Here is a new chapter, I hope you'll like it
Chapter 10
Danny got out of the bullpen to meet the Buckley's, Kate's parents. He had a shock when he saw them given that they seemed to have aged 10 years. He quickened his pace and headed towards them. David Buckley shook his hand vigorously as he used to do and his wife embraced him, her eyes misted with tears.
"Tell me she isn't hurt, tell me she's ok" she told him.
"We don't have much information right now but...she's unhurt and..."
"But what happened? Who detains my daughter? Was a ransom asked for?" she said hysterically.
Danny looked at Kate's father, his eyebrows frowned. Evy Buckley wasn't ready to hear the truth in that state. Who was really ready? It was too cruel. David tilted her chin up with one finger and looked tenderly at her.
"Look darling, I'm gonna talk to Danny", he turned his head to him, "Is there a place for her to rest?"
"Yeah sure, we have a break room" Danny replied.
"I'm taking her there" Jack said, behind Danny. He then took Evy Buckley to the break room as David stared at Danny.
"Now tell me what's happening"
"It's my fault" Danny replied with downcast eyes.
"What do you mean?" David frowned.
"A man abducted Kate to hurt me"
"What? Why? Who did this? What does he mean to do with Kate?"
"I don't know who he is and I don't know what he holds against me. He calls himself Frank and I have to do something for him, or else..."
"Or else?" Kate's father raised his voice.
Danny didn't answer but David understood what was hiding behind his silence.
"Oh my God"
"We do our best to find her, believe me..."
"Why don't you do what he demands?"
"It's not that easy..." Danny looked down.
"Course it's easy! If you really cared about my daughter, you'd do anything to bring her back to you!"
"How can you say that?" Danny said almost shouting, "I care about her more than anything, I'd give my life to get her out of it but I can't do what he demands, I can't..."
"What does he want you to do?" David asked more softly this time.
"I have to kill someone" Danny clenched his jaw.
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
Frank got out of his apartment, a smile on his lips. He greeted his neighbor kindly and she did the same. Her hands were shaking due to the excitement and he came hurtling down the stairs to get out of the building. His plan was going perfectly, even better than that. He sat down in his car, trying to calm down, the cruel smile played over his face since a short while ago having not disappeared.
"You will know what it is to suffer, Danny!" he laughed spitefully.
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
1:30 p.m.
Vivian had reached the building Danny and Kate lived in and had started interviewing the neighbors but she had heard nothing useful so far. She knocked at the door in front of her, hoping she would be luckier this time. As for Martin, he was questioning Kate's colleagues while Sam was trying to find some clues at her former apartment. They all worried about Danny and tried not to think about the worst-case scenario. They knew that the more time went by, the more stressed their friend should feel.
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
Danny sat down on his chair, sighing heavily. He closed his eyes for a while trying to regain his composure. He needed a drink if only to be able to cope. He was repelled by the thought but he couldn't help it. It would be easier with a drink, he could forget everything and feel a little less powerless, a little less guitly...
"Are you ok, Danny?"
Danny opened his eyes and his black thoughts disappeared from his head, at least for a moment but he knew they'd come back soon.
"I'm fine, I-I was just taking a moment to..."
"Yeah" Jack said handing him a sandwich, "this is for you, it's almost appetizing"
"I'm not hungry" Danny shook his head.
"Maybe but you will eat it all the same. You haven't slept or eaten for hours and I don't want you to pass out" Jack replied gently but severely.
Danny nodded, resigning himself. He took the sandwich put in front of him and forced himself to eat it even if he had a lump in his throat. At first he thought he was going to throw up but he managed to finish it off. He smiled faintly, seeing Jack take care of him. He was lucky to have him by his side, he would've been unable to confront this all alone.
Jack watched him eating silently, his brown eyes staring into space. It's Danny, he'll be Ok...How many times has he heard this sentence, he couldn't tell. So far it has been true, Danny seemed to be able to bear everything. Jack counted a lot on his young agent, his colleagues as well. But the Danny who was sat in front of him was another man, a man with weaknesses, weaknesses that Jack had always wanted to ignore and that Danny had never wanted to show. Now he had to be strong for him.
"The Buckley's look like good people" he told Danny.
"Yeah they are and they're loving parents" he replied lifting his eyes up to him.
He then looked down at the ground and sighed sadly.
"They're blaming me, Jack" he said.
"But what are you talkin' about?"
"I know what they think and I understand them. Kate would be safe now if she wasn't my girlfriend. I bring bad luck to people I love: my parents died, Rafi keeps getting into trouble, Martin got shot and now Kate..."
"Hey Danny, get a grip, I don't want you to think like that, you understand me?" Jack replied almost shouting, "This is not your fault!"
"I should have seen it coming, I should've seen we were watched, I should've persuaded Kate to take another way home..."
"This way of thinking leads nowhere"
"I need to get out of here, I need to look for her, I'm going crazy sitting here and waiting. I really realize now what it is to be...on the other side"
"I know, I know..." Jack whispered.
"Tell me we're gonna find her, it doesn't matter if you lie to me but I need to hear it"
"We're gonna find her and everything will be fine"
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
2:00 p.m.
Frank walked out of the shop, his arms full of bags. He put them on the backseat with a satisfied look on his face. He didn't need what he had bought but he wanted them, he wanted to enjoy these two days completely. He settled down behind the wheel and switched on the ignition. He had to get in touch with Danny now, so he drove randomly around the city and eventually found what he was looking for.
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
Sam came back to the office, followed by Vivian. When they entered the bullpen, Danny lifted his eyes towards them, hoping they'd bring good news.
"So?" he asked.
"On my side, not much" Vivian spoke "One of you neighbors thinks she was abducted by the aliens, but..."
"Arnold?" Danny managed to smile.
"Yeah, that's him. I also talked to your neighbor upstairs who feels like she had been followed for the past two months but she couldn't be more precise. I'm sorry, I haven't heard anything else."
"Sam?" Jack asked the blond woman.
"I..."
She was cut off by the ringing of Danny's phone.
"This is not the reception calling this time" Danny said.
"Wait two seconds before answering" Jack told him.
He made a sign to an agent to trace the call.
"Make him talk as long as possible" Jack told Danny.
"Jack, I know"
"Yeah sure"
Danny took a deep breath, picked up the handset and pushed the speaker button on, so the others could hear the whole conversation.
"Frank" Danny said coldly.
"What a pity! I didn't even manage to create a surprise" Frank laughed.
"What do you want?"
"You know what I want, I want you to kill Victor Fitzgerald but till then, I have a question for you."
"What question?"
"Do you know what is the date?" he asked, "the time, I'm sure you know it" he added laughing.
"We're the 19th of December" Danny gritted his teeth.
"Have you thought about Christmas presents yet?"
"What?"
"Christmas presents, it's more than time, you know. You should see the long queues at check-outs, it's crazy. What are you going to buy Kate? The ideal thing would be an item you could have refunded in case...she dies."
Vivian put a hand on Danny's arm, seeing he was losing his cool. He took several seconds before answering.
"Danny?"
"You're calling to talk shop?" Danny eventually replied.
"Not really. I have something important to tell you"
"I wanna talk to Kate first"
"Not now, I'm sorry" Frank replied.
The agent made a sign to Jack to tell him Frank had be located. Jack stood up and whispered to Danny to keep him on the phone.
"What proves me she's still alive?" Danny asked.
"Nothing but she is, trust me. I'll put her through in some hours, don't be so anxious. You really need to relax, you know. Why not having a drink? Oooh sorry I forgot, you can't. By the way, don't forget your AA meeting tonight"
Danny clunched the handset with rage.
"What did I do to you Frank?"
"You'll know soon. Let's get back to the subject. I wanted to tell you that I took the liberty of looking in Kate's purse, I'm sure she'll forgive me. It's incredible what you can find in a purse"
"What are you getting at?" Danny asked, exasperated.
"Have you noticed some changes in Kate lately?"
"What kind of changes?" Danny frowned.
"Morning nausea, blackouts..."
"Oh my God!"
"Yeah, that's what I told myself when I found the pregnancy test. You know, maybe she's not pregant but right now, she thinks she is. The poor girl..."
"I..I.." Danny stammered shocked by the news.
"I know what you feel, really. Look, I've certainly been located so I'm gonna end this conversation here. Congratulations, Daddy"
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
Three days beforehand...
Kate yawned trying her best to keep her eyes open. Lying on the couch, she was watching an interesting show, nevertheless she didn't manage to focus on it. She had been feeling an utter tiredness since the morning and it hadn't got better hours passing by.
"wow but what's happening to me?" she yawned one more time.
Suddenly she heard the door being opened and she stood up quickly, too much quickly because she got dizzy turns. However, as she didn't want Danny to be worried, she took a deep breath and regained her balance. She headed towards the door and smiled when she saw Danny's face hidden by a huge bunch of flowers.
"Are they for me?" she asked.
Danny tilted his head to look at her and smirked.
"No, actually, they were for Martin but he doesn't like roses, he prefers lilies, so as I hate wasting, I told myself I could gave them to you."
"For what occasion?" she laughed.
"yeah well, I was on the way home when I realized how lucky I was to live with you. I'd like to thank you for sharing my life, for being you and making me better.
Kate stood speechless for a few seconds. She didn't expect such a declaration. Danny showed her everyday that he loved her but he had difficulty expressing his feelings with words.
"Woww, thanks...I love you Danny"
"I love you" he kissed her gently.
She put a hand on neck and deepened the kiss. After a while they finally broke apart.
"How was your day?" she asked.
"Good, funny. An old lady was missing and it turned out she had spent two romantic days at her new boyfriend's apartment." He smiled.
"How old?"
"69 years old"
"mmh mmh 69?" she laughed,"It was the perfect age to do that"
He laughed back, watching her putting the roses into a vase. He found her beautiful even if she looked really tired.
"Are you hungry? There are leftovers in the fridge."
"No, thanks I'm fine, I ate a sandwich at the office"he replied and then stepped towards the TV, "what were you watching?"
"..."
"Kate?"
Getting no answer, he turned around, worried.
"Hey baby, are you ok?"
"Danny..." she whispered.
"Kate!!!"
Danny rushed towards her as she collapsed. She fell in his arms and he took her to the couch. He put a cushion behind his head and raised his legs while saying her name.
"Kate, do you hear me? Kate?"
He patted his cheek and her eyes eventually fluttered open. While stroking her cheek, he spoke to her softly, trying to reassure her as she was coming to little by little.
"What happened?" she asked.
"you've fainted honey, don't move, I'll take you a glass of water" he kissed her forehead.
He came back a few seconds later with the glass and a candy bar.
"Here you are" he said handing her the candy bar, "that will put a bit of sugar in your blood, you're so pale"
"I'm fine, don't worry"
"I'm gonna call a doctor"
"There's no need to call a doctor, Danny. I'm a bit tired and I haven't eaten much, that's all. I'm fine, really"
She then tried to get up but Danny put two strong hands on her shoulders.
"No way you're gonna stand up. I will carry you to our room"
"But..."
"No buts" Danny looked deeply at her.
"ok" she resigned herself.
Danny lifted her up off the couch, carried her to the bedroom and put her delicately on the bed.
"we should really call a doctor" Danny said worried.
"For drop in blood pressure? Look, I've worked a lot lately and with the moving in, I got tired, that's all. I don't want you to worry, besides I'm a lot better. I could go jogging or..." she looked at him with lustful eyes.
"I think you should rest" Danny said seriously.
"I don't feel like resting" she bit her bottom lip.
She took his hand, making him lean over and then kissed him passionately.
"And then you'll say that I'm insatiable" Danny smiled.
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
2:17 p.m.
"He called from a pay phone, 127th and Davis" Jack turned his head to Danny, "I sent a team over there, Danny? Danny?"
Danny didn't answer. His head slightly tilted, he was staring at the phone with empty eyes.
"Danny!"
"Ehm, yeah, we need to go over there" Danny said looking at Jack.
"I've already sent a team and..."
"Whatever, I need to go over there. Maybe he left something for me, maybe he's still there to see if I'd come, anyways I need to get out of here" Danny cut him off.
"Ok, come with me" Jack said.
They went out of the Federal Plaza and headed towards Jack's car. Neither of both said a word as they were driving. Jack wished he could say something reassuring, something that could give him new hope but he knew for a fact that his words would have rung false.
Danny was looking through the window playing nervously with his hands. Jack then decided to break the silence, even if he knew that making Danny talk wasn't an easy task.
"Aren't you too cold? Do you want me to increase the heater?"
"Yeah, please, thanks" Danny whispered.
"You need to..." Jack began but Danny cut him off.
"I know, I need to keep faith and not to give up but I can't think rationally, I feel like I've been knocked out..."
"I understand, this is a normal reaction given the circumstances. The woman you love is in danger and you're reacting like anybody..."
"I can't react like anybody" Danny said angry with himself, "I feel so...useless"
"I know, but you're not and don't forget you're also a victim" Jack replied and then became quiet for a moment before broaching another subject, "Do you think Kate may be pregnant?"
Danny looked down.
"Yes, that may be. She's had dizzy spells and nausea for the last days, she even passed out three days ago. I've never thought that..." he held back a sob, "I should be wild with joy and on the contrary, I feel like I'm living a nightmare"
"That won't help you a lot, but I know what you feel"
"Yeah I forgot, you lived the same situation. By the way, how is Anne?"
"I don't really know, good I hope, we haven't talked much since the miscarriage" Jack clenched his jaw.
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
Kate sat down calmly and picked up again the magazine she had read three hours beforehand. The cover showed a happy woman with a round tummy and title said: A baby, a change for life´. She shook her head, wondering if she was pregnant. She felt tears welled up in her eyes but she held them back, she didn't want her kidnapper to see her cry. It was far from being the best moment to have a baby. She was unmarried and had just moved in at Danny's place. She didn't know either if he wanted children, they had barely talked about this.
"I need to get out of here before thinking about that" she told herself.
She put the magazine back down and stood up. Imitating Frank's sugary tone, she spoke to him, looking deeply at the camera.
"Frank, would you be so kind as to bring me something to drink and, if you don't mind of course, I would also like a snack... Frank, I'm sure you're listening to me... Frank? I'm dissapointed, you're breaking all the rules of hospitality. I won't come back next time, be warned..."
Getting no answer, she shrugged and sat down cross-legged against the wall, with a nasty look on her face. She absolutely didn't want to show him she was scared, he would've been too happy.
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
Jack and Danny arrived at the phone booth that, of course, had been deserted. They got out of the car and Danny looked all around him.
"I'm sure he's here Jack, he's certainly watching me from a corner, like a perv" he said.
"Do you reckon he'd take the risk?"
"Oh yeah, just to see the look on my face, he wants to see me suffer"
Two agent came up to Jack and the elder one spoke.
"Agent Malone? We went round the area, but we don't really know who we must looking for. We don't even have a description of the suspect"
"Are there any streets surveillance cameras?" he asked.
"Nope, this area seems to be lacking in them"
"Yeah, he found the right place" Jack sighed.
"Will we take fingerprints?" the younger agent asked.
"No, that will be useless, he's too clever to leave his fingerprints on the phone." Jack replied and then stepped towards Danny, who stood in front of the phone booth.
"Something interesting?" he put his hand on Danny's bacK.
"He left me a souvenir" Danny laughed with rage.
He handed him some pictures of Kate. Below one of them, three sentences had been written down in capital letters.
What day is it?
And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
"It's a song from Lifehouse, one of Kate's favorite bands" he clenched his fists, "I will find him Jack and he's gonna pay!"
Jack gasped. He knew Danny could get hot sometimes, but he had never seen so much hatred in his eyes.
2:46