I'm sooo sorry that this chapter has taken over a month to get to you, i've been really busy with working shifts, driving lessons, revising for interviews and driving theory test and trying to find a permanent job as a Staff Nurse now that i'm qualified, alas i now have one and should be starting it soon in Critical Care which is my dream job, it also means i have a break before i start to write more fanfiction for all you lovely people ! Anyway on with the story !
Massive thank you to Callisto-HK for kicking my butt about this chapter and i need to apologise to people story's i've not caught up with either i will get to them !
Chapter 6
The arrival to the scene for the chief was anti-climatic at best, dreadful at worst. After the hurried call from Severide, he'd had hope that they actually had a lead on Casey and were going to get him back today.
But the looks on Kelly's and Hallie's faces smashed that new found hope to pieces, they hadn't found him; and what had worried him more were Hallie's fears and what she had told them had happened to Matt while she had been there. While they were told that Matt's resolve was still strong when she'd last seen him, that had been at least 48 hours ago.
They all knew what could happen in a few minutes in their job, never mind 48 hours with a dirty cop.
"Kelly, let them do their jobs." Boden ordered while stepping up to Severide. Kelly had been hounding the cops they had called shortly after Antonio had arrived on the scene.
"But..."
"Kelly." Boden's tone wasn't asking, he directed Severide outside away from anyone else. "They are capable of doing their jobs but not with you here, go home and rest." Severide's expression turned dark.
"I won't leave him out there alone. Not when I can help."
"There is nothing more we can do right now."
And there was the rub.
In real terms, they had nothing, just blood smears that were currently being tested by the city's forensics lab.
Kelly and Hallie hoping that they weren't all Casey's because there had been quite a lot, enough so that Matt would be feeling pretty crap for a while if not on the brink of having too little blood in his body.
They weren't going to think about that.
But had nothing that could lead them anywhere else, no paperwork about who held the lease for the building they had searched from top to bottom, nothing had been so much as moved apart from the room smeared with blood, there was still dust on any remaining office furniture.
They were at a dead end.
However, that wasn't going to stop Kelly, not today.
Severide walked away from the cold, lonely room and out of the warehouse to head to his car. His gut was telling him that Casey didn't have too much longer and needed to be found, the fact that it meant that he was alive was waylaid by it telling him to be quick if he had anything planned.
So, Kelly Severide, put his car into gear and drove off in search of his friend, not planning to go home until he'd found Matt.
X-Chicago Fire-X
Matt knew he was in serious trouble as he woke up this time, it was getting harder to wake up, for his mind to function. Granted he was only tied up by rope now, his wrists and hands were numb with cold and pain. His brain, he was sure was trying to leak out through his ears, the pressure from the dehydration and the blows to his head he'd received before they had moved him had seen to the fact that he barely remembered why he was here anymore.
There was fits and spurts of memories running around all over the place due to the fever that had shown itself yester...ahh hell he couldn't remember that so he'd just settle for recently. Oh he knew he wasn't really acting like himself right now but he was confused and it was freezing cold and the pain that tore at his chest each time he coughed now was almost worse than what he did remember about the last few days?...well he didn't know that either but he did know that he had to get out of here really soon if he wanted to live.
And it was up to him to do it, he thought he remembered Hallie here but now she wasn't so maybe that horrible feeling he had every time he thought about was just a figment of his fevered imagination, and that she hadn't led him here.
His strength was waning and when the door slammed open he flinched a little, it had to be now or never, he had to get back to his team and his job. He couldn't let any of them down.
But it was Voigt this time, and something silver shone disturbingly even in the meek old lighting of the room he'd been trapped in.
X-Chicago Fire-X
The light from the chilly day had waned two hours ago, the rush hour traffic had petered off. A light drizzle had settled on the city, grey dull clouds lingering being reflected in the puddles being created, signalling a heavier shower to come. The wind blew plastic bags and leaves across the sidewalks and roads, scattering them across the city's landscape. People were returning home from work, their families happy for their return and the end of a dreary day.
The weather reflected the emotions of a lone man in his classic car, scouring the city for his lost friend, the smiling faces of people returning home causing dread to creep higher than the hope within the man. He'd been looking all day, barely stopping to take rest or refreshments.
Kelly Severide sighed, even the light was against him now, as if the universe didn't want him to find Matt, or maybe it was telling him that it was too little too late and that he hadn't tried hard enough when it may have counted.
A frustrated growl worked its way out of his chest and he pulled over the car in the next safest place. This was taking too long, there were just too many places in this damned city to search. Matt had been in the hands of Voight and his people for nearly a week, it would be day eight tomorrow and he knew that the police were giving up hope, sure they were still looking but they had nothing to go on.
The shrill ring of his phone caused him to jump and hope to course through his veins, maybe someone had news.
Briefly looking at the caller display he saw the Chief's name pop up and answered it immediately, questions running amuck in his tired mind.
"Chief?" The word was heavy with the questions he couldn't ask, lest he crumble under the guilt that had been eating away at him since this had all started.
He heard the Chief sigh heavily on the other side of the phone which prompted him to ask; " they haven't found anything we can use, have they?" though it was more statement than a question.
"No, nothing other than some of the blood matching Casey's" Damn, they'd been hoping that none of it was his, however, he known that his hope had been pointless on that point considering what Hallie had told them had happened when she had been there.
Severide shut off the cell and chucked it in annoyance onto the passenger seat, wanting to both break it and make sure it wasn't damaged in case Matt could get to a phone.
He slumped over, his shoulders hunched, head leaning on the steering wheel of his car; a picture of dejected misery. He needed to find his friend alive, he couldn't lose another one, not when it was nearly a year since Andy.
Scrubbing his hand down his face, he blinked away his tiredness and refocused on the current area he was searching through the windscreen of his car. Leaving his car he hoped the cold air would wake him up further, he didn't have time to sleep right now.
Before he knew it, he'd wandered away from his car, down an barely lit alleyway for no apparent reason...other than it felt like the right way to go now he was thinking about it.
The alleyway led to a disused industrial estate, tall looming warehouses stood abandoned, gales of wind whistling through the broken windows, plastic and cardboard flittered across the ground with no direction.
Kelly sighed, there was too much ground to cover on his own, and the scene before him reminded him of the dark alleyways on the crime dramas on TV where nothing good would happen. Pulling out his cell phone, he decided that he needed help with this, he'd been searching all day on his own and so far had come up empty but it felt like he would need the help if his current gut feeling was right.
After a quick call to Antonio and the chief, he looked around, hoping to find a shred of evidence that led towards which warehouse Matt would be in, he tried to think like Voight but shuddered at the thought of that man and what he was capable of.
It took him mere nerve-wracking minutes to decide that he couldn't wait for the help to come, the feeling in his gut led him forwards to the furthest abandoned looking warehouse and he didn't look back and wouldn't because he just knew that Matt was here.
The looming warehouse filled him with a sense foreboding like none other he had felt before, not even on the calls they had been on in all the years as a fire fighter and it honestly scared him, I mean sure, he was strong and didn't fear that much but this was his friend's no, more like his brother's life on the line.
And he couldn't do this again, not after Andy.
The entrance was a large room, old yellowing paper scattered around the bare ground, looked like it hadn't been used or entered in a while but his gut was still leading him forward towards a cold, dark corridor.
Just because the first entrance hadn't looked like it had been used, didn't mean that there hadn't been any other door to the place.
Severide sighed harshly, the chances of finding Matt alive were plummeting as fast the temperture since the sun had set, they all knew it, but then he was still in denial.
The poor lighting in the corridor wasn't helping Kelly to see anything other than a few feet in front of him. However, it wasn't going to stop him because he just knew that Casey was here, and if Casey was here then he wasn't leaving until he found him, that was final.
That was when he heard the shuffling of feet.
Slightly panicked but resolve strong, Kelly dodged out of the meagre light into the shadows, making sure he wasn't found before he'd rescued Casey.
Listening closely, he couldn't hear the shuffling anymore and wondered that he'd been caught and if the other person were just waiting for him to reveal his position. With determination borne out of fear for his friend and even know that if the other person had a weapon he was screwed, he stood back in to the dim light, standing his ground and unwilling to back down.
The shuffling continued up again a little faster this time but... it was moving away this time and Kelly was confused and furious, neither Voight or any of his scumbags were getting away with this so he rushed towards the sounds, regard for himself out the window.
A figure of a man came into his sights and he shouted at it to stop, it seemed to hesitate briefly before it tried to dart away.
Frowning at its actions he continued on, quickening his pace to catch up to the figure which he could see was slowing down...Then his gut kicked in and he understood.
"Matt!" He shouted, trying something and remembering what Hallie had said about Matt's condition last she had seen of him, he was probably running a fairly good fever by now and was confused as hell if he'd been moved around as well.
He saw the figure jump as if he'd been struck before it tried to move away again. Kelly frowned deeply...maybe he'd been wrong...why would he run if it was...but...
However, the figure didn't get very far this time before crumpling to the ground, Kelly, heart racing with worry, caught up in about three or four long strides.
The figures face was turned away from him as Kelly kneeled down but Kelly could tell it was Matt. His concerned eyes roamed over his friend's figure, trying to determine any injuries that would stop him from trying to move him but the light was useless and he could barely see anything under the black smudges of dirt on his friends skin and the shirt that covered his friend's shivering frame.
Turning Matt over, Kelly winced at the swollen left eye, cuts and gashes, mingled with dark bruising which littered Matt's face, arms and chest that he could see through the open shirt.
Casey stirred as Kelly set about getting Matt warmed up by wrapping his own coat around his friend.
"K-Kelly?" Matt's voice was rough with dehydration and Kelly cursed himself that he hadn't brought anything with him; but they was something else in the voice as well.
Wonder.
As if Matt hadn't expected Severide to come to the rescue, but then it could have been down to the fever Kelly could see in Matt's glassy eyes as well, but the stuttered question made his own eyes well up with both guilt at not being there until now and relief at finding his friend alive.
Matt looked around and up at Kelly as if seeing for the first time, he was confused and Kelly knew he had to get his friend seen to sooner than later.
"W-what?" But Matt's question was cut off when his body was wracked with a coughing fit of epic proportions.
Kelly automatically rose Matt up leaning Matt's back against his chest both to keep him upright and share what heat he had to spare as Casey was still shivering something fierce.
The coughing stopped as abruptly as it started and Severide felt Casey's smaller body lean back into him; exhausted, short wheezy breaths escaping his battered body. A hand found its way into Kelly's grip, Casey was trying to ground himself to where he was and Kelly wasn't going to refuse him that, not now. He knew Casey wouldn't normally allow it but then he was a little confused right now so Kelly left it and smiled, happy that even though they had had their differences that somewhere Matt did trust him to keep this secret.
"S'rry."
Casey's voice was raw and exhausted and when he stay silent after that, Severide worried and his pulse rose, his gut screaming and kicking in again.
"What are you sorry for..." There was no answer, "Matt?" He increased his volume even though it wasn't necessary because Matt was right next to him except...
Casey's head had fallen forward against his chest, his body still and the hand that had gripped Sevreide's so tightly less than a minute ago had fallen limp against his leg.
Kelly moved quick as lightening, holding Casey by his shoulder, so that he was facing Casey and lightly shook him, trying to rouse him.
"Casey!"
Had he been too late?
Shaking his head, Severide gently moved Casey so his back was against the wall so his hands were free to check Casey over.
Damn...he's too still...this isn't right...damn...damn...damn. Matt!
Severide placed his shaking hands on Casey's chest and throat simultaneously feeling for a pulse and waiting for his chest to rise.
There...wait...no...damn it Matt!...i can't...please, Matt!
It felt like forever before he felt the too slow beating of the pulse under his finger tips and the stuttered breathing movements he could feel under his palm. His brain was almost giddy with relief when he felt the beat but they had no time left to waste.
Hauling himself up, he grasped Casey under and across his shoulders and then with his other arm he lifted Casey's legs and took his too light body into a protective hold, making sure his jacket was attempting to keep Casey warm.
He thought it odd that he hadn't seen anyone else here, but hey he wasn't going to complain about that right now, he just wanted to get the hell out of here.
So that's what he did, he carried Matt through the darkness and out towards what he hoped were police and his friends, who should have arrived by now.
He also hoped that they'd called for an ambulance as well because he knew that Casey was only just hanging on.
TBC
Okay so this got longer than i thought it would so i have to end it here i'm afraid and i know that its a slight cliff hanger but then you know i like those right? but who's up for some comfort and bonding next?