Title: The Plunge
Summary: It's Shawn and Juliet's wedding day, and Gus and Lassie have been kidnapped! No Slash. (AU from the movie.)
A/N I suck at summaries and I don't own Psych.
Gus glanced at his watch as he exited the building. He couldn't believe that of all the people who would disappear or stall the wedding, that it was Lassie he had been sent to track down. But he took his duty as best man very seriously, and would grab the police-chief-turned-groomsman and drag him by the necktie if that's what it would take to get this wedding off without a hitch. One of the ushers had claimed to have last seen the missing man talking to "a caterer or florist or something" outside.
Gus rounded the corner to the venue's parking area just in time to see a tall man in blue coveralls stick a syringe into Carlton Lassiter's neck, not ten feet away. Lassie went limp almost immediately and another man appeared from out of a small truck to grab the unconscious man's feet.
Gus was frozen to the spot. Should he run? Call for backup? This was a wedding party full of armed cops and former cops. He knew that it would do no good for him to confront them alone.
Unfortunately, that decision was made for him as his phone began chiming a marimba tune.
The two goons, who'd just unceremoniously dumped his friend into their truck, immediately honed in on him. A scream caught in Gus's throat, coming out a strangled squeak.
Without a word to each other, the two large men descended on the best man. Gus struck out blindly, thought he may have even landed a blow to one of their faces, but there was nothing he could do to stop the attack. He was outnumbered. One had him around the middle and was pulling him off his feet. The pavement steadily rose up to meet him, and Gus tried to throw out his arms to stop his descent, but they were pinned to his sides by his assailant. Gus's head struck the concrete.
"No such thing as too much collateral," one of the men said.
"Gives them more incentive," the other agreed.
Gus fought to stay conscious, but the pain and dizziness won out as he was hauled from the ground, and he passed out before they even threw him in the truck.
Shawn Spencer had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Despite his eight year charade, he had to admit he was no psychic, but he could just sense that something was amiss. It wasn't like Lassiter to just disappear, and Gus should have found him, or at least reported back by now. When Gus's phone went to voicemail after several rings, Shawn decided to get a second opinion. Maybe he was just experiencing some classic cold feet paranoia. That was a thing, right?
He rapped lightly on the door to the bridal room where Juliet was hidden away.
"Who is it?" A sing-song voice asked, Juliet's maid of honor.
"It's Shawn," he replied, trying to keep the edge out of his voice, "I need to talk to Jules."
"Oh, well in that case, go away. It's bad luck for a groom to see his bride on their wedding day!"
"Jules! It's really important!" Shawn called again, this time turning the knob and pushing the door open. It only moved a few inches before being blocked.
The maid of honor, one of the officers at the San Francisco precinct, was pushing back with all her strength. "Whatever it is you think you need to say can wait until after the vows."
"Gus and Lassie are missing! I'm going to find them!" Shawn called over her, hoping his bride-to-be would hear.
"It's probably nothing," he added, trying to reassure himself.
Shawn grunted in frustration, and with closed fists marched away from the door, making his way to the elevator. He pulled his phone from his pocket and demanded the device call Gus once more.
"Ok, calling, Gus," the nice sounding automated voice replied.
"You've reached Burton Guster, I'm terribly sorry that-"
Shawn jabbed at the screen until the call ended. No rings. Straight to voicemail. He really didn't feel good about this.
He bounced on his heels while he waited for the lift to open, wondering if the stairs would have been quicker.
"Shawn!" His dad appeared, and was jogging towards him. Yup, should have taken the stairs. "Where are you going?"
Ding.
"I'll be back, dad. I'm just going to find Gus and Lassie!" Shawn held the "close doors" button down and they shut just as Henry reached the elevator. No sense worrying everyone if there was nothing wrong. He'd go downstairs, find the missing men and then return to the rooftop garden to marry the girl of his dreams.
Maybe they were just practicing some flash mob tap-dancing routine for the reception. Ya, because that's something he could picture Gus planning, and of course, Lassie would go along with it. Somehow the ridiculous image that thought conjured wasn't making him feel any better about the situation. Shawn's stomach lurched with the movement of the elevator, and he was glad the short ride to the ground level was over. His previous uneasiness was quickly becoming full-fledged anxiety.
Shawn stepped out into the lobby, passed the receptionist and the sign that said "Spencer O'hara Wedding Upstairs." A cursory glance showed that the missing men were not in the lobby, so he pushed his way out the front doors. After looking both directions, he decided to check the parking lot first. He turned the corner and knew immediately that his fears were justified. This was not a simple case of wedding jitters. Two cell phones, he quickly identified as belonging to the missing men, were smashed to bits on the pavement and, more disturbingly, there was a small blood smear on the curb. A small slip of paper near the blood caught his eye, and Shawn bent to examine it without touching it. Two words were written in black ink, followed by a phone number.
He pulled the bright green decorative handkerchief from his pocket and snatched up the paper before the breeze could claim it. He looked up to see if he could see an vehicles leaving the venue, but the street was deserted. He had missed them! He'd known something was wrong and instead of acting, he'd allowed his best friends to be taken!
"Shawn! What do you think you're doing?" Henry shouted and he approached his crouching son. Shawn turned at the voice and shifted so his father could see what had his attention, the phones and the blood.
"I think you better go get Vick," he said.
He held up the note so his dad could read the ominous message written there:
Nine Hours.