Omg! It's technically still Monday, at least where I'm at. And I'm updating!
It's been a long day.
supremerulerofthecats: I'm so proud of you! I hope you like it! Thank you so much!
Miss Eliza Sparrow: Well, welcome back? Lol, thank you for reviewing!
Mistiquecats: haha Thank you!
The French Waffle: *sigh* ... I know. Thank you!
Cat238: Because obviously I'm evil. Thank you!
Enjoy!
The scene was a mystery to him. David had no idea what was happening. He couldn't see if the boy was hurt or not. He couldn't ask him either. "We need a trace, Darcy!" he cried out, his whole body shaking as he tried to figure out what to do.
"We're working on it!" Darcy called back from up the stairs to the higher platform of the room. But David spun around, angry and scared all at once.
"There's a fifteen year old out there screaming bloody murder and we haven't found him yet! Tell them to get us that damn trace!" he ordered, knowing he was pushing it. He was getting emotional. He wasn't supposed to be getting emotional. He hardly registered the fact that the other end of the call had gone quiet. All he could do was collapse down in his chair and wait.
Officer Jack Kelly gripped his steering wheel hard. Something felt so off. He couldn't place it. Everything had been fine only moments ago. Charlie was with Romeo for the day for a play date, Katherine was right here with him and Race was on his way home from the Mall...
The Mall. Forty minutes ago...
"Hey, Kath?" he asked quietly, glancing over at her. She was still gripping onto the handle above her head. It was her way of teasing him, other than constantly calling him a bad driver, that is. It was just a joke. He was an excellent precision driver. "Can you check my phone real quick?"
"Really, Jack?" she asked. "We're kinda in the middle of something here..." She knew that wasn't fair. He only asked for her to check his phone when he was feeling really nervous about something. It was odd though. He'd been fine a minute ago.
A sigh escaped Jack. "Please, Ace?"
Shrugging to herself a little bit, Katherine reached down towards the glove compartment. They really weren't supposed to check their phones right now. But if Jack had a bad feeling, Katherine would humor him. "'Mama' says 'Don't worry about the kiddos. I'll make sure they eat'. 'Spotty' says 'Fine. I'll take Charlie this weekend.' And..." Katherine paused. She hadn't expected to see that.
"What, Ace?" Jack asked, his stomach rolling with anticipation. Something was wrong. He knew it.
"You have three missed calls from Charlie. And a text. Race still hasn't showed up to get him..." That was when it clicked. That was when Jack's hands began shaking. Katherine seemed to understand too. "Jack you don't think-"
"Tyler was at Manhattan Mall. He was leaving when..." This couldn't be happening.
Immediately, Katherine brought the phone up to her ear, calling the boy. "Straight to voicemail," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
If it was possible, the squad car began going even faster. "This is Air 18 responding to that 207 off the 78. We have a visual on the Camry. I repeat we've got a code six on that Camry." Jack slammed down on the gas.
The ride to the provided area was silent. Jack barely put the car in park before he was off running, his gun pull as he rushed towards the silver vehicle, sitting alone in the dirt in the middle of nowhere. He heard the chopper circling above them. He barely caught sight of his partner rushing up beside him as they wrenched open the doors to that car.
It was empty.
"Jack! Check the trunk!" he heard Katherine call. That's where the PR had been. That's where the child could still be. So Jack did as he was told. He rounded to the back of the car, his gun still pulled as he hesitated for only a second before shoving the thing open.
"Shit..." Katherine muttered.
The young cop didn't have the strength to say anything as the situation hit him head on. There, laying discarded in a mess of white paint, was a black string connected to a guitar pick that Jack saw everyday hanging around the neck of his baby brother. "Oh my God..." he breathed, tears welling up in his eyes. Looking over, he saw his girl with the same terrified expression on her face. He didn't speak. He couldn't. Not yet.
There were more men and woman around them, trying to gather evidence. Someone yelled at Jack as he reached for the small necklace. They tried to pull him back, but he shoved them away with every ounce of strength he had.
"There's a lot of broken glass here..."
"And a lot of blood..."
Jack couldn't breathe. "Oh my God..." he forced out, holding the tiny object close to his chest as the reality set in. When someone else tapped him on the shoulder, Jack scowled, whirling around with a look that clearly told the other man to back off. With a new found determination, Jack shoved through everyone who was staring at him like he had two heads. He pushed himself away from everyone, reaching for the radio on his shoulder. "Jacobs..." he choked out, into the small device. "Jacobs, you tell that kid that I'm comin' for him. You tell him that I'm comin' n' that I love him n' that I'm gonna bring him home. You hear me?" He didn't have time to be angry at his friend for not telling him. He only had time to worry about his baby brother who had been taken hostage by a madman.
It took a few moments for the radio to crackle to life again. When it did, a very hesitant, very quiet voice came through. "I'm so sorry, Jackie... I'll tell him, I promise..."
Jack nodded. He couldn't be emotional right now. He could get emotional later. Later, when Race was asleep in his arms asking him to keep the nightmares away. Later when his brother was safe.
David wiped at his cheeks. God, he was crying. This wasn't helping. Jack sounded so scared. He shouldn't even be apart of the investigation at this point. It was a conflict of interest. But David wasn't about to say that. Anyone who dared question Jack Kelly was in for a soaking. Though, he supposed he could breathe a bit easier now that he knew that child wasn't already dead.
All he could do was sit and wait.
Tyler couldn't move. He was too scared. He thought maybe if he moved the man would come back and hurt him. He'd know somehow. The body pressed against his back did nothing the calm his down either. But he knew that he wanted to hear David's voice again. It could help. David could help. So, with every muscle in his being, rolled forward, just a little bit, shoving at the arm that was carelessly draped over his shoulder. He grabbed the phone with immense difficulty, and wiped at his eyes as he coached himself in breathing for a moment, whilst biting on his nail to try and think straight again. "D-David?" he asked quietly, almost scared there would be no answer.
Back in the hive, David practically cried in relief. "I'm here, buddy. I'm right here!" he assured quickly. "What happened? Did he hurt you?"
He had. He'd hit him. He'd shoved him. He'd threatened to stab him. But it didn't matter. "H-he switched cars..." the child whimpered, not even knowing if David could hear him over the blaring music that was once again playing from the driver's seat. Different music this time. Classical music. He didn't understand.
David's heart sunk. "What?"
Sobbing even more now, the child repeated, "He switched cars!" Race fisted at his cheeks, hating that they were soaked with his own tears. "Th-there w's a man... he was tryin' ta help but he hit him over the head n' threw him in the trunk-"
The operator's eyes widened at that. "Tyler... Tyler there's a man in the car with you?"
"-he threw him in here with me with the shovel! He said he w's gonna bury me..." He was going to die. The man confirmed it. He was going to kill him and bury him when he was done with whatever plan he had set in motion and Race was scared.
"Tyler!" David called gently, trying so hard to keep it together. "Tyler! How hurt is the man? How hurt is he?"
It was his fault. It had to be. The man had only been trying to help him. "H-he's dead..." he admitted brokenly. "H-he's gonna bury me... David, I don't wanna go..."
This poor kid was so scared. David wasn't far behind. Whoever this guy was that had entrapped a helpless child was smart and dangerous and homicidal. "Hey... Hey, Tyler I know you're scared, alright? I know this is hard... but you wanna know who I was just talkin' to?"
A bit of hopeful curiosity sparked in the boy's chest. "Who?"
David sniffled a little bit. "I was... I was talkin' ta Jack, kiddo..." he stated, hoping it might calm the boy down, even just a little. "He said that he loves you... he wants you to know that he's coming to get you, okay?"
Tyler's heart tightened. "O-Okay... Okay..."
"Okay..." David repeated, smiling a little when Race's breathing evened out a little bit. "Can you describe the car you're in for me, pal?"
The boy closed his eyes for a minute. He wanted to wake up now. This had to be some kind of nightmare. He wanted to wake up now. "It's... it's black..." For the first time in his whole life, Race wished he had more experience with cars. He wished he listened to Spot when he went on and on about different models and makes.
Holding back a sigh, David continued on. "Okay... okay what about the taillights? Can you kick them out?"
The shreds of hope Tyler had left we're slowly draining out of him. He reached towards the back of the car, looking for that red glow. But he shook his head. "N-no... there's some kind of metal frame blockin'-" He was cut off by a gasp from beside him. He couldn't contain his cry of fright when the dead man beside him began writhing around in panic.
"Tyler? What's happening? Are you hurt?"
Tyler didn't answer his only safety. Instead, he just reached up to cover his ears when Deadman began screaming bloody murder. "Let me out of here! Hey! What the hell?!" He was screaming so much louder than the boy imagined anyone else could've. "Help! Let me out of here!"
"Please! Shh! Please be quiet!" Race pleaded, as loudly as he dared, trying so hard to remain calm. But he knew he couldn't. This man needed to be quiet.
The driver scowled again. He could hear the screams, louder than even the music he'd been listening to. The almost calming music. The music that was getting him through. There weren't people around. If he was going to do this he had to do it now. He pulled over quick, under an overpass.
Race cried out when he felt the car come to a screeching halt. He shoved the phone back into his pocket, continuously begging the man to just shut up. "Please! Please! Shut up!" But he wouldn't. Race shoved himself as far away from the man as he could when Deadman pulled out a small cigarette lighter. The man was going to set them both of fire. He watched as Deadman reached up towards something glowing green just above them.
A release lever.
But before he could grab it, the trunk was thrown open. And just as the man sat up to fight his way out, a screwdriver was in his chest. Again and again. Three times he was stabbed. Race was sure he was dead again the first time. As the bloodied stranger was shoved back down next to him, Race found he was too petrified to scream. His mouth hung open in disbelief at what he'd just witnessed. Before he could even regain his breath, the man reached over him forcefully, wrenching the lighter from Deadman's hand and then the release lever. With his bare hands, he pulled the release lever from the car entirely.
Race only screamed when his hair was grabbed onto next, just before a hand wrapped around his neck, bringing his torso up off of the floor of the small trap he was in. His eyes widened, his big blue eyes pleading wordlessly with this man to just let him go. But the man wasn't affected by those eyes that reflected the ocean. "This. Is your last. Warning," the man seethed. Now the child really could not breathe. He was held for a lingering moment, just to let the threat sink in. And then he was quite literally thrown back into the trunk.
And Race was once again alone in the dark.
I have no more apologies. You guys know I can't stop.
As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, kiddos!