Maura woke with a startle when the van stopped again. She didn't know how she managed to pass out but between the rough ride and exhausting herself with fear and screaming, she didn't think it was a far-off possibility. It was darker out. She couldn't see anything through her blindfold, though she heard Keller get out of the truck.
"Help! Someone help!" she yelled.
Her voice was scratchy and her throat hurt but she didn't stop shouting. Her body was covered in bruises and scratches from her ride in the van, but she managed to sit back up
"Help me! I've been abducted! Help!"
The van door slid open and before she could think of running, a hard fist smashed across her face. The force knocked her down onto her back. She whimpered against the splitting ache in her cheek.
"You stay quiet," Keller barked.
"Please, please don't hurt me," Maura cowered.
She couldn't help it. Instinct took over and while she was unable to see, she frantically scooted away from him. Keller snatched one of her bare ankles and dragged her back to him.
"No! No! Help me!" she cried.
"Stop it!" Keller growled, gripping her by both arms. His fingers dug into her soft skin. He squeezed her face into one of his hands, bringing her more pain as she attempted to slip out of his grip. "Stop! Shut up!"
He slapped her again and Maura tasted blood in her mouth. It rolled down her lip.
"Please, please, don't," she begged. "Please let me see. Please let me see. Take off my blindfold."
Keller's brow furrowed as he continued to wrestle her down, desperate to make her quiet.
"Please, I'm panicking, because I can't see," Maura breathed anxiously. She was telling the truth. The darkness made the ordeal even worse. She was struck with a panic attack so fierce that she couldn't be silent, even if it meant her life. "Help! Please!"
"Shhhh," Keller hissed.
He suddenly ripped the blindfold off her face. Maura's eyes were shocked to take in the setting sun through the trees. They were in the middle of the forest. As she blinked and adjusted her sight, Keller pressed his gun to her forehead.
"I took your blindfold off so that you would be quiet," Keller said. "Now are you going to be quiet?"
Maura gave a quick nod. She looked down at her skirt. It had ripped on one side of her leg. She was dirty and sweaty. Blood came from cuts that she couldn't find.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked Keller.
The bald, middle-aged cop glared. His gray eyes tore angry holes into her. Unfortunately, they'd be eyes she could never forget.
"Not yet," Keller told her.
He quickly threw her over his shoulder. Maura pulled in a gasp, not daring to scream. She simply watched the dirt and vines of the forest move dizzily beneath her and listened to Keller's boots plow through the shrubbery.
Jane stared out the open passenger window across the yellow fields and allowed her scarred hand to hang amongst the wind. An orange, pink, and purple sunset reflected in her aviator sunglasses. The few loose pieces of brown hair that had slipped loose of her ponytail, were gently moved by the breeze. It was a desperate meditation for calm, because inside, Jane Rizzoli was screaming.
As Officer Emily Owens sped the car around bends and through the sparse traffic, Jane thought of all the terrible things that could be happening to Maura. She tensed and shuddered at each possibility, only comforted by her rage and determination to kill Keller with her own hands.
"We're about eight miles out from Halifax," Emily spoke up. "The scene should be just outside of town…"
"We're not going to the scene," Jane said coldly. She kept her gaze fixed on the horizon.
"Why not?" Emily snapped, allowing her thick Southie accent to spill out. She blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, detective…."
"We're not going to the scene because Maura's not there and we've already lost time," she smirked. The energetic redhead in her navy uniform reminded Jane of herself several years before.
"So we're going to the nearest Everett Corp properties?" Emily asked. "Did Nina find somewhere belonging to Terrence Parker?"
"We're not going to the closest place. That's the first place all the uniforms will go anyway," Jane explained. "Keller would need to put distance between him and the police but away from the main road. Somewhere he could buy time without witnesses."
"Where's that?"
"Everett Corps owns twelve acres a county over. It would have been a safe detour for Keller," Jane said. "I say we start there."
"Should we call for backup? Tell anyone we're in route?" Officer Owens asked. She squeezed the steering wheel a little tighter in her anxiety. Jane shook her head.
"No. Besides, I'm sure Frankie and Korsak won't be far behind us," she said confidently.
Jane knew she was being unbearably stubborn. She knew she was taking a gamble and even putting her life at risk. Perhaps putting Maura in greater danger. But she also knew they were running out of time. She knew that if she didn't find Maura, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. Blind love drove her every action. She was desperate and for that she was also dangerous.
"I know it's not my business," Emily broke the quiet. She was sheepish but still harbored the old habits and bad manners of her old Boston neighborhood. "But you and the doctor…you guys are like…you know…"
The question caught Jane off guard. She looked over at the uniformed cop in slight astonishment, realizing that she'd never been asked the question so directly before. Her heart skipped a beat like an elated teenager's.
"Sorry, just station gossip -"
"Yeah, we're together," Jane cut in.
It felt new and right to say it to the stranger. In fact, it was the first time she'd said it to anyone. It filled her with a new pride. Maura was hers. They hadn't exactly sorted things out but that much was clear.
"You make a nice couple. Are you going to get married?" Emily asked in her burly Boston accent. It didn't fit her slight body and fair skin.
Jane gave a snort, surprised again at her boldness.
"I'm sorry," the officer apologized, clenching onto the steering wheel tighter. "My sisters say I talk too much and I have wedding brain."
"You're getting married?"
"Yeah," Emily smiled. "My fiancée, Andrew, and I met in kindergarten, can you believe that? We still live in the old neighborhood, but he says he's going to move us to the country like this and build us a house. He's a contractor. But I think I want to stay in Dorchester. It's memories, you know?"
"I know," Jane nodded, grateful for the distraction. "Congratulations."
"Thanks…holy shit," Emily cursed unexpectedly, her brown eyes widening at the scene ahead.
Jane quickly whipped her head around, taking in the commotion on the side of the road. A body bag was still present and surrounded by several law enforcement officials. Half a dozen cop cars were lined up along the road, along with the fallen officer's. Jane's gut tightened. She couldn't keep her thoughts from drifting to Maura. To the fear that the woman could be Keller's next victim.
"You want to stop?" Officer Owens asked.
"No. Keep going."
Keller tied Maura to a chair as soon as they were inside the cabin. It was sparsely furnished and clearly unused. Dust and mold collected on the ceiling and wood floors. A chill filled the space as the sun went down. There was no electricity, so Keller relied on a flashlight and a few mosquito repellent candles. The dim glow made Maura even more terrified than she already was. When she searched for an escape or possible weapon, all she found were shadows.
"We're not going to last long out here," she muttered.
Her captor was anxiously pacing the floor, his frantic footsteps betraying his true nerves.
"No one asked you," Keller grunted.
"Why did you take me?" Maura asked. "Just to get to Jane? For what? And what does it have to do with Olivia Denton?"
"It's none of your damn business," he barked.
The doctor wasn't sure why she was suddenly comfortable asking questions, but it seemed to be the only way to keep herself calm. Learning the reason behind her abduction certainly helped her frayed mind. She could also sense she was getting to Keller, who suddenly appeared to have no direction.
"Olivia is alive, isn't she?" Maura asked. "How else would you get that blood? And you knew where Jane was, where I am…"
"If you don't stop talking, I swear I'll kill you," Keller snapped. He stopped pacing and pulled the gun from his waistband.
"No, you won't. You need me now," the doctor realized. She shifted uneasily in the splintered chair, again trying to separate her tied wrists. "Where's Olivia?"
Keller suddenly came at her from the shadows. Maura flinched at his movement before he swung the gun across her face, making her see white. The blow brought tears to her eyes.
"For a genius, you're really stupid," Keller hissed.
He put the gun back in his waistband and pulled out his cell phone.
"Here's what we're going to do, Dr. Isles," he started agitatedly, "We're going to make a little film."
Maura looked down to the floor, avoiding the camera. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the helpless feelings came rushing back. As the darkness fell around them in the cabin, she was struck by the feeling that Jane would never find her. She would die before morning.
"I'll use you as double bait. Used to get Rizzoli….and bait for my bosses," Keller stammered. Sweat beaded his brow and made his bald head look shiny even in the shadows. "Look at me."
Maura kept her head down and Keller squeezed her chin back into his hand. He jerked up her face, forcing her green eyes to come face to face with him. The light on the front of the phone assaulted her gaze.
"Tell them what's happened to you Dr. Isles," Keller instructed, inching the camera a little closer to her.
The doctor bit down on her lower lip, keeping her mouth sealed shut. Keller became more aggressive.
"Speak!" he barked.
Maura shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. Her body trembled as he forcefully grabbed her shoulder, shaking her violently.
"You better start cooperating," Keller threatened. He leaned in close, trailing a finger down her chest. "Or we could be making a much different video…"
He took the same finger and traced it across Maura's lips. His face flickered with perverse longing coupled with hatred. Maura knew something much worse than the kidnapping or physical harm was about the happen.
"Do you think your butch Detective will still want you after I have my way with you?" Keller asked.
He kept the camera rolling as he aggressively leaned in, forcing his lips to hers. Maura instantly jerked away, spitting in his face, not just to offend him but get the ungodly taste of her mouth. The unwanted kiss left her terrified and vulnerable to what else he might do. Keller turned more enraged than before. He threw the phone across the room, causing Maura to yelp. He slapped a hand across the doctor's already bloody face, putting another scratch along her cheek.
Keller was about to grab her by the arms when the sound of tires cut through the quiet woods.
Both Maura and Keller went still as the noise became louder. It was most definitely a car. The engine hummed and headlights flashed, interrupting the shadows on the wall. Keller grabbed his gun but Maura could see his hand was trembling.
Her heart seized with hope.
It was Jane. It had to be Jane.
Who else would manage to find her so quickly?
The car stopped and Keller moved to peak out the window, hiding behind the inner wall and carefully squinting across the dark forestry. Sure enough, a BPD patrol car was about sixty yards away, just before the start of the gravel driveway.
"Fuck," Keller hissed.
Outside, Officer Emily Owens looked to Jane Rizzoli in fear. At the start of her mission, she was enthusiastic and even elated to join the storied detective. But as they pulled up to the driveway and spotted the black work van, she was struck by apprehension.
"That's it. 3-6-4, Whiskey Echo Charlie," Jane read.
Light was barely visible in the windows of the cabin but she was certain they'd reach the spot. It was as if she could feel Maura closer to her.
"Call it in," Jane whispered.
Emily Owens' hands were shaking as she grabbed onto her radio.
"11-99, 11-99, requesting all nearest units – all nearest units – this is BPD Unit 65, we've located suspect vehicle, plates 3-6-4, Whiskey Echo Charlie," Owens could barely get out the words. Jane gave the young woman's shoulder an assuring squeeze. "Location is sixteen miles west off Highway 33…we're in forestland south of Halifax. Believe we've found Maura Isles."
"Units in route. Do not leave your vehicle Unit 65. Await back-up," the operator cackled back.
Another familiar voice broke through the radio.
"BPD Unit 32. This is Sergeant Vince Korsak, we are ten minutes from your location," Korsak informed. "Await back-up."
"Copy," Officer Owens stammered.
Despite the order, Jane was checking the clip of her gun. She zipped up her windbreaker and did her best to see across the dark woods. She was certain Maura was inside and she was also certain Keller had heard them approach. They had little time before the abductor made a move.
"Help!"
The scream echoed loudly from the cabin, causing Jane to bolt up. It was Maura. Her adrenaline surged so violently that she felt hot vomit at the back of her throat. She squeezed her gun.
"Help!" Maura yelled again.
Jane unlocked her door and pulled at the handle. Officer Owens pulled her back.
"They said to wait," Officer Owens said.
"I'm not letting him hurt her or get away with her," Jane growled. She knew the young officer was scared. "You wait for the back-up."
Officer Owens watched as Jane slithered out into the night, gun ready, eyes set on the cabin. Inside Keller was scrambling to unbind Maura's wrists, prepared to either run with her or use her as a human shield. He pressed the gun into her back.
"You'll do as I say," Keller warned. "Or you die."
"Keller, you in there?" Jane called from outside.
"Jane!" Maura screamed. Hearing the woman's voice and knowing that she'd indeed been found, filled Maura with hope. She lunged toward the windows and Keller pulled her back, putting the gun underneath her ear.
"Don't think about it Rizzoli!" Keller shouted. "I have a gun to her head! I'll kill her!"
Jane quickly put her hands in the air and came out from her hiding spot behind the black construction van. She came in full view of the cabin windows and made a long show of putting her gun back in the holster. She was about twenty yards from the front door.
"I'm unarmed and alone!" Jane called to him. "Just let Maura go!"
"You really think I'm going to trust you?" Keller barked. "Besides, the doctor is my only leverage now!"
"Let's have a talk Keller!" Jane said. She kept moving toward the front door at a steady pace. She wondered if Keller could even see her in the dark. "Let's talk about Olivia Denton!"
"No!"
"Let's talk about Everett Corporation!"
"If you take another step, I'll kill her!" he threatened.
This caused Jane to stop and Maura to tense in Keller's arms. He pressed the gun harder to her temple.
"Let me in, Keller," Jane said calmly. "Let's figure out a deal. Just me and you. Let's get you out of this before it gets worse."
"There's no way out," Keller muttered.
"Information is power," Jane continued. "And you have that. You don't have to do something irreversible."
Maura stared at the handle of the door, anticipating its movement. Keller faced the door as well, the doctor still in his grasp.
"I'm going to come in now," Jane said calmly.
Keller threw Maura onto the floor and pointed his gun at the door.
"Don't do it," Keller grunted.
"Jane, don't!" Maura cried out.
But the door swung open and without missing a beat, Jane put her hands in the air and backed up, keeping eye contact with Keller all the while. The disgruntled cop didn't pull the trigger. He simply aimed at the center of Jane's forehead.
"Let me take her, Keller," she said. "Let me take Maura and I'll let you run free."
Jane allowed herself a brief glance at the doctor. She was sweaty and bloody. Bruises were already forming along her face and her skirt was torn. It made Jane's heart hurt. She wanted nothing more than to scoop Maura into her arms and protect her from every possible pain. But she had to win this battle first.
"Just let her go," Jane said.
The doctor made an unconscious move, starting on a scared crawl toward Jane's feet. Before she was even halfway there, a bullet hit the wood floor next to her. The two women yelled in fear, Maura instantly going still and losing her breath.
"Don't move!" Keller barked.
He kept the gun pointed at Maura.
"I won't move, I won't move," Jane chanted. "You don't have to hurt her, Keller."
"You're right! I could just kill her and you and get out of here!" he barked, spit flying from his mouth. Jane eyed his gun, prepared to pounce when the right moment came. Maura sat looking between Jane and Keller in the dark cabin.
"Put the gun down," Jane advised.
"Don't take another step…"
"Put it down and run," she pleaded.
The series of events that unfolded next would always come back as a blur of color and noise. Thirty years later, the last thing Maura Isles would remember was the rattle of the cabin's back door. A rattle no one expected, not even Jane.
Keller instantly pulled the trigger at the sound of the door scrapping open. The bullet knocked Maura back, filling Jane with horror. Blood stained her right shoulder, spilling into a fast puddle as the doctor gasped.
In the same instant, Officer Emily Owens came bursting through the backdoor, barely visible in the shadows. Jane could see her gun was pointed at Keller. But Officer Owens was less experienced than the veteran cop. Keller pulled the trigger again, shooting Owens in the neck, just above her bullet proof vest. Red mist instantly gushed out of her wound but not before she fired three times in Keller's direction. Jane dove to the floor to get out of the line of fire. Keller hit the ground not long after. He was limp and his gaze was locked. He was dead.
It'd all happened so fast and among the three wounded bodies now in the room, Jane could only think of Maura. She scrambled on her knees to reach her and was relieved when she found the doctor's eyes were still open.
"Maura! Maura, you're okay. You're okay," Jane whispered.
"He shot me," Maura grunted.
Jane spotted the wound at her shoulder and quickly ripped off her jacket. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she wadded up the material and put pressure on the gaping hole. She was losing blood fast.
"You have to hang on, okay," Jane told her.
Maura's lips were growing more pale and her green eyes were beginning to turn glassy.
"You need to get help," she said.
"I'm not leaving you," Jane replied.
Maura grabbed onto one of Jane's hands, barely able to control her own movements. The room was beginning to spin as she fought to stay conscious.
"The radio. Go to the radio," she advised, looking toward Officer Owens.
Jane swallowed hard, terrified to leave Maura for even a second but scrambled to her legs. They were weak and she tripped next to Officer Owens. The young woman was still fighting to breathe, though her wound was clearly more severe than Maura's. Blood spilled down her throat and vest.
"Help me," Officer Owens wheezed to Jane. "Please. Help."
Jane clapped a hand over the young woman's wounded neck, her hands becoming drenched with blood.
"You shouldn't have followed me in like that," she said.
"Can't breathe…" Officer Owens gasped. "Help. Please help."
"Just hold on," Jane pleaded. Her heart was racing and her bloody fingers slipped on the radio as she pulled it up from Officer Owens' vest. "Officer down! Officer down! Unit 65 needs ambulance. We've located Dr. Isles – she's also wounded. Suspect is dead. Officer down!"
"Jane…"
Maura weakly called across the room, barely able to pull in air. The colors were fading around her and all she could do was call the woman she most longed to see.
"Please don't leave me," Officer Owens begged. She grabbed at Jane's arm and the former detective felt tears roll down her cheeks. Her brown eyes could hardly stand looking into Emily's.
"I'm sorry," Jane whispered. She squeezed the officer's hand. Another tear fell. "Help will be here soon."
Fighting the gut twisting strain of guilt, Jane clamored across the room and dropped to her knees at Maura's side. There was more blood than before. She had to kneel in a puddle of it in order to hold Maura's hand and put pressure on her shoulder.
"Jane," the doctor said. She looked up at the woman's face, a small smile managing to spread across her mouth. "You're here."
"Yes," Jane replied. "I'll always find you. I'll always take care of you."
Maura shook all over. Her teeth chattered as she continued to lose blood. She was getting sleepy again and did everything she could to focus on Jane's face.
"I love you," the doctor confessed.
"I love you too, Maura," Jane sniffled. Her partner's blood was on her shirt and hands and even her face. She glanced around the cabin. "Help is going to come soon. I just need you to hang on. Frankie and Korsak are on their way…"
"We wasted so much time," Maura whispered. Her teeth clanked together and she did everything she could to squeeze onto Jane's hand. "We wasted too much time. We should have always been…together. Now it's…it's going to be too late."
"It's not too late," Jane nearly growled. She forced the tears from her eyes and her brown gaze went serious. She leaned in as close as she could to Maura, pulling her hand up to her lips. "We have a whole life ahead of us. Me and you. Just hang on. Hang on and I promise…I promise we won't waste anymore time."
Maura shook her head.
"I'm scared Jane," she cried. "I'm going to die."
"You're not going to die," Jane exclaimed. She kissed Maura's hand. "You're going to make it. You're going to be fine."
"I love you," Maura whispered. "So much."
"Don't. Don't do that," she said. "Help! Someone get in here! Someone please fucking find us…"
"Promise me you'll be okay," Maura asked gently.
She wasn't getting enough oxygen. The room was spinning and she could hardly speak. The pain in her shoulder subsided as her body became numb.
"I'm not going to promise that," Jane snapped. "Because you're going to be fine. Just hang on."
The doctor's eyes fell shut and Jane felt panic set in. She began screaming Maura's name, shaking the woman to wake her but nothing worked. She put her ear to Maura's mouth, relieved to find that she was still breathing. She was about to try shaking her again when heavy footsteps came thundering into the cabin.
"Jane!" Frankie shouted.
"In here!" Jane screamed back. "All clear! We need help!"
Vince and Frankie paused momentarily at the door, shocked by the violent scene. The floor was covered in blood and two dead bodies were strung a short space apart. Jane hovered over Maura's limp form, covered in dark red blood. Frankie would have been sick if it weren't for his determination to help. Vince ran over to take a knee across from Jane.
"Where's she hit?" he asked.
"Shoulder. She just passed out," Jane said, her voice raspy and scared. "Someone check on Officer Owens."
"She's gone, Jane," Frankie muttered. He was already on a knee next to the officer, his finger pressed to the woman's neck.
"Fuck," Jane whimpered, unable to stop the sob from escaping. She kept it brief and turned her attention to Maura. "I don't know if she can make it, Korsak. If she can wait for an ambulance."
"She can't. It's not going to make it here, through this terrain in enough time," he whispered. "You're going to have to drive her to the nearest hospital."
Jane was already getting to her feet, putting an arm underneath Maura's knees and upper back. Korsak stepped in, helping to pick up Maura's other side.
"Frankie, we have to hurry," Jane demanded.
Maura's blood covered her forehead and she looked at her brother with unyielding determination. But the task at hand terrified Frankie. He could hardly fathom the extent of the shooting, let alone that Maura Isles was about to die.
"Jane, I don't know if…"
"You don't have a choice," Korsak barked.
They were already outside, headed to the SUV that Frankie and Korsak had arrived in. They put Maura in the backseat and Jane climbed in after.
"Nearest hospital is six miles north once you hit the main road. Don't stop," Korsak told Frankie.
The younger detective took the keys and stumbled to the driver's seat. Jane had Maura's head on her lap in the back, her hands busy keeping pressure on the gunshot wound. Frankie slammed the door shut, his knuckles going white as he gripped onto the steering wheel.
"Please, Frankie. Don't let her die on me," his sister whispered, her face visible in the rear view mirror.
Frankie swallowed past a pit of anxiety and swerved back onto the dark dirt road.