Within a couple of minutes Nick pulled into the parking lot of Judy's apartment complex. It was strange to not hear any sirens behind him, and Nick made sure to check his mirrors. Regular traffic ran behind him, but other than that, it felt like a normal day. Besides the fact, of course, that Judy was obviously missing and he was fleeing the very police force he was a part of. Or at least had been fleeing, since, even after getting out of the car, there was still no sirens or high revving around him to be heard. No rushing, no yelling. It was kind of strange.
He walked inside the lobby and locked eyes with the owner, who glared at him. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to get to her. I can find her."
"I was given orders not to let you in."
Nick was tempted to draw the gun from his holster, but he resisted. Instead he rushed past and ripped open the door next to the elevator. He made his way upstairs, climbing each set of stairs and not running out of breath. Eventually he made it to the fourth floor and stopped. Judy's room was right down the hall. He rushed down this hallway too, his footsteps pattering.
Once he made it to the door, he pulled it open. It was similar to how the investigators had left it. Dark, and flags were placed where Judy's clothes had been. But there were sounds outside the door. Someone had found him. Nick made a last ditch effort to inspect the room. The sounds got louder.
And then he glanced at the window. They wouldn't have exited through the lobby, he thought. He had made his way in, but if he tried to get out, he would have been taken. Whoever had taken Judy had left another way.
He rushed to the window and inspected it. The latch had been broken. With some more inspection against the light of the setting sun, he found scratches on the sill. Someone had escaped this way. He pulled the window open. But there was nothing. How had they escaped? Nick inspected the sill more thoroughly. Still nothing.
Then he looked at the ground. There was a shadow casting onto the concrete. It looked like a string. He could see the shadow of his head cast onto the concrete right above the string.
A rope.
Someone had left a rope. It was still swinging from the side of the window. Nothing was marked, which was strange. How did they miss that? Nick thought. Surely they had thought the same he did. Nick looked underneath the sill and his suspicions were confirmed. It was a brown twine rope, one of those ropes that felt horrible on the hands and were guaranteed to give you a burn if you rubbed them too hard. It hung all the way down to the ground. Nick didn't give it a second thought to climb down, using the few knots that had been tied into the rope to prevent him from sliding down too fast. Once he was about five feet from the ground he let go, landing feet first on the dirt and accidentally crushing a few plants that were growing next to the building. He tried to walk forward but almost tripped. Something was stuck to his foot.
He reached down to grab it and froze. It was a bag, with a gaping hole in the middle. It had been stuck in the plant he had landed next to and his foot had somehow caught the hole ripped in the bag. Then he brought it to his nose. Judy. He recognized her smell immediately. It wasn't her usual smell—he only knew this smell, and only him. Her scent was a little more distinct when he got close to her, and this was that smell. And this was recent, too—the bag didn't seem that dirty and the smell was still strong, though not as strong as she was. She had been in contact with it for at least a few minutes, he thought.
After moving it from his nose he saw a logo. It seemed familiar.
Then he smiled. He knew where she was. Stupid kidnappers, he thought. Stupid kidnappers.
A loud sound came from above. A helicopter. Someone had gotten in a helicopter, and it was getting close. Nick ditched the bag and high tailed it to his car. It was a few minutes away, but if he made it away in time, he could do it. He started the car and pulled from the parking lot, then pulled onto the main road. Lights from above shone on his car, and a voice came from the helicopter. "Stop the car," it said.
Nick ignored the warning and pressed on the gas, and the engine revved with the sudden input. As his speed increased, the voice from the helicopter faded. The helicopter he knew wasn't very fast. It was mostly for talking to ground units. But it still could follow him. He just had to make it there faster.
And he had the advantage of knowing where Judy was.