Guarding Light

by Mckoy, Cate

Catlyn gave the signal for Sharonda and Jabaria. They joined her and Sanchez at the dance floor's edge.

  "Mackenzie is in trouble. We are going to follow her signal. Back us up in 10 minutes whether we give you a call or not."

  Just then Jack walked up to them. "You guys are supposed to be spread out not huddled together." Jack said with a smile. His smile died instantly when he looked into Catlyn's eyes. "What is it?"

  "Mackenzie. She put in a call for help. I am about to track her signal." Catlyn held up Sanchez's phone, showing the app with a flashing icon on a map of the immediate area. "The signal isn't far off."

  Jack took the phone from Catlyn's numb fingers, making a signal in the crowd. Instantly, several men all around them came to Jack's side.

  "Yes, chief?" A tall blonde asked.

  "You, you and you with me," he pointed out 3 men, "The rest of you watch Agent Lyte here. She doesn't leave your sight." He said to the remaining 2.

  Catlyn's hackles rose. "I am going with you!"

  Jack pulled Catlyn off to the side. "Sweetheart, you are not going into a distress call given by a woman who can pretty much handle any given situation with a skill that rivals any man's. If Mackenzie is asking for help, it's serious. I can't help her and worry about you at the same time."

  "Jack, I will just follow you. This is my job! You can't stop me." Catlyn glared at him.

  Jack's eyes flashed. "Want to bet sweetheart?" Jack gave another signal. The two men who were assigned to watch her appeared on either side of her. "Cuff her and put her in a squad car, make sure she stays put. If she gets away, you start looking for another job."

  One of the men roughly grabbed her, pulling her arms behind her. Catlyn struggled.

  "Hey, gently, don't hurt her!" Jack took Catlyn in his arms, easily subduing her struggles as he aligned their bodies, putting her arms behind her to be cuffed.

  When she felt the cool ring of steel and the click of the cuffs tightening, Catlyn ceased her struggling. She looked up into Jack's beautiful green eyes with tears in her deep brown ones. "You're making a decision here Jack and a big mistake. I can't be with a man who can't treat me as an equal and respect me enough to do my job."

  At her words Jack paused. He cupped her sides along her breasts, crushing her too him. Looking deeply into her eyes, he lowered his mouth to hers. Slowly he tasted her, gliding his tongue along her seam before pushing his tongue deep and taking what he wanted. There was desperation in his kiss, feeling what tasted like goodbye on her lips, Catlyn tore her mouth away.

  Jack's eyes shone brightly, huskily he replied, "I will take your anger or hatred of me over finding your beaten, bloodied and broken body any day." He nodded to the officer who had grasped her elbow. "Take her away but be careful with her. She's not to leave your sight until I return."

  Catlyn pulled against the officer as he led her away from the group of law officials headed toward the water's edge with Jack leading. "Jack! Jack, don't do this! Jack, I won't forgive this! Jack!"

  He completely ignored her.

  ****

  Jack easily followed the signal coming from Sanchez's phone. It looked as though Mackenzie was actually in the water. But, Jack knew that beyond the abandoned buildings across a small expanse of water lay a mini island with a mansion in ruins. The signal was definitely coming from the tiny island. Only a mile of the Hudson River separated the shore from the edge of the island. A good swimmer could make it easy. Jack called for 2 of the police boats.

  The boats arrived in record time, a matter of minutes. Jack suited-up with tactical gear, his weapon and a vest. He gave Sanchez charge of the other boat and he split the rest of the team between the two boats evenly. They decided the best course of action would be to approach the mini island from opposite ends and search the mansion ruins at opposing ends, meeting in the middle.

  The police water-crew was one of the best. They reached the island fast. Jack and his team disembarked quickly, quietly. Jack took point and gave signals to those on his team to follow. As he drew his weapon, he was reminded a little of his days in Desert Storm. The overgrown vegetation and marshy areas didn't slow him down in the least. He made his way as easily as though he were walking on an unencumbered sidewalk.

  The ruins loomed ahead. In the dimming light it looked dangerous. The south wall was torn completely down, exposing the floors and damaged structure. The north side seemed fully intact but looked greatly unkempt. Jack approached the destroyed wall of the first floor. He froze as eerie music reached his ears. He didn't know the music but it was haunting and spine tingling in a bad way. He gave the signal to halt as he adjusted his bearings. The sounds seemed as though they were coming from the very center of the mansion.

  Jack gave the signal for them to spread out, do a grid search. He followed his ears to the second floor in the middle of the mansion. He realized, as he noticed Sanchez approach from the other end, the music played in a loop. It was the same tune over and over. Creepy! Although, Jack checked all the rooms as he came to them he knew the one playing the strange music was where he would find Mackenzie's phone. Sanchez and Jack arrived at the room's solid door simultaneously.

  "Find anything?" Jack asked.

  Sanchez nodded his head. "A uniformed officer with his throat slit, Caucasian, 25-30ish, brown hair. He's at the water's edge, didn't find anything on the inside that didn't look like it belonged in a creepy old mansion in ruins."

  Recognizing the description of the officer he assigned to follow Mackenzie, Jack nodded and pointed to the door, indicating Sanchez should open the door and he would go in first. Sanchez complied and Jack went in high, swiftly. What met his eyes had him holstering his gun and calling out urgently, "Mackenzie!" Jack rushed to the makeshift bed of a dirty, stain-riddled, worn mattress on the floor.

  Mackenzie was lying diagonally across the nasty mattress. Her bloody hand still clutched her phone. Ignoring Sanchez's shout of anguish, Jack quickly checked for a pulse. Blood literally covered her from head to toe. Its sickly metallicsweet smell permeated the room and decorated the walls and floor surrounding Mackenzie. She was naked, had numerous slashes all over her. Jack cursed a blue-streak in his mind. And then he prayed. God, please let her be alive.

  The blood was fresh, still warm, hadn't started to coagulate. Her clothes were haphazardly strewn about, slashed beyond repair. There was a large black man lying on the floor a few feet away. His pants down around his ankles, he wore army fatigues. Even as he wiped blood off Mackenzie's neck to try and get a pulse, Jack took note that the name embroidered on the military jacket was 'Jenks'. He also noted the guy looked familiar.

  Jack forced the trembling out of his hands. He had to concentrate. There! A slight thump against one of his fingers, followed by a weaker thump, she was definitely fading fast. Jack gently pulled her to the floor, flipping her on her back. He started CPR. "Come on, Mackenzie, girl. This is nothing for you. Not if half the stuff I've heard about you is true. Come on, fight!"

  Jack heard in the background, Sanchez's frantic call for an officer in distress, stomping of feet as more and more people arrived. He heard someone say, "This one's a goner, looks like a bullet through the head," referring to the man on the floor.

  Jack didn't pause in his CPR administrations. He took in the sounds and continued to pray. God! Please, please!

  Sanchez shouted. "Can someone please stop that crazy music?" Instantly the music ceased.

  Still Jack didn't stop. He kept the chest compressions going. Jabaria had joined him, removed her top shirt and was trying to staunch a wound that seemed to be pushing out the most blood.

  Jack heard more shouts and stomping as the emergency medical crew arrived. In seconds someone leaned next to him. "Ok, chief, I got it." The man smoothly replaced Jack's hands with his gloved ones not missing a compression. His partner took over on Jabaria's side, opening a case and removing medical paraphernalia, working on Mackenzie. The team of two worked in tandem, knowing what each other was doing and what they ne
eded to do.

  One put a stethoscope to Mackenzie's chest as the other one hooked her to a portable machine and gave her an I.V. There were large swaths of bandages going across her abdomen that already had blood seeping through them. "Damn, she's Bradying down! V-fib!"

  The strange lingo caused Jack to tense as the men's actions sped up double time. Then words he understood had him praying harder.

  "Clear!" Mackenzie's upper body jerked, lifted and dropped.

  "Nothing! Again!"

  "Clear!" Jack winced along with Sanchez as Mackenzie's body jumped again.

  "Yes! Got it! Let's go, let's move!"

  In super speed the medical crew had Mackenzie on a stretcher, covered and with her I.V. anchored to the stretcher as they began to move quickly out the door.

  Sanchez's eyes followed her stretcher out the door. "I heard them call for Life-Flite."

  "She will most likely be transported to Westchester Medical's Trauma units, once they stabilize her. It's about an hour from here by car."

  Jack shook his head, staring at Mackenzie's blood all over his hands. In just a matter of days he had two friends' blood all over him. One was an old friend he had known for years and the other was a new friend he had been fast coming to see as a close friend. He hoped he got the chance to become closer with Mackenzie. She was his woman's best friend.

  Catlyn! She totally hated him for not allowing her to come with them. He was protecting her and he was even more determined to do so now that Mackenzie had been hurt, possibly fatally. He would do some begging later to fix things between him and Catlyn. He knew she loved him. Remembering her last words shouted to him, Jack knew even if she never forgave him, he would do the same exact thing again. Catlyn didn't need the horror of finding Mackenzie in that condition forever branded in her brain. He still had nightmares every now and again about the day he had found Catlyn. He would never fail at protecting Catlyn again, even if it cost him his relationship with her.

  "CSU is here." Sanchez said in a daze.

  Jack began to process the scene for himself. He went to the body on the floor. After studying the guy's face he now knew he was the veteran vendor normally found near Catlyn's job. Following the signs in the room, it looked as though Mackenzie put up one hell of a fight. Blood spatter told the story of a major struggle.

  Jack kneeled on his haunches next to the mattress. A tech had already place a number next to evidence. With two fingers he picked up Mackenzie's gun by the barrel, smelling the tip. It was definitely fired recently, most likely the bullet that was currently lodged in the man's forehead. A CSU tech held a bag open for Jack, indicating he should place the gun inside.

  Jack stood, reaching for his cell, not looking forward to his next call. The phone rang several times before it was answered gruffly. "Director Strong."

  "Kyle, you need to get here, fast. It's bad." Jack's voice held the solemnness of the situation.

  Before Jack could elaborate Kyle answered and disconnected. "I'll be there within the hour."

  ****

  Catlyn paced in Westchester Medical's surgical ward waiting room. It had been hours since she followed the helicopter carrying her best friend. She had heard via radio chatter that Mackenzie had been hurt badly and was being flown to a major trauma unit.

  The officers that had been assigned to watch over Catlyn had not been willing to release her before Jack returned but Catlyn had done some threatening of her own to get them to release her and give her a squad car. She knew Jack had remained at the scene, processing it for himself. She also knew that Jack had called Director Strong.

  As she was making her 100 circuit of the waiting room, the two men most in her thoughts came down the hall and into the room. Both men had grim expressions. The director asked, "Is she still in surgery?"

  Catlyn nodded. "Apparently, there were complications due to loss of blood and her previous through and through wound not healing properly."

  The director's grim countenance became even grimmer. "Did they say how many times she was stabbed?"

  "I accosted a surgical nurse when she came out about an hour into the surgery. After threatening her a little, she told me that Mackenzie actually only had one serious stab wound but it was bad because it was practically over her gunshot wound. She had about 20 superficial slashes, which most probably wouldn't leave a permanent scar once she heals. The dangers are in the blood loss and the large contusion to the back of her head which could be causing swelling and or bleeding on the brain."

  Director Strong nodded. "That means there can be brain damage?"

  Catlyn whispered, "I got the impression it was definitely one of their major concerns."

  Jack put a comforting hand on Kyle's shoulder. "Mackenzie is one strong lady. If anyone can pull through this, it's Ashley "Mack" Mackenzie." To help take his mind off his worry, Jack changed his hand on Kyle's shoulder from comforting to guiding. "In the meantime, we can donate blood to help."

  Jack connected his gaze with Catlyn's as he led Kyle out of the waiting room. His look silently asked if she were alright. Ignoring his look, Catlyn broke eye contact walking across the room to stare out the window. She had given blood immediately upon her arrival. Besides, she was beyond angry with Jack.

  She had come to the realization that Jack would never stop trying to protect her. It was something that was ingrained in him. She also knew that she couldn't have a relationship with someone obsessed with protecting the females in his life. Catlyn ached for the loss of their closeness. She knew she'd never find that with another man. Her body physically rejected all others. Well, she had given loving a try and it did not work out.

  Taking her mind off Jack and their now non-existing relationship, she prayed some more for Mackenzie. She was anxious to hear more about what had happened at the crime scene.

  "How is she doing?" Sanchez asked from the doorway. Tasha walked in with him, holding his hand.

  "They are still in surgery."

  Sanchez swore. "If that bastard wasn't already dead, I'd hunt that monster down myself and …"

  "What the hell do you mean, if he wasn't already dead?" Catlyn demanded, cutting Sanchez off.

  Sanchez gave Catlyn a shaky smile. "He may have hurt her, but, Mackenzie got the S.O.B. She put a bullet right between his eyes."

  Catlyn was dumbfounded. "They have the Slasher's body?"

  "The coroner has it." Sanchez confirmed.

  "I am glad he's dead. I can't believe I gave that bum money!" Tasha smirked.

  Catlyn put up a hand. "Hold it! Just a minute, are you telling me you know the guy?"

  Tasha rolled her eyes. "If you can call it that, you know him too!"

  At Catlyn's raised eyebrows, Tasha amended, "Well, not really know him. It's the guy in the military gear, hustling his shit on the waterfront."

  Catlyn couldn't have been more surprised if Tasha had said the Slasher was a woman. "You don't mean Delbert Jenks?"

  Sanchez released Tasha's hand to take his little notebook from an inner pocket. "Yeah, that's right, retired Gunnery Sgt. Delbert Jenks." Sanchez frowned at Catlyn. "You really know this guy?"

  Dazedly, she shook her head. "No, not really, he's the transient I encountered that night I found out what that noise was, remember me telling you about it the next day?"

  "Yeah, I remember Cat." Sanchez stepped into her personal space, throwing his hands up in the air. "I also remember you saying the guy was totally harmless."

  Catlyn went over her encounter with Delbert Jenks in her mind. Even with hindsight, there was nothing about the man that put up red flags. In fact, Catlyn had found him quite charming, likeable and respectful. He didn't even remotely resemble the profile she had assembled and labeled on the Newburgh Slasher.

  "There is no way!" Catlyn was sure.

  "Yes! Way! We found trophies from the other victims on site. There were signs of his long term habitation."

  Catlyn was shaking her head in the negative when Jack and Director Strong re-entered the
room. Catlyn went straight to them. "You didn't get the right guy!"

  Both men stopped their conversation to look at her. Director Strong spoke first, "Agent Lyte, care to elaborate on that statement?"

  "Sir, I had an encounter with the suspect Delbert Jenks earlier in the investigation. I found him not to be a threat."

  Jack spoke before Kyle could respond. "Catlyn just because you met up with him first and found nothing out of sync, doesn't mean Mackenzie couldn't have encountered the guy and detected his true nature."

  "True. But, abnormal psychology is my field. I've been doing this a long time, been studying guys like the Slasher for a long time. I am telling you Delbert Jenks doesn't fit the Slasher's profile."

  "So what you're saying is that the man who raped and killed 5 young ladies, killed a police officer and possibly fatally wounded a federal agent is still out there in this city?"