and saw how dogged she looked. She meant it. "I understand," he responded through a clenched jaw.

Each retreated into their own thoughts for a few minutes until Jim glanced at her again and saw the tears creeping down her cheeks. He moved to the couch to sit next to her and gathered her in his arms. At his touch, her flood gates opened and she began to cry in earnest. He began rocking her, stroking her hair, and whispering to her that they would find Jeb in time. Jim Brass had never felt so helpless in his life and it frustrated him.

They stayed together on the couch for awhile. Her sobs quieted but was replaced by tremors. Jim had never seen her like this and it frightened him. He felt shattered and he wasn't sure if it was Jeb's kidnapping or Sofia's response that had him more shook up. The combined effect was tearing him apart. More and more he felt the need to do something. This sitting around waiting for news had him climbing the walls, but he knew he had to stay by the phone.

Sofia was so angry at Ellie. There was so much she wanted to say but she held her tongue. The girl was Jim's daughter and no matter how screwed up she was, Jim loved her. As her sobs subsided she began to think of how awful he must be feeling. His eldest had set things in motion that led to Jeb being nabbed. Jim had to be afraid for both of them and disappointed in Ellie. Ellie being in trouble usually led to him kicking himself for not being a better father and now her trouble was hurting all of them. Sofia shook when she thought of what this was doing to him….and worse, how he would feel if either child got hurt. Fear for her son and fear for her husband had her on the edge. Like Jim, she felt the need to do something.

Feeling the tenseness in his body, she realized something else. "Jim, you have to be exhausted. You haven't gotten all of your stamina back since the beating. Why don't we go lie down and try to rest?"

She felt him take a deep breath and then swallow. "Okay," he whispered. "But only if you lie down with me…"

"Of course." She squeezed his hand as she stood up. "I need you to hold me anyway."

They walked to their bedroom and stretched out. She snuggled next to him as he wrapped his arm around her and held her closely. Both were tense, tired, and worried about the other. Each felt the need to stay strong in support of the other, afraid to allow their own emotions free rein. And each found comfort in the warmth of the other.

After an hour of lying down but not really resting, they jumped when the phone rang.

"Jim, it's Gil. Warrick is with me and we are headed for L.A. I need you to give me contact information for your friend out there and also anything you can tell me about Ellie…where she lives, hangs out, friends…."

"Gil….ah, you're on your way now?"

"Yeah, Warrick and I started talking and realized that he had a pretty good rapport with her before. And I think she and I did okay too. Besides I know L.A. and still have a few contacts there. Since you can't leave your phone, we decided to go for you."

"That's…that's great. But what did Ecklie say?"

"I don't know. I just told him we were going and left before he said anything. Is that a problem?"

"Well, not for me…." Jim was amazed at what his friends had just done. They put their careers on the line for him. He gave them all the contact info and told Gil everything he could remember about Ellie, including the corner she usually worked. "Look, I really appreciate what you are doing for me…and for Sofie. Tell Rick, okay?"

"Yeah…but …we had to do it Jim. If we can't use our training to help people we care about, well…it isn't worth much."

"Yeah…well, we owe you two big."

"You can invite us to Jeb's birthday partying a few months."

"Consider it done."

Jim hung up the receiver and turned to Sofia, who was listening with anticipation. "We've got good friends, ya know?"

"We do…but?"

"Gil and Rick are on their way to L.A. to help find Ellie."

"I'll bet Ecklie shit a brick when they told him they were going."

"He probably did, but Gil said they didn't hang around to get his response. They just told him and left."

"Wow." A faint smile teased the corner of her mouth. "I can imagine his reaction to that."

"Yeah." Jim took her in his arms again. "You know….somehow I feel a little more hopeful with Gil and Rick going after Ellie." Sofia nodded in agreement as they settled back into the bed, his arms still around her. It would be a long night, he knew; but things seemed a little less bleak now.

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