Chapter 12: A Second Chance
Hotch walked into Mac's office, hoping Mac would be there. He was. " Detective Taylor?", Hotch asked.
" Yes, Agent Hotchner. What can I do for you?", Mac replied.
" Yes, I would like to see Nicole's file", Hotch requested.
" Of course, although, I don't know what you're going to find", Mac said, getting up and heading over to a filing cabinet just to the left of the desk.
" I'm hoping to find a boyfriend, or an ex-fiancé. An ex-husband I don't expect to find", Hotch explained, " Someone who was really close to her and who she might've pushed out of her life. Or ran away from." Mac handed Nikki's file to Hotch.
" I hope you find what you're looking for. Since we are assuming that she's still alive, how long do you expect that she'll live?", Mac asked, clearing his throat.
" It's hard to say. But, with this guy, he's going to keep her alive. She'll probably die of dehydration and starvation, before dying of the wounds that he's inflicted", Hotch stated.
" Do you think that we'll find her alive?", Mac murmured.
" I hope so, Detective, I hope so", Hotch said, as he turned and walked out of the office.
Lindsay drove until her anger subsided. She knew that it wasn't Danny's fault. She was angry because of her hormones, they were driving her crazy. She didn't know where she was, but she didn't care. It was starting to get dark and she thought about turning around, but quickly refused the idea.
Her anger had finally slowed down from a hurricane to a slight rain. She laughed at herself for thinking like that. Exactly like her mother used to say. Lindsay pressed a hand gently to her abdomen and thought about the child that she was carrying. She hoped it was a girl and Danny had hoped it would be a boy. But, Danny had also said that he would want a girl that would be as beautiful as her mother. That was unexpected for Danny.
Suddenly, a pain ripped through her abdomen, and she clutched her stomach, screaming and losing control of the car. The car swerved in a zigzag line down the road and when it got to a stoplight, a transport came through and smashed the car, sending it flying.
Flack and Danny sat in silence at Sullivan's. Don looked over to the stool where Nikki had been sitting that night. He remembered everything that happened. His feelings were so confused, he didn't know what to do. Danny had only come here to drink away his pain, and Don had come just so Danny would have a way of getting home. But, seeing Nikki there that night was just too good, especially when Danny went right up to her.
He remembered the look in her eyes as they walked over to her. She was full of pain, but when she seen Don, there was an unmistakable look of desire in the deep brown depths. He smiled to himself when he remembered what she had said. She was drunk, of course, but what she had said, he didn't know what to do. He remembered the feel of her in his arms as he carried her out to the curb, where fresh air had awaited them. He cared for her deeply, there was no mistaking that.
Danny looked over at Don and realized that Don had not left his side. He didn't know why, he didn't deserve to have someone here with him. He took a sip of the beer he was working on. It happened to be his fifth. He knew that if he stood up now, he would fall down immediately.
He thought of all the times when Nikki didn't need him there, and he was anyway. He was there when she didn't need help. But, now, when she needed all the help she could get, he wasn't there. He refused to believe that she was dead, but it was a possibility that she was. He knew it, Mac knew it, everybody knew it. He was losing faith, very quickly.
Hotch looked over Nikki's file, again and again. He couldn't find it, couldn't see it. Danny didn't know of any boyfriends, so Hotch got up and decided to go take a house call on Mr. and Mrs. Messer, maybe their parents could help him. He went to find Reid.
Half and hour later, Hotch and Reid got out of their car. They walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. They heard footsteps, and then the door opened. A woman who was about fifty opened the door to the agents. She was still very pretty, and looked a lot like Nikki. " Yes", she asked.
Hotch pulled out his badge and showed it to her as he said, " FBI. Agent Hotchner and Dr. Reid. May we come in?" She moved back a little so the agents could come in.
" What is the FBI doing here?", she asked, carefully.
" It's about your daughter, Nicole", Reid answered.
" Oh my God. Has something happened? Oh God, honey, could you come in here a second?", she called to her husband.
A man in his mid-fifties walked into the room and looked at the agents and asked, " Who are they?"
" They're FBI, Jack", she replied.
" What do they want?", Jack asked his wife.
" We would like to ask you some questions about your daughter, sir", Reid answered, clearing his throat.
" Questions? About Nikki? Why on Earth would you do that?", Jack asked.
" Yes, sir. Questions about Nicole. She's been kidnapped by the Triangle Killer. She's been missing for the past nine days, sir", Reid explained.
" Nine days? How the hell did I not know this?", Jack asked. He looked at his wife, and saw the guilty look in her eyes, " You didn't tell me that our daughter was kidnapped?"
His wife shook her head and tears started rolling down her cheeks. Jack pulled his wife into his arms. " I'm so sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. I was going to", she sobbed.
" Oh, Emma. I can't believe this, nine days, and she hasn't been found? Does that mean that she's dead?", Jack asked.
" No, we don't believe she is. However, she will be soon. He won't feed her or let her drink, he wants her to suffer. She'll die of starvation or dehydration before she dies of the torture that he's inflicting upon her", Hotch explained, " We need your help."
" Ok, what do you need?", Emma asked, clearing away the last of her tears.
" We would like to ask you some questions about her", Reid answered.
Jack nodded, giving Hotch the freedom to ask away. " Ok, we need to know, did she have an angry ex-boyfriend, or fiancé that might seek revenge on her for leaving or calling off the wedding?" Jack and Emma were both shaking their heads before Hotch was done asking.
" No, a fiancé? Are you kidding me? She never let herself get close to anyone enough to ask her to marry them", Jack replied.
" Ok, an ex-boyfriend maybe?", Hotch asked.
Emma and Jack looked at each other and Hotch asked, " You do know someone, don't you?"
They nodded before they replied together, " Jeremy Evans."
Stella watched the agents as they came in the elevator. They looked exactly like they did when they left, so she didn't know if they had anything new or not. She knew that Nikki was still alive somewhere, and she could see that Danny believed it too, but was quickly losing faith.
Nikki was a fighter, Stella knew that. She also knew that Don wasn't giving up. He cared for Nikki deeply, she could see that. She wondered if Danny could see it too. Don was a good man, and she was anxious to see what would happen between the two, after they found her, of course. Her phone started vibrating and she picked it up. " Hello, Bonasera….mhm….yes…. actually I don't know where her husband is, why?….oh my God!", Stella gasped. She shut her phone and ran for Mac.
Mac was sitting in his office when he seen Stella running toward him. She had a look of concern and horror on her face. Something was very wrong. Stella opened the door, and gasped for breath, she whispered, " Mac…Lindsay's hurt…car accident…where's Danny?"
" I don't know. Stella calm down. Lindsay's been in an accident? How bad is she hurt?", he asked as he got up and grabbed his jacket. Stella was nearly in a fit of tears when Hawkes came into the office.
" What's wrong?", he asked, looking from Stella to Mac.
" Lindsay's been in a terrible accident", Mac answered, trying to remain calm. He put his arms around Stella and whispered, " Let's go to the hospital, where are they taking her?"
" Queen of Mercy", Stella murmured. Mac turned her and they headed for the door.
An hour and five hundred cars later, Mac and Stella walked through the doors of Queen of Mercy hospital's emergency room. It was very busy, a lot of people were being wheeled around in gurneys. They walked up to the desk and asked the nurse about a Lindsay Monroe. They found out that she was in surgery, and that if they waited in the waiting room, she would find the doctor to explain everything to them as soon as she could.
Nikki sat against the wall, still trying to undo the binds on her hands, she was so close, but not quite there. They were tied very tight and she could feel them digging into her skin. She ignored the pain but kept it with her because it would be the only strength she would have to fight Jeremy with. She looked over at Julie, who was as well, trying to undo the binds on her hands.
Julie bit her lip every time she felt the stinging sensation of the binds on her hands. Nikki had watched her, she knew that Julie was trying to be strong. They had talked a lot and sort of became friends. What they were going to go through in the next few hours would make them become even closer. Nikki was willing to give herself for these women. She knew that Rebecca hated her for what they were going through and Nikki didn't blame her one bit.
Don heard the phone ring and Danny moaned. It was late, he looked at the clock, 10:43p.m. He picked it up and said, " Yes?…Stella calm down….what's wrong?…yeah, he's right here…umm, sleeping…he was drinking, Stella….ok, I know, it's ok, I'll tell him…do you want me to come in?…where are you?…ok, yeah, I will, Stell…bye", he hung up and looked at his best friend. This was going to be very hard on him.
Nikki pulled at the binds on her wrists and tried very hard not to scream, but locked away the pain in a place where it would be very useful later. She heard footsteps and immediately pretended to be sleeping. It didn't help, Jeremy slapped her awake and ripped at her clothes even more. She screamed out again at the pain he was forcing upon her. She heard Julie sobbing and she heard Jeremy yelling at Julie and herself. She let the black abyss that was within reach take her away.
Mac and Stella sat in the chair and then a nurse came and told Mac that he had a phone call. Mac got up to go and get it. He got to the phone the nurse handed him and he said, " Mac Taylor?"
" Hey, Mac. It's Hotch. We found your guy. His name is Jeremy Evans. He's Nicole's ex-boyfriend", Hotch announced.
" Well, call Det. Flack and have him go with you on the raid", Mac answered.
" Will do", Hotch said, and Mac heard a little click of the phone being put back on the receiver. Mac headed back to where Stella was sitting.
Stella turned to him and asked, " What was that about?"
" That was Hotch. He found our guy, Nikki's ex-boyfriend, Jeremy Evans. He's going to call Flack and have him go on the raid for them", Mac replied.
" Them?", Stella questioned.
" Nikki, Rebecca, and Julie", Mac answered.
" Oh, ok", Stella murmured. She laid her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. She would not fall asleep, but she would find a quiet place deep inside her mind and stay there.
Nikki looked at the floor, she was concentrating very hard. She had enough pain to fuel the strength she needed to fight back. She had one more rope to cut through and then there would be freedom. Sort of. She wished she could see Don Flack one more time. To just have him hold her and say that it would be alright. And it would be. She had her plan, now was the time to put it in action.
She looked at Julie, who as well, was working through her ropes and getting very close to the end. Now, if only Nikki could work through the last one. One more pull and then she pulled her hands around the front of her body and hugged herself, and smiling, she thought, freedom is the one thing that Jeremy Evans will never have again.