A/N: It saddens me that I didn't get very many reviews for the last few chapters. Come on psych fans, we're almost done, give me some motivation here. I'm practically throwing out new chapters quick. Leave a review!

Note: This is a loooong chapter. Over 3000 words, yay! Was going to break this into two but decided against it. Next one should be very interesting.

Chapter 20: Taken

Shawn pressed himself against the wall, then peered out through the crack in the curtains. The maroon Blazer sat at the curb, exhaust fumes puffing out of its idling engine.

"They're still there." He whispered to himself.

Cassidy looked up from Shawn's extensive DVD collection. "You say something?"

Shawn peered out at the SUV, then ducked behind the curtain at a sign of movement inside the car.

Cassidy sighed got to her feet.

"You know, you were so stoked about me coming over this evening, but instead you've been peering out of those curtains for the past fifteen minutes leaving the entire decision making up to moi." She said, "What's so fascinating outside that has grabbed your attention away from movie night, Shawn?"

"That's great babe..." His voice trailed off as he continued to peek out the window. The SUV was still there. "Just choose something you'll think we'll both like."

"Maybe I should just go."

Cassidy grabbed her belongings and headed for the door.

"No!"

Cassidy stared at him, stunned. She was still standing by the door but she hadn't taken another step. Not once in their relationship had he yelled at her.

Shawn inwardly slapped himself for suddenly yelling at her. He feared for her safety. If she stepped foot out of the apartment there was no telling what would happen to her, especially since Chase was itching to get his hands on her. He couldn't risk her leaving, not right now.

He knew he needed to get rid of them. The last thing he needed in his life was two thugs and a bounty on his head. He could call the cops and inform them of the dire situation, but couldn't risk having another charge on his record for the illegal gambling he carried out, but calling the cops seemed like a wise decision than the other alternative…death.

"I mean no." He spoke softly, putting a hand on her arm to stop her. "Don't leave, just stay. Please?"

Something troubled Cassidy. Her eyes shifted to the window then back to Shawn. What was behind those curtains that made him so on edge?

She moved away from the door a little.

"What aren't you telling me?" She asked. "The look on your face is telling me you're hiding something. Tell me."

Shawn laughed humorlessly. "What look? I'm not hiding anything, Cass." He lied. "I promise."

Cassidy stepped up to Shawn, a look of concern on her face, "What did you get yourself into this time?" She said. "Are you gambling again, if so, how much?"

Shawn sighed irritably.

"Would you get off my back about that? I'm not gambling, alright." He said. "Geez, you're just as pushy as my dad. Just drop it."

Cassidy shook her head in disgust and was heading for the door.

"Wait, Cass." Shawn said.

"Don't bother, Shawn," She said. "It's apparent you don't trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you."

"I do trust you."

"Then tell me!" She yelled. "Tell me what's wrong!"

"I can't!" Shawn yelled back. "It's complicated, alright."

Cassidy shook her head again in disappointment and opened the door. "I thought you were the only person I could trust. I gave you everything I could possibly offer and all I expected in return was for you to do the same." She said. "Whenever you decide to stop keeping secrets from me give me a call, until then we're through."

As the door closed behind Cassidy, Shawn collapsed onto his sofa and stared blankly at the door, trying to soak up what had just happened. She left him, broke up with him because he couldn't bear to see the look of fear on her face when he broke the news to her. For once in a long time he was alone, again.

There was no one he could talk to, to laugh with, to watch movies with, nothing. There was no Gus, no father he could talk to because of his childish antics. And now he had just pushed the love of his life right out the door, the one who had given her heart, mind, body and soul.

Shawn grabbed the glass of water off the coffee table and threw it towards the apartment door, shattering it into pieces.

"Shit!"

~ANTIQUITY~

The gloved hand reached for the car door handle once he caught sight of the teenager leaving the apartment complex, but was halted when an arm reached out stopping him from opening the door.

"You heard what he said," The man growled. "He didn't pay us to dispose of that brat. Besides, I think it'll hurt her more when she finds out he's dead, washed up on the Santa Clara beach."

The two watched as Cassidy got into the car and sped off.

"It's time."

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy lay in bed, eyes red-rimmed by the need for sleep, yet all she could do was stare at the ceiling fan spinning as her mind replayed again and again what happened earlier that night.

She loved Shawn, but why couldn't he trust her with his problems? Cassidy pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes and groaned softly, mentally and physically exhausted but still wide awake.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

Guess you decided to change your mind.

Cassidy pulled out her phone from her nightstand drawer and flipped it open only to realize it wasn't Shawn calling her in the middle of the night but Becca.

She pressed ignore and tossed it back into her drawer only for it to ring once more.

"Oh, for Christ sake," She said, then jabbed the button to accept the call. "What do you want, Becca? Now is not a good time."

"I need to talk to you." She whispered urgently. "I'm outside your house."

"Like I said, it's not a good time." Cassidy said. "I'm hanging up now."

"It's Shawn."

Cassidy immediately sat up and threw her leg over the edge of the bed. "What about him?" She said, moving the phone to her other ear.

"I think he's in danger." She said. "Can you let me in?"

~ANTIQUITY~

Upon opening her window, her annoyance at having no sleep vanished.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked, allowing her to step inside her bedroom so she could close the window behind her.

"You might want to sit down." Becca said.

"I'd prefer to stand, Rebecca." She growled. "So stop rattling on and get on with it."

"You're still mad." She whispered sadly. "You're still calling me, Rebecca."

Cassidy sighed impatiently. "I could give a rat's ass about what happened between us right now." She said. "You said Shawn's in danger, now spit it out."

"Okay, okay, fine." She said. "But you have to promise me you're not going to freak?"

"Becca!"

"Alright," She said. "Jason came to me a while back, said something about getting even with, Shawn. That night at the party, the night you were drugged, Shawn really beat the crap out of, Jason."

"Yeah, yeah." Cassidy said. "I know all that already. Where is this going?"

"You know Jason had that scholarship for that NCAA crap. Well Shawn pretty much took that away from him. He can't play football anymore. He didn't just break his arm that night; he messed up his shoulder as well. He's done." She said. "Anyway, he spiraled into depression and said he's going to get even with him. He somehow managed to track down those two thugs at the diner where you and Shawn met. He hired those two to kill Shawn."

The blood drained from Cassidy's face as she took a seat beside Becca. "Why didn't you go to the authorities?"

Becca laughed humorlessly. "Are you kidding?" She said. "Jason would kill me if I told you anything. I've been waiting for a while to catch you alone. He's been watching my every move. He's gone crazy."

Cassidy reached into her drawer and quickly dialed Shawn's number. "I have to call him," She said. "I have to warn him."

Becca watched as her best friend's ashen face as she listened to Shawn's voice on the outgoing message.

"Cassidy, I'm so sorry."

Cassidy shook her head tightly as she stood from her bed then quickly walked over to her closet and opened the double doors to her closet, dragging out a black trunk.

"Um, what do you think you're doing?" Becca said curiously.

"There's still time." Cassidy said. "I can't just sit by and do nothing. I have to help him."

Becca stood up. "You're insane!" She shrieked. "Maybe you should follow your advice and call the cops. That's their job. If you go out there now you'll be a sitting duck and will just get yourself killed. Is that what you want? Do you really want to put your parents through all that?"

Cassidy shook her head violently and gently placed down a pair of black Decker pants, black T-shirt and a black hoodie, while she stripped out of her clothing. "I can't risk calling the cops right now, Becca." She said. "If I do that there's a good chance it'll turn ugly. They'll kill him as soon as the police show up. I can infiltrate quietly and get him out before anyone even notices."

"And how do you expect to do that!?" She said. "You don't even know where he's at."

Cassidy threw on her black hoodie and grabbed the large duffle back out of the trunk and draped it over her shoulder. "Simple," She said. "I go face to face to the person who placed the bounty on him personally. But first there's something I have to do."

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy kept her foot jammed down on the gas, blasting though stop signs and red lights. She had to be sure. Maybe he was home. Maybe he didn't answer her call because of the argument and was just sitting comfy on his couch watching TV.

In the passenger seat, Becca dialed and redialed Shawn's number, but every call went direct to voice mail. Cassidy jammed the gas pedal even harder. She could see Shawn's apartment straight ahead. Five more seconds and they were out front.

"Stay here," Cassidy instructed.

"No way," Becca said. "I'm going with you."

Cassidy didn't have time to argue and just nodded to get her off her back. Cassidy and Becca leapt out, tearing up the hallway to his apartment door.

As Cassidy's hand touched the knob the door opened slightly.

Please, please just tell me you left the door open on accident. Please be here, please be okay.

Cassidy lifted her right pants leg, pulling out an ART. FX-G2B, a standard military tactical knife and got into defense position.

"Whoa, what are you planning to do with that?" Becca whispered.

"Quiet," Cassidy shushed. "Stay close and be on alert. There's no telling if the intruders are still here."

"So what, you're going to slaughter them like pigs?"

Cassidy sighed irritably.

"Becca, will you please shut up." She hissed. "I'm not going to kill anyone, alright. The most I'll do is just maim them out of pure mercy."

Cassidy quietly pushed the door open and cautiously stepped through the threshold, but stopped when she heart a crunch under her boot. Her worst nightmare came true.

"Blood," She whispered, crouching down and picked up a bloody piece of broken glass.

"Do you think its Shawn's?" Becca, said wearily.

Cassidy nodded. "Possibly," She said, glancing around the room. "There are signs of a struggle. From the looks of it he fought a good fight. As they were leaving they shoved him causing him to fall towards the broken glass, hence all the blood on the floor. Good news is that the amount of blood on the floor isn't very much. Most likely he cut his hands trying to slow his fall."

"Cassidy, there's no telling-"

Cassidy stood up and glared at Becca. "Don't you dare say it," She said. "He's fine, I'm sure of it. He won't be for long with that mouth of his. He's probably driving them crazy as we speak."

"So what're we going to do?"

"We're going to pay Jason a little visit." Cassidy said. "I'll get the information out of him one way or the other."

~ANTIQUITY~

"Stay here," Cassidy instructed once again as she opened the driver's door.

"I'm coming with you." Becca protested.

"Not this time," Cassidy said, slipping on a pair of tactical gloves. "If he sees you here with me he'll surely know you've been talking to me. You'll just be in my way, stay here where it's safe."

"What about you?" She said.

Cassidy scoffed. "Really, Becca?" She said. "How long have you known me? I think I can manage handling one jock all by myself."

"Your arrogance will get you killed someday you know." Becca said.

Cassidy shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not." She said. "But not today."

Cassidy shut the car door and jogged up to Jason's house. From what she could tell the house didn't seem occupied at the moment. If she still remembered correctly Jason would be home in a few from the gym, giving her enough time to beat the information out of him until his parents returned home.

She crouched down in front of the front door and reached into her back pocket pulling out a lock pick set. First, she slipped her tension wrench into the bottom of the keyhole and used gentle pressure in the direction she wanted to turn the lock. Then, she took her rake and quickly slid it back and forth to jostle the pins into place.

After raking back and forth through the lock, she quickly jerked the rake out of the keyhole while attempting to turn the tension wrench until the lock clicked open.

Thank you, dad!

Cassidy slid her pick kit back into her pocket and stepped inside. Once in, she pulled a small black flashlight and turned it on, quietly shutting the front door before locking it and proceeded upstairs to Jason's room where she would wait for his return.

Cassidy let out a heavy sigh as she lay on Jason's bed tossing the football up towards the ceiling and catching it as it fell back down. As she was about to toss it up once more she heard the door from downstairs open, followed my heavy footsteps heading in her direction.

You're right on time.

She quickly placed the football back in its rightful place and hid behind his bedroom door. Once he stepped foot into his room Cassidy thought this would be the perfect opportunity to catch him off guard. Before Jason had a chance to flip on the light switch she pulled out her ka'ane from her hoodie pocket and threw it around Jason's neck choking him.

"Hello, Jason." Cassidy growled, kicking the bedroom door shut. "Miss me?"

Jason's hands desperately tried to grasp the cord that was tightly wrapped around his neck as he gasped for air.

"The more you struggle the more I'm going to tighten it," She said. "So calm your ass down and we're going to have a little chat, okay?"

"What do you want?" Jason gasped.

"I think you know why I'm here," She hissed in his ear.

"If you don't let me go I'm going call the cops!"

"Call them," She said. "Explain to them how you placed a bounty on my boyfriend's head you son of a bitch."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Jason stammered.

Cassidy pulled the cord down towards the floor, knocking Jason onto his back. She pulled out her knife and placed it at his throat. "Liar, you know exactly what I'm talking about!" She cried. "Tell me where he is. If not my knife here can be very persuasive."

"I don't know!" He yelled.

Cassidy placed the tip of the blade into Jason's shoulder and twisted it causing a pained cry to escape Jason's lips. "I'm starting to get angry, Jason." She said. "And when I get angry I get crazy. So spill it, where did those two take him?"

"I said I don't know!" He cried.

Cassidy sighed impatiently. "I really didn't want to do this, Jason." She said. "But you leave me no choice."

"W-What are you going to do?" He stammered.

Cassidy smirked and held her knife up to the moon light shining through the window, admiring its beauty. "Did you know at the age of five my father placed this exact knife in my hand?" She said. "I remember as if it was yesterday. Human beings are so fragile. It only takes a cut in the right spot and you'll bleed out in a matter of seconds. It's very interesting really."

"Alright. Alright." He said. "I'll tell you! You're fucking crazy you know that!?"

"You don't know the half of it." She said. "Now tell me, where's Shawn being held?"

"It's an old warehouse. It's been abandoned for years." He said. "It's the perfect spot."

"The perfect spot," She said. "Are you talking about the one we used to go play at when we were children?"

Jason nodded. "Yes, yes." He said. "Now will you please get off of me?"

"You better pray you're not wrong about this." Cassidy said, slapping his right cheek before she stood up and headed towards the door. "Because if you are I'll be sure to come back and finish the job."

Jason groaned and got onto his knees, clutching his shoulder. "Hey," He said. "The next time you see Becca tell her she better watch her back."

Cassidy closed her eyes and breathed out an irritated sigh before she turned around towards Jason. She took a few steps forward and raised her fist bringing it down to his face. "You stay away from her." Cassidy warned. "When this is all through I'm going straight to the authorities and turning you in. It's a shame. We were such good friends at one time. It breaks my heart to know what you're parents are going to think when they hear the news."

Cassidy turned and quickly headed out of the room, leaving Jason alone. He reached into his pocket pulling out his cell phone and punched a button. It rang a few times until the person on the other side picked up. "Today's your lucky day."