Warning: Racism will be a major topic in this fic! Most TWs will come into play later in the story, but I want to be upfront about them due to their triggering nature.

TW: Racism, torture, vivisection, dehumanization, non-consensual surgery and IV, hair bleaching, chemical burns, derogatory terms for Native Americans, concussion, internal bleeding, blood, kidnapping.

Note: The AO3 user E3912 gave me some of the inspiration for this story through details that they wanted added and prompts that they wanted included within the story after I first came up with this story idea. Note: Based after Season Five, but before Season Six.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR MY PLOT! THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. Any resemblance to real people or events are purely coincidental. THE TERMS AND OPINIONS USED BY THE VILLAIN DO NOT REFLECT MY OWN OPINIONS.

PLEASE let me know if I miss any triggers!

It had been a busy day for those at Station 51, and Johnny was quite glad that he'd have some time off the next day. He and Roy DeSoto had just gotten back from the hospital after restocking some of their supplies.

DeSoto questioned "So, Johnny, have you gotten anything planned for your time off?"

Johnny hummed and replied "No, not really. I'll probably just relax at home and read a little bit."

DeSoto smiled and said "Sounds good. It sounds better than the last time Chet, you, and I took a vacation and went fishing." Johnny huffed and said "Agreed. Well, I'm going to have a nice day hopefully, but call me in if I'm needed."

DeSoto nodded as they finished checking over their supplies and the squad. He hoped that Johnny would have a nice day off.

Johnny yawned as he finished the book he had started reading earlier that morning. He had gone home shortly after his shift ended and tried to figure out if there was anything else he'd wanted to do on his day off, but all he could think of was running to the store to get some groceries. He didn't live too far away from one of the stores he liked, so he figured that a walk wouldn't hurt.

He sighed and sat his book down as he grabbed his keys. He might as well have gone and got his groceries while he remembered. It wouldn't be much of a hassle since he'd just walk to the store. It hadn't taken him too long to get there, and he had happily greeted some of the people he saw most often around his neighborhood.

He quickly got what he needed and the total was under five dollars. He'd gotten a couple of pricier items, but it was what he was wanting.

He left the store and started walking back home. He soon turned the corner to get to his place, but before he could turn, he felt something hit him hard on the back of the head. He cried out in pain and dropped his groceries with the full intent to face whomever had hit him.

He went to turn, but before he could, he was hit again. The hit knocked him to the ground and he groaned in pain. He glanced around the street, but no one else was around, much to his misfortune.

Before he could even call out for assistance or get to his knees, he felt another hit to the back of his head, and he was completely knocked out.

DeSoto grimaced as he rang Johnny's home number and received no answer. It had been a couple of hours since Johnny usually would have showed up at the station, but still another before their shift started.

Chet frowned and said "Still can't get ahold of Johnny?"

DeSoto shook his head and furrowed his brow as he said "No, I can't. We still have a little bit until our shift starts though. He's usually not late like this. I'm going to run out to his place to see what's going on? You want to come?"

Chet nodded and said "Sure, I'll come." The two soon left for Johnny's place.

They arrived at Johnny's place, and both went up to his door. They also noted that his vehicle was still outside. DeSoto knocked, but there was no answer.

He and Chet shared a confused look as DeSoto turned back to the door and called out "Johnny, you in there? Our shift starts in about an hour. Johnny?"

There was still no answer, so Chet grimaced and went to one of the windows. He tried to look through, but Johnny kept his curtains closed. He turned back to DeSoto and said that he couldn't see anything.

DeSoto nodded and said "I've got one of the spare keys. Johnny, if you're in there, I'm coming in!"

He then unlocked the door and walked into the place with Chet. They both called out for Johnny again, and DeSoto went towards the bedroom to see if Johnny was there. They both searched the entire place, but there was no sign of Johnny.

Chet questioned "Do you think Johnny had to run an errand or something before work?"

DeSoto grimaced and answered "No. He wouldn't have left his kitchen light on if he had left for work either, and his vehicle's still here. Something's wrong, Chet. If he doesn't show up at work by the end of the day, we've got to file a missing person's report. I'd do it now, but we can't be too sure."

Chet nodded and said "Okay, but we should tell Captain Stanley too." DeSoto nodded as they exited the place and he locked it up.

DeSoto and Chet quickly got back to the station. Captain Stanley greeted them and tilted his head in confusion when he didn't see Johnny walk in with them.

The others were quietly eating while Hank stood and questioned "Where's Johnny?"

DeSoto and Chet shared a nervous look as DeSoto spoke up "Uh, Cap, he wasn't at his home but his vehicle was still parked in its spot. Chet and I checked out his place, but we couldn't find anything. Something's wrong."

Marco raised an eyebrow and interjected "Did you question the neighbors?" Chet replied "No. We didn't even think about that, especially as early as it is! We should have! Cap, can we take time off to try and find him?"

Hank grimaced and said "Did you check with the sheriff's department to see if any reports had been filed?"

DeSoto bit his lip and said "Uh, not yet. I'll call them now."

DeSoto went to the phone and dialed the sheriff's department as Hank continued speaking with Chet.

Chet said "Roy and I were thinking about filing a missing persons report if he doesn't show up by the end of the day. Roy said that he saw Johnny's vehicle, but I wasn't even looking."

Hank grimaced, and DeSoto gained everyone's attention by saying "Cap, there haven't been any reports filed concerning Johnny, but not even a block away from his place there was a report of dropped groceries, but no one apparently witnessed who dropped them. They filed the complaint as littering."

Hank exhaled deeply and sighed as he said "John wouldn't be one to arrive this late, and he'd definitely call if he couldn't come in. I think a missing persons report should be filed now."

DeSoto nodded and ended the call as he and Chet gained permission to go down to the station and file a report.

Hank then said "Roy, when you get back, Bellingham or Brice will be here to cover John's shift. I'll call one of them once you leave."

DeSoto nodded and left with Chet to file the report.

Johnny groaned as he woke up within a dimly lit room and tried to move his arms. He gritted his teeth as the memory of being knocked out came back to him. His head was hurting, and he was sure that he had a pretty serious concussion. He pulled against the restraints that he now knew were around his arms and around his shins.

He cursed as he realized that the only clothing he had on were his shorts. Johnny grimaced as he finally saw his captor standing at the edge of the dim lighting. He recognized him from a rescue that took place a week back.

Johnny spoke first "So, I take it that you're the guy the news has been ranting about for the past month. The one who's been going after people who are not fully white. I recognized you from a rescue a week ago, you're Jason Smith."

Jason huffed and said "Hm. Astounding, it remembers my name. I suppose that could be my description in simple terms though, John Roderick Gage."

Johnny grimaced with confusion as Jason snickered and spoke "I see your confusion. I did not target you specifically at first if that is what you are thinking, I just research my victims quite thoroughly before I take them. For example, I also know that you grew up on a ranch on a reservation. You will be my fifth attempt at portraying the message that your kind does not belong here."

Johnny grimaced again and pulled against his bonds as Jason spoke again "Initially, I wasn't even going to target LA, but the city drew me in, and I had family in the area to visit anyway. It gave me an excuse to scope out my possible victims. You're the second from LA. I had seen you around the neighborhood for your job so I staged a fire and I just knew that you had to be my next acquisition once you treated me. I never would have noticed you had a neighbor's child not passed out, and you just so happened to be the unlucky one on duty that day. You just have that aura of not fully white around you, and I could see it in your face when you treated me. It was also a nice confirmation when I heard the one you call Chet jostle you about your heritage in a joking manner while I was researching you. You should be more cognizant of your surroundings when you're outside of your home. I've never done this with an Indian before, but I shall try. Perhaps it will be easier since you are only half Indian. Smile for the camera. I want everyone to know who the next victim and masterpiece of the latest serial killer will be."

Johnny watched as Jason took a camera off a side table that he hadn't noticed before and aimed it towards him. He did not look at it with kindness. He pulled against his bonds and cursed as Jason took multiple photos of him.

Vince had just got in for duty when one of his coworkers told him that Roy DeSoto had just called with an inquiry about John Gage. He was slightly curious, but he went ahead and clocked in. He could ask for details at a later time.

Vince cocked his head in confusion after passing by the Sheriff's office and seeing him pacing around there. He stopped and knocked on the door frame and his chief looked up at him with a grimace.

Vince cautiously questioned "What's going on, boss?"

The sheriff bit his lip and said "Come in, Vince. You're going to want to know about this. I've already called Lieutenant Crockett in."

Vince's eyes widened as he entered his boss's office and said "Whatever's got you spooked must be pretty bad if you've already requested Detective Crockett's presence."

The Sheriff bit his lip and nodded while saying "Believe me, Vince, it is. We'll wait for him to get here before I say anything else." Vince nodded and stood close to the wall as his boss continued to pace nervously behind his desk.

Forty minutes passed until Detective Crockett finally arrived at the Sheriff's office.

He entered while saying "Hm. I just saw Roy DeSoto leaving as I got here. He looked pretty frazzled."

The Sheriff looked up with concern and said "Yeah, and I think that I know part of why he's come."

He then picked a manila envelope and carefully extracted the contents. Both Vince and Crockett cursed as pictures of an unconscious and tied up John Gage were laid out on the Sheriff's desk.

The Sheriff said "This envelope was outside of the station entrance this morning. It didn't have any address on it, and no notes came with it. I just took it to my office and opened it, and the photos were there."

Crockett quickly brought his small notepad out and said "What time did you find the envelope?"

The Sheriff answered "I found it around five this morning. No one was around outside but me at the time."

Crockett took notes as he looked at the photos. They were all pretty much the same, but taken at different angles. John's hands were tied behind his back and his legs were tied up at the knees and the ankles. He could tell that John was in the back floorboards of a vehicle, but the shots were taken so close to him that he couldn't tell what type of vehicle it was. It was clear that he was unconscious.

Crockett grimaced as he said "I've got to call in some back up. I worked on a similar case recently that started with photos like this being sent. It wasn't the first case of that either. You know the warning that's been out on the news about the serial killer, right?"

Vince and the Sheriff nodded as Crockett elaborated "This is how he always starts with a victim. It starts with an unmarked envelope of pictures and it escalates into more and more pictures and notes somehow being delivered to the sheriff department without notice. This isn't even the first time LA's been targeted. This guy's gone everywhere in our state, and no one has caught him yet. I've got to call in back-up and alert them that we've likely got another case to add."

Vince furrowed his brow and said "How can we be sure that it's that racist guy doing this?"

Crockett sighed and nodded "For now, we can't, but I wouldn't doubt it if it was the killer."

Crockett then used the office phone to call who he needed to call. He was not looking forward to working that particular case.

He then said "Until we know more, don't go telling anyone about this. We keep this quiet for now. We can't have the public freak out about the possibility of a serial killer in the area."

Vince and the Sheriff nodded. Vince knew that he'd likely see Roy DeSoto later in the day on a call, and he was not looking forward to withholding information from him concerning John's disappearance.

DeSoto and Chet returned to the fire station once they had completed the filing of a missing persons report. They were both still worried, but DeSoto couldn't help but exhale in relief when his temporary partner was revealed to be Bob Bellingham instead of Craig Brice.

Their shift began shortly after returning, but DeSoto couldn't prevent his thoughts from always straying to worrying about whatever may have happened to Johnny.

Thank you for reading!
Please don't hesitate to leave comments!