"Look at you, you lazy bum."
Colby wearily looked away from the small TV at the foot of his bed, his face lighting up as he recognized David standing in the doorway of his hospital room. "Good to see you too, man."
"How's the shoulder?" David asked as he slid a chair close to his friend's bedside.
"It's fine now, thanks to the wonders of pain killers. Any news on Don?"
"No, man. Sorry."
"Damn," Colby sighed. "I know he was alive when they grabbed us and tossed us in that van, but I don't remember seeing him at all after that. They've searched the area where I was found?"
"Yeah, thoroughly," the other agent assured him. "But we have a good reason to suspect Don might be in Miami."
"What?"
"You remember the dentist who gave us Gardenia's x-rays for identification?" At Colby's nod, David continued, "Turns out he switched the x-rays with those of the man who was actually killed. Gardenia mentioned he would be relocating to Miami."
"No kidding? Wait – wouldn't Gardenia's name pop up in the system somehow?"
"We're still working on that angle," David replied.
"So, since I've been a little fuzzy to say the least, how long since Don and I were grabbed?"
"According to the timestamp on the surveillance footage," David said as he checked his watch. "It's been right at eleven hours."
"I was afraid of that," Colby sighed. He remained silent but he knew David was thinking the same thing he was – the first twenty-four hours in an abduction case were critical in finding the victim alive.
"Do you have any idea what these men wanted?" David finally broke the silence. "Did they say anything?"
"I know I heard them refer to 'Mister G', which makes sense now that we know Gardenia's not dead. But other than that… no, they didn't say anything of importance. I wish I could be more helpful."
Sensing the injured man's frustration growing, David patted his forearm. "We're going to find him."
"I just feel like I shouldn't be lying around on my back when Don needs our help."
"Granger," David scolded as he shook his head. "You were shot, man. No one – not even Don – expects you to get out of bed and back to work less than a day later. As hard as it is for you, you're going to have to sit this one out."
"I know," Colby finally relented. "Just make sure you find him alive, okay?"
"That's the plan," David promised. "I need to go check into my hotel. You'll be okay while I'm gone?"
"I do need you to do me one favor."
"Name it."
"There's a cute redheaded nurse out there," Colby said with a slight grin. "Tell her I could use a sponge bath?"
"You know what?" David asked, an evil glint in his eye. "I think she was busy. But there was a big, burly orderly looking for something to do." The laughing agent had to duck as an empty plastic cup was hurled in his direction.
--
"Did you enjoy your stay, Mister Rubiac?" hotel manager Steven Connors asked.
"I certainly did," the man before him replied. "Whenever I come back to town I'll sure to stay here again."
"I'm glad to hear it, sir." The manager peered through the front doors and gestured at the Crown Victoria that had pulled to a stop along the curb. "I believe that's your car. May I?"
Rubiac allowed the manager to escort him outside as he casually asked, "You had housekeeping double check our room to make sure we didn't leave any of our belongings behind?"
"Yes sir," the manager assured him. "As you requested."
"Thank you," the man said as he slipped the manager a generous cash tip. "And please remember, I do value my privacy."
"We respect all of our clients' privacy," Connors said with a conspiratorial wink. "No one will ever know you were here."
Rubiac smiled thankfully before sliding into the passenger seat of the car. "Thank you, Jacob," he said to his driver as he shut the door. The guest gave a final wave to the manager as his driver climbed in and drove them away. Once they were on the open road, Rubiac smiled. "I think that went well."
"I agree, Mister G."
"Let's hope our journey to LA goes just as smoothly."
--
"Nothing?" Megan asked in frustration. "They're sure?"
"Yes ma'am," Marcia replied. "Miami PD has no Gardenia on file. I pulled his other alias – Dikamali – and had them check it too, but nothing."
"Thanks, Marcia," Megan sighed as she rose from her chair. She crossed the floor to David's desk, where Charlie was busy scrolling through a list of search results. "Charlie, I've got some bad news."
"Hmm," he mumbled, his eyes never leaving screen in front of him.
"We can't find any sign of Gardenia in Miami. I… I don't know where else to look. I'm so sorry."
"Just a second," the professor said distractedly.
The agent sat on the edge of the desk and waited, knowing that it was nearly impossible to get Charlie to listen when he was so wrapped up in something. At least she had gotten Alan to listen to reason earlier and let Larry take him back home to rest. It had been so hard to watch him as he sat in the conference room, looking so helpless and sad as he no doubt wondered where his oldest son was and if he was even still alive.
"Got him," Charlie announced triumphantly, drawing Megan's attention back to the present.
"You found Gardenia? Where?"
"In Miami."
"Charlie, that's what I was telling you-"
"I'm sorry," the professor said as he eagerly shook his head. "I didn't find Gardenia, but I found his new alias."
"Alias?"
"In Miami, there's a small time gang that's been trying to work its way up on the food chain. They just landed on Miami PD's radar about eight months ago. Mostly small stuff, nothing to get them a lot of attention-"
"Charlie," Megan interrupted. "Time is of the essence."
"Sorry. He's going by Remy Rubiac."
"How do you get that?" she inquired.
"Gardenias belong to the family Rubiaceae so he shortened that for his last name. There's a variety known as Gardenia remyi so he took the last part and shortened it for his first name."
"Marcia!" Megan called to the agent that was currently using Colby's desk. "Call Miami back and ask about Remy Rubiac. See if they know his location."
"On it."
"Great work, Charlie."
"Thanks," he replied quietly. "Do you think…"
"What?"
"Nothing," he shrugged.
"Tell me," Megan gently prodded.
"Do you think he's still alive?" Charlie's eyes were swirling with emotion as he gave her a pleading look.
"I think," she began, carefully measuring her words. "That it's a good sign that they didn't kill him right away. That means they want him alive for something."
"Yeah, but what if that something is revenge?"
Megan frowned at his question. She'd been thinking the same thing but hadn't wanted to worry the young genius even further. She knew from her experiences as an agent that most of the time if revenge didn't involve a quick bullet to the brain, it was usually an excruciating ordeal dragged out over an extended period of time. The good news was that even though Don might be suffering badly, they still had time to find him. But Megan didn't want to express that thought to the young man staring at her with so much hope.
"Megan?"
The agent blinked to clear away the depressing thoughts and pasted what she hoped was a confident smile on her face. "Then we'll have to find him sooner rather than later. And thanks to your research, I think we can accomplish that now."
"Agent Reeves," Marcia called as she joined her colleague and the professor. "Miami PD verified there is a gang operating under a guy named Remy Rubiac. The crew hasn't committed any major offenses yet, so they're not under full time surveillance. A couple of members of the gang task force are hitting the streets to gather some info from their CIs in the hopes they can figure out where Rubiac is and if he was involved in the kidnapping."
"Great work, Marcia. Go ahead and call down to the local Bureau office and let them know we'll be headed that way if we can verify that's where Don was taken." The younger agent nodded and returned to Colby's desk. Megan turned her attention to Charlie and patted his shoulder. "You feel like going home and getting some rest?"
"You're joking, right?" he snorted.
"That's what I thought. Tell you what, see if you can grab a few winks in the conference room." As the young man started to protest, Megan waved her hand to cut him off. "If we do find out Don's been taken to Miami – or anywhere for that matter – I'm going to need you to help me narrow down the search grid. I think we both know you'll be in better shape if you've gotten some rest. Please, Charlie."
"You'll come get me as soon as we know something?"
"Scout's honor," Megan smiled and held up three fingers.
--
Charlie sat alone in the darkened conference room, slouched in his seat, trying to fall asleep and failing miserably. Every time he closed his eyes images of Don would play in his head. Don protecting him from bullies when they were kids; sitting awkwardly beside him at dinner when he visited from college; smiling gratefully when Charlie told him he could help him with a case. Unfortunately those memories weren't the only images he was seeing. There were others too, imagined and terrible. Don being tortured at the hands of faceless men; falling to the ground as a bullet was fired into his brain; lying in a pool of blood. Charlie felt himself spiraling into darkness as his heart grew heavier with sorrow…
"Charlie?"
The soft voice startled the young genius so badly that he nearly slid out of the chair. A hand immediately landed on his shoulder, helping him to remain in his seat.
"Sorry, son," he recognized his father's voice. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"Dad?" Charlie asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Yes, it's me. I didn't realize you were asleep. You looked so uncomfortable, but then you always could sleep in the weirdest positions."
"I wasn't sleeping."
"No?" his father asked dryly. "That's funny because your eyes were closed and your thoughts sure weren't in this room."
"I was… thinking."
"About?"
Reluctant to discuss or relive the disturbing images, Charlie dodged the question with one of his own. "Didn't you go home?"
"That was hours ago," Alan said as he set a large paper bag on the conference table. "It's dinner time and knowing you as I do, I figured you hadn't eaten all day." He eyed his son, not surprised when the younger man shrugged and studied the floor. "Right. Well, I brought enough food for both of us."
"I'm really not hungry, Dad."
"I know. I'm not either, truth be told, but we need to take care of ourselves. It's would Don would want."
"He's not dead," Charlie spat angrily, immediately regretting the harsh words.
"I know he's not," Alan replied gently. "But when we get him back, don't you want to be strong enough to help him?"
"Of course," Charlie whispered apologetically as he joined his father at the table. "I didn't mean-"
Alan covered his son's hand and squeezed as he gave him a warm smile. "I know." The older man began removing the containers of food and quickly served up two plates.
"So," Charlie began hesitantly as he chewed a bit of meat. "Do… do you think he's okay?"
"I pray that he is."
The professor nodded as he swallowed the flavorless morsel, wincing when his stomach churned in disgust. He felt guilty for asking the question, but he'd hoped his father's answer would make him feel more confident.
"Not what you wanted to hear," Alan remarked as he forced himself to swallow his own bite of food.
"I guess… Never mind."
"What?"
"No," the professor shook his head, knowing the answer would weigh heavily on his father's mind.
"You thought if I said Don was okay you'd feel better?"
Charlie's eyebrows rose skyward. "How'd you know?"
"It's a father thing. When you two were young I could fix just about anything with a hug, a kiss or a confident word. Scraped knee? Some antiseptic spray, a band-aid and a pat on the shoulder. A broken heart? A hug, assurances you're a fine young man and there are other fish in the sea." Alan pushed his plate away and turned to face Charlie. "But this… I can't tell you it'll be okay or how to fix that gaping hole in your heart because I don't know how to fix the one in mine."
Charlie stared at the other man in shock, not used to hearing him admit weakness, especially as a father. He longed to say something to ease the older man's pain but couldn't find the words.
"And Donny," his father sighed in despair. "I can't… I don't even know where he is or if he's still…"
"Dad," the professor breathed as he leaned close to the older man.
"If I could just hold him, hug him, touch him," Alan said desperately. "Everything would be all right – I could fix whatever was wrong. I know I could…"
Charlie's heart broke as his father's eyes filled with tears. He wrapped his arms around Alan's shoulders and hugged him as tightly as possible. "I know you could, too," he whispered fiercely into his ear. Oddly enough, his father's moment of need and doubt somehow strengthened Charlie's confidence and determination. "I'll find him, Dad. I'll find him so we can bring him home. I promise."
--
Hector Gardenia smiled as Jacob pulled their car into a driveway beside a darkened house. He took a slow, deep breath to calm his excitement. I'm here, he thought happily. All those months planning and I'm finally here.
A shadowy figure stepped through the back door, dimly lit by the stoop light. "Glad you made it okay," he greeted in a low voice as he helped the crime boss from the car. "You'd best get inside before anyone sees you. I'll bring your stuff in."
"Thank you, Roberto," Gardenia replied as he allowed Jacob to help him up the back steps, longing for the day when he was fully recovered and a long car ride wouldn't wear him out so badly. He followed Jacob into the house, gratefully sinking into the armchair Roberto had thought to place just inside.
"Hey, Mister G," a nervous redhead greeted from across the room.
"Good evening, Joey," he called back.
"Would you like anything to drink or eat?"
"Very thoughtful of you," Gardenia smiled appreciatively. "Perhaps a glass of water."
"You got it," Joey eagerly nodded, bolting from the room just as Roberto was coming inside.
"How is our young friend doing?" the crime boss asked as Roberto closed and locked the door.
"Eager to the point of being annoying," the blond sighed. "But he's been very efficient in his work."
"Good to hear. And our guest?"
Roberto's broad face broke out in a cold grin. "He's in the basement, tied up at the moment. The last dose of sedative should be wearing off soon."
"Good," Gardenia smiled approvingly. "Let him stay awake this time so he can ponder his fate."
"Right," the big blond agreed. "Anticipation can be a wonderful thing."
"You haven't told him I'm involved?"
"No, not a word, just as you requested. I imagine he'll be very surprised when he finds out you arranged all of this."
"As much as I'd love to peek in on him right now, I fear the stairs would be too much for me tonight." Gardenia nodded to Jacob, who pulled a single flower and a Polaroid camera from one of their bags, handing both to Roberto. "Give him that for me and take his picture when you do. I want to be able remember the look of fear on his face for the rest of my life."
The blond man cackled and shook his head. "You certainly have a knack for these things, Mister G."
"Here's your water, Mister G," Joey said as he returned and handed a glass to his boss.
"Thank you, Joey," the older man said before sipping the cool liquid. Once finished, he handed the glass back to the redhead and turned to his bodyguard. "I think I'll make my way to the bedroom now. Roberto, go give our guest my little present and report back to me before I call it a night. Jacob can help me to my room and Joey here can carry my luggage."
"Sure thing, Mister G," the blond nodded as he headed to the basement door. "Glad you thought of the camera. This is one moment I'm going to enjoy capturing on film."
TBC
