Title: The Devil Wears Vengeance
Chapter 10 – Manhunt!
Donna pulls away from the rest of the team, her remorse now morphing into angry frustration. Ed hasn't vanished…he's not gone for good…he's not…we're missing something.
"We are missing something," she finally audibly voices.
"Donna, we're not giving up," Greg insures her with a firm expression. "Never. Both Spike and Riley are going back over that footage but…but those are just the facts that we know so far."
"Someone planned this to kidnap him?" Donna asks weakly.
"Has he gotten any threats as of late?"
"You mean besides the laser pointer?" Donna counters with an exasperated sigh. "No nothing that he would…unless he didn't tell me," she laments as she slumps down onto a nearby chair and shakes her head. "Things were a bit tense because of the job but…"
"Did he ever bring it home?" Greg asks in soft concern as he sits down beside her.
"No. We both set a policy that we'd leave it at work…well if we could. Sometimes we'd head down to the gym but…nothing enough to set a bomb and…and kidnap him. Greg nothing like that. I would tell you…I would point you in the direction of someone recently who I think would do this," Donna laments; Ida Logan not even an inkling at the moment.
"Okay," Greg nods as Wordy gently limps over toward them.
"No word yet. If he was kidnapped it must be personal because there has been no ransom demand," Wordy informs them. "Yet."
Donna takes a deep breath and gently rubs her heated belly, trying to get her agitation to lower as she knows her actions will directly affect their unborn child. Ed is going to be okay…he's going…he has to…he will…her mind tumbles over and over as she feels another onslaught of tears wanting to gang up on her and display themselves publicly.
"I want to go to that warehouse," Donna tells Greg as she slowly stands up.
"Donna, you heard Spike, the place has been…"
"If I sit here all I will do is pace and strangle someone…the next person that tells me to take it easy," she huffs with a frustrated sigh. "I need…I need to be out there…looking for him."
"I'll go with her," Wordy suggests, drawing a raised eye brow glance from Greg. "Boss I can't sit here either and do nothing…not with Ed out there…somewhere and possibly hurt."
"Okay go. Never hurts to have an extra set of eyes looking things over. Team Two is on deck today so we're covered. Just…"
"I know calm heads," Donna nods, hoping her heart will also hear the words and believe it. It's going to be okay little one…we'll find daddy. He'll be okay…he has to…he has to.
"Ready?" Wordy asks in concern.
"Wordy, you're hurt…really I can do this alo…"
"I called Shelly and told her the story and she told me to find him. I can't just go home and wait either; I can't," Wordy's tone states pleadingly. "Now I'm not expecting we'll find anything but just being out and active is what Ed would expect for me because he knows that I know he'd do the same for me. Let's just go see what's there and report back."
"Okay," Donna nods as they head for the elevator to the parking lot. I will find you Ed. Hold on…I love you. Always.
XXXXXXXX
To say his captor was making his stay as miserable as possible was an understatement. The few hours that had passed since he had dared to awaken were spent in silent misery; silent because of the gag and also because of the silence around him. But not total silence as a few hushed whispers now and again would taunt him and a scampering critter was heard once but that was it. The brief interlude he had with his captor, in which the man actually spoke to him had seemed like an eternity and with the thick blindfold securely in place, he's not even allowed to formulate ideas on where he is or who had kidnapped him or even why.
Why are they doing this? Have the team been contacted? A ransom made? Any kind of demands?
Adding to his captive misery is the fact that his adrenaline was all but spent and his body now forced to feel the cold, small shivers encasing his frame as he lies on the unwelcoming stone floor.
HELLO! He had tried to call out…a few times earning only a snicker in reply and the rest – silence. What the hell is their game? What is going on?
His leg was still throbbing and his chest on fire, but his wrists continue to try to pick away at the tape holding them restrained tightly behind his back. He knows even if he gets the tape, gag and blindfold off he'd still have to contend with the ankle iron but at least he'd have some kind of fighting chance. If he could feel his leg he'd know it was warm from infection as the rest of his limbs were a normal temperature; his forehead also clammy but damp – shock. At least the mild onset of it after the explosion.
But what was in that needle? Antibiotics? Didn't seem logical for them to kidnap and drug him but also give him something to stave off infection. Unless it was to prolong his life so they could prolong his suffering? Or was it something else? Poison? Maybe a nutritional supplement? WHAT WAS IT? Ed's mind continues to swirl with unanswerable questions, never knowing that his family's chief nemesis is the one behind his elaborate kidnapping, that there was never going to be a random demand or a call placed to the team, that the needle contained a muscle relaxant and that his wife is the next target.
Donna…you hafta find me…I know you will… his mind offers in quiet misery. He knows in his mind and heart that she and the rest of the team wouldn't stop looking for him. But where would they even start? It wasn't like in the past few weeks someone had been dropping hints this was coming; he hadn't even so much as gotten a threatening phone call. He thinks to the incident with the laser pointer; the other one discounted because of a computer glitch. The guy with the laser pointer? He did this? But for what reason? Angry at cops? Or just me?
HELLO! Ed tries again; his sore lungs gently wheezing as he rests his weary head back down on the cold stone. The air is starting to cool down even more than before and his body starts to gently shiver, his mind trying its best to control his nerves. But the throbbing in his leg, chest and head was making it a moot task.
Ed finally hears some footsteps heading in his direction and decides to lie still and not move, hoping his captor will just leave him alone; being gagged, asking for a blanket was obviously out of the question.
"Pretending to be asleep Lane?" The male voice mocks as a hard boot nudges the back of his thigh.
Ed, however decides to remain still, wondering what they'd do.
"Right…maybe a hard kick to the back might make you RESPOND TO ME!" The man fairly shouts; making Ed's body instinctively jerk in response. "Better," he snickers; Ed's entire being thankful that he didn't sustain that blow, knowing if he did, one of his cracked ribs might break puncture a lung and he'd be instantly doomed.
"Kinda chilly in here eh big guy?" The male voice laughs as he slowly starts to circle Ed's captive frame, periodically prodding his tense body with the end of his boot. "Doesn't seem like you have much fight left in you Lane."
Untie me and I'll put you on your ass and then say that again you bastard, Ed lightly mumbles, eliciting a small snicker.
"Ah so you are fully awake. The needle had a muscle relaxant in it; keeps you in your place and me in control. And that's how it's going to be until you die. And make no mistake, this is going to be your final resting place."
NO! Ed tries as the footsteps turn and leave, dying out a few seconds later and leaving Ed in quiet torment. Donna…please baby you have to find me in time…you have to.
XXXXXXXX
As they near the warehouse, Donna's anxiety-filled panic starts to slightly subside, leaving her with angry determination. The team is right – she has to remain calm and focused in order to find Ed and bring him home alive and safe.
"How bad do you think he's hurt?" Donna asks softly, her eyes fixed on the neighbourhood they were now in.
"Don't…Donna don't…you can't…"
"Wordy, I saw blood and I know…I mean think…"
"They would not have kidnapped a dead man okay? Ed's alive," Wordy tries to reassure her, not confident his own tone was sounding positive.
"But if he's hurt bad…"
"We have the whole city looking for him, we will find him."
"Alive?" She presses with a dead whisper as she looks over with a mournful gaze.
"Alive," Wordy nods. "We both hafta believe that."
"All three of us," she lightly corrects as Wordy brings the SUV to a stop by the still yellow taped off warehouse. She feels her anxiety starting to surge again and tries desperately to force herself to calm down and go into Detective mode and shelve worried wife mode – at least for now.
They both show their badges to the uni's, Donna watching Wordy limp a few feet ahead and knows that his body had just taken a beating; guilt eating away at her for allowing him to push himself.
"Wordy… your leg. I can g…"
"Donna I'm fine," he insists as she just smirks. "I know…it's an Ed Lane comeback. I should have pulled him with me but…"
"But if he heard…you didn't hear anything?"
"Donna…"
"Did you hear anything?" She urges.
"No. But…look Ed wouldn't have turned back…no…I don't know…" Wordy huffs as he tries to remember those last few seconds before the blast. He remembers Ed saying he heard someone and then turning back, his body in line with the other room just in time for the blast to go off and fate to take over.
"Who is playing these damn games?" She asks mostly rhetorically as they both near the van that was now empty; the forensic team having taken all they need. She feels her stomach tighten as she nears the back, her body tense as her mind hears Ed's last call before the static…watches his body falling through the hole and then taken away…but by who? They round the back corner and peer into the open van, her mind seeing Ed's battered frame on the floor of the van and then…what? Drugged? Or was he unconscious?
"He didn't just disappear into thin air…whoever planned this…" her voice trails off as she starts to slowly wander away from Wordy and the van. True to Spike's description, the warehouse is large, void of everything except an entranceway and exit way and a man door on either side of those. She stops a few feet back and then turns to Wordy and the van, watching as her mind shows the car waiting…the dark van pulling up and Ed's body transferred…but to where? The car was empty when found.
"Where the hell is he Wordy?" Donna's tormented question breaks the silence. "What aren't we seeing? He was here and someone took him away. What…are we missing?"
XXXXXXXX
'Time for your medicine big guy.'
Ed had tried to fight the chloroformed cloth but in the end his captor had succeeded in mercilessly sending him back into the darkness without much of a fight on his end; the muscle relaxant doing its job and keeping his limbs useless to any command but stay put.
The next time Ed tries to open his eyes, his situation has once again changed – and not for the better. Now seated upright on the cold stone ground with his arms extended out to either side and held fast to the wall with iron shackles, the blindfold and gag still in place but his legs free; they didn't matter as escape would be impossible without assistance.
Cold…pain…hurts to breathe…head pounding…chest hurts…stomach…want to throw up…hurts to breathe…pain…leg…dizzy…Donna…help me Donna….find me…
His eyes finally start to flutter open, his right eye feeling a bit more swollen and tender, along with the right side of his face where a dark bruise was forming on his cheek from where he was hit by a piece of flying debris. He tries to pull at his arms, quickly realizing his pointless actions were only making his chest hurt further, he quickly subsides and slumps back against the cold stone wall, his chest hurting from the ribs moving at angles they shouldn't.
A cool breeze starts to caress his weary frame as he strains his ears to listen…hoping to hear something…anything that might now indicate where he's been taken. Or has he moved? The space smells the same – like mold and freshly drying blood. His blood? Or someone else's?
Where the hell am I? His mind ponders as he hears footsteps in the distance and feels his frame involuntarily seize as they near.
"You're a pretty flexible guy when you're out," the male voice mocks as he nears Ed's captive frame. Without warning the tape is yanked from his mouth making Ed's face wince with a few new sensations of stinging pain.
"What…what do you…want?" Ed finally asks with a few desperate gasps of air, his brain cursing the fact that he can't see who his captor is and allow his mind to at least formulate a motive for all this madness.
"I have what I want…you," he replies pointedly.
"Why? What is all…this for?" Ed asks again with a painful gasp.
"I'd save your breath if I were you; you might need it for later. To beg me…to stop," he snickers meanly.
"Who are you?"
"Me? I'm the devil's helper."
"Helpful," Ed mutters in sarcasm as his face winces once more as he moves.
"Want to dance with the devil?"
"You sick bastard you can't…" is all Ed manages before his captor's fingers latch onto his chin and force his head sharply to the right; Ed trying in vain to free himself from his captor's firm grasp.
"Listen and listen good! I can do what I want and I will…you can't stop me and the one person that can – won't," he taunts as Ed tries once more to pull his chin free, his male captor's fingers tightening around his scruffy and dirty skin. "You will meet the devil and when that happens even I will pray for your quick release – from this life that is. Or I will grant your wish and do the honor myself. So curse all you want. YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" He shouts as his grasp loosens and Ed angrily jerks his face away.
"You'll find no pity here," the male voice mocks as he slowly stands up and looks down at Ed's battered frame. "You'll find no remorse and no leniency. You'll find only death and despair." And with that, two strong rough hands grasp the front of Ed's damp and dirty tee shirt and give it a good tear, ripping the center open and leaving his pale chest exposed; the two halves of the tee hanging on either side now, the last small vestige of protection – gone.
"What…do you…want?" Ed dares to inquire.
"To make you really suffer. Starting now…" the male voice interjects before a hard blow is delivered to Ed's stomach, forcing his lips to cry out in agony as his ribs, that might not have been fully broken finally do.
"Welcome to hell Constable Lane."
XXXXXXXX
"Spike, what was the route the car took?"
"Donna, what did you guys find?" Greg quickly interjects.
"Nothing concrete…I'm just…thinking," she lightly frets as she looks over at Wordy who looks back with a grim expression. "This…whoever did this…well they weren't a first timer. Please Spike…the route?"
"Sending it now," Spike's voice is finally heard. "Check your PDA's."
"Got it thanks."
"What are you thinking?" Wordy inquires as he slowly makes his way over to where she was standing by the entrance to the warehouse.
"I'm grasping at straws but…but I can't just go home and do nothing…I just need…none of this makes sense. But I can't do nothing you know?"
"I know…Spike looked at…"
"I know he did and I know Spike would never just give a half ass job and then call it a day. Riley too…he looks up to Ed and…Wordy I keep seeing the blood and hearing his last cry and then the blip and then the s…"
"Wait…what did you say Donna?" Spike interrupts.
"Nothing…sorry what?"
"No…not nothing. You said a blip."
"I just thought…I'm tired Spike. Sorry."
"No it…it could be…"
"What could it be Spike?" Greg asks over the headset.
"I don't know yet. Wordy you said Ed said he heard something but no one else did?"
"Right and?" Wordy presses.
"Ed wouldn't just turn back but maybe…maybe what he heard was only something he heard because it was over his headset and no one else heard it."
"What? Is it possible to hack into our headsets?" Donna inquires in haste.
"Depends on how good you are and what means you have at your disposal. If you have enough you could get the correct frequency, find the channel and then…it's possible…" Spike's voice pops in and out. "I'll get back to you."
"The laser pointer…maybe it's the same guy?" Donna wonders.
"Or the same guy who changed the plans and sent Ed on his wild goose chase at the treatment center a few days ago."
"Okay so we know Ed was targeted and the same guy Sam found in the car matches…"
"The description of our dead gun man…right so maybe it was him and he merely miscalculated his escape route and still died," she groans.
"And so far there is no connection to him and Ed," Wordy adds to the discussion as they slowly head back toward the waiting SUV.
"We'll find it…we have to," Donna states firmly as they get into the SUV and pull away, Donna this time driving and Wordy offering the directions.
"Okay boss, we're done at Don Chin's place," Sam refers to the dead gun man. "We found a few things of note."
"Such as?" Greg presses.
"A few clippings of Ed. A photo taken at some press conference last year, a calendar page with today's date circled on it and the initials EL and the time. Same stuff we found at Carl Hernandez's place."
"Anything to make a bomb with?" Spike inquires.
"No nothing. And nothing to indicate…that he was working with anyone else."
"Just like Carl Hernandez."
"Well he didn't kill himself," Greg's voice lightly snaps.
"The uni's have this placed taped off and the forensic team is here. Sorry there was nothing else and hold on…the ballistics report is coming through."
Please…please let them find something…please god let me find my husband, Donna's mind offers in torment. "What's it say?" Donna chances to inquire.
"Oh damn," Sam's voice curses, forcing everyone on both teams to pause and wait. "The bullet belongs to a gun that was registered to Don Chin."
"Whoever planned this is a genius and has tied up every loose end perfectly. We are just going in circles."
"There is no such thing as the perfect crime and we all know that…not with DNA and technology and…there just isn't," Donna insists as her eyes threaten to water once more; this time from sheer frustration.
"Okay team one, let's regroup and go over everything we know and have collected so far. Let's make sure there are no holes that we might have missed. Ed didn't just disappear and we have to find him. Now," Greg directs.
"Copy," a course from all is heard over the headsets.
"Wordy I just want to check something before we go back…" Donna mentions as they near the tunnel.
"Sure what are we looking for?"
"I…I don't know I just…I have a feeling and you can laugh all you want but…but…"
"Women's intuition?" He asks as she nods. "Trust me I've heard that before," he softly smirks. "But you want to check it just in case, I get that."
"Thank you," she offers weakly as they near the entrance to the tunnel and she brings the SUV to a stop just before, making Wordy look over in wonder. "I just…okay so the fake utility van leaves the office building…Ed inside," she manages as her voice catches in her throat. You have to be strong…her inner voice urges. You need to be strong and focus…find him. "It enters a warehouse. Five minutes later a blue sedan is seen leaving. We only see the driver but assume Ed's inside because the warehouse has been turned inside out and there wasn't even a hidden floor panel to inspect."
"The car chooses paths with the least amount of traffic cams," Wordy adds as they both stare at the space before them.
"It comes here and…goes through…"
"And by the time Sam gets it…Ed's gone."
"The switch happened under here," Donna muses softly. "Ed was somehow switched under here."
"What's that?" Greg interrupts. "Where are you Donna?"
"Wordy and I are under the bridge. We never actually see the gunman get into the car that is finally stopped right?"
"No," Spike agrees as they all start to ponder another scenario.
"So the gunman takes his car, which happens to be the same one as the one leaving the warehouse; easy enough to do that."
"The gunman could have been handed the packet of cash we found in the glove box," Sam pipes up, adding to the discussion. "Two cars slowly come up side by side…he gets the cash…"
"Takes off and then the car with Ed still in it waits under the bridge, out of view until another car or whatever comes along and he's put into that one and…it drives off…the other vehicle drives off and…"
"And vanishes," Donna finishes with a small gulp. "Bastard," she curses her husband's invisible captor.
"Smart actually," Greg huffs. "While we spend time chasing our tales, Ed could have been taken and…"
"Okay what do we do now?" Sam butts in.
"Spike?" Greg asks gently.
"I know I know boss…but with all those cars, Riley and I might need an extra hand with this."
"Pull Annabelle from team two if you have to," Greg instructs. "I want all hands on deck on this one. So far that's the only theory that seems to support the fact that Ed…"
"Just up and vanished," Donna groans as she leans back in the seat and rubs her belly, switching off her headset. "I need him back Wordy…I need to hold him in my arms…I just need…" her voice catches as she quickly swallows.
"I'll drive back," Wordy softly suggests, pushing past the fresh throbbing in his leg reminding him that he too needs rest and to elevate it. Without arguing much, Donna agrees as she gets out and then slowly heads toward the passenger side, glancing back to see the gun man drive off and another car pull up, Ed carried out and then taken away.
"Ed…I love you…just remember that," she whispers as she gets into the SUV and they start the quiet drive back to the barn. As soon as they arrive, Wordy goes in search of Greg and Spike, Donna slipping away and heading for the locker rooms. She enters the quiet area and slowly heads for Ed's locker, her trembling fingers reaching out and resting against the cool metal door.
She produces the small key and slowly opens the door, her eyes freshly watering as she gazes at a picture of the two of them taken on their wedding day; a lone picture of her below it, right beside the ultrasound picture.
"Oh Ed…" she utters in torment as she leans in a bit closer, briefly closing her eyes as her mind pauses to take in his familiar scent; the comforting smell actually making her stomach un-tighten and the baby inside to subside its mirrored agitation.
She takes his jacket and clutches it tightly to her chest as she slumps backward onto the nearby bench, her eyes unable to stop the tears as she takes advantage of the privacy and allows herself a few moments to cry; her body heaving slightly as she expels her angry fluid emotion.
"Where are you," she begs the piece of fabric in her grasp; the silence around her mocking her plight and showing no mercy or pity to the expectant mother. She finally straightens up slightly and looks back at the picture of them in her husband's locker and then frowns as her eyes rapidly blink.
"Where are you?"
XXXXXXXX
A painful moan escapes Ed's lips as he tries to shift his aching body from its current uncomfortable position. His captor, had delivered only a few painful blows but they were enough to force him to realize just what he was dealing with – a man without a soul or conscience; intent on as much mental pain and drawn out physical suffering as possible. With a few certain broken ribs; his mind reminds him that movement is an unwise idea.
Unable to do anything more but sit and think his mind once again races with unanswerable questions. Who is behind his tortuous kidnapping? Who is pulling the strings? His captor had mentioned that someone could make him stop but wouldn't…someone who obviously wanted to see him suffer as much as possible and is taking delight in his cruel imprisonment. But who?
Who the hell is behind this? His mind wonders as he feels the end of the rib move painfully, threatening to come through the skin if he wasn't careful or if he sustained another hit. He slumps back against the cold stone wall, his leg throbbing but not as much as his head. The muscle relaxant wasn't doing much to keep the pain at bay, merely reminding him that he isn't the one in control.
The team will find me, he insists in silence, thankful that he's at least able to breathe somewhat unhindered. But for how long? What was the plan? For him to be slowly beaten to death? Toyed with until he met a painful end? Would he ever meet the person responsible for his current misery? Would he want to?
Donna I love you…please god let me be rescued…let me be with my wife again…see my child…have a family and future…it can't end like this…not like this. Please.
His mind tries to find a happy memory…their wedding day…the day they were told their second child would be whole and healthy…the moment they spent in the bathtub…shopping in the market together…doing a crossword in bed…eating breakfast. Something…any memory of them together. Anything to chase away the impending darkness and allow him a glimmer of hope to hold onto.
But that wasn't to be – at least not yet. Hope wasn't invited…at least…not yet.
"Miss me Lane?" The mocking voice of his male captor taunts as he nears, instantly snapping him from his mental stupor.
"Very," Ed snaps back. "What the hell…do you want from me?" He asks, his chest still having a hard time taking in a full breath of air; his brain reminding him that no matter what, he had to control his breathing – it could mean his life.
"Well I am a man of my word…I promised you a meeting with the devil and I intend to fulfill that."
"What do you want?"
"I want you to suffer Constable Lane."
A woman's voice…I…I know that voice…it can't…be…no…no I am hearing things.
"I know…"
"Oh yes…you know me very well. Both you and your wife."
"It's not…not possible," Ed whispers hoarsely as he clenches his teeth as the mocking female laugh nears; his brain refusing to acknowledge the true identity of her voice. But without waiting for Ed to ask, the blindfold is yanked down, the damp black fabric resting around Ed's neck as his brain frantically races to get his watery eyes to focus on the figure before him.
"Oh but it is possible."
He looks up through the blur, squinting at first and then shaking his head as he tries to get the fuzzy image to clear, pushing past the fresh pounding in his head and looking back; literally feeling his breath catch as the familiar image finally comes into focus.
"Oh god…no…" his voice instantly dies and his heart nearly stops beating.
Ida Logan? What the hell? She can't be here…she's dead…this…this isn't possible. Am I dead?
A/N: nope my beloved Eddie you are very much alive and awake but in a nightmare. I had waffled a bit on how long to keep Ed in the dark but figured 2 chappies was enough lol so hope this is okay. What will Ida do? What will she learn and what move will she make next? But what will team one find? Hope you all liked this and please do drop me a review before you go and let me know your thoughts and thanks so much!