A/N: Many thanks to wolfmusic218 for forcing-uh, I mean, gently nudging me back into writing. :P Thanks for the encouragement as always, girl. :)

"Detective Carter?" Elias couldn't help but be impressed. Apparently she lived by her own special code, too. "What a funny old world." He looked around briefly before inquiring, "Where are we going?"

Carter shook her head, unsure of that herself. "I don't know." What she did know was that they couldn't stay here. She needed some time to regroup. Think. She'd accomplished what she set out to do: prevent a murder. And fuck with HR in the process. But the intended victim and her own personal circumstances were going to make the fallout a lot more complicated. She sighed. She should have just gone home. Figured out how to get out of the frame job and how to begin to bring HR down once and for all. She should have accepted that it was Elias' fate. That his chickens were coming home to roost, and everybody he'd ever harmed or killed was going to get justice. That he was going to pay for kidnapping her son.

She should have left well enough alone.

And not slept for the rest of her life.

She could end this right now. Call for back up and tell the truth. Hope that back up wasn't in HR's pocket and they believed she received an anonymous tip about what was going to go down and she stopped it. Hope that the trouble she was already in wouldn't raise more questions than she had answers for. Hope that HR wouldn't put an even larger target on her back knowing she foiled their plans and sure as hell wasn't going to sit back and allow them to frame her.

But hope wasn't going to cut it. Not this time. They threatened her son. She sighed as she turned the key in the ignition. She needed to go someplace to think.

She pulled into a dank and probably rank motel, intending to check in under a fake name and use the cash she stashed before she began this suicide mission. Climbing out of the driver's seat, she opened the back door opposite Elias. He had been thankfully quiet for the duration of the drive and she suspected the wheels were turning in his head as well. Always calm and methodical, she was fairly certain he wouldn't do anything rash, not at the moment anyway, but an idiot she was not. His hands still cuffed in front of him, she pulled out another pair of handcuffs and looped them through the ones around his hands. He didn't put up any resistance as she nudged him forward so she could fasten the second pair of cuffs around the metal bars attaching the headrest to the seat. Without a word, she donned the sunglasses, grabbed her bag, and calmly entered the motel lobby entrance. Sure it was night time, sure whoever was working the desk would look at her funny, but the less people who could point her out before she came up with a game plan, the better.

Without bothering to check out the room, Carter used the cover of darkness to usher her prisoner inside. Fortunately it was late enough that no one was around to notice the bright orange prison jumpsuit. Turning on the light, she closed and locked the door behind them and slowly walked toward the dresser, dropping her bag onto it.

Elias took a few steps into the room, maintaining enough distance not to be thought of as a threat. "How long are we staying here?"

She turned around and faced him. "I haven't figured that out yet. But not long."

She watched as he nodded slightly. "I can call my people and be out of your hair- "

"No. You're not going free. You still need to pay for your laundry list of crimes." She ignored the hypocrisy staring her in the face. She ignored all she'd done for her partner. And John Reese. She watched as he nodded again in what appeared to be acceptance and acquiescence.

"So, then, take me back."

She stared at him for several seconds before she responded. "It's not that simple." It wasn't. But how she wished it was. Even though it was the safest place for him, and where he belonged, it wouldn't stop HR or the Russians from trying again, and making everything she'd just done moot. Even if he did deserve it. The justice system existed for a reason. There was no place for vigilante justice. She closed her eyes, ignoring the hypocrisy once again.

But, she realized, it may end up being out of her hands. There was no way in hell she was letting him go free, regardless of the fact that he was still running his criminal empire from behind bars. She was going to have to seriously consider simply taking him back and letting his people protect him there. Of course, that meant there could be more "prison transfers" in his future.

Fucking HR. They were threatening her and had her protecting the asshole who kidnapped her son. They needed to be taken down. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it alone. But enough was enough. Her son in danger again? That was a fucking wrap.

Pushing herself from the dresser, she pulled her phone from her pocket. She needed to make a phone call.

At the knock on the motel room door, Carter went to look through the peephole. Seeing her partner, she quickly opened the door and let him in. She watched as he stepped in and eyed Elias lying flat on his back on one of the beds, his right arm cuffed to the headboard. She took a deep breath and smiled at Lionel tiredly, grateful to have another set of eyes and ears. And brain power. It was two o'clock in the morning and hers was almost totally spent.

Not bothering to acknowledge Carter's- or, rather now, their- prisoner, he followed her to the bathroom where she closed the door just enough to give them some privacy while allowing them to see what Elias was or wasn't doing. She'd apologized to him for waking him up over the phone and gave away nothing, only that she needed an assist and would text him the address. Knowing it was damn near two in the morning, he figured it was serious and plucked himself out of bed and out the door in no time.

Cutting to the chase, Carter explained the immediate situation- the attempted murder of the mob boss- before explaining why she couldn't simply take him back to the prison. For one, if she brought him back in, the Russians and HR would know she was the one who shot their people and ruined their plans, and they'd come gunning for her. The Russians would put a bullet in her head in no time. At least with only HR after her, she stood the slightest chance of living to see another day as they would have to make sure her murder didn't point in their direction before making their move. She was between a rock and a very hard place.

"So I'll take him back. Anonymous tip or something. Say his people helped him escape and the tip led me to him." Fusco tried to come up with a scenario- any scenario- where Carter's involvement wouldn't come up, even if it put his ass on the chopping block. They'd never spoken about it, he had yet to find a way to bring it up, but he knew it had been her. He knew she'd been the one to move Stills' body. He felt he owed it to her to get her out of this mess.

"Then they'll come after you."

"They're always after me, Carter."

"And what about him?" She indicated with a nod of her head their prisoner. "How do we get him to go along with it? If we say he escaped, it's just gonna add more time to his sentence. He's not going for that."

"Alright, then we go with the truth. Except it was me. I got an anonymous tip about the execution, I followed the truck, busted up the party. You, me, whoever it was, it don't make a difference to him." He jerked his head in Elias' direction. "We get him back in. HR'll be too wrapped up in trying to find the leak, the Russians'll break the alliance..."

Carter shook her head. It sounded good on paper but there were two big concerns: her partner's safety and the fact that it would be a temporary fix. Even if the Russian mob and HR had a falling out, they would still find a way to take Elias out, not to mention the all out war she was sure was coming between Elias' people on the outside and the Russians. She had stepped into more of a clusterfuck than she could have imagined. She would've normally felt bad for having the thought but she was wishing she had never bluejacked Terney's phone and learned about the assassination. Because in this case, what she knew was going to hurt her. One way or another. "What about you, Fusco? What if they figure out you're the 'leak?'" She shook her head. "I'm not about to get you killed because of what I did. Nobody's ever going to stop trying to kill him." She sighed heavily. "I may have saved him this time but you know there'll be a next time. It's the life he chose."

Fusco sighed as he studied his partner. It was a risk he was willing to take. Loyalty and past mistakes would always have to be paid for. If this was his time to pay up, he would. Getting her to go along with it, though, was another story altogether. "What about that next time, Carter? You ain't gonna be able to babysit him forever. You did what you could. He did choose this life. And tried to take yours. I take him back and whatever happens happens." He watched as she swallowed, considering his words and not liking them. "Listen, you should try to get some sleep. I'll keep watch, give him his bathroom break. We'll nail this down in the morning."

In the morning. That was another thing. How would they explain all the time that has passed if they went with the truth? "How do we explain getting him back to the prison in the morning when all of this went down last night? Tonight? Whatever." It had been a long damn 24 hours.

"We'll figure it out. You gotta try to get some sleep so you can think."

She shook her head once again. "I'm not going to be able to sleep." She hadn't even gotten to telling him what had happened the night before with the shooting, the threats, and her suspension. All of which happened while he was conveniently away on a case.

"Well at least rest your eyes while you think." At her nod, he ushered her out the bathroom and sat in one of the chairs by the table while she climbed into the other bed. He watched as she stared at the ceiling, wondering where Glasses and Wonder Boy were while all of this was going down. Wondering if she'd even bothered to tell them. They received help from both Carter and him constantly, but they knew to ask for it. John and Finch couldn't help them if they didn't know. But if Carter hadn't brought them in on this, he was sure she had her reasons. He'd ask her about it in the morning, if she managed to fall asleep.

Finch and Reese entered the library the following morning after having surprisingly received a new number from the Machine since returning to New York. Settling down in a chair with a cup of coffee and the day's newspaper, Reese began flipping through the pages as Finch resumed his familiar position in front of his computer screens to see what or whom the emancipated Machine had brought to their attention. And why. Bear settled onto his bed and waited as well, things seemingly back to normal in his world.

"I've got a name, Mr. Reese. Clarence Redmund. Thirty-two. Married..." Finch's voice trailed off as he proceeded to type, trying to gather more basic intel to determine if this person was legitimate and not another one of the Machine's attempts at self-preservation. Things were more than a little uncertain now, now that the Machine had reset itself and had, just before its reboot, been giving them less than enough time to help or stop the people it chose.

Continuing to wait until Finch gave him something to go on, Reese sat up in his seat as his eyes scanned over an article. It was short, pictureless, in the far right margin of the current page. About an NYPD detective under investigation for shooting and killing an unarmed suspect. The name was withheld but the cop's age, tenure, and placement on the Homicide Task Force were printed. Those facts, along with the unmistakable feeling in his gut, led him to a singular conclusion. One he did not see coming and one he hoped was entirely wrong.

Reaching into his pocket, he took out his phone and dialed Carter's number. It rang several times before it went to voicemail. The feeling intensified. He dialed Fusco next.

Fusco looked at his phone's caller ID and hesitated. Carter was in the bathroom. She had slept fitfully for about an hour at some point during the night, and he hadn't yet had a chance to ask her why she wasn't utilizing the massive resources that came with Glasses and his sidekick. Those two owed her. Hell, all of them did. He knew he probably shouldn't have but he answered. They might just need some information and Carter's name wouldn't come up. Or he might decide to bring her up for her own damn good. They could probably handle this on their own but Finch could make things a hell of a lot easier. "Yeah?"

"Where's your partner?"

It was Mr. Happy, being his normal, happy self. Fusco was kind of hoping it would be Finch. He would've been easier to deal with this damn early in the morning. "Uh," He glanced toward the closed bathroom door. "She's with me. Why?"

"Is she in trouble?"

Fusco kept his sigh to himself. They already knew. "She ain't on a trip to Disney Land, I'll tell you that."

"Where are you?"

Fusco proceeded to give him the address and room number, hearing the click as Reese wordlessly ended their call. He turned to look at Elias who was sitting up quietly against the headboard with his head leaning back and his eyes closed. Fusco's attention was turned to the bathroom as the door opened and Carter stepped out. He figured he'd better warn her and didn't waste any time. "We got company coming."

Both Carter and Elias turned to look at him. By the look in her eyes, she already knew who. Anger didn't accompany the expression on her face. There was that at least. Resignation, though, did.

Rising from his seat, he walked over to Elias to ready him for his bathroom break, leaving Carter to her thoughts.

Reese set the newspaper down in front of his friend and partner after he hung up with Fusco.

Quickly scanning the article John pointed to, Finch met his eyes, the article explaining the terse phone call he'd overheard. "Fusco's with her at the Chadwick Motel in Queens." And with that, Reese exited the library, leaving Finch to follow up on the number they had received.

Twenty-five minutes later, there was a sharp rap on the door. Fusco glanced at Carter sitting at the table across from him. He started to get up but stopped as she rose and went for it.

Joss knew John wanted to help. That was what his whole damn life was about. And she couldn't help but feel relieved that he was here. He was good. Damn good at what he did. But he was also busy the last time she spoke to him, and uninterested in stopping Elias' murder. She figured she was on her own, with Fusco. But he or Finch had gotten wind of something and she'd have to accept the help at this point. Superwoman she was not.

Checking through the peephole before opening the door, she stepped aside and let him in. She watched as he closed the door behind himself and looked at her before his eyes fell on the bright orange prison jumpsuit in his periphery. His expression changed from quiet anger to confusion and downright fury. Wordlessly, he took hold of her upper arm, opened the door, and led her out, his loose grip not matching the pulsating energy radiating from his body. She let him lead her to the room next door, standing by his side as he used a bump key and the butt of his gun to open the door. How he'd known it was unoccupied was beyond her. Why he'd dragged her from their room was beyond her, too. Whatever they planned, Fusco needed to be in on it, too.

Ushering her through the now open door, Reese followed and closed and locked the door behind them. The shades were drawn so he flipped the light switch before turning his attention her. He'd known she was in some kind of trouble involving a shooting. And whatever it was, even if she was guilty as sin, he was going to get her out of it and back behind her desk. He'd also known she was looking into a possible premeditated murder attempt on Elias, in spite of the mob boss succeeding in kidnapping her son and nearly succeeding in taking her life. But to walk into that motel room just now and see him sitting there? That he was not expecting. He kept his voice measured and calm but he was sure she could detect the admonishing tone buoying his words. "I thought I told you to keep your head down."

"Like you did?"

She detected it all right.

"What happened?"

She turned away from him then, rubbing her forehead and sighing heavily as she took a few steps into their hijacked room. "A lot happened."

"Okay. Start at the beginning. Who set you up and why didn't you tell me?"

She turned back around. She was trying to remain calm but his tone was making her angry. Her professional life was in shambles, her child had been threatened, and she'd gotten into the middle of a mob war to save the first person who'd threatened her son. And John's patronizing tone was threatening to pull on that lone thread keeping her from unraveling. "You were busy. Doing something you didn't trust me enough to help you with."

He inhaled sharply. He deserved that. Trying to soften his delivery, he continued to try to get more information out of her. "Who set you up?"

"Terney. HR."

"How?"

"A bad shoot. Terney tells me they got a lead on Cal's shooting. We show up, Terney's behind me the whole time, the unis spread out, guy comes out with his gun ready to fire, I fire first."

"Then what?"

"Then what? I should've stayed with the damn body, that's what. IAB shows up and says there was no gun."

"Terney took it."

She shook her head. "No. He was actually with me the whole time. It was Baisden. First name is Ryan, I think. Has to be. I recognized him from the HR sting last year. He was one of the ones they let go."

Reese took another deep breath, the anger still simmering beneath the surface. He was having difficulty keeping it from showing on his face. "This was two nights ago, Joss. When I spoke to you yesterday, why didn't you tell me you were in trouble?"

"If I recall correctly, John, you had to go because my brethren were after you."

"I don't care if I'm in the middle of taking my last breath, you tell me when you're in trouble." Sighing again, he kept at it. By the looks of the company in her room, there was a hell of a lot more to get to. "Elias."

It affected her. What he'd just said. What he was now glossing over by continuing to interrogate her. But she let it go. "When they had me in the box, Terney comes in and tells me I'm going down for the murder, and if I didn't go down quietly he was going to kill Taylor." She watched as he swallowed. "They were going to kill my son, and Fusco if I brought him in on it. He got a phone call, I used that app you guys use, and I heard him talking about taking Elias out."

"So you followed him."

"They arranged a prison transfer. I followed them out to those woods off of 47. It was Terney and Yogorov. I clipped both of them and brought Elias here. Maybe he deserved it but I wasn't going to be able to sleep letting it happen."

Reese nodded. "Did they see you?"

"Of course not."

"What are you planning?"

She shook her head and sighed heavily. "I'm gonna have to take him back but I need to know what Terney's story is. How he's explaining his wound. If he's explaining it. And what the prison guards doing the transfer are telling the marshals."

Reese watched her silently, her eyes telling him all he needed to know. She hadn't thought this through. She'd just acted. It was familiar to him. But she'd really stepped in it this time. And he would get her out of it. "Now don't argue with me. You're going to get Taylor and you're going to stay in a safe house until- "

"I'm not staying in a- "

"Don't argue with me."

"Who do you think you- "

"Don't argue with me."

She shook her head incredulously and laughed, beginning to walk past him on her way out the door.

He grabbed her upper arm. "Do not argue with me."

That time, something in his eyes shut down her vocal cords. Completely.

Releasing her arm, Reese walked over to the door and opened it, holding it until she walked through. She followed behind him silently as they took the short trek back to her room. After Fusco let them in, John wasted no time in searching the room for her things. Fusco watched as he moved around the small room. "What's the plan?"

"Stay here." Reese turned to Carter, her feet planted just inside the door, arms folded across her chest. He lifted the black bag she'd brought. "Is this all you brought?" When he realized she wasn't going to give him an answer, he turned to Fusco. "I'll be back." He figured Lionel would notice he didn't say "we" and know that the immediate plan included stowing Carter away somewhere where she wouldn't be found. "Don't let him out of your sight."

Fusco frowned. "Yeah, I was gonna toss him the key and head out for sushi."

Grabbing Carter's arm once more, Reese shouldered her bag, turned her, and escorted her out the door.

Fusco turned to Elias, certain the mob leader was mulling over the turn of events.

Elias had learned a lot just now while sitting quietly, being the good prisoner. He hadn't made it this far being unable to read people, situations. Being unable to make connections. He'd known for awhile John was associated with the detective professionally. Illegally. But who was he to judge? It wasn't until John had taken her son back from his clutches that he realized the association was more personal, eventually tying John back to the revocation of permission he'd been granted to permanently remove Detective Carter from his list of nemeses. He had taken her son and taunted her that she was all alone when all the while she knew she wasn't. All the while she knew John was working to get her son back. All the while she had placed her complete faith in the vigilante and refused to back down. In hindsight, he should have known.

And he'd just seen what he needed to complete the puzzle. He shook his head, his mouth turning up at the corner. John, the former killer, current savior, had an Achilles' heel. "Opposites do attract, don't they, Detective Fusco?"

Fusco didn't humor him with a response. He was a perceptive bastard. But Carter and Wonder Boy had a lot more in common than the crime lord knew.

"What'd you drive?" Reese asked the quiet woman in his grip as they walked toward the equally quiet parking lot. He followed her line of sight as she pointed toward a black SUV. "Keys?" He watched again as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a single key linked to a single key chain. Carmax Rentals. She'd at least thought that much through. Grabbing the key from her, he led her to the SUV, opening the passenger door and waiting until she was seated before he closed the door and rounded the vehicle.

Settling into the driver's seat, he put the key in the ignition when her voice almost startled him.

"What makes you think I'm gonna stay?" She probably would. She knew it. She'd be with her son, be assured he was safe. She was exhausted and she'd bitten off more than she could chew. So she'd probably do as he asked. Demanded really. But she'd make her displeasure known. She hated needing help. She hated asking for it even more. And sitting on the sidelines while someone else finished what she started was even worse. But she had to accept it. That she needed help. John's kind of help.

He pursed his lips and took a deep breath before he answered. He hadn't wanted to argue about this. There was entirely too much he needed to do to extricate her from this situation. She needed to be out of his way and out of his mind while he did so. He tried to think of what to say without riling her further. Without needing to lock her inside the safe house or handcuff her there and face the questions from her son. "I was distracted and you almost got killed. I need you to do this for me." He decided to implore her caring side. The side he knew cared about him as much as he cared about her. To frame it as her doing something for him. Doing what he needed. She wouldn't be able to refuse. He wouldn't have been able to either.

Her voice softened. "I appreciate it, John, but nobody appointed you my keeper. And I wasn't almost killed."

"What happened, Carter? That was plan B. The guy you shot? He was supposed to kill you. In the line of duty. You were too quick so they saw the opportunity to set you up. Just biding their time until they can try again. You know this, Joss. You're just another Beecher or Szymanski to them." He let his words settle in as he scanned her face. "...And nobody appointed you my keeper either. It is what it is." He turned to face forward. "I'll keep you in the loop but I don't want you anywhere near this right now."

"I have a job."

He turned to her again. "You're suspended." She was done. He knew it. The look on her face said it all. He remembered what she'd said earlier. "And I do trust you." With that he turned the key in the ignition and put the car in drive before dialing Finch.

It took about two hours to pick Taylor up from his cousin's house and drive to the large condo Finch had instructed them to use during their earlier conversation.

Before leaving them to get settled in, Reese gave Carter some last minute instructions, knowing she already knew, but wanting to hear her voice. Coax something out of her. She hadn't had anything to say to him beyond parlaying directions to her sister-in-law's house where she'd stowed her son for the night. After picking up the teenager, he'd parked several blocks away from their apartment, leaving her with the weapons he kept in the glove compartment before setting out on foot to scope the periphery and interior of her building for any possible threats. He'd stood by quietly as the Carters packed their things, and they drove in silence to the condo. Taylor didn't speak much either, nodding as his mother told him they couldn't stay in their home and that she would explain what was happening later. The teen had apparently sensed his mother's mood and acted accordingly.

"Don't leave. Don't let anyone in." John kept himself from cringing as he spoke the words, knowing the woman standing in front of him was far from an idiot. But the silence between them was unsettling. Unusual. It was the circumstances, he knew, but he still didn't like it. "One of us'll be bringing you some food, groceries." There were canned goods and other non-perishable items in the kitchen to tide them over in the meantime. He watched as she nodded, her eyes straight ahead, falling on his chest because of the height difference. He glanced over to the couch when Taylor rose and headed down the hallway with a bag, presumably to his temporary bedroom. "He says there's cable, internet. You should be okay to use it." He figured Taylor especially would need a connection to the web in order to keep his sanity. He watched as he got another nod from her. "What else do you think you'll need?" He hoped an open-ended question would get a vocal response.

She shrugged her right shoulder. "We'll be fine."

John studied her for a moment. The weariness in her face and voice making him want to reach out for her. Take her in his arms for a moment, take all of it away. It had gotten to her. The sum of all of the bad things disrupting her life lately. Taylor's life. The current threat from HR, Elias, the murders of Szymanski and Beecher. Moving a corpse, a body he was responsible for, because he couldn't be bothered. It was an assholish move, leaving her to protect her partner on her own when she'd asked for help, but he hadn't known just how assholish until later. Later, when he'd learned that protecting her partner meant she'd had to move Stills' body. Then there was everything she had done to help convince the FBI he was John Warren, investment banker. Everything that resulted from that. Coming so close to losing her freedom, her life. Donnelly losing his for simply doing his job. The job both he and she had tirelessly impeded.

He understood now. The fatigue in her eyes, her mannerism, her voice. A lesser person would have crumbled long ago. But she wouldn't. Even if she didn't have Taylor, she wouldn't. It made him fall a little more in awe of her. "I'm sorry, Joss." For everything she was going through. For everything she was going through that he had contributed to. For making her stay here instead of doing what her nature demanded and fighting to the end.

She met his eyes then. They were strikingly sincere. It pierced her heart. He brought trouble- a whole lot of trouble- into her life. But so far it was worth it. She was glad she had him. Glad he'd come so far from the troubled soul she'd first met.

But rest. She needed some desperately. Her body, her emotions, they had had enough. They needed to recover. She needed a break, needed to let someone else shoulder the burden for awhile. Just awhile. And he'd come.

Though she was drained, mentally and physically, she had reason to hope things would get better. That she and her son would stop being targets. That she'd stop having to constantly look over her shoulder at her own damn comrades. That she'd be able to do her job, the job that she loved, in relative peace. He gave her that hope. He probably didn't realize it, but he did. "Thank you. For helping me with this."

He looked between her eyes and nodded. He wasn't sure if she knew it but he'd do anything for her. Anything. Kill, torture. Die. He'd do it. Everything about her that had attracted him to her in the first place had been amplified since getting to know her, including his attraction. He kept it under wraps, the right moment to act on it never presenting itself. Or rather, when it did, he always hedged, wondering if he was truly ready to open himself up like that again. Wondering if, as he suspected, she really did feel the same emotional and physical draw towards him. Seconds passed before he was forced to peel his eyes away from hers as Taylor made his way back into the living room. Turning back to her once more, he spoke quietly. "I'll call you."

Settling back behind the wheel of Carter's rental car, Reese tapped his earpiece. "Finch."

"Mr. Reese. Any problems?"

"They're safe. For now. What'd you find out?"

"Detective Terney did check into a hospital. It's not likely Mr. Yogorov did. I can't find any record of it."

"What's Terney saying?"

"According to hospital records, it was an accidental shooting. Who he's saying accidentally shot him I don't know. He's distancing himself from this one. Official story of the prison guards- and the police escort I'm quite certain Terney was riding with- is Elias escaped."

Reese nodded. "What about Baisden? Did you get his address?"

"Yes, sending it now. Along with a photo. He's married. Three small children. Has a weekly bowling night at Northwest Bowl Thursday nights at 7." Finch looked up from his computer monitors. It was Thursday. "What's the plan, John?"

Reese pulled out into traffic. "We take down HR."

Finch was used to Reese and his matter-of-fact declarations. And he usually left Reese to his own devices, knowing when his friend's skill set would suffice and offering his support when it didn't. But this involved taking down an entire organization that, like a roach, refused to die. "And Elias?"

John sighed heavily. "We let him go. We don't have time to deal with him right now."

Finch paused to be sure he heard him correctly. "Do you think that's wise, Mr. Reese?"

John closed his eyes momentarily. He knew Joss wanted Elias back behind bars. She wanted to let the right people know there was an attempt on his life so he could be protected. So justice would be served the right way. He wanted him back behind bars. But the mob boss was still running his criminal empire imprisonment or no. And there were other mitigating factors he wasn't sure he could control. "If we take him back, tell the truth, there'll be too many questions. Joss may have saved his life but she's still the reason he was behind bars in the first place. I don't want to risk him giving her up and have it get back to the wrong people."

"And if he's caught later? This will only delay the inevitable."

"Elias can wait. We cut HR off at the head. Now. They're not gonna stop coming after Joss. This ends, Finch. We dropped the ball last time. It won't happen again."

There was finality in the former assassin's voice. Finch recognized he was riding shotgun in this endeavor and took his seat. "What's your next move?"

"Back to the motel. Relieve Fusco. Put him on Simmons. He's gotta be the key." Frustration and anger were creeping back in. Directed toward himself. They had done a half-assed run on HR previously. Let go of it all after the feds did their own half-assed job at bringing the corrupt cabal of cops down. They'd spent their time solely on the numbers and gotten further distracted when he'd acted foolishly and gotten himself caught, nearly bringing the rest of the team down with him. Then the virus took precedence and now here they were. Joss was in danger because he hadn't finished his damn job. "What about Redmund?"

"Mr. Redmund appears to be a legitimate number. I'm heading out to his place of business now."

"Which is?"

Finch smiled. "He's an ornithologist." He didn't wait long for a response, anticipating his partner's quizzical silence. "A bird watcher, Mr. Reese."

A small smile turned up the corner of his mouth. "Any idea what the threat is yet?"

"Not yet. I'll be in touch."

Reese ended the call, intending to meet with Finch once he'd taken care of the immediate Elias situation. He would have to rely on Fusco when or if Redmund's situation became too much for Finch to handle on his own and he was needed to assist his friend. In the meantime, he needed to do some shopping.