Monday
6:35 am
Sue woke slowly, trying to figure out where she was. She groaned as she tried to turn her head, but the pounding in her head quickly stopped her from moving any further. What did I do to myself? she wondered as she felt the pain in her stomach and struggled to breathe. Sue had never experienced so much pain before.
Then she realized that her arms and legs were tied to a chair. Memories of the day before came rushing back. Sue began to panic, her fear threatening to take over as she remembered what that awful man had done to her the day before.
She screamed, trying to the attention of anybody nearby who could help her. "Jack, please, I need you! Please! Anybody!" Her cries were cut off by a blow to her stomach that made the chair scoot back a few inches. Sue whimpered in pain, knowing that anything more than that might make the man hit her again.
Please God. Let this nightmare end. Let it be all a dream. And if it's not a dream, please let Jack know where to find me.
7:30 am
Jack walked into the bullpen early, eager to start the day and to see Sue. If she doesn't come in today, then I'm going to assume that something bad happened. Not even D can stop me from looking for her. I am not going to lose her.
The only other people that were already there were Bobby and Lucy, who had ridden over with him. They had spent the night trying to sleep, but both knowing that neither one of them would be getting any rest. Jack proved this as he yawned, big and loud.
"Oi, mate. You're gonna catch flies if you keep yawning like that," Bobby said, grinning at Jack.
"Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night." Jack stopped by his desk to hang up his coat and attach his ID tag to his shirt. He looked over at his best friend. "Hey, Bobby. Have you seen Sue?"
"Can't say that I have. Why?"
"Sue went to help a friend of hers Saturday night, but we haven't heard from her since. She said that she would be coming in this morning."
"Well, it's still early. She may come in yet." Jack just nodded. Bobby lowered his voice as he sat on the corner of Jack's desk. "Is there another reason that you're so worried about Sue?" He grinned mischievously.
"You know the answer to that question, Crash." Jack sighed and pulled a report closer to him. He needed a distraction right then, and work was the best one.
Over the next hour, the other agents filtered into the bullpen, with the exception of Tara and Sue. Jack tried to focus on his work, but every time somebody walked into the room, he would look up, hope rising in his chest, only to be crushed. It was never Sue that walked in.
D approached Jack and said, "Have you heard anything from Sue?" Jack shook his head. "You know, last night when I told you to get some sleep, it was an order. If Sue is really missing, you need to have a fresh mind."
"I don't think either of us got much sleep last night." Jack looked over at Lucy who was yawning.
Around 8:30 that morning, Jack's computer chimed, indicating that he had a new email. He opened it and found a video message attached to the email that was otherwise empty. He clicked on the video and what he saw caused his stomach to churn.
"Guys, come look at this," he said, his voice cracking a little.
"What's up mate?" Bobby asked as he sauntered over. Once everyone had gathered around his computer, he played the video.
The man came into focus, the mask covering his mouth and nose.
"Hello Jack. As you can see, I have something very precious to you." He indicated Sue who was tied to a chair, her hair and clothes rumpled and bruises covering her skin. "Maybe you should have taken better care of your little sweetheart, or I wouldn't be making this video. You know, Sue was willing to break the rules to go and tell you about me. But you were with another woman. Such heartbreak on her face. I just had to do something. If you want her back, you're going to have to prove that you love her. You'll have to find me, and that is something nobody has ever done before."
Jack saw Sue as she began to stir in the background while the kidnapper had been talking. He watched as she tried to move her head, heard her slight gasp of pain at the movement. He watched as she realized where she was and started to struggle. "Jack, please, I need you! Please! Anybody!" Sue cried out. He winced as the man turned and punched her in the stomach, the force pushing her chair back. Jack curled his hand into a fist, desperately trying to calm the rage within him.
The kidnapper turned back to the camera. "I will love her better than you did. I will make sure that she never has to see you again." He spat on the ground. "You would have never been able to love her like I will. Say good-bye Jack. For now."
The video stopped and silence filled the room. Horror was evident on each of his teammates' faces. Bobby was the first to break the silence. "How dare he?! That drongo beat our Sue! He will pay for this!" Lucy broke into a sob, the tears already streaming down her face.
"Don't worry, Luce. We'll find her. We have to," D said as he pulled her into a hug.
Jack slowly stood up, feeling like he had aged twenty years in just a few minutes. "Alright, we need to get on this right away. Myles, you see if Metro PD has had any reports of someone kidnapped. Bobby, D, go out and contact as many people as you know. If someone saw Sue at any time since Saturday night, I want to know about it. Lucy, you and I will go talk to Troy and Charlie. We also need to let Sue's parents know about what has been happening." Without a word, the team pulled on their coats and practically ran out the door.
Jack rubbed his hand across his face before he, too, grabbed his coat.
9:00 am
As Jack and Lucy were walking up to the garage, Lucy pulled on Jack's arm. "That's Sue's car that Troy is working on!" She sped up and nearly walked into Charlie who was just coming around the corner.
"Oh, Lucy. This is a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?" He looked past Lucy and saw Jack. "Hey, Jack. How have you been?" Jack walked up to the pair.
He waved to get Troy's attention. "We found out this morning that Sue has been kidnapped," Jack said as he signed to Troy. "We thought that she had gone to help a friend who had an accident, but this morning, we received a video from the kidnapper."
"That's awful! Who would do that to Sue?" Charlie said.
How can we help? Troy signed.
"Uhh, we were wondering, actually, when you got Sue's car. We thought that she had taken it with her."
"Well, let's see now. I think it was Saturday evening, around 6:00. She said that she needed her engine checked out, so I agreed to keep her car here and look it over."
"I was in the shower, to get ready for the Gala I went to. Sue must have left then and I didn't realize it," Lucy said, looking to Jack.
"Well, now we know where her car is. Charlie, Troy, let us know if you hear from her or if anyone has any information. Come on, Luce. Let's head back to the office," Jack said as he took Lucy by the elbow. They got into the car and prayed that there would be new leads for them.
2:00 pm
Jack banged his fists against his desk, barely keeping himself from yelling. They had found nothing. Nobody had seen her, nobody knew where she went, nobody had heard of even a whisper of the kidnapping. Jack knew that his team was doing their best to find Sue, because any other option was unthinkable.
I can't lose Sue. I can't. Please, God, give me a clue, anything to help me find her. We need her back. I need her back.
"Hey, Jack! You're gonna want to hear this mate." Jack's prayer was interrupted by Bobby coming in with Howie, Sue's informant and friend. And just behind him, on a leash, was none other than Levi. "Levi? Howie, why do you have Levi?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Well, I was meeting up with a buddy of mine in this alleyway, you see. And I'm showing him these powerful flashlights that I got last week. All of a sudden, I hear this high pitched sound. And I turn to my friend and I say, 'Do you hear that?' And he says, 'Yeah, it sounds like a dog whining.'"
Jack interrupts Howie. "Howie, get to the point."
"Okay, okay. So we start following this noise and we realize that it was coming from this old dumpster in the alley. Now I'm thinking that this dumpster hasn't been used in ages. So I look in and see this dog. We decide to get him out, and I'm looking at this dog and I think, hey this looks like Levi. And sure enough, it is.
"Jack, I think Sue's in trouble. Levi had a dart of some kind in his side, like he was drugged or something."
Jack closed his eyes for a second and offered a brief prayer in gratitude for the clue. "Howie, we weren't able to get ahold of you earlier today. Sue was kidnapped Saturday night and we haven't been able to find out anything. You may have just given us our first lead. Thank you."
Howie stared at Jack in horror. "How could anyone hurt our Sue? She's the nicest person I know."
Lucy came and took the leash from Howie. "I'll take care of him. Thank you Howie." She squeezed his shoulder and gave him a watery smile.
"You're welcome. And hey, I'll put the word out on the street. Anything that I can do to help find Sue, you guys let me know."
"Howie, where was the alley that you found Levi. It may have been where the kidnapper took Sue. We haven't been able to find anything." Howie gave them the address and description of the dumpster. He then left to go talk to his people for any word about Sue's whereabouts.
"Well, I never thought I would say this, but I am actually glad to see Howie," Myles said in the ensuing silence. "If only because he can help find Miss Thomas."
"That's five minutes away from my apartment," Jack said quietly. "He took her five minutes after I saw her last." Anger spread through his body. This man was going to pay when they found him. And they would find him, Jack was sure of it.
Jack turned and looked at his teammates, his anger showing in his eyes. "Bobby, D, Myles, I want you to go to that alleyway with the crime scene technicians and see if you can get anything that would indicate Sue was there. It is possible the kidnapper dumped Levi there after taking Sue. Lucy, call Tara. We need her here as soon as possible. And go home and bring Sue's computer. We'll have the lab guys start looking at it until Tara can come." Jack directed his teammates. "Oh, and Lucy, maybe you should take Levi to the vet. He's not looking too well." He rubbed his hand through his hair, trying to calm himself in order to think clearly.
He looked around the office, trying to avoid the sight of Sue's desk next to his, but his eyes seemed to be drawn there. He walked over and sat down in her chair, looking at the picture of the team she had on the corner. The picture was taken the day Sue was supposed to leave for her new job in New York, but had decided to stay. Lucy had organized a celebratory party, even inviting Amanda Duffman, the teenage deaf girl, to come. That picture had captured that moment perfectly, and Sue kept it on her desk to remind everyone of the family that they had become.
"Don't worry Sue. I will find you, no matter what."
9:00 pm
Blinding light stabbed into Sue's eyes as the blindfold was removed for the first time since the night she was kidnapped. Her hands were untied and a bowl thrust into them. Once her eyes had adjusted, she looked at the man in front of her. "Eat, you must be starving," he said.
She turned her eyes to the bowl and found what looked like twinkies that were soaked in milk. She hesitantly raised the bowl to her lips, and began to drink. She hadn't eaten anything since the bowl of rocky road in her apartment, and her stomach growled in anticipation. Even soggy twinkies sounded good.
Due to starvation and lack of water, Sue had grown very weak over the last few days. This had caused her kidnapper to be able to overpower her more easily and her injuries weren't healing. She was sure she has at least one broken rib, if not more, making it difficult to breathe. Over the course of the day, she had come to realize that sounds, particularly speaking, resulted in a beating. But what came after the beating was far more horrible, in Sue's opinion. She was completely powerless against him and it terrified her.
She drained the bowl, swallowing the last little bit of mush at the bottom and slowly setting it down. His back was turned to her, so she took the opportunity to look around the room that she was in. It was a comfortable room, with a couch and several plush arm chairs. The drapes were closed and the fireplace on the far wall was dark and empty. The house had a lived in feel to it, like it was someone's home. The room was different than the one that she had been in the first time the man had taken off the blindfold. He must have moved her when she had been unconscious.
I need to remember every detail of this place, and especially what he looks like. There was no doubt in her mind that as soon as Jack found her, she would make sure that he knew about everything. The man was too evil to not tell Jack.
The man turned to face Sue, noticing that she was finished with her meager meal. He approached her and pulled an armchair up next to her. Sue shrunk away from him, bracing herself for another beating. However, no beating came. Instead, he handed her a tall glass of cool water.
"I'm Gabriel Grant. I've been watching you for a long time, Sue, and you really impressed me. You must be thirsty. Go ahead, it's safe to drink."
Sue cautiously lifted the glass to her lips and slowly drank, even though she wanted to gulp it down as quickly as possible. She kept an eye on Gabriel's lips as she drank so she wouldn't miss it if he said anything.
"You are very smart. Most people would drink the water too fast and end up vomiting. I knew that you would be the special one." Gabriel leaned in closer and stroked her cheek, his hand gentle. Sue had to force herself to not shy away, not wanting another beating. "All the other girls just weren't special enough, like you. You're different, you're stronger than the others."
Sue watched his lips in horror. This man has hurt other women like me before. If they weren't enough, then I will eventually be just like them. Jack, I need you!
Gabriel began talking again. "You know, you should thank me. Your boyfriend was awful, cheating on you with another woman. I saved you from a relationship that would have only ended in pain. It's rather difficult to recover from that kind of shock, so I understand if you don't warm up to me right away. But I will love you more than he ever would. Poor little Sue."
Gabriel must be insane or suffering from a mental disorder. One minute, he is likely to beat me or worse. The next, he's talking about loving me and is kind to me. Somehow, this thought did not comfort Sue at all.
"You should try to get some rest. I have big plans for this evening. I'll have to tie you up again, though. Can't have my best girl leaving me, now could I?" Gabriel said as he took the bowl and glass from Sue's hands. Her world became dark and silent again.
10:30 pm
Jack was watching the video over and over, desperately trying to glean something, anything, from the background. Myles and D were taking their turn to sleep on the Bureau cots that were set up in one of the conference rooms. Lucy was gathering the papers that were coming off the fax machine, while Bobby was out meeting with one of his informants.
Even after the twentieth time he had watched the video message, nothing new was jumping out at him. He sighed in frustration, willing the exhaustion away. He hadn't slept the night before, and it looked like he wasn't going to get any sleep until Sue was safe.
Finally tearing his eyes away from the computer screen, Jack looked at Lucy. "Hey, Luce, do you know when Tara is getting here?"
"Her plane arrives at one o'clock this morning. I'm planning on picking her up."
"You should go get some rest then; you've had as little sleep as I have. It's not safe to drive with no sleep."
Lucy nodded. "I think you're right." She walked over and dropped the papers she had been holding on his desk. "Forensic reports from the alley. I'm going to bed. Wake me up in a few hours." She staggered off to go find a place to curl up.
Jack started looking through the reports, searching for any sign that Sue had been there. There were tire tracks on the ground as well as a few long blonde hairs. But without the roots for the hair, no positive DNA could be found. Those hairs could belong to any blonde in the DC area. There were also two fingerprints on the wall, but were too smudged. Jack tossed the papers on his desk, too frustrated to read anymore. He stood up and began to pace.
"Jack! Why didn't you answer your cell phone? I've called you over a dozen times. I was worried sick." Jack turned to look at the doorway and found an angry Allie standing there. "Dinner was two and a half hours ago and you didn't even call."
"I'm sorry, Allie. I've been working a kidnapping case. Sue was kidnapped Saturday night after she left my apartment." Jack's voice carried his exhaustion and frustration in it.
"Oh, no. That's awful." Allie's features softened from anger to concern. "Have you been able to find anything?"
"Not really. The two leads we have are turning out to be worthless. We know she was alive when the kidnapper sent me a video message this morning. And we have a possible place where she was kidnapped. But both have turned up empty so far. I'm scared that he killed her, Allie."
Allie came over and sat down on Jack's desk and motioned for him to come sit next to her. He did, and he seemed to slump against her. They were both quiet for a minute. "You care about her a lot, don't you?"
Jack looked at her in surprise. "Of course! She's my partner and one of my closest friends. Of course I care about her."
"But it's something more, I think. Tell me, as old friends, do you love her?" Allie asked. Jack opened his mouth in surprise, not entirely sure what to say. "It's okay. I already know the answer. I've known for quite some time, actually."
Jack sighed. "I'm sorry, Allie. I just found myself falling in love with her. I'm not even sure how it happened."
"No one ever does," Allie cut in quickly. "And for the record, I think the two of you make a very sweet couple." They both went silent again.
Allie broke the silence again. "I've known for awhile that you and I were meant to be good friends for our entire lives. And I will always be your friend, Jackson. But, I don't think that we should date anymore or ever. It hurts Sue and that in turn hurts you. I'll stay in DC until you find her, then I'll be moving back to New York."
"Allie, I'm so sorry-"
"Don't be. We are both choosing the best paths for us. Mine is in New York. Yours is with a beautiful deaf woman and a charming dog. I'm not mad, Jack. I'm glad that you finally figured your feelings out."
Allie stood up and gathered up her purse that had fallen on the ground. "I'm going back to my hotel to get some sleep. Find her, Jackson."
"I will."
Allie turned and walked out of the bullpen. Seconds later, Bobby came in followed by a man in an apron. "Hey Jack, I just saw Allie out in the hall. Is everything okay mate?"
"Yeah, of course. Now what have you got?"
"A witness. This is Ricardo Gomez and he says that he watched a blonde woman and a dog be grabbed and pulled into an alley. He followed and saw the whole thing."
"I own a restaurant across the street from the alley. Business was slow, so I stood outside. I was watching people pass by and I noticed one woman was walking very slowly, looking around."
Jack interrupted Ricardo's narrative. "Did she seem scared?"
"No, she was looking at the sky and the lights. She was enjoying life, as I like to call it. Really seeing things and seeing their beauty. That's what made me notice her. As she passed the alley, a man came and dragged her into the dark. I followed immediately. I know that there are bad men and if he was going to kill her I wanted to be able to do something.
"When I get there, I see her dog lying on its side and the woman being shoved into a car. She was blindfolded and tied up."
"What kind of car was it?" Jack said through the bile in his throat. Sue was already deaf. Without her eyes or Levi, she was completely at the man's mercy.
"It was a silver color, smaller with four doors. I couldn't give you the type. I don't know cars very well."
"Okay, what happened next?"
"The man closed the door and then picked up the dog and threw him into the dumpster. He got into the car and started to back down the alley away from me. But then he saw me watching and started coming at me. He aimed a gun at me out of his window, so I ran and hid. I looked out as he passed in time to catch the license plate numbers."
"You got the license plate?"
"Yes. It was 425AF2."
Jack wrote it down and handed it to Bobby. "Go wake up D. We need more people on this," Jack said. He turned back to Ricardo. "Did you get a good look at the kidnapper's face?"
"Yes."
"Would you be willing to work with a sketch artist?" Ricardo again agreed. "Alright. I'll take you down there myself in just a minute. I need to bring the other agent up to speed."
While they waited for Bobby to get back with D, Jack showed him pictures of Sue to verify identity. He also showed Ricardo a still they had pulled from the video of the kidnapper.
"His face is covered, but his eyes are right. They were evil."
"Ricardo, why did it take you so long to tell anybody about the kidnapping?"
The man shuffled his feet. "Well, at first, I didn't know who to tell. I didn't know the woman and I am very new in this country. Besides. My son's VISA expired a week ago. He's trying to get it renewed, but I didn't want him to be deported. When I heard that the FBI was looking for a blonde woman with a dog, I couldn't stay quiet anymore."
Jack looked at the man. "I will personally help your son not only renew his VISA, but gain citizenship. Her name is Sue Thomas and she is a member of our team. You have given us the biggest break yet."
The old man nodded, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, signor"
Jack held up a hand. "No. Thank you."
Bobby walked in just then, with a sleepy D following behind him. "What do you have Jack?" D asked.
I need you to get all the security footage and traffic cameras for this area. We have a car to find. Bobby, work the other end. License plate, who it's registered to, and where they live. I'm going to take our witness down to the sketch artist." Jack turned and accompanied Mr. Gomez out of the bullpen.