A/N: I'm sorry I didn't update in quite a while. I had a few troubles with this chapter, but first of all I didn't have much time to work on it. I guess I need some time to get used to the new rythm, but ever since I started working I am almost unconscious, when I come back home and the last thing on my mind is thinking, let alone writing. Forgive me, please. It's going to be a little strange thing to say considering the mood of the chapter, but I hope you're going to enjoy this update.
She groaned, slowly regaining consciousness. At first, the only thing she could focus on was how much her head was hurting and she had absolutely no idea what was going on. Her initial thought was that she just had to have one of the biggest hangovers in her life, but it actually felt a little different and she also couldn't recall drinking a drop of alcohol in quite a while. Besides, she was pretty sure that she and Bobby were taking care of Emily on the previous evening, so all the more, she couldn't get drunk. Likewise, the surface under her head was way too hard and too cold to be her bed, and the air around was too cool and humid. She opened her eyes and noticed that she was in an empty room with no windows; the only source of light was the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. She realised that she had to be in some kind of a basement or a shelter, but that was pretty much everything she knew.
Her memories were slowly started to come back to her. She remembered the phone, ringing in the middle of the night, but she didn't wake up completely. She did look up, when she felt Bobby carefully get out of the bed and when he kissed her forehead, telling her to go back to sleep, she did so. She knew that he must have been summoned to work, because there was no other reason why he would get up in the middle of the night and not panic. Next time she woke up was because of Emily's scream. She jumped up on the bed and almost fell on her face when she tried to get to the girl as quickly as possible. She had absolutely no idea what caused the girl to make such a sound, but it couldn't be anything good. But, when she got to the living room, she didn't see her on the couch, where she was supposed to be sleeping. And now she was here; whatever happened between those two moments was unknown to her.
She raised herself to a sitting position and looked around more carefully. It seemed she was alone in the room, and it was completely empty. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either and there were few steps leading to the door on one side of it. If she was the only one to be here, then where was Emily and what was going on? It couldn't be anything good, but she could feel the panic start to rise in her. She wouldn't forgive herself if anything happened to the child; Jack and Sue left their little girl with her believing that she was safe, and she wouldn't be able to bear if anything was wrong with her.
She almost jumped at the sound of footsteps, getting closer to the door. She could also hear the sound as if someone was dragging something, and when the door opened she saw that it wasn't a thing, but a person being dragged. A tall man - whose face she couldn't really see well because of lack of glasses, which she started wearing all the time about a year later – practically threw the woman inside, and she fell hard onto the floor with a loud scream. She looked to be quite short and very slim, her red hair was matted and her whole skin and clothes were covered in dirt and in something, which looked like blood. Darcy could see that her leg was bend in a strange angle, and was most probably broken, and when the woman raised herself slightly to look at the door, which the man slammed loudly, she noticed that she didn't look well. Her first thought was that she had to be kept here for quite a while without much food and water, and it made her stomach clench.
"I swear, you must mistake me with someone! I don't know any Matthew Coldwell, Steven Martins or Jacques Vigoreux!" she shouted, but there was absolutely no response on the other side of the door.
Her hands gave in and she didn't raise herself again, just kept lying on the floor and sobbing. Darcy slowly moved to her; the woman jumped and gasped, when she gently touched her shoulder.
"Calm down, I'm not going to do anything to you." she said and helped her move from the middle of the room to the side of it, and then sit with her back leaning against the wall. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
"Not a clue. I think we were travelling for quite a while, so I guess we aren't in Phoenix, but I don't know, it's all a blur for me."
"Phoenix? As in Phoenix, Arizona?" Darcy's eyes bulged out, and it only convinced the red-head that her theory was right. "I don't know how much time I was unconscious, so I'm not claiming we have to be anywhere close, but I live in DC..."
"I see, but I'm not sure it matters where we actually are... It wouldn't matter if we were in the middle of a city, there is just no way to get out of here... My leg is the best evidence that I tried... I'm Nancy by the way."
"Darcy... Before they brought you here, did you see a little girl anywhere?"
"A toddler, a little longer dark hair, brown eyes, generally a little cutie? Your daughter?"
"No, my friends'... I was just taking care of her..."
"You know her parents? Can you tell me then, who the hell is this Jacques? From what I was able to gather it's her father and they seem to be convinced that I know him or one of his friends, while I have absolutely no idea who they are talking about."
"Her father's name is Jack, not Jacques..."
Darcy's first thought was that those people must be completely mistaken. Then, however, she started to think that although those names were quite different in origin and spelling, they sounded very similarly. The only difference was the first sound, one of the names was read by dzh, the other one by zh. Was it possible that it was the name Hudson used during his time undercover? It would be quite understandable, because the chance that he wouldn't react to his name would be lowered then. Were the people, who Nancy was talking about, the very same people Jack was investigating? Was it possible they wanted a revenge on those agents, who were infiltrating them and decided to teach them a lesson by taking those they cared about? This theory would work with Emily, but what about Nancy, who claimed not to know anyone? And what about her, who had absolutely nothing to do with it other than babysitting Jack's daughter?
"Is she okay?" she asked, and Nancy shrugged.
"I guess she's as fine as she can be... She's scared and when she's awake she keeps calling out for her parents, but physically she is okay. I heard the boss say, that as long as they don't have Jacques, she can't be touched."
Darcy sighed; it wasn't a huge relief considering that she hoped that they were going to be found soon, but if the woman was telling the truth, Emily was okay right now. She would prefer to have her somewhere closer, to see her with her own yes, and perhaps try to give her at least a small support, but there was nothing she could do. She could only pray that the FBI was going to move heaven and earth to find them and succeed.
At the same time, Sue was sitting on the couch in her apartment, where she didn't even know how she got to. She also had no idea when her best friend got there and what happened with the rest, but she was sitting in her living room, holding her daughter's teddy bear, the same one, which's leg was torn out on the previous afternoon. It was as she wasn't aware of the time passing, after she found the toy and sewed the leg back to the rest, she just kept staring at the floor, not paying attention to anything around. She couldn't even cry anymore, she didn't seem to have anymore tears left but her eyes were red and puffy. Jack's face was still in front of her, the pain in his eyes breaking her heart and even though she didn't want to be believe his words, the way he was looking at her convinced her that he knew what he was talking about.
Lucy watched her carefully, full of worry. Just like everyone else, she was terrified by the whole situation. None of them had any idea what could happen to Darcy and Emily, and Jack seemed to be the only person able to say anything more about the people, who took them, but the higher-ups believed that he shouldn't work on the investigation. The two men, who also survived the whole mission were nowhere to be found; when it came to one of them, they at least knew that he flew to the other part of the country, but Steve seemed to vanish into thin air. Without them they didn't really know who they were fighting with, and even though he wasn't convinced it was a good idea, Dimitrius was trying to get the bosses to let Jack work with them on this investigation, and also Bobby, who absolutely refused to stay at home and wait.
Even though Lucy knew, that her friend's husband could be very useful to the task force, she couldn't stop thinking that it should be him sitting at Sue's side, not her. The blonde woman didn't even seem to acknowledge her presence, no matter how much she tried to get her attention. She believed that if anyone there was able to get to her, it would be Jack, but when she arrived at Bobby's place, she noticed that something wasn't right. She kind of expected to find him holding Sue in his arms, trying to give her as huge support as possible, but instead she saw him stand next to the window and stare outside, while the person trying to calm Sue down was Crash, who was also sending furious looks in Sparky's direction. She didn't see what he did; she had no idea that Jack was standing like this for quite a while, and Sue approached him, so they could at least try to give the support to each other, to give him at least a little of her hope that their daughter was fine, but he just moved away from her and ignored her all along. She didn't know that it was another blow to Sue's already battered heart, but it didn't stop her from being angry at the man.
She heard him admit that it was his fault that they were gone, that he is sure that those people took Emily in revenge, even though Darcy's disappearance ruined his theory a little. There was absolutely no reason why they should take her, but the phone call from one of the higher people in the FBI, which D. received assured them, that Hudson was right. Yet, even though it seemed that he was indeed the cause for this whole situation, she couldn't say that she believed he shouldn't come back. It was quite a short time, during which she could watch Sue being back with him, but she could see that he was making her really happy. For this time, Lucy could see the old Sue back in her friend, the very same, who she believed was gone after the news of his supposed death reached them. And even though for Emily it was something completely new, and her mom was always making sure that her life was great, Lucy saw that Jack's presence had a positive influence on the girl's life as well. It seemed, however, that as much as he could make their life wonderful, he could also make them a real hell, because she was pretty sure that it was how her friend was feeling right now.
She looked at her phone; there were no new messages or missed calls from anyone. She also realised that it wasn't a long time, which passed since she said goodbyes to her friends and brought Sue home. Now she wasn't sure it was a good idea, because she realised that every little nook of this place was in some way connected to her daughter, and she didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing. She touched Sue's shoulder, she didn't even know for which time over the relatively short time, and was surprised that her friend actually raised her eyes to look at her.
"They're going to find her, Sue... Jack isn't going to let anything happen to Emily..." she hoped it was going to make her feel better, but she only noticed some new tears come to the blonde's eyes and flow down her cheeks. Lucy wasn't sure if she has ever seen her friend so devastated; the only situation she could compare it to was the moment when she was informed that Jack died, and she didn't know if it wasn't worse now. It was quite understandable, but it seemed as if the only way to make Sue feel better was to return her little girl to her. They could only pray it was going to happen as soon as possible.