A/N: Sorry for the long delay. Another complicated chapter, but I think things are shaping up nicely. Thanks for reading! A big thanks to those of you who are also reviewing. It really makes writing this worth while! The Steve / Danny banter about Steve and Lori is by suggestion. Thanks for that!
H5O: 9:00 AM
"Heyyyy. Look whose back!" Danny said from the open door of Steve's office. "How was your trip?"
Steve continued to thumb through the mail left on his desk. "It was good," he said, nonchalantly, his face as blank as he could make it.
Danny eyed him suspiciously. "That's it?"
"That's it," he said and buried his nose in his mail so that Danny couldn't see his face.
"Uhuh, I'm not buying it, Babe. What happened with Lori?"
"What do you mean?"
Danny stared at him for a second more before Steve smiled. "What the hell is that?"
Steve's head popped up. "What?"
"That," he pointed to Steve, "on your face? You're smiling, my friend."
"I always smile."
"No," Danny snorted, "you do not smile. You do many things, but smiling is not one of them, at least not like that, you don't."
"As usual, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about you and Lori and your trip, and... Wait a minute. That's it."
"What?" Steve said, confused.
"You two hooked up. You like her."
Steve shook his head. "No, we did not hook up and no, I don't like her. I... She's..."
"Son of a bitch!" Steve jumped at Danny's outburst. "You're in love with her."
"No... Maybe... I don't know. I care about her."
"Yeah," he prodded. "And?"
"And, we are not having this conversation right now," Steve said and pointed over Danny's shoulder. He turned his attention to the activity in the hall. Kono and Chin were in the middle of a heated debate. "Hey, what's going on," Steve called as he stepped through his office door.
Chin turned back toward him, and Kono crossed her arms over her chest, obviously unhappy.
"Welcome back, man."
"Yeah, thanks. Is everything ok?"
"Cuz here has a problem with me dating," Kono complained.
"No, I don't have a problem with you dating. I have a problem with you dating Mitchell Young."
"Detective Young?" Steve asked.
"Yes," Chin and Kono said in unison.
"Could we drop it please," Kono asked. "I'd like to get to work. Oh, and, welcome back Boss."
"Thank you. Hey, listen; we have a photo of Williams. It's off of an ID badge. Kono, I need you to enhance it and make some copies. We're gonna' canvas the area again, see if anybody recognizes Williams."
"Will do," Kono replied, grateful for the diversion.
They started the canvas early with very little success. Chin and Kono worked one side of the street and Steve and Danny focused on the other. "So, spill," Danny said.
"What?"
"What do you mean, 'what'? You're relaxed. You're smiling. What gives?"
"I don't know. I guess I'm in a good mood."
"Uhuh, you're happy my friend. And I know why."
Steve stopped and turned to face Danny. He shrugged his shoulders and started to speak, but hesitated, not sure exactly how much he was willing to share. Danny shook his head impatiently. "What? What does this mean?" he asked mocking the shrug he was just given.
"I like her," Steve said rather shyly.
"You mean Lori, I assume."
"Yes, Lori. I really like her," he said, more definitively this time.
"I can see that. You seem pretty serious."
"Yeah, I am."
"She feels the same way?"
"Yeah, I think she does."
"You met her family?"
"Umhum."
"You liked 'em?"
"A lot," he nodded.
A big, goofy grin spread across Danny's face.
"Oh, here we go," Steve whined and headed down the sidewalk, Danny in tow. "Go ahead, say what you've got to say."
"I'm happy for you, Babe."
"That's it?"
"Yeah. I think it's great, especially if it keeps you in a good mood."
"Right," Steve grunted.
"So, have you told her yet?"
"Told her what?"
"That you love her, genius."
"No," he said very matter-of-factly.
"Why not? You do don't you?"
"It's a little soon, don't you think?"
"Love has no timeline, my friend."
Steve stopped and screwed up his face. "What is that, Shakespeare?"
"Mock me all you want, but I'm right. If you love her, you should tell her, and tell her often. Life is too short for guess work."
Steve's phone rang, sparring him any further Danny wisdom. "Yeah, Chin... Sure... Where are you going; we'll meet you."
He hung up the phone. "That was Chin. They're gonna get some lunch. I say we do the same." Danny nodded and they headed back to the Camaro.
H5O: 4:30 PM
"Jenkins, its McGarrett. Where's Lori?"
"She's in a meeting. Her eighteen month review. Why you asking me?"
"We found him."
"Do you have him?"
"Not yet. Two people recognized his photo. Said they had seen him coming and going from an old office building a few blocks in from our canvass. Get Lori and meet us at the crime scene warehouse."
"We'll have to do this without her. The review is mandatory. I'll leave her a note."
H5O: 5:25 PM
Vests on and guns at the ready, Danny and Steve took the front while Jenkins, Chin and Kono rounded to the back. First floor... Clear. They met at the bottom of the stairs and ascended military style rotating cover and advance. At the top of the stairs, Steve signaled for the others to spread out against the wall. With one monstrous kick, the door flew open sending a poof of dust into the air. Steve entered first, Danny and Jenkins right behind him. They spread out, searching the interior of the four room apartment. "Boss! In here, I found Kerrie!"
"Danny?" Steve yelled, gun still drawn.
"Clear!"
"Chin?"
"Clear!"
"Jenkins?"
"Clear," he said as he stepped into the room with Steve. Steve holstered his gun and headed for Kono. She was kneeling on the floor next to a badly bruised and beaten young woman wearing a pink mini cocktail dress.
"Did you call the paramedics?"
"On their way," Kono confirmed.
"Kerrie," he said gently. "Kerrie, can you hear me?"
Her lips were dry and chapped. She mumbled inaudibly, in and out of consciousness.
"Steve, you need to see this," Chin said from the doorway. There was an urgency in his voice that had Steve on his feet and moving. "Stay with her Kono."
"Will do."
Steve followed Chin into a small and empty second bedroom. He froze when he saw the display on the walls. There were four organized groupings, one group on each wall. Steve walked across the room to the far wall and immediately recognized the Kentucky victims. He had hung surveillance photos next to pictures of the girls taken while they were being held captive. The decline in their health and the beatings they endured were well documented in the photos. The final picture was a postmortem record of their deaths. Each girl had been cleaned up, dressed in evening wear, and heavily painted with makeup. They were each lying on a blanket as if on display holding a small bouquet of Gerber daisies. Steve shook his head and moved to the next wall where he found the Texas victims.
"Steve, you better look at this," he heard Danny say.
He drug his eyes from the photos and turned to Danny who was standing near the wall by the door. He moved closer to the near empty space and saw four sets of photos. The first two he recognized as the victims from the other two islands. Their series was complete. There were surveillance photos, captivity photos, and a postmortem photo. "This third victim. There's no postmortem photo. The gang war interrupted him. He wasn't finished with her, yet."
The fourth victim, Kerrie, was next. There were only two surveillance photos, both taken the night of her abduction; both pictured her with her friend, Morgan. There were photos of her captivity, including one taken of her in the pink dress they had found her in. "He's been here recently. That's the dress she's wearing now."
He pulled that photo from the wall and flipped it over. "It was processed at Walgreen's. There's a Walgreen's four maybe six blocks from here."
"This one was processed there, too," Chin said holding a photo of the warehouse victim.
When the paramedics arrived for Kerrie, Steve sent Kono with her to the hospital. "Danny, you and Chin go to Walgreen's and see what you get. Maybe he's already turned in his next set of surveillance photos to be processed."
"Got it."
"I'll call CSU. Agent Jenkins, you can stay here with me, see what else we can find."
H5O: 5:30 PM
Lori checked her phone as she headed to the parking lot. No messages. She dialed Steve's number but it went directly to voice mail. She decided to text him instead:
"Just leaving work. 18 month review done! (forgot that was waiting for me). Went well. Going to grab some dinner and head home. Need sleep! Call if anything new. L"
She meant it, too. She needed sleep. It was already 11:30 PM in Lock Haven. That and the fourteen hour trip had her dragging. She hoped Steve had already turned off his phone and tucked himself into bed too. She stopped for take-out Chinese, her biggest guilty pleasure, and headed home. She ate lazily on the balcony and stretched her legs for a bit, listening to her music, then headed for the shower, completely unaware of the tail she had picked up at the federal building.
H5O: 5:30 PM
There you are, sweetheart. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. That sniveling idiot couldn't find his own ass without directions. I told you I would find her. Now, if you'll get out of my car, I'll get her and bring her in," he said to the agent sitting next to him. He watched as one of the central figures in his complicated delusion slid into the passenger seat of a nonexistent black SUV parked behind him. "Bastard," he grumbled as he pulled into traffic behind his mark. He followed her to the Chinese restaurant and waited patiently for her to return to her truck. He checked his jacket pocket and felt the loaded syringe, one ml Ketamine ready to go. The familiar feel of it tucked inside his clinched fist set his head to pounding. "Oh, no you don't," he said as he pounded his left temple. "You stay in there. This is my collar, you son of a bitch. I'm in charge now. You don't have the balls to do what needs to be done. Every beating they've taken has been at my hand. You understand? It's been at my hand. You and you're buddy are good at snapping pictures and picking out dresses. What a couple of pansies." He was sweating with the effort it took to stay in control of the one body that so many of them shared. He rubbed his palms hard into his eyes and felt the pain give way just a smidgen. "That's right," he whispered. "I'm in charge now."
He again pulled in behind her and followed her to her apartment. He moved quickly to the rear of the complex and waited in the shadows, watching. She slid the door open to her third floor balcony and ate her supper outside like she often did. He watched her as she leaned back in her chair, legs outstretched onto the little table in front of her, headphones covering her ears. He wondered if she would go for a run tonight. He hoped not. His head was pounding and he wanted this done. Finally, she ate the last of her cheap Chinese and headed back into her corner apartment, leaving her sliding glass door conveniently open. He saw the small bathroom light flip on. That was his cue. He mentally reviewed the apartment floor plan. He had been in her apartment one other time, while she was in the shower. Milliken wanted reconnaissance. That's what he provided, that and muscle. The little bastard with the camera was no longer needed. And that kept him out of his head. He slipped through the small garden and across the concrete by the pool. He eased around the corner to the fire escape and started climbing. There was just enough of a foothold for him to scale the side of the building and round the corner to Lori's balcony. He slipped over the railing without a sound and quietly slid the screen door open. "Good," he thought. "She has her music on.". He could hear her singing along in the shower. He stopped at the hall closet and pulled out the trunk he had seen in there the last time he was in her apartment. He left it open in the hallway and waited for his mark in the bedroom.
H5O: 7:30 PM
"Do you recognize either one of these photos?" Chin asked a young man in his early twenties standing behind the photo counter at Walgreen's.
"Yeah, that's one of Mr. Markum's pictures."
What about this one?" he asked holding up a picture of the first victim on Kauai.
"I don't recognize that one, and I'm the only one he'll let process his film."
"Is this Mr. Markum?" Danny asked and showed the attendant a picture of Markus Williams from the canvass.
"Yeah, that's him. Why?"
"Doesn't this photo disturb you a little?" Danny asked pointing to the recent picture of Kerrie lying on the floor, beaten, bruised, and bound. "Or maybe this one." he said pointing again to the picture of the Kauai victim.
"Not anymore."
"What does that mean, not anymore... What, it used to bother you, but now your ok with a guy taking pictures of a dead body?"
"Whoa... What do you mean dead body? That girl's dead?"
"Yes, genius, that girl's dead! Why didn't you report these pictures?"
"I didn't know they were dead. I thought they were acting. MMMMr. Markum said he was taking a photography class at the university. He said he was supposed to tell a story or something in pictures. He said it was called uh, uh... 'Beauty's Last Day'! I think that's what he said, 'Beauty's Last Day'... He said they were models, I swear."
"Okay, okay. Just, settle down," Chin said and helped the boy to a chair at the photo kiosk. "Take it easy," he said gently and shot Danny the stink eye.
"What?" Danny mouthed wordlessly.
"Listen... Jeremy," Danny said reading his name tag. "Is that your name?" The boy nodded, pale faced and very close to hyperventilating. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come down on you so hard. You couldn't have known... Jeremy? Jeremy, are you listening?" The boy again nodded. "Jeremy, this is very important. Does Mr. Markum have any film here now to be developed?"
The boy stopped rocking back and forth in the chair and looked at Danny with ridiculously huge eyes. "Yes... Yes he does... I developed them this morning."
"When is he supposed to pick them up?"
"He said he would be back on Thursday, I think."
"You think? I need you to know, Jeremy," Danny instructed.
"Yes, yes, it was Thursday, because he said... he said that the pictures weren't due until Friday. You know, for his class. I wrote it on the envelope, where it says due date. You can check it," Jeremy squeaked.
"Can you get those photos for me please? Jeremy? Can I have those photos, please?"
Jeremy was frozen to the seat. He turned a very sickly shade of green and promptly threw up all over Danny's shoes.
"Oh, for the love! Are you kidding me with this?" Danny yelled while backing away from the erupting vomit volcano in front of him. Chin hustled behind the counter and grabbed the container labeled "M". Searching through the orders, he found "Markum, William". He tore open the envelope and nearly dropped the stack when he saw the face in front of him. "Danny. Danny! Forget your shoes. Look!"
Danny took the photo from Chin. "Son of a bitch! Did you call Steve?" Chin shook his head and Danny hit speed dial putting the call on speaker.
"Danny, what have you got?" Steve answered.
"Where are you?"
"I'm walking into the hospital. Why? Did you find something?"
Chin stuck a photo of a second blond under Danny's nose.
"Please tell me Lori showed up and she's with you."
"No. Why? What the hell's going on?"
Danny took in a deep breath. "You've got to find her, Steve. The surveillance photo's... There's two girls... She's one of them."
Danny waited for a response, but none came. Steve was already dialing Lori.
"She works at The Blue Oyster," Chin said and showed Danny one of the pictures of the unknown girl standing in front of the restaurant wearing the uniform. "Its downtown."
"Let's go." He turned to Jeremy on the way out. "You see this guy, you call me or the HPD. You got it? We'll be back."
H5O 7:45 PM
Danny called Jenkins on the way downtown. The three men picked a table in the back and quietly introduced themselves to the waitress. Danny flashed his badge under the curtain of a menu. "We're looking for this girl. Is she here?"
"That's Sierra. Yeah, she's here. I'll get her."
"Discretely, please," Danny cautioned.
Sierra Tipton appeared moments later. "You wanted to see me?"
Danny again introduced them and showed Ms. Tipton his badge. He motioned for her to have a seat and pulled up a chair, straddling it at the end of the table.
"Ms. Tipton, have you ever seen this man?" he asked and showed her the ID photo of Williams.
"I don't know... maybe. He's not a regular here, but I see a lot of people."
"Ms. Tipton," Jenkins began, "this man has killed fourteen, maybe fifteen women or more over four states. We found his den and rescued a girl today, but he's still out there. He had photos... photos of the women he stalked and tortured and killed."
She paled at the details. "I don't understand. What does this have to do with me?"
Danny's phone rang. "It's Steve," he said and stepped away from the table.
"Ms. Tipton. We found these photos of you," Jenkins said and Chin handed her the stack. She thumbed through them with shaking hands.
"He's after me?"
"We believe so."
"What do I do?" she asked, her voice trembling, the octave rising.
"You keep with your regular routine. We're gonna keep two agents at your home at all times, one male and one female. You'll have a tail, multiple agents at all times. We'll keep an agent here and anywhere else you frequent. You'll be fully protected. If this guy shows, we'll take him. Ms. Tipton, you may be our best shot at catching this guy."
"Bad news," Danny said returning to the table, clearly upset. "Lori's missing. It looks like he took her. Steve's at her apartment now. Jenkins, you take care of things here. Get Ms. Tipton squared away. I'll call you as soon as we know anything."
H5O: 10:55 PM
The harder she tried to focus, the more the room spun so she shut her eyes and waited for the waive of nausea to pass. When she tried to move and couldn't, confusion gave way to panic. Her ankles and wrists were bound with duct tape and she was being bounced around like a sack of potatoes. That's when she realized she was in a car, the back seat of a car, and it was moving. Someone was angry. The man driving the car kept screaming at someone who had yet to make a sound. "Son of a bitch!" he yelled. She was facing the back of the passenger seat and, from where she lay, it looked like that seat was empty. "Damn it! This is you're fault, you little bastard. They must have followed you! Milliken is gonna have my head for this. I am not losing this assignment because of you!" The car lurched to the right and Lori slid off of the back seat onto the floor. "Damn it!" he screamed and the car skidded to a stop. All Lori could see from the floor was the night sky above them. The front door opened and slammed closed. She heard him stomping around to the passenger side and again closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. He jerked the back door open and roughly pulled her from the car. He threw her over his shoulder. Lori opened her eyes and saw nothing but green ground cover and dirt, then two wooden steps. She heard a squeaky screen door open and then slam shut behind them. He tossed her unceremoniously onto a bed not far from the front door. Her head felt too heavy to lift, but she could see enough to know that she was in a camper. He paced up and down the short length of the hallway, still yelling and arguing with a silent foe. He let out a guttural growl and slammed the front door. She heard the car peel away. Rolling onto her back, she paused and allowed her stomach a moment to settle. She had no doubt that she had been drugged. The fog in her head and her cotton mouth were a dead giveaway. He had her. She didn't know how he had found her, but he had and she was on her own. She inched her way off of the bed and slid to the floor, again stopping to wait for the nausea to pass. She pulled herself up to her knees and reached for the door. Much to her surprise, it opened. She fell forward onto her bound wrists and pulled herself into the main area of the camper. There were two drawers, one on either side of a tiny sink. In the second drawer, she found a steak knife. Exhilarated by the small gift, she started to work on the duct tape around her ankles. Free of those bonds, she headed for the front door. Outside she found nothing but dark woods in every direction. She had no idea what time it was, but she guessed that night had fallen hours ago. She shivered in her cotton tank and sleep shorts. Having no other choice, she stepped forward with bare feet into the pitch black believing that any place was better than here. Exhausted, her legs felt like lead. Every step required more effort than she thought she could muster but, somehow, she traveled on. She tripped over a root and, unable to catch herself with bound wrists, face planted in rough brush. She rolled onto her back, unable to contain her tears. Between sobs, she heard a noise, something new. At first, she thought it might be the sound of running water and wondered why she hadn't heard it before. She listened closely, barely breathing and realized with a start that it was a motor or an engine... a car engine. She shot up off of the ground in time to see the headlights as they passed over her. The car stopped abruptly. "It can't be him," she thought. "He hasn't had time to go anywhere." A tall figure emerged from the car. He left the door open and moved slowly toward her before suddenly rushing at her and plowing into her hard, stealing all of her wind. Her head hit the ground with a crack and she immediately saw stars. She was barely aware of him dragging her up by her hair and flinging her into the trunk. Her last vision was of his head connecting hard with hers. Blackness followed. When she next awoke, she knew she was in more trouble than before. The pain cut through the fog. Her head throbbed and she tasted blood. She was lying on a cold, hard floor under harsh, bright lights. The reality of her circumstance came rushing back. Her wrists were still bound with duct tape, but a heavy rope had also been knotted around her wrists and through a metal ring mounted to the wall. There was just enough slack in the rope to allow her to sit up and rub her aching head. When her vision cleared, she recognized the big empty room immediately. She was back at the warehouse where this whole thing first began. She yelped when he spoke, emerging from the shadows on her left.
"Good, you're awake." he said and squatted down in front of her. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?" The expression on his face reminded her of a murderous clown she had seen in a movie when she was young. She had always had an irrational fear of clowns thanks to that stupid horror film. "Not in the mood to talk, are you? I left word with Milliken, told him I had you. It usually takes a few days before I get my orders. Until then," he said and ran a hand over her foot, "you and I get a chance to get to know each other better." She watched him as he talked, trying to form a quick profile. He was rough and sarcastic, and he enjoyed eliciting that yelp from her. She would have to be more careful, more in control. He seemed to believe that she knew who Milliken was. Her lack of participation in the conversation frustrated him. It was Markus Williams all right, but this Markus Williams was very different than what she had expected. Based on what they knew of him and his history, she had pictured him as meek and soft spoken... the kind of guy you probably wouldn't notice in a crowded room, shy and thoughtful. The man standing in front of her was gruff and loud. You would definitely notice him even if it was just to make sure and stay clear of him. "Hey!" He snapped his fingers in front of her nose. "Pay attention." She blinked and tried to focus. "So?" She shook her head, not understanding what he was asking. "I said, what did you do to make the list?"
"The list?" she asked, confused.
"What? Are you stupid? What - did - you - do to make the list?"
"I don't know," she said in earnest.
"You don't know. Wrong answer, doll." He pulled a serrated blade from his jacket pocket and grabbed her bound ankles. She sucked in a breath and tried to move but couldn't. He drug the blade across the ball of her foot carving a deep furrow in the sensitive flesh. She stifled a scream, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water and watched as blood, her blood, painted the pale floor a scarlet red.
He stood and cleaned the knife off on his pants. He grabbed his head and pressed his palms hard against his eyes. He backed away from her in obvious pain. Slumping to his knees, he growled as if he were fighting his way out of sinking sand. He collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily. Lori stayed very still, unsure of what was happening in front of her. As quickly as he fell, he popped up, took quick stock of his surroundings, and hustled over to where she sat.
"What did he do?" he whispered, more to himself than to her. He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her foot. "Here, try to put pressure on it against the floor. I'll be right back." She did as he asked, unable to stop the tears from rolling down her face. He returned shortly with a stack of shop towels and a first aid kit. "Let me see," he said and pulled the jacket away. "Um, that looks bad. I'm sorry. I'll try to be easy." He cleaned the wound with antiseptic. Lori winced. "I'm sorry," he said again and blew on the wound to cool and sooth it before applying a cream that immediately took away some of the sting. He looked at her with kind and sympathetic eyes. "You're gonna' need stitches. I'm sorry, Angel". His lip trembled and a tear escaped from the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his attention back to her foot. "Be brave Angel, okay? I used a numbing cream, but it's still gonna' hurt a little. I'm so sorry." He deftly stitched her wound pausing occasionally to wipe away a wayward tear. When he was finished, he covered it gently with a clean bandage and sat back on his heels, surveying his work. He seemed pleased.
"Thank you," Lori whispered.
He turned to her slowly. "Oh, you're welcome, Angel."
"You're not Markus, are you?"
"Oh good heavens, no!" he chuckled. "That boy would have passed out at the first sign of blood."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Nana, Angel. I clean up all the messes around here. How do you know Markus?"
"I... I don't really. I just know of him." She went way out on a limb, praying her hunch wouldn't lead to more trouble. "He was kind to a friend of mine... Rachel Evans. Did you know her?"
"Rachel Evans," Nana repeated. "Yep, that girl started this whole mess. She was bad news. That's when Bull and Little Man showed up. How did you know Rachel?"
Lori scooted gingerly back against the wall. Treading lightly, she answered as vaguely as she could. "We went to school together... took a lot of the same classes. She said Markus helped her with math."
"Markus is excellent with figures, computers too." She watched as "Nana" started cleaning up the mess they had made. She was clearly a female personality, a grandmother type figure and she cared about Markus.
"How long have you known Markus?"
"Oh, I've been with Markus his whole life."
Lori swallowed hard before pressing on. "How long have the others been with Markus?"
Nana paused, just a hitch really, before continuing her work. "Others?"
"Yes. Like the man that did this to me."
"Oh, you mean Bull. Like I said, he's been coming around for a couple of years now. He's got a bit of a temper, that one. It's good that I'm here to put things right."
"How many are there, Nana?" she asked cautiously.
Nana sat back on her heels and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She shook her head back and forth before continuing the clean up. "You have to stop asking so many questions, Angel. I'm afraid I'm losing Markus. That little man with the camera, he's already gone. Gone for good I'm afraid. He and Bull worked together for a man neither one of 'em ever even seen. I don't care much for their work. They keep Markus awfully stirred up. Bull killed him, you know... that little man, and he wants to kill Markus too. You make him mad, it gives him strength." She wiped her forehead again where beads of sweat had bubbled and started to roll down her face. "Don't make him mad, child. He don't know about me same as Markus don't know about him." She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. As the pain in her head increased, so did her respiratory rate. She rubbed her eyes and her face suddenly gagging and falling forward onto her hands. Lori watched in horror as the man in front of her transformed into yet another personality. It was terrifying, yet she couldn't help but watch in wonder at the way his face, his movements and mannerisms, even his voice transformed into something new as if he was one man portraying different characters in a one man show. This new character was scared. His eyes were wide, like a deer in headlights. He looked at her and froze. She saw confusion then recognition and understanding.
"Rachel?" he whispered.
"Markus?"
"You know my name."
Lori prayed she was doing the right thing. "Of course I know your name, Markus. I've missed you."
H5O: 9:05PM
Danny and Chin arrived at Lori's apartment and found a frantic Steve. "Chin, I'm glad you two are here. I need you to get any and all surveillance footage from this place. I want to know how he got her out of here and what he was driving."
"I'm on it," Chin nodded.
"Danny, tell me what you know."
"There was another girl in the photos we found. Chin recognized the restaurant and the uniform she was wearing. We found her. Jenkins is using her for bait."
"What? He can't do that."
"She'll be well covered. Agents everywhere. If this guy comes for her, we'll grab him. If he has Lori, it may be our only shot at getting her back."
"She wouldn't like it. Using someone like that."
"No, she wouldn't. But it's already a done deal. Jenkins called on the way over here. She's already agreed to help. The kid at Walgreen's said Markus is due back on Thursday to pick up his pictures. The FBI is gonna' keep a couple of agents posted there. "
Steve drew in a deep, shaky breath. "That's three days from now."
"Yeah… How you holding' up?"
"I'm fine," he lied.
"Right. Have you talked to Kono?"
"Yeah, she's still at the hospital. Looks like Kerrie's gonna' be okay. They said we could talk to her tomorrow."
"Good, maybe she can tell us something useful. Did you find anything here?"
"CSU just got here. There's a trail of partial muddy shoe prints. He must have climbed the fire escape and gained access through the balcony door. What do you make of this?" Steve asked and led Danny to the hallway. He pointed out a drag pattern in the carpet leading from the closet door to the front door.
"It looks like a box, maybe or a cooler... or maybe a storage trunk. If he used Ketamine, she would have been out. Maybe she had something like that in the closet. He put her in it and drug her out that way."
Steve motioned for the HPD officer to join them. He showed him the photo of Williams. "This is the man that took her. He's young, mid twenties, dark hair, light eyes, olive skin. He would have been dragging a large, heavy box or trunk. I need to know what he was driving and which direction he went. You talk to everyone in this building and anyone around this building... maintenance workers, gardeners, anyone and everyone. Understand? Get more men down here to help. You report to Detective Williams, got it?"
The officer nodded in response and got on the radio to call in more help.
"What are you gonna' do?" Danny asked obvious concern on his face.
"Do you have those pictures with you?"
"Ah, yeah. They're right here," he said and pulled them out of his pocket.
Steve took the photos and drew in another deep breath. He studied each picture of Lori carefully. There was one of her exiting the crime scene warehouse taken that first day. There was one of her tying her shoe outside of her apartment. There was one of her reading on her balcony, one of her exiting the federal building at night, one of her at the crime scene parking lot the day he charged at her in the black Taurus. His jaw clinched tighter with each picture, his anger threatening to boil over. He ran his thumb over a close-up of her walking downtown, trying desperately to remain calm. He looked up, trying to clear his head and caught site of Agent Amari in the doorway. He slapped the stack of pictures against Danny's chest and charged. He threw Amari across the hallway, slammed him against the wall opposite Lori's apartment and held him there with his forearm. "Where is she?" he growled.
Amari's eyes were huge with shock. His face red from the pressure of Steve forearm against his throat.
"Where is she!" Steve screamed.
Amari pulled at Steve's arm with both hands but it didn't budge. "Tell me where she is!"
Danny and Jenkins pulled at Steve from behind. "Let go! Steve let go! He can't tell you where she is if he's not breathing."
Danny's words slowly registered and Steve loosened his grip. Danny stepped between the two men and walked Steve backwards, away from Amari who was bent at the waist coughing and gasping for air. Steve looked at Jenkins over Danny's shoulder, pointing at him for effect. "I want him in custody. You hear me? Arrest him for his own protection if you have to, because I promise you, if anything happens to her, I'll tare him apart myself."
Amari leaned back against the wall. His voice was hoarse and strained when he spoke. "I don't know where she is, Commander. If I did, I would tell you. I haven't seen my son in twenty years. I didn't mean for this to happen... I only..."
"That's bullshit!" Steve screamed over the top of Danny who was doing his best to hold him back. "You've known from the beginning that it was him. You erased photos, connections... evidence that could have been used to stop him!"
Amari looked defeated. "I'm sorry, Commander. She's my friend too, you know."
"Son of a..." Steve said as he plowed past Danny and landed a right hook square across Amari's jaw effectively dropping him to the floor with one well placed punch. He whipped around to face Jenkins, who took one giant step back away from him. "I want him in custody."
"You have my word."
A/N: So worry and angst are up next. Plus a little Lori and Markus time. Sadly, this fic has just about run its course and the conclusion is near. Thank you for reading. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated! As pathetic as it may sound, feedback motivates me. I really do like to know what you think and I appreciate any and all constructive criticism.
Thanks,
Rennie