"No idea. Maura's prisoner at the building we found Hoyt in last time. As for me, you'll have to trace the GPS, and step on it. I don't know how long he's going to stay asleep."
"On it. Sit tight, Jane, we're on our way."
She leaned against the van, and waited.
A/N: To the guest reviewer: Maura is way stronger than she looks. And she's been carrying Bass around for ages due to the stairs in her house. Also, all of the Shadowhunters are trained warriors; they're very strong. It's not as difficult to believe as you might think.
To the other guest reviewer: Shadowhunters are not immortal. In fact, due to their chosen lifestyle, they usually die prematurely. In this story, Jane is about twenty-three, and Maura is slightly older at twenty-seven. I realise that some people may not find Maura's age accurate for her accomplishments, but I am using the fact that she is a genius to my advantage here. For instance, Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds was twenty-four with three doctorates.
Specifically, Dean is a faerie knight. He's very aloof and dedicated to his work, as the faerie knights in that universe seem to be.
Jem (and Tessa), is actually from the Shadowhunter universe as well, but I didn't borrow him from the Mortal Instruments series (City of Bones, etc.), I borrowed him from the 'prequels' – the Infernal Devices. He's a really cool character in there, but sadly I probably won't be able to delve into his background too much. I hope this helped, thanks for sticking with me!
CHAPTER SIX
As soon as Frost got off the phone, the team was on the move. They split seamlessly, Giovanni, Jem, Tessa, and Frankie going after Maura, while Korsak, Cavanaugh, Angela, and Frost took off after Jane.
They entered the abandoned building on high alert, expecting demons to pop out from every dark corner.
"I think everything's gone, guys," Giovanni called out from his position at point. Their seraph blades glowed as they descended the stairs. Muffled cries drew their attention to Maura, who was bound and gagged in a chair. Gio and Frankie dashed forward to free her, while Jem and Tessa looked around, trying to figure out what Hoyt was up to.
"As soon as you free her, take her to the hospital. Straight through the Emergency room. Then take her belongings back to her apartment, take her car to the hospital, and ask a nurse to give her the keys when she's released." Jem instructed. "Then come back here and pick Tess and myself up. We'll do whatever digging we can around here, find out anything we can, and then we'll meet back up with the others and Jane."
Frankie nodded determinedly, as he finished untying the ropes around Maura's ankles.
"No, don't leave me there, where's Jane, let me stay, Frankie, please don't make me, Frankie…" Maura whispered, her voice hoarse.
"I'm sorry, Maura, but they're right. You're better off. Now come on, let's get you cleaned up and looked at." Frankie said softly, letting her lean on him as they hobbled up the steps. Giovanni went ahead and held open doors, and when they got to the van, he gently buckled the seatbelt over her.
Frankie sat in the back with her while Giovanni sped to the hospital. They took her in the Emergency entrance, wearing glamours so that they looked like paramedics. They handed her off with difficulty, her hands were shaking but hanging on to the edges of their clothing.
They sedated her, and she went easily on a gurney. Giovanni was talking to an orderly, helping to fill in what he could about her for their records. Frankie was holding her hand as they wheeled her into an examination room. He kissed the back of her hand when they asked him to leave, and watched her go, brow furrowed in worry.
They headed back to the Institute and packed up her things. The entire time, Frankie was trying to ignore the guilt building up in his gut. It wasn't right to force this choice on Maura, to kick her out even if it was only to protect her. But she did need protection, and she wouldn't find that if she stayed in their world, in their home.
Frankie drove the van while Giovanni took Maura's Prius. It only took them half an hour to take all the boxes upstairs, and then they locked up, and drove to the hospital.
Giovanni slipped the car keys into an envelope and handed it off to the orderly he'd chatted to earlier, asking her to give the package to Maura upon her release. Then he left and rejoined Frankie in the car.
They picked up Tessa and Jem, who hadn't found anything of use even after hours spent combing over every inch of the place.
Meanwhile, it took Frost fifteen minutes to pinpoint Jane's exact whereabouts, and another hour for them to make it to the scene. When they pulled up, Jane slowly got up from her position against the side of the van and crossed her arms. Angela and Frost sped straight to her, the former suffocating the Shadowhunter with motherly concern, the latter hanging back as he knew his parabatai would prefer. Sean and Korsak looked over the body in the back, and the motionless body of Hoyt on the ground.
Jane didn't say a word, simply shrugged off her mother and got into the van, claiming her usual seat in the middle. Frost threw Angela a warning glance, telling her to stay back for now, and then he joined her, sitting beside her, but not too close.
Korsak checked the body over, but without a pulse there was nothing to do with it except leave it there.
Sean, on the other hand, was incapacitating Hoyt, tying him into a curled up ball. With Korsak's help, he pulled a bag over her head and they tossed him in the back of the van.
The journey back to the Institute was quiet and brimming with uncertainty. What do they do, what shouldn't they do? What would set her off? What does she need, what would help her?
Without the answers, they simply stayed silent, the radio off. The only disturbances were the occasional bounces of Hoyt's body with the bumps in the road.
It was only when they returned that Jane finally spoke, and it wasn't to anyone who'd picked her up from the side of the road.
"Where is she? Is she okay?" Jane demanded as soon as Frankie and Giovanni were in her sights.
They traded a look as only parabatai can do, before Giovanni answered her, "We took her to the hospital so she could get looked at. She was covered in bruises and gashes, and we don't really know what to do about that with mundanes. Iratzes aren't gonna work on her."
Jane snorted derisively, "We don't even know if she is a mundane. We have no evidence either way, and it wouldn't be the first time an anomaly had appeared," she looked at Tessa meaningfully.
"She was fine though, Jane, and she should be fine when she's released as well, we have it all planned out." Frankie interjected.
Jane stopped dead in her tracks. "Planned out how?" she asked through tight lips.
"I – uh – we moved her stuff back to her place. Left the keys to her car for her to collect when she's released-"
"You what?" Her tone was deadly. "Do you have any idea how she's going to feel? She's not going to take that as a blessing in disguise, she's going to think that we did this to her, turned her life completely upside down, and then kicked her to the curb when she needed us most. She's going to be messed up and asking questions and for the love of God, when she shows up here, she's going to be a fricking hurricane."
Frankie and Giovanni traded looks with Tessa and Jem. "It was our fault," Jem admitted. "We told them to do so. We were hoping to force her into safety." He sighed. "We should've known better, being around as long as we have."
Jane turned to Cavanaugh. "Give me the keys." Her voice left no room for argument. He handed them over warily, dropping them into her palms.
"Jane! Where are you going? You should stay and rest!" Angela called after her daughter's retreating back. She turned to Frost, distraught, but he was already following his partner out the door.
Their drive to the hospital was uneventful, but oh, Jane Rizzoli was in fine form when she entered that Emergency room. She quickly caught a hold of a passing person with a clipboard and demanded the status of Maura Isles. The poor unsuspecting bloke was trying to redirect her to the desk, but she wasn't taking no for an answer. Finally he caved.
"Just give me one minute to find the chart, okay? Who are you anyway? Power of attorney? Family?"
"Family," Jane answered without a second thought. "Sister and brother." She caught his questioning glance at Frost. She rolled her eyes. "He's adopted, now go, please!"
He returned a minute later. "Room 405, they had to sedate her so they're just waiting for her to wake up now. You can go on in, there's nothing critical."
Jane thanked him, but was already sprinting away down the hall, Frost hot on her heels. They burst into the room rather obnoxiously, but Maura was the only body in a bed.
"Shit," Jane breathed, taking in the full extent of the damage Hoyt had inflicted. She pulled one of the hard plastic chairs right up beside Maura's bed, and sat heavily in it. Automatically she reached for her hand and held it, looking like she may never let go.