A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, they make my day!!
His heart was racing in his chest. Waves of nausea slammed into him, threatening to make him puke. He held it together though. The SUV screeching to a halt. Boots pounded the pavement as he rushed up to his apartment. This cannot be happening.
"ELLIE! OPEN THE DOOR!" Both fists pounding against the hard wooden barrier.
The door opened up just a crack, just enough that the man who opened the door had half his face visible, wicked sneer on his face. "Just in time for the party, Lukas."
Shoving his way inside, Lukas looked around frantically for Ellie. "Where is she? WHERE IS SHE?"
A handgun trained at Lukas' head, the man spoke. "She is just freshening up in the bathroom. She will be right out in just a minute." A low chuckle emitted from the man's throat. "She is cleaning all the blood off of her face. She decided to scream when we showed up here. We had to fire a shot, so she's got a broken nose."
"You son of a bitch. Let me see her."
"Soon. I promise, you will see her soon."
"What do you want from me? Whatever it is, I will make it happen. I swear. Just don't hurt her. Please." Lukas begged the men in front of him. It wasn't an empty promise, he would do anything to keep his wife alive.
The other man sneered. "You will pay for what you did. You put my brother away, and he got KILLED because of you!"
Lukas was shocked. Surprise written all over his face. "Look man, I didn't know he was your brother, and I sure as hell didn't kill him."
"You may not have been the person who shivved him, but you put him in jail. Now, we have been studying you. We know how this works. You are going to put down your gun, and slide it over to me. Don't think about trying to shoot me because you can't outshoot all of us."
Doing as he was told, Lukas put down his gun, sliding it across the floor.
"Now, you are gonna sit down in that chair, and call your team. We have some demands."
"In position. Looks like they have Lukas in the living room. I don't see his wife. He's got at least three guys that I can see from my position. Looks like he is making a call. I have the solution." Sam gave his report to Ed, and settled in, prepared to take out any subjects if needed.
At that moment, Ed's phone rang, displaying Lukas' name. "Sam, hold. Spike, I've got an incoming call, patch it through to the headsets."
"Ed, it's Lukas. I have some friends here with me, they have some demands."
"Okay Lukas, can I talk to them?"
"Nope, he says he doesn't want to talk to you right now."
"Can you tell me how guys there are with you?"
"Nope. But they said they will kill me and my wife if you try to interfere. They want a way to the airport, and a private jet waiting. You have one hour." At that, Lukas ended the call.
"Okay, guys we need to figure something out here. What's this guy's game plan?"
Typing away at the computer in the truck, Spike piped up with new information. "Hey guys, looks like the leader of this gang was killed in prison. This could be retaliation for that. We all know what happens to guys in prison who hurt kids."
"Spike, can you run the license plates here and see what you can find? I'm thinking one of these vehicles is theirs."
Spike climbed out of the truck, quickly writing down license plate numbers before darting back to his computer. After a few minutes, a quiet ping was heard, Spike silently reading the information.
"Spike? What do we have here?"
"The black panel van. It belongs to our deceased gang leader. One Victor Chavez. Guys looks like he has a brother, Ernesto Chavez. I'd bet that is who tracked down Lukas. Let me see if I can access the cloud app he has on his phone."
"Good work Spike." Ed, gave the brief praise to the techie, hoping that they could get this resolved peacefully.
Lukas stared at Ernesto, hyper focused and hell bent on revenge. Initially he didn't hear the soft feminine voice calling out to him.
"Lukas? Lukas. Look at me please."
Shaken from his thoughts, Lukas looked up to see his wife being led out from their bedroom. "Ellie, baby, are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
Shaking her head, Ellie let out a shuddering breath. "No, they didn't. Lukas are these the guys you put away?"
Ernesto backhanded Ellie across the face causing her to yelp in pain.
"Don't you touch her! She didn't do anything!"
Laughing, Ernesto grabbed a roll of duct tape, placing a piece over Ellie's mouth. "Right about now, phase two of this plan is going into effect."
Lukas began to hyperventilate, fearing the worst for his wife.
"Relax, pig. It doesn't involve this cow here." Shooting a warning glare at Lukas, daring him to make a comment about calling his wife a cow.
Wisely, Lukas kept his mouth shut, apologetic eyes seeking out his wife, trying to communicate that he was sorry he didn't defend her.
"Nope, right now, the next SRU team is getting a call of a bomb threat at city hall. So, left in the station should be that pretty dispatcher, and the other fat cow who is married to another officer with blond hair." Ernesto pulled a flask out of his suit pocket taking a swig before continuing. "So, the next team will be on a call, my other guys are going to walk in, saying they need help. Once that dispatcher and cow are away from the desk, they will take the fat one, gut her like the pig she is, and then, you will have to explain to your teammate that you are the reason his wife and baby are dead."
"No. No, no, no, no, no. NO!" Tears began streaming down his face, Lukas made no motion to try and wipe them away. "How do you even know about her?"
"We've been watching you Lukas. Studying you. Where you go, who you work with, right down to where you drop your little brat off when you work over nights."
"Please, Ernesto, just take me. I'm the one you want. Please. They have done nothing wrong."
"Oh, but that is the point. We won't hurt you, just those around you."
"Team Four, hot call! Suspicious package downtown at city hall." Winnie spoke over the headsets after sounding the klaxon alarm. Feeding them information as they headed to the garage to respond to the call.
Jules got up, needing to use the bathroom because her bladder has once again become a punching bag. As Jules turned to Winnie to let her know, she noticed a small group of men coming to the doors from the parking lot. One of them looked injured. "Winnie, I have got to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back to help you with those guys."
As she was finishing up, Jules heard shouting coming from outside the bathroom.
"She's not here. If you leave now, no one will have to know you are here."
A low growl escaped the unidentified person. "We just saw her. Call her back out here right now. Then we are gonna leave, and you are not going to say a word. Z-dog, tie her up and gag her. I'm going to find out where the bitch went.
Panic began to rise in Jules. She quickly opened her locker, and grabbed the transponder off of her vest before turning it on and tucking it down into her bra so it was out of sight. With her hands up, Jules slowly walked out of the locker room announcing her presence. "This is Jules Callaghan with the SRU. I'm coming out with my hands up. Can you tell me why you need to see me?"
Rough hands grabbed her from behind, a gun shoved into her rib cage. "Walk. Make no noise, do not fight back, or we will kill the baby. Drop your cell phone on the counter with your gun."
Gasping, Jules did as she was told, fearing for the life of her baby. "I'm not sure who you are or what it is you want with me, but does this have anything to do with Ernesto Chavez?"
The butt of the gun smacked into Jules' temple. The force was dizzying but she managed to stay upright. No verbal response was given, but Jules thought it was pretty likely that this was some of the members from the La Pas gang.
"Please. I will do whatever you want. Just please don't hurt my baby." The negotiator in Jules was long gone. She would kick herself for that later, but Mama Bear instincts had kicked in at this point, and she needed to protect her baby.
Jules was led out of the building, to a white paneled van. Jules was shoved into the back where her hands and feet were duct taped. The guy who had the gun into Jules' side pulled out his phone and took a picture.
Typing out a quick message, a sinister laugh came from the guy before smashing his phone and leaving it in the parking lot. The door was shut, and the van drove off as if they hadn't just kidnapped a police officer.
A ping sounded from Ernesto's pocket. He pulled out his phone and looked at the message. "Excellent." Turning the phone to Lukas, he showed him the picture he received of Jules. "Just remember, that when she dies, It is all your fault."
Lukas' body began to wrack with sobs. "Please, she hasn't done anything. Don't hurt her."
"I won't hurt her. My guys will though. Then they will make sure she has a slow and painful death. We will also make sure her husband knows that you are the one who got her killed."
Spike had finally cracked through the encryption on Ernesto's phone. "Guys, looks like he has been doing surveillance on Lukas for a few months." Scrolling down further, Spike saw the photos that caused his body to shiver, despite being in the heated command truck. "Guys, he has also been doing surveillance on Sam and Jules."
At this, Ed stormed into the command truck, his eyes seeing the blatant evidence on the screen. "Oh my god. Sam, you haven't noticed anyone following you, or anything suspicious?"
Sam's worry filled voice came over the headset. "No, neither of us has noticed anything. We would have said something. Ed, we need to get Team Four to lock down HQ."
"Negative Sam, Team Four just got a call for a suspicious package at city hall." Pausing for a moment, Ed thought back to his mentor Daniel Rangford, who left a suitcase filled with hay and the awards he received on the job, called it in, just so he could review a case, and ultimately commit suicide. "Shit. Winnie, I'm sending some unis your way. Call in another team and lock down HQ."
Ed paused for a moment, getting no response. "Winnie?" Still nothing.
Spike pulled up the cameras in HQ, spotting the dispatcher sitting in her chair, bound but tape. At that same time, a notification for an incoming text message to Ernesto's phone showed on the screen. "Guys, we have a big problem."