The house had reminded Danny of a horror movie earlier, but now the lights were on in every room and agents, police officers and people from forensics were busily doing their work.

Jack was with Gregory Donald trying to get the man to talk, meanwhile Danny and Vivian and another agent he didn't know were descending the stairs into the cellar.

The first thing Danny had done after he had freed himself and cuffed the unconscious man had been to contact Vivian Johnson via the radio and he had been surprised to hear Jack Malone's voice answering him. Nonetheless Danny had quickly informed his new boss of the change in situation and it had not taken long for Jack and Vivian had arrived.

He had felt better seeing them – and the bunch of people they had brought with them – but as he went further and further down into the cellar his stomach was beginning to feel queasy again.

"Do you think we'll find them here?" he finally dared to ask Vivian.

Without looking at him she answered. "Well, maybe he kept them in here somewhere. We won't know until we've searched the cellar. But let's face it – the girls are most likely dead."

"Oh", was all Danny managed to say.

This made Vivian stop and turn around to look at him, compassion showing on her face. "I'm sorry, Danny. I wish, your first case could have been… well, let's not think the worst before we know for sure, okay?"

"Okay", Danny mumbled and slipped past her. He made it to the bottom of the stairs first and was about to open the door at their foot when he heard Vivian say:
"Even if we don't find them alive, you need to know it's not your fault, okay? You did well today…"

"Okay", Danny replied, automatically. It didn't make him feel any better but he didn't want Vivian to worry about him. He was an adult; he should be able to handle this.

………………

The door at the foot of the stairwell lead into a big junk room that reminded Vivian of the one she had at home – only this one was filthier. There was a thick layer of dust everywhere, on the floor footprints were visible, showing that somebody had walked across it recently. There was another door at the other end.

And the footprints leading towards it had different sizes! From the look on his face Vivian could tell that Danny had noticed it, too. He seemed very nervous, suddenly.

Vivian was almost sure that Laura McFadden – the girl they were looking for – was or at least had been in this room. Looking closely, she noticed that the smaller tracks only seemed to go in but not out – which meant that Laura – if she had come in here – would have to be still there.

Quickening her pace Vivian crossed the room. Danny stayed close behind her. In the silence of the room she could hear him breathing heavily.

Vivian reached for the door handle. The door was locked but the key was pinned to the wall with a rusty old nail right next to it. When she unlocked the door and opened it Vivian had to take a deep breath herself, trying to stifle the fear of what she was going to see.

The door led into another, much smaller room, and there in the corner, staring at Viv with frightened eyes, was the girl they were looking for, Laura McFadden.

Vivian was by her side in no time, trying to calm her with her words as she explained: "Hey, it's okay. I'm with the FBI, my name is Vivian Johnson. We're going to get you out of here…"

But Laura didn't seem to understand her words. It wasn't a surprise to Vivian. The girl seemed numb after what she had gone through, and maybe she didn't believe, that it was over yet.

Vivian turned around and pointed at Danny. "Laura, this is Danny. We are going to take you upstairs now. You don't have to be afraid anymore, okay?"

………………

Vivian watched as Special Agent Olivia Hart led the scared girl away to the car. She would take her to the office. Laura's family had been informed, too.

The girl hadn't said a word since they had found her and Vivian wondered if she knew anything about the other girls that were probably victims of this man. They had asked her but there had been no answer; just those fearful eyes.

Jack had already given orders to search the house and every inch of the forest surrounding it.

Vivian saw her boss coming towards her and Danny, who was standing behind her, leaning against the wall. She greeted her boss with a tired half-smile. "Hey."

"Hey. Well done, you two", said Jack nodding approvingly at them. But then he frowned as his eyes rested on Danny. "You okay?"

Viv turned around to see that the younger agent was suddenly very pale. "I don't know", he mumbled. "Everything's spinning and…" He reached out, trying to grab the arm Jack offered him, before sliding down against the wall he had been leaning on.

TBC