A/N: Hello again everyone! So, I was originally going to update this story, as well as On Your Side. But life got in the way and I wasn't able to finish the update for On Your Side. But luckily I finished this chapter!

As always, thank you to everyone that read last chapter, and a huge thank you to winterschild11 and annabellex2 for reviewing!

This is chapter is a little on the short side as well, but I hope you all enjoy!


"I'm sorry Lucy, but we've searched the entire house and there's nothing else here."

Lucy grabbed the corner of her desk, tightening her hold until her knuckles turned white. She wanted to rip the earpiece out and throw it across the room. Or accuse Dak of lying. Or something that would make her feel better about Kendall's disappearance. Kevin's intimidation techniques just hadn't cut it. Too wired to sit, she shifted back and forth on her shoes-which were becoming increasingly uncomfortable by the second-and wracked her brain over what Kendall had said before disappearing. Had there been any indication of what had happened to him? She couldn't remember.

"Is there anything else? Anything?"

"No. I'm really sorry."

Lucy loosened her fingers-blood painfully flooding back into them-and pulled away from her desk to pace the room for the millionth time. It cleared her head enough that she could take a deep breath. Stay strong. "I want a last check of the house. If there's something even remotely interesting or out of place, I want it tagged and collected. I've commissioned three of our psychometrics to catalogue everything you bring back."

"We'll do everything we can."

The door to the office burst open and Jett stormed inside. Lucy could feel her face pulling into a silent glare.

"What's being done?"

I don't need this right now. "We have it under control." He had ten seconds to turn around and walk right back out that door before she introduced him to her fist. Hell, with her promotion, a certain amount of percussive persuasion was expected.

"Listen, I'm aware of how badly I messed up our relationship, but that doesn't mean I don't still care about him."

"I-" She cut herself off when James appeared in the doorway. A visitor pass hung from a chord around his neck, and he took one look at the situation before interposing himself between them.

"Lucy?"

"He's offering help."

James didn't look impressed. "Why?"

"I don't need to justify myself to you."

This was about to turn into something ugly. "Enough. Agent Stetson, if you're really interested in helping, then you get your ass to the asylum where we're holding Blake Patterson and find out what his current status is. If he's the one responsible, I want to know."

Jett quickly spun on his heels and walked out the door. He didn't touch it, but it still slammed shut behind him. James' eye twitched. They exchanged a silent look of understanding and she removed her earpiece. Setting it down on the desk, she switched her phone onto speaker.

"... and I don't see why-"

"Dak? I'm sorry, but could please go over what we've got one more time?"

"Of course. There are signs someone's been squatting in the attic. Not much more than a mattress and some pornographic magazine. The rest of the house is covered with drop cloths. It's in bad shape. I'm currently in the basement with our forensics team. There are signs of a struggle, but no body. We found one of Kendall's guns. And what remains of his phone."

James' jaw clenched. Lucy offered her hand and he took it in a tight grip.

"What about the mound of dirt?"

"Whatever Kendall found was reburied. We've just finished unearthing a small metal lockbox. There's not much inside. Only pictures of women."

"More pornography?"

"No. Polaroids. Different women. Maybe sisters. They're all unlabeled." Over the speaker, she could hear him shuffling through the contents of the box, his watch banging against the sides. "There's also a picture of two boys. This one's older. From the exposure, I'd guess late fifties. Early sixties, maybe."

"Bring everything you found back to headquarters. Head right down to evidence. I'll make sure they know to expect you. I've gotten the go-ahead from Kevin to expedite everything."

"Thank you. May I ask how you're holding up?"

James squeezed her hand and dropped it.

"I'll be better once we find him. Get your ass back to HQ. And don't forget his car." She disconnected the call and looked at James. "I'm glad you're here."

"Thank you for calling me." James looked at a loss, so Lucy gestured him to one of the chairs. "I stopped listening after you said he'd gone missing. Can you tell me again what happened?"

Lucy nodded and filled him in. "When he didn't reinitiate contact within ten minutes, I contacted the local authorities with an anonymous tip that someone had broken in. They didn't find anything. The officer who went to check it out said the call had been a hoax, and I sent Dak and a forensics team out to investigate. That was four hours ago." Did James hear the self-recrimination in her voice?

James pulled his lips into a tight frown. "So what now?"

"Dak's going to return with the findings, and our psychometrics are going to use them to see what happened to Kendall. You know Jett's checking on our suspect. Kendall was looking for evidence against him."

"And then?"

"We employ a number of psychics who are going to be actively searching for him. I've already sent a few of our people to his place to collect personal items to help them."

"And then?"

"Standard procedure says that we run continuous checks on hospitals and morgues for anyone admitted who matches Kendall's description."

"And then?"

Lucy slammed her palm down on the desk. "Dammit, James, I don't know!" She dropped into her chair, covering her eyes. The frustration welled inside her, pushing against her chest and turning her words into a half sob. "Kendall is the agent. And while I might do more than your average assistant around here, I don't have the same instincts he does. Kendall can look at a piece of ripped carpet and not only tell you what happened to the damn floor, but what the rest of the room looks like. I can't do that."

James rested his hands on her shoulders and pressed his thumbs into her back, not quite massaging but offering a solid presence. His palms were warm.

"This isn't your fault, Luce."

"Kendall shouldn't have been there alone." She whispered.

"He wouldn't have gone in without backup if he believed he was in danger. And whoever took him had to know that the Society would come to investigate his disappearance. If Kendall was dead, they would've left a body, right?"

Desperate need for reassurance choked James' words. Lucy didn't know how much she had to give. Instead of answering, she rested her forehead against his knuckles. They stood in heavy silence, not quite sure what to say to each other to fill the space that was suddenly separating them from the threads of hope disappearing into the air.


Done! So James and Lucy aren't taking Kendall's disappearance too well :(

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new chapter!

I will try to update again by next weekend at the latest and will try to update On Your Side as well!

Until then!

-Epically Obsessed