Disclaimer: I don't own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.

~ rats in a maze ~

Winston's lawyer had so waited for this telephone call. He had known it would come eventually – Allyson Russo would have never taken the risk of passing on protected information regarding the judge etc. if she hadn't been firmly convinced that his client was innocent.

Nevertheless waiting for this call had been hard. Patience wasn't really his thing.

Two long weeks, it had taken the crime lab two long weeks to get to the samples from Ethan Riker's apartment and wounds. Talk about municipal money tightness… The ban on overtime had set back hundreds of cases, it was better not to ponder too much how many innocents like his client were anxiously waiting in prison for the lab to get to their case.

The test results were unambiguous. None of the DNA traces at the scene of the crime matched with Laverne Winston's. His story was true, he didn't do it. Ah, that smelt like a field day. He had political ambitions and took advantage of every opportunity to practice polemics…

"It is unbelievable, UNBELIEVABLE, that a former member of the police force, a man who put his life on the line everyday for twenty years to make this city a little safer, had to spend TWO WEEKS in custody because an over-zealous ADA wanted to have his moment in the sun!", the lawyer barked at the DA.

… … …

"You know how this works, Larry. Tell me what I want to know and you can walk." Guerrero carefully arranged a couple of tools on his workbench, making sure Larry had a good view of every single item he chose.

"I really don't understand. Did I somehow get in your way? I swear I didn't mean to!" Larry kept pulling at his cuffs, but of course it was useless. They were holding just as well as the screws which kept the chair firmly fastened to the middle of the room.

"Two weeks ago a woman was kidnapped. Michele Winston. Head nurse at St. Francis. Taken in the middle of the day, in front of a fully occupied restaurant. Not many crews in California could have pulled that off without a single trace." Guerrero turned on his electric saw, let it run for a moment to feed Larry's imagination, turned it off again.

"Now, I know your boys were busy with that money transporter thing in LA, but I'm pretty sure, whoever wanted that kidnapping went to you first, asking for your services. Who wanted to hire you?"

"Seriously, Guerrero, I can't…" Again, Larry pulled at his cuffs, frantically this time.

Guerrero put on rubber gloves and began setting up his car battery equipment.

… … …

"Laverne Winston is an honorable man." The lawyer was on a roll, knowing that the DA had no other choice but to wait, listen and sit out his rant. Mrs. Pucci had spent the past two weeks causing him and his office as much trouble as possible. Pretty much everyone of rank and name except the president of the US himself had called, making threats ranging from budget cuts to transfer for disciplinary reasons, should the evidence not hold and the Winston case blow up in his face. Lacking other leads, the DA had tried to make the lab work faster, but the lab people were on some kind of strike, because of the ban on overtime… it was all a mess….

"Mr. Winston would never even maintain contact with criminals, much less commit crimes himself. Both his deeds and his socioenvironment, as can be seen from Mrs. Pucci's continuous support, are completely integer. All those accusations that your office made in the press, regarding my client's involvement in residual incidents like the shootout at that sports bar three years ago that led to the arrest of Henry Claypool were made up out of nothing but thin air!"

The DA on the other end of the line started doodling a hangman, imagining it was soon to be former ADA Harris.

… … …

Larry bent over and threw up. Guerrero couldn't help but think that putting the drain into the floor while creating his home office had definitely been worth the money. All he needed to do afterwards was turn on the water hose, distribute a bit of bleach and all potential trace material was taken care of.

"It's up to you, Larry. I've got all night…" Guerrero gave him another electric shock. Larry's whole body convulsed, he made a gurgling noise, shuddered and tried to throw up again, but his stomach was already empty.

"They'd kill me…", he gasped.

"And what exactly do you think I'll do?" Another shock.

More gurgling noise, coughing, choking. "Guerrero, please, I didn't do anything!"

Guerrero sighed. "I know. But the crew was too good. You're my only lead."

… … …

"Winston!" Ilsa ran to hug him the second he exited the elevator. Guerrero had advised her to send him a taxi, not the limousine. They didn't need the attention. She was so overjoyed to have him back, she didn't notice he wasn't returning her embrace.

"You've lost weight!" She took a step back, studied him.

"This is just not right! I donated two new freezers and two dishwashers to the prison. They were supposed to feed you right! I even had my driver deliver fresh vegetables and meat every morning!"

"I know", Winston interrupted Ilsa. "I just wasn't hungry." The strange flatness in his voice made Ilsa study him even harder. What she now, that the first joy of having him back had subsided, perceived, made her stomach clench. He looked horrible. They had tried so hard to protect him in prison, make it as comfortable for him as possible, Guerrero had had eyes on him 24/7… but still he looked like a zombie.

"Hey… " Chance came down the stairs, greeted him with a nod and a shake of the hands. "Good to have you back."

"Any new leads?", Winston asked, suddenly a bit more awake, less zombie-like. "Anything on Michele?"

"Guerrero's working on it", Chance reassured him, hesitated and then bit the metaphorical bullet. He gave his friend an awkward hug.

Again, Winston didn't return it.

… … …

"Jennings! The name is Jennings!", Larry coughed, desperately trying to squeeze a bit of air into his cramped up lungs. "He tried to hire me. Jennings!"