**Well, I know you were all dying for an update, so here's a little something to hold you over for now. But don't count on getting up from the edge of your seat just yet... Still lots more suspense to come as Reed's life is put in jeopardy.**
[Reed's POV]
I take a minute to familiarize myself with my surroundings. I don't think I've even been in this end of town before. It's worse than Bobby's neighbourhood, and I thought that was bad. Something about it just gives me the creeps. There are a couple of rundown apartment buildings, cars with busted in windows, and a homeless person on just about every corner. The piece of paper L.J. gave me didn't give an exact address, but instead just an intersection, which is where the cab driver dropped me off. So I stand on the corner, looking around nervously. Half expecting L.J. to just jump out from somewhere and grab me, but the dim lighting the streets have to offer doesn't help me to see anything useful.
"I'm impressed" I hear a distant voice call to me, and I look to my right down the pitch black alley. I can't see a thing. Finally, the flick of a lighter shows me L.J.'s grinning face as he pulls the flame closer to his mouth to light his cigarette. He takes a long drag from his cigarette and exhales slowly before pushing himself off of the wall he was leaning against and he starts strutting towards me.
"Thought you'd show up with the cavalry" he begins as he walks up to me. "Where's Daddy?" he asks, now invading my personal space as he leans closer to me.
"Look, I'm the one you want. He doesn't have anything to do with this!" I snap back at him.
"Yeah, well, you and your dad stirred up quite a bit of trouble for me" He starts off softly as he takes another drag from the cigarette and blows the smoke in my face. "Do you have any idea how much money I lost in that bust?!" He asks, now shouting as he grabs my by the shirt and pulls me back into the alley.
"I had nothing to do with that I swear!" I try and reason with him as he pushes me back into the wall of the alley. "And, he's not my dad alright?"
"You know what, save me your poor little orphan boy story, I already know it. And let's just say, for the sake of arguing, that I do in fact believe that it wasn't you who set me up; if it wasn't you then that only leaves Bobby. Who, need I remind you, is still in lock-up. So, since you're his little bitch, you get to take his place under the guillotine"
Fear instantly strikes over me and the reality of the situation begins to set in as I see two men step out from the shadows of the alley, and closer to L.J. and I.
"Reed Garrett, I'd like you to meet my associates. Associates, this little punk is Reed Garrett. Why don't you guys get to know each other?" He tells them with a grin and they both step up to either side of me and grab my arms to hold me still. I instantly start struggling to try and get out of their grasp, but to no avail. These guys are easily twice my size.
"Let me go!" is all I manage to shout as I continue to struggle in their firm grasp.
"Hey, calm down. Stop being such a baby" L.J. tells me, his voice calm again. "You know, maybe when this is all over I'll call your little girlfriend up. Show her what it's like to be with a real man"
I know he's just trying to get a rise out of me, but unfortunately for me it's working as I try to lunge towards him, but I'm just thrown back into the wall by the two men holding me.
"Hey, that's not very nice" L.J. taunts me with a grin. "Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners? Oh, that's right, I forgot. She's dead!"
Pressed against the wall and not being able to move, I spit in his face instead to show my disgust towards him. "I'll kill you!" I scream at him as he looks up at me and wipes the spit from his face.
"I'm afraid you've got that the wrong way around junior" he quickly tells me as he retaliates with a hard blow to my stomach, forcing me to fall to my knees as the wind is knocked out of me. I let out an agonizing cry of pain as I feel my insides instantly cave in. I've been knocked around before, but I've never taken a hit like this.
He gestures at his thugs to bring me to my feet again so they pull me up but I'm still slightly keeled over as I try desperately to get my breathing under control.
L.J. grabs me by hair and raises my head up to meet my eyes with his. "Now, are you going to promise to keep it down?" he asks me, and I can't stop wheezing long enough to even nod my head. He lets go of my hair and my head flops right back down.
"You're pathetic Garrett!" He snarls at me as he slaps me upside the head.
"It's too bad you didn't have a dad, he could've taught you how to fight like a man!"
"Screw you!" I manage to shout back as I raise my head to his level again; and he takes another swing at me, this time clocking me right in the face, causing blood to come flying out of my mouth as his fist connects with my jaw. My head flops right back down again and I can't describe the pain I'm feeling as my legs shake beneath me. These men are the only thing holding me upright.
"Kids..." he begins sarcastically. "They never learn. Let's go"
The men turn down the alley, pulling me along with them, my head still hanging down and my feet dragging along the ground as I desperately try to remain conscious.
"Where..." I try to talk but I'm far from capable at completing a sentence right now.
"C'mon, you didn't think I was just gonna off you right here on the street did you?"
As we reach the end of the alley there is a dark blue van waiting for us. They swing the back doors open and throw me inside. My head smacks off the metal floor of the van and I start to feel dizzy. Finally my eyes won't allow themselves to stay open any longer as I slip into unconsciousness.
[Mac's POV]
The roar of an fire truck siren flying by my apartment building jolts me awake from my sleep. I quickly sit up in my bed and rub my tired eyes. I look over at my alarm clock and see that it's only 3:00a.m. I let out a heavy sigh and lean back to rest my head against the headboard. I lie still there for a moment before pushing the covers off of myself and stepping out of bed to go get a glass of water. I know it will probably be a while, if at all, until I will be able to fall back asleep.
I shuffle my feet along down the hallway towards the kitchen and I get just past Reed's bedroom door then suddenly stop when I think I see the light still on in his room. I take a step backwards and rub my eyes once more before pushing the door open.
I quickly peer into the room and see that his bed is empty, except for all the bags of clothes that are sitting on it. Slightly confused and still groggy from being half asleep, I start to wonder if maybe he went to sleep on the couch again, before I start getting ahead of myself and jumping to any conclusions. I walk out to the living room and see that he's not there either and a state of panic instantly sets in.
"Reed!" I shout as I frantically start running through my apartment swinging open every door in a desperate search.
After I've looked absolutely everywhere I run back into his room and notice the piece of paper on his pillow. My heart is in my throat as I pick up the letter with my hand slightly shaking and I begin reading:
Dear Mac:
I just want say that I'm sorry, for everything I put you through. You had a life before I came along and I turned it all upside down. The truth is, I never asked you to do any of this and I can't let myself be a burden to you any longer. You don't owe me anything.
I'd like to get back to my life now. You might not think much of it, but at least it was mine. I don't belong here; I don't belong anywhere. So I'll handle myself as I always have, on my own.
Don't try to come looking for me, because you won't find me.
Again, I'm sorry. Sorrier than you will ever know.
Thanks for everything, I know you tried. It's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself.
-Reed.
I sink down onto the bed and I can't believe what I'm reading. I toss the note back on the bed and put my head into my hands in frustration as my brain tries to figure this all out. It can't be true. Can it? Something must be wrong... Right? I push myself up from the bed and pace his bedroom floor as various thoughts and scenarios begin running through my head. My mind is going a mile a minute and when I finally stop my pacing to try and collect myself; I end up giving in to my rage instead as I push all the clothes off of Reed's bed and onto the floor in one quick sweep, then hurling my fist into the wall.
"Damn it!" I yell as my fist connects with wall and the drywall begins crumbling on impact, creating a large hole.
I refuse to let myself believe that these feelings he's telling me are true. Not knowing what to do next, and not trusting myself much longer to refrain from completely destroying my apartment I head for my bedroom, pick up my phone, and quickly dial the only number I can think of.
[Stella's POV]
I roll over from my back onto my side and let out a small groan as I try and open my eyes wide enough to see my phone on the night stand. Who on earth is calling me at this hour?
"Bonasera" I manage to grumble into the phone, with my voice still groggy.
"Stella!" A frantic Mac on the other end answers and I quickly sit up in my bed and am fully alert. Something's wrong...
"Mac! What is it? What's wrong?"
"It's Reed. He's... he's gone Stella."
"What? Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"I mean he's not here. I woke up and found a note and... Stella please..." his voice starts to break and I know he's on the brink of falling apart.
"I'm on my way!" I quickly tell him, then hang up the phone and jump out of bed. I throw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and run to my truck as fast as my tired legs will carry me.
...
Within minutes I'm at Mac's front door and it's unlocked so I let myself in and quickly go searching for him.
I stop outside the spare bedroom and as I look inside and see him sitting on the bed with the note in one hand and holding his head with the other, I feel my heart begin to break.
"Mac..." I begin softly as I enter the room. I walk closer to him and let out a small sigh as I notice the damage to the wall. I take a seat beside him and offer a warm hand on his shoulder. He doesn't even try to look at me, instead just hands me the note to read.
I skim over the note then shake my head in disbelief. "Mac, this doesn't sound like Reed... I mean, the way things have been going between you two lately..." I start but he quickly cuts me off.
"I know, it doesn't make any sense. Something is wrong Stella, I can just feel it."
"Yeah, so can your fist apparently" I tell him with a sigh. "Let me see that." I grab his hand and pull it closer to me and notice it already starting to swell and bruise.
"I'm fine!" he snaps as he quickly pulls his hand away from me.
"Okay, I'm sorry. So, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know... I just can't shake this feeling that something isn't right. I mean he was acting strange all day today, then when I got home tonight everything was fine, and we actually bonded probably more than we ever have, now I find this note. And something about when he said 'don't bother looking for me, you won't find me' just rubbed me the wrong way. Everything in me is telling me that there's something wrong."
"I don't know what to tell you Mac..."
"Tell me that I'm not crazy and delusional, and that you believe me." He lets out softly as he finally pulls his head up to look at me; and his usually intense and determined blue eyes are now remorseful and cloudy from tears that he must have shed before I got here.
"Of course I believe you" I assure him, but I don't know what else I can say to him that will offer him any comfort. I look over to see the clothes scattered all over the floor and get up from the bed to start picking them up. Most of it is all still in bags except his outfit from earlier. I grab the light blue polo and let out a soft sigh as I begin to fold it back up. Wait a second, is that...
"Mac!" I quickly call his name and he jerks his head in my direction.
"Look!" I exclaim as I bring the shirt to him. "There's blood on the inside of this shirt!"
Mac quickly snatches the shirt from my hands and holds it up in front of him.
"I knew something wasn't right" he grumbles as he picks up the jeans Reed was wearing early and shoves both items into an empty bag.
"Let's go!" He calls to me as he starts heading out of the bedroom and into the hallway.
I chase after him and he's practically out the front door already. "Mac! Where are we going?"
"Where we go to get answers, the lab"
He throws open the door and heads for the stairwell and I follow closely behind.
We get outside and he heads towards his truck.
"I can drive if you..."
"I'm fine!" he quickly interrupts and I won't bother trying to argue with him at this point.
We climb into his truck and he tosses the siren on top of the roof and goes speeding out of the parking lot and towards the lab.
With his eyes fixed and concentrating on the road ahead of him, I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Flack: "911. Meet us at to the lab, ASAP. –Stella and Mac"
...
Mac lives further from the lab than Flack, so it's no surprise that by the time we get there he's already waiting for us as we step off the elevator and into the halls of the lab.
Mac quickly glances over at me and I offer a quick shrug "we could use all the help we can get Mac." I tell him in truth, and he finally gives me a compliant nod.
"Mac, Stella, what's going on?" Flack asks us as we approach them.
Mac doesn't answer but instead pushes through him and walks into one of the lab rooms. He's anxious to get started on processing Reed's clothes, so I take the liberty of quickly briefing Flack on what's going on.
"It's Reed... he's missing"
"Missing?!" he immediately questions.
"Well, he left a note telling Mac he was leaving, but Mac felt something seemed strange about the whole scenario, and that's when we found Reed's shirt with dried blood on it."
"Okay," Flack begins as he goes into 'detective mode'. "When was the last time anybody saw him?"
"I don't know, Mac is absolutely beside himself right now. I didn't get much out of him."
"Okay, what do we know?"
"Not much. All we have so far is this note" I tell him as I pass the note over.
He quickly scans over it and looks up at me when he's finished. "What does he mean by you won't find me?"
"I have no idea. That was the part that was bugging Mac as well."
"Well, this doesn't give us much to go on... Do we have anything else?" Flack asks me and I wish I more to tell him. Instead I just shake my head slightly.
"How 'bout an address?" I hear Mac's voice call out and I look over to see him walking towards us with a small piece of paper in his hand.
"An address?" I ask him in curiosity.
"I found this piece of paper crumpled up in the pocket of Reed's jeans" he tells us as he hands it over to Flack.
"Mac..." he begins as he reads the address. "We better hurry"
And with that we all hop into the elevator and back downstairs to the truck. Mac insists on driving again, so Flack and I comply and climb into the truck before he goes tearing out of the parking lot.
[Mac's POV]
Thankfully it's late at night, and the neighbourhood I'm headed to doesn't usually have much traffic going through it, so I race through the streets as fast as I can without risking anyone's safety. Even though it's only been a few short minutes, it feels like an eternity as we make our way to our destination. We all remain completely silent. I think they're both too nervous to say anything, afraid they might set me off; and I'm too concentrated on the road in front of me. So, we remain in silence until we finally reach the intersection that had been scribbled on the piece of paper I found.
"This is it." I tell them as I stop the truck and we all jump out with our guns drawn.
This place is dirty, smelly, and gives even me the creeps. It's hard to see much of anything so I pull out my flashlight and begin wandering around, trying to find anything that might lead me to Reed.
I begin kicking over garbage cans, looking under parked cars, and anything else I can think of to try and find at least a shred of evidence that Reed might have been here earlier. So far, nothing.
"Mac!" I hear Stella's voice call me and I look over to see her crouched down in an alley way with her flashlight glowing. I quickly run to her side to see what she's found, but when I do my stomach instantly begins to turn.
"Blood" I respond as I crouch down beside her and take a swab out of my pocket to collect a sample.
"There's not a lot Mac, don't start thinking the worst." She tries to comfort me, but truthfully it doesn't make me feel any better.
I shine my flashlight around some more in the alley to see if I can find anything else of use, when I spot a cigarette butt that looks somewhat fresh a couple feet away from the blood drops.
"Reed doesn't smoke." I tell Stella as I walk over and crouch down to pick it up with my gloved hand. I carefully place it in an evidence bag and we continue in our search for clues down the dark alley.
"You guys find anything?" We hear Flacks voice call to us and look up to see him beginning to walk towards us.
"Some blood drops and a cigarette butt" Stella tells him as I go back to my desperate search.
"Tried talking to a couple of the vagrants I came across" he begins, referring to the homeless people dwelling on the nearby streets. "But the ones that were actually sober enough to wake up long enough to talk to me claim to have seen and heard nothing."
"Figures" Stella replies in frustration.
As I near the exiting end of the alley I notice some tire tracks that look fresh.
"I need my camera" I shout to no one in particular and Flack quickly runs to my truck to retrieve it for me.
When he returns I quickly start snapping photos of the tire marks, then head back up to the front of the alley way to take pictures of the blood drops we found earlier.
We take some more time to finish processing the rest of the alley, but unfortunately don't find much else that looks out of place.
With the sun now starting to rise I decide it's time to take whatever we have back to the lab to hopefully find some more answers.
"Okay, let's pack it in and get back to the lab. Stella, get in touch with the others and have them meet us there" I tell her and she nods in agreement as she pulls out her phone.
We head back to the truck and this time I let Flack drive. I crawl into the backseat to offer Stella the front, but instead she climbs in right beside me, and Flack starts driving towards the lab.
"We'll find something Mac" she assures me as she grabs onto my hand and gently squeezes it.
"I hope you're right" I tell her with a soft sigh. "I have to find him Stella, I have to..."
She offers a comforting hand on my shoulder as she pulls me closer to her so my head rests on her shoulder and she begins pushing her fingers through my hair. Normally I would never allow myself to be this vulnerable with someone, but given the emotional hell I'm going through right now, and the fact that she is my closest friend I just comply and close my eyes and allow her to offer all the comfort she can. I'm sure Flack notices, but he doesn't say a word. Besides, I don't think I could care less at this point.
It's strange to think that in about a week Reed has completely changed my life, but it's the absolute truth, and I know I wouldn't want to go back to a life without him in it.
Again, the ride back to the lab is one of complete silence as I take these few minutes to collect myself and my thoughts. Now is not the time for me to start flying off the handle again, I tell myself. I need to pull myself together and concentrate on doing what I do best if I ever want to find Reed.
...And I will. I have to...
**Sorry, that's all you're getting out of me for now. And don't worry, we haven't heard the last from Reed. He'll be back with some play-by-play in the next chapter so stay tuned for another update soon!
And keep those reviews coming, they get me revved up for writing updates!!**