And Then There Were None...


Chapter 3


It took them only a few days to track down T-Bag, who had only escaped to visit his dying mother. It was an emotional case, but it didn't hit Julianne as hard as the next case which dealt with a pedophile. During that case, Julianne had spent a little more time with Lloyd, and somehow he had crashed some of her walls and persuaded her to go outside her comfort zone and actually drive on the highway. She told herself she was doing it for Tess, the young victim, but she couldn't deny the little part of her that was doing it to please Lloyd.

Since then she had had quite a few moments with Lloyd and the rest of the cons and she had become somewhat comfortable with them. They worked in a professional environment, both respecting each others boundaries, and it kept her at ease most of the time.

On the most recent case, Shea had started to yell at her for something she had no control over, and Lloyd had defended her. Shea had called him out for protecting his "girlfriend", and Julianne was a little taken aback. Did that mean he was talking about me to Shea?

Lloyd had shown such a vulnerable side during that case when he was talking about his father. It amazed her that he opened up to her. Why her? Why not Erica? He was with her much more of the time, yet he chose her to express his feelings to. He didn't know it, but it helped her try and over come some of her anxiety. It helped her to know that other people had problems, even someone who tried to exude such confidence like Lloyd.

Julianne was sitting in the bull pen waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. They had just got done tracking down a lead of their new fugitive, John Soble.

Julianne pulled out the file, scanning through all the documents. This was a tough one. Soble was a serial killer who targeted young co-eds around the university. He had escaped two days ago and right now the team was at a loss as to where he was. They had tracked down several leads, and nothing led them in the right direction. He just seemed to be one step ahead of everyone.

The sound of the elevator grabbed Julianne's attention, and she looked up to see the team coming in.

"We have got to find something on this guy," Charlie said, throwing off his coat and walking toward his desk.

"Jules, found anything?" Ray asked as he followed behind Charlie, with Lloyd, Shea, and Erica right behind.

"No, nothing substantial," Julianne said, giving Ray a small smile. She avoided eye contact with everyone else out of habit.

"What about the families of the people he killed? Maybe he's after them now," Erica said, taking a seat near Julianne.

"They wouldn't have anything to do with it. He was only after his target, which tended to be young, brunettes. He would have no obsession with the families. Once the kill was done, that was it for him and he moved on," Lloyd explained, and Julianne was thankful to be a blonde.

Suddenly Julianne's computer clicked, and she looked down to see that a tip had come in. "I might have something here," Julianne started to say. "A local policeman had spotted a man that looked like Soble near the train tracks in Newark."

"Ok, let's check this out," Ray said, turning and making his way to the elevator.

"Jules, text me the address," Charlie said, as he grabbed his coat. "Everyone go, except you Lloyd."

Lloyd looked up confused. "I want you to stay here and go through these files. There's no need for all of us to go track down this lead. We need to get in front of this guy," Charlie told him and followed the rest of them into the elevator.

As the door shut, Lloyd turned to Julianne. "Well, let's get started."

Julianne handed Lloyd a few files, and he took them and turned to sit down at the desk a few feet away.

"This guy just doesn't make any sense. He doesn't seek out any of his family members, he hasn't tried to pass any of the road blocks, and he hasn't killed anyone," Lloyd commented, more to himself, but Julianne looked up at him.

"Well, maybe he's waiting until it's quieted down, when people stop looking for him. Or maybe he's got some sort of reason for staying around," Julianne said, and Lloyd looked over at her.

"Yeah, it could be that, but this guy lived for keeping and torturing these women for days, then he would suffocate them and bury them in the back woods. A serial killer like that can't really control himself for long," Lloyd said.

"You'd be surprised how much control a man like that can have," Julianne said, not meaning for it to be out loud. She looked up, shocked, and saw Lloyd looking at her.

"And how would someone like you know about that, Julianne?" Lloyd questioned, and Julianne suddenly felt the panic begin. She could not talk about this right now, and not with him.

"I'm going to go look in the back for more files," Julianne said, before jumping up and bolting out of the room.

Lloyd watched her go and he wanted to follow her, but he thought it might be best if he gave her some space.

He was very curious as to why she said what she said. She never opened up, about anything, yet she let a little something slip. It wasn't enough for him to even begin to start piecing together the puzzle that was the ambitious, technically savvy, blonde.

Lloyd stood up and walked over to Julianne's desk. He noticed she didn't have any pictures, so she didn't have a family, or she wasn't really in contact with them. Her desk was still messy, but less than it was the first time he had met her. He felt good about that, maybe that meant that she was making some progress with her anxiety.

He had gotten to know Julianne a little bit better over these past 6 cases, and he didn't deny the attraction he felt for her. But it wasn't just because she was pretty, it had more to do with her personality. She was nice to him and genuinely seemed to be his friend, and that made him feel good. Most girls, most people actually, wrote him off from the start, never even giving him a chance. Lloyd knew he was very abrasive, but he also knew that that wasn't the only thing he was. He was a good doctor, and he actually cared about people, and he cared about this team. It was the thing he looked forward to the most. He felt like he was helping people, and it didn't hurt that he got a month knocked off of his sentence everytime they apprehended a fugitive.

Suddenly, he heard the elevator and he didn't bother turning around. "So, Charlie and Ray, need me anyway, huh?" Lloyd said, as he turned around, ready to greet them, when he stood, shocked.

There in front of him were two, large men. Both had tattoos down their arms and black coats that made them look intimidating, but not half as intimidating as the gun that was now pointed at Lloyd.

Lloyd immediately recognized the two men as people he had swindled out of money at an illegal poker table before he went to jail.

"Never thought you'd see us again, did you Lloyd?" the man said.

"Hey fellas, what brings you two here, and how did you find me?" Lloyd said, trying to sound calm, but inside he was starting to freak out a little bit.

"We have our sources. You want me to cap him right now, Tony?" the man asked, and Tony shook his head.

"Not yet, we need him," Tony said, walking closer to Lloyd. Lloyd backed up and ran into Julianne's desk. It took everything he had not to fall over the offending object. "Bet you thought that we forgot about you since you landed in the slammer, huh?"

"No, never, you two are too smart for that. I was going to get your money, just as soon as I was released," Lloyd told them, trying to hold them over.

"You the only one here?" Tony asked, and Lloyd felt his throat go dry.

"Yep, just me," Lloyd said. He couldn't let them know that Julianne was here. This had nothing to do with her, and he couldn't get her in the middle of his mess.

"I think it's time we take a little ride. Sammy, go downstairs and bring the car around. Mr. Lowery here isn't going to give us any trouble, right?" Tony said, eyeing Lloyd.

Sammy turned and closed the elevator. Lloyd was about to say something when another voice interrupted him.

"This is all the files we have on him, and it isn't much," Julianne said, as she walked into the room. She didn't notice Tony, or the fact that he was holding a gun yet, her eyes were facing the ground. She looked up and caught Lloyd's scared expression. She looked over and saw the large man standing in front of him holding a gun. She felt her breath leave her.

Instinctively, Lloyd moved over and blocked Julianne from the gun. Tony looked over at Julianne and smirked.

"Thought you said you were the only one here. Guess you didn't want us to know about your little girlfriend," Tony said and Lloyd rolled his eyes.

"What is with everyone saying she's my girlfriend. She's a person, and she has nothing to do with this, so just leave her out of it," Lloyd explained, and Julianne fidgeted with her scarf, trying hard not to break down right there.

"I don't think so. She's exactly what we need. You both are coming with us," Tony said, motioning for them to follow him.

"No, you aren't bringing her along. I'll go with you, but she stays here," Lloyd expressed, and Tony turned to look at him. He gave Lloyd a smirk.

"Oh, is that right?" Tony said, before walking over and smacking Lloyd over the head with the gun. Lloyd felt pain consume his head as his body hit the floor. The hit wasn't hard enough to knock him out, but at the moment the pain was so great he wished it had. He raised his hand and felt blood on the top of his skull.

"Lloyd!" Julianne said, as she rushed over to him. She grabbed his head, trying to help steady him. She saw the stream of blood flowing down his forehead and she knew he was in pain. She held his hand as he pulled himself up a little. She heard the cock of a gun, and she turned to see the barrel staring right at her face.

"Let's go," Tony demanded and Julianne nodded her head. She helped Lloyd up, and they made their way behind Tony. He led them down and they took the door to the back alley so they wouldn't be noticed. A black van was waiting for them, and Tony shoved them both inside.

He climbed in behind them and pushed them against the wall. "Turn around," he told Lloyd, and Lloyd did what he was asked. Tony took a slip-tie and bound his hands behind his back. He did the same to Julianne, who tried so hard to keep her hands from shaking.

He grabbed a couple of black pillow cases and slipped them over their faces. Julianne's world went black, and she couldn't see a thing. She felt her panic rising and her breath became shallow. Please, don't panic now. I can't have an episode here. They'll shoot me. I have to stay calm. Everything is going to be ok. Charlie and Ray will come back, see that we are gone, and find a way to rescue us, I know it.

They drove for what felt like forever before they turned off to a dirt road. The path was bumpy, and with her hands bound, Julianne found it hard to steady herself. Her body kept bumping into Lloyd's. The van slammed on breaks, and Julianne heard the door opening. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm and jerked her out of the van. She found her feet on the mud outside, and walked with the person holding her.

"Watch where you grab me. A little bit of care goes a long way," Lloyd exclaimed and Julianne almost smiled. It was just like Lloyd to run his mouth even when they had no control of the situation.

She was led up some steps, then into a door. They walked for a little bit before she was led down another set of stairs. They walked down a few more halls before stopping. She heard what sounded like a cell door being opened. The bag was ripped from her head and she was shoved inside, hard enough for her to loose her balance and fall to the ground. She felt the blood began to seep through her tights as her knees scraped the hard concrete.

The cell was completely black. She turned to see Lloyd being pushed in, then Sammy slammed the door shut on them, leaving them with nothing but their thoughts and the darkness.

Julianne didn't know what to do or say. She was beyond scared and everything suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. The situation she was in, the men she was dealing with, it brought up a lot of bad memories from her past incident and that didn't help. She felt herself begin to shake and she crawled into a nearby corner, balling herself up.

"Julianne," Lloyd said, feeling her anxiety. He found her body in the corner, and crouched in front of her. Her eyes had begun to adjust to the dark and she could see the silhouette of his face. "Julianne, are you ok?"

"No! I'm not ok! What's going on? Who are those people?" Julianne shouted.

"They're people I owe money to. I have a problem with gambling," Lloyd admitted. "I'm so sorry, Julianne. I didn't mean to get you involved. I didn't think they would continue to look for me after I was sent to prison."

Julianne tried to calm her breathing, but she couldn't stop the tears that flowed down her eyes. "I can't deal with this, I don't know how to deal with this," Julianne admitted.

"Julianne, listen to me," Lloyd said, grabbing her hand. "I will get us out of here, and I will keep you safe."

Julianne didn't feel comforted from his words, because she had seen Lloyd in action and he wasn't much for the heroic type, but she couldn't admit that to him. He was trying to make her feel better.

Lloyd turned, and sat beside her against the wall. She was beginning to relax a little and her breathing slowed, but she didn't let go of Lloyd's hand. She actually found herself holding it a little tighter. She had no idea what was to come or what these people were planning on doing, but she had to stay strong, for herself and Lloyd, because even though Lloyd would never admit it, she could feel how scared he was. She leaned into Lloyd a little more.

"How's your head?" Julianne asked, and she felt Lloyd turn to look at her.

"It's fine. I don't think I'll need any stitches. He didn't hit me as hard as Erica did that time," Lloyd admitted and Julianne couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips.

"So, that's her superpower then, preparing you for future fights," Julianne commented and this time Lloyd laughed.

"Yeah, I guess your right," Lloyd said.

"I know you don't know this, but Erica is a bounty hunter," Julianne told him and Lloyd seemed shocked.

"So that's it! I knew it was something," Lloyd said.

"And she was one of the best, so if anyone can track us down, she can," Julianne said, more for herself than Lloyd.

"Don't worry, they'll find us. We've got a good team, and they need us if they want to catch any more criminals," Lloyd told her and she nodded her head.

"Yeah, they can't do it without the doctor and the tech-whiz," Julianne said. That's right, they need us.

"Never," Lloyd said quietly, and Julianne knew he was trying to convince himself that they would come for them.

Julianne nodded her head and realized they would be coming for them. They were a team, and her and Lloyd were important parts of that team. They just had to survive until they were found.