After the image of Buzz was shown, the video went black. The four sat in silence for a minute trying to comprehend what they just witnessed. Henry had managed to remain stoic the whole evening but after he witnessed that maniac break both of his precious son's legs he crumbled.
Henry broke down and just wept the other three in the room didn't know how to handle the man that was always tough as nails, no matter the situation. Vick began to step from behind her desk when she remembered. McNab? Where is McNab? Lassiter told the chief that he left several hours ago. Vick ordered Lassiter and O'Hara to his apartment to check up on him.
While they went to check on the young officer Vick tried her best to comfort Henry. She ordered him to go down to the vacant holding cells and lie down for a little while. She promised that she would send for him if they received any news on Shawn or receive any videos. He reluctantly agreed, and made his way down the stairs to the empty holding cells.
Lassiter and Juliet made it to the McNab residence in record time. They ran up to the door and Francine answered. Before they could speak she said, "Oh thank God it is you, Buzzy should have been home hours ago, he hasn't been answering his cell either, I was just going to call you and report him missing."
Switching into cop mode, and deliberately not telling Francine all that happened tonight, they asked if Buzz was going to make any stops before he got home. She said, "Yes, Buzz was going to stop by the grocery store, you know the one on Market and get dinner. He always stops at the ice cream shop next door and gets some dessert too. Please find my sweet Buzz detectives"
Juliet gave Francine a hug and promised her they would find him. They went back to the car and began their search. They didn't have to go very far. Buzz's car was parked at the far end of the parking lot but Buzz was nowhere to be found.
They both searched the perimeter but no Buzz. Lassiter told Juliet to go and let Francine know what is going on and he was going to call for back up. Just as he opened the phone the chief called. She reported, "Buzz just stumbled into the police station beaten and bleeding but okay."
Juliet raced to tell Francine then they made their way to the station. The trio walked into the station and Francine saw Buzz and took off running to his side. She smothered him in kisses and helped hold the icepack on his shoulder.
Lassiter sat down next to Buzz and said, "Glad to see you safe and sound McNab, can you tell me what happened to you tonight?"
Buzz sat up a little straighter and said, "Yes sir. I stopped to get dinner for Frannie and I and when I got out of the car this man asked me to help him from across the parking lot. When I started to walk over to him this black van ran into me. I went flying and hit the pavement on my shoulder pretty hard. I went unconscious for a few minutes and when I woke up this man in a mask was taking pictures of me. When he was done they took me in the back of the van and started to punch me. They waited till I started to bleed and then wrapped a blindfold over my eyes and I heard them take some more pictures. They kicked me out of the van a block from the station, I hobbled in here and they called you."
Francine held Buzz so tight he actually complained she was hurting him. Lassiter told the young officer to go to the hospital and get checked out. Buzz resisted, "First, please tell me what is going on. I came in and people told me the mad man that had Shawn said I was next. What happened to Shawn?"
Lassiter took a deep breath and explained everything to him. By the time he was finished Buzz sat there in stunned silence with his mouth wide open and Francine was in tears. Buzz told his boss, "I will go and get checked out, but I am going to come back and help find my friend." Francine said, "Once Buzz is all checked out at the hospital I will go home and make you all my famous breakfast casserole, you all are going to need a pick me up by morning."
Lassiter smiled at the kindness of the energetic red head and told them, Officer Watson will take them to the hospital and then take you both home. Buzz slowly got up and started to walk out, he stopped abruptly and told Lassiter, "Shawn is tougher than we give him credit for. He will make it through this." Lassiter didn't say anything he just gave him an unconvincing smile.
Once the Sun rose, they were all working hard investigating any leads. Juliet was sitting at her desk with her head in her hand reading something on her computer. When she drifted to sleep for a second and her head left her hand and almost hit her keyboard. She startled awake and announced to Lassiter that she was gong to run to the coffee shop on the corner and get them all some coffee to wake them up.
Lassiter didn't even bother to look up from his report. She started to get angry then noticed he was fast asleep. She quickly left him a note and headed to the coffee shop.
She walked in and had a pleasant conversation with Jeannie their regular barista. She got the extra large coffees with a couple of shots of espresso in them. She got back into her car and went to set the coffee on the seat beside her but she froze. On the seat was a gift bag with a pineapple wrapped in a torn and bloody shirt and there was another disc attached to the shirt.
She stepped out of the car with gun drawn but nothing was out of the ordinary. She went back to the station. When she got back she raced in with the package and the four coffees.
She ran straight for the Chief's office, as she passed Lassiter she said, "Go get Henry, there is another package." Within minutes they all sat in the chief's office ready to open the bag. The chief slowly opened it and took out the pineapple and gently untied the bloody shirt. She held up the shirt and it was ripped to shreds, it had burn marks on it and it was stained with Shawn's blood. The chief put it in an evidence bag but Henry held it close to his heart.
She placed the bloodstained fruit back in the bag and put the CD in the computer. The video started with the image of a bloody and shirtless Shawn still strapped in a chair. The masked man sweetly said, "Wake up, wake up it is time to play." When there was no response from Shawn the masked man told him with a stern voice to wake up or else. Still nothing. For a moment there was silence as the man left the room.
Shawn was obviously barely alive. The man returned to the room. This time he was holding a stick with a glowing red circle on the end. Lassiter shook his head and uttered in disbelief, "Oh my God he isn't going to brand Spence is he?" Before he finished the words the man pressed the red hot metal into Shawn's already bloody abdomen. Shawn screamed in pain while the smoke billowed from the hot pole leaving its mark forever on his stomach.
He finally withdrew the pole and said angrily, "Next time I tell you to wake up, I recommend you do it." Shawn not having the energy for one of his smart-ass remarks just gave his captor a dirty look.
His captor knelt down beside him and began to show him a series of pictures, his captor hissed, "I told you your friends were going to pay. I killed the big oaf last night, as he was buying ice cream. His death is all your fault Shawn."
Shawn didn't have the energy to yell and scream like he wanted to but as he was looking at the photos of what he thought was Buzz's dead body, he cried and just kept repeating, "Oh Buzz man, I am so, so sorry."
Henry sat in the chair watching his son's heart shatter as he thinks Buzz is dead and that it was his fault. He was holding on so tightly to the arms of the chair his knuckles were white.
He muttered over and over again, "Don't believe him kid, Buzz isn't dead. He is fine please don't believe him." He kept repeating those words over and over again in hopes that if he said them enough he could somehow communicate those to Shawn psychically.
They all watched, as the small will to live that was left in Shawn's eyes vanished. The man told Shawn it was time for him to sleep again. He picked up a pistol off the table and smashed it across Shawn's forehead. He was instantly unconscious and a steady stream of blood flowed from the wound.
The masked man took the gun and shot Shawn four times, once in both knees and then in the stomach twice.
He then looked at the camera and said, "There is map to where you can find your precious psycho at the location where he sent my son to his death. You better hurry if you want to get him back alive I am betting he has an hour tops." Then the camera went black.
(Thank you all for reading and reviewing ;)