I'm so happy there seems to be a lot of interest in this! Thank you again for all your kind words. This next part is a bit short, but oh well, at least I'm good at updating pretty regularly, right? Ha. Hope you like it anyways, and please review!

Chapter 3

6:04 p.m.

A quick run through of the parking lot gave David and Colby one important, preliminary piece of information—Don was not at home. His SUV was missing, nowhere to be found. It didn't tell them much, just that Don had left and had at least attempted to go somewhere.

Figuring out where was another matter entirely. David figured it probably wouldn't do much good to get out of the car and go up to Don's apartment, but the FBI agent in him said to leave no stone unturned, either. So he told Colby to park the car in a visitor's space, and the two of them stepped out into the rain.

Colby made a face at the way the rain was hitting his face. "Damn, this is nasty."

David cringed, walking quickly towards the building's entrance in attempt to seek shelter. "Yeah, I don't even remember the last time it rained like this here. Been seeing some bigger storms out in DC, but here is kind of strange."

The two were under a ledge now, mostly staying dry. It was difficult, seeing as how the wind had picked up again. David quickly stuck the key Alan had given him into the door lock, allowing them access into the building.

David was glad to enter the building. Thirty seconds outside had him feeling damp all over. He and Colby made their way to the elevator, which opened immediately when Colby pushed the "up" button. They stepped inside, and rode silently up to the fourth floor where Don's unit was.

A nervous, sinking feeling manifested itself in the pit of David's gut as the elevator made its ascent. Going through all the possibilities of where his former boss could be, David knew that a positive outcome was unlikely in this situation. Over two hours had passed since anyone had been in contact with Don. Don was not at all the type to show up late for anything without at least a phone call—not even to a simple dinner at his brother's house. But his own wedding, for Christ's sake . . . well, David figured that even an idiot could imagine the only three possibilities. Don was either hurt, dead, or had run away.

None of which were good things. None of which would lead to this day having a happy ending.

Even if Don had been in a minor car accident resulting in a quick trip to the ER, he still would have made sure to call someone. If he'd been injured in any way, it would have to be fairly serious at the very least.

The elevator opened, and David followed as Colby practically ran out and down the short hallway to Don's apartment. Stopping in front of the door, Colby reached a hand up and started knocking, though they both knew perfectly well that no one would answer.

"Are you guys looking for Don Eppes?" a voice came from behind him, startling David nearly out of his own skin. He turned around to find a man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, poking his head out from a neighboring door.

"Yes, we are," David answered, hearing the urgency in his own voice. "Have you seen him at all today?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, I saw him about two hours ago. He's getting married today, he should be at his wedding, but I don't really know where that's at, so—"

"Was he leaving here when you saw him?" Colby cut the younger man off.

"Yeah, we rode down in the elevator together when he was on his way out."

"Did he say anything to indicate where he was going?" David pressed.

Don's neighbor looked confused. "Uh, yeah, I already told you. He was going to his wedding. He was wearing a really nice tuxedo, so I asked him if he was going to a wedding, and he was like 'Yeah, my own,' and he was all excited—so yeah, I'm assuming he was on his way to his wedding." The man spoke the last bit slowly, as if he were explaining the most obvious thing in the world.

David sighed and looked at Colby, whose face said exactly what David was thinking: that they'd ruled out one possibility—Don most likely did not intentionally ditch his own wedding.

"Thanks," Colby muttered. He pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Don's neighbor. "If you see or hear from him, please call me."

6:07 p.m.

Traffic was a mess. Rain seemed to be a magical elixir that caused everyone in Southern California to forget how to drive. Sheesh. It wasn't even raining all that hard anymore—it had slowed down to what Don would classify as a heavy drizzle. Sure, the roads were wet and filled with puddles, but really.

Not that Don was all that eager to get to wherever the hell it was he was going. The longer he and his backseat passenger were stuck in traffic, the longer Don had to weigh his options. Unfortunately, he just kept re-realizing over and over that there was really nothing he could do, at least not until they eventually stopped driving. And considering Don had no real idea of their destination, he couldn't come up with a concrete plan of action.

The only good thing about the situation was that since Don was supposed to have been getting married, people should have realized pretty quickly that he was missing. Glancing down at his watch, he figured people would have initially questioned his whereabouts over an hour ago now.

Don Eppes was not a man one would describe as emotional, but he felt like he could seriously cry right now when he thought of his now-ruined wedding. His heart broke into a million pieces every time he thought of Robin, which was about every ten or twenty seconds. God. She must hate him.

Where was she, right at that moment? Was she still at CalSci? Had she gone home? What was she thinking? She must think he purposely left her at the altar. Oh, how he desperately wished he could somehow let her know how much he desperately wanted to be there with her, celebrating their new marriage. He wished that she could know for sure just how much he loved her. He wished these things so badly it hurt.

What made things worse was when Don thought of the likelihood of making it out of this alive. Clearly, his captor knew him. And when an FBI agent was kidnapped by someone who knew his identity, things had a tendency not to end well. Don worried that Robin might never know just how much this was tearing him up inside.

As much as the severe traffic was buying Don some time, it also put him a little on edge. An accident in the eastbound lanes of I-10 had them at a near standstill for over half an hour. His captor was clearly agitated as well, although the man hadn't said a word the whole time other than to tell Don when and where to turn. Don had tried to open a dialogue with him, as per protocol, but it had been like talking to a brick wall. That was another thing that did not bode well for Don.

Hopefully someone would figure out what happened, although Don wasn't sure how. There had been no evidence left behind regarding his whereabouts. Surely, someone had put out a bulletin on his car by now, however. Although his captor probably realized this, and they'd likely ditch the SUV soon.

Colby, Nikki, Liz, and even Mr. Head-of-Anti-Corruption-in-DC David Sinclair would be actively leading the search for him by now. It was possible they'd find him—once they'd ruled out the possibility of him running away on purpose or being involved in a serious accident on his way to CalSci.

He tugged absently on his bowtie. Might as well try this guy again, Don figured. Got nothing else to do right now.

"Look, eventually, you're going to have to tell me why you're doing this," he calmly reasoned. "Might as well be now, right?"

A pair of cold, considering blue eyes met his in the rear-view mirror. "We'll get to that all in good time, Agent Eppes. Until then, you just keep managing this traffic as best you can."

"Okay," Don relented. "But look, hey, you know, maybe there's some way we can settle this quietly. You know - no muss, no fuss.. You're already in it pretty deep here, what with abducting of a federal agent and all, you don't want dig yourself in deeper here."

"Agent Eppes." The man's voice contained a strong note of disbelief. "Why do you feel the need to presume to know what I want?"

"I'm not trying to presume to know anything," Don soothed in his best armed-offender-talk-down voice. "I just want to know what you do want. It would be a lot easier for me to help you if you just told me—"

The man didn't let him finish. "It isn't your help that I want, Agent Eppes. So far I'm already getting what I want from you. Now please, I'd rather not have this conversation here. But I'll leave you with one thought. I must admit, I'm a tad offended that you don't seem to recognize me. If you could, you'd know exactly what it is that I want." And with that, Don's captor leaned back against the seat and fell silent.

Okay, so Don definitely should know this man. It couldn't have been somebody he'd previously arrested; he'd likely remember all his old collars well enough to recognize them. Don could only figure that this man was a victim, the family member of a victim, or the family member of a perpetrator he'd once arrested. It didn't matter so much because no matter which, the motive was mostly likely revenge. Not a good sign.

Unfortunately, Don hadn't garnered any new information that he hadn't already figured on. All he could do was continue to drive the car until eventually the man told him to stop.

TBC