Chapter 13

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
but I flew too high

Carry on my wayward son – Kansas

"What do we have Flack?" Stella asked as she slid out of the passenger side of the black SUV, Mac grabbed his kit as he climbed out the driver's side. Flack waited for them on the other side of the crime tape and held it up as the pair of them ducked beneath it.

"Double homicide, another married couple." He answered tiredly, "George and Victoria Wilde, married for 5 years, both work as Professors at NYU. The brother of Mrs Wilde is the one that discovered the bodies, he came to check on them both after they failed to turn up for their own anniversary party." He told them as they headed into the house.

Sat on the stairs were two officers, one trying to take a statement from the brother and the other trying to comfort him. Stella shot the young man a sympathetic look, shaking her head as she looked away and followed Flack and Mac in to the kitchen, "No obvious signs of struggle..." she commented. Stopping behind Mac who frowned,

"Bleach..." he said simply, the smell extremely strong. "He cleaned up, same as the other murders." Stella wrinkled her nose at the smell and followed Flack down into the basement. Mac following closely, none of them prepared for the scene in front of them. Despite the pictures and the others murders, seeing it like this was like seeing it for the first time all over again. Horrifying didn't even cover it.

The young married couple were both tied to their chairs, back to back. They were a mess; there was blood everywhere, on the floor, ceiling walls. Stella shook her head and looked away, gathering herself together whilst Mac looked thoughtful, his eyes scanning the scene, "I don't get it." He muttered. Flack nodded and looked at him,

"Huge difference between upstairs and downstairs isn't there." He said, as Mac nodded ever so slightly,

"He obviously didn't care much about cleaning up after him down here." Stella said as she carefully began manoeuvring her way through the blood splatters on the floor.

"It's because he didn't care about these two. There's something different about them, the way he's set them up, it almost seems rushed." Mac said, before turning to Flack, "Flack, when was the last time the brother spoke with Mrs Wilde?" he asked, as Flack began skimming through his notes.

"Last night, apparently they were finalizing plans for today." He replied. Mac frowned deeply, shaking his head as he crouched down in front of Mr Gates, wincing ever so slightly as he got a better look at the man. His eyes eventually fell onto a white folded piece of paper sticking out of the man's shirt pocket. Opening his kit, Mac pulled on a pair of latex gloves and carefully removed the paper from the man's pocket.

As soon as he had it in his hands Mac knew what it was, cautiously he opened it, his eyes scanning the words on the paper before he looked up, "Flack where's Beth?" he asked, Flack head turned quickly to Mac upon hearing the question and Mac stepped forward,

"Back at my place why?" he asked, a cold feeling of dread filling his stomach as Stella moved beside Mac, taking the note from him as he answered,

"Because I know why he rushed with this murder…"

"Time to complete the collection…" Stella read from the note out loud, her eyes widening in understanding as she looked up at Mac, "He's gone for Beth," she said, her gaze flickering to Flack.

Mac's eyes locked with Flacks and the younger of the two ran from the basement pulling out his phone as he did. Mac looked at Stella before he hurried to the stairs, ordering Stella to get Danny down here as he followed Flack.

"Idiot," Flack barked, as he hit his fist down against the steering wheel. Mac didn't try to say anything, he knew Flack wouldn't listen, so instead he kept all his concentration on the phone he was holding up to his ear. "I shouldn't have left her." Flack said as his car skidded to a screeching stop outside his apartment building. Mac snapped the phone shut, letting out a sound of frustration as they both clambered out the car.

Forgoing the lift, both Detectives' took to the stairs, taking the steps three at a time. As they reached the right floor, Flack tore down the hallway his heart pounding wildly against his chest as he skidded to a halt outside his apartment. The door was ajar, a large footprint in the centre. Shrugging off Mac's hold, Flack burst through the door, "Beth!" he yelled loudly as his eyes took in the mess of the apartment. Not wanting to believe what he already knew Flack ran through the rest of the apartment calling her name.

She was gone. Mac knew it, they were too late. "Don..." he called, his eyes fixating on the blood drops on the floor. Flack walked out of his room, his face frantic, and his eyes caught on the smeared bloody hand print on the wall leading from his room.

"Mac she isn't...that son of a bitch has her..." he ran a shaking hand over his face, before he spun around quickly and punched the wall, his hand tearing through the plaster with the force of it.

"Don you need to remain calm." Mac told him as he pulled out his phone. Flack pulled his hand out from the wall, not feeling any pain as he watched blood seep out from his knuckles. His head pounded in the same way his heart thud against his chest, and something like oil churned in his stomach, burning like acid.

Leaning back against the wall he grabbed a fistful of his hair, attempting to force away the images of Beth in trouble. Looking up his eyes caught on the jacket hanging over the sofa. Stepping forwards, he took hold of it carefully and held it tightly, not listening as Mac spoke on his phone. Lifting up the jacket, he took a breath, tears pricked at his eyes as he squeezed them shut and lowered the jacket.

"Alright Lindsey and Hawkes are on their way," Mac's voice broke through Flack's empty thoughts, "We're going to find her Don, I promise." Flack could already feel the burning sting behind his eyes building again, as he looked up and saw the same pained expression on Mac's face he shook his head and breathlessly asked,

"What's he doing to her Mac?"

10:00pm

The only thing Beth could register was that she was wet. It was the first thing she registered, she couldn't think, couldn't remember. Where was she? One thing she did know for sure was she wasn't alone, and that was when she remembered. Forcing her eyes open she sat up quickly, regretting the action instantly. Beth cringed as the full force of the pain hit her, and screwed her eyes tightly shut to spare herself any more damage the light may be waiting to inflict on her.

Taking a breath, Beth attempted to move her hands, but jerked in shock when her efforts were stopped shortly by the shackles around both her wrists. Daring to open her eyes again she looked down to see that the shackles where a rusty brown colour and lead over to a loop ground tightly into the wall.

"I figured you'd find it harder escaping from those then you did the rope we used last time," the voice made her freeze, as her blood ran cold. Realising he'd thrown water over her to wake her up, Beth felt her adrenaline kick in. Despite the pain in her head and the grogginess she felt, Beth knew in order to survive she was going to have to do her best to push through it.

"Last time..." her voice sounded alien even to her, as it came out a cracked whisper. Her throat was dry, and there was a bitter taste of blood in her mouth. Charles was in front of her on the floor in a flash, his hand cupping the side of her face,

"You remember our last night together don't you? It's all I've thought about for two years." He told her, his voice soft as he leaned in, pressing his face against the crook of her neck and inhaling deeply. Beth cringed at his touch, "You weren't like the others, I knew that the moment I laid eyes on you."

"Go to hell!" Beth screamed at him, pulling back from him, and struggling against the restraints. Charles leaned back and laughed, his eyes still fixated on hers,

"Oh you've still got that fire. I missed that. The others gave in to easily but not you, no, you fought back, you gave me a challenge." He chuckled and shook his head, before his whole demeanour changed. His eyes were wide and wild, a darkness crossing his face as he grabbed Beth by the arm and roughly pulled her to him, "I'm gonna make this last." He promised her before pushing her back and delivering a harsh kick into her stomach.

The boot made a sickeningly dull thud and crack as it hit her, sending her back to the ground where she grunted painfully, the air being forced out of her. Rolling onto her side with her arms wrapped around her stomach, there was another painful thud as he delivered another kick into her back. The pain ceased all movements, the seconds suddenly felt like hours before she could even entertain the idea of breathing and when she did it felt like a knife burying itself into her stomach with each one. Beth felt her body unconsciously curl into a ball, as if to protect itself. The coughs came out rapidly as she curled up, trying to steady herself and grit her teeth to ride out the pain. How would the team find her she wondered? Beth knew she was in trouble, nothing about this felt like last time. For one she was alone.

Beth knew what he wanted, what he always wanted from his victims. He wanted to hear her scream, cry out beg him to stop but she wouldn't do that. She didn't do it the first time, and she sure as hell wasn't going to give him the satisfaction now. "Go to hell." She spat at him.

Charles didn't move, his eyes were wild as he turned away from her and headed to his desk. From her position on the ground Beth could only watch. The pain in her chest was agonizing, and she knew the noise she'd heard when he'd kicked her had been a rib.

"You really did forget all your manners didn't you." He commented, as he stopped over the desk. Beth frowned, unable to see what he was doing. "There is something I've been dying to ask you though." He said as he turned to face her, his arms crossed, "Why did you leave Agent Giles team?

Beth looked at him for a moment, before shaking her head, preparing to look away when he carried on "It was never the same after he left was it? You weren't the same, when little Todd left us"

"Don't you dare, talk about him. You killed him!" Beth yelled, surprising even herself as she did, "You butchered him you bastard..." Charles pushed away from his desk and waved a hand dismissively,

"Let's not get nasty sweetheart." He said, cocking his head to the side as he looked at her, "I tried to explain this before, you think those people I killed were innocent? They were far from it, they were liars, pretending they were perfect to the outside world when all the while they're cheating on each other, or abusing each other...they deserved to die."

"No one deserves to suffer through the pain you caused." Beth argued tugging at her restraints again,

"They were liars! Just like you and Todd...you lied to me, and he suffered the consequences, just like you're going to." He replied calmly as he crouched over her, his fingers threading through her hair. Distracted, Beth didn't see the knife till it was too late. Beth closed her eyes, struggling not to cry out as he ran the blade down her forearm, cutting her deep.

Charles smiled as he watched her struggle, "I've fantasized about this moment for 2 whole years, hearing you whimper as I slice into your skin...and you will, you'll be screaming at me to stop soon. We've got all the time in the world."

Standing up, he walked away leaving Beth alone on the floor. She couldn't reply the pain in her chest was getting worse as she shivered. She was drenched from the water he'd thrown over her, and being chained to a cold floor wasn't helping matters. Panic was settling in, over riding any confidence she had left. A chuckle brought her back into the here and now, and through the slits of her eyes she saw Charles settling down into a chair.

She tried to concentrate, to focus but the blow she'd taken to the head back in the apartment was now working against her and the last thing she saw before slipping into unconsciousness was the flicker of computer screens coming to life.

11:00pm

"Agent Giles and his team are just getting into the air now, they should arrive in just over an hour," Mac told Stella as they walked through the labs. There was an unusual urgent, bleak and somewhat stressed air, around the Detective. Stella nodded and handed him a file, it had been just over 3 hours since they'd realised Beth was missing.

"You seen Flack?" she asked, Mac sighed, as he remembered the look in the younger mans eyes before he'd left him.

"He's at the precinct, he's got as many people as he can out there looking," Mac answered, something in his tone caught Stella's attention and she frowned,

"What is it?" she asked, placing her hand on his arm, making Mac stopped and looked at Stella,

"I just don't know what good him having all his men out there is going to do. We have no idea where Charles has taken her," Mac said, Stella crossed her arms and shrugged,

"As long as we're out there Mac there's a small chance we could find her. We don't leave our own," she reminded him. Mac looked at Stella for a beat before taking a breath and nodding,

"Your right," he replied,

"Damn right I am," Stella smiled as they walked into the conference room. Up on the main screen was a direct link to the plane Beth's old team was on,

"Agent Giles I presume," asked Mac as he and Stella sat down. On the screen was an older greying man,

"That I am, and I'm guessing your Detective Mac Taylor, and Stella Bonazara," both of them nodded and Giles leaned forward towards the screen, his face solemn "How long has it been now?" he asked,

"Just gone 3 hours," answered Stella, Giles sighed and ran a hand over his face, and glanced at the other members of his team before addressing Mac and Stella again,

"Then we don't have long," he told them, "The longest time he's ever kept his victims alive is 24 hours,"

1:00am

Bones breaking made a very specific sound. A sound that most people whether you've heard it before or not, are never quite prepared for. It sickens you to your stomach, on a level you weren't even sure existed, and sends shivers down your spine. It was the second time that night Beth heard that noise, after receiving another kick to her stomach Beth felt the pain hit her quickly. It went rushing and burning through her so fast she moaned loudly and tried to force herself to breathe through the pain that shot through her upper body.

Time didn't seem to matter here. Beth wasn't sure right now how much time had passed, a week, a month, a year, well it certainly felt that long. A part of her wanted to give up, give into the pain. The last 2 years had been long and tiring, all of it leading up to this very moment and she wasn't sure she had it in her to fight anymore. However Beth knew who she was, and that was a fighter. Never had she backed down from any challenges thrown her way, she faced her fears and fought against them every day. She vowed that Charles was not going to take that away from her, it didn't matter what he did.

"You forced me away from my home. I wasn't welcome anymore, not after everyone knew what I'd done." Charles yelled at her, it angered him she didn't flinch. Clenching her teeth Beth fought to control the pain in her chest as she kneeled on the floor, forcing herself to remain awake.

"You killed all those people Charles, did you really think you'd get away with it forever?" she asked, her voice a flat whisper, cracked with pain. The full fisted blow to the face sent Beth hurtling to the cold hard floor once again making her cough heavily, trying to breathe through the pain. Her chest burned as she wheezed a protest to the blows she had received only earlier. Forcing her eyes shut in an attempt to escape the pain, her mind raced to a place she knew she wanted to be.

Blue eyes flashed to the front of her mind.

Blue eyes. Soon a face she knew only too well appeared, and a sense of warmth and comfort spread throughout her. Don. She was in his room. The bed was untidy, and the shower could be heard running. A blue shirt lay on the bottom of the bed. Gingerly Beth reached out for it, and lifted the shirt to her face. The scent of Don lingered on it, and it gave her peace. Beth knew now why it was she had to hold on, if her strength faltered which she knew it partly would at some point, she'd hold onto Don's instead. Her head was foggy and thoughts of a certain blue eyed Detective were rudely interrupted by a sharp stabbing pain in her arm.

"What's that?" she demanded groggily. With the many blows she'd received Beth felt as though she'd been put through the grinder.

"It's something to keep you quiet whilst I work." Charles answered, his dark eyes flickering from the needle in her arm, which Beth noticed did not look like the cleanest thing in the world. He smiled, his finger tapping her on the nose, "Don't worry though, you'll be able to feel everything when you wake up." His eyes revealed the truth in this promise. Before Beth could open her mouth to retort, she felt herself being forcefully dragged back into the darkness, her last thoughts of blue eyes.

Okay thank you every one who read and reviewed the last chapter! Also big thanks to those who've added this story to Story Alert, your supports greatly appreciated!

Donn thank you :D always lending an ear when I've gotta vent to someone! Thanks xx

schnerb - Once again you made me smile :D glad you liked the cliffhanger and hope you enjoyed this chapter! Poor Beth's going to have to try and draw as much strength as she can from Don for the next few chapters!

csi-ncis - Charles is ruthless! Have no idea how I came up with him I'm wondering whether I should worry lol glad you enjoyed the fight scene Beth wasn't going to take it laying down!

You Can't Rush Science - Thanks for your support hun! So happy you enjoyed the chapter! I'm hoping you enjoy this one just as much!