Without A Trace - Paternity Eternal
Summary: Another day, another case...but its Martin who's missing. Is the team ready for the secrets they will divulge?
Disclaimer: I own nothing...unfortunately
Chapter Two: Overdrive
Sam slowed her car to a stop just outside the building. It was a four-storey apartment block on the corner of a busy intersection. She pulled her shades off and glanced up at it, hoping it would reveal the location of her friend. Her friend who was once more than a friend. She remembered the time they had spent together, her and Martin, and smiled.
She climbed out of her car and crossed the threshold into the foyer. It was cool compared to the outside heat and she welcomed the air conditioning. She nodded to the doorman and climbed the stairs to the second floor. As she approached the door, memories flashed before her, some wonderful, some painful.
She rapped loudly on the door. A few moments passed in silence before she tried again. "Martin? Are you in there?" she called.
"Oh no dear," interrupted an old lady. She came up behind Sam and patted her on the shoulder. "He left for work a long time ago, I saw him leave."
"Really," replied Sam kindly, worry creeping into her voice. "Can you tell me what time he left?"
"The same time he leaves every day dear, 8:30," the little old lady clutched her handbag and continued down the hall to the elevators, and Sam thanked her. She checked her watch; that was three hours ago. Sam could feel her headache coming back again. She checked the garage for his car, and then phoned Jack.
The bullpen became a sudden flurry of frantic activity. The second Jack had walked out of his office the team had known, and feared the worse. The look of worry on his face as he came towards them was enough to get the team motivated. He stuck a photo up on the whiteboard of Martin without a word.
"He's definitely missing?" asked Elena, still slightly sceptical. "He's not just late?"
Jack shrugged unconvinced. "Sam spoke to a tenant who says that he left as usual at 8:30, and his car isn't in the garage. He hasn't phoned in and we haven't been able to get through to him. Anything is possible at this point. It's too early to say."
"So he's been missing for just over three hours," stated Vivian. "I'll check his financials."
"Good, Danny I want you to check his computer for anything that might suggest his whereabouts and Elena I want you to check his phone records. Sam's gonna stay at the apartment to see if he shows up," instructed Jack.
He sighed and closed his eyes. This wasn't happening. One of his agents couldn't be missing.
Six Hours Missing
Vivian stared at the numbers until her eyes blurred and they just became one big smudge. She blinked a couple of times and looked again, but the numbers were still the same. "Jack!" she called. "I got something."
Immediately the team gathered around the table and Jack hovered over her shoulder. "He's not in any financial trouble, but for as far back as I can go, every month he has deposited $3,000 in to another account, without fail, up until three months ago. Then the payments suddenly stop."
"Whose account?" asked Jack.
"Err, a Suzanne Lake from Ohio," replied Vivian, checking the accounts.
"Wait, Lake?" interrupted Elena. At Vivian's nod she picked up the phone records she had been reading. She quickly scanned it for the information she wanted. "He's been getting a lot of calls from a Jessica Lake, but not a Suzanne Lake."
Vivian shrugged. "If it were anyone else, I'd say it was either a pay-off or...well...child support."
"Martin doesn't have a kid," stated Elena, looking confused. "Does he?"
"Not as far as I know," Danny responded, matching her quizzical expression. "If it's a pay-off, the payments stopped. Maybe the Jessica is a relative looking to collect the money. It's a motive."
Jack nodded, agreeing with Danny. "Right, Elena, stick with the phone records; find out all you can about Jessica and Suzanne Lake. Vivian, see if you can find out what the payments were for. Danny, contact the locals, tell them to keep an eye out for Martin's car."
"What if we find it and he's not in it?" asked Danny as everyone else busied themselves with their tasks. Jack didn't answer, leaving Danny with his own imagination.
Jessie was getting desperate. Something was wrong and she knew it. He should've phoned her back by now. She'd left enough messages, each one with slightly more hysteria than the last. She checked the clock; 14:45. He should be at work.
She didn't know much about Martin's life, he'd never really spoken about it. But she knew he worked for the FBI in New York, and so that was where she was gonna go.
She climbed into her car and made the relatively short drive between the hotel and the offices. The whole time her head was full of all the little things she didn't know about Martin. She didn't know anything about his family; she didn't know the names of his friends or work colleagues. She didn't even know his middle name.
When she arrived at the FBI offices she marched straight into reception. The man behind the desk was on the phone and she waited patiently for him to finish. "How can I help you?" he asked
"I'm looking for Agent Martin Fitzgerald," Jessie explained.
"Can I ask who you are?" he questioned, not unkindly.
"A family friend."
Jack picked up the phone before it had even finished its first ring, and almost ended up shouting at the guy at Reception. "Who is she? She got a name?" he waited a few moments as the man asked. "Jessica Lake? Yes, send her up...with an escort. Put her in interview room one"
Determined, Jack left his office and approached his working team. "What have you found out about Jessica Lake?" he addressed Elena.
"I've got her service record; she's a cop from Ohio. No priors or blemishes on her record, no complaints, nothing." Elena replied, flicking through the rather skinny folder. "After eight years on the force she's got about five pages in her file."
"Well, she's here, now. Claims to be a family friend of Martin's," explained Jack. "Anything on Suzanne?"
Vivian gestured failure. "In the fifteen minutes I've had to look her up, all I know is that she's dead, and that it happened three months ago. Same time as the payments stopped."
"Right, Danny come with me," instructed Jack. "Let's go have a chat with Officer Lake."
Seven Hours Missing
Sam could no longer stand still. She had walked the length and width of the apartment building several times that day, but she might as well as do it again. She went back down into the underground garage and stood, staring at his empty parking space. She bit her lip and tried looking up to stop herself from crying.
Frustrated and worried, she turned on the spot and scanned the area. There were hardly any cars; this was a building of nine-to-fivers, and at 15:30, any parents would be on the school run. As she turned she spotted a security camera. She almost laughed.
Quickly she practically ran to the security booth, and flashed her badge. The man behind the monitors abruptly sat up and paid attention. "I'm gonna need your tapes from this morning between 7am and 9am." Sam requested, and the man quickly obliged.
Feeling slightly more confident, Sam decided to finish her sweep, ending up back at the apartment. As she walked down the hallway she saw a woman with short blonde hair walking towards her with a young girl. She watched as they stopped at Martin's apartment, got out a key, and entered.
Confused, Sam followed, catching the door before it closed and again flashing her badge. "Hi, I'm Agent Spade; I'm looking for my colleague who just happens to live in this apartment."
"You're looking for Martin?" asked the woman. Sam nodded, looking closely at the girl. "Well, he left for work this morning, and I haven't heard from his since."
"Right," replied Sam, distracted by the girl's blue eyes. They seemed so familiar. "And who may you be?"
The woman responded, even though Sam had addressed the question to the girl. "I'm Janie, I'm the nanny, and I take Anya to and from school while her dad's at work."
"Anya," muttered Sam. She tried to process what she was seeing. "Martin's...daughter?"
If you haven't quite got it, No one on the team knows about Anya, hence why it's such a big reveal for Sam. I promise Martin will be in the next chapter!