Chapter 1
Within thirty minutes, Elise and John appeared in the library, both concerned with what they would find. On the way over to the library, John had explained to Elise just who Grace was.
“Several years ago, before Finch was injured, he noticed a young woman in the Park as he was out walking, eating an ice cream cone. As he got closer, he noticed she had a bunch of painting supplies with her……I’m not quite sure how he had the gumption to speak to her.” John laughed as he related what he knew. “But apparently, when she noticed him, he asked her if she wanted a cone too. She told me that she was so intrigued to see someone eating an ice cream cone in January, that she said yes and they hit it off from there on.”
“Wait. You met her? Why haven’t I? I would have told her not to worry when Harold was abducted if…” Elise asked in disbelief but John interrupted her before she could get going on why they’d kept things a secret from her.
“I only met her once and that was by accident.” He quickly interjected. Elise’s eyebrows rose but she remained silent, waiting for John to explain. “I was trying to track down where Finch lived since he wouldn’t tell me.”
“So, you wanted to know just because he wouldn’t tell you?” Elise laughed. Wow, did Harold have John pegged! No wonder he enjoyed poking fun at John, it was like shooting fish in a barrel!
“Well yes, after all just what did he have to hide?” John spoke a bit defensively, getting the feeling that Elise was laughing at him. “So, I traced him to an address near Washington Park and when I knocked on the door, Grace answered it. I got her to let me in by pretending to be a cop and got her talking. That’s when she told me about her fiancé Harold.”
“So does Harold know that you met her? And why isn’t he with her anymore? He sure sounded concerned for her over the phone!”
“I’m getting to that dear, be patient.” John sighed. Sometimes Elise was just so impatient! Although, he had to admit smirking, he didn’t mind her impatience ALL the time. “After I left her house, I found Finch sitting on a bench in the park, watching me. He didn’t seem upset but rather, sad. He explained to me that he’d had to make Grace, along with everyone else, believe him to be dead. The people who were responsible for his injury would surely go after her next if they found out about her.”
“Oh my gosh! That’s so awful! And he still loves her doesn’t he? That’s why he is freaking out. Oh John, we have to help them both!”
John reached over and took her smaller hand in his. “I know Elise and we will.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I can’t imagine what I’d do if I knew someone was out to hurt you.”
Elise smiled sadly at him and said, “But John, it’s much worse for Harold, don’t you see? At least you would have the comfort of knowing I could look out for myself. He doesn’t even have that. Can you drive a little faster? We need to get to the library quickly.”
John reflected on what Elise said as he stepped on the gas, swerving in and out of traffic. The thought of someone wanting to hurt Elise had him seeing red with anger and then running cold with fear for her. He knew she could get herself out of many sticky situations. He’d witnessed that first hand over the past two months, but he’d also witnessed the few times that she hadn’t been able to. The thought of Elise at the mercy of those people who’d hurt Harold so badly, made his blood run cold. He knew he owed it to Harold to make sure that Grace was safe. John knew what it felt like to be a hollow man after losing someone you loved due to your own inadequacies and he didn’t want that for his friend.
*******************
“Harold!” Elise exclaimed, running to the man she considered close enough to be family. “Harold, John explained to me about Grace. We’ll keep her safe or die trying! I promise!” Elise looked into the man’s frightened eyes and tried to reassure him.
Harold cleared his throat. “While I appreciate the sentiment that occasioned such an offer, I sincerely hope it won’t be necessary my dear.”
John approached Harold with a bit more decorum and put his hand on the shorter man’s shoulder. “I give you my word, Harold. We’ll keep Grace safe.”
Harold just swallowed down the lump that jumped into his throat at those words. He looked away for a second and when he looked back at both of them, he had a determined look on his face. “ So, I understand you told Elise about who Grace was, but did you tell her why people were after me and now Grace?”
“No,” John shook his head. “I thought you’d better do that. That part is your story to tell.”
“Very well then. Elise, sit down I don’t have much time to tell you a very long story.” He waited until Elise seated herself in a chair and then he began. “I’ve always been well rather good with computers, and while I took a job in insurance and made all my money there, and also through some smart investments, computers always were my passion. After 9/11 happened, I heard through the programming community, that various government agencies were trying….and failing…. to build a computer that would be able to thwart terrorist plots BEFORE they happened. I approached my best friend and owner of the company that I worked for with an idea. I thought that with his help and capital, I might be able to create such a machine.” Harold took a deep breath and a sip of some tea and continued. “For years, I worked on programming a computer to sort information from various sources. Nathan, my friend, struck a deal with the NSA so that we could have access to their feeds, unknown to anyone else, and use the data to monitor any given area.”
“Wait. Monitor how?” Elise interrupted.
“The number of cameras in New York City alone, is officially uncountable. It was through those video feeds and various microphones, the NSA was monitoring the citizens of New York. Yes, I know, I know.” Harold waved his hand dismissively when Elise gasped. “You are right to fear a government agency that would do that, but in my hubris, I thought I could control it through the machine I was building. Finally after years of work, we made arrangements to turn the Machine over to the government. Just before the exchange, Nathan became uneasy with how his contacts were behaving. God! If only I had listened to him!” Harold paused and shook his head. “Maybe… maybe none of this would have happened. Nathan might still be alive and Grace, Grace wouldn’t be in danger right now!”
Elise lay her hand on Harold’s arm. “So I take it someone at the government wanted to keep the existence of the Machine quiet and thought the best way to do that was to silence the two of you?”
“No, just Nathan. They never knew that I was the one who had really created the Machine. We were walking across the street from the opera one evening to get some coffee and two men appeared with guns. They dragged Nathan and I into an alley and demanded he tell them who else he’d told about the Machine. He…he refused to tell them about me… even when they shot him in the leg. I tried to speak up, they were threatening to shoot him in the other leg…. but I never got the chance….. they killed him…right in…..front of me.” Harold stopped and bowed his head, the memories of that terrible night and the guns flashing in the dark…. He felt John’s hand squeeze his shoulder and he accepted the gesture of comfort for what it was.
“In the end, none of it mattered. After they shot Nathan, they shot me in the back and left us for dead. Thankfully some passerby called the police. They got me to the hospital in time but it was too late for Nathan.” He paused one more time and then said, “And those are the people who are after Grace right now.”
“Can you tell us a little more about what we’re going to be up against?” Elise asked. “And how did they find out about Grace anyway?”
“I have yet to determine that. Trust me, that will be my first priority besides providing you both with whatever support I can.” Harold replied. “And Mr. Reese is familiar with the modus operandi of the assassins who will be coming for Grace.” He turned to John and asked, “Do you remember the assassins sent after Henry Peck, Mr. Reese? The man that sent them will also be sending these men.”
“Got it Harold, let us know when you have something more for us. Come on, Elise, it’s time to weapon up and go get Grace to a safe house.”
“Mr. Reese, one more thing.” Harold called as we were walking down the hallway. “She is not to know that I’m alive. She’s going to be scared enough as it is, I don’t want her hurt and angry as well!” John just nodded and they both left the library.
*************
By the time they left the library, it was after noon and Elise found herself intrigued as to where John thought he was going to obtain the weapons they needed. They both knew that their everyday handguns just weren’t gonna cut it on this job.
“So where are we going John?” Elise asked, running a little to keep up with him.
“I know of a few people who have some extra hardware on hand that we can relieve them of.”
“Wait. Steal it?” Elise stopped dead. “Um, John I’m not comfortable with stealing from some gun shop owner.”
John had to turn around to say, “No, Elise. Not a gun shop. Someone who’s a bit more liberal about whom they sell to.”
“Oh,” Elise started moving again. “In that case, I could use a good workout. Let’s go and ‘meet’ your friends.” John had to smile. No matter what, he hoped that Elise would never lose that feisty spirit.
Forty-five minutes later, John pulled up in front of a small, run down bodega. “Your friends work here?” She nodded in the direction of the store. “How many friends are we talkin?”
“I’m not sure, depends on if they have customers at the moment.”
“No matter.” Elise shrugged.
John reached his hand over to Elise. “I know you’re upset about Harold and Grace, Elise but try and be a little careful. You won’t do them any good if you are wounded and I’ll be seriously put out with you as well.”
Elise beamed at him and he sucked in his breath, dazzled by the love he saw there. “I know babe. Don’t worry. I’m sure your caution has rubbed off on me somewhere. Now give me a kiss and let’s go kick some ass.”
He shook his head and smiled inwardly at her enthusiasm as he leaned over to give her the kiss she asked for.
They exited the car and walked quickly around back. John opened a door and led them down a short corridor to a room that was covered by shelves, lockers and wood paneling. Inside there were six people scattered around a table with guns on it.
“Oh, no!! Oh no! Not you again! Hell no!” A young man yelled and threw his hands up in the air.
“Ah, Anton. So you remember me. I’m flattered.” John threw the youth an evil grin. “I found myself in need of a few new weapons and naturally I thought of my old friend Anton.”
“Uh, sure take whatever you want. I don’t want any trouble.”
Standing next to John, Elise sighed. “Damn. And here I was looking forward to some action.”
John spoke to her without turning. “Take what you want and grab the CA 415 and that Vector too.” Elise did what he told her, careful to keep out of John’s line of fire.
“Oh,” Elise said, picking up a sniper’s rifle. I haven’t used one of these since my days in…” Elise let the sentence trail off. She didn’t want these punks to know she was former HRT. “Alright. Let’s go.”
“You’re just gonna let those assholes walk away with your merchandise?” One of the guys on the other side of the table from Anton spoke. “The hell with that!” But the guy barely had a chance to reach for his gun before John shot him through the kneecap and he collapsed groaning on the floor. Elise trained her gun on the other two men on that side of the table and when one of them reached for his own gun, she shot him through the kneecap as well. The third man threw his hands up and looked scared.
“Well, as always, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you Anton. Have a nice day.” John said in a low, unconcerned but pleasant voice. Both he and Elise backed out the door and then walked quickly to the car.
“Well, that was hardly a fight.” Elise mumbled. “You’ve got people too scared already. That was the second time you promised me some action and didn’t deliver.” She mock pouted.
John just raised an eyebrow at her as he started the car. “Ah, Elise, insatiable as always. I’m sorry if I’ve ever left you wanting my dear.” And he shot Elise a smirk.
“Not THAT and I think hell would freeze over before that happened! I meant that time we went after those guys who were collecting life insurance illegally.” She paused and reached over towards John’s lap. “I doubt you’d be ABLE to leave me unsatisfied. Not with the tools you have at your disposal.”
“Elise.” He growled warningly as her hand began to coax him to life. “We have to get to Grace’s house quickly. It’s already getting dark.”
“Oh, I know. I just thought perhaps I could help you drive faster.” Elise said with a mischievous grin as she unzipped his pants. “Who knows when we’ll be able to enjoy each other again considering this protection detail.” Elise bent down and took him in her mouth, moving up and down and causing him to thicken and lengthen quickly. John groaned as she began swirling her tongue around his tip and then up and down all the way to the base. She felt the car jump a little as his foot pumped the gas quickly in reaction. Elise smiled and moved a bit faster up and down his shaft, using her hands and tightening her lips to create more friction. When he began thrusting his hips up and going deeper into her mouth, Elise moaned a little and the vibrations sent him over the edge. After a minute, Elise pulled back and carefully tucked him back into his pants, all the while listening to his heavy breathing and grinning that she was able to give him pleasure whenever she felt like it. She sat back up and put herself back together as well before she felt John’s hand reach for hers. He smiled at her and they rode the rest of the way in silence.
They arrived at Grace’s home and John turned to Elise. “Let me take the lead on this. She’s at least met me before. She might be more willing to go with me than a complete stranger.”
“Ok. I take it you’ve got a plan?” John raised his eyebrow at her. “Oh yeah, right, I forgot… I’m talking to Mr. Plan-within-a-plan. Let’s go. Harold will be anxious until we get her someplace safe.”
John and Elise climbed the steps to Grace’s home, with its cute little brick and white façade in the federal style. John rang the bell and a red-haired woman answered the door a minute or so later. Elise was barely able to contain her gasp of surprise when she recognized the woman as the one who had rattled Harold so much in the coffee shop that day, several weeks ago.
“Detective….? I’m sorry I’ve forgotten your name. What can I do for you?” She asked pleasantly.
“Detective Stills, Ma’am.” John said, flashing a police badge I’d seen him use before. “And this is my partner, Detective Tate. We’re here ma’am because we have reason to believe that your life is in danger. A known drug trafficker has recently stolen your identity and you’ve now been targeted by her rivals who have never met her. Please, you need to come with us. ”
“Oh…Okay…um sure. Can I pack a few things?” She asked, pointing over her shoulder into the house. Elise had turned and scanned the area and nodded to John, giving him the all clear.
“You have ten minutes. My partner will stay here with you and drive you to a safe house. I’m going to go and make sure that the safe house is secure before you arrive.” As Elise walked into Grace’s home, John pulled her aside and said, “You see ANYthing you don’t like, get out of here fast.” Elise nodded and John got into the car and took off.
Shutting the door and locking it after John left, Elise turned and smiled at Grace. "I'm sure you didn't expect this evening to turn out like this. But I do appreciate you understanding the gravity of the situation. The threat to you is serious enough that we need to get you out of here and into a controlled environment. Let me shut these blinds. The fewer people that are able to look in here, the better. I don't know how long you may have to stay away, so you might want to pack enough clothes for a week, maybe?" Elise said as she followed Grace into her bedroom.
"A week? Oh dear, I don't know that I can be gone a week.” She squeaked. “I have deadlines to meet for my magazine illustrations. They threaten to deduct from my pay if I'm late. Oh dear........" said Grace softly. Standing in the middle of her bedroom she seemed at a loss of where to begin. Folding her arms tightly around herself she looked very frightened and alone. "I don't know what to do.”
Elise paused by the closet for a moment and looked at Grace. Her heart went out to her. Here was a woman who led a quiet life, adding beauty to the world with her art and now she was being thrown into the harsh light of the underworld of civilization and worse, she didn’t even know it. More determined than ever, Elise felt a responsibility to Harold AND to Grace to keep her safe.
“Well, let’s prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” Elise smiled at Grace. Reaching into the closet she pulled out a couple of casual tops and slacks. Bringing them over to the bed, she laid them out for Grace to decide what she wanted to take. “You might want to take a couple of pairs of jeans as well as the slacks. Jeans fit in just about anywhere these days. And make sure you take some good walking shoes.”
Jeans would definitely be better if they had to move fast and possibly in rough terrain and Grace sure wouldn’t need any heels or sandals where they were going. Elise frowned, thinking ‘I really don’t like the unknown aspect of this whole venture. Harold has got to come up with some concrete intel fast!’
Leaving Grace to decide what actual clothes to pack, Elise walked back into the living room. It was such a beautiful place. Light, airy and spacious. The artwork on the wall was obviously original, probably painted by Grace herself. Walking around, Elise was trying to get a ‘feel’ for the person Grace was. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a picture of Harold and Grace. It was such an unusual sight to see Harold smiling, happy, without that apprehensive look he normally had on his face. This had to be from a time before The Machine. The fact that she kept a picture, on display, after two years, showed the depth of Grace’s love for Harold. ‘The pain of losing Harold must have been excruciating.’ Mused Elise.
Grace walked back in with a small suitcase to find Elise holding the picture. Elise turned to face her and asked, “Who is this Grace? Is this someone we should talk to for you? Let them know you are safe?” Elise wanted Grace to tell her about Harold. John didn’t give her much background before he left.
Walking over the Elise, Grace took the picture and hugged it to her chest. “That’s Harold, my fiancé. I lost him two years ago.” Bowing her head, she quietly said, “No, there’s no one that needs to know. There’s just me. I don’t have any other family.” Unzipping the suitcase, Grace looked once more at the picture and then placed it between some jeans to protect it and zipped the suitcase back up. “That picture is the only thing I have left of Harold. Most of our things, the things we bought and shared together, were at his apartment. When he, when he died the police wouldn’t let me take anything, so I had nothing of our life together, except this one picture. Nobody actually knew about us. Which, at the time, was fine. Harold and I are……were………both very private people. We had each other and that was enough…..then.” She said softly, as she ran her hand over the closed suitcase.
Elise felt Grace's pain like a physical thing. She’d been there. She’d experienced that devastating loss.....like losing a part of your body. It was a vacuum that could not be filled. She had been a teenager when she lost Patrick but she knew the rawness of that gaping wound would take years to heal, if ever. She had carried so much guilt for so long. But it had made her stronger, more self-reliant, more confident in herself and it shaped the woman she was today. Still, she wouldn't wish that journey on anyone. Especially not someone as fragile as Grace.
"I'm so sorry Grace. I didn't mean to bring back such painful memories." Elise said as she walked over to Grace. Taking the hand that was still sliding back and forth across the suitcase, Elise made Grace look at her. "I've lost someone like that in my life too. It's been well over twenty years but I still feel that ache when I think of him. It's only been two years for you so it's still fresh like it was yesterday. Hold onto the way you felt about him. He lives on within your memory. Keep him close to your heart. It will get better, I promise you. It takes time but it will get better. " Squeezing Grace's hand, Elise grabbed the suitcase and headed toward the door.
"Thank you, Detective......? Oh I'm so sorry! I've forgotten your name! How rude of me!" Gasped Grace, covering her mouth with her hand.
"It's Detective Tate but please call me Elise. We're going to be together for a while so we really should be on a first name basis don't you think?" Smiled Elise.
"Thank you Elise." Grace smiled back and gathered up her purse and a jacket. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. You have no idea when I can come back home?" She asked, looking around. "I don't go out very often. I'm much more comfortable here."
Elise realized that Grace had shut herself away from everyone, even life itself since Harold had 'died'. That infuriated Elise. Harold made the decision on his own, to stay out of Grace's life. Never talking to her about his life and the danger he may.....MAY have put her in. The pain she had gone through, mourning a man who was still alive was inexcusable! ‘Harold is going to have to do a lot of explaining when this was over with! It was almost like when Harold 'died' so did Grace! 'I've got to step away from Grace fast before I blurt out something I’ll regret!'
"Stay here for a minute and let me check everything outside before we get in the car. Don't open the door for anyone but me no matter what, you understand? " Elise said through clenched teeth. She could barely contain her anger at Harold, much less keep it hidden from Grace. Elise knew she didn't have a poker face when she got like this and she was worried that Grace would ask her what was wrong.
Slipping out the back door quietly, Elise carefully made her way to Grace's car. Checking under the car, behind the car and around it she felt nothing was out of the ordinary. Standing quietly and using all of her senses she listened intently. All she heard was normal night time sounds, dogs barking in the distance, cars racing down the street, voices far off arguing and even some laughter filtered its way down to her. Checking the back of the building carefully for any hiding places, she felt confident it was safe for Grace to come out and get in the car.
Knocking lightly on the back door, Elise waited for Grace to answer. The glare of the kitchen light hit Elise full in the face and made her blink rapidly. Pushing her way in, Elise almost slammed the door behind her. "What are you doing? You didn't even ask who it was! You didn't wait for me to SAY who it was? You can't do that! You've got to think about who may be on the other side of that door! It could easily have been someone who wants to kill you!" Elise almost shouted. Her panic at how easily Grace let her in set off a jumble of thoughts that she had to get back into some semblance of order. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Elise brought herself back under control. Opening her eyes she saw Grace crumpled in a kitchen chair in tears.
"Grace! Oh Grace I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to yell at you! I'm so sorry! Please don't cry! It was me! It was my fault, I'm supposed to protect you and instead I hurt you." Kneeling down in front of Grace, Elise grabbed her hands with one of hers and used her other hand to hug Grace to her. Stroking her hair softly and whispering quietly in her ear, Elise was able to calm Grace down and bring her back to the here and now. Once Grace had quit crying, Elise stood up and got her some paper towels to wipe her face.
Crouching down one more time in front of Grace, Elise spoke softly. "I won't leave you again Grace. I promise. I will be with you all the time and I won't let anything happen to you. Do you believe me?" Grace smiled at Elise and nodded.
"Good. Now we need to get going. John, I mean Detective Stills, will be wondering where we are." Grabbing the suitcase from the living room, checking that the front door was locked, Elise stopped and looked back. She hoped whoever was after Grace would not find this place and trash it, looking for information about where to find her.
Walking out the back door, Elise checked one more time for anything out of place and finally motioned for Grace to come on out. Locking the door behind her, Elise grabbed Grace's hand and led her to car for the ride to the safe house.
*****************
Getting Grace to come with them was the easy part. Getting her safely to a safe house was a little more difficult. John went ahead in his car because he and Elise decided it was best to give him a chance to get to the house and check it out before they got there. John parked at the end of the block and walked past the safe house, turned the corner and walked to the alley. Feeling comfortable that no one was trailing him, he turned down the alley and came up behind the safe house. Using his eyes and ears he stood at the edge of the yard, quietly taking in everything.
Harold paid someone to maintain the safe houses around the city. If the house was empty and secured, certain elements would be visible from the outside depending on the day. Since it was Thursday, John checked to see that the proper lights were on in the correct rooms. There was trash in the trash can and a non-descript car in the drive way. Everything looked normal on the outside.
Slipping around the side of the house in the dark, he checked the windows and saw nothing amiss but could hear the TV on to the Thursday night channel, another good sign. Finally feeling everything was as it should be he walked back to the alley and back around the corner. Approaching the house, the street noises and activity for that time of night felt normal. Turning to go up the steps, he stopped to check the mailbox and found the Thursday mail in place, another good sign. Using his key he unlocked the door and walked in. Drawing his gun from its usual place, at the small of his back, he checked out every room and every closet. Looking out into the back yard he was finally satisfied that everything was as it should be. He sent a quick text to Elise to come on in.
Receiving the text from John, Elise sped up to get to the house faster. She felt very vulnerable in the car with Grace.
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