JT grumbled as he rolled over and fumbled for his cell phone. Only one person would be calling him at this hour of the night. "Yeah, what is it?" he mumbled once the connection was made.
"Hey man, I need you to come to the hospital. I have to smuggle Catherine out of here like right now. Muirfield sent another hit man to her room. The guard is dead, but I managed to immobilize the shooter and cuff him to the bed. Once we're gone I'll call the police and report it."
JT sat bolt upright, and all vestiges of sleep were gone at the word "Muirfield". "edited, edited, edited! Don't these creeps ever give up? OK, OK," he babbled on, trying to gather his thoughts while pulling on a pair of jeans. "Where should I park? Are those goons still watching the hospital?" He shook his head, trying to get the cobwebs out.
"You're gonna want to pull around to the back side of the hospital. That's how Alex smuggled me in this evening. It's protected from watchful eyes, and I can hopefully get Catherine out of here without anyone noticing. There's a stairwell just a couple doors down from her room."
"Good thing it's the middle of the night. Traffic should be minimal. I can probably be there in about fifteen minutes."
"Great. Thanks JT. For what it's worth, I'm sorry I have to keep dragging you into this mess."
"No problem," he assured his friend, grabbing up his keys and heading for the door. "What are best buds for, if not covert operations under the cloak of darkness?" His voice was light and teasing, but Vincent knew him well enough to know he was rattled.
"They don't come any better than you, that's for sure," Vincent acknowledged in a rare display of tender affection for his best friend. He continued on, barely taking a breath, before his genuine praise could cause an awkward moment between them. "Now when you get here, look for the personnel door next to the loading dock. The other door has a light over it, and we don't need to advertise what we're doing."
"Got it." Vincent heard the engine in JT's car roar to life. "And do me a favor? Try to stay out of trouble until I get there, ok?"
Vincent chuckled. "Alright, I'll do my best." He paused. "But no promises."
JT laughed out loud at their running inside joke. "Yeah, somehow I didn't think there would be. Later." He ended the call as he pulled out onto the main road and headed for Mt. Sinai.
Vincent immediately started rummaging through the personal belongings locker. Yanking out Catherine's clothes he tossed them at her. "Can you manage that by yourself or do you need help?" he asked, even as he was turning to grab a plastic bag from the locker to load up with supplies for her.
Catherine winced as she tried pulling her jeans on with one hand. You just never know how much you rely on a body part 'til you can't use it, she thought.
Vincent's head snapped up at the little gasp that escaped her lips, and he dropped the bag of meds and dressings onto a chair. Rushing to her side, he gently took the pants from her. Kneeling down, he held them so she could step into the legs. Once she was steady on her feet again, he shimmied them up her legs. He swallowed hard, fighting a war within himself to keep from brushing his fingertips over her smooth and sexy legs. God how he wanted her! But this was neither the time, nor the place. He wasn't even sure there would ever be a right time and place. But he hoped with every shred of humanity he had left that there would.
Once her jeans were all the way up, he instructed her to turn around. Catherine was fully aware of how husky his voice had become. She was glad she wasn't the only one being affected by this task. Although he should be removing her clothes, not putting them on, she thought ruefully. With her back to him, Vincent undid the hospital gown and slid it forward off her shoulders. The tantalizing sight of the soft, delicate skin that was exposed wrung a groan from him. Unable to resist, he leaned down, brushing his lips over her bare shoulder, gratified by the shudder that shook her slender body. He acknowledged that part of his animal DNA must be from a dog, because he couldn't help sneaking a peek while his lips were grazing her heated skin to look down at her beautiful breasts that were exposed to his view for the first time. Everything in him tightened, and if there wasn't an unconscious Muirfield agent lying on the floor at his feet practically, he would have done something about it. But there just wasn't time.
With a heavy sigh of regret, Vincent grabbed the sweatshirt Heather had brought her sister along with the jeans and pulled it over Catherine's head before he lost his resolve. He helped her work her good arm into its sleeve. "Just let the other sleeve dangle for now," he murmured, even as he nuzzled her ear through her hair. He was pleased when she shivered in response.Just ten more minutes, he reminded himself, taking a deep breath. Ten minutes and they would be clear of this place and on their way to safety. Once they were alone and he knew she was safe, nothing would stop him from at leasttrying to make love with her. She was everything to him, and he would never feel complete until they were finally united fully in body as well as soul.
Bringing his thoughts back to the matter at hand, he asked, "Do you think you can walk? If you can just make it to the stairwell, I can carry you from there. But it will raise less suspicion if someone looks down the hall and I'm not whisking you out of here in my arms without your doctor's consent."
Catherine nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll be ok. Just stay close if I need to grab you for support."
Vincent leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. "Just try to shake loose of me woman. I'm gonna be stuck to you like glue after all this. We've had way too many close calls lately."
Catherine's eyes beamed up at him, her love shining out of them like a beacon. "You'll get no complaints from me, Keller. I don't plan on letting you out of my sight anytime soon, either." Vincent smiled back at her, before leaning forward to plant a chaste kiss on her forehead.
Returning to the matters at hand, he collected the few remaining supplies they would need and crammed them into the bag he'd been packing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Catherine wiping down the cuffs holding the Muirfield goon and deliberately placing her own prints on them. Standing up she looked around the room and sighed in frustration, realizing that Vincent's DNA was all over the place if anyone cared to look. Joe would be beyond curious as to how she could have brought the assassin down in her condition, and would assume she had help. Once that happened, he'd be combing the room for evidence. After all, Tess wasn't the only one that looked at her with questions in her eyes. She was aware that her erratic behavior over the last several months had not gone unnoticed. She was hoping that the plan she was developing in her head might prevent that.
Grabbing the bag he'd finished packing, Vincent reached out and took her hand. "OK, I'll check to make sure the coast is clear. Then we're going to walk out of here in a casual stroll, like it's the most normal thing in the world for us to be walking in that hall, alright?" Catherine nodded. Vincent smiled down at her, then slowly cracked open the door. Before he peeked out he turned over his shoulder and looked down into her now troubled eyes. "You need to prepare yourself when you come out of the room and see the officer. You can't gasp or show emotion of any kind. We can't afford to draw any attention whatsoever, OK?" Again she nodded, but he could see her eyes turning misty at the thought of a fellow officer giving his life to protect hers.
Satisfied that she was sufficiently prepared to proceed, he cracked the door a little wider and glanced down the hall. Things were quiet; he checked his watch. Unless there was an emergency in one of the rooms, nurses wouldn't be doing rounds again for another 20 minutes or so. Hopefully they were busy doing charts or something and wouldn't make an unexpected appearance. Gently squeezing Catherine's hand, he stepped out into the hall with her right behind him. When she came alongside him, he wrapped his arm around her on the side of her good arm, and she returned the gesture. Now if anyone were to look, he appeared to just be a doctor sneaking in a little personal time with his significant other, instead of smuggling a still recovering Catherine Chandler from the ICU.
When they got to the stairwell door he opened it, letting her enter ahead of him. Just before he disappeared inside, he checked down the hall one last time and was relieved to see that they had managed to escape unnoticed. He held the door until it quietly clicked shut, then swung Catherine up in his arms. He quickly began descending the stairs that led to the maze of halls which eventually worked their way to the back of the hospital. Feeling safe in his arms, Catherine laid her head against his shoulder and murmured, "I love you so much, Vincent. Thanks for taking such good care of me."
Vincent bent his head toward hers, nuzzling her with his cheek. "I love you too, more than you can imagine. Taking care of you is just a pure act of selfishness on my part." Catherine looked up at him, and saw the twinkle in his eyes. She smiled, then rested her head back against his shoulder.
As JT pulled up to the door Vincent had indicated, he silently prayed they wouldn't be long coming out. He didn't want to explain why he was parked in a loading zone behind the hospital to anyone, especially the police. The way things had been going lately though, he half expected it. His anxiety was short-lived, thankfully, as the door burst open and Vincent emerged with Catherine in his arms. Seeing them, JT jumped out of the driver's seat and opened the back door for them to get in. In under a minute, they were in motion, pulling away from the hospital and exiting out the back side of the campus on the other end from where the Muirfield Agents had set up camp in their van.
JT's gaze moved slightly from the road ahead to the rearview mirror, catching Vincent's eye. "Is she going to be OK?" he asked.
"I think so," Vincent tried to assure him – or maybe he was trying to convince himself. He knew it was risky taking her out of the hospital, but with the way things had been going, it was a bigger risk to keep her there. "I grabbed the supplies Alex left in Catherine's room. I'm going to have to call her and have her fill some prescriptions and bring them to us, though. We'll have to get more dressings, too. And somehow in the middle of it all, we have to convince Alex that she can't stay where she's living any more. Once those goons from Muirfield find out what happened, they're gonna go after anyone who might know where I am. When they can't find Catherine, Alex will be at the top of their 'go to' list. It won't matter that we aren't in NY anymore, or that no one will know where we went. They've made it clear that they'll stop at nothing to tie up loose ends."
Vincent didn't miss the way JT cringed at his assessment of the situation. "Hey man, I'm really sorry about this. I know you and Sarah…" He let the thought drift off. After a moment he added, "I'm hoping once the cops get ahold of whoever this nutjob is that tried to kill Cat tonight, maybe an investigation will be launched or something, and this whole thing can finally be over with once and for all. It won't change my situation, but at least the rest of you can go back to living some sort of normal life again."
Catherine sat in Vincent's lap quietly and listened, but reserved comment for when they would be alone. This much was certain – hell would freeze over before she'd ever leave him. The prospect of a "normal" life without him was intolerable. She was going to make sure he understood that loud and clear. She had made her choice even before tonight; had come to the realization that her life here in the Big Apple was coming to a close. Her greatest regret would be leaving her father and sister behind, but maybe once Muirfield wasn't hunting them anymore she would be able to reestablish communication with them. Either way, she needed to get Vincent out of the city and into a setting that would make it easier for him to control his beast, or to let it loose when necessary without repercussions. She only hoped that he would be agreeable to the plan she'd come up with.
"Actually, I'm just worried about Sarah," JT finally confessed, breaking the brief silence. "I'm such an idiot. I knew getting involved with her was a bad idea."
"JT, no," Vincent protested. "You need a life – you deserve a life. Not this madness you've been thrust into since I came home from overseas." He paused, taking a deep breath. "But you're right to be worried about her. If they come looking for you, it won't be hard for them to figure out they can use her as bait."
"See, that's what I mean. I should have known that I was putting her in danger, but I just didn't want to consider the repercussions of my actions. God, I can be so selfish sometimes." JT slammed his hand on the steering wheel in frustration. He was falling in love with Sarah, and now his actions could very well put her life in jeopardy.
"Selfish is the last word I'd use to describe you. Listen, just talk to her. Explain the situation, even if you have to leave me and the whole crazy-ass mutant thing out of it. Tell her you've been helping a friend in trouble, and now the 'bad guys' might come after you to get to him. You have to leave, but you're afraid she might be caught in the crossfire, and well… maybe she'll choose to go with you?" Vincent knew it was a longshot, but if Sarah really did have feelings for JT, who knew what lengths she'd go to in order to be with him? After all, look at what he and Catherine had endured just to be together.
As Vincent tried to give JT a pep talk, Catherine began realizing just how far-reaching the implications in her own life could be. Would Muirfield come after her family, thinking they might know something, or be aware of her whereabouts? What about Tess? Surely they would think her partner ought to know where to find her. And then there was Evan, and Joe… the list went on and on. How many lives were in danger because of the choice she had made to have Vincent be a part of her life? She was starting to understand why JT was feeling selfish in his relationship with Sarah. No one was beyond the reach of Muirfield intelligence – certainly not Sarah, and not her friends or family. At one time she was convinced that the rogue government research group would keep a low profile at all costs, but it appeared from recent events that they were becoming desperate. They needed to finish what they had started back in Afghanistan when they began slaughtering their "failed projects". And that desperation could cause them to become erratic and unpredictable, taking chances of exposure that were previously unacceptable in the overall scheme of things. Besides – as long as Vincent's beast kept leaving a trail of bodies for them to follow, they never had to wonder where he was. But what would happen when he suddenly was totally off their radar?
Catherine was pulled from her dark thoughts when Vincent's hand came up to caress her cheek. Her extended silence had alerted him to her pensive mood. "What's wrong?" he asked her in a quiet voice.
Tipping her head, she looked into his eyes. "I was just thinking about what JT said, and about all the people in my life that could be in danger now too. We obviously can't tell all of them what's going on, but we have to make some effort to ensure their safety."
"Catherine, I know how difficult this is, but there isn't much we can do about it, except hope the police can expose what's going on before it's too late." Worry caused Vincent's brows to draw inward; he really didn't hold out much hope of that happening. His heart pained for the turmoil she was in, all because she was with him.
"Actually, I was thinking that there might be something we could do. It wouldn't solve everything, obviously, but I think it's something that could be done if the people we love are to have a chance of surviving this."
Vincent pulled back slightly in order to look her square in the eyes. "And what might that be?" he asked, the hesitancy in his voice betraying his lack of confidence in there being any kind of reasonable options in the situation.
"Before I tell you, just promise you'll hear me out. OK?" Vincent nodded, although he still seemed wary. "I think I need to talk to Joe, Vincent. I think he needs some sort of explanation for the man in my room, the attempts on my life-"
"No." The finality in that one word was powerful.
"Vincent, you promised to hear me out."
"Catherine, we can't put anyone else in danger! How can you even think of telling him?"
"Because I think they are in more danger by not knowing something! I'm not saying we need to tell them everything. But I think they need to know enough to understand there is so much going on around them below the surface of what they see, and it could get them hurt or killed if they aren't aware of it. Besides, what is Joe supposed to do with some guy cuffed to a hospital bed, with no witnesses around to bring charges and no clue why they are after me?"
Silence stretched between them for a few moments, while Vincent thought about her argument. "How would you explain why you are being hunted, without telling him about me?" he wondered aloud.
"Obviously I'd have to tell him that there was someone else involved - someone who needed my help. But I won't divulge any specifics, and certainly not your name. I've spent the last handful of years earning Joe's trust, Vincent. I'm going to ask him to trust me for the things I can't tell him for his own safety, but steer him in the direction he needs to go in order to help us resolve this."
"I don't know, Catherine," he said, wavering. "How could Joe ever hope to expose a rogue cell of the FBI with all Muirfield's resources? The government isn't going to want to admit to the things they did in Afghanistan. And without the specifics of me and the rest of my unit as evidence, it seems like a losing proposition." It became glaringly obvious to her that he had never believed this could ever be over. She supposed she could understand his doubts, having lived in fear of them for a decade now.
Then an idea came to her. "Maybe he won't have to approach it that way."
"Come again?" Now Vincent was getting confused.
"What if Joe and Tess and Evan could somehow prove that these Muirfield agents were responsible for the murders you are being framed for, as part of an active investigation? If we're lucky, this guy was at the scene of this last attack. Maybe Evan could find some DNA evidence – a hair or something. That would be enough to enable them to launch an investigation. Not to mention, he tried to kill a cop, Vincent. No judge is going to look on that kindly, no matter what his connections are. There will be search warrants, and examinations into this guy's life – which will lead to co-workers and who knows? Maybe the whole thing will blow wide open!"
"Catherine, you can't tell Joe about the connection to the vigilante, without implicating yourself for harboring a fugitive!"
"No… but Evan can. He knows to look for evidence and connections that would never occur to Joe. Joe will just think Evan is being his brilliant self, and it's a win-win."
"Not that I'm trying to eavesdrop," JT interrupted, "but I think she has a point. Maybe it is time to get the police involved. Cat doesn't have to expose us to tell Joe about the rest of the murder attempts and kidnapping that Muirfield has engaged in against her, trying to get to someone she's trying to protect. If she keeps their motives vague enough, it just might work. And if it doesn't, by the time Joe pieces it all together, you two will be long gone."
Vincent let out a sigh of defeat as JT pulled into the yard of the warehouse they called home. "I guess I'm outnumbered, huh?"
"Looks like it, buddy," JT agreed. They sat in the car a few moments longer, silently staring at the building that held so many memories for each of them. It was bittersweet for Vincent, thinking how they would never be back here, when this was the place he'd first come face to face with his sweet Catherine – at least when she had her wits fully about her. He looked down at Catherine to see a lone tear slide down her cheek, and knew that she was sharing his thoughts. Or maybe his feelings, he couldn't be sure. "Well, time to get a move on," JT announced as he opened the driver door, and just like that, the spell was broken. "Cat, you can call Joe from here while I call Sarah, and Vincent tries to get ahold of Alex for more supplies."
"OK, but first I want to call Evan," she answered as Vincent swung her up into his arms. "I want to make sure he knows I'm going to leave his involvement in this out of my conversation with Joe so he doesn't unwittingly give himself away."
JT nodded as he held the door for Vincent to carry her into the building. It was going to be a long night, but for once he wasn't freaking out. They had a solid plan, and they had to spring into action. If everything went right, they would leave the area before daybreak. He made himself a mental note to stop and get a fresh bottle of TUMS on their way out of town. After all, rarely did everything go right in their world.