Chapter One: Who Took Our Daughter, Veronica?
"What do you mean, you have no idea who took my daughter, Jerry," Sam yelled, as he and Barber stood in the ER of St. Michaels' Hospital. Andy was sitting on a bench not far from where the two were arguing. Veronica Swarek, the sixteen year old daughter of Sam and Andy Swarek, had been missing a total of thirteen hours and already Sam's temper was getting the better of him.
"I've already told you, I know only as much as the evidence could tell me. Dean, Laura and Zack, have been unconscious since she was taken, and we haven't been able to talk to them yet and we have no idea what they even saw. Sam, I know V, she's strong, she's the best of you and Andy. She'll be okay, you've both taught her well," Jerry said, in a comforting voice. Sam ran a hand over his face.
"I know it's just, she's-"
"Your little girl. I know, Sam. If anyone took Sky, I would be in the same state you are now, but you and Andy need to keep calm. Dean is in there okay, I can relate somewhat."
"That's easier said than done, Jer. What do you know so far?"
"The first one hit was my son, Dean. The officers, that answered the 911 call found him by the door. He probably answered the knock at the door. Laura was in the kitchen, she was hit from behind, which mean she might not have seen who hit her. Zack was in the upstairs hallway. He probably heard everything and went to warn Veronica, so they could try and get out of there to get some help," Jerry explained, as he went through the notes, that the officers had handed him.
"Where was Veronica," Andy asked, coming to stand by Sam. Sam pulled her close to him, as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"There was blood found in her en-suite bathroom, on the carpet in front of the bathroom counter" Jerry read, as he looked through the notes. Sam's facial expression, went from anger to furious.
"You mean that this psycho," Sam paused, so that he didn't take his anger out on Jerry, "took my daughter, while she was in the shower." Jerry shook his head.
"The shower wasn't running, when the officers got there and all the kids were still unconcious" Jerry stated, "so, I'm thinking, that maybe…whoever this person is, waited for her to be finished, then he knocked her out, when she opened the door." Sam took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm. Getting angry wasn't going to help his princess at all.
"Whoever did this," Jerry said, putting the notes into his jacket pocket, "knew that you both were at work, and the only people that were going to be home, were your daughter and some of our kids. We need to look at anyone that you both have put away since your time at the 15th precinct."
"That's almost 20 years of police work, Jerry," Sam stated.
"I know." It was then that Chris and Gail Diaz came running into the ER with Dov and Sue Epstein, and Traci Barber with her and Jerry's daughter Sky.
"What happened Andy," Traci asked, as Sky ran towards her father.
"Someone knocked the kids out, while they were all at our house," Andy took a deep breath, as sobs soon began to rack her body once more, "Veronica is missing. We have no idea who took her." Andy began to cry once more, falling to her knees, as Traci wrapped her arms around her best friend's shoulders.
"It's alright, we'll find her, before anything happens to her, just like we found Sam nineteen years ago, when Brennan made him because of Boyd. We'll find her," Traci said, as she comforted Andy. Sam came up behind them and wrapped his arms around his wife, allowing her to cry into his shoulders. Tracy walked over to Jerry.
"How's Dean," she asked, as she watched Andy cry. Jerry wrapped an arm around her, as he balanced Sky on his hip.
"We won't know, until he wakes up."
"Whoever took Veronica, only wanted her, otherwise he could have taken anyone of them," Traci said, as she pushed a lose curl behind Sky's ear. Jerry smiled at his small daughter and then looked over to Sam and Andy, who was still crying into her husband's shoulder.
"How are we going to find her Sam," Andy asked, between sobs, "She's probably scared out of her mind, and we have no idea, who could have probably taken her. We have 20 years of grudges against us, how are we ever going to narrow it down?" Sam looked Andy, as he wiped the tears from her eyes.
"We'll find her McNally," Sam said, causing Andy to smile slightly at the use of her maiden name, "We'll find her, and when we do, we'll make sure that whoever did this is back behind bars and won't get out for a very long time."
"I just want her to be safe again," Andy sobbed, "I just want her home with us, instead of wherever she could be." Before anyone else could say a word, a doctor walked towards them, a clipboard in her hand. Jerry unwrapped his arm from around Traci and walked towards the doctor.
"Zachary Diaz is awake," Dr. Swerden said, as she looked down at her clipboard with all of the young Diaz's information on it, "We've run a cat scan and there are no signs of a concussion." Jerry nodded, as the doctor explained, that they could now question him, to see what he remembered. He looked over to Chris and Gail and motioned them over to him.
"Your son is awake," he explained. Gail let go of the breath that she was unaware that she had been holding.
"We want to question him to see if he knows anything, but as you know we can't question him without one of you being present," Jerry stated, "So which one of you wants to come in there with me, so I can question him on what he saw and heard?" Gail and Chris shared a look between them, having a silent conversation on which one of them should accompany Jerry into their son's hospital room.
"I will," answered Gail, not looking away from Chris. She pulled away from him and followed Jerry as he walked towards the room that the doctor said Zack was in. When the pair entered the room, Zack looked up at smiled at his mother.
"Zack, are you okay," Gail asked, as she ran her hand through her son's hair. He smiled slightly at her, but shrugged in response.
"I'm okay," he responded, "I'm in a little pain, but that's probably just because of how hard I was hit in the head." She smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead.
"Your uncle Jerry just wants to ask you some questions on what happened," Gail explained to her son. Zack looked over to Jerry and nodded.
"When you first heard the knock on the door, what happened," Jerry asked.
"Dean went and answered the door, we had ordered a pizza, so we thought it was probably the delivery guy. Veronica was in the shower, and Laura was in the kitchen making a salad for her and V to eat. After Dean answered the door, I heard him hit the floor," Zack explained.
"Okay, after you heard him hit the floor, what happened?"
"I called out to him, I thought maybe the door had slammed or something, but then I heard these heavy footsteps, walking towards the kitchen just off the hallway where Dean lay," Zack paused taking a deep breath, "I heard Laura scream and then another thud, as she hit the floor. That was when I ran up the stairs to try and get to Veronica's room. I thought if maybe we were together than maybe we could over power whoever was trying this, but he was quicker and I mean much quicker. He caught me while I was up in the hallway."
"What did he do, when he caught you," Jerry asked, as he continued to write everything down that Zack said. Zack ran a hand through his hair.
"He grabbed me by the shoulder and that's all I remember, everything after being spun around to face him goes black," Zack explained, his head falling into his hands.
"I promised Sam that I would protect V no matter what," he cried, tears starting to run down his face, "And I've let them both down. If anything happens to V, it'll be my entire fault." Gail ran her hand through his hair again.
"It's not your fault Zack," she explained, softly as Jerry put his pad and pen away, and made to leave them room, he could continue to question him later, "You went to her, to try and protect her."
"I should have gone as soon as Dean was hit," he argued, "I waited too long."
"You had no idea what was going on Dean," Gail persisted, "You had no idea, what was going to happen. You tried getting there, that's all that matters."
"I could have tried harder," he continued to argue, "I could've run faster. I could have fought back like Sam and Dad taught me."
"Zachary, stop," Gail said, causing her son to look at her, "You tried your best and that's all that matters right now. Sam won't blame you. Andy won't blame you and when we find Veronica, she won't blame you. If anything she'll want to just squeeze the life out of you to make sure that you're really there."
Outside in the waiting room, Andy had stopped crying, but she still had her head against Sam's shoulder, as she thought over the past 20 years. Who could possibly have such a huge grudge against them to take their little girl?
"It couldn't be anyone that we put behind bars recently with a long enough sentence," Sam said, as he run through everything that he could remember at that moment, "It has be someone that we dealt with at the beginning of your career or petty crimes."
"What about Brennan," Andy asked.
"Andy, he has another six years in his sentence, before he even gets a chance for parole, it couldn't have been him," Sam said, dismissing the thought of Brennan taking his little girl. For months after that undercover operation had been blown, he had nightmares. He didn't want to even think about his little girl being subjected to them same torture that he had gone through.
"Maybe he has someone on the outside helping him," Andy argued. Sam shook his head again, still not wanting to believe it. Andy sighed, she knew exactly what this was. This was Sam, not wanting to think about those couple of days he spent being tortured, but they needed to consider it. Jamie Brennan may have gotten justice for his wife and daughter. The man who had killed them was put behind bars a month after he was, but Boyd. Boyd still ran free. Suspended from the force for a year, but he was still a detective. Still apart of Guns and Gangs.
"Can we just keep it as a possibility," Andy asked, "I know you don't want to think about Veronica going through what you did Sam, but-"
"We need to keep Brennan as a possibility," Sam finished, "I guess. It's just everything I taught her, was self-defense. She'll have no idea how to deal with the torture that he'll most likely put her through, if it is him. Something could happen to her, Andy. If something happens to our little girl and I could have prevented it, I'll never forgive myself."
"I know," Andy answered, holding Sam's hand in her own, "And I won't either, but right now-"
"Right now, Veronica needs you both," said Jerry, as he walked up to them. Sam looked at him.
"Did Zack give you anything new," he asked, standing up. Jerry shook his head.
"He just confirmed, what we though before," he explained, "The only one that could have possibly seen anything is Dean and until he wakes up we have absolutely nothing to go on, until the officers are finished gathering anything they can from your house."
"Maybe I should talk to him," Sam said, but before he could start walking towards Zack's hospital room, Barber stopped him.
"He's told me everything he possibly could, Sam," Jerry explained.
"He's holding out on you Jerry," Sam snapped, "Diaz knows something, he's just not giving it up."
"Sam," Jerry said, "Zachary Diaz is already cut up about everything that happened. He's already blaming himself for not protecting V-"
"Like he should," Sam interrupted.
"But he's a teenager Sam," Jerry continued, not letting Sam's interruption stop him, "A teenager who was basically witnessed to his own girlfriend's kidnapping. He was completely knocked out Sam. Put yourself in his shoes. Someone has just entered Andy's house, knocked out your best friend and his girlfriend, it's either your or Andy next. His protective instincts kicked in, he went to protect V, this guy was just too quick for him." As Jerry finished speaking to Sam, Noelle, Frank, Oliver and Zoe rushed into the waiting room, Frank and Noelle's son Will, not far behind them.
"Anything from the crime scene," Jerry asked Noelle and Oliver.
"We found a few footprints in your yard, kitchen and Veronica's en-suite, and there were some tire skid marks on your driveway, Sam, but nothing else. There was no weapon, which could have been used to knock the kids unconscious, and there were no finger prints that didn't already match Sam's, Andy's or anyone else that has visited the house before today," Oliver explained, as he placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, in silent comfort.
"Have you questioned any of the neighbours that could have seen something," Andy asked. They had chosen the neighbourhood that they lived in because of the neighbourhood watch, that was extremely effective.
"Your neighbour from across the street-"
"Mrs. Harvell, old bat," Sam muttered, causing Andy to hit him in the chest and give him a stern look, which caused him to look at her guiltily for a split second, before turning his attention back to Oliver.
"Said, that she saw someone pushing Veronica toward their grey car, and then into the backseat from her bedroom window, before placing a bag over her head. She said, Veronica was putting up quite the struggle-"
"That's our girl," both Sam and Andy whispered at the same time, a small smile gracing both of their faces.
"But whoever took her was stronger," Oliver continued, "She was the one to place the 911 call, but by the time our officer's got there Veronica and whoever took her were gone."
"Did she see who took Veronica," Andy asked.
"She said, that whoever took her, had a mask that covered his face, so not even the kids, will be able to be able to tell us who attacked them-" Noelle began, before she was interrupted, by her son, who had coughed suddenly.
"What Will," she asked, "Do you know something?" Will looked around at all of the adults. What he knew, could possibly help them, but he had been sworn to secrecy by Dean Barber, Zack Diaz, Laura Epstein and Veronica Swareck. He took a deep breath, and made his decision.
"About two weeks ago, when the five of us were hanging out at Uncle Dov and Aunt Sue's Anniversary Party, they were telling me about this grey car, that had tried to follow them home a couple of days before. They begged me not to tell you, because Veronica knew that Uncle Sam would make a huge deal out of it-"
"Of course, I would she's my daughter-"
"It didn't even follow them the entire way, they had cut through the elementary school park on their way to your house and lost it, but I could tell by the look on Veronica's face she knew something, but I thought nothing of it, until now," Will explained. All of the adults looked at him.
"You should have come to us, if you suspected something William," Frank said, placing his hands on his son's shoulders.
"I know Dad, it's just I didn't think anything of it, until you got off the phone and told us that Veronica was missing and that Dean, Laura and Zack were in the hospital, I knew I couldn't keep my suspicions to myself any longer." Sam sank down into his chair, his head back in his hands.
Though, Veronica continued to scream, the entire time that the bag was on her head, her voice slowly began to grow hoarse, and slowly she began to lose her voice. Not wanting Veronica to lose her voice, the man that had taken her, whipped the bag off of her head and tied a gag inside her mouth, before replacing the bag back on her head. Veronica tried to continue to scream for help, but the gag muffled the sound. She struggled against her bonds.
"Don't bother," said her captor, causing her to stop struggling, look towards him, even though she couldn't see him, "You won't get free, until I let you go and I won't let you go until I have the information that I need from you Veronica Lillian Swarek." The use of her full name scared her, causing her to resume her struggle against the cloth that help her to the wooden chair. Veronica's captor began to laugh, as continued to struggle.
"You have nothing to worry about," he said, "As long as you give me the information that I require, you'll stay alive and perfectly healthy. If you refuse, I torture you to get the information out of you and if you persist to keep the information from you, I'll have to kill you and move onto your boyfriend and maybe even your parents."
A/N: Hi Everyone,
Here's a new fic and my first completely inside the world of Rookie Blue. Let me know what you think and if I should continue.
Thanks
xo
