Needing his protection (closed-pm first)

John didn't trust the people that Nicole was dealing with. John really didn't trust Nicole, either. He always had to play games with her to get the real story. Then again, John did not trust anyone. That was what made him so good at what he did.

He walked over and he sat next to Garcia. Garcia had been sitting in the seat with a smug grin on his face the entire time. John sat down next to him. "I have seen your smile. I hope you are enjoying yourself now, because, if either of those little girls has so much as a scratch on them, I will watch you die a slow, and very painful death. I will also watch your family die, including your piece of shit brother who orchestrated this, and every one of your relatives living in Mexico. I happen to have men in your village right now watching them, and on my orders they will kill each and every one of your shitty family......even the children."

John got up and walked back to where he had been sitting. He had planned for what would happen if things didn't go as planned. He always believed in having the trump card in his hand ready to play it when necessary. He knew things would not go smoothly, so, he had back up plans.

When they landed at the remote airfield 500 miles from the exchange point, john called Nicole to check on the status of the exchange. He was not surprised or angry when she informed him that there was going to be a change in the exchange. In fact, John felt no emotion at all. It was something he anticipated. It wasn't unusual for kidnappers to change exchange locations, especially when they gave the locations out at an early part of the process. "That is okay Nicole. We are nowhere near that exchange location anyway. I am not going to tell you where we are. That way, if the brother asks where Garcia is, you can say no without any hesitation and he will not sense deception in your voice. Let me know,as soon as you hear something."

Two days. Two fucking days passed before Mateo finally called Nicole back.

The call was received at 2AM. But really, it didn't matter what time he called, she was wasn't sleeping. She was nearly sick with worry that she didn't bother trying to sleep anymore...nor eat.

Rendevous point was in Sedona, A.Z. Some abandoned ranch about 15 miles from town.

The clencher was that it was in less than 12 hours.

Great.

Once that information was received, Nicole immediately sent the recorded call and a text to John, informing him of the new drop off point. She didn't have time to talk to him. She needed to get ready. It had been discussed earlier that only Nicole would show up for the girls and that the Senator and his wife were to remain home because it was too dangerous for them...especially for the Senator.

Nicole used her last favor to get a private flight out to AZ, which was set to leave in an hour. She grabbed her 'emergency' bag and her gun before leaving the small hotel room she had been staying at in the city.

She was losing patience and was already tired of playing Mateo's game that she hoped this was the last of it. She couldn't go on another day with out her child.

John got the text and the recording from Nicole. He was not fazed by it. He gave the information to his tech guys and had them start to,gather everything they could, including satellite images of the exchange point. John had already decided that the exchange was not going to be controlled by Garcia's people. If that happened, both girls and Nicole,would end up dead.

As John looked,over,the Intel that his team was gathering,meh started to develop a plan. He needed Nicole with him to make it happen. John knew she would not like his plan, but that was too bad. He also needed to call in a couple of favors. He had plenty to call in both foreign and domestic. This,one would require a big one. He needed some helicopter support, and he knew the people to get it from. Yes, he did a lot of work for the U.S. Military.

He called Nicole but it went directly to voicemail. That meant she was in the air on her way to AZ. That was okay.mmthe less time she had to think about what John was going to do to gain control of the situation, the better off she was...and the less time he had to listen to her bitching about putting their daughter in danger.

John's team had located an abandoned farm about 2 miles from the farm that was scheduled to be the new exchange location. This would give them the opportunity to see who was coming and going. He had to get a team there quickly, and under the cover of darkness. That would give John's team the opportunity to gain control and know what they were walking into.

As much as she wanted to show up at the rendezvous point as soon as she landed, Nicole knew better. She didn't want to scare off any of Mateo's men and end up fucking up the whole situation. The voicemail she had gotten earlier from John had her worried. He had said he had a plan and didn't want to tell her until she met him at the small farmhouse near the location.

It had been exactly 6 hours since the call from Mateo and that's when Nicole arrived at the farmhouse. It looked deserted but she knew better. And of course, once she got inside, the small 'abandoned' house was buzzing with activity.

Spotting John, who was talking with some guys and off in the corner, she saw the only man who was secured to a chair with two guys watching over him. Without hesitating, she walked directly over to him, ignoring John's calls and she punched the guy right square in the jaw! "You sonnabitch!!" She screamed at him and had reached for her own weapon but had been stopped by several pairs of hands that seemed to drag her away from Garcia.

John saw Nicole come in out of the corner of his eye. He stayed focused on what he was doing, assuming that Nicole would come over to him. He was wrong. Meh heard her scream and saw her hit Garcia. John watched several of his team members grab Nicole and pull her away.

He walked over to Nicole. "What the hell are you doing? Do you want to fuck everything up? Do you want to see Elise again? I know I want to see her for the first time, and I would prefer she was alive when I finally see her." This is what john was afraid of. It is why he kept Nicole out of the op up to this point. Her emotions always got in the way.

He took her into another room. "Nicole, Garcia is going to get his...in due time. You need to control your emotions and your temper. Control yourself or you will jeopardize the entire op and endanger the girls." He released her arm and walked back into the room with Garcia. He walked over to Garcia. "You better hope you never run into her again in your life."

He walked back to Nicole and explained the plan. It was a gamble, but it was their best shot. Yes, the orders were that Nicole was to come alone with Garcia. That was not going to happen. John explained that he already had snipers in position. He knew from his team observing the traffic that Mateo's advance team was already in place. They would already be dead if John wanted that. He explained that there was air support standing by if he needed it, and he told of the team members that would be moving into position shortly to act when they were needed during the exchange. John explained that he was going with Nicole as were 3 team members. Garcia was not going to be getting out of the vehicle until the girls was in sight and they were deemed to be safe.

"Wait John..." Nicole said, quickly wiping away the few tears that managed to escape from her frustration, "Mateo specifically asked for just Garcia and I....damnit! If anyone is going to mess this up, it could be you!"

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, "What if--"

Nicole shut up when she saw the look on John's face. It wasn't like she had much choice. He was in charge here and he intended to claim this operation under his control. She had no say and the way she was feeling, it was probably a good idea because he was right. She would fuck things up big time.

"So, all we can do is wait?" Again, she knew the answer to that.

For about 5 minutes, nothing was said between them. Nicole couldn't stand the silence, "You saw her picture?" She asked without asking. "She's all you, that's for sure."

"Do you really think that that slimeball's people would let you walk away once you delivered him? You know that you and the girls would never be seen alive again. Once you give him control it is over. I am taking control of the whole situation for him. Is it dangerous? Yes. Is it any more dangerous than sending you in there alone? Absolutely not. I have this under control."

He paused for a second; thinking the plan through. "And, to answer your question, yes, she does look a little like me. She looks a lot like you too. We will get both girls back. I promise you that we will." He placed his hand on her bicep and rubbed it in an attempt to reassure her.

He then walked over and sent the next group of team members into action. They were going to surround the farm at the exchange point. Then, one of the team members that was watching the road informed him that several vehicles were heading toward the rendezvous point. John asked if there was any sign of the girls but was informed that all windows on all of the vehicles were blacked out. "That is okay. I expected that. Here is how we are going to do this. Nicole, you will go in alone and get a visual on the kids. The vehicle will be wired for sound and visual. Once we are certain the girls are there, I will bring Garcia in."

The hours seemed to crawl by and Nicole had nothing to do but wait. She was kept away from Garcia in the other room. Well, actually, she stayed away willingly, but she could tell the other men were wary of her. John must have warned them.

Then. It was time.

It seemed she was moving in slow motion as she drove over to the location and had been greeted by several of Mateo's vehicles arriving and just knowing that her little girl was in one of those made Nicole all the more anxious but she couldn't show it. She didn't want to let that part of her hinder everything that was about to go down. From here on out, things could either go as planned or for the worse. And usually, it was best to be prepared for the worse.

Leaning against the hood of the Nicole watched Mateo exit his own vehicle from the back passenger side. He held up his arms as if to say 'what gives' when he saw his brother wasn't with Nicole.

"Senora Mason... this wasn't the plan.."

"Yeah, well, plans change."

"Nicole. We had a deal."

She remembered what John had told her. Keep her cool. Yeah, he was right, she was emotional and that's what led her to make stupid mistakes at times. "Mateo, come on, think about it. Would you just jump in and agree if you were in my shoes? Now..enough talk. I want to see the girls."

"First. My brother."

Oh God..it was going to be this way. But Nicole knew she had to remain firm with Mateo. "Mateo. We play this my way. You've had the lead all this time. You know that unless I get the girls off to safety first, you're brother won't show his face. You know I'm not bluffing because you probably already got reports from home that you're brother has escaped."

"Just so you know Mason, I have you surrounded."

"No shit." Nicole said, trying to keep calm.

John monitored everything through the audio and video feeds in the vehicle Nicole drove in. He talked to her in her earpiece; "relax Nicole. He hasn't gone this far to sacrifice it all. Stay calm and stay with the plan." John watched and listened as she stayed calm and on point. John heard Mateo tell her that he would kill the girls if she didn't produce her brother. "Relax. Just do as we said. He gets to see his brother as soon as you see the girls." John could hear Mateo cursing and threatening. He was more volatile than john thought, but so far there was nothing too outrageous.

John watched and listened as Mateo shouted to one of his men. Then he saw the two girls get out of one of the vehicles, but not the vehicle Mateo had been in. John radioed the location of the girls to his team members. There was one small group whose sole job was to get the girls out safely. Mateo then ordered the girls back into the vehicle. That was John's cue.

The four vehicles proceeded up the road to the rendezvous point. John was in the first vehicle. Garcia was in the third vehicle. John exited his vehicle as did several of his team members that were in the vehicle with John. He walked up to where Nicole was standing. It was obvious Mateo was shocked, and he was pissed. He started screaming again about how this wasn't the plan. John said to Mateo, "as Nicole told you, plans change."

John watched silently as it sunk into Mateo that things were not going the way he planned. "Now, here is what is going to happen. The two girls are going to get out of the vehicle and walk to Nicole. She will take them and leave. Then you will get your brother back. In case you are thinking of trying anything, know this..... this farm is completely surrounded..... snipers have a bead on you as we speak..... and I have a team in your village ready to eliminate your entire family should anything not go as I plan. Any questions?"

For a long while, Mateo didn't say anything as he looked between both Nicole and John. He wasn't a stupid man and looking at John, he could tell he wasn't stupid either. It was literally a draw.

But, this John person was right. This is what Mateo wanted. Besides, he was tired of the complaining from the older girl. He needed his brother so that they could continue what they started in the criminal underworld.

With a signal from Mateo, the girls were taken out of the vehicle again and Nicole could hear Elisa crying after seeing her mother for the first time. But Nicole kept her emotions in check, they were so close to all this being over...

Nicole met the girls in the middle of the field and guided them the rest of the way while she let John handle the rest. There wasn't much she could seeing as how she just wanted to get her little girl to safety.

Watching the whole scene before him, Mateo let out a small chuckle and looked at John, "Ahh, that little girl...you know, I taught her call me Daddy while she was my...'guest'."

John smiled to keep from giving the order to have the sniper take him out. It was too soon. Nicole wasn't gone with the girls yet. John had to make sure they were clear before he extracted his revenge. John watched Nicole get in the vehicle with the two girls. He watched her leave escorts by two of his four vehicles, one in front and one behind. When they were far enough away, John had a team member get Garcia out of the other remaining vehicle. When he was brought forward, it was revealed to Mateo that his brother had explosives strapped to him.

John looked at Garcia and then at Mateo. "When I am sure that the three girls are safe, I will have the explosives neutralized. I can detonate them from up to 15 miles. So, if the chopper that is waiting for Nicole and the girls does not take off safely, I can blow him up from a long distance." John allowed Garcia to walk toward his brother and he climbed back into his vehicle. When John got the word that the chopper was airborn, he told the snipers to take the brothers out. As the shots were fired, john and the remainder of his team were driving off the farm. John went back to the neighboring farm. They cleaned everything up, and then set the building ablaze. There would be no trace of who had been there. John and his team drove to the airfield, boarded their planes, and were gone.

A few days later, Nicole was watching her daughter play on the floor in the house she had rented just outside of Denver. It was a quiet spot of private property that was at least 2 miles from the highway. The surrounding area was fenced off and had security cameras every 100 feet with a private security service monitoring it 24 hours a day.

Was she protected? Yes. Did she feel safe? No. She probably never would.

She had been in contact with John twice but he hadn't been able to come down, at least not yet. She guessed he was taking care of some loose ends perhaps...she wasn't sure. But he had said he would be there tonight.

Nicole had left the bureau earlier this week. As soon as she had gotten her daughter back, she knew it was time to give up the whole playing tough thing. But she was at a lost at what to do for the current moment and right now, she didn't really care. She just wanted to be around to raise Elise.

John made sure that his cleaners went in after Garcia's men fled. They were so afraid that they left their two bosses lying on the ground with their heads blown off. The cleaners scooped up the bodies, and disposed of them in a way that nobody would ever find the remains.

He spoke to Nicole several times. He was determined to meet his daughter, but he wanted to make sure everything was cleaned up before he did so. He didn't want to have anything on his mind except Elisa. He met with the key members of his team. These were the regulars that he had with him. They were not the mercenaries he hired to fill out the team for several ops. He probably brought in more people for this op than was necessary, but he had to ensure the success of the op. John made the arrangements to have all of the men paid. This operation was on him. He was not taking money from Nicole or anyone else. This one was on the house.

With all of the loose ends tied up, John headed out to meet his daughter. Nobody knew where he was going; Not even his most trusted associates. He was keeping this one to himself so that Elisa was not placed in danger again. He stopped at a store and picked up a couple of stuffed animals. He wanted to buy a dress for Elisa, but he had no idea what size to get. He asked one of the women in the store and he got an idea of what size. He picked out a dress and then picked out a couple in the sizes all around the suggested size. Once his shopping was finished, he drove out to where Nicole and Elisa were staying. He grabbed the bags, including the bottle of wine he bought for Nicole, he walked up onto the porch and knocked on the door.

When Nicole answered the door, she saw John standing there with bags of stuff. She raised an eyebrow at the sight but didn't say anything as she opened the screen door and gave him a small smile, "Hi..come in.." she waited until he was in the house and then led him to the living room where Elise was playing. The little girl was playing with her tablet and she eyed John warily.

For the past few days, Nicole had been busy showing Elise pictures of John, not that were that many, to her. Telling her that was her daddy. It took a while but Nicole thought that her seeing John in person was a little intimidating.

Nicole knelt next to Elise and picked up the little girl and moved over to John. She asked if she recognized him and slowly, Elise just nodded. "It's Daddy...remember?" She told the little girl.

Elise didn't budge for a minute and instead, Nicole asked her, "Can you talk with Daddy while Mommy gets dinner started?"

Again, a slow nod as the little girl held out her arms for John.

John walked in and set the bags down as Nicole led him to the living room. He probably felt as uncomfortable as Elise did. He didn't know how to act around a child. He looked at her as Nicole picked her up. She was beautiful. That she got from her mother.

"Hi Elise. It is really nice to meet you." When she put her arms out to him, he took her in his arms. He gave her a hug as Nicole went into the kitchen. "I cannot believe how big you are. You are growing up fast."

He didn't know what to do or say. It was still a little weird for him. Since he found out about Elise, he had not had any time to think about being a father. He just thought about getting his daughter back safely.

Seeing his daughter, he wondered if Elise was too old for the stuffed animals and dolls he got for her. He had no idea. He was pretty sure that a couple of the dresses would fit her.

He sat on the sofa with Elise and took out the dresses. He showed them to her. "Do you like to wear dresses Elise? I brought a couple with me. I wasn't sure what size to get you, so, I got you a couple of different sizes." John laughed to himself. Like a 4 year old really cared about all of that.

Nicole let father and daughter get acquainted in the living room as she started dinner. It would have been funny a few years ago, she couldn't cook a damn thing because she was alone and had always eaten out. But since having Elise, she had to learn to cook by taking a few classes in her spare time, which was extremely rare. There wasn't a way she was going to be going out every night with a child just get them something to eat.

Tonight, she was making Elise's favorite, spaghetti. It didn't take long to get most of it ready, in between cooking, she made sure to check up on them once in a while.

When dinner was ready, Nicole got it all ready and called them both to the dining room table.

Dinner with Elise was never a challenge. She was a good child, despite going through all she had gone through. Her readjustment to Mommy's way of life didn't take long. It was like she had never left. Never was in the predicament she was in. Like nothing ever happened. It was true, kids were resilient, she just wished she could say the same for adults. Nicole found herself constantly hovering over her child and she feared she would end up spoiling Elise by submitting to her every wish...like she was doing here lately.

Both parents spent their time paying 100% of their attention to their child and then after dinner, it was time for their little girl to go to bed. Nicole tried to stay on schedule with her, it made things work out much better especially since Elise usually woke up around 5AM.

The excitement of the night must have worn out the little girl as John carried her to bed and Nicole cleaned up the kitchen. When she was done, she moved to the living room and sat on the couch. The place was scattered with toys but Nicole was too tired to clean up right now...

John had a great night getting to know his daughter. Nicole helped things along. He was actually surprised at how much she helped. He really thought that she would try to sabotage things with them, because John didn't think Nicole wanted him around.

John put Nicole down in bed and read to her until she fell asleep, which did not take long at all. He walked out of Elise's room and saw Nicole sitting on the sofa. He picked up the toys, and put them away. Nicole told him to leave them, but he felt there was such a mess because he was here, so, he cleaned up.

After putting the chairs away, he sat in a chair. "I heard you turned in your shield. Do you really think that will protect Elise?" John knew that Nicole was shook up from the ordeal, but he didn't think resigning would do it. If there was someone that wanted to find her, they would. "If you are getting out, maybe you should take more steps to keep the two of you out of trouble."

She didn't care answer him right away. The questions he was asking were questions she had already asked herself.

Was quitting the right thing to do? Yes.

Is hiding out here going to protect them both? No.

Is going somewhere else an option? Yes. But she wasn't going to run for the rest of her life. It wasn't conductive for Elise. She needed a stable childhood away from all the moving around the country if not the world.

"I don't know." She replied to his question about resigning. Nicole wanted to ask how he knew about her resigning when she hadn't told him about it yet. Then she remembered, he has his ways....as usual.

"If you are getting out, maybe you should take more steps to keep the two of you out of trouble."

"It's not like I intended on this to happen...and I have been keeping myself out of trouble...this whole thing with Mateo...it was just a..."

What was it? It was an investigation that had gone wrong. That's how the bureau classified it. Case closed.

"I don't know what I'm going to do next...but I won't keep running, that much is for sure. I have several offers from different agencies to work for them, but it's not like they're any safer..."

She raked a hand through her hair, "Let's talk about you. Why didn't you accept my money for what you did?" She crossed her hands under her breasts and looked at him, "I mean, I did hire you, didn't I?"

John listened to Nicole. He was wondering why she wouldn't ask for his help, but then he remembered.....she was hard-headed and wanted to do everything on her own. He knew how hard it was for her to ask for his help with getting Elise back.

"No, Nicole, I never said I would work for you. I did the job because I wanted to do it. I did it because that slimeball's involved two kids in his adult game and one of them, it turns out, happened to be my daughter. I don't want your money. I have made more than enough money. You will need your money to re establish yourself. The only thing I will insist on is that you tell me where you are."

He sat there for a minute. " I want to talk about you...not me. I want to talk about your plans. I want to know why you won't ask me to help you. You know that I can set you up and make sure that you and Elise are safe."

"Damnit John! I don't have a fucking plan yet, OK!? God, just lay off! Once I do have something in mind, you will be the first person I call, text, send a telegram, send a pigeon or how ever the fuck I need to tell you!"

She jumped up from the couch after yelling at him and headed to the kitchen, trying to get a hold on her temper. She sensed John standing at the door way and looking at her. Nicole was resting her hands on the edge of the sink and had her head hanging before sighing hard, "Listen, John... I honestly don't know what we're going to do, OK? I'm not like you. I haven't planned that far ahead. Right now, I'm just living for today. Things have been WAY beyond shitty these past few weeks, And I can't ask for your help because I don't need it. I don't want to owe you anything and then have to pay you back for it later!"

"I have things under control at the moment."

That was probably a lie but it was one she could live with. "If you don't like that I don't have a plan, which I'm sure you don't, then I'm sorry."

John let Nicole vent. Meh knew that she was still emotional about what had happened with Elise, so, when she went off on him, he was not going to get upset about it. He did not mean to insult her. He was not criticizing her. He had a feeling that part of the reason that Nicole was so upset was that she knew John was right.

He followed her into the kitchen but kept his distance at first. He did not want her to think that he was crowding her. He watched her put her hands on the sink and hang her head. He continued to listed to her, but moved a little closer.

He put his hand on her shoulder as she continued to vent. He listened to her say that she had things under control, which he knew wasn't completely accurate. "Nicole, I didn't say that I didn't like your plan." John spoke in a soft voice; trying to let her know that he understood what she was going through. He turned her to face him. He hugged her and said to her, "it has nothing to do with not liking anything. It has everything to do with wanting to protect you and Elise and make sure nothing like that ever happens again." He kissed her forehead and caressed her back lightly...trying to get her to relax.

As John held her close, Nicole listened to what he was saying. She noted that he was concerned and had every right to be about his daughter whom he was just getting to know, but why be concerned about Nicole after what she did to him?

She took a deep breath and nodded at his words as her head rested on his shoulder... one last deep breath and she pulled away slightly and realized they were staring into each other's eyes and face to face.

It had been a long time since she felt his touch and his body this close. Hell, there hadn't been anyone else since him and that one faithful night that resulted in their one shared beautiful gift...

This time, Nicole was pained for another reason, she longed to kiss him but thought better of it as she pulled away further from him and cleared her throat, "Are you going to stay the night...? We didn't discuss it before but there is a guest bedroom...unless you have to go."

It had been a long time since John held Nicole in his arms. There was something about it that felt so right. Yet, there was something about it that brought back memories of what John had hoped for, but had obviously never happened.

That was obvious the case with Nicole too. He felt her pull away a little, and then, eventually, step back away from him. That was okay, he thought. It was probably a good thing she stepped away before anything happened that could cause things to get awkward between them. He remembered why he came here, and it was to see his daughter. He was, however, genuinely concerned about Nicole's safety. Despite the fact that he had not seen nor thought about her in years, her reappearance in his life conjured up old feelings.

"Believe it or not, I do not have any plans about tonight. I came here to see Elise, and that was the only thing on my mind. Once here, I started thinking about your safety, and I am sorry I upset you. I will probably just stop at the first decent hotel I see after I leave."

"I'm not upset." Nicole said, almost a little too quickly as she backed up against the wall of the kitchen. She sighed when John said he would stay at a decent hotel.

"Really, John? I just offered you a place to stay for the night and have your daughter see you when she wakes up tomorrow morning." She took a deep breath, "And I'm hard headed?"

Nicole motioned for him to follow her. She led him to the third bedroom of the house. "Well, there's the bed...of course...and you know where everything else is." She turned to walk out but stopped, "Oh, Elise usually wakes up at 5AM, give or take...so, yeah...I guess, have a good night." With that, she walked out and headed to her bedroom.

John had spent the evening trying to show Nicole that he was concerned about her and her well being. Here she was now acting like a bitch when all he did was tell her that he did not want to impose on her. This was the problem that he always had with Nicole. When she was upset she always went off the deep end instead of having an intelligent conversation.

John followed her to her room and kept her from closing the door behind her. He spoke to her in an authoritative voice; careful not to be loud and wake up Elise. "Are you serious? I try not to impose on you and make an assumption that it would be okay to stay here and you get pissed off at me for it. I have done nothing but try to look out for you and Elise. Why is it that you can't have a normal conversation instead of turning into a bitch and then storming off?" John moved closer to Nicole. It was not meant to be threatening. He just wanted a legitimate answer.