Devil-may-care-101 - Hey stranger! You've been missed! I hope the exams are going well!! I'm glad you're still reading. I like Flack like that too - it makes a change from the nagging, lol

Trizzy - You like, then? Lol, I agree with your take on the Batmans. I managed to find some time, so I figured, let's get some chapters up. Plus, I found my two muses and they won't leave me alone! (Yay, Chad!)

sparkCSI - I do. But I like her at the same time, because she's a witch! I found my love for Mac, I lost my love for Peyton. I just can't work out what I want to do with her!

joy1791 - It's alright - so long as I haven't lost you! I hope this is soon enough!

Opal Butterfly - Hey! Welcome! I'm glad you love it! I was probably watching NCIS around about when I wrote that chapter - I do love that show! I may have to do a crossover (:P)

Nienna Tinehtele - lol, I think you may have to get in line by the sounds of things! Thank you!

ambercsiny - lol, I forgot too, and then I had to re-write the chapters because she has a few limitations! I am on a roll - I hope to keep it up!

Madison Bellows - Aw, shucks - thank you! I think enjoying writing again has an impact on the chapters! So I'm glad you're enjoying the reading!

meadow567 - I'm not sure what I have planned for Nancy yet. I keep changing my mind with her.

So, big thanks to the awesome beta - sparky,

Big thanks to all y'all for the reading and reviewing and adds to favourites/alerts!

And finally, we still have some spoilers for Veritas

What The Eyes Can't See

Chapter 216: But everything happens for a reason, I don't even know what I should say

'How are you?' Reed asked, looking up from his computer as Taylor slunk into their office, face like thunder.

'Just peachy,' she growled at him.

'What happened?' he asked, unperturbed.

'Nancy's changing my job description.' Taylor toed her computer on, still in a bad mood and waited impatiently for it to boot up.

'No, in the bank.'

Taylor eyed the kid sharply. 'I'm not giving you an interview, Reed.'

Reed frowned. 'But we're a team.'

'We are not a team,' she snapped. 'You report news on your blog, I write columns.'

'But I thought Nancy-'

The kid had a tough skin. 'Nancy can carry on thinking,' she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. 'Sorry, kid. I just haven't had time to process what happened today and now she wants an exclusive for the morning edition. I don't even know when the deadline for that is.'

'It's Reed,' he told her, finally looking upset. 'I'm not a kid. And the deadline is 4am.'

Taylor frowned – kid? When had she become... old? Reed was only a few years younger than her. The frown deepened. Crap. He was nearly ten years younger than her! Her head dropped to her desk. 'Kill me now,' she muttered.

'Are you sure you're alright?' Reed asked her.

Taylor raised her head and pushed her hair out of her face. 'Give me two hours when I can officially get out of here, and I will be.'

'Taylor, how's Mac?'

Taylor looked sharply at him. But he did look genuinely concerned. 'I keep forgetting he's your dad.'

'He's not my dad,' Reed corrected her.

'Mac's... Mac,' Taylor shrugged. 'He has this ability to cope really well with just about anything,' she sighed. 'I wish I knew his secret.'

'He wasn't hurt?'

Taylor shook her head. 'Nobody got hurt in the bank, Reed. Except the bank manager, but we don't think it was a captor who killed him, Joe. But when Joe and Mac left the bank, something went wrong. They fished Mac's car out of the river and it looks like the accident gave him concussion. But even though Jersey PD have jurisdiction, Mac's determined to find Joe. He might not have killed the bank manager, but he may have killed the body that was fished out of the river with Mac.'

Reed nodded, looking relieved. 'Thanks,' he muttered.

Taylor gave him a small smile before stretching her arms out and wriggling her fingers. At the very least, she was going to start something, just in case Nancy came by to check on her. And as soon as it turned five, she was out the door and finding Flack and maybe Mac – to see what they suggested.

---

By the time she walked into the precinct and over to Flack's desk, she was exhausted. 'Hey,' she greeted him softly, dropping into the chair opposite.

Flack smiled, but before he could say anything his phone rang. He shot her an apologetic smile as he answered it. 'Flack… no, I have photos of Joe up all over the city, the stations and the airports… Look, if they find anybody who resembles him, who could be his cousin, I want to know…. Right.' He hung his phone up and sighed.

'You're no closer to finding Joe?'

Flack wearily shook his head as the phone rang again. 'Flack…. Yeah, sorry. The chances are he's going to dump that car, so look for any make or model that even remotely resembles what we're looking for.'

This time, as he hung up, it wasn't the phone ringing again that interrupted them. It was Adam. And he was looking a little nervous.

'You alright, Adam?' Taylor asked him.

'I, uh, need to talk to Flack,' he muttered, looking uncomfortable. 'You got a second,' he asked him.

'Yeah, what's up?'

'Uh, I just need your help with something,' he told him. He frowned and held up a flash drive. 'You got a place I can plug in?'

Flack looked a little puzzled, but moved out the way so that Adam could access his computer.

'Have you got somewhere a little more private we can go?' Adam asked uncomfortably.

Taylor looked at him. 'I can go if you want?' she offered, rising to her feet.

'That's up to Flack,' Adam said. 'But it's not you I'm worried about,' he added, shifting on the spot.

'Yeah, I've got a place,' Flack told him. 'And you can come too,' he told Taylor. He led them to a small room with a computer and waited for them to enter before closing the door behind them. 'Alright, what's up?' he asked Adam.

Adam took a deep breath. 'I ran with the theory that Joe came back into the city. Which means he either returned using the tunnels or the bridge.'

Flack nodded. 'All of which have surveillance cameras.'

'Specifically in payment zones intended to capture those who don't pay,' Adam agreed. He hit a few buttons and pulled up a slightly blurred image of a man leaning out of a red car. 'I focused on all traffic heading east in the first hour after the bank robbery. And I isolated all cars which were a match to our wheel base and found this.' He pointed at the screen. 'This is Joe at the toll booth. I checked it – and it's a match to the photo of Joe from the bank.'

Flack looked at Adam with a look of pride. 'We got a plate?'

'Bogus plates, but we did get a VIN number when he opened the door.'

'Adam, you're a genius,' Taylor muttered, completely impressed with his skills.

Adam shifted uncomfortably and stared at the screen.

'You certainly are,' Flack agreed. 'Did you run it?'

'I… uh…' Adam faltered. 'The car doesn't belong to Joe.'

Flack looked amused. 'Whose it belong to?'

Adam opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

'Adam?' Taylor asked.

Adam tried again, but with no luck. With an awkward sigh, he clicked a few buttons and brought up the results.

Taylor, who had been watching Adam, looked up at Flack. His expression flicked for a moment before turning impassive. 'You sure about this?' he demanded.

Taylor frowned and glanced down at the ID which had been pulled up. A young, dark haired woman. She cocked her head in confusion, and then her eyes fell on the name.

'I ran it three times,' Adam told them apologetically.

Flack's lips virtually disappeared in a thin line. 'Do Mac and Stella know?'

'No,' Adam said quickly. 'I came to you first.'

'Don?' Taylor looked back up at him.

'I got this one,' he said, addressing Adam.

'Flack, I gotta tell them,' Adam told him.

Flack glanced down at his watch. 'Give me two hours,' he told him before heading for the door.

Adam rubbed his neck uncomfortably.

'Don't worry Adam,' Taylor told him. 'We'll fix this.' She didn't feel as convincing as she sounded as she dashed out of the door and after Flack. 'Don!' she called.

'Taylor, you should be going home,' Flack muttered.

'Cute,' she told him. 'But I'm not going to. Your family is my family, which ever sibling or parental unit that refers to, and if your sister is in trouble, then we'll help her together.'

For the briefest moment, Flack looked like he was could cry, but then he reigned his emotions in and nodded. 'Thank you, Taylor.'

'You don't need to thank me,' she told him, slipping her hand into his.

He squeezed her hand, sighing. 'I hope she hasn't gotten herself into too much trouble this time.'

---

'Where does she live?' Taylor asked as they drove through the village. 'And how come in nearly three years I've only spoken to her on the phone?'

'We're going to where she works,' Flack explained. 'She's a barmaid at a bar near here. And every time I suggest we meet, she's always busy. And you've never met Nathan.'

'Your brother is still backpacking across the Outback, isn't he?' Taylor pointed out.

Flack pulled up outside a club and shut his eyes. 'I love Sam, don't get me wrong, but there's only so many times a brother can bail his sister out of trouble.'

'You want me to come in with you, or wait here?' Taylor asked, gently placing a hand on his thigh.

'No, come in,' he told her. 'I guess it's about time you met Samantha Flack.'

Taylor followed him through the busy club to the bar. At the far end was a woman with the same dark hair, same nose, and same blue eyes as Flack. The resemblance between Flack and Paige was almost nonexistent compared to the similarities to Don and Samantha.

Samantha looked up and spotted her brother instantly. She smiled brightly. 'You still a lager guy?'

Flack smiled back, though his smile wasn't as wide. 'I'm on the clock, thanks.'

'I guess I'll have to have one for the both of us,' Sam said, raising a glass of beer and taking a mouthful. 'And who is this?' she pointed at Taylor.

Taylor smiled. 'I'm Taylor Turner.'

Sam shot Flack a grin. 'This is your girlfriend?' she turned to Taylor and beamed. 'About time I met the person that winds my parents up worse than I do.'

Taylor shifted uncomfortably.

'Sam, where's your car?' Flack interrupted.

'What?'

'Where's your car?' Flack repeated.

'Uh, I lent it to a friend of mine. Lauren,' she told him before disappearing to the other end of the bar.

Flack followed, Taylor close behind him. 'Lauren got a last name?'

'Salinas. What's the problem?'

'I need to talk to her,' Flack told her.

'Well I don't have her number on me and uh, I left my phone at home,' Sam explained as she gathered the ingredients together for a cocktail. 'And I'm starting to get the impression has about six messages from you?'

Taylor hid a smile. There had to be considerably more than that.

Flack wasn't as impressed. 'Where does she live, Sam?'

'Somewhere between Third and Lex, I think.'

Flack scowled at her. 'You're telling me you loaned your car some girl and you don't even know where she lives?'

Sam returned the look. 'Yeah. That's what I'm telling you.' She headed back to the far end of the bar.

Again, Flack and Taylor followed them.

'Look,' Sam sighed. I know her place by sight. Pizza joint, lighting store. She's a friend, she needed a car, I loaned her mine,' she told him. 'Don, what's going on?'

Flack leant over the bar. 'Listen to me, you better not be involved in this, okay? Because I'm not bailing you out this time, and neither is dad.'

'Don,' Taylor muttered, putting her hand on his shoulder. He leant back.

'Involved in what?' Sam asked, looking completely confused.

Flack ignored her and moved away from the bar.

'It was nice meeting you,' Taylor called over her shoulder as she hurried after Flack. 'That was a little harsh, don't you think?' Taylor asked as they got into the car.

Flack looked over at her as he slipped the car into drive. 'Sam gets into these… situations,' he sighed. 'A lot.'

Taylor nodded. 'You told me about the suspensions from school.'

Flack shook his head. 'Tay, this is worse than being busted for smoking weed at school. And since she moved out, it's been one thing after another. The amount of times that I've bailed her out because she's lost her job just before the rent's due.'

Taylor sighed and looked out of the window. 'Where are we going?'

'To see if we can find a pizza joint and a lighting store.'

---

Flack spotted the car before the stores in question. He pulled in, in front of it and got out of the car, pulling his phone out. A half hour later, Mac appeared. 'It fits the description Adam gave for the possible vehicle and the VIN number matches the photo he took from the toll booth.'

'And it's your sister's car?' Mac asked, pulling a pair of gloves on.

Flack looked at him and nodded. 'She loaned it to a Lauren Salinas. I got no answer at Lauren's apartment, and the super wasn't in either,' he explained as Mac examined the car.

'Open it,' Mac ordered an officer. 'Pop the trunk.'

As Mac ducked his head into the passenger side foot well, flack and Taylor moved to the back of the car. Taylor inhaled sharply at the sight of the dead girl in the trunk. 'Great,' she muttered.

'Hey Mac,' Flack called. 'I think we may have found Lauren.'

Mac walked over to join them and peered in the trunk. 'I used her phone.'

'What?' both Flack and Taylor asked.

'I came out of the water on Freedom Way and flagged her car down. She gave me her cell phone. This woman came to my rescue.' He inhaled deeply, turning to Flack. 'You know what this means though, don't you?'

Flack nodded. 'It's time to bring my sister in.'

A quick post - yes, it's a bribe. I am that transparent!

What The Eyes Can't See has been nominated for Best Epic Story... and I'm hoping 216 chapters really is epic. And, if you like said epic, you'll go vote for me? Pretty please?

Okay, begging isn't pretty is it. How about another bribe - I'll post another chapter this week!! Will that work?

I'm also nominated for Best Author, Best Work-In-Progress, Best OC, Best Flack/OC Author, Best Flack/OC pairing, Best Flack/OC Story, Best Supernatural Story, Best Romance and finally, Best Crossover - seriously, thank you, guys! So please go vote in those categories too!

And vote in the other categories. There have been some really good stories and authors nominated this year - including the very stiff competition I have! There's a link on my profile page. Have some fun!