Reviews help Laurie escape...ok so maybe they do maybe they don't, but they sure make me happy!

Chapter 9: Humanity

The young girl was as Mr. Lawson had described her but far worse than the two imagined. Her skin was ghostly pale, even though all you could see was her face and hands. The rest was covered by dark layers of mismatched clothing. The dark circles underneath her eyes seemed to spread across her cheeks and she barely appeared to be awake. Her hair was certainly blonde, but it remained disheveled and knotted. She leaned back in the chair across from the principal's desk as if she was accustomed to it. Crossing her arms and bringing them up high on her chest, she glanced up at the two agents with shaky eyes. This was where humanity set in; the part of their job where their hearts still cared and were not yet turned to callous and solid stone over the years. It was what they saw in this girl's gaze that made them so determined to do this case instead of simply accept the easiest answer as the local police had retired to doing. That young girl had most likely experienced more than most women twice her age. Still, the years of maturing understanding could not mask the look of a frightened child that hid deep within her pupils.

"Nicole, these two are going to ask you some questions," the principal spoke commandingly, "and you're going to answer all of them truthfully."

Nicole simply shrugged wordlessly, her eyes averting direct contact.

"Nicole," Emily leaned forward, her tone remarkably softer than before, "you were friends with Laurie Bridges weren't you?"

She received an affirmative nod but nothing more.

"Nicole, when was the last time you saw Laurie?"

Again, there was no verbal response granted.

"Nicole, you can talk to us. We only want to help Laurie. Don't you want to help Laurie?"

"Of course I –", she shouted in a weak voice, "she – I –"her eyes became glossy and she turned her head away.

Nicole's body sunk lower into the seat and she pushed her sleeves up, rolling her shoulders and fidgeting with a few strands of hair. Anything to avoid the agent's questions.

"You're the youngest aren't you? In your group of friends, you're the youngest. Laurie took care of you in a way the others wouldn't. She protected you."

Emily made eye contact with her partner as Morgan nodded at the girl's arm.

"When did you start using heavier drugs?" Emily asked gently. "Was it when she changed schools? When she disappeared? We just want to get her back. We just want her to be safe. I think you do too. I also think you can help us do that, but you have to talk to us. When was the last time you saw Laurie?"

"A few days before she went missing," the girl whispered. "When I, when I use, it's different. I can fit in. Laurie, she, she wanted me to stop. She would still come to see me, you know, after she changed schools, just me." Her dark and far away eyes seemed to almost light up at the statement and she sat up in her seat slightly. "But, I, I couldn't stand the headaches anymore," she sighed, slumping back down. "I went back and got more, and she found me with him."

"With him?" Emily pressed.

"Our guy, our dealer. We had a fight. I was messed up, not myself." As she spoke, the memory played in the front of her mind as if on a film reel. She couldn't help but relive the moment.

"Just stay away from me!"

"Nikki, please, just come with me. You don't have to do this. Believe me, I know how hard it is –"

"You don't know anything Laurie!" Nicole barely recognized her own raised voice as she never had yelled at Laurie, much less anyone else. "You left us. You left me. How could you do that? You were my friend."

"And I still am. I still see you, still talk to you, and I still want to help you."

"It's not the same, and you know it. Where were you last week when my dad –" she cut herself off, turning away.

"What is it? What did he do to you this time?"

"It doesn't matter. Not anymore. All that matters is that you weren't there! Just leave me alone."

"Nicole –"

"She said, leave her alone." Drake finally stepped forward after having dealt with another young customer towards the back of the alleyway. "Steal my client, and I'll give you a lot more than a few bruises this time."

"Nicole, please–" Laurie took a step forward and was swiftly cut off by Drake.

As he moved in front of her, Drake suddenly took a hold of her shoulders and pushed her down. Laurie tripped over her own legs and collided with the hard pavement. Nicole took a nervous step backwards. The Laurie that had befriended her would have never simply taken something like that. Nicole half expected Laurie to jump up and lunge at Drake or grab one of the broken glass bottles and threaten him with it. That had been what had saved them one of the first nights after Laurie had moved to the area.

The two of them were walking together in the late evening when a senior they both recognized from school began following them closely. He whistled and moaned and let a few vulgar comments slip past his lips as they continued on. It wasn't until they reached a secluded spot by an old abandon gas station that the boy made his move. He rushed at Laurie and sent her flying to the ground. He then came at Nicole.

"I hear you're pretty quiet," the boy had snickered, "maybe I can change that."

He grabbed her wrist and pushed her over violently against the side of the brick building, rubbing his body against hers.

"I want to see just how loud you can get."

As he spoke, the crisp sound of glass shattering broke through the night air. The boy turned around to see Laurie presenting the jagged edge of a broken glass bottle at his face. It was just like what you would see in the movies, Nicole thought later on when she wasn't so terrified.

"Get away from her or I swear I will cut you open."

The boy certainly trusted her and quickly hurried off. Nicole hadn't believed a word of her friend's threat, but simply smiled up at her with gratitude.

"Laurie would never really hurt anyone," Nicole confessed. "We weren't like that, I swear."

"What happened after Drake pushed Laurie down." Emily pressed.

"Nothing," Nicole sighed, looking down, "she didn't do anything. Then Drake just grabbed my arm and we left."

"And you didn't see her again after that?"

"No," her voice was barely audible at this point.

"Nicole, I need you to tell us more about this man that you talked about, your dealer. If you're scared –"

"I'll tell you everything about him if it means helping Laurie. She tried to save me and I wouldn't listen. And now – now she's gone and I'm like – this." She paused, caging tears in her throat. "His name is Drake. He doesn't give out his full name. You can usually find him in the alley behind the pizza place on 9th." Nicole proceeded to giving the agents a full physical description of the man and as much of his personal life that she knew.

They left the school and searched the alleyway for their suspect for quite some time to no avail.

"Where is this guy?" Emily sighed.

"He might be too cautious to deal in the middle of the day." Morgan suggested.

"Or too scared." Emily added. "Did you see how Kaitlin reacted to us talking about Drake?"

"There's definitely something going on between those two."

As he spoke, his cell phone sounded.

"Yeah Garcia?"

"You two might want to hightail it back to the station. There's something you both need to see."

Prentiss and Morgan retired from their search and returned quickly to the police station to join the rest of their team.