“I hope so,” Jake said, praying that Ortega didn’t have his address.
They all sat quietly in chairs, keeping an eye on Frank, and trying to enjoy the ‘rest’ they were getting. But knowing that Frank’s potential murderer was on the loose and possibly still coming after him only served to make them nervous, not relaxed.
“At least Frank’s comfortable here,” Monica said. “Unlike on the HQ couch.”
They all nodded.
“Make sure one of us asks him about that case,” said Alex, sleepily. “I’m dying to know.”
“So am I,” said Jake.
One by one, they all drifted off to sleep except Jake, who tried to stay awake. Their jobs were tough; none of them got adequate rest, but Jake wasn’t about to let sleep deprivation cause the possible further injury—or death—to his boss.
He was just losing the battle when his phone rang. He nearly fell off the recliner in his haste to answer it before it disturbed anyone, but it startled everyone awake, including Frank.
“Hello?”
“Give me Donovan.”
Jake looked at the others, who all stared at him, somehow knowing who it was.
“Who? I think you have the wrong number,” Jake said.
“Cut the crap, Jake Shaw,” Ortega said. “I know who you are and where you live. Give me Frank Donovan or you’ll all die!”
“You’ll have to go through me to get him, Ortega!” Jake yelled, and slammed the phone down.
“No, Jake…” Frank started to say.
Jake stood and pointed his finger towards his boss. “Shut up! You aren’t going anywhere! We are gonna catch this jerk and put him away for good!”
His speech was interrupted by gunfire that suddenly tore through the window.
Everyone scrambled to the floor; Jake and Cody grabbing Frank and carefully but quickly pulling him to the floor beside the bed, while glass rained down on them and bullets flew past their heads.
“Alex! Monica!”
“We’re okay!”
Suddenly bullets came from behind them, and Jake automatically shielded Frank with his body. He gasped as a bullet tore into him.
“Jake!” he heard; it sounded like Cody. Suddenly everything went black…
Jake jumped a mile, still on the recliner, when his phone rang. He stared at it in a stupor for a minute, before grabbing it and saying, “Hello?”
Silence.
He hung it up, nervously, trying to come back to his senses after the terrible dream.
Everyone was staring. “What happened?” Cody asked.
“No one was there.”
Alex and Monica exchanged glances.
“I bet it was Ortega, trying to see if I’m here, because if I am then he knows Frank is because we would all stay together to protect him!” Jake said, talking way too fast, unnerved by what seemed to be his dream becoming reality.
Frank opened his mouth to speak, but Jake cut him off.
“Shut up! You aren’t going anywhere! We are gonna catch this jerk and put him away for good!” He suddenly looked towards the window, remembering what had happened after he’d said those words in his dream.
No bullets came through the window.
Cody broke the sudden silence. “Did you just tell Frank to ‘shut up’?”
Jake looked at Frank, who’s expression was unreadable. “Sorry, boss,” Jake said, feeling stupid, since what he’d feared hadn’t happened.
“I’ll let you get away with it this time,” Frank said, with a smile. “You aren’t challenging my authority because you don’t like my methods…but because you’re trying to save my life.”
Jake smiled back, and nodded.
“We lost a leader once, we don’t want to lose another one,” said Cody. “It was hard enough getting used to you.”
Everyone laughed at the unexpected comment.
Trust Cody to lighten the mood in the middle of a life and death situation, Jake thought to himself.
Jake couldn’t explain the reason for the hang up phone call, other then it had to have simply been some kind of bizarre coincidence. Either that or Ortega was biding his time, wanting to know where they were so he could make his move the next day; Sunday, the anniversary date of his father’s death.
It was currently after midnight and Alex and Jake were the only ones still awake.
“Do you think we should move him? Take him somewhere else, if Ortega knows he’s here?” Alex asked.
Jake thought for a minute, before shaking his head. “If he does know, and is watching the place, then what’ll stop him from shooting us the minute we leave the building? Or what if he put a bomb under one of our cars?”
Alex’s eyes opened wider, she hadn’t thought of that.
“Looks like we need to stay here, and no one should leave until Monday morning; when we go bust him.”
“Yeah,” Alex said. “But if he put a bomb under someone’s car, it’ll still be there on Monday.”
Jake looked at her, with a look as if to say, ‘Oh crap, you’re right.’ He sighed heavily. “This is a crazy job we have, Alex.”
“Don’t I know it. But we enjoy the variety.” She smiled. “Every undercover role you play makes you feel like an actor.”
Jake nodded. “Except our guns are real, though.”
“Yeah,” Alex said, trying to stifle a yawn, and failing miserably. “Can’t stay awake anymore. Wake me for my watch.”
“Yup.”
A snore from Cody a few minutes later made Jake look out the bedroom door to the living room, where Cody was—somehow—sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. Monica was curled up on one end of the couch, and Alex was now on the other side. They were all sleeping like babies, the stress and worry of the past week catching up to everyone.
Jake turned back around, and looked at Frank. Frank was asleep, and had been for the past few hours. He was probably getting more sleep this week then he usually got in a month.
Jake sighed, and took his gun from his lap, making sure for the hundredth time that the safety was off, afraid that his moving around in the chair would jostle the safety back on. He pointed the gun through the bedroom, towards the door, and was glad to see that he had a good bead from there. He sighed again, and kept the gun in his hand, ready for Ortega should he try to come through that door.
Alex was obvious, by smoking even more then usual.
Monica paced.
Jake didn’t say much.
Cody was serious, for once.
Frank was quiet too, nervous himself. Part of his mind told him Ortega would not succeed, but the other part told him that he’d been lucky too many times in his life, and that luck was sure to run out sometime. He vowed that he would not go down without a fight, and he knew he couldn’t save himself by lying in bed.
“Hey!” Jake practically shouted, when he saw what Frank was trying to do. “What are you doing?”
“Trying…to…get up,” Frank said, with difficulty, as he attempted to push himself up with only one arm.
All four of them ran over, trying to stop him.
“How will I be able to defend myself if I have to, if I’m a helpless invalid?” Frank exploded. Or would have, anyway, if the effort of trying to stand wasn’t being so hard.
Jake stopped trying to keep Frank where he was, sitting unsteadily on the side of the bed. “He’s right, guys.”
“But he can’t defend himself at all!” Cody said.
Frank shot him an indignant look.
“Hey, it ain’t my fault it’s true,” Cody said with a half smile.
Frank sighed. “Move,” he told them.
They hesitantly obeyed, Jake, who was closer, kept a steadying hand on Frank’s arm as he tried to stand up. It was a good thing, for the minute the still-too-weak Frank was on his feet his knees buckled, and he fell against him.
The others rushed over to help, but Frank put his hand up to tell them not to touch him, as he tried to blink the dizziness away.
Jake held onto him tightly, glad that he’d been on the side of Frank’s uninjured arm.
After a minute Frank stood up straighter, exhaling louder then he intended. He tried to pull his arm out of Jake’s grasp, but Jake wasn’t having any of that and stubbornly held on. Frank tried to take a step under as much of his own power as he could, but stumbled.
“Take it easy, Frank! Let me help,” said Jake.
Frank sighed, frustrated. “I know I can do this with help, Jake, but I need to do it without help.”
Jake saw his point, and nodded. He tried to hold Frank in a straighter stance, instead of trying to support him.
That seemed to help, as long as Jake kept Frank straight. After a few steps Frank said, “Let go.”
“Frank…”
“Let go!”
Jake obeyed, but kept his hands close as Frank took a step and nearly toppled over sideways. This time the rest of the team—who’d been following them—helped to steady him and bring him back over to the bed, where they sat him down.
Frank said nothing for a minute, trying to get his breath back and wish away the sickening weakness he felt.
“You okay, Frank?” Monica asked, worriedly.
He nodded.
“I think that’s enough for the week—I mean day,” said Cody.
Frank had to force himself not to make a face at him.
“We’re gonna keep you safe, Frank,” said Alex. “You gotta trust us.”
Frank looked up at her, seeing the emotion in her eyes. “I do,” he answered.
“Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. I’m hungry,” said Cody, rubbing his hands together.
“You’re eating more of my food then I do!” Jake complained, shaking his head. He looked at Alex and Monica. “You’d better go eat now too, before he takes it all!” He laughed. “If he hasn’t already.”
He turned his head to see that Jake was asleep in his recliner. There was movement on the other side of the bed and suddenly Monica’s face appeared over him.
“Hey Frank, glad you finally decided to wake up.”
Alex heard her voice from the other room and peeked her head in. “He awake?”
Monica nodded.
“Time to eat, Frank,” Alex said, and disappeared. She came back before Frank got a chance to ask Monica what was on the menu.
Frank had been expecting soup, and was surprised when she came back with a big sandwich and glass of milk.
Monica must’ve seen Frank’s surprise. “You need substantial food, Frank, something that’ll give you back the strength you wasted this morning.”
“I’m not complaining,” Frank said, taking the glass of milk and drinking the whole thing. When he looked back at them, both Alex and Monica had their eyebrows raised.
“You like milk,” Alex stated.
Frank smiled. “I love milk.”
Monica shook her head. “And all this time we were thinking we were gonna have to pour it down your throat. Better get him some more, Alex, so he can take his pills.”
Alex took the glass and complied.
They watched him like a hawk, making sure Frank ate it all. When he finished, Alex took the plate.
“Thanks,” he said.
She smiled. “Anytime. Thank Jake, it’s his food.”
They all looked at Jake to see him blinking his eyes, having just woken up. He heard the word ‘food’, and said, “Did Cody eat me out of house and home?”
“Almost,” Monica answered.
“Where is Cody?”
“Asleep on the couch,” Monica said. “Who would’ve thought all four of us would catch up on lost sleep at Jake’s apartment over a weekend.”
They all laughed at that.
An uncomfortable silence followed, as they all remembered the reason they were cooped up at Jake’s place.
Alex sighed. “Man, is Ortega gonna try something or not?”
No one knew how to answer that.
Monica sighed. “It appears to be his MO. He did it on his brother’s anniversary, and he must blame you for his father’s death too, Frank.”
Frank sighed, knowing Monica was right. “What time is it?” he asked.
“Almost 6:30.”
Frank said nothing. Was Ortega playing a game with them? Was he planning to bust in in the middle of the night, when he thought them all to be asleep? Did he even know they were all there? Did he know any of them were there?
“There’s nothing we can do but wait,” he said. “Don’t let it get to you. Ortega is only one man, against five of us.” Frank realized that he sounded more confident then he actually felt.
“Right on, boss.”
They looked up to see Cody come in. “He’s right, you know,” he said.
They all nodded, though they were unable to stop the speculations and fears that ran through their minds.
Frank suddenly started sweating instead of shivering, and realized what was happening. His fever must have risen again. That was not a good sign. He sighed, not wanting to trouble his sleeping teammates, not thinking clearly enough to realize that if Jake and Cody were both in the room, then that meant that Cody was supposed to be on watch, not sleeping.
Suddenly Frank heard a noise, and he looked to see someone’s shadow walking in the living room. At first he thought it to be Alex or Monica, but when it came closer, he saw that it was a man.
He tried to sit up, and started shivering again. “Jake!” he whispered. He tried to reach over and grab Jake’s gun, as the shadow walked closer. He saw the face now, and the eerie smile on it.
“Jake!”
Jake and Cody both jumped at the sound of Frank’s voice. They were surprised to see him trying to sit up, and reaching towards Jake with a panicked look on his face. Jake picked the gun up off his lap so he could get off the chair, and Frank tried to grab it.
“Frank? What—”
“Shoot him!”
Jake immediately pointed the gun around the room, frowning when he saw no one there. He turned back to Frank to see that Cody was trying to restrain him, from trying to jump out of the bed. Frank still had the panicked look, something Jake thought he’d never see.
He put the gun on the chair and grabbed a hold of Frank, trying not to hurt him. “Frank! Frank, listen to me; there’s no one there.”
Frank barely heard him, as the apparition continued to walk closer, with a ghostly look to it. Suddenly, it vanished into thin air, and Jake’s voice finally got through to him.
“Frank, it was another nightmare, there’s no one there!”
Frank blinked, and saw Jake and Cody, with Alex and Monica behind them, looking worried. He realized then that he’d hallucinated, but apparently the team didn’t, and he wasn’t about to tell them.
“Boss?” Cody said, feeling guilty that he’d fallen asleep on his watch, and may’ve been able to do something if he’d been awake.
Frank looked at them, and nodded. “I’m all right,” he said, hoping they couldn’t see him shivering. He lay back down, hoping they wouldn’t touch him and notice the renewed fever. He had to go with them the next day, to take out Ortega.
“Do you wanna talk about it, Frank?” Monica asked, her psychologist training kicking in.
Frank shook his head and closed his eyes, pretending to go back to sleep. He didn’t have to pretend for long; a minute later he was out like a light.
The team just looked at each other, shocked, never expecting to see that kind of thing happen with Frank.
“Wow, Jake, I didn’t realize the extent of it,” Alex whispered.
Jake shook his head. “No, that was the worst one. He seemed to still be dreaming even after he was awake.”
Monica shook her head. “He’s been seriously injured, guys. He should still be doped up in the hospital. What do we expect?”
“I expected anything but that, I think,” said Cody. “Maybe we should send him back to Chicago Gen. when this case is over with.”
They all nodded to each other. “Maybe we should,” Alex said.
“But don’t tell him that,” Monica warned. “Or we’ll pay for it, I’m sure.”
Jake and Cody snuck out of the apartment house and into the garage, wondering if they would be shot at. No one attacked them, so they checked out all the vehicles for bombs or sabotage. Finding nothing, they went back upstairs to hear Frank and the girls arguing.
“You are going nowhere without me!”
“Frank, where is your brain?! You can’t defend yourself, you can’t do anything in your condition!” Alex said.
“I can still shoot a gun!”
“Yeah, if it isn’t too heavy,” said Monica, more softly then Alex.
Jake and Cody walked in then. “Okay, okay, calm down everyone,” Cody said, holding his arms up. “I’m sure we can reach a mutual decision.”
“Who’s going?” Frank suddenly asked, rubbing his forehead as if it hurt.
“Me, Alex…uh…” Jake said.
“Exactly!” said Frank, putting his arm down and looking at them. “If you leave me here, then you will have to leave at least one other person. If you leave Monica, and Ortega decides to spring it on us since he knows you three will be gone, then how can Monica deal with him alone?” He paused for a breath, realizing that was the most he’d said at one time in days. “If you leave Cody instead, then Jake and Alex will only have Monica, who isn’t as trained for physical confrontations, for their backup. If you left Alex here, Jake, then you would be the only one mainly capable of catching him—”
“I see your point,” Jake said.
“So what do we do?” Alex asked. “How can we keep an eye on you while we’re chasing drug dealers around a port?”
“I can still take care of myself. Put me behind a crate, give me a gun, and I’ll be fine.”
They all looked at each other, not sure.
Frank sighed, then wished he hadn’t, hoping they didn’t see it as an indication of how weak he felt. “We have no choice.”