All of the happy mood vanished with that one question. Jules shook her head.

"Danforth interrupted our escape attempt. Cassie tried to pass Jenny up to me but they pulled the legs of our makeshift ladder out from under her feet. I'd only just managed to climb into the window so I had to duck out of sight to keep them from finding me."

Parker nodded. "We have one officer safe, one officer and a civilian still in trouble. Okay team, time to wrap this up."

Just then Winnie came online. "I've got 911 with a call from Blake Danforth. He's asking for you, Sarge."

"Patch me through," Parker replied as Spike handed Jules a new mic. "Hello, Blake. How are you?"

"Cut out the pleasantries, Parker, and tell me why you sicced your boys on my hideout! In case you've forgotten, I have hostages!"

"I hear you, Blake," Parker said as Spike watched his tablet, tracing the call. "How are the hostages anyways?"

"They're fine," said Danforth. "But they won't be if Margo doesn't get her ass down here pronto!"

Parker hesitated. "Is it alright if I hear that from my officer?"

A very long pause, then a slight scuffle and Cassie's voice came online. "Hello Boss. How's your day been going?"

"Cassie!" Spike was unable to stop himself from speaking; hearing her voice, knowing she was alive...

"Hello, Spikey." Her voice was amused. "Sarge, is Jules there? I know she managed to escape but-"

"I'm fine," Jules spoke. "How are you? I feel terrible for leaving you..."

"Don't be." Cassie's voice was firm. "You got out, that's one more officer to capture the bad guys. Jenny wants to know if the monkey-lady was okay."

"Monkey lady?" Jules asked as the guys snickered.

"Because you climbed up those precariously placed chairs so easily," Cassie laughed.

"Don't do anything stupid, Cass," Spike interjected. A sigh was heard on the other end.

"You know me, Spikey. I can't promise anything."

"I agree with Spike," Parker said. "Cassandra, keep your head down and your mouth shut. Right now your priority is to keep you and that little girl safe. Don't endanger-"

"I think you've had enough chit-chat time," Danforth's voice hissed. "Now, if you want them back, alive, I suggest you do what I say."

By now, everyone was white-faced; Spike's knuckles were clenched so hard they'd turned white, and Jules was glaring angrily at the air.

"Tell Margo to meet me at our old hangout," Danforth said, "where the two doves intertwine. She comes, she gets her daughter back. And your officer, I suppose."

"We'll make sure she gets there," Parker told the crazed man.

"In half an hour," Danforth said. "We'll be waiting."

The line went dead. Parker looked at his team. Each one was narrow-eyed, focused. He knew they'd do whatever it took to get their missing member back.

Now the question was: how do they manage it?

"I'd like Margaret Wood in here, Jules. Without her husband; Jacob seems over-agitated and he has no insight into Danforth. Besides, we want to try and keep Danforth as calm as possible; a sighting of his ex-wife's new spouse might tip him over the edge."

"More than he already is," muttered Spike.

"On it, Boss," Jules said, rushing away from the group. She returned a few minutes later with Margaret Wood, who looked extremely frazzled.

"Officer Callaghan said you wanted to see me," she said. "Is something wrong? Where is Jenny?"

"Unfortunately, Blake Danforth managed to escape with your daughter and one of our officers," Parker said. Immediately, Mrs. Wood clapped a hand to her mouth. "Don't worry, my officer knows to protect Jenny. She'll be safe. But Danforth recently phoned with a request. He wants to meet you "where the two doves intertwine"."

Mrs. Wood straightened up. "The Dancing Dove. It's a bar where we met; there's a sign above the door with two doves. Blake owns the place."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wood," Parker said. "Would you please accompany us there? If we have any chance of getting Jenny back, Danforth needs to see you're there, and his demands have been met."

"I-I suppose that would be alright," Mrs. Wood said shakily as Parker and Ed led her to their SUV. Sam, Wordy, Jules and Spike rushed to their own vehicles.

"Mrs. Wood, your safety is assured," Ed told the distraught woman. "You'll be going in with the SRU."

"I understand," Mrs. Wood said quickly. "I just want Jenny safe."

Sirens wailing, they took off into the night.


Danforth shoved Cassie back to the floor when he'd shut off the phone. "Alright, cop. We've got security cameras in this room. Try anything, and we'll know about it."

"Are we gonna be okay?" asked Jenny quietly, when Danforth and his crony left. Cassie gave the little girl a small smile.

"Jules and my friends will get us out safe, don't you worry."

"Where are we?"

"Well," Cassie said, looking around, "we're probably at the place where the bad guy wants to meet your mommy. He said... he said we can go free if your mommy comes and gets you."

Jenny's eyes opened wider. "But he doesn't like Mommy, I heard him! He called her names! Will he kill her?"

Cassie shook her head vigorously, pulling the frightened little girl onto her lap. It reminded her of days when Timothy was younger, and how he'd climb onto her lap during a lightning storm, quivering and shaking, desperate to be comforted. That same sort of gentleness had to be used here.

"What're your friends like?"

Jenny's voice, full of childish curiosity, roused Cassie from her musings. She looked down at the little girl, and smiled.

"You met Jules, the monkey-lady. She's really small, but she's powerful. All the guys on my team know she's one of the best. She's smart, and friendly. Then there's Wordy, who has three little girls, just like you."

"Do they like pink? I like pink!" Jenny said. Cassie laughed.

"They probably do, sweetheart. Wordy is really good with mechanical things; he's also very experienced at being a police officer. Then there's Sam, who, next to me, is the newest member to our team; we like to joke that we're the babies. He's a great guy; always knows what to say. A little reckless, but nice. Next comes Ed, my team leader. He's second in command, and he's really strict, like a teacher," Jenny giggled at this, "but I respect him a lot. He's taught me so much. Greg Parker is the Boss, and we call him that. He gets people, he really understands them. He's also a big softy."

Cassie paused. "And then there's Spike."

"Spike? That's a funny name," Jenny commented, snuggling closer to the police officer.

"It's a nickname," Cassie clarified. "His real name is Michelangelo Scarlatti. But that's too long to say, so we just call him Spike. He's our technical expert: he can uncover any secret from anyone, and he can do things with a computer that boggle the mind. Spike can disarm bombs, track a suspect down, as well as act like other SRU members and shoot, fight, talk down subjects..."

"Wow," Jenny said admiringly. "He sounds like a superhero."

Cassie chuckled. "He kind of is. He's a really special guy."

"All your friends are," Jenny said. 'I want to meet them."

Cassie patted her new friend on the back. "You will, sweetheart. I promise." Jenny looked up at Cassie. "What about you? What can you do?"

Cassie looked down, self-conscious. "I like to help people. Talk to them, try to understand why they do the things they do. That's it, really."

Jenny shook her head. "You protected me when the bad guys were mean. I think you're amazing!"

The red-headed cop smiled, hugging the blonde close.

With a crash, the door opened, and Danforth stuck his head in. "Your cop friends are here. Looks like they've got Margo with them too, so I guess I can't shoot you. Yet. Get up!"

Cassie quickly picked up Jenny, who was cowering again.

"It'll be okay," she whispered to the child as they were pushed out the door.


The plan was simple. While Ed and Parker covered Mrs. Wood, Spike, Sam, Jules and Wordy would surround the edges of the meeting room to protect Cassie and Jenny from Danforth and whoever he had with him.

Spike swallowed as Mrs. Wood pushed open the door to the bar, after Wordy had checked it for booby traps. He had a bad feeling in his stomach, and all he wanted to do was see for himself that Cassie was alive, that she was okay.

Ever since the red-head had been captured, Spike had been feeling strange emotions for his teammate. Like it was his fault she got nabbed, or something. No, it was more than that, but Spike knew that whatever he felt for the fiery girl, he had to keep focused.

Besides; they were on the same team. Even if Cassie felt anything remotely like what Spike felt for her, it would never work. Sam and Jules had proven that.

"Keep it calm, keep it quiet, keep it cool," Ed reminded them all as Mrs. Wood stepped into the large bar area. The room was completely empty of patrons; tables had been pushed to the side and chairs stacked.

"Now?" asked Mrs. Wood, looking to Parker. He nodded.

"Blake?" Mrs. Wood yelled out, staring around her. As she spoke, Spike, Sam, Jules and Wordy stealthily spread out along the walls, making sure that every angle was covered.

The door on the far side of the room, a wooden one covered in graffiti, opened. As Team One switched their focus to it, out stepped Cassie, carrying a small blonde-haired girl who looked anxiously around at the stern-faced officers. Cassie began to whisper urgently to the girl, who seemed to calm down slightly.

"Jenny," Mrs. Wood breathed. "Oh my - Jenny, darling," she called out tearfully, "it's Mom. You're alright."

"Mom!" Jenny cried back, reaching out and squirming in Cassie's grip. But then a gun appeared, resting menacingly against Cassie's neck. As Danforth's crony sneered, Danforth himself stepped from the doorway.

"Not so fast, Margo," he said, raising his gun. At once, the SRU focused on him, and Ed pulled Mrs. Wood back towards him and Parker.

"Blake, this is Sergeant Greg Parker of the SRU," Parker said, looking at the hostages. He winced as the lights threw Cassie's facial bruising into full view, and he could see she was in pain by the way she was holding herself. "What are your demands?"

"I JUST WANT TO SEE HER SUFFER!" yelled Danforth, startling the child who began to sob. Cassie hushed her, stroking the girl's hair. "I want to see her suffer like I suffered when she left me! For that stuck-up accountant, no less!"

"Blake," Mrs. Wood sobbed. "Blake, it's over. It's been five years. Can't you see we're done? I wanted away from the life you lead. I wanted any future children of mine to be away from it too."

"Blake, put down your weapon," Parker agreed. "You know this won't end well for anyone if you resist. Please, put down your weapon and ask your friend to do the same."

"I don't think he'll listen to reason anymore," Sam muttered.

"We have to try, or he could hurt Cassie or the little girl," Wordy replied, eyes trained firmly on his target.

"You bitch!" Danforth cried, waving his gun hand around. "I gave you everything you ever wanted, and you left! Well, it's a two-way street, girl!"

"Uh-oh, subject is escalating," Jules said. "Again."

"I CAN TAKE AWAY THINGS TOO!" Danforth screamed, before suddenly pointing his gun at Jenny, and firing.

It all happened fast. As Danforth raised his gun, Cassie twisted her body so she was in between Jenny and the madman. The bullets meant for Mrs. Wood's daughter thudded into her back with precision. Danforth was only able to get in a round before he too was shot, in the head, by Ed.

Everything turned crazy after that. Sam and Jules were yelling at Danforth's crony to get on the ground, Wordy was checking Danforth's body, and Spike had rushed to Cassie's side. She was on the ground, having collapsed after taking the shots. Jenny was beside her, shaking Cassie and crying.

"Cassie! Cassie!"

"Officer down!" Spike called out rapidly as he turned Cassie over. "Cass... oh God." Her face was pale, and she wasn't moving. But then she blinked; her eyes were looking at Spike with a bleary confusion.

"It hurts," she said softly. Then, she looked over at a sobbing Jenny. "Oh, sweetheart, don't cry. You're safe. I promised, remember?"

"But you got shot!" Jenny sobbed. Cassie bit her lip to hold back a scream of pain.

"Cassie, you stay with me now, alright?" Spike shouted, laying the girl flat as Parker, Ed, and Mrs. Wood approached. "Keep breathing. You're gonna be okay!"

Cassie was shaking from her wounds but her head gave a swift nod. "Okay."

As Mrs. Wood swept her daughter into a joyful hug, Parker crouched down beside the wounded girl. "You did well, Cassie. You kept a victim safe. I'm proud of you."

"Th-thanks... Boss," Cassie grimaced as another jolt of pain hit her. When the paramedics arrived, it was with great reluctance that Spike stepped away from her to let them through. He barely noticed that his hands and most of his jacket were covered in blood.

"You don't give up, you hear me?" he told Cassie one more time as she was lifted onto a stretcher.

"You got it, Spikey," she whispered as they rolled her out of the room.