Page 96 of Fire and Ice

Jack scowled at the cop.

"Maryland is a licensed open-carry state, sir," the cop added uncomfortably.

"I'm under the jurisdiction of the DEA on this assignment," Jack said impatiently. "Wouldn't that give me license?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Let's cut the crap, officer. An agent had been abducted by the Russian mob," Jack said forcefully. "I'm sure you're aware of the raid last night at Addison Music Hall. Well, this is the mob paying us back."

"Jesus Christ," the police officer muttered.

"Exactly. Anything else?" Jack asked curtly.

The officer shook his head and stepped aside.

Jack turned on his heel and stalked back to the hotel. Derek sighed and followed his friend.

"We're fucked," Jack ground out. "Maia and Rick were the leads on this case."

"I'm calling Viktor." Derek pulled out his phone. "He needs to know about this ASAP."

Scott jogged up to the two men. He had been trying to track Maia's phone. He handed Jack the device.

"They got rid of it a mile from here. Sorry, Jack."

Jack accepted the phone, a lump forming in his throat as he remembered how pissed he had been Maia left the hotel with Lee. He sent that angry text with a mixture of jealousy and worry. He felt his eyes sting as he recalled their unforgettable moment the night before. Sex was sex with anyone else, but what he felt for Maia went beyond anything he had felt for anyone. Consuming passion and intense need: he knew right then and there that he had fallen in love with her. Deeply. Irrevocably.

And now she had been kidnapped by the man who wanted to cause her the most harm. Jack didn't believe in fate, he believed you made your own destiny. But somehow, if fate was real, it was really cruel. Giving him Maia for a short time only to take her away in the blink of an eye, he could just howl at the injustice of it all.

He must have made an anguished sound because Derek immediately grabbed him around his shoulder and pulled him aside.

"Get a grip, McCord. This is not over yet."

"I love her. Fuck. I'm in love with her."

Derek stared at him, obviously stunned by Jack's sudden confession. "Oh, man."

"What did Viktor say?" Jack cleared his throat as he tried to keep focus on finding Maia.

"What they got from Colt was useless. Reznikov had already abandoned the warehouse. Forensics is at the site right now gathering evidence."

"I'm surprised he talked at all. According to Maia, he was spitting in the face of his interrogators yesterday."

"They tracked down his wife and two-year old daughter."

"Christ, what did the DEA do?"

"I didn't ask. I don't wanna know."

"Jack," Derek continued, eyeing him carefully. "DEA is calling this a dead end."

"What are you saying?"

"They're abandoning the operation in Baltimore. They have no new leads. Addison is shutdown and the owners are being held for investigation."

Jack stared at Derek, incredulous. "You've got to be kidding me. Are you saying they're abandoning Rick Grayson?"

"No, they're forming a smaller team to look for Rick. I think they've established that they've disrupted Reznikov's operation and he's on the run."

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