Disclaimer: I own nothing involved with the television series "Lie to Me" and I won't pretend to.
Author's Note: *sigh*... This was a somewhat difficult chapter to write, not to mention I wrote it by hand while I was babysitting... Have mercy if it isn't any good! . But, I do hope you enjoy it. :) Happy Holidays (for, like, the third time. XD)!
8. Smiling Luck
Ria glanced around searchingly as she drove past the intersection indicated on the receipt. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she hoped that she'd know when she saw it. Not that she could see much, as her windshield wipers were moving as fast as possible, but rain still poured over the glass surface. Plus, it was starting to get dark outside. Her squinting eyes caught on a peculiar color and she slowed to get a better look at the vehicle: orange with rust creeping up on the metal. It certainly was a sight, but it was probably no more than a warehouse worker's junk on wheels. Ria exhaled a disappointed breath. Besides the car, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was time for another call to Josh. She pulled up to the side of the empty road, retrieving her phone from the cup holder beside her.
Ria had brought Josh's number with her, just in case, but she didn't actually think she'd use it. She glanced at the numbers on the paper, using the overhead light for assistance, and pressed the various buttons on her phone. It started ringing even before she pressed the device to her ear.
"Hello?" Josh answered, sounding as if he was trying to perk up his weary voice.
"Hey, Josh, this is Ria Torres again." Ria mumbled apologetically, staring out at the darkening sky and buckets of rain.
"Any news?" he inquired eagerly, and she could tell he was holding his breath.
"Actually, Eli has...He's gone missing." she replied, wishing she didn't have to tell him. There was a pause as Josh quietly lamented the new condition of his friend and Torres mourned being the deliverer of ill news. "But..." She hesitated, hoping her next request wasn't too much for Eli's grieving ex-roommate. "Is there anything else you can tell me? Did he mention anything about meeting someone somewhere? At an intersection, maybe?" she asked, praying for new info.
"No, he never mentioned an intersection or meeting anybody." Josh confessed solemnly, heaving a sorrowful sigh. "He didn't say too much about anything, to tell you the truth. He asked me a few times if the cops had found my car yet, but he seemed relieved when I told him 'no.' It's ridiculous, really; it's not like it's difficult to spot. For Pete's sake, it's an old, orange crap car! They should've—"
"Wait, did you just say it was an old, orange car?" Ria questioned anxiously, her breath catching.
"Yeah, as old as any orange car can come." Josh explained. "Why?" Ria almost wanted to laugh with glee at her success and pulled a U-turn as soon as she could get her hand firmly on the wheel. She had to head back to the outrageously-colored vehicle.
"I think Eli knew where your car was."
"What's taking Torres?" Cal growled impatiently. He was repeatedly watching his interrogation tapes of Loker in hopes of catching a look, a word, or an action that meant something. But, all he could get was that Loker's mind was in a panicked jumble and his emotions were in painful knots. Gillian was observing the clips with him at his request, but she doubted she'd be able to catch whatever snuck past Cal. She was too emotionally compromised to perform at her best, and her best was what it took to catch up to Cal's worst. Not that she was horribly bad, she liked to fancy herself as rather talented in recognizing signs of lying and reading human behavior; it was just that Cal was that good.
"Maybe she's doing a thorough search of Eli's apartment." she replied, wincing at the thought of having to invade Eli's ultimate personal space.
"I need something else to work with." Cal whined. "We need something else..." He sighed and pushed his hands in his pockets. This was getting too hard to follow Loker's trail; the footsteps were disappearing.
As if it were an answer to a silent prayer, Cal's phone rang with 'Ria Torres' flashing across the screen.
"What've you got, Torres?" he answered, his brow furrowed with seriousness.
"I've found the jackpot." she replied.
Ria was well-pleased with her findings. Lightman had seemed to be as well, despite his bored drawl. She'd called Reynolds before her own boss so he could come investigate with her. Now, she was waiting for the agent in her car, gazing at the glassy waterfall of rain on her windshield. Man, was it pouring! Probably one of the worse storms she'd ever seen. There was even the occasional lightning and thunder to dramatize the downpour.
A familiar black SUV pulled up beside her car, being none other than Ben Reynolds himself. She snatched the umbrella that sat in the passenger's seat and opened her door to stretch open the waterproof fabric and metal frame. Swiftly, she left the warmth and dryness of her vehicle, with the rain-resistant contraption overhead, just as Ben jogged towards her with his own umbrella.
"What's the big news, Torres?" he shouted over the heavy splashing of rain in growing puddles.
"I think Eli was looking for his friend's car, but found more to it." she replied loudly as they headed towards the abandoned automobile.
"Then, why would he investigate by himself?" Ben questioned, puzzled. Ria paused in thought.
"I'm still figuring that out." she confessed. They stared at the peeling orange paint with a sigh, contemplating what they look at first. There was a sudden sound of a kick against metal, making their heads snap in the direction of the noise. Two men were beginning to emerge from the warehouse with a bucket clutched in the leaner man's hand, but both stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of Ria and Ben.
"Don't move!" Ben ordered, dropping his umbrella and whipping his gun from its holster. The chubby fellow immediately raised his hands in surrender while the tall one merely stiffened. Ben slowly moved closer, trying to get a better look at them all the while.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, keeping his gun steady. He wasn't close enough to see their faces clearly, as it was dark and the only light to go by was mounted on the warehouse wall behind the men. When they didn't answer Ben's question, the agent was peeved.
"Turn around...slowly!" Reynolds commanded. As they twisted around, the light hit their faces, causing Ben's eyes to grow wide with recognition.
They were the men that kidnapped Eli.
Eli struggled to pull himself up on the grate. His muscles twitched with the effort, but it was necessary; the water was still rising, and if he continued to sit, he would most assuredly be stuck under the rushing water. To add, he had to grip onto the grate just to keep himself from steadily being pulled away and forcing the handcuff to bite its way deeper into his skin. He couldn't stand up straight, which made the strain on his muscles worse, but it was better than risk being drowned. Eli grimaced as the bruises throbbed on his body and his chest pained dully with each breath.
Was he going to die in this tunnel?
"Tell me where Eli Loker is." Cal demanded, leaning on the metal table as he stared at his subject: a tall man wearing a dark expression. His name was Kenneth Finster, and he had a pretty sizable rap sheet. He was silent too, which made it hard to really get anything out of him; not to mention his constant blank stare that made it difficult to read him.
"Tell me where he is!" Lightman shouted, fed up with repeating himself for the millionth time. Mr. Finster smirked evilly, inciting true fury within Cal. He stood up straight and clenched his fists to try and calm the rage tingling at his fingers. He twisted to look at the one way glass, his eyebrows stitched together in frustration.
"We're getting nowhere with him." he told his team on the other side, who nodded in agreement, despite the fact that Dr. Lightman couldn't see them. Abruptly, Cal left the main interrogation room, heading to his office to cool his head. This whole ordeal had him on a short fuse and his stressed mind was easily agitated and jumbled from his irritation.
Back in the analysis room, the team shrugged as they looked at each other inquiringly.
"I'll get the other guy; he seemed a little more willing to talk." Reynolds sighed as he headed out of the room. Ria slumped in her chair and stared at Loker's desk sadly. He should be there. He should be frustrated with the rest of them. Hopefully, they hadn't left him somewhere in the rain; he'd probably develop hypothermia.
He's was probably in a dry room, at least. Ria could find comfort in that thought.
There was virtually no part of Eli that could avoid the treacheries of the freezing rain water. All that could save themselves from the icy liquid was his one hand, gripped to the higher part of the grate, and his head. He was trying to pull his upper body higher, but his handcuffed hand prevented the attempt. Eli didn't know the metal ring was digging into his wrist more, since his body was numb from cold, and he didn't care. He was trying to keep himself from drowning and cursed his captors for having so cruelly trapped him in a very dangerous position. Eli had originally thought they were supposed to keep him alive for their boss, but not that his circumstances were worsening up to the point of probable death, he denied such an idea. If only the taller of the two had hooked the handcuff to a higher bar of the grate, Eli supposed he would have quite a bit more time to contemplate his death.
He was going to die...
He was terrified...
And there was nothing he could do.
All that was left for him to fill his time was to watch the water rise and leave his lungs stinging as he thought about how they would be filled with water in his near future. How would his team take it once they found his dead body? Would they find his body? Would they even miss him? Sure, Lightman could sometimes seem a little uncaring and Torres might not have the patience required for him...not to mention Reynolds's looks of distaste, but they would miss him. Yeah, they totally would. Eli forced his thoughts away from how painfully awful his demise would be. Josh would miss him, right? And Evin and Dave... How was heaven? Would he go to heaven? Oh, he prayed he would. If hell was anything like what he was experiencing now, he definitely opted for the pearly gates. Hopefully he wouldn't end up as some ghost that had to roam around aimlessly. Although, if he could haunt people, that would be well in his favor.
The water rushed past him, now starting to tickle his raised chin.
Help.
"Look, I don't know anything!" protested the fat man, known as a Mr. Collin Peppers.
"You're lyin' to me! Tell me the truth!" Cal commanded, now on the edge of his emotions. It had been a long day, but it had felt like an entire month of worry and fear.
"I-I-I don't know!" Peppers repeated, shrugging and pulling his limbs in tighter.
"You're a lousy liar." Cal commented, his voice calmer as he shook his head. "Where is Eli Loker?"
"I told you: I don't know anything!" the culprit denied.
"Alright, then I guess you won't mind going to prison." Cal mumbled, putting his hands in his pockets casually. He knew Peppers was frightened and nervous, and he would use it to his advantage.
"You can't do that! You don't have any proof I did anything!" Peppers yelled, a small smile tugging at his lips from his own realization.
"Well, we'll see what Mandy Casey has to say about it." Cal said, looking intently into his subject's eyes. Peppers' face fell, sweat beading on his face. "She's just waitin' in our lobby. Her story's gonna be a li'l different from yours, isn't it?" Cal paused for dramatic effect and turned his body partly around. "Well, you had your chance. Good luck, Mr. Peppers." He started to walk away, mentally counting down in his head. It was only a matter of time before...
"Wait!" Peppers called after him. "I-I'll tell you where your guy is! Just...just cut some of my jail time!" Cal turned, determination set on his guise.
"Where is he?"
Author's Note: I hope that was pretty good. :) Leave me some reviews? :D Please and thank you!
