A/N: So it would be nice if I could get a little more feedback. I love feedback! So please, please drop a comment at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 2: Taking a Look Back
11 hours before kidnapping
You can say Shawn Spencer wasn't his usual carefree self. In fact he hadn't cracked a single joke all week. It was understandable though, his father had been recently shot. Luckily Henry Spencer had survived the almost fatal gunshot, but since that day Shawn Spencer hadn't been the same.
Gus was just heading toward the door when it swung open and Shawn ambled into the office, bouncing a small, hard rubber ball.
"Where have you been?" Gus demanded.
"And just when you think everything has been invented," Shawn said as he tossed the ball against the far wall. It flew back into his hand. "Some genius comes up with some brilliant idea called Extreme Handball."
Shawn took careful aim and hurled the ball across the room. It bounced off the floor and ricocheted into a vase on the counter shattering it into pieces as it hit the floor, then flew back to Shawn.
"We're going to meet a client," Gus said. "And after we meet her, we are going to take the case."
Shawn stared at Gus in disbelief. "Dude, I already told you. I'm not taking any cases right now."
Gus tried to keep from getting angry. "I don't know why you're making this so difficult," Gus said. "You love cases. You never turn away a case."
"Except for this case," Shawn said. "I am turning this one away."
"You are not," Gus said. "We are meeting…"
The door opened and Gus looked up to what he thought was their potential client, who promised them a surprising amount of money. Actually, it was a child. Gus guessed no older than the age of fourteen. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she had blazing blue eyes. She wore denim jeans with knee high boots, along with a green t-shirt along with a matching color jacket.
"Is this the detective agency?" The young girl asked, her voice trembling.
Gus jumped out of his chair.
"Welcome to Psych," he said, holding out a hand. "Come in. I'm Burton Guster and this is…"
"Shawn Spencer, I know. I'm a big fan." She smiled weakly.
Gus saw her grimace as she took a quick glance around the office at the frat-boy-with-a-credit-card décor. The leather armchairs, the wide flat screen and the comic books scattered over the coffee table.
"Is there anything we can we help you with Miss?" Gus asked.
"I called earlier. I'm here to hire you." She said.
Shawn scoffed and poured himself a bowl of cereal before sitting back down at his desk. "Sorry kid, my assistant forgot to mention a minor detail," Shawn said as he took in a mouth fool of Fruit Loops. "I'm not taking any cases right now."
"I am no man's assistant," Gus said turning to Shawn. "Especially yours, I'm your associate."
"Fine," Shawn said. "I'm the detective, and you're the associate. And the associate is supposed to clear everything over with the detective before assigning us a case involving a grade-schooler who probably lost her Barbie doll on the way to school."
"My name is Kaylee, not kid and I don't play with Barbie's, at least not anymore." She muttered. "And I'm not in grade school, but all jokes aside, I need your help. There's been…"
"A murder." Shawn interrupted.
"Yes!" She said. There was a flicker of hope in her eyes.
"I'm sensing that you're not the victim." Shawn said.
The hope flickered and died out. Not just her, but for Gus as well. "Please, this is not a joke," She said as she shifted her backpack to the front and opened a pocket flap pulling out a wad of cash, placing it down in front of Shawn."As I told Mr. Guster on the phone earlier, I can pay you thrice your normal pay rate."
Shawn pushed the money away. "Like I said, I'm not taking any cases," Shawn said. "If you're in trouble you should go to the authorities, ask for Detective Juliet O'Hara."
She shook her head. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes and pushed the money towards him again, but with more force. "Please, you have to accept it. You're the only one who can help me," She cried. "They're going to kill me."
"Shawn we should hear her out." Gus insisted.
Shawn fixed Gus with a steely gaze. "N-O. Exclamation point," He said.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here," She whispered, wiping her tears away with the end sleeves of her jacket. "If you can't help me, no one can."
Gus dived for the door, throwing himself between the young girl and the exit. "Please wait, we can help. Just give me a minute alone to talk to him."
She shook her head and gave him a faint smile. "I think I've wasted enough of your time Mr. Guster," She said. "Do you have business card or something, just in case?"
Gus nodded and reached into his front pocket of his jacket and pulled out a business card. Gus didn't like this. He had a bad feeling in the bottom of his stomach. She took the card from his hand, placing it in her back pocket and bent her knees while bowing her head. "Thank you for all your help Mr. Guster. I'll be taking my leave now."
Gus stared at the girl in disbelief. She was so formal. Who still did courtesy bows? Most kids her age now in days were intolerable, maybe there was some hope for the younger generation after all. "Please go to the authorities as soon as you leave from here, they can keep you safe." He said. She nodded and Gus could barely wait until the door closed behind her before he exploded.
~PSYCH~
Present Day
Shawn sat down behind his desk and picked up the newspaper studying the bra ads in the Santa Barbara Times, until something caught his eye on the computer. He clicked on his inbox and pulled up an email he received this morning and he knew exactly who sent it. She couldn't just take no for an answer. He noticed there was an attachment on the email. Double clicking on the attachment, it popped up but required a password.
He closed out of the file and scrolled down further into the email. There were several numbers listed in the box, separated into a three parts, followed by some numbers, letters, degrees and a time that read 12:15 A.M.
"Those look like GPS Coordinates." Gus said peering over his shoulder. "But I'm not entirely sure about the rest of the numbers."
Shawn looked over at the wad of cash she neglected to take with her and back over to the screen. Sighing, he grabbed a pen and paper and jotted the coordinates down and stood up from his desk. "I guess it won't hurt to check it out."
"You're having second thoughts aren't you? Gus said. "You're starting to feel guilty now."
"Alright, fine. Yes I feel guilty. I didn't sleep at all last night," Shawn said. "Besides she left the money here, now were obligated to work on the case."
Gus smiled. "Your dad scolded you didn't he?"
"Yes, yes he did."
~PSYCH~
When Shawn and Gus arrived at the location, they were standing in the middle of an alley. "I don't get it, what exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" Gus asked curiously.
Shawn sighed and took a hard look around the narrow alley. And he saw. Saw a video camera at the end of the alley.
"That's what we're looking for." Shawn said pointing up in the direction of the camera.
Gus turned in the direction where Shawn was pointing and looked up. Even Gus had to admit the camera was well hidden, even for him. Leave it up to Shawn to point it out. The feeling in his stomach had returned and he wondered what was on that camera, but he knew they were about to find out.
The camera had led them into a coffee shop in the corner of the alley. When they stepped in through the double doors the place was jammed packed with people placing their orders for their morning coffee and bagels. They managed to push themselves to the front of the line, ignoring the protesting customers cries.
"What can I get you boys?" The woman at the counter said and made a gesture to the menu of drinks and snacks on the wall.
"I'm Shawn Spencer," Shawn said. "I'm a private detective. And this is my henchman, Bertie O'Myrmidon. Or he's my myrmidon, Bertie O'Henchman. I keep getting that confused."
Gus shot him a look and turned his attention back to the female at the counter. "My name is Burton Guster. Most people call me Gus."
The customers behind Shawn and Gus were getting impatient. The sighs and grunts didn't go unnoticed. The woman at the counter gestured one of the workers to take over and moved out of the way while he took their orders. "What can I do for you?" She asked.
"We need to see if we can take a look at the security footage early this morning. Around 12:15 A.M." Shawn said.
She shook her head. "Sorry boys, but the boss won't be here until tomorrow morning. I can't just let random people walk back there. You'll have to take it up with him or bring a warrant." She said apologetically and turned her attention back to assisting the customers.
"Well now what?" Gus asked.
"We'll we can't just leave without seeing what's on that footage," Shawn said. "And I have just the plan."
In all honesty Shawn Spencer didn't have a plan. The coffee shop was so jammed packed with customers the cashier's didn't even noticed Shawn and Gus walk right past them into the 'employee's only' area and into the manager's office.
"Okay rewind the tape to around 12:15 A.M." Shawn said.
Gus nodded and pressed a few keys on the key pad. The monitor in front of them displayed the young girl who came by the Psych office the other day. She ran into the narrow alley and hid behind the dumpster and reached into her patched backpack pulling out to what it looked like a computer. She said something, but the dim light flickering over her features was not enough for Shawn to guess what it was.
Suddenly she peaked behind the dumpster and shoved her computer back into her backpack and ran, but suddenly stopped. She took a few steps back and turned around, gripping her backpack for dear life. Two men stepped into the view of the camera and were shouting something to her, but Shawn really couldn't make out their facial features. All he was able to tell was that both men were tall and well built. She quickly snapped her head in the other direction and another companion joined in, cornering her.
One of the men grabbed her and slammed her against the wall. He turned her around and she was trying to push him away with all her strength. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground, while she was kicking and clawing at him.
The man that wasn't with the men earlier told the man who had a death grip around her throat something and he nodded, so he assumed he was leading the whole operation.
The last remaining man grabbed her backpack and opened the computer. The girl's lips moved and this time he could easily read her words. She was brave. He had to give her that. Finally the man raised his hand and clenched it into a fist and jabbed her in the stomach, letting her fall to the ground. Her eyes widen as he pressed the gun to her forehead and she nodded. She turned to the man who had the computer and said something to him.
A few seconds later all three men were yelling at each other and turned to the frightened girl. The man holding the gun holstered it back in his jeans and made a rapid gesture and pulled her up, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other had over her mouth to keep her from screaming. Then they vanished from the camera's view.
Gus stopped the tape and turned to Shawn. "I got her kidnapped Gus," Shawn whispered. "She came to me for help, and I turned her away."
Gus put a hand on his shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. "At least we've got the whole thing on video, that's a start. What we need to find out, is what's on that file she sent us." Gus said.
Shawn nodded. "True, but first we need to make a small pit stop." Shawn said. "I feel a vision coming on."