Final golden rays of the setting sun, laced with hues of pink and purple, peeked through the window. He spared it only a glance, knowing instinctively that he didn’t have much time. The plan had been set in motion months earlier, every minute detail painstakingly deliberated and carried out with absolute precision. There was no room for error.

He turned to survey the ingredients that had been carefully laid out for assembly. Though he’d committed them to memory months ago, he kept his notes close at hand. An error at this juncture could ruin everything.

The slight tremor in his hand betrayed his inner tension. Odd, really. He was committed to this course of action… had chosen it, had looked forward to this night, to what would happen as the events of his plan unfolded. He had no intention of turning back.

It was time. Taking a deep breath he reached for the first item and carefully began to measure.

-- One Week Earlier --

As Bobby straightened the tie that hung over his chest, his eyes rested on the picture that sat on the end table near the couch. He gently touched the frame as he walked by it, glancing at the clock as he did so.

He was already late so why not make a record out of it.

He knew Myles would chastise him for his tartiness, whatever that meant anyways, so it didn't really matter if he was 5 or 15 minutes late.

There was no case and he was happy about that.

The last one had been a killer - literally.

He had used every one of his skills to outsmart the man but somehow, the killer had been able to leave him in the dust, leaving a trail of bodies on his way.

Disgusting was the word Bobby had used to describe the animal.

For some reason, he couldn't get the images of the mangled bodies out of his mind. They plagued him in his dreams and during his waking hours.

He had tried to get relief by going to the bar with Jack a day or so ago but he still hadn't been able to clear his head.

Jack had been encouraging to him, always saying that it had happened to him before too, but Bobby knew that it had only happened near the time that Jack joined the F.B.I..
Since then, he hadn't been affected by a case, except for the ones that were a bit too personal or that involved Sue.

This case hadn't been anywhere near personal to Bobby but it still haunted him.

He cursed the dirty, wrotten scoundrel as he grabbed his coat, shrugging it over his broad shoulders.

He wasn't supposed to be like this.

He was supposed to be happy, funny, and smiling.

But, today, he felt nothing like smiling.

><


More to come!

~ Tracy

wow great start

cath

Poor Bobby... that's hard... hard to see him not cheerful...

great start though!

Agree with Cath, Tracy. This looks dark for one of our favorite agents! Good way to hook us!

Lynn

I'm moving in the for the long haul. Might even invest in seat belts for it.

kav

Great start Tracy! I feel so bad for Bobby. Can't wait to see where you take this!

Hair are raising on my neck

Oohh, this is going to be really good, Tracy!! I can't wait!!!

Joy

Great start, Tracy!
I agree with mione. It's hard to see Bobby not cheerful.
I'm hooked!

Ornella

Great start, Tracy!
I'll be back here for a while, I think!
Looking forward to seeing where you take this!

Tracy

Wow Tracy, that was intense! Poor Bobby. He's so out of sorts. I'm looking forward to seeing where you take us with this one. I think I'll grab a and hang out here for this one!

It's always scary to see Bobby when he lets his anger overtake him. I'm sure his laughter will return, though, as will his good spirit. Those are two things that man just cannot leave behind.

As soon as Sue entered the bullpen, she could feel the tension and.. was that excitement?

"Oh, Sue, good you're here." Jack said, looking over his shoulder as he pulled the phone away from his head.

Sue walked towards him, avoiding the other, and unknown, agents in the room.

"What's going on?"

"There's a bank robbery in progress down on Center Street."

"The Central Bank?" She asked, surprised. That bank was most known for its amount of security and high tech security features.

Jack nodded, giving a sideways smile. "My guess is that someone was working on the inside."

As he grabbed his coat, Sue questioned his reasoning. "Why would you think that?"

"Because all of the cameras were shut down. Only someone on the inside could know how to disable them."

"So why aren't you gone yet?"

"Bobby's not here."

Sue looked over to Bobby's desk, surprise settling over her as she noted his absense.

"Couldn't he meet us there?"

Jack smiled, gently touching her arm to pull her away from the path of an oncoming agent.

"That's what I'm hoping."

Suddenly, Tara stood in the doorway, half her body still in the hallway while she leaned in and said, "Bobby's here."

Jack nodded then turned to Sue. "You ready?"

She agreed and quickly, they fled the bullpen.


<>


"The bank is full."

Jack sighed loudly, knowing that having innocent bankers in the building would make it alot harder to get the situation under control safely.

The rest of the team looked to him, awaiting instructions.

As Bobby worked on clipping the bullet-proof vest tighter to himself, his thoughts wandered to what would happen if he went in there alone. Could he get the lone gunman out of there without anyone getting hurt?

"Bobby!"

Bobby looked up, surprised to see Jack standing in front of him, an angry glance falling his way.

"You get the west wing."

With a forced smile, Bobby grasped Jack's shoulder and said, "Sounds like a good name for a show, huh?"

This is very exciting! I'm still worried about Bobby though! I miss the happy-go-lucky, cheerful Bobby.

Bobby needs to pull himself out of this funk soon, before he gets hurt!!!

Great start, Tracy!!!

Joy

Great start, Tracy! I can't wait for more!

Em

hope you keep him safe

cath

I was thinking the same thing.
Tracy! You have to keep him safe! You have to keep them all safe!
Bobby! Don't you dare do something awfully stupid!

Ornella

Awesome start to a challenge story I can't wait for your next post!

What a nail-biter we have already! Bobby, BE CAREFUL!

Not sure if this is safe, maybe I'll move Wow, Tracy this has me on the edge of my seat for more!

Very suspenseful writing, Tracy!
Great job!

Tracy

Great job creating suspense both internally and externally. I'm hooked.

Ooh, this Bobby scares me. I do love an intense-Bobby, but only when he's on a case. When it spreads to even his private and personal life, that makes me worried. Maybe this case will be just the ticket... I hope.

West wing...

Good name for a show....

Oh... in spite of my worry for Bobby... You've managed to crack me up!

do go on... won't you?

You guys are awesome! Thanks!







As Bobby walked to his position, Jack exchanged a glance with Sue.

"You okay?" She signed slowly.

He shrugged, then nodded. His gaze fell back to where Bobby had been a moment ago. "I'm more worried about him." He said, his head motioning towards the bank.

Sue gave a small smile. "He'll be fine."

Just then, a response came through Jack's headset. "We're ready, Jack." Tara's voice said quietly.

Jack nodded then turned back to Sue. "Go in the car."

She nodded and quickly walked to the car with Levi by her side.

After taking a deep breath and drawing his gun, Jack made his way to the entrance of the bank.

He could hear voices inside and he hoped they were of the gunman - he didn't want anyone trying to negotiate their way out.

SWAT followed behind him, ready at any time to swoop in.

As Jack stood at the door, he questioned everyone's positions. "Myles, are you there?" A quick yes came. "Tara?"

"Sure am."

"Dimitrius?"

"Present an accounted for."

With a smile, Jack went on to Bobby. "Bobby, you ready?"

When no response came, Jack's smile quickly faded.

"Bobby?"

Suddenly, a gun shot rang through the air.

Everyone fell to the ground, trying to get out of the way of the glass falling from the window.

As a shard of glass hit Jack's arm, he moaned in pain. But, completely ignoring it, he stood and ran into the bank, gun drawn, SWAT following closely behind.

"Get your hands in the air!" He yelled, seeing the gunman turned in the opposite direction, aiming his gun at a teller. "Get 'em up!"

Slowly, the man's hands went into the air.

As Myles jogged to handcuff him, after appearing from his hiding place, Jack surveyed the group of people.

Several of them huddled beneath tables while others hid behind walls.

But one lay on the ground.

"Oh no."

><


More to come!

~ Tracy

Tracy, don't do this to me! You know how much I love Bobby....please tell me he's not shot!



Ok, I'm in position and ready for the next part!....Actually, better move to a more roomy location in case others want to join!

Your story has me on the edge of my seat!

Oh, no, that's not Bobby, is it???

Joy

What?!?!?!

Em

This is NOT good!!!!

Please don't leave me too long Tracey!!

Oh, no. It would seem that Bobby is down. Please don't keep us here long.

yikes

cath

Don't make me come after you, girl,

kav

TRACY!!!! (I feel like I'm yelling at myself! )
How could you leave us like that?

Tracy

Don't leave me there I'll fall

My stomach feels like this ACK! Come back soon Where's the tums

Oh, not good, not good, not good.....

Thanks for the wonderful comments, ladies and gentlemen!

Seatbelt warning








Immediately, a rush of anger spread through Jack as he watched Dimitrius and Myles run to the injured man who groaned when Myles helped him sit up.

Without hesitation, Jack looked around for Bobby, seeing him standing by the northwest door behind the tellers.

He walked to him quickly, throwing his hands into the air. "What was that?!" He yelled, seeing the fear in his friend's eyes. "Who fired the first shot?"

Bobby took a step back and receeded into the hallway without saying a word.

Jack quickly followed. "Who fired first?!" He repeated, waiting for Bobby to stop.

He didn't.

As the two walked through the bank's corridor they came to the outside door and Bobby pushed it open with force and dissapeared outside.

Jack stopped and leaned against the wall, quickly wiping a hand over his face.

Before pushing off and walking to the door, he whispered a prayer, hoping that Bobby had not fired the first shot.

If so, it meant he had gone in without permission and it was possibly he who hurt the man in the lobby.

As he shoved the door open, he saw Bobby leaning against a tree, one arm covering his front while the other supported him on the tree.

Shocked, Jack stopped, not willing himself to go forward.

Bobby turned back, his eyes dark. "Don't say anything, Jack." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I know what I did."

"But.."

Before Jack could say anything, Bobby walked back to the front of the bank. Angirly, Jack followed, not willing to believe what Bobby had just said.

"What did you do?!" Jack cried, scared of what could happen to his best friend if anyone found out.

Bobby stopped quickly and spun around. "I went in without your consent. I went in before anyone. I wanted to see what would happen if I went in there first. Maybe I could have gotten the guy out before he hurt anyone. But, instead, the guy saw me. Before I could even get my gun out, he had shot the.."

"You didn't shoot first?"

Bobby shook his head slowly. "I didn't even have my hand on my gun."

Jack felt the sudden urge to punch his friend. "You didn't go in armed? You could have been killed!"

"Well," Bobby stopped, wiping a hand along his wet brow. The sun had become oppressive and Jack missed the cool of the bank. "I'm more worried about the guy who got shot."

Tracy, seatbelt warning was right!

I wanted to be so relieved that Bobby wasn't the one shot, but I just can't because he's really not okay. I feel so bad for him.

Ok, I'm strapped in tightly for the roller coaster ride I imagine is coming. Please just let Bobby be okay in the end.

Poor Bobby! He's going to be ok, right?

Em

This is not good!! And, it appears that for right now Jack doesn't have an answer to help him!!!

Joy

You are doing a great job expressing Bobby's emotional state. That was tense.

Bobby is in a tough spot.

This is so intense. Poor Bobby. He's so out of sorts. Jack, we share your concern.

Oh boy, Bobby will have nightmare about that one

I'm glad Bobby didn't fire the first shot and I really wish he was okay. It makes me uneasy that he's so... unhinged. I'm almost afraid of what he might do.

Tracy

bobby is going to need jacks' help to get through this

cath

Oh man! This is sooonot good! You were not kidding about the seatbelt warning! My tummy is Tracy please come back and fix this!