Within the Dark Forest Chapter four
Sharon was starting to feel frantic with worry.
Almost three days had passed and yet they were no closer to finding Rusty. Every lead they had seemed to lead straight to a dead end.
But when the lab got back to them on the case it the news didn't seem to make any sense.
After the lab was done with the cloth the team had found in Rusty's room they determined that it was covered in perfume.
Needless to say everyone was highly confused by this fact since Rusty didn't need perfume. They couldn't come up with any reasons why the kidnapper would have brought it ether.
Taylor brought up the idea that Rusty ran away again but as usual everyone ignored him.
There was no way that Rusty would leave like that.
Finally after what seemed to forever Sanchez brought news about Rusty.
But after hearing the news no one could say whether it was good or bad.
"Captain, Some of the guys on the street that I've had watching for Rusty brought me some news. It seems that they saw someone fitting Rusty's description earlier today."
Sharon's face lit up but Sanchez wasn't through yet.
"It….seems he was seen entering the home of a known weapons dealer. One of the guys was close enough to hear them talking about a gun…."
It was then that Provenza spoke up.
"Then it can't be him. What would the kid need with a gun?"
"Sir, I showed them the picture of Rusty and they are almost positive that it was the same person."
Tao interrupted them.
"Maybe we should bring this guy in to talk and see what he has to say."
But Sharon shook her head.
"I doubt we'd get anything from him since he'd have to admit to dealing weapons first. Sanchez, I need you to get me everything you know about this guy. Also, please ask around the neighborhood to see if anyone saw Rusty leave."
Sykes, who had been combing through files, spoke up.
"Do we know where Rusty's street friends are? If he did run away he would need help to stay hidden."
"Good point. Sykes, you and Flynn can follow up on that angle." Sharon said.
Then she turned and went into her office.
She just couldn't understand.
No matter how hard she tried Sharon just couldn't understand why Rusty would leave or why he would need a gun.
Just thinking about it made Sharon's head hurt.
So it was not a surprise when Sharon heard a knock on her door and saw Provenza poke his head in.
With a nod she invited him in.
"The kid's going to be all right. We'll find him soon enough now that we know where to look."
"But what about the gun?" Sharon asked softly, hoping he could come up with a reason why Rusty would need a gun.
"Maybe he didn't buy the gun. And if he did it's not like Rusty would use it on anyone. He's a good kid."
Sharon just hoped Provenza was right.
Because Rusty was heading down a dark path straight into woods that would difficult to get out of.
Rusty wondered what the squad was doing.
It had only been a few days since he had left but Rusty found that he missed everyone terribly.
It was the small things that really got to him.
Sharon's smile.
Provenza's laugh.
Buzz harper on those stupid math problems.
The list was endless.
But Rusty knew that he would never get to see those things again.
The thought hurt but if he was going to get the job done then Rusty just needed to accept it.
He just hoped that Sharon could someday understand why he ran away and what he about to do….