Pondering Danielle's words, which in a way seemed more familiar to him than he would have liked to admit, John grabbed his mobile phone to call the only person he could trust enough to help besides Finch.
"If it´s about another person you shot, this time you'll have to work it out yourself. I can´t even keep up with my own cases", Carter answered his call in her unique way.
John smiled. "Actually, I just wanted to ask if you´re up for a coffee. So how about meeting up at the Golden Circle in 15 minutes?"
Not giving her a chance to reply, he had cut the connection before making his way to the little Diner.
Joss wasn´t able to grasp why she had gone straight to the place he had asked her to come to. From experience, however, she suspected that it would not indeed be a purely private invitation among friends. Enjoying the smell of a freshly brewed cup of coffee, she looked out onto the street when John suddenly sat down on the opposite side of the table out of nowhere.
"I had to order something, but I didn't know what to get for you", she didn't let her surprise show.
Not picking up on her statement, he looked at her in a way that revealed nothing about his thoughts.
"I need your help."
One sentence - four simple words that made her raise her eyebrows in a I knew it kind of way.
"And I thought you wanted to gift me a coffee."
Shifting her position, she tried in vain to discern his true motives.
"Why the games, John?", she asked in a tone of the detective she was.
"Because I wasn´t sure if you would have come here otherwise."
"Now I´m curious."
Reaching inside his jacket, he lay the photo of Danielle in front of her.
"This is Danielle Lawrence. However, for security reasons, she prefers the name Jenna Benson", he explained in a neutral tone.
"Oh god, John, what are you dragging me into now? If it's only related to what you're implying, I shouldn't know about it."
Focusing on the photo, she bit her lip.
"I know I'll regret asking, but what about her?"
„Someone from her past is targeting her a second time."
Carter hesitated, yet she wasn't able to deny the questions arising.
"Do you know who's after her?"
"Partly, that's why I need your help."
In the minutes that followed, John brought the beloved detective to the level of knowledge he was able to divulge. Last but not least, it was Carter's strong sense of justice, along with her ideals and her willingness to stand up for them, that made him recognize a trusting ally in her; a point that, to his relief, had become mutual over time. While he wasn´t able to reveal details of how Finch gathered his information for her own protection, she had come to realize that despite their opposing worlds and ways of handling situations, they shared a common interest.
"Twenty years ago, digitalization was not progressed enough to record data electronically. I need information on who Cardiff socialized with while he was in custody. As you know, child molesters are no popular inmates. So who could have derived a benefit from the situation that he is repaying now, after his release?", he came back to his original question.
For a moment his counterpart gave him the kind of expression, which made him aware that their cooperation would be subject to certain conditions.
"One thing first", Carter began in a stern tone.
"Officially I don´t know about the second identity of this woman. You know what I would need to do with an information like that."
Instead of an answer, John symbolized his approval with a silence. It was yet another point he liked about their relationship. Like him, Carter was able to read between the lines, to interpret his silence in all the right ways. It was something that in an odd way kept their flow.
"Aside from putting me in a quandary again, I won't have access to the files from 20 years ago", she mused. "All I can do is try to ask a favor from someone in the department."
Thankful about the help, John nodded. "I'll get in touch with you tomorrow."
Already a few steps distance between them, he turned to her again.
"Oh and Carter", he let the detective know with a short smile. "The bill is paid already. I promised to treat you."
"Don't you want to call it a day, too? I heard a little free time never hurt someone."
Looking across a file at Lionel Fusco, who had evidently decided to call it a day, Carter too put on a day-worn expression.
"I just have to finish this report, then I'll go too", she tried to answer as inconspicuously as possible. Since John came into her life, the number of white lies had admittely multiplied by a significant amount.
"Okay, see you tomorrow. Good night", Fusco answered raising his hand.
Joss' gaze slid back to the Computer, through which she had formulated her request to Detective Barns. At 63, he was a resident of the Violent Crimes Unit; the place that, if there was any documentation left on Danielle Lawrence's case, was the closest to providing the desired information. Like so many times before, John put her in an emotional quandary. While she wanted to protect the young woman from another violent crime, it would also be her duty to arrest her for adopting a false identity. Last but not least, all too often in the recent past, she had bent the right she had once sworn to uphold when she became a detective. Covering up crime, illegally obtaining and withholding information, helping escape a fugitive from police and state authorities – which in this case was John himself. The list was long, as was the list of those who wanted to see the man dead, who along with his friend, kept risking his own life to protect the innocent.
Joss brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen over her forehead.
Still not able to tell how the two gathered their information from those they were protecting, it was a point that sometimes scratched the limits of her willingness to help. Nonetheless, it was her intuition that made her trust them though.
"What have I gotten myself into?", she asked into the silence.
According to her job decision, she didn´t trust too easily, and yet she trusted John. Something about his demeanor which seemed sincere and authentic, made her see a grey zone, where there once just used to be black and white.
"Please just don't let there be any more unexpected dead persons", she murmured before she decided to join Fuscos idea and call it a day.