Disclaimer: I do not own Person of Interest or its characters.

A/N: Hi everyone. I'm sorry it has taken so long to update this story. I just couldn't figure out where I wanted to go with it. I hope updates will be more frequent. This is a short one but the next chapter is started. And just a friendly reminder, my character Iris has nothing to do with the one on the show. I named her before the show's Iris was introduced.

Chapter 5

Panting, Gina pressed her body against the side of the brick wall in an alleyway leading to a laundry mat. She dumped her black wig in a dumpster and took several deep breaths trying to quell her thumping heart. Cautiously, she glanced around and sighed in relief that she managed to elude the petite brunette following her.

Gina reached into her jacket pocket and retrieved her burner phone. As her hand shook, she dialed a familiar number. He answered on the first ring. "I thought I told you never to call this number. I call you," he barked into the phone.

"Things went south. Detective Carter has help and now she has Laskey's girlfriend."

"What kind of help? Her bumbling partner, Lionel Fusco?" the man questioned.

"No, the Man in the Suit is back and now he has a brunette working with him."

"Damn it. If only Simmons could have gotten one thing right, we wouldn't have him to put a wrench in this operation."

Gina spoke in a low growl. "I won't have you speak ill of him."

Laughing into the phone, he responded, "Gina, don't kid yourself. I'm the one in charge here and I'll do whatever I damn well please. You on the other hand will do what I tell you. Find the girl, Gina, and you better do it quick. Remember, if I go down so do you." Before she could respond, Gina heard a dial tone.

Carter sighed as she curled up in the oversized armchair in her living room. Frustrated, she picked up another file, flipping through it absentmindedly. Natalie was at a safe house with John, Shaw and Finch, but after the incident at the coffee shop, she clammed up. All they had managed to discover was that Laskey had stolen a flash drive from Simmons when he was still entrenched in HR as an insurance policy to protect himself and Natalie. If Natalie knew what was on the flash drive and where it was, she wasn't cracking. That girl had been betrayed at every turn in her life and she trusted no one. Knowing that the likelihood of getting anywhere with Natalie tonight was slim, Joss went home. She still wasn't feeling one hundred percent and so she did not put up a strenuous protest when Finch suggested she go get some rest.

In annoyance, she flung the remaining files across the living room, scattering papers on her wood floor. Someone was calling the shots. It had to be someone who was high up in HR that they still hadn't apprehended, but all of the out of custody players she identified were low level. None of them had enough connections or wherewithal to inspire or scare the remnants of HR to their bidding.

Carter's eyes darted as she heard a key rattle in her door. A soaking wet John slipped through the door, a paper sack in his hand. "I guess the weatherman got it wrong again. It's raining cats and dogs out there. I thought the saying was 'April showers bring May flowers.' When are the showers going to end?"

Carter gave a quiet laugh as she took the white paper sack from John's hands. "What's this?" she asked smiling.

"Don't pretend you don't know. I suspected you'd still be awake and probably craving chocolate gelato right about now." Her eyes lit up as she gave him a swift peck on the lips and retreated to the kitchen to grab a spoon.

Chuckling, John bounded up the stairs to the bedroom to change out of his wet suit. A few minutes later, he was in an Army t-shirt and sweatpants, toweling off his hair as he came into the living room. Dropping the towel, he stooped to pick up the papers and files scattered on the floor. Joss crinkled her brow in concentration and stared at a document she had resting on the ottoman. She held a spoonful of gelato suspended in the air on its way to her mouth. In one swift move, John perched himself on the arm of the chair and directed the spoon into his mouth. Joss gave him a scowl as he grinned back at her. "I thought you were going to stay at the safe house with Natalie," she said as she stole the spoon back and took another bite from the carton.

"Shaw and Finch seem to have things under control. If she knows anything, we aren't getting through to her. She doesn't trust anyone. What could Laskey have stumbled on that would be this important to HR?" he said thinking aloud.

"It has to be something that leads to whomever is still pulling the strings. Their man who is still on the outside. And this reeks of Alonzo Quinn. He has been much too quiet. There is no way he is going through with this trial. He won't run the risk. He's holding something back. He hasn't even revealed to his attorneys that I'm the Jane Doe in all of the pleadings."

"I didn't get the chance to ask you, how did your meeting with the AUSA go today?" Putting down the empty carton of gelato on the end table, Joss pushed herself up from her chair. Tears welled in her eyes. With everything going on, she hadn't had time to process her meeting. Seeing the look of distress on her face, John pulled her close. "What happened?" he asked softly.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this. I'm going to have to lie under oath. At least at the grand jury, I only had to give the bare minimum of what occurred. I managed not to lie, but I'll be subject to cross-examination at the trial, John. And what's even worse, one of my classmates from law school is defending him."

"Joss, I'd never ask you to lie under oath. You do what you need to do."

Pushing back from his embrace, she looked at him fiercely. "What I need to do, John, is protect you, Finch and Shaw. And Fusco's caught up in all of this too. I just wish there was a way to do it without committing perjury."

"I'm so sorry I put you in this position."

"No," she said firmly. "You don't get to put this on yourself. I put myself in this position, John. I just wish I knew what to do."

John grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the stairs. "We aren't going to solve anything tonight. I think we could both use some sleep." Silently, she followed him up the stairs, unable to quell the feeling of unease taking root.

Finch woke with a start, lifting his head from his desk. Slowly he stood up from his chair and stretched, groaning at the soreness in his back. Sameen left about an hour ago to find food. Natalie was trying to get some sleep while he continued to search for Gina Belton. Whoever was helping her was smart. Gina hadn't left a digital footprint since returning to New York three days ago. Finch was able to find her arrival by Amtrak, but after stepping foot in the City, Belton had done a remarkable job evading the cameras. It was almost as if someone was directing her every move, so that she remained a ghost as she moved seamlessly throughout New York conducting her business, whatever that was.

Taking off his glasses, Finch rubbed his eyes before perching the wire rims securely back onto his nose. Everything was silent except for the pitter-patter of rain falling, making the streets glisten in the moonlight as he looked through the blinds. Quietly he walked into the living area, peaking into the room and expecting to find Natalie fast asleep on the couch. However, all Finch found was a neatly folded light blue afghan on the couch, and no Natalie.

"Ms. Jacobsen?" Finch called as he made his way through the apartment. Finch peered into each room, finding them empty. "Oh dear. This is not good."

John moaned and rolled out of bed, reaching for his gun when he heard the banging on Carter's door. He quickly padded down the stairs, telling Carter to stay put. After looking through the peephole, he swung the door open. "What the hell, Shaw? Don't you know how to use a phone?"

Pushing her way into the brownstone, Shaw's wet boots squeaked on the wood floor. "I was in the neighborhood and we have a problem." John glared waiting for her to continue. "Our number went AWOL."

"What?" Carter called as she came down the steps, raking her fingers through her mussed hair.

"Natalie Jacobsen has disappeared. She left the safe house and she didn't go home," Shaw explained.

"What is she up to?" John questioned, looking at both women with concern on his face.

"Whatever it is, she's out there alone with a target on her back," Joss responded. "Let's hope we can find her before HR does."