A/N: Hey guys! A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed. I am unashamed to admit that I did Nina's happy/fangirl dance when I read your wonderful reviews.
Echo101: I plan on adding Mick to the story in a later chapter (around Chapter 4?), don't worry! I'm not sure yet if Moy will be included, considering Joy's kind of being held hostage at the moment.
Fabinafan4life: I'm thinking that Fabian and Nina will probably develop feelings for each other around the same time…but angst will be added. I plan on having Namber and Mickbian will come into play in later chapters. Thanks for your advice! :D
Thank you to those who reviewed, and without further ado, I present to you Chapter 2~!
"You have to believe me!"
"I'm sorry, but this evidence isn't substantial." Victor said, stroking his beard.
"Not substantial?" Fabian said, a note of desperation creeping into his voice. Now he knew how Patricia had felt, trying to convince everyone that Joy had been kidnapped. They'd all thought she was crazy, but in reality, Patricia was right. Joy had been kidnapped.
Why wouldn't Victor believe him?
"A piece of paper isn't substantial enough for me to launch an entire investigation," Victor replied, his tone making it clear that his patience was wearing thin. "Anyone- Patricia, for example- could've typed up that note and sent it to you. Just because it was signed by 'Joy' doesn't mean that she sent it."
"Joy was the only one who called me Fabes." Fabian retorted. "Doesn't that prove something?"
"Mr. Rutter, you're becoming desperate." Victor snapped. "Desperate to believe that this note was sent by Joy. The stark truth is, anyone around here could have known that Agent Mercer called you Fabes. Take Patricia, for example."
"Are you saying Patricia sent me this note?" Fabian practically snarled. It was one thing for Victor to not believe him about the note from Joy, but it was another thing entirely for Victor to question the loyalty of Fabian's friends and fellow agents.
"The only thing I'm saying is that this note proves nothing. I received a note of resignation from Agent Mercer herself, and there is no cause for alarm." Victor lectured. "I understand that you are confused by Agent Mercer's sudden resignation and that you may even feel betrayed, but this is ridiculous. Agent Mercer was not kidnapped, and I will not be launching an official investigation."
Fabian struggled to keep his anger in check. If he made a wrong move, Victor could have him kicked out of this unit, and possibly the entire FBI, for insubordination.
"Fine." He practically spat. "If you don't want to do anything about it- fine." Fabian stalked out of the room.
"Agent Rutter!" Victor called. Fabian stopped, lips drawn together in a tight line. "Any more ludicrous claims and shenanigans on your part would be… costly for your career, Agent Rutter. Do you understand?"
Fabian seethed with fury, and it took all of his willpower to turn around, face Victor, and say, "Yes, Mr. Rodenmaar. I understand."
"Good." Victor turned away and began to stroke Corbierre's head, having made his point.
"What's wrong?" Nina asked when Fabian stormed by her office, still in a foul mood.
Fabian wiped the scowl off of his face, and it was replaced by a tired look, the corners of his mouth turned downwards in a weary frown.
"Oh, it's just Victor," He waved a hand, not wanting to worry her. "Nothing that's important." The lie slipped off of his tongue easily.
"It's about that agent, isn't it?" Nina asked, her thin brown eyebrows shooting up. "The one who was here before me. What's her name? Joy, right?"
"Yeah, it's about Joy." Fabian told her, his voice thick with conflicting emotions.
"That would explain why you're holding that note in your hand." Nina pointed to the note Fabian had received earlier, the one that had shocked them so badly. Fabian, Nina, and Patricia hadn't told anyone but Victor about it. Jerome, however, was probably going to be a different story.
"Do you really think she was kidnapped?" Nina asked him.
Fabian stepped inside her office, lowering his voice as if talking about this subject was taboo.
"I don't know for certain, but I think so, yeah." He swallowed, fists tightening. Then, he remembered he was holding Joy's note and loosened his death grip on the piece of paper.
"Why do you think so?" Nina queried.
"I've known Joy for a long time." Fabian said. "We've been friends and partners for…forever, practically. It doesn't seem like her to suddenly abandon us without telling any of us why she resigned. Plus, she left all of her stuff here…" His voice trailed off.
"You mean this?" Nina handed him the picture of him and Joy laughing. "I think you should have it."
Fabian took the picture, trying to think of something to say to her. As cliché as it was, when he looked her in the eye, a shiver traveled up his spine- the good kind.
"Thank you," He said, giving her a quick hug. Was it just his imagination, or was she blushing?
"It's nothing," Nina said. "But I do have one question. Were you two… going out or something?"
Would you be disappointed if I said yes? Fabian what he said was, "No, no, we weren't an item. Just good friends, like I hope we can be." He smiled at Nina.
"Of course, friends it is." Nina beamed at him. Fabian hoped his disappointment didn't shine clearly in his eyes. Was it bad that he'd only known this girl for less than a day and he wanted to be more than friends?
"Hey, you guys!" Amber poked her head through the doorway. "Woah!" She said. "Am I, like, interrupting some fabulous Fabina time?"
"Fabina?" Fabian and Nina cried at the same time."You know, like Fabian plus Nina equals Fabina?" Amber said her in her duh voice. "Simple math, you two."
Fabian shook his head incredulously. "What do you want, Amber?"
"Oh, I'm just here to tell you that we have a new case." Amber became the tiniest bit more solemn. "We're meeting in the conference room."
"Go ahead with Amber," Fabian told Nina. "I'll catch up with you two."
The two agents walked off to the conference room while Fabian ducked into his office. He opened one of the drawers of his desk and placed the photo of him and Joy in it, along with the note from Joy.
You have to help me before it's too late.
Those words kept jumping out at him, tearing into his heart. What if he couldn't save Joy before it was too late? Fabian didn't know if he could forgive himself if something happened to her.
Finally, he tore himself from the note and closed the drawer. Fabian knew that he couldn't let anything happen to Joy, so he steeled himself. He would find Joy, no matter what it took.
"Hey, you coming?" Fabian looked up to see Alfie at the threshold.
"Oh, yeah, I'm coming." He said, following Alfie to the conference room. The rest of his team was already there, waiting for Amber to begin.
"Fabian!" Mara shot up. "Is it true?"
He blinked in confusion. "What's true?" He asked Mara.
"Jerome told me that you got a note…from Joy. And he told me that Joy was kidnapped." Mara scanned Fabian's face to see his reaction, which was to open and close his mouth like a drowning fish.
"It's true." Nina whispered softly. Any other person, and Fabian would've melted them with a death glare.
A shocked hush settled over the room as all of the agents took in the news. Joy Mercer, who had led them for years, who could still laugh at Alfie and Jerome's corny jokes, even after all of the depraved things she'd seen, had been kidnapped. What horrors had befallen her?
"I told you all." Patricia's voice held no trace of gloating like Fabian had expected. Instead, she sounded really pissed off.
"But did any of you believe me? No!"
"Agent Williamson!" Victor had entered the room, and Patricia clammed up at his words. "As I told Agent Rutter, we are not going to launch an investigation, because there's nothing to investigate."
Patricia glowered at Victor while the rest of the agents sat in stunned silence. After a moment, Amber cleared her throat.
"Um, as I was saying, our unit has a new case." Amber turned on the T.V. screen at one end of the conference room.
"There have been a recent string of robberies in D.C. lately." Amber announced. "Museums, high end boutiques, houses, you name it."
"Two questions," Alfie said. "How do we know these robberies are connected? And if they're just robberies, why are we handling it and not the local police?"
Amber let out an exasperated sigh. "Alfie, you're my boyfriend, but do you have to make me think so much?" Everyone laughed shakily, even Fabian.
"But to answer your first question, Alfie," Amber smiled at him. "We know these robberies are connected because of this." She clicked a button on her remote and several pictures popped up on the T.V. screen.
Pictures of all of the crime scenes popped up, and in each one there was an item missing. In one picture, a glass case had been busted open, shards of glass scattered everywhere, the valuable item stolen.
"In each robbery, the perpetrator only stole one item." Amber informed them. "An artifact of some sort relating to Ancient Egypt. In one home, the robber stole the actual mask of King Tutankhamen. At a museum, the Mask of Anubis was stolen, and in yet another robbery, the Cup of Ankh and the Eye of Horus necklace were stolen."
"The reason the FBI is taking on this case," Amber continued. "is because special circumstances have come up." She clicked another button and pictures of corpses covered the screen, all lying in pools of their own blood.
"Several people have been murdered in this investigation, not to mention that at the last robbery, the robber left us a little note: I won't stop until the old empire arises." Fabian shivered. Great, they weren't just dealing with a master robber and a killer; he was also a complete psychopath.
"So, do we have any idea who's behind all of this psychotic trickery?" Jerome asked, leaning back in his chair lazily.
"Actually, we do." Amber pulled up a photo from the surveillance footage of one of the houses where the crime had been committed.
A masked marauder was smashing open a glass case, semi-automatic rifle in hand. He wore a hooded black robe, which Fabian found not only odd but creepy. The strangest thing about the man, though, was the mask he wore.
The mask was painted blue, black, red, and gold. It was separated into diamond sections, and the nose and mouth were painted gold while the forehead was painted blue. The diamond section over the man's right eye was painted black, and the diamond section over his left eye was painted red.
"This is the man behind these murders and robberies, and the media has already given him a name." Amber told Fabian and the other agents. Suddenly, Fabian remembered seeing this man on the news.
"I remember!" He said quickly. "Didn't they call him…" He trailed off, trying to recall the hooded figure's name.
"The Collector." Nina finished, remembering the name before Fabian did. "They called him the Collector because he stole all these Egyptian artifacts."Amber nodded, looking uncharacteristically grim. "And the Collector won't stop stealing, or killing, until we find him."
Fabian stood up, his demeanor resolute. "Let's go, guys. We have a criminal to catch."
Fabian, Eddie, Amber, Patricia, and Nina arrived at the museum that had been transformed into a crime scene. Media swarmed outside of the building, reminding Fabian of the way flies swarmed an animal carcass.
When the team stepped out of their Sedans, Kevlar vests with the monogrammed letters FBI on the back, (minus Amber, who was wearing an simple but beautiful dress) flashing cameras and microphones were shoved at their faces.
"Do you know who the Collector is?" One voice called out.
"What is the FBI going to do to ensure the people's safety?"
"When do you predict the Collector will strike again?"
"Excuse me!" Amber called, her voice oddly cheerful. "If you'll follow me, I will answer all of your questions!"
It worked like a charm. All of the media crews flocked after Amber like sheep after their shepherd, leaving Fabian, Nina, Patricia, and Eddie clear to enter the museum.
The CSIs (Crime Scene Investigators) were exiting the scene as Fabian and the other entered.
"Hey!" Eddie called. "Did you guys find anything good?" The CSIs shook their heads mournfully.
"This guy is good," One of them said. "No fingerprints, blood stains, hairs, skin traces, no nothing. A real pro."
"Great," Patricia muttered. "Thanks for the great news. This day has been getting better and better. When's it going to stop?"
"Oh god," Nina's face blanched as they walked into the museum's lobby, the beginning of the carnage.
Fabian had seen a lot of sick, horrible things in his lifetime, but this was, undoubtedly, at the top of his list.
Two museum guards lay on the ground, bodies cold and lifeless. Their faces were a mangled mass of crushed, shattered bone and bloodied flesh. They'd been shot in the face at close range, and the force of the blast had sheared the skin off of their faces, revealing the bloody flesh, which had been mangled beyond recognition. The guards' skulls had been shattered, and their brains probably hadn't fared much better.
"Someone get me a barf bag," Patricia groaned. Eddie patted her shoulder comfortingly, and Patricia was so stressed that she didn't even tell him off.
"Well…" Fabian sighed grimly. "Let's get started. Do we have an I.D. on these guards?"
"Yeah," Eddie snapped on a latex glove and picked up two I.D.s that the CSIs had left on a table in a neat pile. "Happy Face Number One's name is Darryl Jenkins, and Happy Face Number Two is Julius White."
"You should show more respect to the dead," Nina said softly.
Eddie merely shrugged. "They're dead. Wherever they are now, they can't hear me."
"Still…they deserve respect." Nina said. She paused, seeming to debate whether to say something or not. "I mean, my own parents died in a car accident with a drunk driver when I was little." The rest of them lapsed into a stunned silence.
"I- I'm sorry Nina." Fabian stumbled over his words, something that was rare with him. He wanted to comfort Nina, as if her parents had just died.
Eddie cleared his throat, which only served to add to the awkward tension in the room. "I'm sorry too, Nina. I didn't mean to be so callous…" He trailed off uncertainly.
"It's okay," Nina let out a sigh, looking rather tired. "Well, I mean, about you being callous. I know you didn't mean it."
"Um, guys?" Patricia snapped her fingers, interrupting their conversation. "We've got a robbery and some murders to solve, yeah?"
"Right. The Collector." Eddie said, pointing towards another section of the museum. "That's where the Egyptian artifacts were on display before they were stolen."
The four agents walked over to examine the display, where shattered glass adorned the floor, sparkling like gems. The display case's lock was still intact, but the three-inch thick glass was shattered into tiny fragments. Many of the Egyptian artifacts were still in the case, but one was missing- the Mask of Anubis. At the foot of the wrecked display case lay two more museum guards, faces as mangled as the last pair.
"Willy Hubbard and Patrick Grad." Eddie said solemnly, holding back any comments.
"Did we get any blood on the glass?" Fabian asked Patricia, hoping that they'd have a stroke of luck. If the Collector had cut himself, they could retrieve valuable DNA.
"No." Patricia answered. "The CSIs didn't find any traces of blood anywhere. Didn't you hear them say that?" Fabian shook his head and Patricia plowed on with her monologue. "I'm guessing that the Collector just smashed through the glass with his semi-automatic rifle."
"He left us this." Nina said softly, pointing at the inside of the glass case.
The Collector had painted an Egyptian symbol on the inside of the glass case where the Mask of Anubis had once lay. It resembled an eye and was red, probably a literal blood red, now that Fabian came to think of it. He wouldn't put it past the Collector to smear a bit of the dead guards' blood on the display.
"The Eye of Horus. It represents protection and good health." Nina whispered.
"He's mocking us," Eddie snarled. "Four men are dead while he's alive and healthy, not to mention the fact that he has three ancient Egyptian artifacts in his possession: the Eye of Horus necklace, the Mask of Anubis, and the Cup of Ankh."
"We need to think." Fabian told them. "Why would the Collector want these items?"
"Money?" Patricia asked. "That's what everyone wants."
Eddie shook his head. "Hate to disagree with you, Yakker, but I don't think so. They named him the Collector for a reason, you know. He's been hoarding these items for himself, whoever he is."
"Plus there was that odd note that he left," Nina said. "The Collector said, 'I won't stop until the old empire arises.' That sounds like he's trying to overthrow the U.S. Government, or at least something along those lines."
"But how would Egyptian artifacts help him overthrow the U.S. Government?" Patricia asked impatiently. No one had an answer.
"Hey!" They all turned at the sound of Amber's voice. The blonde girl waltzed over to them, her heels clicking against the marble floor.
"Good news!" The FBI Liaison said, waving her cell phone. "Jerome, Alfie, and Mara just inspected the other crime scenes. They said that there was a definite pattern to the Collector's methods. He parks nearby using a motorcycle, conceals his weapon, storms the place, shoots some people, steals the stuff he wants, and paints some eye thingy. Ooh, Neens, I like your shoes!" Amber shot an envious look at Nina's platforms.
"Thanks," Nina smiled.
"Has the thought of wearing practical shoes ever occurred to you?" Patricia grumbled. Fabian shot her a glare, which the redhead returned readily.
"So, getting back on topic," Eddie said, popping a piece of gum in his mouth. "We know that the Collector kills people to steal stuff, leaves a eye painted in blood at each crime scene, and is most likely trying to somehow overthrow the U.S. Government."
"Typical," Patricia grumbled. "Our FBI Unit gets stuck with the psychopathic, killer terrorist."
"There's one thing I don't get." Nina said. "How does stealing these Egyptian artifacts help the Collector overthrow the government?"
"Maybe he's crazy." Amber suggested. Her cell phone bleeped and she whipped it out, texting up a storm.
Suddenly, in his peripheral vision, Fabian spotted a movement in the shadows. He whipped out his pistol faster than Amber had pulled out her phone and aimed it at the shadows. Patricia and Eddie had seen the movement, too, and their guns were aimed in the same direction as Fabian's not a second later.
"FBI!" Fabian bellowed. "Put your hands up!"
Cautiously, a man stepped into the light. He was just a teenager, probably no older than 16, and held a plain manila envelope in his hand.
"Hey, woah, what's going on?" the kid said, fear and nervousness evident in his tone.
"Who are you and who sent you?" Nina asked, her own gun held levelly at the boy's chest. None of the agents had lowered their weapons yet, minus Amber, who didn't carry a pistol.
The boy swallowed nervously. "This guy approached me and said he'd pay me fifty bucks if I went to this museum and gave it to the person it's addressed to." The boy squinted at the envelope. "It's addressed to an Agent Fabian Rutter." He read.
Fabian's hand shook almost imperceptibly. "This guy who paid you fifty bucks, what did he look like?"
"He was wearing a black robe, and his face was hooded so I didn't get a good look at it." The boy shrugged. "Why, what's going on?"
"Nothing." Patricia snapped. "Hand over the envelope."
"Wait, you're all FBI." Beads of sweat popped up on the boy's forehead. "What's going on?"
"It's none of your business," Patricia barked rather unprofessionally, snatching the envelope from the boy. "Here, Fabian." She handed him the envelope, and a feeling of dread caused his stomach to sink like a stone.
There was only one person this could be from.
He pulled a crisp piece of paper out of the manila envelope, and on it was another typed note. Fabian felt a dreadful, ironic sense of déjà vu.
Hello, Agent Rutter. Or should I call you 'Fabes?'
What I call you, however, is beside the point. The point is, I know you're looking for me. You're also looking for your... lost friend, aren't you? Joy Mercer?
Oh dear, I seem to be rambling again. What I meant to say, Agent Rutter, is that you're looking for answers.
I can give you answers.
Go to the abandoned warehouse on the corner of West Main and Monroe Boulevard at 10:00 p.m. tonight, and there you will find your answers.
Cheers, Agent Rutter. I look forward to our battle of wills and wits.
Fabian's heartbeat had tripled, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
"Who's it from?" Nina asked breathlessly, eyes wide as she finished reading the note.
"Who else?" Fabian laughed bitterly. "The Collector sent this."
"He's playing a game with you, Fabian." Eddie said, eyes flashing. "Don't play along!"
Fabian knew that Eddie was right. The Collector was intelligent, organized, and determined. Dangerous. He was playing a deadly game, daring Fabian to join.
"I need answers," Fabian said. "About this," here he gestured at the shattered glass and mutilated guards. "And about...Joy."
"He doesn't have the answers!" Eddie cried. "You know that, Fabian! He's just pretending to know about Joy so you'll come!"
"I'm going." Fabian said, voice steely. "Are you all with me or against me?"
Silence greeted him.
"We need to find Joy." Patricia said. "I'm in."
Everyone else remained silent.
"Well?" Fabian snapped.
"It's dangerous. But I trust you, Fabian." Nina said slowly, and the smile she gave him lifted a weight off of his heart.
"Thanks," he said, putting as much emotion into that one word as he could.
"Well, if Nina's in, I guess I am too." Amber shrugged.
"Fine." Eddie huffed. "I'll succumb to peer pressure, just this once."
"Alright," Fabian smiled at the rest of his team. "Let's get moving!"
There were answers to find.
A/N: GASP. THE COLLECTOR, GUIZE! Dun dun dun... Jk it wasn't that shocking, was it?
Bleh. This took me awhile to write, and I felt like it wasn't my best and that Eddie was OOC, (what the heck they all seem OOC to me) but oh well.
I have a bunch of exams coming up, so I don't know how much I'll be able to write, but I'll try to update this by the end of the week. I have Chapters 3-5 roughly planned out, so hopefully it won't take that long. Oh, and if you see spelling/grammar mistakes, tell me! I didn't have time to edit this chapter... -_-
Thanks for reading, guys! Hoped you enjoyed it! Reviews are the best! :D Have a nice day! Or Night, depending on what time it is!
Proxima Tempus
~Joylix