Disclaimer: I don't own the stuff, I just write things.

Author's Note: Heck, guys, I am just not doing so great with the updating. I'm having a bit of writer's block. Not so much on how the story will go, just how to connect all the events and things in a string of words. Thanks for your patience! Yep, I finished finals last week, finally flew home for the winter break and now my family's all rolling into town. Busy time, but not busy enough for all this terrible slacking! I apologize. Thanks for those of you who kept reminding me and encouraging me to write the next chapter! Really, it helped. The story right now seems a little slow, but I'm hoping to get through all the blah stuff soon and get to the good parts of the tale! Hopefully, you'll enjoy this next chapter.

11. The Anticipation's Killing Somebody

"Dr. Lightman, just give me a straight answer. Do you have any idea where my boys are?" Joseph inquired, causing Cal to release a sigh. He was usually blunt, but now he wanted to remain as vague as possible. Still, Joseph wanted a "straight answer."

"We have no idea where your sons are, Joseph." Cal admitted quietly. Joseph swallowed hard and glanced at the ground, trying his best to keep his composure.

"Thank you." he whispered, swallowing again. His face was getting pale, the dark, brunette waves standing out against the colorless skin. Joseph had obviously lost all hope in one, quick instant. Cal wouldn't allow himself to accept the same fate for the Loker boys; his team was going to find them, they just had to.

There was a knock on the office door, alerting the two men to pull themselves together and face the world. Cal looked up: Torres.

"Reynolds is here." she said in a soft voice, sensing that she was interrupting an important conversation. Cal jumped up, eager to find some other clue to set them in the right direction.

"Excuse me, Joseph." Cal mumbled, quickly following Ria out of the room and towards the FBI agent out in the broad hallway. Reynolds looked serious, as usual, but he didn't even have a hint of excitement. Most likely, there weren't any important leads.

"We got a few sketches out of Mrs. Carson's description." Reynolds explained, offering the portraits that artists scratched out as they listened to Eli's neighbor, Livya. Cal snatched them from Ben, peering at each one, hoping to recognize a guy or two.

One man did seem very familiar.

"Do you still have her at the bureau?" Cal asked immediately, staring at the one drawing in particular.

"We just released her." Ben replied, furrowing his brows. "Why?" Cal sighed and looked up at Reynolds. How could he have missed the signs? Was he too distracted by the disaster?

"I'm thinking our Mrs. Carson isn't really Mrs. Carson." Cal muttered, holding up the sketch for Ben to see. "I buy coffee from this man everyday; he's a good, honest bloke."

Liam stumbled between two men, too distraught to even care. What were they going to do with Eli? He tried to look back, but a rough shove from one of the cronies forced his eyes forward.

"Please, this isn't my brother's fault! Drop him off at a hospital or a…or somebody's house! Please don't leave him there to die! There's still time to save him!" Liam pleaded, struggling against the strong grip of one of the henchman.

"Be quiet!" the other hissed, punching him across the face. "We're not the merciful type."

Liam pressed a hand to his face, nursing the new pain in his cheekbone. Of course, his entire head was throbbing as well as various muscles, but that was nothing compared to the misery enveloping his entire being.

He was dragged into a new room and pushed into a metal chair. Quickly, they tied his hands behind him, weaving the rope around his wrists and through the bars on the back of the chair. Liam wasn't going anywhere.

"Don't bother fidgeting." one of the men mumbled and the two of them exited the room with an intimidating air. Liam couldn't believe it. This was something that happened in nightmares. You don't get tied to a chair in real life with your brother dying in another room altogether. If anything, Liam thought he would be in the same room as his brother while Eli breathed his last breath. Could Liam even care what would happen to him at this point? Perhaps he could hope for a quick, painless death…or not very painful, at least.

He glanced around the cement box, finding himself alone. Here he was, dying alone. It was all because he couldn't stop lying; couldn't stop feeling the rush; couldn't stop finding new ways to outsmart his enemies or the cops. He was always smiling because he was clueless. His father had always encouraged adventure, but he was straight with Liam when he realized what kind of dirt his son was digging into.

"Liam, you need to be careful." he had said. "Someday, you're going to want to turn your life back around and it could be too late."

"Yeah, right, pops." Liam replied. Everyone had always squealed of how hard and dangerous the life of a criminal and a liar could be, but it was the easiest thing in the world! Liam had thought his dad was wise until he knew more about his chosen lifestyle. He remembered thinking that if his dad knew how much better it was, he would be more approving.

"Look, Liam. Sometimes things have to fall apart in order to fall together the right way. Sometimes disaster has to mess things up in order to rebuild a stronger foundation. One of these days, Liam, you'll be in a bad situation and you'll realize how wrong you've acted." his dad advised. Liam gulped at the memory before the next words jumbled through his head. "What will it take for you to change? Will it have to be at somebody else's expense?"

It did, dad. It took Eli's life to make me want to change. Liam thought sorrowfully. He should've listened then, but he was a proud son with a stubborn mind.

"Yeah, right. I'll just make sure I'll never get caught." he had scoffed, like he was challenging his father's logic. What would his dad say if he could see him now? Would he just shake his head with that I-knew-you-could-be-better expression? Would he feel sorry for Liam? Would he love Liam like he had always tried to? What would his mom say? What would she do?

What does this mean for his family?

"That is definitely not the same Mrs. Carson we saw." Reynolds sighed as he stared at the plasma screen. The real Olivia Carson was up on the screen smiling in a driver's license. Records showed that she and her husband were taking a trip in Mexico at the moment, leaving their apartment free and vulnerable for break-ins and criminal imposters. The fake Mrs. Carson had drawn their attention away from other neighbors and had tried to mislead them from the right clues. The imposter succeeded, if even for a few hours. Besides, right now, they didn't know where she was, but it was only a matter of time before they tracked her down.

"Did she leave any fingerprints?" Cal asked. His forte was spotting lies, not finding the liars by specific appearances.

"I'm sure my guys can find some at the bureau. There might even be fingerprints on the sketches." Reynolds explained, examining the drawings in the folder.

"Well, let's get on it then!" Cal ordered. He could feel that resurfacing fire in him, pushing him to finish the case with a happy ending. Eli was going to come home, and he was going to drag his brother with him. The Lokers wouldn't have to wonder what went wrong; they would just be happy that their children were alive and well.

It was all going to turn out fine.

Cal glanced behind him, realizing that Ben had already left the room, probably assigning an agent to take the sketches back to the bureau. After that, Ben would most likely make a quick call to check the tables or something for fingerprints.

Hopefully the prints were on the drawings; heaven knows how many people touched the same table.

Foster was still keeping company with Andy, trying her best to comfort the mother and keep her in a cheerful spirit. He was happy to see the two laughing every now and then, despite the occasional dab of tears in Andy's eyes. There was no need for Foster in the field. She was doing something better; he and Torres would just have to carry this case themselves.

"Do you really think they're okay?" Ria asked quietly. She had been nearly wordless throughout the conversation with Reynolds. Cal turned and looked at her, his expression relaying his astonishment of how she could even think things would end badly.

"Of course, love. We'll find them alive and well." he answered confidently.

Eli was wading in the darkness. His legs were heavy as he dragged them throughout the black ocean. He felt like he'd been pushing against the invisible force for awhile now and he was beginning to hit exhaustion. Eli couldn't remember why he was in such an awful place and there wasn't really a reason he should continue fighting forward. At least, he couldn't think of a suitable reason. What would it matter if he just sat down until somebody found him? He was tired and cold; he'd much rather stay where he was and rest. Taking a nap didn't seem like such a bad idea either. It would probably help distract him from the dull pain in his abdomen. Maybe it'd be gone by the time he woke up, since it was most likely a cramp from all the tough walking.

He laid down on the cold, lightless ground, curling up in an attempt to get warm.

When he woke up again, he'd figure things out.

"Her name is Virginia Blakely." Ben sighed, opening a file on the computer and spreading the picture across the screen. "They found her fingerprint on the glass door. Lucky catch." Cal huffed at this new development, preparing himself for another go at finding Eli. This time, he couldn't hit a dead end; he had to keep going until Eli was safe.

"I sent out her photo around town to keep an eye out for her and had an agent go back to the apartment in case she went there. Hopefully, it won't be long until somebody picks her up." Reynolds mumbled. "How are the Lokers doing?" Cal looked to Ben, spotting hints of concern. Eli must not have been as annoying to Reynolds as he originally thought.

"They're doing okay." he muttered, turning back to the photo of Virginia. "I'm sure they'll be better when they get their boys back." Ben was silent, his brow knit into something of worry. Cal sighed as he took in Reynolds' expression, irritated that everyone was doubting the possibility of a happy ending. "What's the matter with you now?"

"I have a bad feeling, Lightman. I'm not sure this is going to turn out well." Ben mumbled, folding his arms and gazing at Virginia Blakely's photo. Cal shoved his hands in his pockets and followed Reynolds stare.

"Well, that's not going to help anything, is it? We can't waste our time thinking about our bad feelings and it definitely won't make things easier. We're simply going to have to trust that we will find the Lokers, no matter what we think." Cal grumbled. Reynolds took a deep breath as he attempted to internalize Lightman's same thinking. The investigation was weighing down on all of them.

As they waited for news on Virginia Blakely, both Cal and Ben joined Joseph in the office. They might as well sit with the distraught father to distract them as well as comfort the poor man. Cal noticed that the man looked somewhat cheered by their presence; he just needed somebody to be with.

"Eli was your boy, huh? What was that like?" Reynolds scoffed, hoping to bring things to a lighter mood. Joseph smiled slightly, thinking back to warmer times.

"He was both a joy and a terror." Joseph chuckled as his eyes crinkled with a smile. "Eli's a smart kid and he can be a little fearless. It can be a tough combination to deal with." Joseph face became somber when his thoughts returned to the present. "He's a good son and I'm proud of him." Cal couldn't get over how similar Eli and Joseph were in behavior and looks and he was a little scared to know how long it would be before Eli adopted the same intimidating aura that his father had mastered. Although, a daunting Eli could be very useful for the company.

"How about Liam? Were you ever proud of him?" Cal asked. Ben shot him a look to imply that he was crossing the line, but when had Lightman ever listened to him?

"I can't say I was ever as proud of him as I was of Eli." Joseph admitted. "But I loved him just as much as I loved Eli. They've both got magnetic personalities, but they didn't make the same choices." Cal could see the mourning in Joseph's eyes and read the sorrow pooling in his features. There was no mistake that the man adored both his sons. It was almost strange to learn new things about Eli. Cal felt like he hadn't even made an effort to really know his employee, or that he simply hadn't paid as much attention as he thought he did.

"What did you think would happen if you didn't pay me in time?" the man growled, leaning uncomfortably close to Liam's face. The familiar peppermint smell of gum floated in front of Liam, but the man wasn't chewing on anything. He must've spit it out recently.

Liam didn't respond to the loan shark's question, trying to concentrate on what his enemy's name was. He could only remember the middle man he had worked with, going by the name of a Mister Doe. The man must've thought he was funny, but Liam definitely wasn't laughing now.

"Don't act like your deaf." the loan shark sighed, standing up straight and pacing around Liam. Liam thought hard, wanting to know the name of his murderer before he died. He wanted to, at least, remember who was the demon that killed his brother.

"No point in answering." Liam mumbled.

"This because of your little, baby brother, isn't it." the man chuckled, continuing his circling around Liam. "But, really, who's going to remember him anyway? It didn't look like you guys were too close. I can't help that terror brings family together! It's too late for all that anyway. He's probably dead." Liam cringed at the last statement, biting his tongue to keep from shouting.

The name came to him.

"Kasey." Liam stated. The man looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. Liam stayed silent; he hadn't meant to say it out loud. He was quite certain that a simple name wasn't going to intimidate this loan shark.

"So, you know my name. Fantastic." Kasey chuckled. "Now we aren't strangers anymore. This makes things much more comfortable." Liam grimaced at how casual the man was acting, irritated by how much of a joke this seemed to be. It was hard to even think that, not too long ago, Eli was going cold in his arms. This wasn't a joke. Liam's brother was probably dead. Dead. The silly little brother that he spent his life with could be soulless and empty.

Life was being all too fair to him.

Author's Note: Epic thinking, Liam. Epic thinking...well, I am plowing through the writer's block better and better as the story progresses. Please don't give up on me! I hope the story turns out exciting. I think it's almost time I move to another fandom...