Needing his protection (closed-pm first)

[zydrate]

Needing his protection (closed)

John Roman
Age: 38

Nicole Mason
Age: 34

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Every single lead that turned up for Nicole was a dead end...

Damnit! John was good at not wanting to be found. She had started more than two months ago and she had finally found him...also the rumors of what he was doing followed.

Finally, FINALLY! When she got in touch with a contact of his, they had ordered Nicole to get a room at the Red Rose. It was a small hotel in Las Vegas and there was a small bar in the hotel she needed to wait at for him.

So, here she was, sitting at the back of the bar, her back to the wall as she watched people come and go...she had been waiting over an hour and finally got a text saying the meeting was cancelled.

"Come on Johnny..." she muttered under breath. What the hell? She had been running in circles just to get to him... only to have the meeting cancelled.

The only thing to do was to go to the room she had gotten and see if she could rest up for the night, then head out in the morning. She had to remember that her life wasn’t the only one in jeopardy here.

Nicole knew she was tired...and for good reason? She hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in a long time...then perhaps if she were more rested, she would've noticed someone following her to her room...

 

[BeachBum25]

When word got to John that Nicole Mason was looking for him his warning antennae immediately went up. Nobody had come looking for him in years, and he liked it that way.

His life now involved him doing the seeking. He went out, found the jobs he wanted to do, and took care of them efficiently. He had a small, experienced team that could complete any task better than any other group in the world. Clients knew not to try to contact him anymore. He would contact them. He would set the price. They would get the job done, and no one would even know they were in town. His team was all ex-agency, and they were the best of the best.

He had not heard the name Nicole Mason Janice he left the agency. He remembered her as a pretty determined individual, so, as he became aware of her repeated attempts to contact him, he decided it would be better if he saved her years of chasing him and find out what she wanted.

He was pleased that she had a room at the end of the hallway. That showed that she knew what she was doing. Anyone walking behind her to that end of the hallway would be a threat that could be neutralized. John used the time for Nicole waiting in the bar to wear down her defenses. He had a room only two doors from her's, so, when she passed his door, it was easy for him to slip out.

As she opened the door to her room, he covered her mouth and pushed her into the dark room. He secured her hands so that she could not reach for any weapons, and he whispered into her ear, "ssshh, relax. You are the one who has been looking for me. I am here now. Just relax and I will let you go."

 

[zydrate]

She didn't want to relax. Her defenses were on high and so for Nicole to immediately lax herself wasn't easy. She struggled a bit more but found it was useless to even to try to fight.

After a minute or two, Nicole finally stopped and nodded. Another minute passed and she felt him loosen his grip. But he didn't let go of her hands although he did allow her to speak.

"Why all the theatrics? Couldn't you just meet me where you asked?"

 

[BeachBum25]

"Nicole, I don't meet anyone unless it is under my terms and conditions. We haven't spoken in years, so,when you agree to meet me in such a public place it immediately sets off alarms for me. " for a moment he watched her for a reaction. He remembered her as fiery, but also as calculating.

"Tell me what it is that you want Nicole. You have been looking for me for a couple of months, and now you have your audience. What is it that you want for me?"

 

[zydrate]

"Wow, always the people person." She said as she straightened up her top from his grabbing her. Seeing that he wasn't going to smile or react to her, she shrugged it off and sighed, "Look, John. I know we didn't get along the first time and we're probably not going to get along still. But, there's no one else I can trust with this...sensitive assignment."

Running a hand through her hair, Nicole slumped against the wall behind her, "OK, ok... I need your help. I have an operation that is totally off the grid and needs to remain that way."

Seeing as how he didn't leave, which met he was hopefully still interested, Nicole continued, "I need to break a prisoner out of a Mexican prison."

He still didn't move.

But she was afraid this next part would make him leave. "It's Juan Carlos Garcia."

 

[BeachBum25]

John watched Nicole closely. He heard her comment about being a people person but did not respond. No, he was not a people person. He did not have much of a sense of humor. No. Wrong. He had NO sense of humor. What he had was an incredible work ethic, and a very specific skill set that was second to none.

He listened to Nicole start beating around the bush, but then she got to the point. He heard what she wanted. He didn't react to what she said. He kept a straight face. "Who is it that you want to break out of the Mexican prison? Why do you want to break them out of the prison? And most importantly, why do I want to be involved?"

 

[zydrate]

God, she could strangle him right now if this wasn't so damn important.

"You really don't keep up with the news much, do you?" She tried to keep the arrogance out of her voice. "You want to get involved because I'm asking you to and because I can pay you your fee. And as for the Mexican prison, it's because Juan Carlos is my key to getting something that was taken from me!"

"The thing is, like I said, I can pay your fee. Just tell me you'll help me. I need an answer now because I don't have time to waste."

 

[BeachBum25]

"Some things just never change, do they Nicole? You always want things done on your schedule and on your terms." He looked at her. The look on his face remained expressionless. He had no feelings whatsoever about this assignment. Going to a Mexican prison and,extracting an asset would not be the most challenging assignment he had ever gone on.

When John took an assignment, he always had all of the information necessary. That information included the "why." Motivation gave John some insight into what was going on, and it also prepared him and his team for what they might encounter. Yes, people had to have the money to pay, and his fees started at 7 figures, but there was more to this line of work than the money.

He continued to look at Nicole with the same blank look. He was not going to allow her to control the direction that this conversation was going to go. Then, he walked over and sat down in a chair. "Okay Nicole. You have step one taken care of. You have the money to pay. Why should I do this for you?"

 

[zydrate]

Damnit!

Not that Nicole blamed John about needing to know the details, but the fact that he wasn't going to budge until after he heard everything because, in the end, she was afraid he was going to change his mind about the whole thing.

"Well..." she started and then looked at him, realizing her bullshit wasn't going to get past him this time. Not like it did before. "OK...John.." she had to do something she didn't want to do but realizing that he wouldn't believe her otherwise...she needed to tweak the truth just a bit, "What I had said before about a life being in danger...well, actually, it's two lives..."

With that, Nicole started to explain that a few weeks ago, one of the state's senators daughter's had been kidnapped the day before her graduation from high school. She had explained that the girl, Julie, had been baby sitting and that's when they came and took her and the baby. Well, baby being 4 years old.

Now the ransom demand was for a prisoner to be released and they would let them go also. That was the deal. The senator didn't want this getting out into the media which is why he called in a few favors and Nicole owed him a favor which is why she was here now.

Simple. Right?

But things were never simple.

The thing Nicole didn't want to say was that the child was hers and John's...and that Julie had just been an incentive to take too.

"That's why I need your help...please?"

 

[BeachBum25]

John listened to Nicole. He did not change his expression. He did not move at all while she told the story. He was trying to study her. He wanted to see when she was being deceptive. He knew she was. Nicole never revealed the truth; at least not the whole truth. That was what drove him away from her years before. She was always manipulating.

When she was finished the story, John sat there quietly for several minutes. He knew that the silence would kill Nicole. She expected an immediate response, and, when she didn't get one right away, she would start to get frustrated. He watched as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. Yep, she was getting pissed.

"I don't think I am interested. I don't give in to kidnappers demands. Freeing this guy from prison could cause a lot of people to be harmed and or killed. I know it might seem cold, but maybe those two need to be sacrificed for the greater good." There was a little truth in what john said to Nicole, but it wasn't all true. He was not willing to let two kids die, but he was not willing to just give in to the kidnappers. He knew that his comment, however, would elicit a more information from Nicole.

 

[zydrate]

Nicole's heart dropped when he said he wasn't going to accept the assignment.

She was scared. At least for a moment until she heard the rest of what he said.

And then she got pissed. But, she had to give herself kudos for keeping her anger at bay as she just nodded before looking down. "OK..."

She walked over to the door and opened it for him. "Thank you for your time Mr. Roman." She knew there was no change his mind. The fact that he would let these children die because of his 'ethics' sucked big time but, it wasn't the end for Nicole. She would just have to take care of it all herself.

The reasoning for not telling him it was his child too that they needed to rescue was because of their falling out from before. He expressed not to see her again for her betrayal and she needed to honor that because she did betray him. Just like she was doing now.

That and if he knew that his child was in danger, he would be involved in their life and when the two of them together...well, it wasn't safe for anyone.

Besides, John wasn't the only one who did this sort of thing.... There were others out there who would gladly do it for the money offered..

 

[BeachBum25]

John got up and headed for the door. He knew that Nicole was attempting to call his bluff. She thought he would give in if she acted like she really didn't care that he did not take the assignment. She was going to act like she didn't really care.

"Okay Nicole. Take care of yourself. I wish the parents of the girls the best of luck." He walked out into the hallway. He looked down the hall and there was nobody else around. He called over his shoulder as he walked away. "You know you need me. You haven't been hunting me down for two months for nothing. You know I am the only one for the job."

He went into his room and closed the door behind him. He was quite certain that Nicole would be coming through the door soon. He sat in a chair across from the door and waited for her, or someone working with her, to come through the door. He was convinced she had given in too easily.

 

[zydrate]

He walked out.

Nicole just stood there dumbfounded but even though she knew what happening, she didn't move. She did try to hide the expression on her face but she wasn't so sure she was as good with it as John was.

With a hard push, she slammed the door to her room and paced. What the hell was she going to do?! John was right. He was the only one to do this. Despite their past, she trusted him in this sort of matter. Hell, if she were to try it all herself, she'd end up getting everyone killed.

She was in way over her head.

"Fuck." Was all she could say as she leaned against the back of the door. God, every time she was defeated and forced to submit to someone else's ways. She was used to getting her way but in this case, she didn't have a choice.

The next thing she knew, Nicole was knocking on John's door and she waited for him answer. When he did, she calmly entered his territory and knew she had no other choice. "OK, fine. The truth. One of the children is Senator Nelson's daughter, Julie. And the four year old is our daughter, Elise Roman."

 

[BeachBum25]

John let Nicole in and closed the door behind him. He knew that it would work. It did not give him pleasure to do that to her, but it was the only way to get to the real story. Nicole always held something back. It was like she was hiding an Ace up her sleeve to make sure she won.

That was one hell of an Ace that she revealed. This time he could not stand there expressionless. He felt anger welling up inside him....most of it directed at Nicole. He tried to control his breathing, and he tried to control his anger. It wasn't working. He bit his lower lip to attempt to keep from saying what he was feeling.

"Did I just hear you right? Did you say our daughter? MY daughter?" He was incredulous. He punched the wall; putting his fist through the drywall. It was better than hitting Nicole. John's anger was rising. "I have a four year old daughter, and you have kept that hidden from me? You only come to me after you allow her to be kidnapped? What the fuck are you involved in that you put my daughter's life in danger? And don't even think about holding back even the smallest of details.

 

[zydrate]

When she saw his fist fly, Nicole inwardly braced herself for the hit, believing that it was coming for her. She didn’t blame him that he needed to hit something. Hell, she felt like that every day she was without her daughter.

But, when he said that she had allowed ‘his’ daughter to be kidnapped, Nicole glared at him, “I did NOT let her get kidnapped!” She pushed past him as she walked into the room, trying to calm her own anger, "I kept her hidden because..."

Because why?

She had wondered that every day since Ellie was born. She wanted to tell John. But she didn't want to. He had a right to know. She had a responsibility to tell him. "I don't know! OK?! Yes it's my fault but I never intentionally got her kidnapped! My career is dangerous too! It was only a matter of time before I knew someone was going to get at me through her! But there were no known threats. Everyone I put away, posed no threat to myself or to her! This threat wasn't picked up by intelligence until it was too late! Now, because they 'our' daughter, they want one of their own in exchange for the girls..."

After a few silent seconds, Nicole spoke up again, "Look, I'm not going to beat you down with the whole, 'don't do it for me, but do it for our child' crap. The truth is John, I did not let it happen and I kept her hidden because of this very situation! You have enemies, just like me! I thought I was doing the right thing, Goddamnit!"

She turned from him and walked out and back to her room. When she got there, she got her weapon and her bag. He wasn't going to help. He was probably too angry with her. She knew someone else who could do this but not at the success rate that John had.

 

[BeachBum25]

John watched her walk out of her room. He heard the door to her room close. His anger rose higher and higher as he stood in his room. He wanted to hurt someone. No longer did he want to hurt Nicole. Now, he wanted to hurt anyone involved in the abduction of his daughter.....the daughter he never met and had never seen.

He went out and down the hall to Nicole's room. He banged on the door, and when she opened it, he pushed his way in and closed the door behind him. "You know as well as I do that just breaking Garcia out of prison is not going to get our daughter back. You know that once they have what they want that the girls are in even more danger. This is going to be have to done my way. I am going to get him out of prison, and I am going to get the girls back including OUR daughter, and then they are all going to pay."

 

[zydrate]

How could she argue with him? Like it or not, she needed him. This was not the time to argue anymore. She had been without her child long enough. She hadn't slept, she barely ate. Hell, she couldn't even concentrate on the mundane. And because all this was kept under wraps, she had been granted sick leave from work for as long as she needed it.

Nicole knew John was right about all this. Helping get out one guy wasn't going to solve everything. They knew Nicole was running on desperation. She also had to remember she wasn't the only parent who was in peril here. The Senator was also livid about all this. He blamed Nicole. Now John blamed Nicole.

Hell, they were all too late because the moment this all happened. She blamed herself.

"Fine. We'll do it your way, John. There's no way I can this with out you." And that was the truth.

 

[BeachBum25]

John watched as Nicole's mind raced. He knew she was trying to come up with an argument that would result in her being in charge. No matter what, that wasn't going to happen. John was going to run this op...... every detail would flow through him.

"Nicole, I need some information. How long did they give you to get Garcia out of the prison? Where are you supposed to take him? You know the questions I need answered. Also, I need a picture of Elise. I need to know what she looks like. I want to know what I am fighting for. I will be in touch tomorrow."

John turned around and left the room. He made a call and told the person on the other end that he needed the team assembled in less than 24 hours. He needed all of them on this op, including the tech geeks.

 

[zydrate]

Nicole agreed. After John left, she stood in the middle of her room and didn't do anything. Instead, she just thought at how things turned out.

She wanted to cry. But she didn't. She couldn't. It wouldn't help matters. Crying wouldn't help bring her daughter home. Or the Senator's daughter home. All she could do was let John do his job.

After about 10 minutes, Nicole placed a call to the Senator's home. His wife was in hysterics since this all started and Nicole couldn't blame the poor women. It was her only daughter out of 5 other kids, all boys. Nicole could sympathize with her but she couldn't afford to become unhinged. She had to remain tough, not only for the Senator but also for herself. All this time, Nicole had raised a little girl alone. She had taken off nearly a year when she started to show. Why she hid the pregnancy...she wasn't sure. She figured it was because as tough as she tried to be, she thought it would bring her down from the top level of respect down to the normal agent respect she earned...if that made sense.

Plus, she was at a total loss on being pregnant, not to mention caring for an infant. She basically had no one to turn to or seek out advice from. But, it seemed, she had done something right in raising Elise. The little girl was precious and smart. Hell, she was already starting to talk back to Nicole when she could. In which case, Nicole wasn't sure to be proud or get after her for it.

But damnit, she couldn't deny the fact that she looked more and more like John each day.

Ugh..John. He had every right to hate Nicole. He had every right to try to do what needed to be done after they got their daughter back. And for some reason, she knew he would take her away from Nicole...

After getting all the things John had requested. Nicole sat in the dark, looking at her phone, playing the last video she had recorded of Elise... until she finally fell into a restless sleep.

*****

The next morning, after a shower and a fresh change of clothes--a pair of jeans and a black form fitting top, Nicole heard the knock at door. Before answering it, she grabbed a flash drive from the top of the room desk and then a picture of both Elise and Julie she had with her.

Opening the door, Nicole stood there and handed the items to John, along with the pictures. "I included a few more on the drive. All the information is there, including the case file of all that pertains to the situation." She turned from the door and walked over to the bed that had her bag on it, "It seems Garcia's brother, Mateo is the leader on all this...again that's all included on the drive... his men know that it's going to take some time for the mission to be complete, so they gave us two weeks from yesterday's date."

 

[BeachBum25]

John did not sleep a wink. He knew he wouldn't sleep, so he did not even bother getting into bed. He sat in the chair. His mind raced. He thought back to when he and Nicole had been together. Then, he thought about his daughter. He thought about being kept out of her life. He thought about everything he missed. He thought about Nicole intentionally hiding Elise from him.

He thought about what he would need to break Garcia out of the prison. He didn't think it would be too difficult. His only concern was what the delivery plans were. Garcia didn't go free until both girls were in their mothers' arms. Then and only then would Garcia experience freedom..... even if only for a moment.

John showered early in the morning. After dressing, he went to Nicole's room and knocked on the door. He listened to her as she gave hier report. He took the thumb drive and told her that he would be in touch with her. He left without saying anything else. He went to meet up with the members of the team that had already arrived. He put the tech guys to work getting details on the layout of the prison and on making sense of the information on the thumb drive. He put two others to work getting information on Garcia's family. That info could be very useful.

By the end of the first day of planning most of the planning for the op was complete. Mtransportation down and back is set. A plan of how they will get in and out of the prison is almost complete. The only thing missing is the exact location of Garcia's cell. Garcia's family has been located, and several members of the team are sent ahead to keep an eye on the family in case it is necessary to take several prisoners as bargaining chips. It is decided not to wait for the two weeks to expire. The op would go down in two days. John was extremely confident in success. He calls to give Nicole the timeline.

 

[zydrate]

She listened to his report. All day she sat around seeing as there was nothing she could do.

When John came back to tell her what was going on, all Nicole could do was nod. She had completely shut down. The whole situation was taking it's toll on her and she had come to the realization that it was all her fault.

John was done talking. Nicole just nodded. No questions asked from her. No smart ass remarks...nothing.

 

[BeachBum25]

John could sense a difference in Nicole when he called to let her know about the op schedule. She did not ask any questions. She did not question any of the details or the decisions that had been made. She was very quiet and accepting. That was not Nicole. John wondered if there was a problem. Was there someone in the room with her? If there was someone in the room, they could not have been a threat. If they were Nicole would have used the alert word that they had established years before.... Houseplant. They had picked that because john hated having plants around. He thought they took too much work to keep them alive and they were not worth the effort.

So, if she wasn't in trouble, what was the problem. Why was she so quiet? John thought about involving her in the op, but was afraid she was too emotional. John was emotional on this one, but he handled his emotions differently. They would never interfere with the op. His emotions would come out at the end, after the mission was a success. That is when he would get emotional, and Garcia et. al. would pay.

John's team had discovered that the exchange was supposed to take place back in the States, which actually worked to john and his team's advantage. Having to release Garcia in Mexico would have been challenging in getting the girls back. Now, in a face-to-face exchange, john could control it all. Knowing a the exchange location also gave john an opportunity to send several team members to that location and stake it out. They would get the high ground and find the perfect firing locations.

As the team was boarding the plane, john called Nicole back. He did it on the pretext of making sure that she and the other girl's mother would be at the exchange location. He really wanted to make sure she was okay. He needed to have thoughts of Nicole out of his mind before he boarded that plane to Mexico. "I will let you know when we are on our way back with him so you can contact them and arrange the exchange. I also want you to contact the other mother and have her there. Okay Nicole? I know this has been hard on you. You will have Elise back in a couple of days. She will be in your arms soon, and you can introduce her to her father."

 

[zydrate]

After returning to Denver, Nicole updated Senator Nelson about his daughter and what was being done. He wasn’t happy but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He had told Nicole she would need to get this done in whatever way possible and also not to let it leak to the press.

Nicole didn’t go home. She couldn’t return back there…she couldn’t imagine how scared the girls were when everything happened. The front and back door had been kicked in. The living room had been trashed. Nicole’s room had been torn apart also… What she did know was that as soon as she got her daughter back, she was going to be putting the place up for sale. After that, she was at a loss as what do for both home and career. As much as she wanted to return to work, it was too dangerous for her daughter with the sort of crap she had to deal with day in and day out.

It was hard to know that after the fact that something had to happen first…she should have taken that into consideration when she found out she was pregnant.

She should have also taken into consideration that John needed to know about his daughter when she did. But what would have happened? Nicole just figured he would only be there because he had to. Because he had a daughter. Then again, his work was dangerous too… so it seemed, either way they were screwed.

Now, all Nicole could do was wait for John’s phone call. It had been a grueling few days having to wait so long.

 

[BeachBum25]

The team took off from a small airfield. The flight plan they filed was almost accurate. It had them flying to a small airport near Laredo. However, that was not where they were going to land. That flight plan got them close to Mexico. Then, they would slip over the boarder. They would be able to land before anyone knew what was going on.

Once they landed, the loaded into vehicles that had been arranged for, and proceed to the prison. Getting in the front door was going to be the easy part. They had made arrangements to pay the guards at the front door. Garcia's cell was at the back of the prison. It would be a challenge getting them out.

Once inside the prison, they moved quietly toward Garcia's cell. They were determined not to kill anyone. Any guards they encountered would be incapacitated. Once they found Garcia, they took the keys from a guard and extricated him from the cell. His wrists were fastened behind him with zip ties. A rag was stuffed in his mouth to keep him quiet.

Back in the airplane Garcia was strapped to a chair; his wrists still bound behind him. Once they were airborne, john called Nicole. "We are on our way back." He did not think the mission was over. In fact, john believed it was just starting. The hard part was ahead of them.

 

[zydrate]

Nicole ended the call with John. As much as she wanted to get her hopes up, she didn't. This wasn't the end. Things weren't this easy. If they were, Mateo would have gotten his own brother out himself. No, something was up and Nicole was dreading what it was when she placed the call to Mateo moments later.

“It's done.”

“Ahh, well, good job Nicole. Although you defied my orders about getting someone else involved.”

“Yeah, well, this was way out of my league. I couldn't have done this with the help of these people. Besides, what does it matter? They'll keep quiet. All they want when they arrive back in the US is their payment and then they're gone. You don't need to worry about them.”

“DO NOT TELL ME WHAT TO WORRY ABOUT IT NICOLE!!”

She held the phone away from her ear and grimaced at his yell, “OK, OK...I'm sorry...” she drew in a breath, “I swear they'll be gone afterward. Come on Mateo, you are a man of your word, aren't you? You said in exchange for your brother, you would hand over the children. That was the deal.”

He said nothing. He knew that his silence was eating up at Nicole and the more she suffered, the more satisfaction he got from it.

“We're changing the drop off point. I'll let you know a few hours before the exchange.” With that, he hung up.

“What?! Wait!!” Silence. “MATEO! DON'T DO THIS!!! WE HAD A DEAL!!”

As much as Nicole wanted to slam her phone into the side of the car, she held herself in check. She placed both hands on the side of the car and let her head hang as she tried to get herself from going insane.

Little did she know, someone was watching her from the distance.