Chapter 12
Dani had long ago lost the energy to continue kicking, tackling or banging on the door in an futile attempt to break it down. She had crawled into the small spot of sunlight left shining through the window, lying so that her face was bathed in it, while rather depressing thoughts ran through her head, intermittently mixed with hopeful ones.
This might be the last ray of sunlight I ever see…or I might get a tan going to a beach with Nick next summer, when he comes to find me…if he comes to find me... She was sure that any moment, Mr. Ricardo would be back to kill her, and then the agony would be over. She had long since gone numb to the throbbing pain in her shoulder, which was still slowly oozing blood. She had tried everything to stop the constant flow, but nothing she did worked…she'd slowed the flow however, so there was still hope that someone found her before she died from blood loss.
She had managed to concentrate her thoughts long enough to approximate when she'd lose consciousness from blood loss, and that time was soon approaching. An hour or so maybe…she looked up through the window in the wall, where the sunlight had turned reddish as the sun set somewhere out of sight. She could vaguely see the stars that slowly appeared. As beautiful as they were, they could not dispel the fear that slowly crept into her heart as the light faded.
Slowly her eyes closed, as hard as she tried to stay awake. For even as she knew that if she slept, she may not awaken again, her eyes slowly closed, blocking out the stars, as she sunk into oblivion, possibly never to awaken again…
----------------At the lab, a few hours earlier------------
Although they'd tried to pry the answer out of Ricardo, he'd refused to say anything else, just sat, staring at them stonily. Nick had practically ambushed Brass when he'd walked by. "Tell me we got a warrant for everything he owns…" He pleaded and when Brass nodded, he breathed a sigh of relief and tried to grab the paper out of Brass' hand. Brass pulled back, however, and continued talking.
"We already know she's not at his house, so you're just looking for any records. Maybe he owns a warehouse or something? Now be careful…" Only after those words of wisdom did he finally give Nick the warrant, and Nick dashed off, grabbing Catherine on his way by, causing her to nearly choke on her coffee.
When they were in the car, Catherine didn't even dare ask Nick any questions. The built-up anxiety was threatening to transform itself into rage any minute, and whoever triggered it…well, she felt sorry for them. His knuckles were white on the wheels, and although he kept under the speed limit, his turns were rather sharp, causing her to nearly bang her head on the window more than once.
Finally, they arrived at the house and Nick was out of the car before Catherine had even undone her seatbelt. He had, somehow, obtained keys to the door, and she decided it was better not to ask how and within five minutes they were inside.
Nick unpacked his field kit up in what was obviously Ricardo's bedroom, every fiber of his being bent on finding something…anything…that would lead them to Dani. It wasn't just because she was his co-worker and his friend…it was because he had finally realized he cared for her. What was the saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Well, that was definitely the case here. And if he didn't move his ass, it might be too late…
Catherine was downstairs in the kitchen, searching through the papers on the table, hoping that one of them would point them in the right direction. She had been about to exit the kitchen when something caught her eye beneath the table, next to the recycle box, which had recently been emptied. Kneeling down, she carefully picked it up with tweezers, and read it quietly, eyes first widening and then her face splitting into a wide grin. Wow, twenty minutes and already she'd found what she was looking for. It had to be a record.
"Nick! Nick, I think I found it!" She yelled up the stairs, and was rewarded with pounding footsteps, and an anxious face at the bottom of the stairs. "Ricardo owns a old house out in the desert, reportedly hasn't used it for years…but it's definitely prime real estate for harboring a hostage." Nick split into a wide grin and snatched the paper from her hand, reading the address.
"Let's call the paramedics and get our asses down there." He said, and was out the door, not even bothering to grab his field kit from upstairs, which Catherine got for him, understanding his anxiety. For all they knew Dani was already dead or dying, and they needed to get her help as soon as possible.
---------------------The House----------------------------
Every sense in his body was heightened, his eyes picking up just the slightest bit of movement, his ears the tiniest of sounds. He had his gun out, pointed at the ground, while he waited impatiently for Brass and his team to get there. The ambulance was on it's way too, in case this was the right place. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, but was really only about ten minutes, Brass pulled up in his van, backed-up by two of his best police officers.
"Let's go…" He said, and he pushed open the door, which was broken down and in disrepair, and nearly fell over just by the light pressure. "Dani!" He called out, praying for some sort of response. He didn't get any. "DANI!!"
He flung open every door on the one side of the hall, while Brass did the other, with Catherine and the other two police officers following behind them. "Here Nick!" Brass called from a few doors ahead and indicated the open door leading to the basement.
Nick started down the stairs as slowly as he could manage, and carefully pushed open the door at the bottom, revealing a quiet basement. At first glance, it almost seemed normal, but as soon as a flashlight was entered into it, the blood spatter and trails all around the floor and wall became apparent. Nick nearly threw procedure to the winds as he saw the slumped body in the corner, familiar blonde hair stained with blood…
"No…" He said hoarsely, and Brass pushed past him, careful not to step on any of the blood, assuming that this was already a homicide investigation. Nick wouldn't accept that though. He pushed into the room, his gun shoved back into it's holster, and he was at Dani's side, reaching for her wrist, praying…for a second chance…and he yelled in triumph as he felt the weak beat that pushed against his fingertips. "She's alive! We need paramedics down here, NOW!!"
As Catherine hastened up the stairs to get the paramedics, Nick carefully pulled Dani out of her curled up position, stretching her out on the floor, her head on his lap. "Dani? Come on, Dani, don't you dare leave me now…do you hear me, that's an order, you stay with us!" He was speaking softly, as he pressed his hands against the wound on her shoulder, his strong hands stemming the flow of blood.
Before he could receive any response from Dani…not that he was expecting one…the paramedics had arrived, lifting her carefully onto the stretcher, leaving Nick sitting on the floor, stained with blood, but with the paramedic's whispered comments to each other swirling through his head.
"She's lost a lot of blood…you think she's gonna make it?"
"I don't know…" The uncertainty in that last voice had nearly caused Nick to just curl up and weep, but he didn't. He stood up, looking around the room at Brass and Catherine, who were staring at him with a look not unlike pity in their eyes.
"Let's get started…we've got a scene to process…" He said, masking all trace of emotion in his voice. Dani would live…because she had to…because if she didn't, he would lose his chance forever…
((Dun dun dun…hope that's good enough for you guys, Thanks to all my reviewers, you guys ROCK!!! Chapter 13 will be up soon!!))
