Pieces

 

Denver

"Okay," said Chris Larabee, "all of you be here by six in the morning. Our plane leaves at eight."

The other six ATF team members nodded their heads and Buck said, "Ya got it, Boss Man."

Chris just rolled his eyes and said, "I'll see ya'all in the morning." All seven team members walked down to the parking garage, got into their cars, waved and drove off.

The next morning, everyone was on time at the ATF building. Even Ezra was there, much to the surprise of the other six. "Has Hell frozen over?," quipped Nathan when Ezra walked up.

Ezra calmly took a drink of his coffee, out of a Starbucks cup, and proceeded to flip Nathan the middle finger on his right hand. They all knew that Ezra was almost comatose until his second cup of coffee and a few more hours of sleep, so they just laughed. "Okay, guys, let's get to the airport," said Chris. They all got into Chris's Dodge Ram and began the uncomfortable twenty minute ride to the airport. After they had arrived and the truck had been parked in a safe location, they grabbed their duffel bags and walked inside. Fifteen minutes later, they were all seated in coach and on their way to New York City for the conference they were attending.

New York City

A few hours later, Team Seven were unpacking in their hotel rooms. "Hey, Buck, you wanna go check out some sights tonight?" JD asked his roommate.

Buck smoothed his mustache and shook his head, "Nah. Not tonight, I've got a date."

"A date?! We just got here an hour ago. Who in the world do you have a date with?"

Buck smiled, "Ya know that pretty little filly at the reception desk?" When JD nodded, Buck said, "Her."

JD laughed and shook his head, "Figures."

"If ya got it, ya got it. Who am I to deny the ladies?," Buck said as he puffed out his chest and smiled.

"You got something alright," JD said as he rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm going to go and explore," he added.

"I don't know, you'd better check with Chris."

"I've already checked with dad and he said we could. But since you're not going, I'll just go alone."

"i don't know, man. This is New York."

"Ya think? Anyways, I've lived in Boson and, now, Denver. I think I can handle New York City. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Famous last words," murmured Buck.

JD just rolled his eyes as he grabbed his jacket and walked to the room door. "I'll be back in a little while. Have fun on your date and try to be good."

"Aren't I always?" asked an innocent looking Buck.

"Yeah. I might believe that and that look if I didn't know that there's horns poking up under that hair." With that said, JD walked out and closed the door, leaving Buck sputtering for something to say.

/////////

"Do any of you have any leads on the cases? The commissioner is breathing down my neck, wanting answers. I'd like to have something to tell him," Captain Don Cragen said to his detectives that were sitting at their desks.

"Nothing new, Cap. Just what we knew before, all the victims are men and there's never any fluids or prints left at the scenes," responded Detective Elliott Stabler as he looked up from a file he was reading.

Captain Cragen had his four best Special Victims Unit detectives working on the case, and no leads had made themselves known. What made the cases so strange was that some of the men were being raped and some of them weren't. But it looked like the men that were raped were being raped by a wooden object, splinters had been found inside the men. All of the cases were connected, that much they knew. The men were all young homeless men, usually in their late teens and early twenties, drugged with a drug that they hadn't been able to identify, some raped and some not, then they were robbed. But the perps weren't using any of the credit cards or anything else to leave a trail. The cases were starting to take their toll on everyone involved in the investigation, and the press was calling the cases The Homeless Rapes. Captain Cragen sighed, "Fine. Let me know the minute any of you have anything. I need something to tell the commissioner and the press. I want to try and catch whose doing this before they reach victim eight."

"Too late, Captain. There's another vic at the hospital, looks like it matches the others," said Elliott's partner, Detective Olivia Benson.

Captain Cragen sighed and said, "You and Stabler get down there." He turned to Detective John Munch and his partner, Odafin Tutuola, and said, "You two follow up on the past cases. See if you can find anything that might've been overlooked."

"We're on it," said Detective Tutuola.

Captain Cragen went into his office, sat at his desk, and started softly counting. "Five...Four....Three....Two...One..." When he hit one, the phone rang. Before Captain Cragen picked it up, he knew it was going to be the commissioner and he was right.

"Yes, sir, I understand that. We're doing everything we can......Okay, sir, have a good day." After Cragen hung up, he shook his head and muttered, "Do it better. We're do everything we can now. It's not like we don't want to catch the people responsible." He sighed and massaged his temples, trying to get he stress to drain out.

Half-an-hour later, Elliott and Olivia were at the hospital and talking to Doctor Milsworth. "The John Doe was brought in about an hour ago. He has no identification on him and he's still out. He was drugged but we can't get results on what it was. He incurred a head injury, has a broken wrist, a fractured nose and two cracked ribs. We did a rape kit and it came back negative. He should make a full recovery, physically, in time. He needs his rest though."

"Who brought him in, Doctor?" Olivia asked.

"The ambulance. Dispatch received a call and the EMT's said that a woman directed them to where John Doe was. While they were stabilizing and loading him, she disappeared. The two EMT's are sitting over there, I thought you might want to talk to them."

"Thank you, Doctor. When can we see him?" asked Elliott.

"Someone will let you know when he wakes up. It could be tonight, it might not be until tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make my rounds."

Olivia and Elliott walked over to the two EMT's and Elliott said, "I'm Detective Stabler. This is my partner, Detective Benson. You were the ones to pick up the John Doe?"

"Yes," answered a petite woman. "I'm Susie Miller and this is Dan Crowell."

"Can you run us through what happened?" asked Olivia as she got out her small notebook and pen, ready to take notes.

"Sure," answered Dan. He continued, "We were dispatched to that alley right off of Times Square and a woman waved us over. We saw the John Doe laying on the ground, unconscious. We made sure that he was breathing, put him on the gurney and loaded him into the ambulance. Susie turned to ask the woman if she wanted to ride to the hospital with us, we thought she might've known the young man, but she was gone. We went ahead and brought him here."

"Can you describe the woman that waved you down?" asked Elliott.

"Sure. She was about my height, five-five, and had curly red hair. It was about shoulder-length and she was dressed all in dark clothes. Couldn't make out the exact color," said Susie.

"Sounds like you got a good look at her," commented Olivia.

"We're trained to always get a good look at our surroundings, especially at night. You never know what can happen," Susie said.

"Very true. Could you two come down to the station with us and talk with our sketch artist?" Olivia inquired.

Dan shrugged, "Sure, our shift's over. That John Doe was our last call." Elliott walked to the nurses' station and said, "I'm Detective Stabler. I want someone to call us as soon as the John Doe awakens in room two-fifty."

He handed her a card and she said, "Will do."

"Thanks," he said before rejoining his partner and the two EMT's. They drove to the station and walked Susie and Dan to a room and Olivia said, "The sketch artist will be with you in a minute. Would you guys like anything to drink?" Susie and Dan both shook their heads no and the two detectives walked away to let the sketch artist Marlin Brown know that he had some work to do.

A few minutes later, they were back at their desks and Elliott spoke to John Munch. "You and Fin find anything?"

"Nada. Just a lot of the same. You two?"

"It's a John Doe. Looks like he was beaten worse than the others but his wallet is missing and he was drugged with the same unknown drug. Until he wakes up, we don't really know what happened."

Two hours later, at eleven that night, Elliott's desk phone rang and he answered, "Detective Stabler......Okay, thank you, we'll be right there......What? Are you sure?......Okay, thanks." When he hung up, he saw Olivia and Captain Cragen waiting to see what he had to say. "That was the hospital. The John Doe woke up."

"Good, you and Olivia get over there and talk to him."

"There's something else, Captain. Our perp or perps are escalating, this guy isn't homeless like the others. He's a federal agent."

At that, everyone was speechless. A moment later, they heard Captain Cragen curse, "Oh, hell. You two get down there while I talk to the commissioner. John, Fin, you two go with them."

John, Fin, Olivia and Elliott arrived at the hospital room that housed the John Doe. 'The federal agent,' Ellliott corrected himself. Olivia knocked on the door and saw six heads swing towards her.

She walked into the room and said, "I'm Detective Olivia Benson with the Special Victims Unit. This is my partner, Detective Elliott Stabler." She pointed at John and said, "That's Detective John Munch. And, his partner, Detective Odafin Tutuola."

"You can call me Fin, everyone does. They seem to find it easier," Fin said with a slight smile.

"Hello," Chris said as he shook hands with the four detectives. "We're with the Denver ATF and I'm Agent Chris Larabee. These are the men on my team." He pointed to each as he said their name, "Agent Nathan Jackson, Agent Vin Tanner, Agent Josiah Sanchez, Agent Ezra Standish, Agent Buck Wilmington." He sighed and said, "And, the one in the bed is Agent JD Dunne."

"We got a call from the hospital that he's awake. We need to speak to him," said Fin.

"That might be difficult," said Chris.

"Why?" Elliott asked.

"JD's out again. The doctor said he'll probably wake back up soon. He said that patients that incur severe head traumas are in and out until they awake permanently." Chris paused and said, "There's one other thing. He doesn't remember anything, not even who he is."

"What?" asked John.

Chris nodded and said, "The doctor said that it's normal. Most likely his memory will return but the doctor can't say when. Of course, there's the slight possibility that it won't come back. But we know JD, and he's a fighter. His memory will be back."

"Do any of you know what happened? Why he was at Times Square?" asked Elliott.

"He left, telling me that he was going sightseeing. Anyways, I warned him to be careful and he said he would. The next thing we know is, it's late at night and he hadn't checked in or arrived back. We're like family, he wouldn't leave us wondering where he was. So, we started calling the hospitals and reached one where a man fit the description we gave. We rushed here, saw him, and confirmed that it was him," explained Buck.

"Alright. We think that he was victim number eight. Someone or some people drug the victims, steal their wallets and, sometimes rape them. Luckily, Agent Dunne wasn't raped," said Fin.

"We know, the doctor informed us of that. We're very thankful that didn't happen," said Josiah.

Olivia looked at her watch and saw that it was midnight, inwardly sighing. "Okay, it's pretty late. How about we come back in the morning...." Olivia started when she was interrupted by the door being pushed open.

"Chris, Buck, guys, what's going on?! I went to the hotel and the lady at the front desk said that she heard you guys mention the hospital. Are all of you alright?! I tried three hospitals before they told me you all were here," JD said in one breath before he stopped.

Everyone just stood there, not knowing what to say for a good minute.

"Who are you, sir?" asked John.

"Me? I'm JD Dunne. What's going on?"

"JD? Oh my God!," exclaimed Buck as he rushed to give JD a huge hug.

"Wait a minute. We need to figure out what the hell's goin' on! JD's there, then who's this in the bed?" Vin said after he had everyone's attention.

"Can we see your identification?" Elliott asked JD.

"Sure." He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a black wallet, and said, "Here."

Elliott flipped open the wallet and found an ATF badge and a license with the name John Daniel Dunne and his picture. He showed it to Olivia, John and Fin and said, "Can you tell us where you've been?"

"Uh, sure. I took a cab downtown, wanting to sightsee. I was just walking around, looking at everything, when I realized how late it was. I knew I had to get back to the hotel, the team has a conference tomorrow, and I realized that I was lost. I didn't know where I was and I was having a hard time trying to get a cab. I decided to call Josiah to let him and the others know what was going on and that I was fine. It started ringing when my cell cut off and it said that the battery was low. I couldn't find a damn payphone, so I waited until I could get a cab. It was a forty minute cab ride and, then, when I got there I found out that they rushed to a hospital. I kept calling until I was told they were here." He stopped and sighed, "What a night."

"Okay, well, can you tell us who this is in the bed, Agent Dunne?" Olivia asked. None of them could believe what was going on. One minute, they thought there was a federal agent in the bed, the next minute, they find out that it's not. Olivia inwardly shook her head, this was going to be an interesting case.

JD walked over to the hospital bed and stared at the sleeping figure, shaking his head in shock. "It can't be," JD whispered as he paled.

"Hold on, Kid, let's get you in a chair." Buck said, grabbing JD's arm, as he swayed. Buck helped JD into the plastic chair and asked, "You okay? What's going on?"

"We would like the answer to that, also," said Elliott.

JD put a hand to his chest and stuttered, "I-I can't br-breath!"

"He's hyperventilating! Vin, go and get a brown paper bag from a nurse," Nathan said.

Vin hurried out of the room and returned, a few minutes later, with the requested bag. "Here ya go, Nate."

Nathan held the bag and said, "Take deep breaths into the bag," as he rubbed JD's back. JD did as he was told and, a few minutes later, his breathing was normal.

"Thanks, Nathan," he said in a weak voice.

"No problem." Nathan paused and asked, "Do you want to tell us what's going on?"

JD sighed and was silent for a moment. "Alright, I'd better start from the beginning." The special victims unit detectives and the other six members of Team Seven gave JD their undivided attention. JD took a deep breath and started his story.

An hour later, he was finished and Buck whistled, "Wow!"

Ezra nodded and said, "I'll have to concur with Mister Wilmington."

"Alright, it looks like we'll have to come back tomorrow and see if Mister Valim is awake. Thanks for your time," said Olivia.

"Not a problem, Detective Benson," said a grim-faced Chris. Olivia, Elliott, John and Fin walked out of the room and to the sliding doors, to leave the hospital.

"This is going to be a very interesting case," said Fin.

"I was thinking the same thing," commented Olivia.

"Who's going to tell the captain?," asked John. Three sets of eyes swiveled to look at Elliott and he stared back. "What? Me?" Three heads nodded and he muttered, "Cowards," and walked out the doors. The other three detectives just smiled as they followed him out.

"How come you never told us any of this?" Chris asked JD.

JD looked at Chris's stern face and shrugged. "It never really came up. It never seemed like the right time. Besides, I never expected all of this to happen!"

"Lay off of him, Cowboy," Vin quietly said. He shrugged. "We've all got skeletons in our closets."

Chris gave a deep sigh and nodded. "Alright. What are we going to do about Milo Valim, here?"

"Well, I was thinking that I'd talk to him when he wakes up, see what's going on," said JD.

"Okay. I'd better go and give Mister Travis a call and let him know what's going on. We have that conference in eight hours and I don't know if we're going to be able to make it." Chris walked out of the room and outside of the building, before pulling out his cell phone. He shook his head as he pushed the number four to speed dial his boss, Orin Travis. "Orin, it's me. It's about the conference." He proceeded to explain to Orin all that had happened. A few minutes later, Chris said, "Yes, sir. I understand.....Alright.....Bye." After he ended the call, he walked back into the room and said, "I just got off of the phone with Orin. He said that all of us have to be at that conference. Except for JD. He said that JD could have a pass on it because of what's happened."

"I don't know about leaving him here alone while we're at a conference all day," said a concerned Buck.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. This is a hospital, what can happen?"

Buck just raised an eyebrow and kept his mouth shut. "Well, we'd better head out. That way, we can get a few hours of sleep," said Chris.

"Hold on. Mister Valim is waking up," said Josiah. The other six looked at the man in the hospital bed.

"At his look of confusion, JD spoke, "Hey."

The man just looked at him and furrowed his eyebrows. After a moment, he asked, "Who are you?"

"You don't know?" asked JD.

The man just shook his head, looking confused. JD sighed and turned to face his six teammates. "Ya'all better get back to the hotel and get some sleep before that conference."

"I don' know...." said Vin as he glanced at the JD look-alike in the bed.

"Don't worry. Just go, if anything happens I'll call ya." He took his cell out of his pocket, "I even grabbed my spare cell at the hotel." JD had two cells because it always seemed like the batteries were running low. So, while one charged, he still had one to use.

"Okay, let's go," Chris said before he turned to JD and added, "Call us if you need us. Even if we're at the conference, got it?" JD nodded and told them all good-bye before turning to the man in the bed, who had been watching the whole scene unfold. "How are you? Do you need me to get a nurse or anything?" JD asked.

Milo Valim shook his head and just continued to stare at JD. It unnerved JD quite a bit, he never thought he'd see Milo again. He wasn't quite sure if he should feel happy or sad. He had never stopped thinking of Milo but he knew that when Milo was close by, so was Matt. And, now Milo couldn't remember him, he just hoped they found out what Milo was doing in New York before all hell broke loose. He sighed and looked at Milo and asked, "Do you remember anything?"

Milo appeared to be thinking hard and shook his head and whispered, in a scratchy voice, "No."

JD nodded. He expected that, and asked, "Would you like some water?" Milo nodded his head and JD poured him some water into a paper cup and put a straw in it. He held the cup, guided the straw to Milo's mouth, and let him take a few sips. Milo laid his head back down, letting JD know he was done, and JD asked, "Better?"

"Yeah." Milo was silent for a moment and asked, "Who are you? I try to remember what's going on and I just end up with a headache."

JD didn't know whether he should tell Milo anything or not, he had heard that amnesia patients should be allowed to remember on their own. Instead he said, "I'll be right back. I really need to let a nurse know that you're awake, so they can let the doctor know."

/////////

Captain Don Cragen sat in his chair at his desk. Even thought it was after midnight, he didn't feel like going home, not after what his detectives had told him. He sighed and shook his head; he had a feeling that something was going to happen. And, that when it did, nobody would like the after-effects. He massaged his temples with his fingertips, knowing that he would be getting a call from the commissioner and, probably, the mayor. They were just going to have to work with that ATF group from Denver and figure out what was going on.

/////////

"I dunno if we shoulda left JD there alone," Buck said on the drive back to the hotel.

"I don't like it either but there wasn't any choice. The only one that is allowed to miss the conference is JD, and that's only because I explained to Judge Travis what is going on," Chris said tiredly.

Buck sighed, "I know. I know. I just wish...."

"We know, Brother Buck, we wish we knew what to do also," sympathized Josiah.

At the hospital, the doctor got done checking Milo and spoke. "Well, your vitals seem fine and you seem alert. The only problem that we really need to be concerned about is your memory loss, Mister Valim. Now, it could come back any day or, worst case scenario, it might never come back."

Milo sighed and closed his eyes, wishing he could remember something, anything! "Doctor, should I tell Milo anything or should I let him remember on his own?"

"Life needs to be as normal for him as possible. You can help guide him to remembering, such as a familiar place or smell. But, you shouldn't tell him stuff outright, he really needs to remember on his own."

JD nodded and said, "Thanks, Doctor Vilard."

"You really need to try and rest, Mister Valim," he said before turning to face JD again. "Mister Dunne, there are pillows and blankets in the closet," he said pointing to a corner, "for whenever you're ready to sleep."

"Thanks." After the doctor had left, JD sat down and started talking to Milo. "Milo, you're going to be okay. I think you're memory will be back."

Milo just shrugged and said, "We'll see." He paused for a moment and asked, "Can you help me to the restroom? I'm tired of this damn bedpan."

They had had Milo on a catheter until he had first woken up, then they switched him to a bedpan. "I don't know if you should be getting up," said JD.

"I'm okay. Are you going to help me, or am I going at it alone?"

"Hold on, I'll help." JD helped Milo swing his legs over the bed and shakily stand. He wrapped one arm around Milo's waist while Milo swung an arm around JD's shoulders, and they slowly made their way to the in-room restroom. "Do you need my help...or...um....will you be okay?" asked a slightly blushing JD.

"I think I can manage that on my own, at least I hope I can."

"Just yell if you need me."

Milo entered the restroom, shutting the door, while JD stood beside it to wait. A few minutes later, Milo screamed. JD jerked the restroom door open and looked around frantically, spotting Milo in front of the mirror. "What is it? What's wrong, Milo?"

Milo swung around, almost falling, to face him, his eyes wild. "I've got your face!" he exclaimed.

Chapter 2

"Uh, well, yeah. But you need to calm down, I'll help you back to the bed," JD said as he reached a hand to Milo's arm, to help him to the bed.

Before he could reach Milo's arm, Milo took a step back, shaking his head. "Stay away from me! I want to know why I have your face!" exclaimed Milo.

JD sighed, rubbing his hands through his dark hair, and said, "Calm down. Look, I'll go ahead and explain and you tell me if any of it sounds familiar."

"What's going on in here? The yelling could be heard down the hallway," said a stern-faced nurse.

"Everything's fine, ma'am," said JD.

The nurse turned to Milo and asked, "Are you okay?" Milo nodded and she turned back to JD. "If I hear any yelling again, you will leave. Understood?" JD nodded and she gave them one last look, before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

After Milo had gotten situated in the bed, JD spoke. "Now, I'll explain what's going on but you have to remain calm or I'll have to leave, then I wouldn't be able to tell ya anything." Milo nodded and JD took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm...." JD started before he was interrupted by the door being pushed open. A tall man, in a doctor lab coat and with short blond hair, walked in and over to them.

When he was standing in front of them, he unbuttoned the lab coat and showed them an M-16 that was slung over his shoulder by a strap. "Scream, either of you, and it'll be the last sound you make," the man stated coldly. JD could tell that the man meant every word he was saying.

JD inwardly sighed and thought, 'Why is this happening?' He forced his voice to stay steady and asked, "What do you want?"

The man answered, "I don't want anything. My boss wants the both of you, though. C'mon, the nurses' station should be empty." He paused and looked them both in the eyes and said, "I'm going to rebutton the coat to cover up my weapon. Don't either of you get stupid, or I will use it. Let's go." When neither Milo or JD moved, the man snarled, "Now."

JD stood and helped Milo get off of the bed. Milo asked, "Can I put some clothes on?"

"No, now move your ass!" growled the man as he opened the door for JD and Milo to walk out before him. Milo sighed as he followed JD out of the room, luckily he had a hospital gown over his front and one over his back. Nothing would be flapping in the wind, thank God! When they reached the nurses' station, JD saw that the man had been right. There were no nurses there and JD looked at his watch. Ten-thirty in the morning....the guy had done his homework. JD knew that the nurses' station was empty for about five minutes at the exact time, every morning, while the nurse on duty checked on the patients. Then, a few minutes later, a new nurse was at the station, taking the other one's place. It made JD wonder how long this kidnapping had been planned.

'I've got to think of a way to get a message to the guys,' JD silently thought. They made it out of the hospital and to a dark van without being stopped or questioned by anyone. 'Any other time...' JD thought with a huff as they reached the van.

The man opened the sliding back door and said, "Get in." JD and Milo obeyed and the door was shut. As the van pulled away from the hospital, JD looked up to the the front, making sure that he wasn't being watched. When he saw that no attention was on him or Milo, he slipped his hand into his pocket and dialed Chris's cell number, before taking his cell phone out of his pocket and sitting it on the floor of the van. He just had to hope that the two men were too involved in their discussion to hear it if Chris started yelling over the phone. He caught Milo watching him and put the index finger of his right hand to his lips, in the classic sign of not to say anything. Milo just nodded his head in understanding.

A minute later, he could faintly hear a voice on the phone say, "JD? Are you there?"

JD knew that he had to let Chris and the guys know where him and Milo were, so he started talking to the two men. "So, why did you guys take us?" he asked.

"Shut up," stated the man that had led them out of the hospital.

JD knew he had to keep trying to get information, "Why are we on Fairmont Street and going through this alley?"

"I said, shut up!" snarled the man right before he back-handed JD across the face. When JD raised his head back up, he winced and knew that he was going to have a bruise.

He tried one more time, he was nothing if not persistent. "I just want to know what you want with us. Why you're taking us down this alley," said JD.

The man narrowed his eyes and asked, "Have you ever been told that you talk too much?" Before JD could answer, he continued, "This oughta shut your trap for a while!" He brought out a hand-held pistol and hit JD in the right temple with the butt of it.

The last thought JD had, before blackness overtook him was, 'I hope I got Chris and the guys enough information.'

"Come on, guys, we've got to go," Chris whispered, not caring about the stares he was attracting at the conference. His five teammates hurriedly jumped up and followed him out into the hallway. Before they reached the doors, Nathan stopped and asked, "Wanna tell us what's going on? What that phone call from JD was about?"

Chris nodded and could see that he was worrying his men. But he couldn't help it, he was worried himself. "JD and Milo have been taken."

Questions started being shot off at the same time. "What?!"

"Where?"

"By whom."

"Is he okay?"

"Why?"

Chris held up his hand for silence and told them what he knew. JD didn't say anything to me but I could hear what was going on. JD was trying to find out exactly where they were going. I know they went down an alley on Fairmont Street. He must've dialed my phone and had it where I could hear everything."

"Sneaky and smart," Buck said with obvious pride.

"Yeah," Chris said with a slight smile as he agreed. Then he turned somber again, "We need to get going. Now. The last thing I heard was JD getting hit and, then, nothing."

Let's go!" exclaimed Buck as he started walking toward the exit. The other five men were only too happy to follow him.

/////////

"Benson, Elliott. My office, now. Fin, Munch, you too," said an aggravated Captain Cragen. The detectives stood and looked at each other before they walked to the captain's office. "I just got a call that Agent Dunne and Mister Valim are missing from the hospital. Agent Larabee informed me about what happened, as far as he knows, and where he and his men are headed. Now, what happened with the guard I ordered to stay in front of that room?"

Before anyone could answer, a man knocked on Cragen's door. "Captain Cragen, there's been another attack on Fifth."

Captain Cragen pinched the bridge of his nose, he could feel one hell of a headache starting. "Thank you, Dornan," he said as a dismissal.

"Benson and Elliott, get on down there. Munch and Fin, find out what happened to the assigned guard and why we have a missing agent and a victim." The four detectives nodded and left to do as they were told. Captain Cragen sighed, sat down behind his desk and had started massaging his temples just as the phone rang. He looked at it, knowing it was going to be either the mayor or the commissioner.

"Hello," he answered. "Hello, Mayor, how are you?.....Yes, I understand that.....Yes, sir, I know.....I've got my four best detectives on it.....I know, good-bye, sir." He hung up the phone and wished he hadn't decided to quit drinking all those years ago.

"Can't this truck go any faster?" asked a worried Buck.

Chris sighed as he tried to navigate through downtown traffic. He knew Buck was worried about JD, they all were, but he could only go as fast as he could.

"I'm going as fast as this damn traffic will allow. Even with the siren on, I'm having to be careful. But we should be on that street within a couple of minutes."

Buck sighed, "I know. My mind just keeps conjuring up all the worst things that could be happening."

"Brother JD will be alright, you have to believe that," spoke up Josiah from the backseat.

A few minutes later, they were on the street and Chris parked in a store parking lot. "That must be the alley that I heard mentioned," he said as he pointed across the street.

"What do we do now?" questioned Nathan.

"What do you mean, what do we do? We go in their and get the kid and Valim. Then we kick some ass!" said an angry Buck.

"I'm with Buck," said Vin.

"We can't do that! We need a plan," said Nathan.

"I concur with Mister Jackson," said Ezra.

"They're right, Buck, Vin. We need to come up with a plan, quickly."

"How about Mister Sanchez and myself go knock on the door and ask to use the phone? Once we get in the door, the rest of you can come in and we'll get Mister Dunne and Mister Valim out of that deplorable place. It will probably be the most effective plan on such short notice," said Ezra.

Chris thought about it and had to agree, "Alright." He looked at Ezra and, then, Josiah and said, "Both of you be careful. I mean it."

Ezra gave a smirk and replied, "Always, Mister Larabee." Chris just snorted and rolled his eyes as Ezra and Josiah got out of the car and walked to the alley.

/////////

"So, is it the same drug?" Elliott asked the doctor.

The doctor nodded, "I'm afraid so."

"Damn. We've got to get the person or persons responsible for doing this!" Elliott exclaimed.

"I know," sighed Olivia. She added, "The press is having a field day, the mayor and commissioner are on Captain Cragen's ass. Plus, these victims need some justice."

"Is he awake?" Elliott asked.

Doctor Milborn nodded, "Right this way. He's coherent, so he should be able to talk to you."

Elliott and Olivia followed the doctor to room three and Olivia said, "Thank you, Doctor." The doctor nodded and left as Elliott and Olivia walked into the room, seeing a young man sitting up with his head against the pillow and headphones on. They walked over to him and Olivia gently tapped him on the arm, causing the patient to open his eyes and look at them. He pulled off his headphones, clicked off the television, and asked, "Yes?"

"I'm Detective Elliott, this is Detective Benson. We're with the Special Victims Unit."

"John Denture," the patient said with a sigh. "I can guess why you're here. Because I was attacked, right?"

Olivia nodded and, gently, asked, "Can you tell us what happened, Mr. Denture?"

He sighed and said, "I don't know much. I was sitting on an empty crate when hands grabbed me from behind. I felt a prick in my arm as I was being dragged into an alley. I tried yelling and fighting but I couldn't, my legs and feet wouldn't work and all I could get out of my mouth was a whisper. The next thing I know, I'm waking up here."

"You never got a look at the person or persons?" questioned Olivia.

Denture shook his head no and said, "Sorry." He was silent for a minute, then added, "I do remember the smell of a cigar. When I was grabbed, I could smell it."

"Thank you," said Elliott. He reached in his pocket, pulled out a card and gave it to Denture. "Here's my card. Call me if you remember anything, anything at all." Denture just nodded and the two detectives left. As they were walking to the exit doors, Elliott spoke, "We didn't get much."

"Well, we did find out that the person, evidently, smokes cigars." Elliott just raised an eyebrow and they continued on to the car, in silence, each thinking over the case.

"Have any of you found out anything?" asked Captain Cragen as soon as the four detectives were standing back in his office.

Munch spoke, "The officer that was assigned to guard Valim's room has disappeared. Nobody knows where he's at. Fin and I also found out that the ATF team are gone. We talked to some people at the conference, who all told us the same thing. Agent Larabee got a call, gathered his men and left."

"I'm assuming he got a call about Agent Dunne, and he and his men have gone to get him," said Cragen. He sighed and spoke to Elliott and Olivia, "What about on your end?"

Olivia answered, "All he remembers is being grabbed, pulled into an alley and a prick on his arm. That's got to be when the perp injected him with the drug. He said that he remembers that he smelled cigars when he was grabbed. But, like the other victims, he doesn't remember anything from the time the drug was injected to the time he woke up at the hospital."

"We've got to figure something out," said a frustrated Cragen. "There have already been too many victims. And, now we have a victim and an agent missing. We're going to work our asses off, around the clock if we have to, until we get this case solved. And, I think Valim is our key to solving it." He turned to Fin and Munch and said, "Get on trying to track the ATF team down. We all need to be working together on this." Fin and Munch nodded and left, so he spoke to Benson and Stabler. "See if forensics has anything new."

/////////

"Here goes nothing," mumbled Nathan as he and Ezra stood in front of a wooden door with a door-knocker. Nathan raised his fist and banged on the door, three times. He and Nathan couldn't hear anything through the door but a minute later, it was pulled open.

"Who the hell are you?" snarled a burly dark-haired man.

Ezra gave a pleasant smile and said, "My name is Edward and this is Jacob. Our vehicle broke down around the corner and we saw that someone was here, and were wondering if we could use the telephone." 'Come on, Mister Larabee,' Ezra thought as he wished their colleagues would show up.

The man stepped out and looked around, frowning when he looked to the right. All of a sudden a gun was pointed at Ezra and Nathan and he growled, "Get in here." When they hesitated, he cocked the gun and they could tell that he was willing to shoot them. Nathan and Ezra walked in and, inwardly, cringed when the man slammed the door.

"The door's been opened and Ez is talkin', let's go," said Buck. Chris nodded in agreement and the remaining four ATF agents got out of the car, heading for the alley.

Chris saw the man look out the door and look right at them. As he pointed the gun at Ezra and Nathan, Chris scowled. "Shit! We've been made, go that way!" Chris said as he pointed to his left. They all quickly turned left and hurried down the sidewalk, until they reached a library and ducked inside.

"Now what?" asked Vin.

Well, now we don't only have JD and Milo to get out, we also have Nathan and Ezra," said Chris. He paused for a moment, in thought. He sighed and said, "We're just going to have to go in and get them."

"What about those SVU detectives? I think we should let hem know what's going on, Milo is their case," said Josiah.

Chris rubbed his chin as he thought about it. He just wanted to hurry and get his friends out of the situation they were in, but he also knew that the SVU detectives deserved to know what they were planning to do. Finally, he nodded, "You're right, Josiah. Call the station and tell them what's going on."

Josiah nodded, pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. "Hello, Captain Cragen, this is Josiah Sanchez.....Yes, I know. We wanted to let you all know what's going on.....We're at a library, close to Fairmont Street. We know where JD and Milo are.....Yes, a couple of our teammates went over there so we could rescue them, and now we have four to get out instead of two.....Yes, we'll wait here.....Thank you." Josiah hung up and faced the other three agents. "Well, that was Captain Cragen and he said that he's going to get in touch with Detective Munch and Detective Fin and get them down here. It shouldn't be too long."

Buck rubbed the back of his neck, a sure sign that he was feeling way too stressed. "I hope not. We have to get them out of there!"

"Calm down, Buck, before you go havin' a stroke," advised Vin.

"We'll get them out," Chris said as he tried not to sound as nervous as he felt.

/////////

"Sit," commanded the man.

Ezra and Nathan sat down, seeing that JD and Milo were across the room from them. 'This is going to make it more difficult to get them out,' thought Ezra. The man with the gun on them yelled at another man to help him.

"Tie them up," he told a short pudgy man. The man nodded, grabbed some rope and walked over to Ezra. He roughly yanked Ezra's arms behind the chair back and tied them. A few minutes later, Nathan incurred the same treatment. Both man left them and walked to the other side of the room, talking to a third man. Ezra looked over at JD and Milo and could see that JD's eyes were closed and his head slumped with his chin touching his chest. Milo was awake but was looking, scared, angry and confused. Ezra tried to tell him, with his eyes, that everything was going to be alright. At least he hoped it was.

Just then a tall and thin man walked in from the back and started talking to the other three men. Ezra thought there was something familiar about the man but couldn't think of what it was. When the man turned to look at him and Nathan, it hit him. The man resembled JD and Milo. The man walked over to JD and Milo, stopping when he was in front of JD. He held a glass of water, which he tossed in JD's face. JD spluttered, trying to adjust his eyesight and look at the man in front of him. As Ezra and Nathan watched, in concern, JD's face lost all color.

"Uncle Matt," JD gasped.

(NOTE:This chapter deals with racisim, so be warned. If that kind of thing squeaks you, don't read. Just to let everyone know, Matt's point of view is NOT mine.)

Nathan and Ezra looked at each other, thinking the same thing, 'Uncle?!'

Matt sneered and said, "That's right, boy." He looked JD and Milo up and down and asked, "Comfortable?"

JD remained silent, wishing it were all a dream and Matt was not standing in front of him! Milo remained silent for a different reason. He couldn't remember Matt, or anything, and he was scared.

"Well, I'll take your silence as a yes," said a smiling Matt. He glanced over at Ezra and Nathan before walking over to them. "What are you two doing here?"

"Our vehicle broke down and we wanted to use the phone," said Ezra.

The man that had made them enter the building at gun point had walked up and overheard them. "That's a lie, Boss. I looked outside and there were four men running over here. So, I made these two enter and had them tied up." He pointed at JD and Milo and said, "I think they were trying to get those two out."

"Is that so?" Matt asked Ezra and Nathan.

Nathan decided to answer and said, "I don't know what he's talking about. We just needed to use the phone." Matt just raised an eyebrow and remained silent, staring at them. 'If he thinks that he's going to break us, he'd better think again,' thought Nathan.

"Finally, here they come," Vin said as he looked out the library window.

Josiah, Vin, Buck and Chris walked outside, to meet Detective Fin and Detective Munch. "Detectives," said Chris as they all shook hands.

"Agents," said Fin. "Wanna tell us what's going on?" he asked.

Chris was the one to speak. "Three of my agents are in there. Ezra Standish, JD Dunne and Nathan Jackson. We were trying to get JD and Mister Valim out when Ezra and Nathan were forced into the building. We need to get them all out before anything happens."

Fin and Munch nodded in agreement and Fin said, "I'm going to call the captain and let him know what's going on. We'll see what he says."

Chris and his men were impatient but they knew they had to let Captain Cragen into the loop. A few minutes later, Fin closed his cell phone and spoke, "He wants us to wait until we have backup."

"What? No, it could be too late!" exclaimed Buck.

"It could be dangerous for us to just go busting in there. We don't know how many men are in there, we don't want to scare them and make them do something to your agents," said Munch.

"As much as I hate to say it, we have to wait. We need to all work together, come up with a plan and get our brothers out of there," said Josiah.

Buck sighed and nodded. Chris and Vin also nodded and Chris faced Fin and Munch. "How long until back up gets here?" he asked.

Fin answered, "Captain Cragen said that it'd be half-an-hour to an hour."

Chris sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Let's go back inside. We might as well come up with a game plan while we wait." The others agreed and the six men walked into the library.

"Okay, so we're agreed?" questioned Buck.

"Yeah, we'll just have to fill the backup in when they get here," said Chris.

"There they are," Munch said as he glanced out the window. They went outside to greet the newcomers, Stabler and Benson, three DEA agents with dogs and two FBI agents. "I don't know if I can take this many federal agents all at one time," Munch murmered to Fin. Even though Munch was including him and his team, Chris had to agree with him.

Captain Cragen walked up to them and said, "Had to call in the DEA because of the threat of drugs. The FBI because of a kidnapping of federal agents." They all understood how that went.

The two FBI agents walked over and a tall one with short hair spoke to Chris, "I'm Special Agent Maltose. This is Special Agent Harold. You would be?"

Chris could tell that he and Special Agent Maltose were definitely going to be butting heads. "I'm ATF Agent Larabee." He pointed to each man as he introduced them. "These are my men. Agent Tanner, Agent Wilmington and Agent Sanchez." Special Agent Maltose nodded and said, "We're coming up with a plan to get those four men out of there."

Chris shook his head. "Detectives Munch and Fin, as well as myself and my men, have already come up with a plan. A solid plan."

Special Agent Maltose shook his head. "We will come up with the plans. All you, your men and these detectives have to do is assist us. Understood?"

"No," growled Chris. "I have three of my agents in there, plus a victim. I'm not taking any chances. Is that clear?" Josiah, Vin and Buck were smiling on the inside and could tell that Captain Cragen and his detectives were also. Even the three DEA agents seemed to enjoy how Chris was talking to the two FBI agents. Special Agents Maltose and Harold didn't say anything, after glaring at Chris, they just stalked off.

"Man, Chris, that was great," said a smiling Vin.

"I'm not going to have them put me or any of my men in danger." Chris looked at Cragen and his detectives, "You all might want to watch out for them, too. I'm getting a weird feeling from them."

Captain Cragen nodded, "I was just thinking the same thing."

/////////

"So, it's true? You actually have amnesia?" Matt asked Milo.

Milo nodded, "I guess so. That's what the doctor said."

"Well, I must say I am truly surprised. I didn't believe my men when they informed me of that." He paused for a moment and asked, "So you don't remember me or anything?" Milo silently shook his head no.

"Why don't you leave him alone?!" asked a frustrated JD. JD couldn't stand for Matt, his uncle to be talking to Milo. He could honestly say that he hated the man. "Haven't you screwed him and out family over enough?" Nathan and Ezra glanced at each other before looking back at JD and Matt. They had a feeling that Matt and JD's discussion wasn't going to end well.

Matt looked at JD with a look of, almost, pity on his face. "I didn't do anything wrong, remember that."

JD looked at him in disbelief, "How can you say that? What do you think you did? What do you think you're doing? Something pretty damn wrong, believe me!"

"If my sister would've taught you anything, you wouldn't believe that. She turned her back on her family, why do you think you never met any of them except me?"

JD shook his head, not believing what his uncle was saying. "She taught me well, she gave me morals. And, if your family can't see that, I'm glad I never met any of them." He wasn't about to claim any of them as family, except Milo, but that would be up to him, if he ever got his memory back.

"She polluted your mind." Matt jerked his head in Nathan's direction, "Made you think that people like that, like you, are equal to us. You're not, I taught Milo that. Too bad I couldn't get you out in time."

"Not me," said JD in honesty. Somewhere in the back of his mind, JD knew he should keep his mouth shut, not egg Matt on. But he had waited too many years as it was to say what he wanted to say to Matt. He had just wanted to find out why Matt had done what he did. Now JD just felt like throwing up at what Matt was spouting off.

"Your grandparents taught me and sis that we are the superior race. When she was nineteen, she claimed that she had fallen in love with a Jew. Can you believe it? Our parents almost had heart attacks. Although, none of us should've been surprised, she always said that she saw everyone as equals. We just thought it was a phase, but even the whuppings pop gave her didn't change her mind." Matt paused and shook his head for a minute before speaking again, "I didn't understand how she could turn her back on her family, I still don't. Even after that Jew disappeared, she wouldn't come back to us. They had had kids, you know. You and Milo. We couldn't let that happen. I took care of the Jew and told her that if she raised you and Milo the way we wanted, she could come back. Would she listen? No!" Matt had to stop and take a breath from his rant. When he was done getting breath back in and out, he started up again. "She could've come back to her family but she chose to run."

"You wouldn't have wanted Milo and me, our dad was a Jew."

Matt shook his head and said, "We wouldn't have minded you two as long as you knew your place. I mean, look at Milo. I took him, didn't I? But your mother said that she didn't want you two raised like that."

"I'm glad. Why did you take Milo? Mom cried every night until she got sick and passed away. She never knew what had happened to him and was always worried that I'd disappear. I don't have many memories of him but I always knew that he was out there somewhere."

"That's sweet," sneered Matt. "But to answer your question, I took him to be my hired assassin." At JD's gasp and Milo's head shaking in denial, Matt continued, "That's right. He's been killing everyone that I told him to. It was mostly inferior people. He's great at it." Matt turned to Milo and said, "Don't look so disgusted."

"I-I couldn't h-have done th-that!" stammered Milo.

"Don't worry, you'll probably remember sometime. You seemed to enjoy your job, I'm sure you will again."

Where's he been? I haven't heard of him being here," questioned JD.

Matt turned to him and answered, "We've been living in several different places. Russia, Canada, Japan, everywhere. He went by The Ghost." Ezra, JD and Nathan all gasped at that.

"That was him?! The Ghost has been killing people all over the world!" exclaimed JD in despair. He now knew that Milo would have to be arrested if it was ever proven that he was The Ghost. He didn't know if he could handle that.

Milo stared at Matt in shock and whispered, "I'm a killer? No, I can't be!"

"Believe it, Milo, my boy," said a smiling Matt. The best I've ever seen." Matt walked up close to Milo and said, "Its a shame I'm going to have to kill you with these other three."

Milo had gotten a whiff of Matt's aftershave, when Matt had leaned in close, and Milo started having flashes in his head. He scrunched his face up in pain as his memories started bombarding him.

"Milo! Milo, are you alright?" asked a worried JD.

Milo didn't answer as he remembered everything. He looked up at Matt and said, "You told me that JD was dead just like my mother and father. That my mother had given me to you when I was young because she didn't want me."

"That's not true!" gasped out JD.

Milo nodded, "I know." He looked at Matt again. "I was doing research and stumbled upon evidence that JD was alive and,I remember that I confronted you with it. You told me to just let it be but I decided to try and find him. I had gone to Denver and found out that JD was going to be in New York for a conference. So I came here. I didn't know it at the time but you must've followed me."

Matt smirked, "I knew you'd get that memory back. Oh well, all the more reason to kill you."

"You caught up with me at the hotel where I had rented a room and we talked. You told me to just go back home and get ready for my next assignment. I told you that I wouldn't be doing anymore assignments, that I had decided to retire."

Matt snorted, "Yeah. You actually developed a conscience."

Milo shook his head. "I didn't just develop one. I've always had one but I just tried to overlook it. I can't anymore, it's screaming at me." Milo paused and said, "All I remember, after you left, is walking down the street toward the conference. I was going to see JD and try to talk to him. Someone grabbed me and that's all I remember until waking up in the hospital."

Matt nodded and said, "That's my fault, I'm afraid. It wasn't supposed to be you that got that drug."

"What?" asked Milo.

Matt nodded and said, "I asked one of my men to take care of your brother, not you. He made a mistake and has been taken care of. As you know, I do not tolerate mistakes of any kind. Mistakes make you weak."

"Why would you want to take care of me?" asked JD.

"Because," spoke Matt, "I had a good thing going with Milo. He did the kills and I raked in the money. And, I also got to see the white race becoming superior again." JD narrowed his eyes and shook his head, chancing a glance at Nathan. Nathan was staring at Matt, looking like he wanted to murder him. JD just hoped that Nathan wouldn't do anything until either help arrived or they could figure out how to escape alive. Matt started speaking again, "Well, I guess all of you should say your good-byes. It's that time." None of them had to ask what he meant. They knew he was talking about killing them.

/////////

"So, are we agreed on what to do?" Chris asked after he had explained the plan to everyone.

"Sounds like a good plan to me," said Captain Cragen. Everyone agreed, except for the two FBI agents.

"No, we are not following that plan." Special Agent Maltose said in a haughty tone.

Chris narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, "Why not?"

Special Agent Harold spoke, "Because this is our case now. We come up with the plans."

"C'mon, it's a good plan. We've got three agents in there that we need to get out," spoke one of the DEA agents. Chris thought his name was Carter.

"Stay out of this," snapped Maltose.

Chris raised an eyebrow and said, "I think you should stay out of this. You and your partner. Evidently you don't have anything of any importance to offer, you're just wanting to act important. Please, spare us."

Everyone looked at Maltose and Harold, while they just stood there and looked at Chris as if they couldn't believe what they had just heard.

Chris continued, "I have three good men in there and they are coming out alive, along with Mr. Valim. We are going to execute the plan that has been talked about. Is that clear?" At Harold's and Maltose's silence, he said, "I'll take that as a yes." Chris faced everyone else, ignoring the two FBI agents, and asked, "So, we're all clear? Does anyone else have any problems?" After everyone shook their heads no, he nodded as his mouth tightened into a thin line. "Let's go."

/////////

"So, you're finally ready, Matt?" A man, who looked to be in his fifties, asked as he walked into where everyone was.

Matt nodded and said, "All set."

"Who is this gentleman?" asked Ezra. Matt whirled around them, looking as if he had forgotten that Ezra and Nathan were tied up behind him. Ezra almost laughed at Matt's expression but kept his face straight and calm.

Matt smiled and said, "Well, this is an associate of mine. He's here to help me clear up this mess." Matt walked up to Nathan, stopped right in front of him and gave a cold smile. "I think we'll start with you. Sound good?"

Nathan just gave Matt a glare and kept silent."

Matt turned back to the man and said, "All systems are a go. Do your magic and let's get this over with."

The man nodded and grabbed a black doctor's bag, and walked to where Nathan was.

/////////

Chris, Buck, Josiah and Vin walked as silently as they could to the side of the warehouse. There were no windows on the side they were on, so they didn't have to worry about anyone inside the warehouse seeing them. Captain Cragen and his detectives went to the front door, their guns in their hands, while the DEA agents and their dogs went with them. The two FBI agents just scowled and stayed where they were. Of course they could care less if all of the fools got their heads blown off. Captain Cragen and Detective Munch stood to the right of the door as his other three detectives stood to the left, along with the DEA agents. Captain Cragen nodded and reached his left hand to the side to bang on the door, shouting, "OPEN UP! POLICE!"

Inside, just as Matt's associate was about to inject Nathan with a syringe full of clear liquid, they heard the shouting informing them that the police were there. The man stopped his hand, throwing a startled look at the door and, then at Matt. Nathan took advantage of the man's inattention and kicked his right leg out, catching the man's arm. The syringe went flying. He was grateful that none of the men had thought about tying their feet.

The man was holding his arm, standing up, going to retrieve the syringe. Matt nodded at his men and the one that had tied them up opened the door, standing to the side. The other men in the warehouse opened fire with machine guns, spraying bullets out the door, not caring who they hit.

The man walked back up to Nathan, syringe in hand, snarling. "You're going to pay for that, boy!" Nathan started rocking, trying to get his wooden chair to scoot backwards. The man just grinned and was about to jam the the syringe in Nathan's arm when the man was knocked to the side. Nathan saw Ezra trying to pin the man down, while the man kept trying to get the syringe in Ezra's arm. Nathan knew right then why Ezra had been so silent, he was trying to get out of the ropes binding his hands. And, evidently, he had succeeded.

JD and Milo watched as men kept shooting out the door and Ezra fought with Matt's associate. They saw Matt walking over to them, and they knew that couldn't be good.

Ezra jumped to his feet, the man following, and tried to keep out of range of the deadly syringe. The man lunged at him, the syringe raised. Ezra side-stepped, tripping the man, causing the man to fall face-first. "AHHH! the man yelled as he fell and the syringe ended up in his chest. That was the last sound he made. When he quit moving, Ezra crouched down and checked, both his neck and wrist for a pulse. Finding none, he stood and hurried over to Nathan. He pulled out his little pocketknife, that the miscreants hadn't found, and cut Nathan loose. They tried to stay out of the line of fire, while looking for JD and Milo.

"I don't see them, where are they?" asked a worried Nathan.

"I have no idea. It also seems that JD's uncle is nowhere to be found."

"Shit! Are they ever going to run out of bullets?" yelled a frustrated Detective Stabler. They were all as frustrated as he was. They couldn't get inside the warehouse, they were going to run low on ammunition, and there were agents in there.

Chris, Buck, Josiah and Vin had run to where the others were when the shooting had started, trying to help. So far none of them had been shot and they all wanted to keep it that way. They just didn't know what the status of the agents and Mister Valim were in the warehouse.

Chris and his men decided that they were going to try and find a back way in, and get in undetected. They quickly but silently made their way to the back and were surprised to find another door standing open. Chris signaled for them to be careful and they made their way inside. Chris sighed in relief when he saw Nathan and Ezra, mostly unharmed, trying to sneak up on two of the gunmen. Buck, Chris, Vin and Josiah ran in.

Josiah's voice boomed, "ATF! FREEZE!" When the five gunmen turned around, their weapons aimed, the four armed ATF agents wasted no time in shooting their weapons. In two minutes, it was all over and the five gunmen lay dead. Nathan and Ezra retrieved their weapons from a table and walked over to their teammates.

"Are you two alright?," asked Buck.

Nathan and Ezra nodded and Ezra responded, "The miscreants just bound our hands."

Nathan looked at Ezra and said, "Thanks."

Ezra knew what he was talking about and said, "Mother taught me a few valuable things."

"Where's JD and Milo?" asked Vin.

"We don't know," answered Ezra. They all ran back outside, as the DEA agents and their dogs went inside searching for any types of drugs. They noticed the FBI agents getting in the car with Milo, JD and another man. They looked at each other and started running towards them.

"You should've had the car running, you fools!" yelled Matt at the two FBI agents.

Agent Harold turned the key, in the ignition, but the car didn't start. "You've got to be kidding me," he mumbled. Before he could turn the key a second time, the driver's side door was jerked open and a gun was pointed at him.

"Hands where I can see them and step out of the car. All of you," growled Chris.

"No," said Matt. "You might want to be careful with your demands. I do have a gun pointed at Agent Dunn."

All six ATF agents had their guns pointed at the car but were worried about JD. "Now, I'm going to take JD and Milo and we are going to commandeer a ride out of here. Without any interruptions."

'This guy must be crazy if he thinks we're just letting him walk out of here,' thought Buck.

Chris knew that he would shoot JD, even if he went down. Chris sighed and said, "Fine."

Matt opened the car door and exited with JD and Milo. Matt had the gun barrel jammed into JD's side, not even bothering to cover Milo. Matt started backing up, taking JD with him. Milo caught Chris's eyes, trying to convey what was going to happen. At Chris's slight nod, Milo jumped Matt. Chris pointed his gun at Matt but couldn't shoot. He'd either hit JD or Milo. Buck and Vin had the same problem. Josiah, Nathan and Ezra had the two FBI agents out of the car and were guarding them.

Milo punched Matt and knocked the gun out of his hand. JD staggered a little and turned to help Milo. Milo got a punch to Matt's kidney, then a kick between his legs. Matt dropped and Chris rushed forward to handcuff him. Buck rushed forward to make sure that JD was alright. In the commotion, nobody noticed Milo disappear.

/////////

Half-an-hour later, the DEA agents confirmed that they had found drugs and were taking them to be analyzed. Detectives Stabler and Benson had found a journal, detailing why the homeless men had been kidnapped. It was so they could be experimented on with the drug. Matt confirmed that the journal was written by the man that had tried to inject Nathan with a deadly drug. He sometimes raped them, with objects, because he got some kind of perverse pleasure out of it. Josiah was putting Matt into a police car, when JD looked around and realized that he hadn't seen Milo in a while.

"Where's Milo?" asked Buck. He still couldn't believe that JD had a little brother. JD had told them who Milo was and that he had been kidnapped when they were young. Buck had no idea, though, that Milo was the assassin known as The Ghost.

JD sighed, "I don't know. He's gone." JD's heart broke as he realized that his brother was gone, again. He knew he was going to have to tell the others who Milo was. He didn't want to burden Nathan and Ezra with a secret that big. He wished that he would be able to get to know Milo, he had lost out on that all those years before. But he was also glad that Milo had disappeared. Even though, Milo had committed those assassinations, JD knew that he couldn't stand the thought of having to arrest him and put him in jail.

JD followed Buck to a car as his sense of family and sense of duty warred with each other.

/////////

Milo Valim watched as his twin walked towards a car. Milo sighed. He had wanted to find JD so bad, talk to him, and he would've been able to had Matt not interfered. He meant what he told Matt, his career as an assassin was over. He turned and walked down a side street as he inwardly cried for a mother he would never know. For a life that had been taken from him. For what Matt had turned him into. And, for a brother that he had to leave behind.

The End

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