"Hey, thought I'd find you here." Henry said walking into the library holding Emily's laptop.
Emily looked up from the book she was reading.
Henry walked to the table where she was sitting, pulled out a chair and joined her. "I finished going through your computer. Got it defragged and debugged. It seems to be working fine now." He said placing the laptop in front of them. "Oh, and I set up your internet connection too. Now you can check your mail."
"Thanks Henry." Emily said opening it. She pulled up her email account.
"Girl! How long has it been since you've checked your email?" Henry said noticing her mailbox had several hundred unopened emails in it.
"Since before I got here." She stated. Emily scrunched her eyebrows. "Hmm, what?" She questioned. She opened an email to find there was a video clip in it.
"Who's that from?" Henry asked.
"I'm not sure."
She clicked on the video. It was the same man from the earlier video. He was in the same room, walking around with the camera as he spoke to it. "Do I have your attention?" Was all he said. Immediately, Emily stood up and started to pace. She started to itch.
* * * * * * * *
Kate went back into the coffee shop where Nikki worked. Maybe he was in there? She looked around, no luck. She asked Nikki, who hadn't seen him since he left only 20 minutes prior. Kate searched the area, but was unable to find any information or anyone who had seen him. She pulled her cell out and called Helen back, needing to let her know of her search.
"Henry" Helen called on the walkie talkie.
"Yea Doc?" He replied.
"I need you to trace Will's cell phone. He seems to be missing."
"Will do." Henry stood up from the table in the library. "Gotta go." He told Emily as he left the room.
Emily had heard their conversation. She knew she could "look" for him.
* * * * * * * *
Helen stood up from her desk as Henry entered her office. "Any luck Henry?" She asked.
"I found his cell signal. I gave Kate the coordinates already. She's going to check it out." He said. "Do we know what happened?"
"No, I haven't heard anything. Kate hasn't heard anything either." She turned to the monitors. Studying them carefully, as if they would give her the answer to where their lost teammate was.
Kate and Declan were out in New City trying to find out any information on what happened to Will. During this time Helen ran several scenarios through the computer and Henry searched footage from the surveillance cameras from the police department. It had been already been a few hours since Kate had notified them of Will's disappearance.
Emily stood in the doorway of Helen's office. "Helen, what can I do to help?" She asked.
Helen looked at Emily. "Can you look for him?"
"I have" She said walking to the couch. "The last time I tried, he was not awake. That was about 15 minutes ago. I will try again though." She sat on the couch. "All I know is that he was cold."
Helen sat down next to Emily. "Well, that's a start. What else can you tell me from what you saw?"
"Nothing. I won't give up though. I know he'll wake up." Emily looked at her hands. She closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. Helen stayed seated by her.
Opening her eyes, the room was dark. The only light came from the crack below the door. Seeing through Will's eyes, she could now understand what a profiler really does. Walking from one end to the other, nothing could be seen. He kept his hand along the wall to help keep his balance. The wall was definitely concrete. The room was barren of furniture. Stepping slowly, he traced the wall with his hand until he found a corner. He did this through out the room. He found nothing on the floor and nothing on the walls. Sitting back against the wall opposite the door, he waited. "Emily," he whispered. "I don't know if you're here with me but I'm hoping you are. I don't know where I am. There's nothing here. No one's been in." He sat quietly in the room. He noticed he was no longer wearing his shoes or his jacket. The light began to dim. He would have to wait.
"Doc, there's nothing on any footage" Henry said as he walked back into Helen's office. Helen was sitting at her desk while Emily was still on the couch. Her eyes were closed and her breathing shallow. "She looking for him?" He asked.
"She's been like this for an hour now." Helen nodded. "I'm guessing she hasn't seen anything to tell us where he is yet."
* * * * * * *
The sun was going down. The Sanctuary team came together in Helen's office. Nothing had been learned in the 4 hours since Will's disappearance. Helen sat on the couch next to Emily and Kate. Declan stood behind a chair and Henry sat in the chair nearest to the fireplace.
"So where do we go from here?" Kate asked.
"We've taken every road available and have found absolutely nothing thus far. We'll just have to keep doing what we're already doing." Helen turned to Emily. "Emily?" She touched her hand.
Emily was still with Will. She had been with him for about 3 hours already. She had seen nothing new. She could feel Helen's hand on hers. Opening her eyes, she saw everyone in the room staring at her. Automatically, she looked down at the floor.
"You're freezing." Helen said to her. "Henry, go get a blanket for her." He nodded and left the room to get a blanket. "Emily, did you learn anything from the time you were with Will?"
"He's been awake, that's why I stayed. There's nothing to give me a clue of where he is or who took him." She began to itch knowing everyone was counting on her again. She tried not to scratch her arms since she had already done so earlier in the day when she saw the video in her email. "I know he's in a room. It's dark and empty. It feels cold and damp; the walls are cement, like a basement. There's only one door with only a little light coming in from under it. Nothing else though. He's not hurt. He's cold and tired." She paused. "I need to go back."
"I think you need to rest and eat a little first." Helen told her, wrapping the blanket around her that Henry retuned with.
Emily yawned, "Ok," She snuggled in the blanket. She was extremely cold.
"Hey Emily," Henry said changing the subject. "Did you ever figure out who that was on the video?"
"Just someone from my past." She said.
"What video?" Helen asked. Kate and Declan excused themselves to get something to eat. Henry stayed with Helen and Emily.
Henry explained to Helen about the second video of the man in the apartment in Emily's email. Helen could see that Emily was becoming very anxious about this conversation. She had begun scratching her arms and rocking to try to sooth herself. "Emily?" Helen questioned. "Who is he?"
"Someone I helped put in prison a long time ago." She answered. "He was released the week before I called you." She couldn't bear to look at either of them. The truth about her leaving her home was coming out finally. "I couldn't stay there. He called me." She stood up, still wrapped in the blanket and paced the floor. Her breathing was rapid and she could feel her heart throbbing inside her. Her face became pale.
"Oh, no you don't. You need to calm down." Helen told her. She stood up, grabbed both her hands and pulled Emily back to the couch. "Now, sit down. Breathe slow and deep." She ordered.
Emily followed the orders of her friend. Her breathing became more relaxed; however she still itched and fought the temptation to scratch her arms.
"What was in the videos that scare you so much?"
Henry sat across from them in a chair.
Emily looked at Helen then at Henry. She had been afraid to tell anyone, but knew that she must now. She took a long breath looked directly into Helen's eyes. "He was in my apartment."
"Were there any more videos?" Helen asked.
Emily nodded slowly. She had seen several emails from the same address which included an attachment. She knew it was him now.
"Emily, while we're waiting to hear any information about Will, I think you need to take a look at those videos. Meet the demon of yours face to face." She stood back up, walked to her computer. "Let's look at those videos then."
Emily walked over, fearing what she would see. Just knowing that he had been in her apartment made her not want to return to it, ever. She sat next to Helen by the computers and brought up her email.
"I'll be back, gonna get some food. You two want anything?" Henry asked standing up excusing himself from the room.
Emily shook her head along with Helen. She knew she couldn't eat right now. The pair pulled up her email account and saw that there were 75 emails from the same account. They started from the beginning. Helen was hoping that this would use up some time while they waited to hear from other sources about Will's location.
After viewing a few more video clips, Helen turned to Emily. "Tell me why you're so afraid." She asked.
"Helen, these videos," she paused. "They're in my apartment. He was in my apartment." Tears welled up in her eyes, trickled down her cheeks and didn't seem to stop. "I can't watch these anymore." She became extremely upset. Emily abruptly stood up and walked from the room. Leaving Helen to finish watching the videos.
Emily returned to her quarters, hoping no one would need to look for her for a while. She wanted to return to Will and make sure he was still alright. Taking her shoes off, she sat in the middle of her bed. She wrapped herself in the bedding as she knew she would be cold when she was done. She closed her eyes and returned to her friend.
The room was even colder and darker than before. Will lie on the concrete floor, waiting. No one had come in. He's been gone for what seemed like days. "Emily, I know you're with me." He whispered several times. Suddenly, the door cracked open slowly. There was a form standing there. It looked more like a shadow since the only lighting was behind it. The shadow placed a bowl and water bottle on the floor just inside the room. The door closed. He heard several locks closing to keep him contained in the room. Will walked slowly over to the bowl and water. He was very thirsty, but leery of what was put in front of him to consume.
"Did you see the stairs?" he said again to himself. "I'm below ground. That's a start." Will opened the water and took a small drink. He savored the water and drank it sparingly, since he did not know when he would receive more.
Back in Helen's office, she had gone through most of the videos in Emily's email when Kate, Henry and Declan returned to her office.
"Anything?" Kate asked. She wanted to go back to the streets and look for Will. She felt helpless sitting inside the Sanctuary and not out looking.
"I'm almost done with these videos in Emily's email. I can understand why she's afraid of him." Helen opened the next video.
The surroundings had changed as well as the camera. It was an inferred video. The room was dark. The camera was positioned in the corner of the room; however, the view covered about 90% of the room.
The door opened. A man came in dragging another man. The room was too dark to see any faces clearly. The shadowed man pulled off the other's shoes and jacket. He then went through the unconscious man's pockets, pulling out any money and his cell phone. The video went into static, it was the end.
They looked at each other. Helen was the first to speak. "Go get Emily." She ordered to Kate.
"On my way." Kate left the room.
"We need to find where this video came from. Henry, that's up to you." Helen's mind was running at full speed. "Declan, I want you to find out who this guy is in these videos. I'm sure you'll find a match with this man in the other new one."
Within a few minutes Kate had reached Emily's quarters. Knocking on the door, she wasn't sure if Emily would be sleeping or not. There was no answer. Kate opened the door.
"Emily, the Doc wants you." She said seeing Emily sitting on the bed. She didn't move. "Emily?" Kate walked to her touching her on the shoulder. "Come on Emily. It's in the videos."
Emily slowly returned to her room. She turned to see Kate behind her. "What?" She muttered confused.
"Doc wants you." Kate said tugging at her arm.
The two headed back to Helen's office. Emily brought the blanket she had wrapped around her.
Kate entered Helen's office first. Behind her Emily walked slowly through the door. She was still wrapped in the large blanket from her bed. Her lips were tinged purple and she was shivering.
"Emily, this man in the video," Helen started. "I believe he's the one who is holding Will."
Emily's gaze faded to the widow. "Why do you think that?"
"Look at this video." Helen replayed the video for her to watch. "Is this what you saw?"
As Emily watched the video clip, she knew this was the room Will was in. She watched this man drag Will's drugged body into the room. "There's a couple more after that one." Helen told her starting the next clip. In this clip they could see Will's figure sitting up against the back wall. They could hear faint whispers coming from him, but could not distinguish what he was saying. At the fourth clip they saw the man bringing food to him with a water bottle. Emily shrank back recognizing this as what she had seen about an hour before when she was with Will.
"That's him." She said. "I was with him then. He was whispering to me." She looked down at the table in front of her. She knew what she needed to do to find where they were, she needed to find the man in the video. She walked to the leather chair by fireplace. Staying wrapped in the blanket she sat down.
"Wait. Before you go back to Will, I need you to tell me everything you know about the man that has him." Helen said.
Emily looked at Helen. "His name is James Roberson. He kidnapped a little girl in 1988. I helped the police find her. I'm sure he blames me for everything. He was released from prison the week before I got here. Like I told you before, he called me. I got scared and left. I didn't think he would follow me." She paused. "I'm going to find him, so we can find Will."
Opening her eyes she could see a computer monitor in front of her. Typed on the monitor were directions: Emily – I have your friend. I will trade only for YOU. Your life for his. 5am 24 Wood St, Old City. I know you won't be alone, but his life depends on YOU.
Emily opened her eyes. "I didn't see anything. He's sleeping." Emily stood up from the chair. "I think I'm going to get some rest." She kept herself wrapped in the blanket and headed toward her room.
* * * * * * * *
Sneaking out of the Sanctuary would not be easy. Emily knew they would see her, but was hoped that she would have enough of a head start. She had found a GPS unit in Henry's tech lab. All she wanted to do was make sure that Will was safe.
Heading out the front door was the only way she knew to get out to the main gate. Why she hadn't studied the interior works of the Sanctuary she didn't know. Now she regretted it. She had typed the address into the GPS and headed toward Old City. She hadn't been out of the Sanctuary but twice while here.
During this time, Helen did see her leave on the monitors in her office. The security cameras saw everything. Helen, Henry and Kate gathered their things and left the Sanctuary. Emily was walking, so they were sure they could find her.
Upon finding the building on Wood Street, Emily wondered what she would find inside. It had 2 stories, broken windows on the outside and looked like it had been condemned for years. She took a deep breath and walked toward the half open door. Kate spotted her as they turned the corner. The streets were barren of cars and people. It was early morning; the sun was beginning to come up.
She stepped into the building to find the interior looked as run down as the outside. There was little light in the room. She saw a figure standing in the hallway. She recognized it to be Roberson. She tried to stay calm, although the itching on her arms increased.
"Glad to see you got the message." He said taking a step toward her.
"Let Will go." She demanded.
"Oh, that's his name." He walked to her; she kept still, only moving her eyes to follow his movements. "Don't worry about him. He'll be just fine." He teased. "As for you, I'm not sure." He pressed something in the small of her back. "Move!"
Outside Helen and Kate were standing by the front door listening. Helen motioned at Kate. Kate shoved the door all the way open as Helen moved into the doorway. They could see Roberson walking toward the back of the building with Emily in front of him. They could see that one hand was guiding her while the other was pressed in the small of her back.
Emily was terrified. She could feel her heart racing in her chest. She itched everywhere. She could feel an anxiety attack beginning. Her chest felt as if someone was squeezing it and not letting go to get any air in her lungs. She fought to stay conscious. She struggled to walk along with Roberson. He pushed her out the back door.
Kate found a moment when his hand came away from her back as they walked down the stairs. Kate took that moment to fire her weapon. He fell forward on to Emily. With her head spinning already, she collapsed.
* * * * * * * * *
Emily woke to find herself in the infirmary of the Sanctuary. Her head was fuzzy and right side hurt. She felt a hand on hers. Looking down at her side, she saw Will with his on the bed by her side, his hand laying on hers. She smiled, picked her hand up and rubbed his head gently.
Will slowly opened his eyes to find Emily staring at him. "Hey," He said. "Glad to see you're up."
Helen walked over toward her bed. She was wearing her long white lab coat. She looked down at Emily. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore. What happened?" She asked. "Did I have another panic attack?"
"Well, yes and no." Will replied.
"We saw you leave the Sanctuary and followed you. Kate shot Roberson and he fell on you. Unfortunately, the knife he had on you penetrated through your jacket. You were injured slightly. It only went in about an inch, the damage was not major. You have a few stitches, that's about all." Helen stated.
"Roberson?" She asked looking at Will.
"You don't have to worry about him again." He replied.
"Will, I'm sorry. It was all my fault." She was getting upset.
"Emily, it's not your fault. I'm fine." Will reassured her.
"You need to rest. Later today I'll let you go back to your room to rest, for now you need to stay here." Helen told her.
"Thank you Helen." Emily looked at Will. "I'm glad you're OK." She smiled at him.
Will raised her hand in his and gently placed a kiss on it.
FIN
*** Thank you for reading my first long fic. I really want to thank everyone who has given me reviews on the previous chapters.