Chapter 13: Freedom
The one thing that was constant as Stella sat in that hospital waiting room, besides Lindsay, was Nikki. She was a beautiful woman with a past that was haunting her. Stella could see those beautiful brown eyes, always somewhat hollow. Always holding something painful. She knew that Nikki's eyes would give her away in a heartbeat, there was just too much emotion. Too much sadness. Stella believed that Don Flack could take away her sadness.
Something held him back. After Don had heard who the jerk was, his immediate reaction and instinct said to kill the bastard. Don knew he wouldn't but he couldn't help but think of it. He was just hoping that Nikki would be alright. He wanted to cradle her in his arms and tell her over and over that everything was going to be alright. When Hotch had come and said who the guy was, Don felt his anger rising. The hatred he felt towards this guy he did not know. Mac and Stella were still at the hospital, Don hoped Lindsay would be alright and that the baby would be fine.
He knew that it was a possibility that they wouldn't be, but Don wouldn't let himself think like that. He had to stay positive. He hoped Danny would sleep off the alcohol. Don paid attention to Danny's every drink. He hadn't had enough to cause alcohol poisoning, but he'd had enough to pass out. Don looked at the floor, and felt every emotion he'd kept bottled up come back up his throat and his eyes threatened tears. He forced them back down and got up to get a coffee.
Nikki looked around the room she was in. She looked over at Julie, who for once, was smiling. Nikki looked around one more time to see if he was in the shadows. When she was sure he wasn't, she crawled over to Julie and helped her the rest of the way on her binds. Then, she turned to Rebecca and quickly undid the binds on her hands as well. She didn't quite know how to say anything to Rebecca, when she seen the confused look in her eyes. So, simply, she explained, " Ok, I'm going to get you guys out of here. But, only after I distract Jeremy."
Rebecca still looked at Nikki quite confused and then asked, " Well, what do you mean 'you guys'?"
" I mean, I won't be joining you. I'm going to kill him, but I know that he already has something planned for me. I won't let you guys get killed. You have your fiancé, and Julie has her baby and her husband. I'm not going to let your families grieve because of me", Nikki whispered back. She tried to control her voice, she wouldn't let the sudden panic that swept over her to re-convince herself on her decision.
Rebecca nodded and then asked, " What do you need us to do?"
" I need you guys to still pretend your hands are behind your back, as well as me. When he comes in, and unexpectedly, I might add, he won't expect someone to go at him. When I have him distracted, he'll be too angry at me to care about you guys. That's when you guys jump up and run. Anyway, find a way out of here. Find some people", Nikki explained. Julie was practically crying by that point because she knew that Nikki wasn't planning on getting out alive.
Stella and Mac sat outside in the waiting room. The silence between them was unending. They talked of nothing as they waited for a doctor to come. Finally, after sitting there for about four hours, a doctor came up to them and asked, " Detective's Bonasera and Taylor?"
" Yes", they both chimed. They sat up straight in their seats and looked patiently up at the doctor.
" Ok, well, first of all, my name is Dr. Harrison. Detective Monroe had some serious internal bleeding. Don't worry, the baby's fine and so is she. There was extensive damage, but she will be okay. She's currently in the ICU for the night", Dr. Harrison explained. Stella and Mac were so relieved, Stella threw her arms around his neck and started crying happy tears. Mac held her gently and asked, " When can we see her?"
" Well, give it a couple of hours, I'll let you guys notify the rest of your team. Then, you guys can go in two at a time. I'm not guaranteeing when she'll wake up. It could be awhile", Dr. Harrison warned. After that note, Dr. Harrison turned and left. Stella was still crying and then realized that she had flung herself into Mac's arms. She gently backed away, and smiled kinda shyly. Tears were still running down her cheeks. Mac gently rubbed one of them away. He pulled her into a hug and then whispered in her ear, " Ok, let's go tell everyone."
Danny woke up with a pounding in his head and a ringing in his ears. He looked at the clock, 5:33a.m. He went and got a cup of coffee, when the phone rang. He walked over and said, " Messer… yes, Stella, what is it?… she did what?… is she alright?… ok, oh my God, don't scare me like that… the baby's fine?… ok, thank you, Stella, I'll be right in, what hospital is it?… ok, I'll see you guys soon."
Danny got dressed up and headed for Queen of Mercy Hospital. Lindsay got hurt, and Danny blamed himself. If he hadn't been such a jerk, she wouldn't have had to fume her anger by driving, which was the only thing she could've done. The one constant thought surrounding him was Lindsay. It was bad enough Nikki got kidnapped and could be lying somewhere dead, and he blamed himself for that one as well.
He got to the hospital and walked up to the nurse at the desk and said, " Danny Messer, Lindsay Monroe-Messer's husband." He was told that she had just gotten out of surgery and was in the ICU at the moment. He walked to the ICU and walked up to her bed. " Hey, Montana. It's me, Danny. I'm here, and I'm so sorry for what happened, I don't know if you can hear me, but, I love you", he whispered. He sat down beside her bed and put his head in his hands.
Stella fell asleep in Mac's car on the way back to the lab. He took her to the lab and set her on a cot. He watched her sleep for a minute or two. She looked like such an angel, although when she was awake she could be very feisty. He walked out of the room. He looked at his watch, the team should be assembled about now and ready to be told what exactly they were going to do.
Then, they would head out and find the women that were missing and probably hanging on to the last shred of life. Mac shook away the thought and went to get a coffee, and wait for the status reports.
Danny shook his head and looked up at his wife. She was still out. Her right hand was laying gently on her abdomen, and her left hand was at her side. They were full of needles. He got up to go and get some coffee. He felt really guilty every time he looked at her lying so still in that bed. But, he would not run. He would stay by her side, he was just hoping she would forgive him for being such a moron.
Nikki wished that she could just take a run for it and hope she made it outside. She would not chance being killed though. Which was exactly what Jeremy would do. She knew him all too well. That might just help her when she needs to distract him long enough for Julie and Rebecca to escape.
She looked over at Julie and then at Rebecca. They were trying their best to sleep so they'd have some strength to run. She would never ever forget them. She looked around, the room was getting a little bit darker, but soon he would turn on a light and come inside. It was almost time to see if her plan would work out.
Mac looked at the clock and wondered what the hell was going on. Then, his phone rang. " Taylor?… yes… what the hell is going on, Flack?… ok, well give me some updates soon." With that he put down his phone and walked to his office windows. He faintly heard the glass being tapped on, but when the door opened he heard it. Mac turned to see Stella standing there. " Hey", he greeted, " You still tired?"
" Yeah, a little. What happened?", she yawned.
" Well, you fell asleep in my car and I brought you here and set you on a cot. You probably already guessed that, though. Anyways, Flack called. The team's been assembled and they searched Evans' house. Nothing", he frowned.
" So, do they have any ideas where he's keeping them?", she asked, sombrely. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to make sure she was right.
" No, they have no ideas. The BAU are going over everything again, trying to find a connection to some other place. They could be at a warehouse. But, I doubt that", he answered.
" Ok, well. They tried his home address. It's gotta be some abandoned house or basement. He wouldn't want them to be found, right?", she asked.
" Yeah, probably. But, that's still a lot of places to check. They're trying to narrow it down to a more specific place", he replied. He started thinking of all the places those women could be. Evans was smart, but they could never ever outsmart the evidence. The only problem was, what evidence did they have to use?
" Ok, well, I guess I'm gonna go home and get some rest. Call me if anything happens", she yawned.
" You'll be the first to know", he smiled faintly. She nodded as another yawn took over her body and she walked away and headed home.
Nikki jerked herself to keep from falling unconscious, she kept pinching her back and telling herself that he would come back. He always would. Once again, she turned towards Julie and Rebecca. They were awake but at the same time, still asleep. She needed him to come soon, but she knew he would, because she was there, her life in his hands, he would always come back.
Don looked at the rest of the SWAT team that were assembled in the room. They were trying to narrow down places that the son-of-a-bitch could be. He had Nikki, and Don wouldn't let him get away with this. The BAU team had places narrowed down, it was just a matter of reducing the areas. Don took a sip of the half-decent cup of coffee that he had in his hands. It wasn't helping him any.
Again, Flack's gaze swept around the room and watched the BAU as they determined which places would most likely be good hiding places. He tuned out, he didn't want to listen anymore. He just wanted to take a list of the places and kick down every door until he found the right one. Half an hour later, he heard them say that they had it. He immediately jumped up and headed for the map that they had on the wall. A warehouse in Brooklyn, pretty smart. The team headed out and Flack quickly followed.
Nikki looked at the door. She just kept staring at it. She actually started wishing he would come so she could get this over with. And, finally, all her wishing did some good. Jeremy stepped through the door. He had one of his smug grins on his face. He walked over to Rebecca, and she didn't even bother trying. That was good, he was distracted. Nikki jumped at her chance while his back was turned, and went for him with all her strength. She put all her weight into it and managed to get him on the ground. While she did that, she started yelling to Julie and Rebecca to get out of there.
Julie didn't want to go and she had tears running down her face, but Rebecca managed to pull her far enough away so that she could get her to run. They ran and looked and they seen a door, with light underneath it. They ran for it and didn't look back. They opened it, and ran outside into the blinding light of day. They hadn't seen the sun in almost two weeks. It blinded them for a second, but then tried to figure out where they were.
They walked blindly away from the warehouse and started screaming for help. It did no good, there was no help. They both wanted to run and save Nikki, but they knew it would do no good. They just stared and hoped that help might come.
Nikki fought with all her might. She got a few punches in when he was too busy laughing after he hit her. He kept taunting her, which only fuelled her anger. She thought about Don, and Danny. She loved them both, and wished that she could just see them one more time. She looked around for a sharp object, but found nothing before he got her again. She doubled over for a second, and waited until his taunt sank in enough to bring more strength.
To Rebecca and Julie, it felt like a lifetime as they huddled outside in their filthy, ripped clothes. Their hair was so knotted and tangled, they didn't even know if a brush could handle it. They were both thinking of Nikki, and they were both so grateful, they wished that they could help her. They turned when they heard the sirens, and started running for them.
Don seen two women running down the road in filthy, torn clothes. Their faces were dirty, but he could tell they were the other two women that had been kidnapped. He felt his heart drop when he didn't see a third woman. Nikki. His heart started racing and he felt his blood shoot through his veins. They stopped at the two women and Don jumped out of the car. He ran to them and asked, " Where's Nikki?"
They pointed towards the warehouse and he seen the tears in their eyes. He immediately knew something was wrong. The SWAT team positioned themselves along the perimeter. The women told Flack what happened and then they were taken to the ambulances. He looked straight at the warehouse. He felt frightened, and he normally didn't feel that. He hoped that she would be alright.
Nikki gathered her strength and knocked Jeremy to the ground. Then she quickly looked for something to keep him that way, permanently. She found a knife, and she went at him with all her force. He knocked her down, and then pinned her on the ground. She yelped and fought. She clawed at him and tried to bite him, but she couldn't get anything. She tried to gather her strength again, and found it was waning. She managed to get enough to knock him off, and then grab the knife. He caught her wrists before she could get him. He pinned her to the ground again, but she managed to bite his hands, and then plunged the knife straight into his heart. He fell backwards without a word or a gasp. She got up and stumbled to find a door.
Don looked anxiously at the door, he'd never felt this nervous. He started to shift his feet and then he heard a door open. He looked up and all the guns aimed straight at the door. He held his breath and then let it out when he saw the one person he needed to see stumble her way through the door. She looked so frail and filthy and covered in blood, but he didn't care. She fell to the ground and he ran to her like nothing else existed. He dropped to the ground beside her and took her in his arms. " Nikki?", he whispered.
He could see that she had been seriously hurt. He called for the paramedics and looked for serious wounds. She had so much blood on her. He looked at her abdomen, and seen exactly what he feared. She had been knifed. A deep stab wound emanated from the middle of her abdomen. He put one hand on her abdomen to try and stop the bleeding, and the other, he cradled her head. He felt the sticky warmness of blood on his hands, and he closed his eyes. The paramedics came then and he told them she'd been stabbed. He rode with her to the hospital, and then took a seat in the waiting room.