Chapter 6:
As the sun started to shine through the windows of the SBPD Vick called Lassier, O'Hara, Gus, Henry and McNab into the conference room. She stood in front of the weary group and showed them the email and picture that McNab had brought to her just a few minutes earlier. The group looked at the image of the beaten and lifeless Shawn.
Juliet was the first to see the picture and all she could do was mutter "Oh dear Lord" under her breath. She knew that she needed to be a Detective right now and not a girl friend.
Gus was next to see the pic he just shook his head, sighed and passed it to Lassiter. When he saw the image of the beaten and broken Shawn and slammed it next to Henry and told Chief Vick "We have to nail this Son of a Bitch" Vick agreed and assured him that we will.
Henry saw the reactions of the other people in the room and he really did not want to look but he knew that he had too. What he saw would forever be burned into his head. His only son, the man who just fought his way back from a horrible motorcycle accident sitting in a chair unconscious and bleeding and that is what he could see who knows what other injuries they inflicted on him when he couldn't stand or talk. Henry just rubbed his face and sat in silence.
Vick had McNab leave the room and find the computer guys and help them see if they could trace where the email had come from. The rest of the group started to go through every scrap of evidence with a fine tooth comb hoping and praying that something would help lead them to the kidnapped girl and their friend.
The group took turns taking short naps on the couch in Chief Vick's office but they never left the station they worked every lead till there were no more leads left to work. Vick noticed that it was 5'oclock she started the process of getting 2 million dollars from the evidence room.
Lassiter told Vick that the Department had a strict policy of not bargaining with kidnappers. Vick reassured Lassiter that she knew full well what she was doing and the bills they were going to give the kidnapper were either out of circulation bills or counterfeit. She also assured Lassiter that she may walk into that warehouse alone but she will not be unarmed.
With an understanding look Lassiter left her to her preparations and he left to organize the perimeter that was to be in place around the warehouse.
************************************************************************************Back in the cold dark warehouse Shawn was awoken by the force of Merry being thrown to the ground next to him. She looked frightened but she did not appear to be beaten like he was. The kidnapper reached down and patted Merry's face and said hopefully mommy dearest gave the cops the money or you both will be dead before morning with that he laid one more hard kick into Shawn's abdomen.
The kidnapper left to the place the drop off was set to take place but before he left he started a small fire in the corner of the warehouse. Shawn smelled the smoke and knew that he had to help Merry get out of there. He managed to reach into his pocket and get his Swiss army knife. He released the blade and started to saw at Merry's bonds. It took him a long time to saw through the tape that bound the frightened girl. It took every ounce of strength and concentration he had to free the girl. She was finally free and began to work on his bonds. He stopped her and managed to smile and say "cant walk you go" He took a labored breath and said with tears in his eyes, "Love to Jules, Dad and Gus". A tear started to form in the frightened girls eyes but she hugged her fellow captor and said "hang on I am going to go and get help, we will get you out of here I promise." Shawn weakly smiled at the girl as she left knowing that by the time she found help he would be dead.
Chief Vick drove up to the abandoned warehouse alone but she was carrying two firearms and a switchblade, she was also wearing a wire. She grabbed the bag of cash and walked into the warehouse. Sitting at a table in the warehouse was a masked figure. He applauded Chief Vick for listening to directions and told her that he knew about the police that were posted nearby and that was fine. She threw the bag of money at him and said "Two million dollars just like you asked for know where is Merry and Shawn." The masked figure chuckled as he inspected the contents of the bag. Happy at what he saw he threw a pad of paper at Vick's feet. She bent down to pick it up making sure never to take her eyes off of the masked man.
She looked at the pad and it had an address scrawled on it. She began to leave to inform the awaiting officers to enter when she was stopped. The masked man said "You can call your men to try and arrest me or you can race to rescue your friend" he looked at his watch and said "They don't have much time left, you see before I left I may have set a small fire in the warehouse they are in and I may have made sure the fire had enough fuel to burn very hot for a very long time. The choice is yours," He laughed maniacally as he got up to leave in the opposite direction.
Vick, frustrated ran to her car grabbed her radio "All units converge on warehouse at 45 Bison lane, we need all units and fire and ambulance there NOW, Shawn Spencer and Merry Schroeder suspected inside" She drove as fast as she could to the warehouse. When she got there the whole structure was in flames.
A minute latter Lassiter and Juliet arrived with Gus and Henry and several other uniform officers and three fire trucks. Before then firemen could make it to the front door a woman bust through the door to freedom. She was coughing and was blackened by the fire but she told the firemen "Shawn was in a room at the top of the stairs, he was hurt bad and couldn't walk" she broke into a coughing fit before continuing "and HURRY please he wont make it much longer"
The three firemen ran into the burning warehouse. They were in full dress and an oxygen tank so they would be safe from the fire. They got up the stairs and searched the room for the young man. The tall fireman yelled FOUND HIM and quickly threw the unconscious man over his shoulders and the trio began to head out of the burning building.
By the time they made it to the front door a crowed had gathered all being kept at a safe distance by the firemen that were outside waiting to attack the building with there hoses as soon as the rescue team exited with the other victim.
The look on Henry and Gus's face was one that almost willed the firemen to find Shawn. Lassiter was staring at the fire wondering if Shawn could have survived this. Vick stood next to Juliet with her arms around her detective ready to comfort her for what she feared she would be seeing any moment.
The first of the rescue team busted through the door a long five minutes after they had first entered the building he was followed by the other member of the team neither of the men had Shawn the crowed was fearful that they had not been able to find him in the smoke and flames. When the third man came through the door with Shawn over his shoulder the crowed cheered.
The third rescuer laid the unconscious Shawn on the waiting stretcher he announced that he was alive, barely but alive. The paramedics worked on stopping the bleeding and getting him on some fresh oxygen when he was stable enough they began to place him in the ambulance. Juliet and Henry raced to the stretcher making sure that Shawn knew that they were both there and that they loved him. They told the unconscious man they would see him in the hospital.
Lassiter turned his lights and sirens on and took Gus, Juliet and Henry to the hospital. Vick left the remaining detectives at the scene orders on how to process the scene and followed them to the hospital.
The five sat waiting in the same room they had waited six months before. Henry smiled at Lassiter at least this time you didn't hit me. The crowed snickered at the memory of Henry's black eye that took a month to fully go away. They were all glad that there were no angry or hurt feelings to work through, they were all friends and they were all worried about Shawn. He had been through so much in the last six months how much can one body go through before it can't go through anymore. They sat and waited and prayed that when they saw the doctor they would let them know that they still had Shawn.