Author: AthenaIceGoddess
Title:Jumping In
Author: AthenaIceGoddess
Spoilers: Jump Push Fall
Angst/Romance/Drama
Summary: Just my take on what might happen post Jump Push Fall. Lots of WJ angst, so if you aren't a shipper... probably shouldn't read this one
Disclaimer: I own no part of Crossing Jordan. If I did, do you think I would be writing fanfiction?
Chapter 9
"Ohhh... Jordan!" Woody snapped awake and sat up, but immediately regretted the action when a lance of pain flashed through his head.
He forgot his pain when he looked around and Jordan was no where to be found. Woody struggled to his feet and slowly searched every room for her. When there was no sigh of her, a cold finger of fear ran it's way down his spine. The worls spun and he stumbled, feeling the back of his head. The hand came away sticky with blood.
"Chief, this is Hoyt. He got Jordan." Saying it made it seem so much more final. This was all his fault. If he had've been more careful, maybe she wouldn't be kidnapped, maybe even dead by now. The killer could be dropping her body off in the park right now, for him to find...
His heart clenched at the thought, and he had to close his eyes to banish the image from his mind. "What are you talking about, Hoyt? Dr. Cavanaugh is with you!" Jefferson cried, sounding annoyed at the interruption. Rub it in a little more, it isn't as if I don't hate myself enough. Woody thought bitterly.
"Not anymore, Chief. He knocked me out and took her." Woody shrugged into his coat and grabbed his cane, heading out the door. He knew the first person he was going to shake up: Father Worthy. Woody was sure he could get the information he needed out of the priest with the current events.
"Well, where are you heading, Hoyt?" The chief asked, obviously hearing the detective start his car. Woody pulled out into the busy street, ignoring the angry honk of the car he cut off as he sped towards St. Catherines.
"I'm checking out a potential lead. I'll keep you apprised." He hung up, mind already elsewhere. Like where Jordan was right then, and what was happening to her. He couldn't get the horrible image of Jordan, bound, gagged, and terrified, but resisting with the fiery spirit he loved- and loathed, sometimes,- so much about her, on some dirty, dank basement floor.
"Hold on, Jordan." Woody said through clenched teeth, parking on the street beside the church. He stormed into the room, and spotted the priest kneeling before the crucifix, praying. Without any word of warning, Woody grabbed Worthy by his collar and slammed his lean frame against a pew.
"Now, Father, my patience has worn to nonexistance. So, tell me who the hell it is!" He growled, his voice low and dangerous, as his hands tightened on either side of his immaculate white collar.
Worthy was visibly shaking, his eyes dashed from one end of the church to the other, no doubt looking for a savior to pry the crazy detective off of him. "I... I already told you, detective. I cannot tell you what you want to know." He stuttered, swallowing so his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Father, he has the woman I love. If she dies, I'll have nothing to live for." He leaned forward to whisper in Worthy's ear. "And let me tell you, Father, if she dies, you'll be the first one I come after. There's no place you could go that I couldn't hunt you down. So. Are you going to help me catch a killer, or not?"
When Jordan opened her eyes, it was dark, and her wrists and ankles were feeling cramped. At first, she thought she was in a coffin and almost panicked, but after a calming deep breath, she realized that she wasn't. She still had no idea where she was, but a least it wasn't a coffin.
She tried to stretch out the kinks in her joints, but she found that she couldn't. Something held her back. Upon further examination, when her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she realized that she was bound with rough cord, ankles to wrists. A flash of fear hit her like a sledgehammer when she remembered what happened.
Woody, kissing her- god, that man could kiss!- and then being hit with something. She hoped he was all right, and that the kidnapper didn't hurt him.
She looked around, seeing she was in a small, windowless room, not much bigger than a jail cell, with a door with a barred place at the top.
"Hey! Hey, anyone here?" Jordan yelled. If she was to be a prisoner, she would at least make sure her captors knew she was there. "I'm pretty sure you're violating at least one law, this room dosen't have a window! What am I supposed to do if there's a fire?" She strained againast her bonds, but the ropes were tied securely.
The wood slab in behind the bars slid across, and a pale, white male face with a receding hairline and beady little eyes hidden behind thick glasses appeared. "You're awake." He said, a voice that she remembered from the break-in at her apartment. The door opened, and he walked in. He cut her bonds with a military-issue K-bar knife, and stepped back.
Bad move, buddy. Jordan thought, viciously. She leaped forward, trying to catch him off guard, but he was quicker, backhanding her hard enough to split her lip and make her jaw sting.
She hit the floor with a resounding thump, wiping away the blood. "My cop friend will be out for your blood for that one. Why do you go after women? Does it make you feel powerful, poisoning them and watching them die from a safe distance? You coward!" She spit, earning a sharp kick to the ribs for her troubles. Her breath left her lungs in a whoosh as she felt a rib crack.
"You should learn your place, woman. I'll teach you to be humble before the end of this. You should eat, keep your strength up. You will need it." He said, putting a bowl of soup and a glass of water on the floor and retreating back out the door. Jordan eyed the meal hatefully, and a second later, the bowl and glass shattered against the wall.
Jordan curled up into a ball, and did something Jordan Cavanaugh rarely did: prayed that Woody would find her soon.
Woody held the priest still, waiting impatiently for the priest to tell him what he wanted to know. Sighing, Worthy went limp.
"I suppose God would not want a killer to be protected. I can only pray that his soul finds peace." Woody let him go and backed away, secure in the knowledge that the priest would tell him the killer's identity. "His name is Steven Weatherly. He is a devout christian, a strong voice in the community. But he perhaps reads the scriptures a bit too zealously. About a month ago, he started missing services, and when he did come, he came straight to the confessional. 'Forgive me Father, for I have sinned'." Worthy said bitterly.
"He said he had committed a terrible crime, but it was in the name of our lord Jesus Christ, so it had to be done. I tried to get him to tell me what he had done, but he wouldn't. The next day, the first victim was found. After that, he didn't return to the church. I thought he had gotten some help for himself, but then the next body was found, and... I have been consumed by guilt since."
A deep sigh escaped Woody. "Thank you, Father. I promise we'll get him." He turned and walked as fast as he could to his car and sped to the precinct.
Woody ran in, straight to the precinct's computer expert. "Run a check on a Steven Weatherly. He's our killer." The guy, barely out of college, did as he was asked, and a pictuer popped up on screen of a heavy man with thick glasses.
Woody scanned for an address. 134 Pinecrest drive, out in the suburbs that ringed Boston. "Thanks, kid. I owe you one." Woody told him, running into the chief's office.
"Sir, I need a team to infiltrate this address. He's the killer, and I know he has Jordan. I know this is slightly unorthodox, but I need to be on this team. I need to know she's... please." Woody said, putting his hands on Jefferson's desk. The chief thought it over for a second, then nodded.
"What do you need?" He said with a sigh. " A small team should do it, chief. ASAP. She might not have a lot of time." Woody said, shifting his weight.
"Now, this is only happening on one condition, Hoyt. You're in the back. You'll not be leading the team, you will be a part of it. Do you understand me, Hoyt?" Woody nodded, not happy about it, but knowing that if he went in first, he was more likely to be shot because of his still healing injury than a healthy cop.
"Yes, sir. Can we get going?" All the cops Woody wanted with him were on duty, he would call them in and brief them on the situation. All of them had worked with Jordan at one time or another, so they shouldn't be hard to convince.
His thoughts would prove to be prophetic. They agreed quickly, and headed off to gear up. A half hour later, they were in a large van bearing down on the killer's position.
I can't wait to get my hands on this bastard. I might just strangle him with my bare hands. Woody thought, surprised by his own vehemence. He could also not wait to see Jordan with his own eyes, just to know she was okay. If they were too late... Woody would definately strangle him. But he couldn't think along those lines for very long, since they were pulling up to the small bungalow and spilling out of the van.
"Use of deadly force is sanctioned, but for god's sake, watch who you're hitting. Let's move out." The forward team kicked in the front door while Woody and three other men and one woman headed around to the back and went in the back door.
They heard the forward team shouting at someone to get down, but Woody was focused on finding Jordan. He descended the basement stairs, gun cradled in his hands, and searched all the rooms. She wasn't there. He hurried back up, going into the living room. Surely he had her there. The forward team must already have her.
"Minozetti?" Woody asked, heart plummeting when the team leader shook his head. Woody spied Steven Weatherly, and advanced on him.
"Hoyt, there'll be plenty of time for that later." Minozetti warned, and the distraught detective stopped short. With a yell, Woody put his fist through the wall.
They were so close, just to be let down. The only question remained was: if Jordan wasn't there, where was she?
Next chapter: Time is running out for Jordan. The killer's accomplice prepares to complete his partner's work, will Woody get to Jordan in time? R&R. and you'll find out! ;)