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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see part one
Author’s Note: So here’s the chapter where I’m gonna introduce the ‘real’ crossover-series. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~
The Past Always Catches Up Part 3
Introductions and plans
The second Parker had terminated the connection Jarod was re-dialling.
“Charles,” his father’s voice greeted him.
“Dad,” Jarod pushed down the accelerator and swivelled round a corner. He crossed the next traffic lights two seconds after they turned red, ignoring the other drivers hitting their brakes to the screaming point.
“Jarod, what is it?” the Major asked, at once alert upon hearing the distress in his son’s voice and some background sounds that he didn’t like.
“I don’t have the time to explain it right now. Just pack some things and grab Ethan and Emily. Head to the airport, I’ll meet you there in about an hour, maybe a bit later.”
“Jarod, what is it?” the Major demanded more harshly.
“Just meet me there and make sure that no one follows you,” Jarod said and then terminated the connection. He threw the cell phone on the passenger’s seat and concentrated back on driving so he would get to the high school in one piece.
He could have told his father what had happened but he feared that once he spoke out what had happened, reality would sink in and leave him as an immobile shell, not able to focus on getting Jay out of the Centre’s clutches and keeping the rest of his family safe.
Jarod punched the steering wheel. He shouldn’t have allowed Jay to go to high school. He knew that he was being unreasonable and he would have never forbidden the boy to go to school. Jay searched for some kind of normality and keeping him at home wouldn’t have helped him find anything. They had minimized the risk by agreeing to keep a low profile.
Jay consciously and purposefully did tests worse than he could have. The major reason why he was in high school at all, though he was bored to death by what they taught, was that he had wanted to make some friends and have some social contact; a wish that they all had supported.
The results had spoken for themselves. Jay had become more self-confident after quickly becoming well respected and finding friends quickly. Good looking as he was, he didn’t have to fight for female company, something he was still a bit uncertain about.
Despite the situation, Jarod smiled when he thought about Jay’s sometimes awkward movements with the opposite sex. Jay sometimes reminded him too much of himself.
The smile faltered when Jarod applied the breaks and skidded to a halt in front of the school’s entrance door. “Shit,” he swore loudly when he looked around. Then he breathed deeply and got out of the car. The place was crawling with police. He looked around once more, taking in all the things that were happening there.
Had someone asked him, he would have been able to tell most of the number plates from the cars around, tell exactly how many police cars were present and where they were standing and what colour the pullover one of the teachers, at the front gate, had. All these facts registered in his mind without him having to concentrate upon them.
He purposefully strode towards the scene of action.
A burly police officer tried to stop him when he was ducking under the police tape to get to the scene. “You’re not allowed to pass, sir. A crime happened here and this scene’s closed for the public so can you please retreat behind the tape?” he asked politely. Obviously he hadn’t said it too many times yet otherwise the instructions would have been shorter and more harsh.
“I know a crime happened here. My son has been kidnapped,” Jarod growled and pushed past the officer - this time without further hindrance.
He grabbed the next best police officer that ran over his way. “Who’s in charge here?”
The young black officer pointed. “The guy over there but you’re not allowed to be in here,” he tried just as the other one had and put a hand on Jarod’s shoulder to get him back behind the confined space of the crime scene.
“Look, it’s my son who’s missing so get out of my way.” Jarod didn’t give him another glance but strode over to where the man that the officer had pointed out was standing. “What do you have?” he asked briskly.
The man turned. “And you are?”
“Jarod Stuart. My son is missing.”
“Ah, yes. Mister Stuart. I’m special-agent Jack Malone, FBI, missing persons unit,” the man extended his hand.
Jarod shook it firmly and very briefly. “So what happened here?” he asked, his face a hard and unwavering mask. Only those who knew Jarod would be able to see the fear and nervousness in the tightly controlled man’s eyes.
“We don’t have much information right now. It seems as if your son Jay was just walking towards the school grounds with a friend when a black car speed up and stopped in front of the teenagers. A man got out, grabbed your son and pulled him into the car and that was it. The school called the police and they called us.”
“Who was with Jay?” Jarod asked, looking around.
“A boy named Tony Gray,” special-agent Malone responded after looking it up in his notepad. “One of my agents is just speaking to him and trying to get some more information. The boy’s pretty shocked.”
Jarod nodded and was about to pose another question when he heard a short yell of pure rage. He didn’t need to turn around to know who was approaching. He swivelled around and strode over to where Parker was just pushing past a policeman, a pair of officers following her. Andy was balanced on her right hip as if glued there.
Jarod quickly embraced her. “Are you ok?”
“Yes,” she replied and then they both drew away and straightened, pushing back the fear and pain that was inhabiting them, to go on and function to get Jay back. “What exactly happened and why’s the place crawling with policemen?” she asked in a hushed voice.
Even though the words were spoken in no more than whispered tones, the two officers who had brought Parker there caught them. The female officer’s eyebrows rose high on her forehead; the man’s eyes narrowed.
Jarod took Parker by the arm and lead her forward. “I’m just trying to find out what happened. It seems as if the school called the police, which is more than understandable from their point of view.”
“Damn,” she swore, adjusting Andy on her hip.
“You can say that,” Jarod growled back and gently drew a hand through his son’s hair, ruffling it.
Both police officers that were following the couple had managed to overhear bits and pieces of the conversation. They both frowned and looked at each other.
And another man had a suspicious frown on his forehead. He walked over to where his boss stood.
“Danny,” Agent Malone greeted him.
“I just overheard the parents of the boy talking.”
“And?”
“They don’t seem to be pleased with our and the police’s being here,” the Latino informed his boss.
“Is that so?” Malone questioned, interest colouring his voice. One eyebrow rose and he turned to where the parents were standing, watching them closely.
Danny nodded.
“Ok, you know the drill: Find out who the boy is and we most certainly find out where he is. Martin’s speaking to the boy who was present during the abduction. Try to get some answers from the parents. I don’t think that Martin will be able to get much out of that friend or any of the boy’s mates,” Malone ordered.
Danny nodded and turned while the other agent drew out his cell and dialled a pre-programmed number. “Viv, it’s me. You have anything yet?”
“No, not much,” papers ruffled in the background. “Jay Stuart, sixteen. The family just moved to New York about half a year ago. They’re not extraordinarily wealthy and the parents don’t claim any important positions in their working life. The boy has been going to high school from the time they came here. His grades are barely above average and he didn’t attract any attention on himself otherwise. No police or hospital records as far as I could find out until now,” the woman passed the information onto him.
“Keep digging. We need to know more about the time before. If the family’s not extraordinary wealthy, the abduction’s gotta have something to do with the family’s past. Oh and let Sam start searching for the parent’s background. I want to know more about them as well. Danny informed me that he overheard a conversation and obviously they weren’t too happy about our involvement. I want to know why.”
“Got it. I’ll call you once I have something useful,” agent Johnson said and terminated the connection just as her boss did.
Agent Malone walked over to where Danny was talking to the parents.
~~~~~~~
Jarod took Andrew out of Parker’s arms.
“What are we going to do?”
“Get him to safety with the family and you too,” he answered in hushed tones.
“Forget it, I’m not leaving. Jay’s as much my son as he’s yours. I won’t let you do this alone,” she shook her head determinedly.
Jarod knew better than to argue with her about that. “Ok,” he breathed, giving her a quick kiss, glad that she would be in this together with him.
She nodded briefly and leaned over to the little boy that was now in his father’s arms. “Your Daddy’s going to bring you away from here, little man. I love you,” she whispered to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.
“Ma’am, Sir. I would like to talk to you,” a man came up to them. “I’m special agent Taylor from the FBI.”
“Can’t that wait? I have something to take care of,” Jarod said and already turned around, taking the boy with him.
“Sorry, sir, but it’s important. It’s about your son,” Agent Malone’s voice spoke up behind them.
Jarod rolled his eyes. Anything else - if it had not been about Jay - would have been strange. “My wife will gladly keep you company until I’m back.”
“Where are you going?” special-agent Malone asked.
“That’s none of your business,” Jarod stated evenly and walked towards his car.
“Sir, we got the impression that you’re not entirely comfortable with our being here,” Agent Taylor spoke up. He tilted his head to the side.
Jarod swivelled round and glared at the agents. “You’re damn right I’m not.”
“But we’re here to help you get your son back,” Danny quirked an eyebrow, quickly filing away the information he got through this interview.
Jarod scoffed.
“Did you already get a ransom demand?” Agent Malone asked carefully, watching the man. “Is that where you’re off to right now? I can only advise you to let us prepare the money in that case. That way you’ll be able to get your son back and maybe also the money once we get the kidnappers.”
“You just don’t understand that. I didn’t get any demands and there will be none,” Jarod snapped. Parker put a hand on his arm to calm him and he shot her a look of gratitude that she was able to get him to focus again.
“How do you know that?” Malone asked, catching on the words the man had spoken.
“If you’ll please excuse me now, I have some things to do,” Jarod stated calmly.
“I’m not comfortable with your leaving, sir,” Malone spoke up again.
“So what? Am I under arrest? I don’t think so, you have no reason for that,” Jarod said and then stalked away. He quickly got into the car and started the engine.
“Just what is your husband trying to accomplish, Ma’am?” Malone asked Parker when he turned to her.
“He’s trying to protect his family,” she said calmly, watching Jarod leave. Then she turned towards the agent and quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Danny, grab Martin and follow him,” Malone ordered and turned back to the woman in front of him, while his agent was already on his way. “And I want you to accompany me, Ma’am.”
Parker shrugged her shoulders and followed the agent.
“Told you that something about her was strange,” the police officer said to his partner.
“Yes, Bosco,” Faith gave back. They had been merely a few steps away from the scene. They were helping their colleagues to keep the watchers back from the scene.
“Oh man, her husband was even more cool and composed than she was. I don’t think he cared about what happened,” Bosco frowned.
“Oh, he did. The calm only went so deep. He was shaken,” another officer spoke up.
“Yeah?” Bosco turned to him, clearly not convinced.
“I think Davis is right. The man was worried,” another officer said.
“Aw, come on, Sully. He was cool as ice. Did you see how he just brushed off the worry? He was composed as if that wasn’t his problem at all,” Bosco shook his head.
“I think it’s more like he was worried but not able to show it. He was fighting to stay in control,” Davis cautioned.
“In control? Of what?” Bosco asked, gesturing with his hands.
“Hell, how should I know?” Davis shrugged.
“Ha,” Bosco scoffed. “Control. That guy has long since lost control. Over what is anyone’s guess at the moment,” he waved his hand.
To be continued…
I think some of you know what other crossover series appeared here. For those who don’t:
It’s “Without A Trace”.
Again - though I’ve said it before - the “Third Watch”-team’s appearance will end here. Instead, the crossover will focus on “Without A Trace”. I hope you like the way I’m doing this. Please leave me a note if you do (and if you don’t as well).
Oh, and: I was asked to do a short summary of the new crossover series, so you know what’s going on and who’s who. I snatched bits and pieces of it from other sources (without permission - sorry), rewrote some and put my own comments in. So, to up it in a nutshell, this is what Without A Trace is about:
Without A Trace is a series focussed on the Missing Persons Squad of the FBI. The series takes place in (surprise, surprise) New York. The sole responsibility of the special task force is to find people who have gone missing. They are trying to peel back the layers of the victims’ lives and trace their whereabouts in an effort to discover whether they have been abducted, murdered, committed suicide or simply run away.
The team consists of five members:
Senior agent Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia) is the head of the team. He’s a pretty somber and grumpy guy most of the time, has a degree in psychology and is always trying to stay keep all bases covered in the investigation.
Vivian Johnson (Marianne Jean-Baptiste); she’s kind of a peacekeeper in the team, also a bit of a mother-hen sometimes. Yet, she’s a no-nonsense investigator and has a lot of experience on the job.
Samantha Spade (Poppy Montgomery); she’s good looking but tough and she’s also proving that she has the job because she’s good in it.
Danny Taylor (Enrique Murciano); street-smart Latino, who always has a witty comment on his tongue. He’s often trusting his instincts and having a good insight into the people he’s dealing with. He’s also a very private guy and doesn’t reveal much about himself.
Martin Fitzgerald (Eric Close); he’s introduced to the team with the first episode of Without A Trace. He got his assignment partly because of his father, who’s a deputy Director in the FBI, but proved his right to being with the team over time.
This is kept very basic but I think it should do… at least I hope so.
Author’s Note: So here’s the chapter where I’m gonna introduce the ‘real’ crossover-series. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~
The Past Always Catches Up Part 3
Introductions and plans
The second Parker had terminated the connection Jarod was re-dialling.
“Charles,” his father’s voice greeted him.
“Dad,” Jarod pushed down the accelerator and swivelled round a corner. He crossed the next traffic lights two seconds after they turned red, ignoring the other drivers hitting their brakes to the screaming point.
“Jarod, what is it?” the Major asked, at once alert upon hearing the distress in his son’s voice and some background sounds that he didn’t like.
“I don’t have the time to explain it right now. Just pack some things and grab Ethan and Emily. Head to the airport, I’ll meet you there in about an hour, maybe a bit later.”
“Jarod, what is it?” the Major demanded more harshly.
“Just meet me there and make sure that no one follows you,” Jarod said and then terminated the connection. He threw the cell phone on the passenger’s seat and concentrated back on driving so he would get to the high school in one piece.
He could have told his father what had happened but he feared that once he spoke out what had happened, reality would sink in and leave him as an immobile shell, not able to focus on getting Jay out of the Centre’s clutches and keeping the rest of his family safe.
Jarod punched the steering wheel. He shouldn’t have allowed Jay to go to high school. He knew that he was being unreasonable and he would have never forbidden the boy to go to school. Jay searched for some kind of normality and keeping him at home wouldn’t have helped him find anything. They had minimized the risk by agreeing to keep a low profile.
Jay consciously and purposefully did tests worse than he could have. The major reason why he was in high school at all, though he was bored to death by what they taught, was that he had wanted to make some friends and have some social contact; a wish that they all had supported.
The results had spoken for themselves. Jay had become more self-confident after quickly becoming well respected and finding friends quickly. Good looking as he was, he didn’t have to fight for female company, something he was still a bit uncertain about.
Despite the situation, Jarod smiled when he thought about Jay’s sometimes awkward movements with the opposite sex. Jay sometimes reminded him too much of himself.
The smile faltered when Jarod applied the breaks and skidded to a halt in front of the school’s entrance door. “Shit,” he swore loudly when he looked around. Then he breathed deeply and got out of the car. The place was crawling with police. He looked around once more, taking in all the things that were happening there.
Had someone asked him, he would have been able to tell most of the number plates from the cars around, tell exactly how many police cars were present and where they were standing and what colour the pullover one of the teachers, at the front gate, had. All these facts registered in his mind without him having to concentrate upon them.
He purposefully strode towards the scene of action.
A burly police officer tried to stop him when he was ducking under the police tape to get to the scene. “You’re not allowed to pass, sir. A crime happened here and this scene’s closed for the public so can you please retreat behind the tape?” he asked politely. Obviously he hadn’t said it too many times yet otherwise the instructions would have been shorter and more harsh.
“I know a crime happened here. My son has been kidnapped,” Jarod growled and pushed past the officer - this time without further hindrance.
He grabbed the next best police officer that ran over his way. “Who’s in charge here?”
The young black officer pointed. “The guy over there but you’re not allowed to be in here,” he tried just as the other one had and put a hand on Jarod’s shoulder to get him back behind the confined space of the crime scene.
“Look, it’s my son who’s missing so get out of my way.” Jarod didn’t give him another glance but strode over to where the man that the officer had pointed out was standing. “What do you have?” he asked briskly.
The man turned. “And you are?”
“Jarod Stuart. My son is missing.”
“Ah, yes. Mister Stuart. I’m special-agent Jack Malone, FBI, missing persons unit,” the man extended his hand.
Jarod shook it firmly and very briefly. “So what happened here?” he asked, his face a hard and unwavering mask. Only those who knew Jarod would be able to see the fear and nervousness in the tightly controlled man’s eyes.
“We don’t have much information right now. It seems as if your son Jay was just walking towards the school grounds with a friend when a black car speed up and stopped in front of the teenagers. A man got out, grabbed your son and pulled him into the car and that was it. The school called the police and they called us.”
“Who was with Jay?” Jarod asked, looking around.
“A boy named Tony Gray,” special-agent Malone responded after looking it up in his notepad. “One of my agents is just speaking to him and trying to get some more information. The boy’s pretty shocked.”
Jarod nodded and was about to pose another question when he heard a short yell of pure rage. He didn’t need to turn around to know who was approaching. He swivelled around and strode over to where Parker was just pushing past a policeman, a pair of officers following her. Andy was balanced on her right hip as if glued there.
Jarod quickly embraced her. “Are you ok?”
“Yes,” she replied and then they both drew away and straightened, pushing back the fear and pain that was inhabiting them, to go on and function to get Jay back. “What exactly happened and why’s the place crawling with policemen?” she asked in a hushed voice.
Even though the words were spoken in no more than whispered tones, the two officers who had brought Parker there caught them. The female officer’s eyebrows rose high on her forehead; the man’s eyes narrowed.
Jarod took Parker by the arm and lead her forward. “I’m just trying to find out what happened. It seems as if the school called the police, which is more than understandable from their point of view.”
“Damn,” she swore, adjusting Andy on her hip.
“You can say that,” Jarod growled back and gently drew a hand through his son’s hair, ruffling it.
Both police officers that were following the couple had managed to overhear bits and pieces of the conversation. They both frowned and looked at each other.
And another man had a suspicious frown on his forehead. He walked over to where his boss stood.
“Danny,” Agent Malone greeted him.
“I just overheard the parents of the boy talking.”
“And?”
“They don’t seem to be pleased with our and the police’s being here,” the Latino informed his boss.
“Is that so?” Malone questioned, interest colouring his voice. One eyebrow rose and he turned to where the parents were standing, watching them closely.
Danny nodded.
“Ok, you know the drill: Find out who the boy is and we most certainly find out where he is. Martin’s speaking to the boy who was present during the abduction. Try to get some answers from the parents. I don’t think that Martin will be able to get much out of that friend or any of the boy’s mates,” Malone ordered.
Danny nodded and turned while the other agent drew out his cell and dialled a pre-programmed number. “Viv, it’s me. You have anything yet?”
“No, not much,” papers ruffled in the background. “Jay Stuart, sixteen. The family just moved to New York about half a year ago. They’re not extraordinarily wealthy and the parents don’t claim any important positions in their working life. The boy has been going to high school from the time they came here. His grades are barely above average and he didn’t attract any attention on himself otherwise. No police or hospital records as far as I could find out until now,” the woman passed the information onto him.
“Keep digging. We need to know more about the time before. If the family’s not extraordinary wealthy, the abduction’s gotta have something to do with the family’s past. Oh and let Sam start searching for the parent’s background. I want to know more about them as well. Danny informed me that he overheard a conversation and obviously they weren’t too happy about our involvement. I want to know why.”
“Got it. I’ll call you once I have something useful,” agent Johnson said and terminated the connection just as her boss did.
Agent Malone walked over to where Danny was talking to the parents.
~~~~~~~
Jarod took Andrew out of Parker’s arms.
“What are we going to do?”
“Get him to safety with the family and you too,” he answered in hushed tones.
“Forget it, I’m not leaving. Jay’s as much my son as he’s yours. I won’t let you do this alone,” she shook her head determinedly.
Jarod knew better than to argue with her about that. “Ok,” he breathed, giving her a quick kiss, glad that she would be in this together with him.
She nodded briefly and leaned over to the little boy that was now in his father’s arms. “Your Daddy’s going to bring you away from here, little man. I love you,” she whispered to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.
“Ma’am, Sir. I would like to talk to you,” a man came up to them. “I’m special agent Taylor from the FBI.”
“Can’t that wait? I have something to take care of,” Jarod said and already turned around, taking the boy with him.
“Sorry, sir, but it’s important. It’s about your son,” Agent Malone’s voice spoke up behind them.
Jarod rolled his eyes. Anything else - if it had not been about Jay - would have been strange. “My wife will gladly keep you company until I’m back.”
“Where are you going?” special-agent Malone asked.
“That’s none of your business,” Jarod stated evenly and walked towards his car.
“Sir, we got the impression that you’re not entirely comfortable with our being here,” Agent Taylor spoke up. He tilted his head to the side.
Jarod swivelled round and glared at the agents. “You’re damn right I’m not.”
“But we’re here to help you get your son back,” Danny quirked an eyebrow, quickly filing away the information he got through this interview.
Jarod scoffed.
“Did you already get a ransom demand?” Agent Malone asked carefully, watching the man. “Is that where you’re off to right now? I can only advise you to let us prepare the money in that case. That way you’ll be able to get your son back and maybe also the money once we get the kidnappers.”
“You just don’t understand that. I didn’t get any demands and there will be none,” Jarod snapped. Parker put a hand on his arm to calm him and he shot her a look of gratitude that she was able to get him to focus again.
“How do you know that?” Malone asked, catching on the words the man had spoken.
“If you’ll please excuse me now, I have some things to do,” Jarod stated calmly.
“I’m not comfortable with your leaving, sir,” Malone spoke up again.
“So what? Am I under arrest? I don’t think so, you have no reason for that,” Jarod said and then stalked away. He quickly got into the car and started the engine.
“Just what is your husband trying to accomplish, Ma’am?” Malone asked Parker when he turned to her.
“He’s trying to protect his family,” she said calmly, watching Jarod leave. Then she turned towards the agent and quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Danny, grab Martin and follow him,” Malone ordered and turned back to the woman in front of him, while his agent was already on his way. “And I want you to accompany me, Ma’am.”
Parker shrugged her shoulders and followed the agent.
“Told you that something about her was strange,” the police officer said to his partner.
“Yes, Bosco,” Faith gave back. They had been merely a few steps away from the scene. They were helping their colleagues to keep the watchers back from the scene.
“Oh man, her husband was even more cool and composed than she was. I don’t think he cared about what happened,” Bosco frowned.
“Oh, he did. The calm only went so deep. He was shaken,” another officer spoke up.
“Yeah?” Bosco turned to him, clearly not convinced.
“I think Davis is right. The man was worried,” another officer said.
“Aw, come on, Sully. He was cool as ice. Did you see how he just brushed off the worry? He was composed as if that wasn’t his problem at all,” Bosco shook his head.
“I think it’s more like he was worried but not able to show it. He was fighting to stay in control,” Davis cautioned.
“In control? Of what?” Bosco asked, gesturing with his hands.
“Hell, how should I know?” Davis shrugged.
“Ha,” Bosco scoffed. “Control. That guy has long since lost control. Over what is anyone’s guess at the moment,” he waved his hand.
To be continued…
I think some of you know what other crossover series appeared here. For those who don’t:
It’s “Without A Trace”.
Again - though I’ve said it before - the “Third Watch”-team’s appearance will end here. Instead, the crossover will focus on “Without A Trace”. I hope you like the way I’m doing this. Please leave me a note if you do (and if you don’t as well).
Oh, and: I was asked to do a short summary of the new crossover series, so you know what’s going on and who’s who. I snatched bits and pieces of it from other sources (without permission - sorry), rewrote some and put my own comments in. So, to up it in a nutshell, this is what Without A Trace is about:
Without A Trace is a series focussed on the Missing Persons Squad of the FBI. The series takes place in (surprise, surprise) New York. The sole responsibility of the special task force is to find people who have gone missing. They are trying to peel back the layers of the victims’ lives and trace their whereabouts in an effort to discover whether they have been abducted, murdered, committed suicide or simply run away.
The team consists of five members:
Senior agent Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia) is the head of the team. He’s a pretty somber and grumpy guy most of the time, has a degree in psychology and is always trying to stay keep all bases covered in the investigation.
Vivian Johnson (Marianne Jean-Baptiste); she’s kind of a peacekeeper in the team, also a bit of a mother-hen sometimes. Yet, she’s a no-nonsense investigator and has a lot of experience on the job.
Samantha Spade (Poppy Montgomery); she’s good looking but tough and she’s also proving that she has the job because she’s good in it.
Danny Taylor (Enrique Murciano); street-smart Latino, who always has a witty comment on his tongue. He’s often trusting his instincts and having a good insight into the people he’s dealing with. He’s also a very private guy and doesn’t reveal much about himself.
Martin Fitzgerald (Eric Close); he’s introduced to the team with the first episode of Without A Trace. He got his assignment partly because of his father, who’s a deputy Director in the FBI, but proved his right to being with the team over time.
This is kept very basic but I think it should do… at least I hope so.
