As usual, if you recognize it, I don't own it!

The door to the room slammed shut with a loud metallic clang. Finch managed to keep from jumping, but he never did like that sound; it was the sound of hopelessness. Finch settled down in one of the two chairs in the room to wait. He knew from previous experience that it would only be a few minutes before his foe arrived.

Finch could not help but wish Elias had chosen a different path in life. The man was a brilliant tactician and a born leader. Had he entered the Armed Forces he could have been the next Alexander. Had he entered legitimate business, he could have made Donald Trump look like a chump. But Elias had chosen to follow his father into the mob in order to exact revenge. Finch was somewhat sad for what the world had lost with that decision. But Elias was too damaged by the cold blooded murder of his mother, by his father, to take any other path.

Finch glanced up as the door on the opposite wall clanged open and Elias entered, carrying his chess set, followed by the usual two guards. As usual, Elias dismissed them casually, and they left the room as obediently as Bear. This small show of power always bothered Finch a little and he was pretty sure that was why Elias did it; to show Finch that even in prison Elias was the Boss. Elias lived for power; his ultimate goal in just about all his dealings with any other human being was to gain power over them, and Finch was no exception.

Elias smiled in delight at seeing Finch. Their weekly chess sessions were about his only distractions from the daily grind of prison life and running his various businesses. Finch suspected that these sessions had become far too important to Elias, and he could use that to his advantage someday.

"Ah Crane, what a pleasure to see you again. Are you well? How is the pain today?" Elias cheerfully inquired.

"Elias," Finch nodded his head. "I am doing well, the pain is not bad today, since it's warm and dry."

"Good, then you should be in great shape for our game!" Elias began setting up the board. "I believe it is your week to be white."

"Yes, I believe you are right."

Elias finished setting up the board and turned it so that the white side was in front of Finch. Finch moved a pawn and the game was on.

Elias and Finch kept up a certain amount of small talk. They chatted about the mayor's new anti-crime initiative, apparently the idea of mayoral aide Alonzo Quinn. Elias dismissed it as "window dressing" and Finch was forced to agree. They discussed Maxine Angelis's recent front page story, and it was obvious that Elias didn't think much of the plucky reporter.

"Everyone knew that Christopher Zambrano wasn't in the mob," he sniffed. "He hated his old man almost as much as I hated mine. Angelis was fed a whopper of a lie, and the bimbo fell for it. She shouldn't have, if she is half as smart as she is supposed to be. Mark my words, Crane, whoever planted that story is not done, not finished, not by a long shot. They are going to cause one or both of us considerable trouble in the near future."

Several moves into the game, the question that Finch was waiting for finally came. "How is John?" Elias asked. Finch did not lift his eyes from the board, Elias always asked about John at some point during his visits. John fascinated Elias, Elias simply could not understand the former operative. Elias was grateful to John for saving his life and somewhat in awe of John's skills, but John puzzled him. John had the skills to obtain just about all the power and money anyone could desire, and yet John didn't use his skills for that, which Elias found perplexing. Elias did not understand anyone who was willing to make sacrifices for complete strangers. John was full of love and caring for the numbers, while Elias had no comprehension of either emotion.

John also scared Elias a little, John was the wild card, the one factor that could not be predicted in all of Elias's careful and meticulous planning. When Elias had kidnapped Carter's son, he certainly had not counted on John being willing to risk his neck for a boy he didn't even know, in addition to having the skills to take down several of Elias's best men. Elias certainly would not have done it, he had never risked his own neck for anyone, and the fact that John did it on a daily basis confounded him. A confused Elias was a scared Elias.

"Mr. Reese is fine. Right now there seems to be another threat to Detective Carter, so he is currently occupied investigating that." Finch looked sternly at Elias. "You did not have anything to do with that, did you?"

Elias shook his head. "You know better than that, Crane. I do not mess with John lightly, and that includes going after his lady love. There is no damage Carter can do to my organization that makes it worth incurring John's wrath. It did not go well for me last time." Elias waved his hand indicating his present address.

Finch nodded. "I didn't think you would, but Mr. Reese wanted me to ask." Finch moved his rook. "I feel sorry for who did put the hit out. Mr. Reese can be quite ruthless, as you well know." Elias twitched, just the tiniest bit at that, but Finch pretended not to see. He wanted to keep Elias somewhat scared of John.

"No one in my organization has heard anything," Elias offered. "They would have told me if they had, they know I like to keep informed of everything related to John."

Finch raised an eyebrow. "Even your people don't know who put out the hit? That's unusual."

Elias shrugged. "That just means that it's not a Mafia hit, or from the Russians. I would look at the South American drug cartels and gun runners if I were you. Though I have to wonder who would be crazy enough to go after the good Detective. I think by now everyone knows that going after her means you will be fighting The Man In A Suit. Most of us would think twice before we would do that. There would have to be a very big pay-off involved before we would challenge John, and I just don't see how killing a police woman would pay big enough to make it worth the trouble. Someone would have to want her dead very, very badly. I would guess this is personal for whoever put out the hit."

Finch looked at Elias. "I'm sure that Mr. Reese appreciates your help. Checkmate."

Inside, Finch was very worried. Elias's analysis made sense, and Finch knew Elias well enough to know that he was rarely wrong when it came to the city's criminal element. Mr. Reese's beloved detective was in the crosshairs of someone very vicious and very reckless.