Disclaimer: I only own Scarlett Monroe!
Chapter 9: Panicked and Shocked
Flack kept his eyes on the building and a few moments later he saw Scarlett run out, sheer terror on her face. She ran over to his car, unable to speak. He stepped out and met her on the sidewalk. He immediately went into his protective cop mode when he saw the panic in her eyes.
"Are you hurt, Lett?" he asked, concern on his face.
She shook her head, "No, not me," she answered shakily.
"Is Lindsay okay?" Flack asked, rubbing Scarlett's arms up and down, trying to stop her from trembling.
Scarlett nodded, "She's not home, she's, - " She couldn't finish her sentence because her blue gray eyes started filling with tears. She opened her mouth, trying to speak but she couldn't get any words out. Her lower lip was trembling and she bit down on it, trying to calm herself down.
Embarrassed that she was such an emotional wreck, she looked down at her feet. Flack placed a finger under her chin, tilting her face up so that he could look into her eyes.
"Tell me where Lindsay is," he said soothingly.
"The crime lab," Scarlett finally managed to choke out.
Flack nodded, deciding that the best way for him to find out what the hell was going on was by going into the building himself. He grabbed Scarlett's hand, pulling her along with him. When they reached Scarlett's floor, Flack froze when he saw the message written out in what had to be blood.
"Two warnings is all you get. You're next," he read out loud. "What the hell is this?" he muttered to himself. Scarlett broke free from the vice-like grip he suddenly had on her hand and sat down on the stairs, sniffling and wiping her nose on her sleeve like a little girl.
Flack picked up his phone and immediately called Mac. "I need you out here at Scarlett and Lindsay's apartment. I haven't looked inside yet but there's a message on her door," he lowered his voice when repeating the message out loud, "Two warnings is all you get. You're next. This looks bad, Mac. You should probably bring Stella."
Flack listened for a few moments to what Mac had to say and then hung up. He walked over to where Scarlett was slumped against the wall and reached his hand out to help her stand up. "Come here," he whispered quietly. He pulled her into a tight embrace, feeling her shake. He looked down into her eyes, "You're shaking, Lett."
Scarlett tried to regain her composure as best as she could. She blinked back another wave of tears and finally managed to say, "I'm okay, really, I'm fine. I'm just a little freaked out. At first I thought something had happened to Lindsay but when I realized she was still at the lab, I just felt scared."
Flack nodded, "Understandable, kid."
"What does this mean, Flack? Is someone after me?" she froze for a moment, the panic returning into her eyes, "What if this has to do with the two Jane Doe's we found in Central Park?"
"Don't try and come up with a theory just yet. Wait until Mac gets her and processes the place. Until then," he said taking off his suit jacket, "Put this on and sit down."