"So to review," said Rapunzel, "first of all, there was the woman at the bar, the man in the back alleyway, followed soon by the guy in the swimming pool…then the woman lying in the parking lot and the man in our front yard…" Rapunzel pointed at each of the victims pictures as she stated their deaths. She paused and whispered, "And then…Olaf."
"Rapunzel." Kai said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I think you need to get back home and get some-."
"No." Rapunzel said roughly, brushing him off, "We only have a certain amount of time before the murdered kills Olaf and sets him somewhere where we can find him. We can't let up. We can't stop not even for a moment. What you need to do right now is get me coffee. Talk to me about going home after we've found Olaf. Nothing more is to be said about this, Kai."
"…Okay." Kai replied softly, "I'm going on a coffee run...you want black as usual?"
"Yes." Rapunzel said, reaching up and rubbing her eyes tiredly, "Thank you."
Kai smiled sadly as he turned to get Rapunzel her much needed coffee. Ever since he had been assigned to her to be her partner, Kai had always noticed that Rapunzel always needed a cup of coffee when she was working on a tough case. She said it helped her think which confused the man at first, but as time went on he learned to always get Rapunzel coffee no matter the occasion.
Rapunzel leaned tiredly on the side of her desk and closed her eyes, going through each one of the crime scenes in detail in her head. She remembered that every victim was killed in the same way except that there was one instance where there was a victim who was cut in the neck, the main artery-the jugular-had been brutally severed along with the normal signs of the victims killing method. Each victim was stabbed near the heart. The knife, when used to kill each of the victims, sliced cleanly through the ribs to sever the major arteries to the heart, leaving the person who had been cut to die a slow and painful death.
All the men and women that the murderer had killed had no suspicious ties to anyone. These people were people who seemed to go unnoticed by society. They all had small families and lives full of mundane activity. No one was suspicious. No one had ties to anything shady…it was all very frustrating, and for a woman like Rapunzel working this kind of case and not finding a lead for almost a month of working seemed like a hopeless case to most of the cops on the force.
Belle who had refused to go home even when she was drop dead tired, had fallen asleep at Elsa's desk and was snoring softly, holding onto her phone which she had been texting Anna with the night before. She felt bad about leaving the two alone at the manor all night so she decided to send a text their way and was relieved to hear that Elsa was doing alright. And once she knew all was well at home, her worries about Elsa were put to rest, and so she was calmed once more. She came up from the morgue at around two in the morning and found Rapunzel going through the pictures of each one of the murders and the crime scenes, trying to link them together somehow.
The medical examiner had sat down on the side of Rapunzel's desk and hugged Rapunzel's arm, setting her head on her girlfriend's shoulder and whispering tiredly, "Can we go home?"
"No." the detective replied unfazed by the show Belle had put on in order to persuade her, "You can go home. But I'm staying until I figure this thing out."
And so Belle stayed by Rapunzel's side for as long as she could stay conscious… she eventually just pushed Rapunzel out of her desk chair so she could sleep in it. As people poured into work that morning, they all noticed that Rapunzel and her partner hadn't changed clothes from yesterday, and, therefore, hadn't gone home…and they also noticed how Belle was passed out cold in Rapunzel's desk chair. And there she remained until Kai returned with Rapunzel's coffee.
"Uhm…"Said Kai as he handed Rapunzel her cup of black coffee, "Is she…"
"Belle." Rapunzel muttered, tipping back her coffee.
Belle snorted suddenly and sat up, blinking blurrily, shaking her head for a moment, trying to clear her mind. She focused her sleep filled eyes on Kai and narrowed them, her jaw hanging slack, trying to figure out why she was in the police station instead of her warm bed.
"That's attractive." Rapunzel murmured into cup.
"Whaaa?" Belle asked, completely disoriented.
"Morning, sunshine." Kai said, setting down Belle's favorite kind of coffee, "It's on the house."
"Thanks." Belle slurred.
"Any headway?" Kai asked, standing beside his stoic partner.
"Nothing." Rapunzel said, hiding her impatience, "Nothing at all."
"Why on earth does this guy always slip out from underneath us?" Kai said, shaking his head.
"Did you put a bolo out on the black hummers in the area?"
"Elsa," Kai said, "I did, but there are hundreds of hummers around here, there's a very slim chance of finding the one that-"
"If we somehow get lucky with that slim chance, I may save a boy's life." Rapunzel snapped, then went back to her coffee.
Belle who had nearly been drowning in her mocha was starting to wake up and become more aware of the things around her. She looked up at Rapunzel and reached up to place a hand on her arm. The detective flinched slightly at the contact and glanced over at Belle to see her face. She smiled warmly at Rapunzel and the detective calmed slightly…
"Alright." Rapunzel said, closing her eyes and thinking as hard as she could, "The murder places his victims in places where footprints are impossible to find…"
"And fingerprints." added Kai.
"The murder victims have been handled in such a way that they were grasped from behind, obviously with gloved hands, and dragged to that hummer we were talking about." Belle said, standing up and stretching, "Every victim is identical. The wounds are identical, nothing could possibly be different."
"Alright." Rapunzel said, tapping her cheek, "They all were in secluded areas. Nobody's…"
"I did a background check on all of them again." Kai said, "They were literally just common townsfolk with no bad history, small family's and nothing shady about them."
"We even raided their homes, checked their computers, notebooks, and other family members…Nothing is sinister." Rapunzel said, "Damn it…" she lifted her head and looked at the photo of Olaf hanging on her wall of her missing victims, "God fucking damn it."
"Anna." Whispered Elsa, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on Anna's shoulder, "Freckles?"
"Mmph." Anna muttered, her face buried into her pillow, "Elsa?"
"Yeah. I'm up. And I'm going to the police station to help Rapunzel and Belle with the investigation."
"I don't think you're allowed." Anna said, "I don't think they'll allow civilians to interfere."
"Be that as it may," Elsa said, running her fingers through Anna's soft hair, "unless Rapunzel tells me herself that I can't help her, I'm going up there. You can stay here if you want if you're too tired."
"No!" Anna said sharply, sitting up and nearly bumping her head off of Elsa's, "I'm coming too."
Elsa smiled slightly as she watched her girlfriend rub her eyes furiously and blink a few times before hopping out of bed and grabbing for her glasses that lay on the nightstand beside the table. She quickly pulled her hair into a pony tail, put her glasses on then threw on a green t-shirt over herself and pulled on some jeans.
"Alright." She said, grabbing Elsa's hand and tugging her towards the door, "Let's get going. The sooner we get there the better." The two women walked down the winding staircase together and down into the foyer where they both slipped on their shoes and opened the door. They were met by a sunny day, however, it didn't feel quite as good as it could have. Elsa and Anna hurried to Rapunzel's car and Elsa, just recently been given her driver's license, hopped in the front seat of the car and Anna gave her the key to start the ignition.
The two were soon out of the driveway and going down the road toward the police department, the air in the car tense and weighed down with worry.
"Do you think they've made any headway?" Elsa asked nervously.
"They would've had too." Anna replied comfortingly, "it's been a whole day, I mean they could've found anything by now."
Elsa was relaxed by Anna's words somewhat this time. She drove on down the road for about a half an hour until they reached the station. Busy cops swarmed in and out from the building getting into police cars and telling each other to go check out certain crime scenes again to look for evidence concerning Olaf's kidnapping. The blonde rolled up into a parking spot away from the cops so that they could move freely about and she emerged from the car, heading straight for the front doors, Anna on her heels.
When Elsa had been resting the night before, she couldn't get over the fact that her brother had been taken. First of all, this murderer seemed like he was getting closer and closer to Rapunzel with every kill and he had finally struck with Olaf. That lead the woman to think that if Olaf was killed, then who would be next? Elsa had a fleeting suspicion about this possibility and turned her head to look back at Anna who was looking around nervously at the many cops bustling about. Elsa reached back and grabbed Anna's hand, then pulled her close to herself.
"You're not leaving my side, okay?" Elsa said, "I'm going to protect you."
"You don't have-"
"Yes." Elsa interrupted, "I do."
And Anna left it at that. She knew all what Elsa intended and she was perfectly fine with it. She loved how protective Elsa was over her. Elsa lead her into the police station and up to the front desk where she asked to see Rapunzel. The woman at the desk, looked at them blankly for a long moment, then called Rapunzel and told her to come down to the lobby. Anna and Elsa waited patiently, looking around the station, eyeing the small coffee shop in the corner until the detective and medical examiner emerged from a room hurriedly, rushing towards the two. Rapunzel threw her arms around Elsa and pulled her closely to herself.
Elsa, surprised upon the immediate physical contact by the normally rigid woman stared at Anna. The redhead and Belle simply watched with amusement. Anna smiled as she saw Elsa relax and hug her cousin back. Rapunzel, normally too busy or unfeeling to give affection to anyone other than Anna, was surprisingly gentle with Elsa and the barista rested her chin on the woman's shoulder, appreciating how comforting this act of affection was.
"How are you?" Rapunzel asked in a gentle tone, letting go and holding both of Elsa's hands.
"I'm alright." Elsa said, "I want to help you."
Rapunzel immediately replied, "Elsa, I know how much you want to help us but the law says that civilians can't interfere with investigations like these."
Anna shot Elsa a pitying i-told-you look. And Elsa's eyes dropped to the floor. Tears threatened to spill…but she wouldn't let them. She had to be strong for Olaf; for her little brother.
"You sure there's absolutely no way I can help?"
"You can come with us to interrogate Hans." Belle suggested.
Rapunzel turned to look at her girlfriend and smiled. Anna nodded enthusiastically and Rapunzel turned to smiled at Elsa who looked at her with eagerness and intensity.
"Let's go!" Rapunzel said, smiling.
"Yessss." Elsa said, fist pumping and jumping forward to take Anna's hand. The redhead laughed and grinned at Elsa as she eagerly followed Rapunzel through the lobby of the police station and out to the car. Rapunzel opened the door for Belle and nodded as she hopped in. Elsa did the same for Anna, receiving a small kiss on the cheek when she sat down in the seat beside Anna.
"So we're just going to quickly drive over to farmer Isles place and just give him and his dad a quick interrogation." said Rapunzel, "But afterwards, you two are going straight home."
"Whatever you say chief." Anna replied with a small salute.
"Sure." Said Elsa, "but I honestly don't think that Hans or his father did it…"
"Things aren't always what they seem." Rapunzel warned, "If you're there with us, the two might be more comfortable than with two cops."
"…I beg your pardon…" Belle said softly.
"Medical examiner." Rapunzel corrected, "But you might as well be a cop. You're just as good at this job than I am."
"If you say so." Belle said, crossing her arms, "In my opinion I think you're the best cop in the entirety of the station. And you can argue this, but I will stick to my theory."
Rapunzel chuckled and Belle did the same. Elsa and Anna in the back turned to look at each other and smiled as well…but Elsa's smile suddenly faded and she let her eyes trail from Anna's gaze onto the floor. Anna titled her head curiously and reached forward, placing a comforting hand on Elsa's shoulder.
"Elsa…" Anna whispered. The Blonde lifted her heavy gaze and met Anna's eyes. The redhead saw complete hopelessness in them and realized that, although she was putting on a brave face for her brother, she was weakening, coming closer and closer to despair with every passing moment. Anna couldn't tell her that everything would be alright; that was an exhausted means of comfort. She couldn't tell her that they would find Olaf anymore either because Anna wasn't completely sure that they would. All she could think of to do was to reach down, take Elsa's head and rest it against her chest, putting her arms around her girlfriend, kissing her face and giving her all the comfort she needed.
Elsa sat back up and allowed Anna to wipe away her tears. Rapunzel sighed silently in the front seat and Belle turned around to look at the grief stricken couple. Her heart ached for Elsa. Rapunzel's grip tightened on the wheel. If the detective failed in saving the young boys life, she knew for a fact that she could never forgive herself.
After a short ride in heavy silence, the four women arrived at the small house set in the middle of the country. Rapunzel got out of the car and was met by a small cat who looked up at her with a curious amber eyed gaze.
"Why hello." Rapunzel greeted him, leaning down and scratching his ears, "You seem like a pleasant little guy to have around."
The cat purred and pressed his face against Rapunzel's palm and the brunette smiled warmly at the animal. Belle approached Rapunzel from the side and looked on, while crossing her arms and smiling smugly. Despite the fact Belle thought that Rapunzel was one of the most badass women she had ever known, she still had the ability to be completely adorable sometimes.
Rapunzel, noticing that she was being watched, looked over her shoulder to see Anna smiling lovingly at her with shining ever affectionate eyes. Elsa had a small smirk on her face, whereas Belle had a massive grin, trying not to crack up. The cop stood and cleared her throat awkwardly, "C-come on."
Anna and Belle looked to each other and giggled knowingly. Elsa simply rolled her eyes and chuckled as Belle took her hand and Anna took the other. The four moved toward the small town home and with each passing step, Rapunzel felt more suspicious…like she was being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she halted, turning around and scanning the area with sharp eyes…
Nothing to see. She was so sure she was being watched. A cold chill ran down her spine and she reached out for Belle. She took the woman's hand, drew her forward and rested her hands on Belle's chest, then said in her ear, "I don't think it's the farmer anymore, Belle."
"What makes you say that?" Belle asked, too distracted by the pleasant contact to take notice of anything else.
"I think we're being watched by someone close by." Rapunzel whispered in Belle's ear, "If you see anyone. Anything that looks hostile, don't hesitate to scream and I'll come running."
"Baby, you're so sweet." Belle said dreamily, loving the way Rapunzel's cheek brushed against hers.
"Aren't you listening?" Rapunzel said intensely, grabbing Belle's arms and shaking lightly, snapping her back to attention, "I think we're being watched! What did I just sa-"
Just as Rapunzel was about to finish her sentence, a hooded figure that burst out of the front door of the farmers house and pointed a gun at the four girls. Elsa immediately jumped in front of Anna and shielded her from gun point while Rapunzel did the same for Belle and automatically pulled out her own gun. Both Belle and Anna held onto their protector's arms and peeked over their shoulders.
The hooded man with the gun hesitated for a good long while. Still as a stone, the black figure stared at Rapunzel right in the eye. The woman thought she had seen something familiar about those eyes that she couldn't quite place. She felt as if she had seen them before, but they weren't the same eyes she remembered.
"Put the gun down." Rapunzel demanded in a strangely comforting tone, "You have nowhere to run. Just drop the gun and make this easier for everyone."
Rapunzel and the man hooded in black stared at each other for a long time…the man blinked first and Rapunzel automatically cocked her gun and her finger tightened around the trigger.
"Please don't make me shoot you." She said in a low voice, "There can be unnecessary injuries. Put down your weapon and-"
The murderer pulled the trigger without warning and Rapunzel pressed herself against Belle as hard as she could, preparing herself for whatever pain followed by being shot, but instead of feeling anything, an agonized scream exploded in her ear and the weight of Belle pressed against her from behind fell away. The cop's heart stopped and time seemed to still as she turned her head and watched Belle fall to the ground behind her, clutching her arm and crying out in pain.
Rapunzel saw red.
Immediately, the detective turned back around to see the man fleeing and Elsa bolting after him. Rapunzel pulled the trigger and the gun cocked as the bullet embedded itself into the murderer's shoulder. The man cried out in a suppressed growl then went down on all fours. Anna rushed to Belle and Rapunzel's side as Belle squeezed her eyes shut tightly and clutched her bleeding arm, gasping.
Elsa ran up to the man who was on all fours and grabbed him, throwing him down on the ground on his back, sitting down on his chest, and rendering him immobile. She grabbed his collar, picked him up then slammed him back down again with all the force of her intense anger and desperation to find her brother she felt, shouting, "WHERE IS HE!"
Everyone went silent.
"Where did you take him, you motherfucker?!" Elsa demanded, gripping his shirt as tightly as she could and watching the already dark fabric turn darker with the murderer's blood that gushed from his gunshot wound.
"Tell me." Elsa hissed.
The man watched with burning eyes…
"TELL ME!" Elsa cried. Then, realizing that the hooded man still had his gun clenched in his right hand, Anna began bolting towards the two. In a split second Elsa saw the gun and tried scrambling off of the man, but not soon enough. The click of the trigger sounded and then Elsa had a ringing in her ears unlike she had ever heard before. Anna halted, Rapunzel screamed in fury and Belle's eyes rolled back and she blacked out. The last thing Elsa saw was the hooded man running away and Anna falling to her knees in front of her, grabbing her face. The blonde couldn't hear what her lover said, but the panic was clear in her teal eyes…then her vision blurred and the ringing faded away as she slipped into unconsciousness.
Olaf, bleeding and breathing hard, jumped in terror as he heard the upstairs door slam open then slam shut, announcing the return of his torturer. He prepared himself to face his murderer with a bold face. Ready to show him he wasn't afraid…But when he heard the man stagger down the stairs with more unsteady sounding footsteps than usual, Olaf became terrified of the man being delirious and hurting him unconsciously…
When the murderer fumbled with the door handle and stumbled inside, ripping off his shirt and revealing the gory would in his shoulder, Olaf grimaced. The man stumbled over to the table in the corner and landed on his side, groaning and cursing angrily.
"Fucking bitch." He growled savagely, setting his shoulders back and preparing himself for removing the bullet. Olaf watched in complete horror as the man stuck his fingers in the wound, fished around for the bullet, then with a roar of pain he pulled it out and flung it against the floor where it rolled to a stop by Olaf's feet. The boy was as silent as he could be as the man remained still for a very long time, chest heaving.
"…They're going to pay." He growled, and Olaf felt a chill run down his spine, "First, I'm going to take that fucking blonde haired bitch's girlfriend." He reached over the table to grab a ligature and a blindfold, "I'm gonna make her watch…"
"Watch what?" Olaf asked as quietly as he could. The murderer turned to him with dark, gleaming eyes. Olaf pressed his lips together…
"Why," said the man, "Watch me kill you of course."
Olaf's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. The man chuckled, amused by Olaf's horror, and then limped up to the boy and threw back his arm. Olaf struggled with his binds furiously, squeezing his eyes shut, preparing himself for a vicious beating to the face. As the man struck Olaf against his temple, he fell limp in his chair breathing hard. He felt himself slipping away into unconsciousness…
"But first…" the man said, crouching so that his face was the last thing Olaf saw, "I'm going to move you somewhere new."
Elsa awoke blurrily in an ambulance. There were people hovering around her…but past her and gathering around a stretcher. Sounds around her slowly became clearer and her eyes blurred and unblurred as she tried to focus on one point. She heard the pained screaming of Belle and registered that her cheek was pressed against something warm and soft. She moved her head a bit into the softness and it shifted under her. Suddenly she felt two arms wrap around her shoulders and hold her tightly.
"E-elsa you're awake!" Anna's voice gasped. It was clear she had been crying. Elsa lifted her head and looked into Anna's tear stained eyes, "Oh my god I thought you were done for."
Elsa gazed at her for a long moment and blinked, then stood up and felt something on her right ear.
"He got you in your cheek and right ear." Anna said sadly as Elsa placed a hesitant hand on the pad around her ear, "Fortunately you can still hear out of that ear, you're just going to have a scar for a while."
The blonde lifted her eyes and looked at Anna, tears blooming. The redhead reached forward and took Elsa's chin and pulled her forward, resting her head on her chest, "I'm so glad you're safe."
"The murderer." Elsa gasped, "Where-"
"The police are tracking the blood splatters as we speak, there's still a chance to save Olaf."
"I almost had him." Elsa said angrily, "I almost had that mother-"
An scream from Belle cut Elsa off and then Elsa was fully aware of what was going on around her. The blonde sat up in shock upon seeing Belle pressed against the ambulance table, men holding her down as she thrashed and Rapunzel holing her face steady, trying to keep the girl focused on her.
"What happened to her?" Elsa demanded. Anna stood up beside Elsa and shook her head.
"She was shot in the upper arm." Anna said worriedly, holding onto Elsa's arm, "She's in a lot of pain. We think the bullet was laced with poison."
Elsa's eyes widened and she let Anna lean on her.
"Poison." Elsa whispered and Belle cried out in complete agony as the medics tried to remove the bullet from her arm.
"Thankfully it didn't go far in." Anna said, turning her face into Elsa's shoulder, "She moved her arm just in time so that it kind of embedded itself just below the epidermis of her skin."
Bell let out another painful sounding howl as the doctors slit the skin around the bullet and Rapunzel, panicking, told her girlfriend that everything would be alright. Elsa watched in disgust and Anna squeezed her eyes shut as the medics pulled the bullet from Belle's body and then immediately began to patch up the wound.
The medical examiner's eyes softened once she finally was able to look clearly at the face of Rapunzel above hers. She opened her mouth and said softly, "Go find him. Don't worry about me. I'll be okay. Just…find him." Rapunzel managed to nod and hold tightly to her hand for a few moments before saying,
"Don't worry, Belle. I'll find that son of a bitch."
Belle smiled and nodded, then shut her eyes and began to fall asleep. The pain she had gone through was nothing short of exhausting and her body needed to heal. Rapunzel remained at her side for a few moments longer, looking sadly at her face. Elsa and Anna looked on with heavy hearts. Then the grief stricken cop stood and caught sight of her cousin and Elsa standing together in the back corner of the ambulance, looking at her expectantly.
The detective straightened herself, cleared her throat, then moved through the medics, moving them aside, and gestured for Anna and Elsa to follow her outside. The two did as she asked and, once outside, the ambulance doors were shut and Belle was taken away.
"Jesus." Rapunzel muttered, watching the ambulance drive away, "That went to shit."
"I know." Elsa said, "but we can worry about that later. We need to find-"
"I KNOW." Rapunzel shouted, and Anna backed away, "I KNOW what we need to do and I don't need anybody else in the way getting hurt! Just…" Rapunzel paused as she saw the pained looks in both Elsa and Anna's eyes, "Just go home."
Elsa and Anna knew there was no point in insisting they stay any longer so they nodded in understanding and Elsa, no matter how much she wanted-needed-to find her brother, she backed down and let the authority above her handle it. She took Anna's hand and guided her to their car. The two sat down in the front seats and shut the doors behind them, sighing simultaneously.
"Well." Anna said softly, "What now?"
"Go home I guess." Elsa replied, "And hope for the best."
"I'm so sorry." Anna said as Elsa started the car.
"I know." Elsa replied, "You don't need to be sorry though." As she pulled out from the farmer's driveway, Rapunzel sadly watched as her dear cousin and best friend drove away. The detective ignored the sounds of police swarming around the area and made her way to the house where the farmer and his son lived. Upon stepping inside she was met by a gruesome scene. Hans and his father lay dead. Hans had been eating lunch when he had been shot in the back of the head and the older man had been shot right between the eyes and had hit his head off the marble countertop, then crumpled to the floor.
She screwed up her nose upon detecting the smell of blood and she stepped inside further. Her partner, Kai, stood nearby and watched on as his broken partner looked about the crime scene.
"No fingerprints, no hair." Kai said softly, "Nothing to bag."
"Take the blood in for testing." Rapunzel ordered.
"Already did." Kai said, approaching her and handing her a cup of black coffee. Rapunzel looked down at the cup in her hand, then sighed tiredly and knocked it back like a shot glass. Kai lowered his head and sighed, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping his brow of sweat. The detective finished her coffee and wipped her mouth with her forearm, saying,
"Let's catch a motherfucker."
Anna and Elsa sat in a comfortable, yet worried silence as they drove home. Anna hesitantly reached over to Elsa and took her hand. The blonde looked at Anna out of the corner of her eye to see the woman's teal eyes wordlessly asking her to say something. Anything. Elsa sighed and squeezed Anna's hand saying, "I'm doing the best I can to be strong for us."
"I know." Anna said.
"I'm being strong for Olaf mostly there's nothing else I can say at this point, Anna."
Anna nodded in understanding and leaned over to kiss Elsa's cheek softly.
"Let's just go home and…pray that Olaf will be safe." Elsa sighed, "I don't want to give up on him but…I'm just..."
Elsa felt the loss beginning to hit home and her grip around the steering wheel loosened. Anna noticed and she bit her lip, wanting to say something, but not knowing what. She knew no words could comfort her companion. Elsa drove to the manor and helped Anna out of the car, an empty look behind her eyes. Anna felt tears blooming in her eyes as she saw lifelessness in Elsa. The blonde opened the front door for Anna and they both stepped inside, took off their shoes and walked into the living room. Elsa laid herself over the couch and pressed her face into the pillow, silently crying. Anna sat down beside her and placed a hand on her back.
"I'm okay." Elsa squeaked, but Anna knew better. She reached down and placed a kiss on Elsa's cheek, then sat her up quickly, laid down beneath her and pulled her down so where she rested atop her.
"I love you, and everything is going to be okay." Anna said, running her fingers through Elsa's soft hair.
"I hope so." Elsa sighed, "I really, really hope you're right. I'm glad you're not hurt."
"I'm glad you're not hurt worse." Anna said, "Now sleep, Elsa. You need rest." Elsa shut her eyes obediently and Anna stroked her back as she gave way to exhaustion and fell asleep.
Rapunzel, meanwhile, was trailing the blood to the back of the house, Kai on her heels.
"So it looks like the bastard got to his feet, made his way over here and those massive tire tracks must be from his black hummer. Get the details on the type of tires." Rapunzel bent down and placed a hand on the left tire tracks and looked up, following them to the road where the dirt skids went a good ten feet before trailing off down the road.
"No leads on the bolo we put out on the hummer?" asked Rapunzel.
"Nothing so far." Kai said, "Like we said before they're hundreds of hummers in the area."
Rapunzel rubbed her chin, then sighed, completely exhausted, turning to her partner, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Can you do something for me?" Rapunzel asked.
"Anything." Replied Kai.
"Could you take care of this until I get back?"
"Sure." Kai said, "But where are you going?"
"Back to Elsa and Anna." Said the detective, "I need to apologize and see if they're alright."
"Of course."
Rapunzel nodded solemnly, then turned and walked briskly to her car where she hopped inside and sped off without another word. Kai watched her go with a heavy heart.
Anna, who had been gently playing with Elsa's hair ever since she had fallen asleep, smiled and hummed with pleasure, enjoying Elsa's presence and finding peace that she was at peace. She began to hum a soft melody…her favorite song that she loved Elsa to sing to her. Even though she knew she wasn't a very good singer with her implants, she still liked to sing. Nobody minded it either.
Everything seemed so peaceful around the two, and for a fleeting moment, Anna believed that everything would be alright. Anna looked up and smiled when she saw the front door swing open. Suspecting Punzy, Anna gently moved Elsa aside, slid out from under her without successfully waking her up, and stood, ready to meet her cousin…
But instead of Rapunzel, in stepped a man dressed in black and a gun.
"If you say a single word, I'm going to blow your brains out." said the man as he lifted the gun into view. Anna, hair standing on end, her skin prickling with dread noticed the clear sag in his shoulder from Rapunzel's gun, "Now you're going to come with me and be quiet about it, or you can say bye bye to your precious Elsa."
Anna slowly turned her head to look at the sleeping form of the beautiful barista, then she shut her eyes and set her jaw. She looked back to the hooded man and slowly lifted her hands in surrender.
"That's a good girl." Said the man, walking forward and placing the gun in between Anna's breasts. The murderer tied a blindfold around her eyes then pushed her roughly forward and towards the door. Anna knew what she had sacrificed. She knew the weight of what she had just done…and she knew neither Elsa nor Rapunzel would forgive her but she had no choice. As she was being shoved mercilessly out of the door, she heard the sound of another car approaching in the distance. The murderer shoved her down the stairs, trying to get her to go faster, where she landed very hard on her arm.
"ELSA!" She screamed instinctively as a sharp pain jutted up her shoulder.
The woman inside immediately jumped to her feet and ran to the door. The man, seeing two potentially dangerous women approaching him from the street and from behind, picked Anna up, ran to the car, threw her inside and ran around to the driver's side. Rapunzel leaned out the window and shot her gun at the man in the car.
"HURRY!" Rapunzel shouted at Elsa as she bolted to the car and the hummer began to drive away. As soon as Elsa was inside, Rapunzel floored it right as Elsa sat down.
The blonde pulled the open door shut and shouted, "FASTER!"
"I KNOW." Rapunzel shot back, leaning out the window and shooting at the black hummer. She hit the rear view mirror and the hummer swerved unstably.
"You fucking bitch!" The man screamed at Anna who lay draped across the seats in the back.
"They're coming for you!" Anna said, gasping, "They're going to track you down, there's nowhere to go!"
"SHUT UP!" the man screamed, "Or I'm taking you to hell with me in this damn car."
Anna then shut her mouth.
"I only have so many bullets left." Rapunzel said in a breathy hiss as she picked up her cell phone and called her partner, "here. Shoot." She handed the gun to Elsa.
"What?!" Elsa cried, "I-I don't know how to shoot this thing!"
"Put your finger on the trigger and pull!" Rapunzel ordered.
"What?!"
"Do it now!"
Elsa rolled down her window, leaned out and pulled the trigger at the hummer. Not expecting the violent jerk of the glock, Elsa shrieked and almost lost her grip. She looked at Rapunzel and received no help as the woman beat savagely on the steering wheel, curing at her partner for not picking up his phone.
Elsa prepared herself to shoot again and this time, when she pulled the trigger, the bullet hit the back right tire of the black hummer, sending it skidding across the road. Rapunzel got a hold of Kai at the exact moment that the tire was hit and she began speaking but then cried out in shock and slammed on the breaks.
They collided with the hummer which veered off the road and over a hill into a ditch. Elsa's stomach clenched in horror as she heard glass shattering from below.
"FUCK!" Rapunzel shouted, jumping out of the car, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
Elsa and Rapunzel rushed to the side of the road where they saw what was left of the hummer. It was a shouldering, shattered, smoking wreck of a car, and no one could be seen inside. Elsa and Rapunzel skidded their way down the hill side and managed to wrench the side of the hummer door open. Finding nothing inside but a bit of splattered blood and bloody shards of glass in the backseat, Elsa slammed her fist down on the side of the car.
"Quikly!" Rapunzel shouted, grabbing Elsa's hand and dragging her forward, "FOLLOW ME!"
"Where did they go?" Elsa asked, sounding hopeless.
"I don't know." Rapunzel replied sharply, pulling her along, "but we're sure as hell going to find out."
Anna, blindfolded and draped over the man's shoulder was carried through the tree's at a running pace. The man's shoulder dug into her stomach painfully and her urge to scream was overwhelming. But she held it back, for she didn't dare do anything to make the man hurt her or Olaf any more than he already had. The murderer carried her for about five minutes until they reached a small, secluded shack. Upon entry, Olaf lifted her head and gasped in shock as Anna, bound and blindfolded was thrown onto the hard concrete floor.
"ANNA!" Olaf cried.
"Olaf?" Anna whispered, her heart soared to hear he was alive. She tore off her blindfold and as she saw Olaf, she was filled with such relief…
But her joy was extinguished as she was kicked unbelievably hard in her stomach. Anna got to her knees and retched over the floor.
"Look at this." The man scolded, circling her, "You made a mess."
"STOP IT!" Olaf cried, struggling with his binds, "Stop hurting her!"
"Stop?" The man stood very still and glared at Olaf, "After all I've done to you, you think you have the right to tell me to STOP!?"
"Don't hurt him!" Anna gasped, coughing, "Don't touch him, you MONSTER!"
The murderer's attention was directed away from Olaf, onto Anna. He grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her against Olaf. She, immediately put her arms around his head and held him protectively against his chest. Olaf was too happy to say a word, and all he could do was cry. Anna whispered loving words of comfort into his ear and gently touched his bruised face.
"Get off of him!" The murderer roared, ripping the two apart, "GET OFF!"
Anna was thrown against the side of the hut. She looked up at the murderer, something familiar in his eyes…then the man lifted his hand and pulled back the hood.
"Surprised to see me?" said the man.
"YOU!" Anna screamed, "YOU DID THIS?!"
"That's right." The murderer said, pulling a pocketknife out of his belt, "I, Eugene, have committed several murders."
Anna pressed herself up against the wall and let out a scream of terror as Eugene placed the blade on her neck and hissed, "And you're next."