Chapter 3

Elise waited in the shadows behind several wooden crates. She was hoping that tonight, she'd finally get the answers she had been seeking for the past three days. She and Zoe had taken on a client who believed that he had been ripped off when he purchased a priceless Chinese vase. Unfortunately, their client's purchase had technically been illegal so he was unable to go to the police with his suspicions. He had employed them to find out if the seller was indeed selling fakes and to collect evidence that could be anonymously sent to the police. Elise personally felt that their employer was hoping to exact a bit more of a direct form of revenge on the seller. But when she had shared her suspicions with Zoe, she was told that it was none of their business what their employer intended to do with the information they provided him with. As a former member of law enforcement, that didn't sit too well with Elise. It made her a bit disappointed in herself and frankly angry that she had come to this point. She shook her head and brought her mind back to the present. 'Time enough to think on this later', she thought.

Just then a door crashed open across from her and she saw a man with a very large belly shuffle into the warehouse. "Fookin' idiot!" He grumbled. "Gives me the shit job and sits there all high and mighty waiting for the damn boss man to tell us where to deliver all this shit!" The man walked over to several boxes and picked one up, depositing it inside a parked van several yards away. "God damned crap is heavy and he sits there, making me do all the work… Fookin prick! Pretending he had to 'sort through the damn papers'! Can't believe how much money those idiots are shelling out for this fake shit and all cause it comes with the damn paperwork. Hell I could fake those papers myself and that skinny-ass idiot could be doin this god damned work!" The man kept up a running commentary with himself in between grunts as he heaved the boxes upon his shoulders and loaded up the van.

Elise had heard enough. If she could get a hold of one of those boxes and the faked paperwork that went along with it, she would have enough evidence to satisfy the police and their client. She crept out of her hiding place behind the crates and stealthily approached the man while his back was turned. She wanted to make this silent so as not to draw the partner's attention and so withdrew a knife from the sheath around her leg. When she was seconds away from having the knife at the man's throat, he turned unexpectedly and saw her. Damn! She automatically dropped into a crouch and started looking for a way to corner him and force him to do what she wanted.

"What the hell?" He shouted. "Who the hell are you? Doesn't fookin matter, you're dead anyway." He reached out to grab her by her hair but missed as she stepped aside and raked him with her knife.

"Bitch! Now you're really gonna be sorry!" He yelled as he moved in closer once more, this time trying to kick her legs out from under her.

Elise jumped over his leg and leaned in and sliced his leg and belly with her knife. Blood droplets flew all over her as he grunted and swung wildly at her. She knew she had to end this soon. He was much stronger than her and would eventually win if she didn't get the upper hand and soon. She hoped that by showing that she was willing to use her knife, she could convince him to surrender. Before she could react, he grabbed for the arm of her knife hand. He brought her up close to his belly by twisting her arm behind her back. She went limp for a second and then slumped over letting her body weight draw him off balance. Once again her knife sliced into him as she disengaged and moved to a safe distance. She was about to tell him to give up when the back of her head exploded in pain and everything went black.

"God damn it Ted! I leave you alone for five minutes and look what happens! Look at you! You're covered in blood and who the hell is this?" A tall, skinny man yelled.

"Don't… have…no…clue." Ted panted, trying to catch his breath. "God, damned…..bitch just…shows….up outta nowhere!" He aimed a kick in her direction and was pleased to feel it connect. He couldn't believe what that freakin bitch had done to him with her knife!

"Well the boss ain't gonna be happy with this. We better figure out a way to get rid of her and fast. Boss was really hot about us leaving as soon as the van is loaded."

"What the hell are we gonna do with her?" Ted asked.

"Well, let's load her up in one of these boxes here and leave it in the van. Boss says this shit is going down to some buyers in Mexico. We'll just make sure this box falls off the boat if you know what I mean. I gotta a friend who works on the cargo ship. He can take care of this…bastard owes me one anyway."

"Ok, whatever you say Jeff." Ted picked the woman up and walked over to a long crate and dropped her beside it. He picked up a crowbar and pried open the lid. He was just about to deposit the bitch inside when Jeff yelled at him to stop.

"Look, her clothes are covered in your blood. If something happens and she is found before my friend can drop her off the boat, the cops can trace her back to us. We gotta dispose of her clothes and before you put her in there."

"Damn, I didn't think of that! Alright. Let's burn 'em in that trash barrel. Don't want no cops to throw us back in. No fookin way!" Ted reached down and ripped the shirt off the woman and then unbuttoned her pants and jerked them down and off.

"Here, I'll take those." Jeff said. "You get her in that box and into the van."

A half-hour later, Jeff and Ted drove off in their car with the heat blasting. They had left the van sitting out on the loading dock as their boss had originally instructed. The woman's clothes had been burned and she was nailed into a crate that had been loaded into the back of the van. Neither man cared that it was snowing and the temperatures were only in the mid-teens.

Reese turned up his coat collar as he waited outside the art gallery. Ms. Spencer was due out at any moment according to what she told her boss. Reese had blue jacked her phone two days ago when her number had come up. From what he and Finch had been able to discover, Kim Spencer worked for a very rich man named Jonathan Fisher. Mr. Fisher was a major buyer and seller of antiquities. However, as Ms. Spencer had recently discovered, not all of the shipments were being accurately documented. Apparently she'd begun questioning the contents of several of the manifests that came with the shipped items. The weights and descriptions just didn't match up.

Ms. Spencer had immediately brought this fact to the attention of her boss.

"Ms. Spencer, this is incredible work! I knew I hired the right person for the job!" He told her. "I'll look into this immediately."

That was a week ago according to the security recordings Finch had been able to hack into and as far as Reese could tell, Jonathan Fisher had not looked into anything. It COULD be that the man was very busy….but Reese's suspicious nature doubted that was the reason. If, as he suspected, Fisher knew about the incorrect manifests, the last thing he would want to do would be to draw attention to them. In fact, he might go to great lengths to conceal the fact that he was smuggling something into the country. Lengths that included disposing of anyone asking too many questions.

Fisher had just called Ms. Spencer into his office. Reese was listening as Fisher asked her to attend the gala charity affair at his home two nights from now. Pieces of his collection were to be auctioned off for charity.

"In the meantime, would you do me a huge favor?" He asked. "I have a shipment that is bound for a buyer in Mexico but the men who were to deliver it to the ship were fired today for stealing. I'm afraid it's left me a bit short handed. Could you possibly take it to the ship for me? Naturally I can't trust just anyone with these valuable artifacts."

"Um, sure Mr. Fisher. I'll be glad to."

"Great, here are the addresses for the warehouse where the van is located and dock that they need to be delivered to. Please go there directly, I'm extremely nervous about leaving such a valuable shipment unattended for too long a period."

"Yes, Sir."

Reese watched from the sidewalk as Ms. Spencer hailed a cab and gave the cabbie the address to the warehouse. He got into his own car and pulled out into traffic whilst simultaneously calling Carter.

"Carter, I'm on a case and I believe that someone I'm watching is heading into a trap. I need you to run interference until I can check the situation out."

"Ok, what do you need me to do?" She asked. It had been awhile since John had directly involved her with his cases. Ever since Taylor's abduction, he seemed to prefer calling her in when the case was about to conclude other than when he called needing information that Finch was unable to provide. Frankly while she missed the action that she saw when working with him, she appreciated his concern for her and Taylor's welfare. She had to walk a fine line between helping him, keeping Snow, Donnelly and Fusco in the dark, all while doing her regular job as a homicide detective. Therefore, she knew John wouldn't call her in unless he had no choice. She agreed to intercept the woman, Ms. Spencer, and keep her busy until she heard from John that it was safe for the woman to continue on to the warehouse.

Reese raced to the warehouse and was not surprised to find the area deserted. The only thing that marred the recently fallen snow were the tire tracks from one vehicle. He parked behind an adjacent building and slowly approached the parked car that had made the tracks. There were two men inside but neither seemed concerned about what was behind them so he was able to approach unseen. He opened the passenger's door and knocked out the man sitting there. As he had hoped, the driver saw what happened to his partner and he drove off before Reese had a chance to do more than smile evilly at him. Reese would have preferred to take both men out or at least to question them as to who had hired them, but he knew time was of the essence. He had to be content with having them out of his hair while he searched the warehouse for any more hidden ambushes.

As Reese approached the van, he wondered briefly if there was a bomb inside. It could be that those men were there waiting for Ms. Spencer to drive off in the van before detonating the device. 'Oh well, if that IS the case,' he thought, 'at least the men AND the trigger were no long gone. I'll just have Carter call in the bomb squad if I find anything'. He cautiously approached the van and quickly picked the lock on the back door. The inside was piled high with wooden crates. Very carefully, he slid the largest one down onto the concrete loading dock. Using a nearby pipe, he pried off the lid and stared down in disbelief at what he saw.

Lying in the box, with her hands tied was an unmoving, half naked Elise. Her lips and skin had a bluish tint to them and even as he reached out to touch her, he heard himself praying that she was alive. Her stillness scared him beyond all reason. 'No! Not again!' He thought. 'Please, I can't take it again if she's dead!'

Elise felt cold to the touch but when picked her up from the box, he saw no signs of blood pooling in her back or the backs of her legs that would indicate she was dead. He wrapped his arms around her and ran with her to his car. He lay her down on the backseat and reached over and cranked the heat up to full blast. He straddled her as best he could and started to rub her limbs and torso in an attempt to warm her up. For several minutes he got no response. It pulled at his heart to see her this way. He repeatedly chaffed his hands up and down her body and arms, bothered more than he could explain, as he saw his rough hands leaving marks on her smooth skin. Still, it was a good sign that her blood was circulating enough to make her skin turn from deathly white to a healthy pink. A minute later her eyes fluttered a little under her eyelids and she let out a low moan.

"Yes, Elise, that's right! Come back to me! Come on!" He began to rub her stomach and chest even more vigorously, the force of the friction moving them both back and forth on the seat. It was at that exact moment that Carter opened the car door and got in the front seat.

"John! What the hell are you doing to that woman?" She drew her service weapon and pointed it at him. "So help me God if you don't get off her now, I'm going to shoot you myself and save Snow the trouble!"

"Carter, you don't understand! I'm…"

She interrupted Reese before he could finish. "I understand perfectly, you're on top of an unconscious, almost completely naked woman in the back seat of your car. Oh, I understand perfectly Mr. John fucking Reese!"

Whatever Reese was about to say, was halted when they both heard a moan followed by a weak, "John? Why are you on top of me? What's going on?"

"YOU DRUGGED HER, YOU JERK?" Carter screamed at him and pointed her pistol directly at his head.

"Wait! No, don't hurt him!" Elise struggled weakly. "Get off me John, please."

Reese moved to comply despite the fact that Carter was pointing her gun at him. He supposed that he couldn't blame her for jumping to the wrong conclusions, but it hurt him a little that she would have such little trust in him. And that she would think he would be capable of raping a woman showed just how much Snow and Donnelly had gotten to her and created doubts in her mind.

"Reese, why am I here in your car?" Elise's brain function and speech were improving. "The last thing I remember was fighting with Ted." She looked down at herself and realized why she was feeling so cold. She was dressed only in her bra and panties! "What the hell happened to my clothes?" She gasped, wrapping her arms around her body and trying to cover up her nakedness. She couldn't believe that she was sitting here, almost fully undressed, in front of HIM! Why the heck did she keep finding herself in these terrible situations and always with HIM?

"Here take my coat." The woman in the front seat offered and started removing her jacket.

Reese frowned at the fact that Carter was quicker than he in offering Elise something to cover up with. "No Carter, you need it. She can have mine." He removed his driving coat, jacket and started to pull his white shirt over his head when both women asked 'what the heck was he doing?'

"She needs layers. She could still die of hypothermia if her body temperature drops once more." He answered by way of explanation. A minute later he was sitting beside Elise, wearing nothing on his upper body. Two sets of eyes were staring at him, one looked at his scars and looked away, embarrassed, but the other sat there staring at his chest and abdomen with a sad, unexplained look. He quickly shrugged his suit jacket back on to cover as much of his chest as possible.

Elise saw the many gunshot wounds and scars that marked John's body and for a minute, she felt like crying. To see such a perfect body, marred by so many painful episodes, was heartbreaking. Reese handed her his shirt and she tried to slip it on but her arms and hands just wouldn't do what she told them to. Reese had to help her put it over her head. As he did, his hands guided it downwards, sometimes brushing against her body. Every place he touched, her skin suddenly felt as if it was on fire. She liked the feeling of his hands on her and that scared her. A LOT. She shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

Reese pulled his shirt down onto Elise since it appeared that she couldn't do it herself. He found his hands had a mind of their own as they gently brushed up against her, here and there. Not for the first time did he find himself admiring her body. He didn't realize it, but his eyes took on an intense look as he draped his driving coat over her shoulders. For a split second he wondered what she would do if he left his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close. He could just imagine what it would feel like to kiss those…

Carter spoke and it broke the spell between them. "So John, who IS this woman and why is she here?"

Both Reese and Carter looked at Elise. "I was investigating an antiquities dealer who sold my client a fake artifact when I was jumped by two of his men." Elise shrugged. It was a very simplified version of the truth but the truth none the less.

"So you're a private detective?" Carter asked her.

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. I'm sorry, but I don't know you….." Elise asked as politely but as firmly as her chattering teeth allowed.

"I'm Detective Carter, NYPD. John called me, said there was a woman about to walk into an ambush here." She turned to John. "I'm assuming you neutralized the threat?"

"For were a pair of hitmen here waiting for her. Why isn't she with you by the way? I thought I was rather clear that you were to remain with Ms. Spencer until I called and told you it was safe."

Elise hid a smile when she heard Reese take 'that tone' with Detective Carter. Apparently she wasn't the only one that Reese liked to try and control. But in her case, Elise was determined it wouldn't get passed the try stage.

"I did my best to keep her with me Reese but without a reason to charge her…." Carter shrugged. "She drove away about three minutes ago in a van."

"I need you to follow her Carter, she is going directly to the docks at this address." Reese handed her a piece of paper. "Just make sure nothing happens to her when she gets there."

"Alright. You better be in touch on this one, Reese. And try and make that BEFORE there are any bodies to clean up." Reese flashed Carter a smirk and she couldn't help but smile back as she exited the car.

Reese waited until Carter had left before he turned to Elise. "Ok, what really happened in there?"

"I told you, I was doing some investigating for a client and just as I found the evidence I needed, I was jumped by a guy from behind. I have no idea how I ended up here in your car though." Elise waited for Reese to explain.

Rather than take the hint, that she wanted answers though, he began to question her sharply. "So, you went into a place like that alone? Without anyone to watch your back?"

"Would YOU have gone in by yourself?" She turned the question back on him. He was silent. "I thought so." She smiled tightly. She had made her point.

"You are missing the point, Elise." Reese unconsciously mirrored her thoughts. He dragged a hand through his hair. "You should have called me. I would have gone in with you. Instead, I bet you went charging in, just like you did on the last case. You know you can trust me."

Do I know that? She thought to herself with a bit of bitterness. I promised myself I'd never rely on anyone else. "I'm a big girl Reese." Elise was starting to get a little angry at his lack of confidence in her abilities. "I can take care of myself!"

"Oh? And how did that work out for you earlier?" Reese asked a bit sarcastically. He found it so irksome that Elise wouldn't even admit that she sometimes needed help. She was such a stubborn, obstinate woman!

Elise flushed, she wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she was reminded that he had seen her half-naked or the fact that she was, so far, unsuccessful in retrieving the necessary evidence for her client. Either way, Reese had succeeded in getting under her skin. They both sat there, staring at each other angrily. If she could have, she would have taken his shirt and coat off, flung it in his face and exited the vehicle. Unfortunately, she did not have that option. But she did have another way to shut him up.

"If you're done berating me, I think I'll go find that evidence I need. I'll return your clothes to you tomorrow." She reached for the door handle but he was quicker in reaching over and locking the door.

"Are you kidding me Elise? You can't go out in that cold wearing only my shirt and a coat. You'll freeze to death in an instant and I'll have to try and bring you around again!" Reese dropped his voice to a low, intense whisper, so that she knew he was serious. Unsurprisingly, she didn't take the hint.

"Don't you dare try and tell me what I can and can't do Reese! I'm going to do my job and you can't do anything about it!"

For a brief second, Elise thought she saw his eyes burn brightly but then he was back to his normal impassive self so quickly, she thought she must have imagined it. She was taken aback at his next words.

"If I help you, will you do as I ask?"

His sudden about face made her suspicious but she could tell nothing from his expression. He was very good at hiding his emotions.

"Ok…." Elise agreed reluctantly.

Good. Reese jumped out of the car fast before she could change her mind. He knew she wasn't going to like this, a fact that made him smile a little with satisfaction and a bit of anticipation. He was used to getting his way, best that she learn that now. As he already had the car running to provide heat, it was extremely easy to open the front door, slide in and start the car moving all before Elise had a chance to react.

"Reese! What the hell are you doing? You just agreed to help me!" Elise yelled.

"I AM helping you. I'm helping to make sure you don't get sick or lose any fingers or toes. You wouldn't be any help to your client if that happened." He looked at her in the rear-view mirror and a small part of him enjoyed the fire he saw in her eyes.

"But what about my evidence?" Elise couldn't believe she fell for his shenanigan. Why did fate hate her so much to keep throwing John Reese in her way everywhere she turned?

"I'll go check out the warehouse, once I've dropped you off at your place. What's your address?"

"I wish I had let that guy shoot you." She grumbled and then remained silent. She didn't trust ANYONE with that information, especially not Mr.I'm-going-to-help-you up there.

"Well, I for one am glad you didn't." He smiled cockily at her in the mirror. "So, not gonna tell me where you live?" She remained silent in the backseat. "Ok, we'll just go to my place then."

The rest of the trip was made in silence, Elise fuming in the backseat and Reese up front enjoying watching the expressions flit across her face and her cheeks reddening with anger. No doubt he was dying a thousand deaths in her mind. Damn but he loved having the upper hand here with her!

They arrived at his loft and Reese held the door for her as she got out of the car and stomped into the building. When they entered his apartment, Elise couldn't help but gasp. The place was very large and open. It was bright and airy, nothing like the dungeon she had pictured him living in in her mind.

"You like the place? I do too. Finch gave it to me for my birthday recently. Alright, let me see what I can find here." He walked away into another room and she was drawn to the large windows that looked down over a park.

He was gone so long, she started to wonder what kind of clothes he was looking for. She frowned, no doubt he had brought many a woman here. That thought ushered in another and another all about how many women he had seduced with those startlingly blue eyes and those sexy, long-fingered hands. 'Well she was NOT jealous she told herself and she was certainly not going to be another notch on his bed-post!' She thought angrily. 'Not that he's made any passes at me.' That thought made her even more angry. Didn't he find her attractive? Oh! That man had her all twisted around in knots and she hated it!

Reese came in at that point, "Found it, I knew it was here somewhere." He produced a black and white patterned dress and handed it to her. Finch had purchased it for Carter once she had become part of the team. He had clothes for her stashed at every safe house along with Reese's apartment and the library, on the off chance that Carter would need a change of clothes at some point.

Elise inwardly groaned. 'A dress? He wanted her to wear some other woman's dress?'

"Are you kidding me Reese? You want me to wear one of your conquests' dresses?" She asked furiously.

Reese gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean conquests? And the name is JOHN. J-O-H-N. When will you remember that?" He asked a little perturbed that she never called him by his first name despite the fact that he had asked her to repeatedly. He wasn't quite sure why it mattered to him, but it did.

"UGH!" Elise said throwing up her hands in disgust. She was just going to get dressed and get home as soon as possible to change and go back out to the warehouse. Maybe. "Where is your bathroom?" When he pointed down the hall to the door on her left, she stalked quickly off and shut the door, locking it behind her.

She emerged all of 5 minutes later. "I hung your clothes on the towel rack in there. Thanks for everything." She finished quickly, in a hurry to get home and change.

Reese eyed her appreciatively. "Wow Elise! You look…."

"Save it John!" And she walked out, slamming the door, before he could finish what he had been about to say. As she ran down the stairs though, she couldn't help the small smile that played on her lips. So he did find her attractive! But why did that matter to her? She pondered that thought the whole way home…..

…Reese couldn't help but smile. She had looked damn hot in that dress! She filled it out oh so well, in all the right places. He gathered up some new clothes and then went to fulfill his promise to her to check out the warehouse.