Disclaimer: The characters of Sue Thomas F.B. Eye are not mine, but property of Pebblehut, the Johnson Brothers and PAX, and their sole intellectual property and creation. The events depicted are fictional, as are the lead characters originating from the STFBE series. The other characters introduced are my creation, fictional as well and do not bear any resemblance to non-fictional people and/or characters. Any resemblance is a coincidence, so are the events unfolded. Facts, figures, streets, venues e.g. are existing and checked for accuracy to the best of my possibilities.

Cut To The Chase

Part II: Endgame

oOo

Welcome Back! Since the first part of Cut To The Chase was already elaborate, summarizing it would mean the first post of the Second Part would be ridiculously long. A brief overview of the events of Part One will do the job just as nicely, but I suggest for a total 'refreshing the memory' you may need to work your way through it once more.

It has, after all, been a very long time since anything has been done on this story. I want to express my deepest appreciation for those who have read (and/or reviewed) Part I, I hope the installments to come will be as satisfying as the previous ones. For your benefits I have included a brief summary of the things that have been and the things to come. Also I reposted the last chapter of Cut To The Chase Part I, for it holds vital elements upon which the next installments will be based.

All the usual notes still apply: Capitalized means Glossed ASL, Italics either signed conversation translated to English, or the other side of a phone.

For now, all I can say is: welcome back, and I hope you will enjoy the ride once again.

Summary

After a dinner date that would ultimately lead to something more, Jack and Sue find themselves caught up in the rapidly evolving and unfolding 'hide-and-seek' with ruthless gangsters who won't blink twice to kill in order to secure their business interests. With Vladimir Solanovich, who after escaping detention has picked up his old profession, as the main target and Dutch crooked businessman Aalbers closely second in an international group of diamond smugglers looking to expand business in Washington DC and elsewhere.

After initial successes of tracking down shipments and accomplices, where they find out that the group is smuggling more than just gems, the momentum slowly changes from the Hunter to being the Hunted.

Snitches end up dead, hurt and even the team itself isn't safe after several attempts on their lives that leave Sue in doubt whether she capable of doing what she's doing. It seems that for every step they take, the gang's always one step ahead.

Amidst all, the up until then smouldering attraction between Sue and Jack has finally blossomed into a relationship where passion, love, understanding and acceptance are the epitome of things to come.

It also means that things will never be the same again after their admittance of their mutual love and future together. The news that Sue has decided to leave the team, has rocked the core of the well functioning, closely knit group. But they are not ready to let her go, or Jack should he decide to go instead. Especially not after the latest attempt to wipe them both out, and forcing them to quit being actively involved and take refuge.

With the violence coming closer, up to their doorsteps, and the knowledge that separating work from their personal lives is something that is becoming something that rapidly spins out of their control, the team fights back to tackle and catch the gangsters and bring back the ones they miss in their midst safely.

Will they be able to? Or is it impossible to have both?

Last Chapter, Part I

Inside the Bullpen, the other team members hugged them, letting go their anxieties too. Garrett came in. 'That was a formidable piece of work, Hudson,' he said. 'Thanks.' He looked at Sue. 'How are you, Sue?'

'I'm fine, sir.' She smiled a weak smile.

Garrett nodded thoughtfully as he sat on the corner of a desk. 'We've struck a nerve. But they've gone too far. Any attempt to hurt agents is inexcusable but this has defied any sense. As of now, this team has reinforcements; I've doubled manpower to get this case steered to where we want to take it. They've been calling the shots until now, but not anymore.'

He looked at the others. 'I want every available snitch, informant, beat-cop and whatever you have prowling the streets, looking for these guys. Make them aware that any open favors or debts are to be met with finding them, or giving information. Anyone who doesn't cooperate will get the full brunt of whatever jail-time they should've gotten. I want this Rakeem Abdul here by the end of this night. Arrest-warrants have been made for him and Obanyon. Right now, two teams are going to join Bobby and Myles. One to make those two attackers of Nico squeal, and one to take down Louie Gaines.'

He looked at Sue and Jack. 'The two of you ain't going nowhere without bodyguards. You're going to be living in a safehouse until we got them all.'

'But we can still work on the case, right?' said Jack. Garrett pursed his lips. 'You will. But the same set of rules applies to that too: no move unless authorized by me.' He paused to look round at his gathered team. 'Any questions? Let's bring them in.' There was a great deal of movement as people scurried away, before Garrett turned to Jack and Sue. 'Good, Jack, what can you tell us about the attackers?'

'Not much. Three of them, in black, wearing balaclavas, automatic weapons, AK47 and AR-15. The car a late 2004 Mercedes G500 SUV, metallic gray. No plates. Probably already scrapped in some scrap-yard. Came out of K Street. Where they went to, I don't know. I had other priorities.'

Garrett nodded. 'SOG said they drove off over New York Ave.'

'How bad are they hit, sir?' said Sue. 'They were hit by a missile?'

He nodded. 'The car took various hits from the gunfire, but they were safe because of the distance and the armor. But one of the attackers launched a Russian anti-tank missile to wipe them out. They got out before he could aim, and the blast knocked them down. However, two of them were hit by bullets from the other gunman. Luckily they'll survive.'

'What about all those people around, it was rush-hour,' said Sue.

'Unfortunately, one man was killed on the spot by the gunfire. And the Fire Department found someone in a burned-out wreckage. Five persons were critically injured because of either bullets or the blast, they were caught in the blaze ensuing the detonation or hit by shrapnel. ERT says they've moved and treated two dozen of people with cuts and wound by glass up till now. They're expecting more, and fear for two of those five critically injured.'

Sue shook her head, in disbelief and shock. 'So many innocent people...just because they were after us...'

'I know it's nasty, but we'll get them,' said Garrett. 'Right now I want to make sure you get to the safe-house ASAP. They've got things ready for you. Anything you want, you can have. Sue; I've had the tech-guys installing TTY/VCO and CapTel phones, if you need anything else we haven't thought about, let me know and it will be done right away.'

'Thank you, I will.'

'Any time you want to talk, about anything, call. I'm available 24/7 until this is over.' He patted Jack on his shoulder and gave Sue a hug. 'I will see you two, tomorrow.'

After Garrett left, she looked at Jack. 'Where're we going?'

He shrugged. 'I don't know, a safe house is, well, the safest if no one knows where it is.'

'But over time working here, you know a couple.'

'I know a few, yes, but there will be dozens more I don't know about…..'

She sighed, sat down on the edge of her desk and ran a hand through her hair. 'I feel hunted, scared and unsure. I mean….'

'I know', said Jack. She looked at him. 'You do? I don't think you feel the same….'

'Hey, I was in that car too, remember?'

She frowned. 'What? No, no that's not what I mean, I mean, you have had military experience, you…..' she hesitated, 'you….can hear those kind of things…..'

He nodded sympathetically, but did not say anything.

'I never….' she was obviously struggling to find the right words. She closed her eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. Jack didn't know whether he would say anything to help her, with the chance it might interrupt her train of thoughts, so he chose not to say anything.

He waited.

'I don't know how to say it…' She stared off in the distance past him, before she focused on him again. 'You know how to act, to respond, to do something….whereas I don't know what to do at all, just when Koné got shot…..I had no clue what was happening.'

"NOW-NIGHT YOU THINK SAME?" he replied. She nodded. "I never felt I 'missed' something. So I always answer 'No' whenever people ask: 'Don't you miss hearing things, music or voices?' How can I miss something I never have known?"

He rubbed his chin, pondering. "I sense a 'but' coming" She smiled a thin smile. "RIGHT YOU. NOW-NIGHT ME THINK 'IF' HEARING ME, HAPPEN WHAT FINISH?"

"You still would have raced off in a car with me", he joked a little, "only difference would have been the sound making it more scarier."

She shook her head. 'That's what I was afraid of…' He frowned. 'Why would you be afraid of something hypothetical?'

'Hype…what?' He held his right 'H' hand, palm facing down, fingers towards his head, from the right side of his head forward in a double arc. "HYPOTHESIS"

'Uh-huh, but no.' He lifted his brows, confused. 'No, what?'

'You don't understand…..'

'I try to, but you're not giving me much to go on…'

'It's something what makes me, me and you, you.'

'You're getting more confusing with every minute,' he said, jokingly. But his brows were still knitted, giving him a forbidding expression to Sue. She felt a sharp tinge of regret, pain and disappointment. She shied her eyes away. 'You know, what? Forget I ever brought it up…'

As she got up, she didn't look at him and walked away to the hall, leaving behind a stunned and perplexed Jack. He walked after her, wondering what had happened to make her react this way.

He caught up with her when they were at the car that would bring them to the safehouse. He took her arm, a little demanding. 'Let me go, Jack,' she said without even turning. So he did. She got in the car and so did he. It felt awkward to sit next to her, not daring to say or sign anything, wondering what it was he said that made her react this way. Two other agents got in too, the passenger side man kept his automatic weapon on his lap as the car drove off. One car went ahead, and another three drove after them, each, after time went separate ways as decoys.