Chapter 32

Jack Hudson hated waiting, especially when there was little else to do. Now I know how the others felt when I was missing, he thought recalling the way the team reacted when he returned with Sue and Troy. I swear when I get them all back together, I'm going to tie them all to their desks, he grinned as an image of the dapper New Englander hogtied to his chair suddenly flashed in his mind.

Stealthy glancing around the bullpen, Jack wondered if anyone caught him. His countenance sobered when he saw the empty desks. He missed the daily banter between Myles and Bobby, and though she'd only replaced Tara a few months ago, he'd gotten used to seeing Hannah across the room.

Bobby had left over an hour ago after getting an urgent call from Tara. Since finding out he was going to be a father, the tall Aussie had been walking on air, so Jack didn't question when his best friend suddenly had to leave. The dark haired agent knew he would call if they needed anything.

As part of his responsibilities as acting supervisor, D was meeting with the director. Now, only Sue and Lucy remained in the bullpen working with him to find their missing friends, even though the case had been transferred to Carrie Peters' team.

"Look who I found downstairs," D announced as he entered the room, signaling Levi to get Sue.

"Gabe! Thad," Lucy called as she looked up, recognizing the two firefighters from the explosion that followed her co-worker into the room. "What are you doing here?" she asked sharply.

"What I think Lucy is trying to say is we weren't expecting you," Jack winked as he stood up to greet the new visitors.

"You're not working, I hope," Sue stated, catching Jack's statement as she came around her desk to give them both hugs. After the time spent with the tall blonde at the hospital at her friends' bedside, they were both familiar with her tendency to hug instead of shake hands.

"Unfortunately, we are," Thaddeus Shaw confirmed, smiling down at his new friend.

"Shaw was assigned by DCFD to investigate the bombing," Gabriel Venezula told them, having to repeat himself when he realized he'd spoken before getting Sue's attention.

"Since it's officially a FBI case, my Captain wanted me to bring the report in personally," Thad explained.

"But we're not in charge of the case," Sue looked at him confused.

"I know," Thad nodded, holding up a file he was carrying. "I was meeting with Special Agent Peters and Kelsey Malone from DCPD earlier and just need to ask Agent Leland a few follow-up questions regarding the man he followed."

"He wasn't home when we went by, and the hospital couldn't give us any information about when he checked out," Gabe continued as he leaned against Hannah's desk nonchalantly. "Do you know how we can get in touch with him?"

Her smile vanished as Sue glanced towards Jack waiting for his response. They'd been so worried about their friends all morning, but without Hannah's computer expertise and Tara assigned to another team now, they were getting nowhere with their search.

"Hannah and Myles are missing?" D finally responded solemnly as the rest of the team shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" Gabe barked, practically jumping up from his casual position. "We just saw them yesterday!" The two men had learned a lot about the agents while they were waiting with Sue and Lucy in the emergency room after the explosion. Over the last few days, their trips to the hospital to question them about the bombing had developed a friendship for the tall, refined gentleman and the spunky brunette agent they met.

"It's a long story," D insisted, wondering what he could tell them without putting the two agents into more danger as the firefighter glared in his direction.

"Does it have anything to do with the shooting at the hospital?" Thad asked, a restraining hand on his partner's arm silently signaling the younger man to cool his temper.

"How…?" Jack stammered knowing that it hadn't been released to the media yet.

"I have a friend with DCPD's Violent Crimes Unit," Thad responded calmly as Gabe took a step back, but didn't relax his stance. "We ran into him at the hospital when we went to see Agent Leland today. He mentioned a shooting, but I had no idea it involved the same case," he sighed worriedly.

"Are they okay?" Gabe questioned urgently, glancing from face to face as he waited for someone to respond.

"After the shooting, they disappeared," Jack answered, his eyes shifting to Sue as he wondered if she was keeping up with the conversation. "Hannah called so we know they're okay, but we just don't know where…"

Before Jack could continue, his phone rang and he excused himself to take the call. Hopeful of some news on their missing friends, the others watched nervously as he stiffened, listening intently to the person on the other end. What was only seconds felt like a lot longer as they waited for some kind of indication from the dark-haired agent what was going on.

"Got it," he stated, scribbling something on the notepad before him. "I'll see what we can do here and get back to you," Jack finished before hanging up the phone and looking up at those around him.

"Jack?" Sue whispered apprehensively, taking a step towards him, reaching out as he remained silent.

Placing his hand over hers, Jack offered a hesitant, but reassuring smile. "Tara found Myles and Hannah," he stated, his eyes shifting around the room to the others.

"Our Tara?"

"How?"

"I didn't even know she was working with Carrie's team on this," D mentioned, just as excited about the news as the others.

"Yes, our Tara, and she's not supposed to be working on this," Jack chuckled, taking each question in turn. "How does Tara do anything she does? She found the cab that picked them up at the hospital," he shrugged, responding to the blonde beside him.

"But Agent Peters said that they couldn't track them through the cab companies," Thad interjected confused, wondering if he should have said anything when the others turned in his direction.

"They couldn't," Jack replied, glancing over to make sure Sue was watching. "Apparently, Tara was able to locate some video that showed Hannah and Myles getting into a cab outside one of the side doors to the hospital and got an ID on the cab. When Bobby left here earlier, he was going to pick her up to confirm the destination for the cab and time with the company," he supplied, still not completely believing their luck.

"But why didn't the driver say anything when he was questioned?" Lucy asked, knowing that the other team had interviewed everyone that had picked up a male and a female patient last night.

"Well, he didn't get to see them clearly because it was so dark," Jack responded, shaking his head at the information he'd received from Bobby on the phone call. "And Hannah apparently told him that the Emergency Room had given 'her husband' something for pain and was having trouble getting him home, so the driver didn't make the connection," he finished, his eyes locked with Sue's as he couldn't help but wonder if there was another relationship blooming. First, the two of us, then Bobby and Tara…now Myles, he thought. What's in the water around here? he wondered with a half-smile.

"Oh," Lucy nodded as if it all made sense, then cocked her head to the side bewildered as everything the dark haired agent said finally registered. "Her husband!"

"Heh, I wonder how much Myles had to pay Hannah to say that," D smirked, causing them all to smile at the thought.

"Bobby thinks Myles needs to be back in the hospital, but they refuse to go," Jack resumed, feeling the mood somber quickly.

"Maybe we could get a doctor to go to them," Sue suggested optimistically. "If he hears it from a doctor, Myles would have to agree."

"Do you have any doctors that owe you a favor?" Jack asked with raised eyebrows. "If whoever shot at them is still looking for them, we have to be careful about how we handle this."

"Jack's right," D added reluctantly. "We don't want to put them into more danger, if we don't have to."

Sue nodded her agreement with the other's assessment as she stated, "I don't know anyone. Do you Lucy?" With a frown, Lucy shook her head.

As the team members talked, they'd forgotten about their visitors. Hearing the information about the injured agents, the two firefighters turned to each other, communication silently passing between them.

"What about us? We can go right now," Thad interrupted, seeing Gabe's brief nod.

"You want to help?" Jack looked at the two men with wide eyes.

"We're more than just paramedics," Gabe snapped offensively, before Thad put a calming hand on his arm.

"Right, you're EMTs," Sue interjected, trying to defuse the tension also.

"Yeah," Thad smiled, seeing that she remembered their long talk about the difference between the two while they waiting in the emergency room. "And Gabe here is a medic with the 4th Marine Air Wing out of Norfolk," he finished, watching with some amusement the expressions on the others' faces.

"Reservist?" D questioned with visible admiration.

"Since high school," the Hispanic man nodded. "Just returned a year ago from Iraq," he confirmed, slightly embarrassed at the attention but appreciative of the new light he saw in the tall black woman's eyes.

"Well, I think that qualifies you for the job," Jack validated, turning to grab his jacket from the back of his chair. Seeing Lucy reach for her purse, he frowned, "Sorry, Luce, there isn't enough room in the car with four of us going."

Sad but understanding the situation, Lucy dropped her purse back into the drawer. She wanted to go but knew that as an analyst, Sue had priority, and with Levi, it would be too crowded. She'd just have to wait here with D.

"Actually, we need to bring the bus," Gabe mentioned, seeing the heartbreaking look on the young woman's face. "Shaw can go with them, and you can ride with me…in the ambulance," he offered, beaming back at her as Lucy's face lit up with a broad smile.

"Sounds like a plan," D approved, wishing he didn't have another meeting so he could go too. "Keep me informed," he told Jack as the group headed toward the door.

Distracted by their purpose, Jack and Sue failed to see the lingering gaze between the tall firefighter and their friend. However, walking behind them, Thad noticed. With a scheming smirk, he thought about how nice it was going to be to play 'matchmaker' for his friend after all the times Gabe tried to set him up.