"I CAN OVERCOME ANY OBSTACLE WITH PATIENCE AND POSITIVITY"

The Daily Affirmation card faded in and out of focus in Malcolm's mind, alongside his consciousness. The flashing images that appeared behind his eyes didn't seem to have any semblance of order, but Malcolm was smart enough to know that there was, without a doubt, meaning to them. He tried to make sense of what he was being shown as each of his senses began returning in a sluggish succession.

Sound, while still resembling life underwater, was the first to recover. A voice. No voices? Plural. Angry?

Focus, Bright. Malcolm strained to try and clarify what was being said, to no avail. Sight was next to return. What little light existed caused Malcolm to flinch and turn his head away. That small movement brought a flash of white light behind his eyelids and throbbing pain. He squinted his eyes and winced. Head trauma. That's always promising.

Something wasn't right. Why did he feel heavy? Malcolm lifted his hands to rub his eyes. As he did so, the clinking and weight of the chains answered his question. He looked down at his wrists. Manacles? Sure. While a tiny part of him appreciated the classics, the rest of him was well aware that manacles, at least where the wrist were bound, were a much bigger challenge to escape than handcuffs. Malcolm was unsure if having the self-inflicted-metacarpal-fracture option removed was a positive or negative. His mind was racing grasping for anything he could remember that lead him to this point. The case. Gil yelling at him. The club…

"I think our hero has rejoined us."

The light from a single bare bulb, positioned slightly off center of the room on a thick beam, failed to actually reach the walls on any side. For the first time since he had awoken, Malcolm investigated his surroundings. The room was close to square-shaped, probably 25 feet from one side to the other. The walls were peeling in numerous places, revealing the cinderblock beneath. The cold concrete floor had small chunks missing here and there, while a single, sizable crack ran along almost the whole length of the room. The manacles on his wrist were connected to thick-linked chains that looked to be a little over two feet long and were anchored into the floor. Only now did Malcolm notice that much of the cuffs on his wrist, as well as a portion of the links connecting him to the floor, were tinted a dark rust brown.

Dried blood, he thought. Also promising. Again Malcolm tried to retrace the events that brought him here. More flashes of memory appeared:

The case.

The club.

Trying to hear Gil on his cell while the bass of the music pulsed so loud it vibrated his torso.

The drunk girl who threw up on Dani's shoes.

Dani's exasperated sigh as she headed to the restroom to try and clean up.

She should be back by now.

Checking the restroom.

Dani?

Empty.

Yelling.

Dani?!

Frantic.

DANI?!

"Dani?" Malcolm whispered. Everything came back to him in a tidal wave of panic.

"Welcome back. I was starting to think that I hit you a little too hard. Or maybe the nightcap was too strong?"

"Where is she?" Malcolm demanded.

The man that crossed the room to stand in front of Malcolm fit the profile right down to the size 12 work boots he was wearing. The bare lightbulb created a silhouette and made it difficult to make out any distinctive features, however. Meeting the killer was usually one of Malcolm's favorite parts of his job. Comparing his profile to reality was the most compelling aspect of profiling. Did he interpret the clues correctly? What had he missed? But now, knowing what this particular killer does to his victims, none of that mattered. All that mattered was Dani.

"Where's Dani?" Malcolm asked, his voice louder this time. He raised himself up onto his knees trying to get a better look at the man's face. "Tell me where she is!" He lunged forward until the chains abruptly stopped him in his track. In truth the act wasn't so much about actual aggression as it was testing the strength of his imprisonment. Unfortunately it seemed remarkably sturdy. Given the killer's body count that wasn't incredibly shocking.

The man crouched down so his face was only about a foot away from Malcolm's. "Try all you want. Those chains have held many a man before you. And they'll hold many a man after," then he smiled as he returned to a standing position and crossed his arms. "Save your strength, Malcolm. You're going to need it."

"You know my name," it wasn't a question. "Okay. So you knew we found your hunting ground. That we were at the club to bait you."

"Of course I did. You think I would have lasted this long if I was too stupid to notice a set up?"

He wants praise. "No. Absolutely not. You wouldn't have been able to evade the police the way you have if you weren't intelligent." Stroke the ego. "I'm curious as to how you knew we were there tonight. Last night? How long was I out?" Get information.

"Long enough. It's Saturday."

That's not helpful. It was a little after midnight when he went looking for Dani to begin with.

"You know my name. What should I call you?"

The man just stared at Malcolm shifting his weight from one leg to another. Thinking. Then suddenly he let out a low chuckle, unfolded his arms, and said, "Nathan. You can call me Nathan." He turned as though he intended to walk away, "Yes that's my real name, Malcolm. Not that it matters. You and I both know what's about to happen to the two of you. I'm not too concerned about you telling anyone." Then he turned to the left and started walking toward the door.

As Nathan moved out of his direct line of sight, Malcolm saw what his captor had been deliberately blocking all along. On the opposite side of the room, hidden on the outskirts of the light's edge, unconscious, and similarly chained, was Dani.

"DANI!" Malcolm yelled despite himself. If she was conscious she would have answered him long before now. He only partially registered Nathan's exit from the room. Although he did manage to catch the three additional clicks after the doors original latch. Extra locks.

Not the priority at this moment. Dani was the priority. She was partially cloaked by shadow and it was hard to see much of her. He lowered his voice to a normal decibel and tried again, "Dani? Wake up." He paused and listened for a moment. Nothing. Malcolm tried standing up, which he couldn't do completely thanks to the length of the chains. Hunched over, he tested to see just how far around the room he could reach. It wasn't much. Nathan was indeed very skilled at his craft.

Malcolm continued inspecting the room. He and Dani were in opposite corners. To his left, naturally out of his range, was the door out. There were no windows. That, paired with the cinderblock walls, the open beams, and the profile in general, denoted that they were definitely underground somewhere. To his right there was a sizable wooden table that sat out from the wall enough to allow a person access to all sides. Under the table was a shelf containing supplies of some sort. Malcolm couldn't tell what they were seeing as how they were covered by a sheet.

There wasn't much to work with in terms of escape. He knew he was going to have to pull something spectacular out of thin air. The lack of windows hurt. A lot. The three additional locks on the other side of the only door out was practically damning. The only way we get out of here is by overpowering him once he's opened the door and in the room. Overpowering him requires at least one of us not being restrained. Both would be ideal. That's unlikely to happen. Malcolm sat down, leaned against the wall, and continued running through every possible escape scenario he could fathom. His eyes instinctively looked to his wrist to check the time. With his watch removed and no windows, it was going to be practically impossible to tell how long they had been there. He would have to fish that information out of Nathan.

At some point the scenarios ceased and Malcolm ended up in the hazy realm between sleep and wakefulness while still sitting up. He had almost crossed the threshold into actual sleep when a sound jolted him back to reality. Chains clinking. He scrambled quickly to get as close to her side of the room as his restrictions permitted. On his knees again, leaning as far forward as he could he called to her, "Dani? It's me, Malcolm. Dani, can you hear me?"

Dani answered with a mixture of a groan and a mumble. He could only see her left arm and leg the way she was laying. They were moving, however slowly. Malcolm imagined she was coming to all the same slow realizations he had just a short while ago.

"Take it easy. No quick movements. Believe me it's better that way," he tried to help the situation in any way he possibly could, before she fully understood what it all meant.

"Malcolm?" Dani slowly pushed herself up into a seated position. She immediately noticed her shackled wrists and began searching the partially-lit room for his face.

"It's ok. It's ok. Hey, look at me. Dani. It's gonna be ok." Malcolm felt as though he masked his own fear quite well and even sounded believable.

Dani paused, "What happened? Where are we?" She jerked and pulled at the chains uselessly.

"So about that. Um… do you want the good news or the bad news?" Typically in situations like this he would provide the inappropriately-timed-but-usually-appreciated humor. It was difficult given the severity of their situation, but Malcolm knew she would be expecting it. Even if it annoyed her, it would be normal, Malcolm as usual and thus, nothing to be alarmed about. If it was normal then it couldn't be terrifying. He put on a brave face. For her.

"Bright, what could possibly be good news?!" She sounded annoyed. Good. All part of the plan.

"The good news is we've located the killer," Malcolm flashed the cheesiest smile he could muster. "Our hard work paid off, the profile was spot on. and we have located and begun investigation on the crime scene."

Dani raised her arms, showcasing the manacles binding her wrists, "And the bad news?"

Malcolm laughed nervously, "Yeah, so that. We've managed to locate the crime scene thanks in part to some assistance provided by a man named Nathan."

"And Nathan is…"

"Well, he's the killer"

"Of course he is. Wait, the killer's name is Nathan? He just told you that? Do you think he's telling the truth?" Dani seemed to be taking this news incredibly well.

"I'm honestly surprised he even told me his first name. But he said that he wasn't concerned about me being able to tell any-" Malcolm caught himself too late. The rest of his sentence hung in the air between them like a dense fog.

"... to tell anyone what his name is," she finished.

"Yes."

A long and heavy silence passed. Neither of them looked at one another. Neither of them knew what to say. After what seemed like forever, Dani broke the quiet. Her voice was low, barely loud enough for him to hear her across the room, "Malcolm?"

"Yeah?"

"We know what he does to his victims," she swallowed, seemingly trying to find her voice again.

He lowered his head. He wasn't sure he'd be able to keep up his facade if he was looking her in the eye, "We do."

"He's going to do that… to us," there wasn't a question attached to the phrase. Just a statement of fact. The fear in Dani's voice was palpable.

Malcolm snapped his head up and leaned even further forward. His wrists were aching already, "Hey. Hey! Look at me," Dani refused to meet his eyes. "Dani Powell, look at me," he hissed. She reluctantly lifted her head just enough to meet his gaze. "We are not going to let that happen. Got it? Not happening. You understand me?"

Dani haphazardly nodded her head once in faux-agreement. Malcolm didn't say anything else. He knew exactly what she was thinking because it was the same thing going through his own head. All the photos and reports they'd analyzed over the past two weeks were now a slide show of mockery for them both to play on repeat incessantly in their minds.

Malcom shook the visions away. Not happening. End of story. He just had to figure out a way. No other option. Simple as that.

Malcolm knew he had to come up with something quickly. They were both running out of time.