CHARLIE didn't try to stop the search party from advancing; he didn't ask them to slow down with their dogs; it was obvious animals were on the track of the missing people and the worst possible thing to do was to stop them from going in the direction they wanted to take.
After almost ten minutes of incessant running, the search party reached a thicker part of the woods and a distinct wailing and pleads for help reverberated somewhere nearby.
-Hello!-Charlie shouted as loud as he could. –Anybody there? We're with the FBI!
-Over here! Oh God! Just… Help us, please! We're over here!-an anxious male voice could be heard in their proximity and the entire team ran in the direction of the sound.
They weren't prepared to see what they came upon at the nearest clearing. A man was sitting on the grass, muddy, dirty and in tears, cradling young woman in his arms, clutching her desperately, but, to Charlie, for one eerie moment, it seemed as if he were holding a ragged doll or a little girl.
He approached them warily and slowly, pointing his gun towards the couple but pretty soon, it became obvious even to him that there was no need for that when he recognized the two abductees. Still, Charlie had to make sure.
-Are you Trevor Davenport and Diane Underwood? Are you? Answer me! This is Charlie Francis, I'm with the FBI!
-Yes…-the young man's voice was barely audible now and he managed to mutter just a few brief sentences before he fainted. –Please… I'm fine… But just… Help her… I beg you… It was all my fault.
Charlie's voice was firm as he issued orders here and there. He decided not to question Trevor Davenport just yet. There was time for that when they got to the hospital.
-Olivia-he turned around to share his thoughts with his partner and he was extremely surprised after not having seen her there.
-Has anyone seen agent Dunham?
His men were all shrugging their shoulders, answering negatively.
Charlie looked around but he couldn't spot her anywhere.
Neither her nor Bishop, for that matter. –he frowned.
Charlie tried dialing both their numbers but it appeared as though their phones were switched off.
He called another search party to join them and the second group of men came over in a matter of minutes. Olivia and Peter weren't among them either. He was starting to get worried.
Someone on his left commented rudely:
-Maybe they just need some time in private, for themselves, if you know what I mean-but stopped abruptly after having met Charlie's icy and incredulous stare.
-This is not a good time for such jokes-he retorted huskily and called Broyles.
-This is agent Charlie Francis. We have successfully located the two kidnapping victims, both Trevor Davenport and Diane Underwood. He appears to be completely fine. Diane Underwood has been diminished in a similar way as Paul and Mary Green. They are being taken to hospital right now. Awaiting your orders, sir.
-Proceed with the victims to the hospital but don't interrogate them yet. I'll be on my way. Tell Dunham to drive Bishop to the lab. The two of them should pick up Walter Bishop and bring him to hospital too.
Charlie hesitated for a moment.
-Sir…
-What is it? Speak to me.
-Agents Bishop and Dunham are nowhere to be found.
-What are you talking about?-Broyles's normally calm, composed deep voice sounded extremely surprised.
-They aren't in the group and their phones have been switched off-he swallowed before pronouncing the following words. –From where I'm standing, it looks like I have every reason to suspect that… They might have been kidnapped as well. They disappeared in the middle of the woods and… The kidnapper might have gotten hold of them.
There was a long pause on the other end on the line. After some time, Broyles spoke again:
-Have Junior Agent Astrid Farnsworth bring Walter Bishop to hospital then. From this moment on, finding Dunham and Bishop, as well as gathering as much information as possible about the case is our top priority. We shall be focusing on these kidnappings in entirety.
-Understood-Charlie's concerned face lit up a bit but then he frowned again. –But Sir… Senior Agent Harris has clearly stated that he also wants us on another serial killing case in Chicago.
-Screw him-Broyles concluded, finally hanging up and Charlie smiled on the other end of the line.
-My thoughts exactly.
PETER groaned and clutched his head in his hands. It hurt like hell. Tiny stars were dancing in front of his eyes.
He vaguely remembered the floor boards opening below him and Olivia and then… The two of them screaming, incessantly falling down the narrow pipe-like hole, similar to the rabbit hole into which Alice had fallen one sunny morning; the one that took her to Wonderland.
If I had to take a pick, I would say that this particular hole is more similar to the one from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". And that is a bad thing. I just hope there isn't a basilisk around here lying in wait, with an empty stomach.
The air around him smelled surprisingly well, in comparison to how many meters under ground they must have been. His survival instinct kicked in and he firstly looked around but to no avail. Peter was like a blind man in the darkness. He couldn't see and let alone hear a damned thing. He reached for his pocket, trying and then succeeding in finding his cell phone. No network coverage. Of course.
The dim light from the mobile phone screen somewhat illuminated the space around him. The place looked like an man-made tall underground cave. Peter gasped after having seen Olivia lying on the ground several meters away with her eyes closed.
He started towards her and then he felt a searing pain in his right ankle. It seemed sprained. Thick red liquid was running down his cheeks from his forehead and Peter knew it was blood. He moaned and knelt on all fours, feeling weak and distracted by pain, but nevertheless, he started crawling towards her, with a horrible fear of loss nested in his chest.
-Dunham…-he whispered gently, and his voice reverberated in the cave, startling him.
She didn't move.
-Olivia… Oh, come on, Olivia, please-his plead became more urgent as Peter reached her and took her head gently into his hands, placing it on his lap and rocking it soothingly.
-Liv… Come on Liv… Wake up… Open those eyes on me… You survived a magical man baby, a can of space soup, hypnotizing Christmas lights, weird electricity controlling guy and now you are going to be taken down with just one fall down the rabbit hole? Come on, Dunham…
He placed his head on her chest and listened. Her heart was ticking, but ever so slowly. Panic enveloped his mind and he would have shouted if he didn't know better. Whoever made them fall in here is the unsub. The person who, as a cruel, astute spider, created a trap for the two unaware flies. Peter wondered if the unsub captured the other victims in the same way. He knew they both had to stay low and he opted for quietness and caution.
On the other hand, he needed for Olivia to wake up. Overwhelmed with worry for her wellbeing, he felt like a cripple, he wasn't sure if could think of anything else but of her present state, let alone fight the unsub. Concern for Olivia was all-consuming.
Peter hurriedly checked Olivia's body for injuries next. As far as he could see, nothing was broken. There was no blood, just some minor scratches on her arms and her face.
She must have fallen on top of me and thus managed to avoid serious injuries. That was for the best, actually, seeing how she still hasn't recovered enough from her last week's abduction.
He gently lifted the hem of her stained white shirt and lit her abdomen with his cell phone. Her soft milky skin shone in the darkness and he blushed dumbly, having caught himself staring. It was neither time nor place for such thoughts. There were some bruises on her stomach and his mouth stiffened in regret.
I don't want her to get through this all over again. I hope we can get out of here and… Just… Oh, just don't let us be abducted… I can't imagine what that would do to Olivia's state of mind. Heck, she was abducted just a week ago and experimented on; she isn't ready to become a game for some sick mastermind.
Peter then checked her back and winced at having noticed the ugly round-shaped scar on her spine.
"They gave me a spinal tap. Who were they? Why would they do that? What did they want?"…
Her desperate voice reverberated in Peter's head. He hadn't recalled ever hearing her sound so desperate, except that one time she had been incredibly concerned about the abducted girls whose pituitary gland was being extracted.
Peter wondered what she would do after she woke up. Olivia obviously fainted after the fall down the tube. Maybe she even had a mild concussion. There was nothing for him to do but wait and whisper tenderly into her ear, removing the hair from her face and hoping she would regain consciousness sooner rather than later.
Quarter of an hour later or so, she groaned softly and opened her eyes, meeting his worried azure gaze. She stared at Peter for several seconds trying to realize why her head hurt and why they were sitting on the ground in the dark. Then everything came back to Olivia and she literally jumped up, frightening Peter with her sudden move.
-Dunham. Dunham, you're OK, we're OK. Just… Calm down.
She slowly sat upright, extricating herself from Peter's lap and cautiously took in her surroundings just like Peter did moments ago and just like he knew she would.
Her voice was calm and composed when she spoke next:
-We fell down the hole.
It wasn't a question, but a mere statement and Peter knew it.
-Yup. Welcome to Wonderland, Alice. In this wondrous cave grow many mushrooms… If we eat the left end, we'll become bigger. If we eat the right end, we'll become smaller… Thus sayeth the caterpillar…-he joked, trying to diffuse the tension.
She ignored him.
-How long was I out?-Olivia's tone was business like. She stood up next, swayed a bit but stayed on her feet.
-Around fifteen minutes-Peter replied calmly, as if he were giving her a report in the lab. He realized this was the easiest way for Olivia to cope with the new situation. Cold, self-distancing analysis. –I checked your body. You haven't broken anything. Some bruises on the abdomen from the fall and that is all. You appear to be perfectly fine.
-What about you?-her voice became softer when she saw Peter limp after having stood up to look her in the eyes.
-Well you know me… I'm more prone to get into trouble anyways-he managed a weak smile despite the pain he felt rip through his leg. –But I'm OK as well. Always look on the bright side of life, as Monty Pythons would say. We could have been dead by now. Many people would be killed by such a fall, even though we were partially sliding down the pipe.
-Have you found anything out about our surroundings?
-Not much. We appear to be in a tall and wide man-made underground cave. Someone dug the tunnels under the house and probably not so long ago, I would say, a month, or two ago…
-How could you possibly know that?
-I used to work as a miner in Chile couple years ago. I got to learn about different types of soil and tunnel digging. You needed an everyman on your FBI team? You're looking at him-Peter managed a feeble smile.
She lifted her eyebrow but she didn't comment on it any further.
Peter went on.
-The air is dry and good. We are several meters below the ground. There is no network coverage.
He saw Olivia bite her lip and he decided not to use the four least favorite words "I told you so" when he knew Olivia herself was crushed with guilt.
-I should have listened to you. We should have called Charlie and the back-up.
That's what I was talking about.-Peter thought.
-Look… Dunham-he whispered tiredly. –Don't torture yourself and let the bygones be bygones. We are where we are. Here we stand and… I guess what I wanna say is… Let's get outta here, boss.
She nodded thankfully but added a bit sadly in a matter of seconds.
-We're on our own.
-Yes-he confirmed reluctantly, studying her worried face. –Yes, we are. But we're gonna make it. I gotta tell you, I freaked out when I woke up. But then I saw you there lying next to me and everything was good again. I knew I would pull through if I had you by my side, Agent Dunham.
Olivia shook her head discarding his comment as a flattery but she grinned and it was enough for Peter. He smiled as well.
-Can you walk?-she asked.
-I'll do my best. My cell is a bit older than yours, so the only light it has is the light that its screen gives off.
-I have a Flashlight app on mine. I'll turn it on.
-When I renew my contract in a year or so, I'm getting an Android phone as well. I'm thinking Samsung Galaxy S, they say it'll be out in 2010.
-Good choice, I guess.
-What's yours?
-Mine's HTC Hero.
-An appropriate name-Peter grinned. –HTC Hero for a heroine Olivia Dunham. Let's go-he added hastily, seeing how Olivia rolled her eyes yet again.
-We'll proceed with the maximum caution. As far as I can see, there is just one tunnel. It has been dug out like this on purpose, I guess-Olivia stated, puzzled.
-That's not good-Peter frowned. –It means that whoever made this trap, did it so that the tunnel had only one ending. And it probably ends in a lair of the unsub.
Olivia silently agreed with his assessment.
-However, we have two advantage points. One-Maybe the unsub isn't in his "lair", as you call it, at the moment and two-I've got a gun.
-Well I guess you've got a point. We are trained FBI agents… Not some poor couple who has no idea what's going on.
-Those actually aren't our advantages-she frowned. –I am a trained FBI agent, but you aren't. Also, I have to admit I haven't got a clue what's going on either.
Peter smiled.
–Well we know that the unsub's MO is kidnapping two people of opposite sex and holding them somewhere-I'm pretty sure we're about to find out where for four days, then mutilating them and zapping them with the Debigulator, as Walter and I like to call the machine. But we don't know what did the unsub want from those people. Well, no, actually, we know one thing. The guy on the photo was Caleb Carmichael. Do you think those were his wife and a kid? That would mean he lied to you, Olivia. He told you he had no children.
-And I hope we'll never find out for ourselves what did the unsub want. I'll question Caleb Carmichael, alright; as soon as we're outta here-Olivia suddenly shuddered. –Let's move. We've been here talking for too long. We have to find the way out.
They went cautiously through the tunnel, lighting the path ahead of them. Neither of them was talking.
After maybe half an hour the tunnel started to become wider and wider and instead of the soil, they felt the hardened cement below their feet. Light shone in front of them and they instinctively covered their eyes.
Olivia turned off her cell phone and they both hesitated to move forward, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the light after having been in the semi-darkness for some time.
They sat on the concrete for a while and Peter felt Olivia's worried gaze on him.
-Peter… You're bleeding.
-I do feel kinda dizzy, now that you mentioned it.
She tore the sleeve from her shirt and handed it to him.
-Here, this'll help to stop the bleeding until we can get you to hospital. –You should have told me sooner that you were bleeding, honestly, Peter…-she shook her head.
-Thanks-he muttered, pressing the white fabric onto his forehead.
-When we exit the tunnel, I'll go first, with the gun. We'll incapacitate the unsub if he's there and then we'll find the way out. I'm guessing there is one.
-Yeah, the unsub probably doesn't get into his lair everyday by falling down the hole with a parachute-Peter smirked.
They both stood up after a short break and stepped out of the tunnel.
Strange whirring and clanking reverberated all around them. On the ceiling of the huge, clean and well-lit room, the size of a warehouse, into which they'd just stepped in, there were several strange machines which looked like huge cutting knives, and they were buzzing ominously. Giant speakerphones were placed in all four upper corners of the room.
But that wasn't what caught Peter's and Olivia's attention. In the very centre of the room there was an enormous glass dome. Inside the dome, there was… Peter fought the urge to laugh. A big… Well… Dollhouse. That was the first thing that occurred to him.
They stepped closer, Olivia looking around suspiciously and holding the gun in her hand, ready to shoot.
Up close, it looked just like a wooden house for dolls, just that it was… Big. It had no front wall either so you could see the layout of all the rooms.
A house under the cabin. How quaint-Peter chuckled inwardly.
There was a small lawn in front of it with an artificial grass and a tiny swimming pool. On the first floor, there was a small beautiful kitchen and the bathroom. Upstairs-because it even had a first floor. There was a… Bedroom, but without a bed. It merely had two huge closets. All in all, it couldn't have had more than 25-30 square meters, but still. It was pretty weird that someone built something like this underground.
And for what purpose? -Peter wondered, suddenly feeling ill-at-ease. Whoever made this is fit for the looney-bin.
Suddenly, dozens of holes opened up on the ground and a strange gas started seeping from all of them at the same time. Peter barely had the time to think-chloroform… As he fell on the ground, feeling extremely tired, he thought he had heard a laugh and a pair of hands that were clapping joyously.
OLIVIA opened her eyes at the sound of the metallic, robotic voice that was coming from the tiny speakerphone in the corner of the small, dirty room in which they were now. Her head hurt and she thought she could still smell the chloroform. Her heart was beating like crazy.
The unsub has got us. I… I am kidnapped again.
Her cell was gone. Her gun and her coat as well. She felt helpless as a newborn babe, stripped of her most prized possession.
To calm herself down, Olivia started looking around warily, wondering what was going to happen to them next.
The room might have had six square meters all together, and it seemed like a pantry. A filthy pillow was on the old wooden bed, with a couple of blankets carelessly thrown over it. There were no windows. It was pitch dark. She could hear Peter breathing beside her, lying on the dusty floorboards.
-WELCOME MY NEW TOYS! WELCOME KEN! WELCOME BARBIE! I KNOW WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN TOGETHER!
Peter opened his eyes and sat upright, now puzzled, and taking in these new surroundings.He remembered the clever trick with chloroform and growled a little. What a pair of suckers we were, walking right into his lair… Now we're right where he wants us. Hang on. Did he just say: Ken and Barbie? How convenient. And he has a dollhouse. I was right, back at the lab, the unsub really is one twisted son of a bitch.
The voice boomed on.
-I AM SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE! I HAVE A DOLLHOUSE ALL PREPARED FOR YOU! THERE IS A SWIMMING POOL, A KITCHEN, A BATHROOM, AND A LOT OF STYLISH CLOTHES!OH, I JUST KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE IT HERE. WE'LL ALL BE BEST OF FRIENDS. I AM GOING TO LET YOU REST NOW. WE WILL START PLAYING A BIT LATER! WE'LL HAVE CANDLELIT DINNERS, KISSING, HOLDING HANDS, SWIMMING TOGETHER IN A POOL, PLAYING MUM AND DAD… WHAT KEN AND BARBIE NORMALLY DO!
Peter and Olivia were shaking their heads in unison, trying to process this information but the voice continued.
-NOW IF YOU DON'T PLAY NICELY I WILL BE VERY SAD-there was a childish pouty tone in that sentence. –AND WHEN I AM SAD I BREAK MY TOYS. AND IF I AM BORED THEN I REPLACE THEM WITH NEW ONES….SWEET DREAMS... I'LL WAKE YOU UP AT DINNERTIME.
-Crap-Peter swore when the voice stopped speaking. –Just… Fuck. What a psycho. He actually wants us to sleep right now? And be his boytoy and girltoy when we wake up in the evening?
Olivia was shivering, looking wildly about the room. That irrational behavior wasn't like her at all and Peter stopped his monologue in mid-sentence, deciding to go to her and try to calm her down.
Without warning, she desperately went straight for the metallic door and kicked it with all her strength.
They didn't budge. She tried time and time again, she screamed at the invisible enemy, demanding to be let out of there and simply slid down the door and onto the floor when several minutes passed.
I can't… Not like this… When I was bound… The captors… They were surrounding me… I knew what I was going against… I could talk to them, ask for help, and dissuade them from the actions they were about to take… But now… There is just this room… And I can't get out of here. I have to be passive. To wait. To do what someone else says in order to stay alive. And I was never good at following orders…
-Olivia-she felt Peter's hands on her shoulder but she shook it off. –I know what you are thinking. You are as angry and as desperate as I am. I hate it being here. I hate that we were so dumb to walk right into a trap. But we couldn't have known. I don't want to do what he says. And I know you don't want either. We were never good at obeying anyone anyway-he smirked, and Olivia looked at him, surprised that he had just said what she had been thinking all along.
-Look. We need to stay calm. To be rational. To be one step ahead of the unsub. We know he has a special dinner planned for us. So how about we really do get some sleep and guard our energy for what is coming? There is a tray on the floor… With some bread and a jug of water. Let's share it now and rest-the words that were coming out of Peter's mouth sounded incredibly logical. Those would be the same words she would be saying if she hadn't been scarred last week… If she wasn't feeling so afraid and lost. Olivia decided that for now, Peter was the more sober one of the two of them, the one who managed to adapt to the situation "in a jiffy" as he would say, and Olivia mechanically did what Peter suggested, knowing it was the right thing to do, dividing the bread loaf in two and sipping water absently. When they ate everything that was laid before them in silence, Peter laid on a dirty blanket and covered himself with another one. Olivia paced around the room for some more, and then she finally settled next to him with a deep sigh. As she was doing so, her arm unwilling brushed his and Olivia shuddered, surprised at the warmth of Peter's skin. Peter shivered as well, but for the opposite reason, having felt her cold flesh pressed against his for the moment.
-Olivia, you're freezing.
-I'm fine, Peter-her teeth chattered and she moved closer to the wall, stubbornly rejecting to face him.
-No, you're not. Come here-Peter's warm hands reached out and embraced her, cautiously and tentatively. She didn't push him away.
It was the first time they ever embraced in such a way. For Olivia, it felt awkward and soothing at the same time. For Peter, it just felt… Right. And it frightened him. Why am I feeling so… Good? Holding ice queen Olivia Dunham in my arms.
-I just... I can't sleep, I can't lay still, I can't think. Our cell phones are gone. My gun is gone. The unsub took everything. I feel like...Naked without my gun. And disoriented. I don't even know what time it is. I hate this.
-Olivia-he slapped himself across the foreahead. -My wristwatch. I slipped it in my jeans pocket-he whispered barely audibly, not sure if the unsub could listen in on them.
-So you can actually tell what time it is?
-Sure.
Olivia stared at him, impatiently and expectantly. Peter joked:
-Now how would you like to pull it out?
When he met her irritated, incredulous gaze, Peter laughed.
-I'm kidding. Just trying to difuse the tension over here.
-Well I've got news for you. It's not working. I can barely think straight as it is. The unsub mutilated and tortured the other victims after four days. So that means… We have three days left until…-she swallowed, feeling impotent.
-It's ten in the morning. I'm not sure why would an unsub make us sleep until the evening. I guess that because of all that gala dinner thingy he's got going.
-How are we going to get out of here, Peter?
-We'll think of something. Maybe they'll find us. Be positive. Imagine that we are starring on this cool television show and since we are the protagonists, we never get killed, we somehow always pull through. That's bound to make you feel better.
-Whoever is doing this... Why, why are they doing it? What do they want from us, Peter?-she was so nervous that it was driving her crazy.
Olivia felt as if she were bound again. The same bunch of old questions that she insecurely launched on Walter's and Peter's head last week after having been abducted, when Walter, amused, managed to call her question machine, popped up into her mind and started buzzing all around Olivia's brain, refusing to leave her alone. She was afraid because she didn't know what was happening, she couldn't do anything but wait and that was what Olivia Dunham hated the most.
-To show them some love, apparently. Some weird Ken and Barbie acting out. Maybe they get off on roleplay.
-Peter, I'm serious.
-So am I, even though I don't sound like that. If you ask me, we should go with the flow. That'll keep us alive longer. Remember Paul and Mary, the first two victims. They were brother and sister. They probably couldn't give our unsub what he or she or they wanted. I mean… Ken and Barbie weren't a brother and sister-he snickered against his will. -In the second case, well Trevor and Diane are out of here now, mutilated or not, or else we wouldn't be here. I can only imagine that the unsub threw them out because they didn't love each other enough. Remember their friends told us the girl broke up with him. Maybe the unsub judged the girl because she apparently didn't love the boyfriend as much as he loved her, she couldn't show him the love, or she was simply to scared or angry to take him seriously and do what he says. What the killer needs is a good display of love.
-Well we're probably doomed in that case.
-Not necessarily. I can feign I love a girl up to the point of irrecognition of difference. The unsub will see nothing but how much I adore you, love.
-I'm sure you can. But I can't.
-Don't tell me you hate me so much.
-I don't hate you Peter. But I don't love you either. We're work colleagues. I don't feel anything for you. Not like that.
-Ouch. That actually kinda hurt.
-Oh please-she rolled her eyes and snorted. –Like you care.
Peter's lips stiffened in response to her indifferent treatment.
She hurt him. She hit him hard and he hit her back the best he could, with his venomous replica.
-Well, you better pretend you worship me honey, or apparently heads are gonna roll. Or arms and legs, in this case.
-Is this funny to you?-she hissed furiously, pushing him away determinedly.
-What do you think, Olivia?-his gaze was stern and serious. –What kind of sick person do you think I am, Dunham? I know, I am well aware of the fact our lives might be on the line. But I don't want to look so fucking miserable all the time, like you do. Relax. You know what they say: It's gonna give you cancer. If you don't die of shrinking and limb chopping first. Let me make this clear for you, boss, for one last time: I am joking because that is my way to deal with this kind of situations. You know me well enough by now to know that it's true. If you don't like it, fine. But you have to admit that I am right about our lovey-dovey acting scheme. We're gonna have to give the unsub the helluva show if we're planning on staying alive. We have to play along until we can find out more about everything. And you are aware of that just as much as I am. Sweetheart-he finished his tirade icily, sardonically and tiredly rubbed his temples.
Olivia hadn't bothered to reply. She gulped heavily and stared into the cold wall, shuddering but not wanting to reach for the heat of his embrace yet again. She could hear Peter sigh deeply in the darkness as he finally desisted and moved away from her as well. Her last thoughts were of Rachel, Ella and strangely enough of Peter's warm hands as she actually managed to drift off to restless sleep, wondering what would happen with them in couple of hours.
