Redemption

Chapter Sixty-Three

He hated when they tried to escape he mused as he smoothed his hair away from his eyes and stared at his quarry in the rearview mirror as she lay in the backseat. He'd been successful in drugging her, yet it didn't stop her from trying to get away before they kicked in. Lucky for him, the more she struggled, the quicker the drugs took affect. After a few kicks to his shins, her muscles became weak and her eyes had drooped until she fell into his awaiting arms. Her motionless body allowed him to lift her into his arms and carry her away before he was discovered.

The only thing he hadn't taken into consideration was the alertness of that damn dog. Fortunately, by the time the mutt began barking, he'd successfully smuggled her limp body out the window and has halfway down the fire escape before any of those idiots realized anything was amiss. And they called themselves the FBI's finest; yeah, right.

He massaged his sore shins as he drove the black SUV through the streets of Downtown Washington DC. She was tiny, but she was certainly tough. If he hadn't drugged her, he would definitely have had a more difficult time getting her to comply.

Stopping the vehicle at a red light, he glanced into the rearview mirror and let his eyes scan her motionless form. His dark orbs traveled over every soft curve visible to him as she lay on her side, her hands tied behind her back. A grin formed on his lips as his eyes trailed down the column of her throat, following the line that led to the swell of her breasts that was enhanced by both the tank-top she was wearing and the fact that her hands were restrained.

He sucked in a breath and blew it out in a low whistle as thoughts formed in his ugly mind. He could certainly think of a position or two he could put her in to make her more than useful to their cause. Of course, it was a pity she was only going to be used as bait or he would happily have a lot of fun with her. She seemed experienced, yet he was sure there were a few things he could teach her.

Too bad he wouldn't get the opportunity he was dreaming of. She hadn't been his intended target; knowledge of which he had would lead to him being castigated for his actions. He'd been expecting the blonde for his target, but a woman was a woman—there was no difference between this one and the one he'd been sent for. Although, if she wasn't the one they wanted, he was sure he could get some use out of her.

His grin widened at the aspiration as he pulled his gaze from her lithe, sensual body, his hands resting comfortably upon the steering wheel as he focused on the road in front of him. It certainly had its rewards, didn't it?

"Max is at the bullpen, still trying to trace the video feed to its origin," Tara said as the team gathered together to try to formulate a plan on how to get Danni back. "He's trying his hardest, but even I've never seen a code so complicated." She wanted to be supportive for Bobby's sake, yet she was finding it difficult when the only way to find her was possibly hours away. Gently, she let her hand run up and down his back in a soothing motion, but saw how little it helped.

"So, does that mean you can't trace it?" Jack asked as he glanced at Sue as she tried to keep up with the conversation before her mind would stray. He knew she believed she was at fault for this and he wanted to reassure her that none of them were at fault and that no one could have predicted it would happen.

"I didn't say that, now did I?" she asked, irritably as she got to her feet. "There are thousands of routers listed in that code and it will take a few hours, but we will be able to trace it. I have faith in my program and in Max." She began to pace as she thought to herself. Perhaps she could tweak the program slightly to make it run faster, but she knew it would have a lower success rating if she did. No, they would run the program as is and just hope they find the right one in enough time.

"What about the note?" Myles asked as he shifted uncomfortably on the arm of the couch. He was referring to the note that D had held in his grasp when he told Bobby to sit down. If they didn't come through with their demands, they'd kill Danni. No one wanted Bobby to go through that heartache. Suffering at the loss of Darcy had been enough; this would surely kill him. "What did it say? What are they asking for?" He knew Bobby would be willing to give whatever they asked for Danni's safe return, but they had to know what they were asking for before they took that chance.

"The only thing it says is if we give them what they want, they'll spare her," Bobby's soft, yet wavering, voice broke through the conversation like a hot knife through butter. Despite the lack of control he had over his voice, he seemed eerily calm for this situation, but either shock had set in or he wouldn't let his emotions get the better of him—everyone hoped for the latter. He had to focus on getting Danni back and he couldn't do that if he was whimpering in a corner.

"So, what do they want?" Sue asked, phasing back into the conversation. Her nose was a bright pink her eyes were still watery, tears threatening to fall at the mere falter of the barrier she'd finally been able to construct.

Jack shrugged as he patted Bobby on the back and let his comforting hand calm the Aussie's fears. Of course, it did little to help and it was more consoling to him than his friend. "It didn't say. And even if it did, what could they possibly want in return?"

"That's the question we need an answer to," D said softly as he rubbed at the tension in his forehead.

Dawn's early light shined through the bedroom's windows, marking the beginning of the new day and the five hours since Danni's disappearance. After much coaxing, Jack had gotten Bobby to get some sleep while the rest of them waited for Arbor to confirm that he'd traced the feed and they knew where Danni had been taken. The Aussie had gone back to his bed, but sleep eluded him as he pulled his fiancée's pillow toward him and hugged it tight. With a deep breath, he took in her scent, letting it stir into his mind and flowing through the rest of his body until it became safely tucked away in his heart. It was because of that scent that he was certain of what lay ahead. They were going to find her—he could feel it deep within his bones—and when they did, he would make sure to take care of Dessa personally.

He knew the bedroom door had opened though his back was turned to it. Not wanting to talk to anyone, he ignored the second body in the room until he heard the soft tapping of nails upon the hardwood floor. He felt his side of the bed sink slightly and felt the warm breath dance upon his skin before a low whimper exited the golden's throat.

At that sound, he had to turn over and welcomed the comfort Levi had to offer. "Thanks buddy," he said softly as he scratched the dog behind the ears. It was amazing how Levi always seemed to know when one of them needed comfort and though it helped little, Bobby couldn't help but be grateful. Everyone was trying to be so sympathetic because of the fact that they had nothing else to offer him, yet what he really needed was for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place so he and his fiancée could be reunited.

Levi whimpered again and licked the back of Bobby's hand in response. He'd tried to warn them and stop the strange man from taking her away, yet humans never listened. Of course, if anyone had faith that they would get Danni back, it was Levi and that was why the visit with Bobby. He hoped it would raise the human's spirits enough so that he would get off of his duff and do something besides sulk. He liked Bobby better when he was taking action and not letting his emotions run away from him—he wanted the old Bobby to come back.

He'd heard Tara say something about a new video being sent their way, and though he wasn't exactly sure what that entailed, he figured Bobby needed to be present, despite Jack wanting to spare Bobby the anxiety. He eagerly tugged at Bobby's shirt sleeve and growled softly so show the Aussie that his presence was requested.

Knowing that something had to be up, because Levi would never tug at a sleeve if he just wanted to play, he followed Levi into the living room to find everyone surrounding Tara's laptop which sat upon the coffee table. Brows furrowed in confusion as he saw the troubled expressions on his friends' faces. "What's going on?"

Four heads immediately snapped up to greet his puzzled expression, Sue's gaze following only seconds later. Levi settled down by his mistress, feeling triumphant that he'd succeeded with his task. His tail made a thump-thump sound upon the floor, echoing in the silence Bobby's presence had created.

"We thought you were sleeping," Myles said, as he eyed his teammate with caution. The question of whether or not to tell the Aussie was racing through his mind and—he was sure—through the others' as well.

"Well, I'm awake, now," Bobby said irritably as he ran a hand through his hair to tame the tangled mess. He could sense the tension in the air and the fact that they'd all basically jumped at his voice told him that something was up; something that they didn't want him to know. "Have you found anything?" He wanted to ask a different question, though he didn't want to jump down their throats. None of them were at fault for this, so he shouldn't be acting as if they were.

D and Jack shared a look; one that held a private conversation of their own as they tried to discern whether or not it would be in their best interest to tell Bobby what had occurred while he was supposed to be sleeping. "What do you think, should we tell him?" Jack asked with worry making the tone of his voice waver for only a second before returning its normal vigor.

"It's your call," was all D could say before he got up from his seat and stretched his legs. He'd been sitting for too long in that position and the anxiety that filled him at this very second was not helping at all. His muscles only tensed more as he tried to weigh his jumbled thoughts to no avail. This was a difficult decision—one that he wished he could make, but knew he couldn't. Bobby was already on the edge of losing his sanity and he had a theory that this would push him over the proverbial cliff. He didn't want to be the one to make him jump, though he didn't want anyone else to be the culprit either.

"Well, someone had bloody-well tell me!" His blood pressure was reaching the boiling point, he could tell by just the pounding in his head. He was not in the mood for dilly-dallying and the longer they stalled, the farther away Danni could be getting or the more danger she could be involved with.

Exhaling loudly and glancing at the sympathetic gazes that surrounded him, Jack stood up from his seat on one of the couch's arms and prepared himself for whatever wrath might ensue. He made sure to distance himself and Bobby from the rest of the group, laying a comforting hand upon his best friend's shoulder. He knew how terrible Bobby's temper could be, though he rarely let it out. Yet, when he did, many people had been more than sorry for releasing the sleeping dragon in the usual tame man.

"We, uh- we got another video… for the demands," he began cautiously. He wanted to start it off easily, yet it was more difficult than he could imagine.

"Well, that's good, right?" Bobby still could not comprehend why everyone looked so solemn and Sue looked on the verge of tears again.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat, "it's very good." Jack tried to smile, but the curve of his lips quickly fell as if he couldn't find the energy to have it maintain its position.

"So, what did it ask for? What do they want?" He was willing to cut out his own heart and hand it over on a silver platter if it meant getting Danni back to the safety of her world. He was certain his teammates would keep him for going to such an extreme, though they wouldn't be far behind with jumping through fire for those they considered family.

"I, uh- I think it might be better if you sat down and watched it." He swallowed hard, hoping that Bobby wouldn't fly off the handle and demand that Jack just tell him what he felt he couldn't. He breathed a sigh of relief when Bobby complied.