Vincent's hands were shaking as he punched in the number for Alex's cell phone. This was one call he did not want to make. Ever. Color me a coward, he thought with a wry grin. Big, bad, super-soldier terrified to cross a petite redhead. The guys in his unit would have never believed it.
He could hardly believe he'd once thought to spend his life with this woman. She might be a competent doctor and all, but there was something almost a little… unhinged about her lately. Internally, he wished that he and Catherine could just leave town without ever having to speak to his ex again. He felt a twinge of guilt as the connection was made and he heard it begin to ring.
"Hullo?" Alex answered the phone with sleep-slurred speech. Vincent could hear rustling and the sound of something being fumbled and dropped. "Damn!"
"Alex?" Vincent's voice was tentative, wondering what was going on as he heard her grunt and slam something down, presumably on her nightstand. The clock, he guessed to himself.
The sound of Vincent's voice was like having a bucket of ice water dumped on her head. She bolted upright, nearly knocking over the lamp as she fumbled for the switch. "Vincent?" Her voice held a hint of panic. "What's wrong? Why are you calling me at-" He heard shuffling again; she was checking the clock now. "- at two-thirty in the morning? Is something wrong with Ms. Chandler?"
"Alex, breathe," he commanded, gratified when he heard her comply. "First, you need to know that Catherine is safe," he began. He intentionally used Catherine's first name in response to Alex's more impersonal 'Ms. Chandler', hoping to once more drive home the point of his intimate relationship with her patient. "That having been said," he continued, "there was another incident tonight at the hospital. I'll spare you the details; you'll hear all about it in the morning. But you need to know that I have taken Catherine from the hospital and she's going to be in hiding until things settle down. Which is why I called…" His voice trailed off, waiting for a response to let him know she was following the conversation. Alex had never been one to be exactly alert when she first awakened.
"I'm sorry?" she interjected. "What is why you called? Just to let me know that you're running away with my patient?" Her tone was rather snarky, and Vincent could almost feel her winding up. How had he never noticed before now how wretched she could be? Personally, he'd had just about enough of it.
"Alex, quit with the drama and put your big-girl doctor panties on. I called because if Catherine isn't going to be in the hospital, I need you to prescribe some meds for her. You know, so I can take care of her properly without having to resort to gathering wild herbs?" He knew how much Alex detested the whole "natural healing" movement and thought it was quackery. That well-placed barb earned him a gasp from the other end of the line, and he smirked to himself. Personally, he never understood what her problem was. Mankind had been using herbs to heal for millennia, and some of them were pretty effective.
Without waiting for any further response, he told her what pharmacy to call the scripts into, and encouraged her to do it immediately. They didn't have any time to waste getting out of the city and away from Muirfield's henchmen. He was relieved when she grudgingly agreed, and read back the name and phone number of the all-night drugstore so she was sure to have it correct . Vincent ended the call, and immediately began packing up everything they would be taking on the road with them.
JT fidgeted as he waited for Sarah to pick up her phone. After the fourth ring it went to her voicemail. JT's head dropped forward dejectedly as he listened to her announcement play through. How could one leave a voicemail about something like this? But he knew he had to at least leave some sort of message to explain why he would just not show up for class later that morning. He heard the tell-tale beep and took a deep breath, silently praying for inspiration to come from somewhere.
"Heeey Sarah, it's JT," he started, trying to be deliberately cheerful in spite of his thundering heart. "I just wanted to call you and tell you something has come up and I… have to go out of town unexpectedly. Not sure when I'll be back. Do me a favor and let the dean know I won't be in today, and to get someone to cover my classes for a few days? I really hate asking you to do this on a voicemail but your ringer must be way down or else you're a really sound sleeper, because with that ringtone of yours-" He chuckled remembering how loud it was. "So listen, I'll try to contact you later when you're more likely to be awake. Sorry again for this crazy message. Bye."
JT hit the end button and sighed in defeat. He really had wanted to explain things to Sarah, but maybe this was the universe's way of keeping him from making a colossal mess of things. Maybe this whole thing would blow over in a few days, and he could come back without any fanfare or problems between him and Sarah. He could hope, anyway.
Hearing Vincent moving purposefully through the apartment packing, JT decided it was time to get himself in motion and start tending to his own things.
Cat rolled her head, trying to work out some of the tension in her neck. Without thinking she started to stretch, wincing at the pain in her shoulder as she did so. She really couldn't wait for this thing to heal.
Her conversation with Evan had been brief, outlining their sketchy plan, and instructing him not to let on to Joe that he had any clue about what was going on. She was willing to go down with the ship and protect Vincent to the bitter end, but she certainly didn't expect Evan to jeopardize his entire career over this. All he had to do was collect and analyze evidence. Hopefully that would be enough to nail these Muirfield bastards once and for all.
Now came the tough part. She was going to have to call Joe and arrange a meeting with him before she left town. Best just get it over with, she thought with a sigh as she dialed her boss. Joe picked up on the second ring. "Who is this?" he grumbled. Caller ID was only as good as your ability to get your eyes to focus at 3 am.
"Joe, it's Catherine. We need to talk." She could hear the rustle of bedding and sounds of the mattress shifting as he got up.
"Chandler, for God's sake, why are you calling at this hour? Did something happen – again?"
"Yeah, you could say that. But I really don't want to talk about this over the phone. Can I come over? Miranda is out of town, right?"
"Yeah she is, but-"
"Great, I'll be over in about 20 minutes."
"No – wait!" Cat was startled at the panic in his voice.
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to presume-"
"Chandler, you can't go to my place, because I'm not there."
"Oh." Her brow furrowed, and the silence on the other end of the line was fraught with some hidden meaning that escaped her. He's not at his house in the middle of the night… "OOhhhh…." Awkward.
"Yes, 'oh'." Joe grimaced to himself. He'd always suspected that Catherine knew the truth about his relationship with her best friend, despite Tess' insistence to the contrary. "So you can meet me here, if that's alright? I'm assuming you'll want the other party here to join us?"
Well, hell. She hadn't wanted to drag Tess into this yet. Not until they had some answers, and they were confident that her knowing wasn't going to put her life in any more danger than it already was, just from being associated with Catherine. "I guess it's rather unavoidable at this point, isn't it sir?"
Joe frowned. Since when did Chandler keep secrets from Tess? "If this has to do with us tracking down the people responsible for trying to murder you, I'd say it pretty much is. See you here in half an hour."
"Yes sir." The corner of her mouth quirked up in a subtle half-smile as she hung up, noting the extra 10 minutes he'd tacked on to her original 20 minute ETA. Apparently they needed some time to freshen up and get decent.
Catherine insisted on helping Vincent and JT load their belongings into the car, albeit one-handed. Vincent's heart brimmed with pride at how strong she was. Not that he would have minded her sitting and resting – truthfully he would have preferred it after all she'd been through - but it just said a lot about her character that she could handle herself, even injured.
On the way to Tess' apartment, JT outlined for her the "plan" for the rest of the night. He would drop her off then go pick up the meds that should be waiting for her. Catherine fished out her prescription card and ID to hand him when she got out of the car.
Vincent was already on his way to her place to pack a couple bags for her. And a backpack. He smiled to himself. She may be tough but she was still all girl, and boy did they need a lot of paraphernalia. He blushed as he opened her dresser and pulled out her underthings, feeling a little like a voyeur. He stuffed them quickly into her suitcase, resisting the urge to take a good look. While rummaging through her closet he also spied a sleeping bag. He paused for a moment, wistfully remembering the camping trip that never happened. On a whim, he grabbed that as well, figuring maybe they'd get a chance to make up for lost time.
As JT and Catherine approached Tess' building, she could see the lights in her friend's apartment radiating like a beacon. She quickly texted Joe to pull the drapes and have Tess meet her at the back entrance of the building. The light just outside the door had been blown for weeks now. Hopefully they hadn't replaced it since she was here last week. She instructed JT to circle around to the parking lot side of the building and pull up to the door. Relief flooded her when she saw the light still out, and Tess standing inside waiting for her. It would give her a moment alone with her partner before she met with their boss.
"Hey," she said softly when Tess opened the door for her to enter.
Tess' eyebrows drew together in a concerned frown. "Hey yourself, partner," she answered. There was a world of communication between the two women with just those simple greetings. Tess wanted to know what was going on, but she wouldn't press Catherine for answers now. Apparently she was going to hear them in a few minutes anyway. As she turned toward the stairs, she felt Catherine's hand come to rest tentatively on her arm.
"Can we- can we have just a minute here, before we go talk to Joe?" Tess turned back toward her friend, with no small amount of surprise on her face. Cat had, after all, called their boss and not her to discuss whatever the hell was going on. That in itself stung. Unable to untangle her emotions enough to speak without risking losing control, she simply nodded her head for Cat to continue.
"I just want you to know these last few months have been really hard for me," she began. "I know that you aren't stupid, and you know there has been a lot going on in my life that I haven't been talking about."
"Well, thank you for at least acknowledging that you don't think I'm a complete imbecile," Tess retorted.
Catherine sighed. "I've never thought that Tess. Seriously? I've trusted my life in your hands more times than I can possibly count. Do you think I could have done that if I didn't trust everything about you - your instincts, your street smarts, and your intelligence?"
"And yet you've been lying to me, Cat. What does that really say about how much you trust me?"
"It has nothing to do with trust, Tess. It has everything to do with trying to protect you." That seemed to take Tess aback, as her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Yeah see? You just assumed I wasn't telling you things because I didn't trust you, or because I was ashamed of what was going on in my life. But nothing could be further from the truth. Believe me, when this is all over I want nothing more than to sit down with you and a bottomless supply of Chunky Monkey while I spill the whole sordid mess to you."
"I have a feeling it's gonna be more of a margarita talk, but point noted."
Catherine gave a sad chuckle. "Yeah, you may be right. At any rate, I'm going to be revealing some things to you and Joe, but I want you to know up front that you can't press me for more answers than I'm able to give at this point. Obviously I need your help, but there are things I just can't talk about yet and I'm begging you to not ask questions that Joe might not even be thinking about and get him going. I'm not saying he's slow, but you and I think on a different track than he does, and you know me better and I just know you're going to want answers to questions that won't be on his radar screen. Can you please do this for me? For now, until things sort out?"
Tess just stared at her partner for a long moment, a serious look of concern etched on her face. "OK, I'll try to be patient and not rock the boat. But that doesn't mean I have to like this."
"Noted. And for the record, I don't expect you to like it. I don't like it. If there were any other way…" She looked into Tess' eyes, willing her to see how much this was eating at her. It must have worked, because Tess' scowl softened, and she reached out to pull Catherine into a rare hug.
"Just know that I'm always here for you, Cat," she whispered, her voice choked a bit with emotion. She pulled back to look Catherine in the eyes again. "I just feel so helpless, you know? I mean, someone keeps trying to kill you, and I can't do a damned thing about it."
"All that is about to change," was the cryptic response she received.
"Well then! Let's head upstairs and get on with it." Tess turned and led the way up to her apartment.
When they entered the living room, Joe stood from the sofa and crossed to pull Catherine into a gentle hug. He wasn't generally one to show affection to his officers – Tess being the exception behind closed doors – but he'd damn near lost one of his best detectives three different times in the last few days. Part of him just needed to physically feel her to reassure himself she was really still with them.
"I never even got to ask you on the phone why you aren't still in the hospital," he started. "What the hell happened?"
"I think we better sit down, sir," she said wearily. "This is not going to be an easy discussion for any of us." Catherine took a seat and Joe sat next to her, turning sideways to give her his undivided attention. Tess took up position on the other side of her. She felt a little caged, but took a deep breath and reminded herself that above all else, these people were her friends.
"The people that have been trying to… kill me," she choked out, "tried again tonight. Thankfully, Dr. Salter had left an ex-doctor turned body guard to watch over me through the night." She slipped her hand behind her and touched Tess, letting her know that her relationship with Vincent was one thing she didn't want spilled to Joe just yet. Tess squeezed her arm to silently signal the message was received.
Her hands balled into fists in her lap as she braced herself to tell him the worst of the news. "Sir, I regret to have to inform you that Vince Bagnato is dead." Tears rolled down her cheeks at the thought of the kind officer, and the family he left behind.
Joe vaulted to his feet, his hand reaching around to hold the back of his head. "What?! How-?" He reached for his phone. Catherine laid a hand on his to halt his dialing.
"Please wait to do that for a moment," she asked, her tear-filled eyes pleading with him.
"Catherine, you know as well as anyone that the longer we wait, the less chance of catching the perp-"
"He's already caught, sir."
Joe dropped unceremoniously back to the sofa. "Come again? How'd that happen?"
"My uh- body guard managed to disarm the assassin and render him unconscious before cuffing him to the bed. You'll need to send officers to collect him. Personally, I wish you could lock him up and throw away the key."
"Well that's good then, right? We have the perp, so you can finish recuperating in peace and quiet finally."
"I'm afraid not," she admitted on a sigh, her shoulders slumped. "The people who are after me will just keep sending more of their henchmen until I'm 'neutralized'. I might as well walk around with a target painted on my chest."
"Chandler, what the HELL did you do to piss these people off? And since you apparently know who it is that is after you, I'd really appreciate if you'd clue me in."
Catherine shot Tess a look over her shoulder to reinforce her earlier request. "Joe, I really can't tell you that for a lot of reasons. But I will give you information to help start your investigation. Truthfully, I want you to find these people – but you have to know they are dangerous. I'm not the only one they have tried to kidnap or kill. I haven't told any of you what was going on because I was trying to protect you. But at this point, what you don't know could cost you your life, so I had to warn you. Sir – they are a rogue government agency, and they won't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in their way."
"How did you get mixed up with them, Catherine?"
"I really wish I could tell you the whole story, but suffice it to say I got on their radar by trying to help protect someone who already was. Someone who knows too much about them, and who they want to silence. Sir – these are the same people who killed my mom."
Tess nearly choked behind her. "Holy Mother of God-"
"Wait – you know who killed your mother?" Joe was astounded. He had thought Catherine finally was moving beyond that. Cat nodded her response, unable to meet his gaze. "Why didn't you say anything? Bring me the evidence? Tell me where to find the bastards!" he roared.
"I'm not really sure where to find them, exactly," she admitted while studiously picking at her fingernails to avoid looking at him. "Any time they have taken me in the past I was blindfolded."
This was news! "Taken you?" Joe demanded in a rage. "Do you mean to tell me you were kidnapped and never told anyone?"
"Well it was only for a few hours," she hedged. "Mostly they just wanted to scare me into giving up this person I have been protecting. And to try and bribe me with information about-" She stopped short of the admission she wasn't ready to make yet. She didn't need them to know that her mother had worked for Muirfield because that would lead to all sorts of new questions she couldn't handle. Besides, she didn't want them going to her father looking for answers.
"Information about what?" Joe pressed.
The best lie is one that contains some truth, she reminded herself. "Information about my mother's murder."
"So then, they didn't deny it?"
"She was trying to protect someone they were hunting as well," she offered, sidestepping the direct question and hoping he'd be sufficiently distracted not to push the issue. She didn't want to give him any time to try, though, so she charged ahead. "I think if you trace the guy in my hospital room, find out who he works for, that will get you going in the right direction. I'm hoping it will be like pulling a loose thread and once it starts to unravel the whole thing will come out in the light. What their organization does and who is involved."
"Who's this person you're protecting? Maybe you should bring them in and we can offer them protection."
Catherine knew exactly what Joe was doing. He could sense that she was into something up to her eyeballs, and he was determined to find out what it was. She couldn't let her guard down with him for a second. "Actually, this person is deep in hiding for now, and probably safer that way. In fact… I'm going to have to follow suit, which is the other thing I wanted to tell you. I know it will leave Tess without a partner, but I have sick leave coming to me, and several weeks of vacation time accrued. I need to go off the grid while you investigate this. If these people think you know where I am, they'll try to use you to get to me. If you don't know where I am, you're safer."
"Won't they be able to track you?" Tess asked worriedly. "Credit cards, cell phone, license plates – everything is traceable if they have government resources."
Catherine nodded. "I know. I'm going to have to come up with a new identity. It will give me some breathing room. I'll use burner phones and I promise I'll be careful. And I won't be alone. Dr. Salter's body guard friend has offered to go with me for protection."
"Well that's something," Joe agreed, blissfully ignorant to the undercurrents between the two women at that revelation. Tess was almost glad this had happened now, so that Catherine could sneak away with her new boyfriend for a while. She was actually a tad jealous – except for the whole running from assassins part of the situation. "Do you want me to call Witness Protection for you about that new identity?"
"No, sir, but thank you. I have to do this on my own. I'm not making any accusations, but I just can't risk that my new identity might be leaked. It will be safer for all of us if no one else knows who or where I am." Especially for me, once you learn the whole truth, she thought.
"Alright then," he replied, "we'll get the ball rolling on the investigation from this end, and once you're safe, contact us whenever you can. Just be sure you don't take any unnecessary chances. I'm nervous as hell letting you out of my sight, I have to admit."
Catherine smiled warmly at her boss. He might be no nonsense and all tough guy at work, but she always knew that he would move heaven and earth to protect those under his command. She secretly suspected he was a little more protective of her and Tess being the only female detectives. And Tess for other reasons as well. "Thanks so much for having my back," she told him, swallowing hard as she leaned forward to give him an awkward hug. She had never attempted to show him any kind of affection before, but after all that she'd been through, her emotions were running high, and the hug spoke the still unspoken words of gratitude she knew would have her in tears if she tried to utter them.
After his initial shock at her uncharacteristic gesture of affection, Joe carefully returned her embrace. "You know it," he replied, even as he was shooting a look over her head at Tess that said he wasn't quite sure what to think about everything that had just transpired.
Catherine stepped away from him, nervously avoiding eye contact with either of her coworkers. "I really need to get going," she told them. She could feel Vincent nearby; feel his anxiety as he waited downstairs for her to reappear. How she wished that things could just go back to normal and that she didn't have to leave her home, her friends, and her job. She wasn't naïve enough to not realize this might be a very permanent separation, if her connection to "the vigilante" became exposed. But compared to being with the man she loved, none of those things mattered to her. She could make a new home, and maybe new friends and a new job. But there would never be another Vincent. She would miss this life, but she wouldn't regret the decision to leave with him. She turned and gave Tess a quick squeeze, unable to say anything at all to her if she had a prayer of getting out of the apartment without breaking down. Without another word she rushed to the door and disappeared from their view.
Joe immediately grabbed his cell phone and began making calls.