Ok, first off, I want to say thank you to Discordchick for pointing out the continuity error in my story. When I wrote that Finch had never met Elena before, I had completely forgotten that he had been at the wedding. I went back and corrected the issue, and now there's no incongruity. (Part of me wanted to say that since the flashback was a dream, that means that Gabe might not have actually been there at the wedding, but I thought that would be cheap and lazy). And, just as a warning, part of this chapter gets pretty dark, so brace yourselves.
Elena sat calmly, as calmly as she could with a man holding a gun to her stomach. She sat at a table in a patio café, the Russian man sitting next to her, holding his pistol under the table. Looking around nervously, she watched as dozens of people walked by on the street, and people sat in every table around them. Not one of them had any clue that her life was in danger. It amazed her sometimes, how oblivious people could be.
"You do anything to make a scene, attract anyone's attention, and you're dead," the Russian whispered calmly, "Just sit there, enjoy your drink, and wait."
"Yeah, this isn't my first hostage situation Boris," Elena sarcastically replied, trying to maintain her composure, "And I'm sure you know that you'd never get away with killing me in front of all of these witnesses."
"Oh really?" the man asked with a chuckle.
"Yep. Same reason you wanted Nate to meet you here. A nice, public place where you knew he couldn't kill you."
"Who says I care if I get away?" the Russian replied, and then he smirked, "You can just hope we never have to test your theory," he paused, and then spoke again, "And you should be glad you're with me, and not Edwards."
Elena felt a tremor of fear at the mention of that man, but before she could respond, Nate stepped up to the table. She smiled with relief at the sight of him, but the feeling of a gun pushing into her abdomen quickly reminded her how serious her situation was. Nate stood quietly in front of their table for a moment, his face the picture of barely restrained rage.
"You okay Elena? Did he hurt you?" Nate asked, the worry in his voice mixing with his anger.
Elena started to answer, but the Russian interrupted her. "She's fine."
Nate looked at the man with an expression of pure hate. "I wasn't talking to you." He spat. "What do you want from me?" he asked as he sat down across from his wife's kidnapper. His voice was calm, but a mountain of rage was clearly just below the surface.
"The man in charge wants your expertise," the man said, "In obtaining something very valuable."
Nate chuckled, but his face remained stern. "You've got the wrong guy pal; I'm done with that shit. I'm taking my wife, and we're going home."
"I don't think you understand the gravity of your situation Mr. Drake," the Russian replied, cocking the hammer on his pistol. Nate's eyes darted down at the sound, staring at where the gun was hidden.
"Okay," Nate replied slowly, swallowing the lump in his throat. His fists clenched beneath the table, knuckles turning white. "Let my wife go, take me to go see your boss, and we can talk."
The Russian grinned, "Why would I let her go? So that she can go and mount a rescue to save you?"
"I don't need saving." Nate stated plainly.
"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I can't let her go, even if I wanted to. My boss wants me to bring both of you."
"And who might your boss be?" Nate inquired, though he barely cared what the answer was.
"Mr. Henry Reimer," the Russian responded, "He's very anxious to meet you."
"Why? I've never heard of the guy before in my life!"
"You don't know him, but he remembers you," the Russian said, "And I've been instructed to bring both you and your wife to meet him."
"Then I'm afraid we're at crossed- purposes," Nate replied. He looked at Elena for a moment. She was visibly shaken, but holding together well. "Because you won't let my wife go unless I help you, and I won't help you unless you let her go."
"You mistake me Mr. Drake," the man said with a cold seriousness, "My boss may want me to bring in both of you, but if you don't cooperate, he will have no problem with me putting a bullet in your wife's pretty blonde head."
Elena watched silently, her breathing becoming ragged, her heart racing. She watched as Nate stewed for a moment, fuming in anger. Then, much to her surprise, Nate suddenly took on a completely calm, confident demeanor. She frowned in confusion as a smile stretched across his face.
"You're not going to do that." Nate said confidently, his tone bordering on cocky, "In fact, you're going to put way your gun, let Elena go, and pretend this never happened."
Elena was surprised by Nate's sudden change of attitude, and she stared at him I confusion as she tried to figure out what he was up to.
"What makes you think I'd do something like that?" the man asked, and Elena gasped as he jabbed his gun into her side, emphasizing his control of the situation. She took a deep breath, cringing as she held in tears, but Nate remained surprisingly cool.
"You ever heard of a spot called 'the apricot'?" Nate asked with a confident smile.
Elena raised an eyebrow, and the Russian laughed. "The what?" he asked
"The apricot," Nate repeated calmly, "It's a sniper's term, referring to the place where the brain stem meets the spine."
"Who gives a shit?" The Russian spat.
Nate chuckled. "I'm just saying, hit a guy there, and he's not pulling any trigger. It's just," Nate paused, snapping his fingers, "Lights out."
The Russian man laughed. "Oh, and why the fuck should I care? You really think you can shoot me before I kill her? You think you're that good?"
"Me? No, I'm not. I'm not even armed," Nate smiled, "But I don't need to be. I just need to say one word."
"And what would that be?"
Nate smiled, and let out a chuckle. He took a deep breath, and then spoke. "Baskerville."
The Russian raised an eyebrow in confusion, but before he could say anything, a loud bang filled the street, and his blood splattered everywhere. Then he slumped down in his chair, a large hole clear through his head. Elena screamed at the top of her lungs, and Nate screamed an obscenity in shock, then quickly grabbed Elena's hand, pulling her away as everyone around them panicked. Elena felt her heart pound, and looked at Nate, who had a frightened look on his face as they ran away though the crowd. Elena started to cry as they escaped the crowd, running into a nearby alley. As soon as they ran out of sight, Nate's panicky demeanor disappeared, and he let out a relieved chuckle as he caught his breath. Elena stared at him, completely befuddled by the change of events. Once he had caught his breath, Nate looked closely at Elena, and his expression turned to one of fear and concern.
"Are you OK? Did he hurt you?" Nate asked worriedly, pulling her in close, embracing her to let her she was safe.
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED? WHAT WAS THAT!" she screamed, tears running down her face as they continued down the alley.
"That, was the apricot," Nate said matter-of-factly, seemingly oblivious to Elena's confusion.
"WHAT?" Elena yelled, and then took a deep breath, trying to get a grip on herself. "Explain to me, what just happened!"
"I came prepared," Nate said as they turned a corner.
23 minutes earlier
Nate threw the phone down in anger after the kidnapper hung up. He made a U-turn at the next intersection. His mind raced furiously as he headed to the location the man had given to him. Then, as he went back past the boxing gym, an idea dawned on him.
"Hope to God he answers his phone!" Nate thought as he fished the phone off of the floor. Nate dialed the number, his hands starting to shake as the adrenaline rushed through his veins. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the man on the other end pick up the phone.
"What, you didn't get to gloat enough already?" David Reese said tiredly over the phone.
"Reese, I need your help," Nate said, ignoring David's comment.
Reese picked up on the seriousness in Nate's voice, and his sarcastic demeanor vanished. "Yeah, what is it?" he asked.
"Elena's been kidnapped," Nate had to pause to take a deep breath, "Someone's taken her, I need your help!"
"Oh my god," Reese said, "Of course, what do you need man, how can I help?"
"Do you still have your old sniper rifle?"
The present
"That was David?" Elena asked, "How did he do that? I thought he was just a retired con man!"
"Before that he had served a term as a sniper in the Army Rangers," Nate explained, "I told him where the meeting would be, and asked him to find a place to be lookout. I left the call active, and stuck the phone in my shirt pocket so he could hear everything."
"Yeah, you forgot to mention when you chose your stupid code word," Reese interrupted as he rounded the corner, making Elena nearly jump out of her skin. He apologized to her, and then turned back to Nate. "'Baskerville?' Really? You're such a dork." He shook his head disapprovingly as he pulled out the rubber band that had been holding his hair in a small, messy ponytail.
Nate let out an exasperated sigh. That's not really that important! Can we keep moving, please?" Reese nodded, and they made their way to the car parked a few hundred yards away.
"What'd you do with the rifle?" Nate asked.
"Disassembled it," Reese said coolly, pointing at the duffle bag slung over his shoulder. They kept moving down the alley, but Elena stopped cold in her tracks.
"Nate!" she yelled, "Oh god," she whimpered, starting to cry.
"What, what is it?" he asked worriedly.
"Juliet was asleep in the house!" she cried, "What if they did something to her!"
"Oh no," Nate groaned. His heart sunk like a stone.
"Son of a bitch," Reese mumbled, "And here I thought I was gonna get a good night's sleep." Nate glared at him, and Reese apologized for his poorly timed quip. Then the three of them ran at breakneck speed towards the car.
Minutes later, the car peeled into the driveway, and Nate and Reese hopped out, followed closely by Elena. Reese held his reassembled rifle in his hands, and Nate was equipped with a pistol Reese had given him. Covering each other's backs, they moved quickly towards the house, and their spirits sank even further when they saw all of the windows broken.
"God damn it," Reese groaned as they stepped onto the porch. Nate moved in a near-panic, and stopped when he saw a paper bag sitting on the welcome mat, his name written crudely on it with permanent marker. He picked the bag up, and out fell Juliet's pacifier and bottle, along with a folded post it note. Elena looked at the note fearfully; Nate felt his heart pound as he opened it.
You won't need these anymore, the note read, and they both bolted into the house, never having felt so afraid before.
"Hey, be careful!" Reese yelled as he ran in after them, his rifle at the ready.
They ran through the house, barely noticing the trashed furniture as they made a bee line for Juliet's bedroom. Nate felt chills when he saw the door to the nursery, broken completely in half, knocked off of its hinges. Elena ran past him, panicking as she looked down into the crib. A huge rush of relief washed over both of them when they saw Juliet lying there, alive and untouched. Their nerves fried, they took a moment to catch her breath, and Elena took Juliet into her arms, reassuring herself that her baby was fine. Reese stood in the doorway, rifle in hand, looking out for other intruders. He moved away to check the other rooms, and everything was silent for a moment. Elena cried as she held Juliet close, and then Nate noticed a post-it note stuck to the crib.
Gotcha! It read, with a smiley face doodled on it. Nate felt furious and helpless at the same time.
Nate and Elena sat silently next to each other on the nursery floor, and Elena held Juliet tight as tears ran down her face.
"Hey Nate, come in here!" Reese called from the other room. Nate sighed, kissed Elena on the forehead, and then he slowly stood up and walked out of the room.
"What now?" Nate groaned. He'd had enough shit for one evening. He walked down the hall, pistol in hand, and met Reese in the bedroom.
"Holy shit," Nate jumped as he walked through the door. Reese was kneeling over a dead body, a man with a bullet wound in his gut, lying in a pool of blood. "I guess Elena got one of them before they took her. I should've known she wouldn't go easily."
Reese sighed. "Yeah she's a tough girl, but the gunshot wasn't what killed him."
"What?" Nate asked, but then he looked more closely at the body. The throat was partially crushed. "What the fuck?" he whispered, "Who the hell did that?"
"I don't know," Reese replied quietly, "But there's no way Elena did this."
Reese looked up as he finished his sentence, and Nate turned to see Elena standing in the doorway, Juliet resting on her shoulder. Nate stood up, walked toward her, and held her in a comforting embrace.
"What the hell happened baby?" he asked quietly.
2 hours earlier
Elena stood silently as Benjamin Edwards leaned on the door frame, puffing on his cigarette. She could've sworn the room seemed to chill slightly as he entered the room, but she knew that was impossible. The lights had returned to normal, and Ben flicked his cigarette butt into the face of the man who was bleeding on the floor. The Russian stood silently on the other side of the room
"Good evening Mrs. Drake," the Irishman said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Benjamin Edwards."
Elena was slightly put off by his politeness. She looked at him in confusion as he smiled at her, the grin carrying an air of a bad boy attitude: flirty, dangerous, and slightly sexy. Elena had to admit, he was fairly good looking. But there was something, something indefinable, which she found unsettling about him. She cursed internally when she caught herself eyeballing the man who had just broken into her house.
"You know what I see here?" Ben asked with a smile, talking to no one in particular, "I see all the elements of a perfect day!" Elena stared at him in confusion, and he continued to speak in a happy tone, "A nice house! A beautiful woman! A bleeding gunshot victim! What else could you possibly need?"
"Why are you here?" Elena asked, her voice quivering, "What do you want?"
"I have business with your husband," Ben replied dismissively, as if it didn't matter.
He stepped slowly towards her, and she stood frozen in place, her heart pounding. He began to circle her slowly, and she trembled as he smelled her hair. His grin turned devious, a mischievous sparkle in his black eyes.
"Ooo, nice!" he exclaimed, "I love your perfume." Elena cringed as his hand caressed her shoulder, silently circling her for a moment. "You wanna play a game with me?" Ben asked with a frighteningly playful tone.
"No, I don't I want you to leave," Elena whimpered. Then Ben startled her by reacting like a spoiled child.
"Nooo, come on, let's play a game!" he begged in a whiny voice.
Elena tried to move around him to get to the door, but he blocked her path. "It'll be fun, I promise," he said, his voice serious again, "As long as you don't mind not being able to walk straight for a few days."
Elena backed away, scared senseless, and Ben slowly followed in front of her, a demented, flirtatious smile on his face. She jumped slightly when she backed into her dresser, and was unable to move as Ben came within inches of her.
"Don't run," he whispered. He leaned in closer, smiling deviously, and started to run his hands along Elena's hips.
Elena jumped as she felt his hands squeeze her rear. "Get away from me!" she yelled, and summoned the courage to slap him.
But he caught her hand before it hit him, his face turning cold. She immediately followed with a kick to his groin. He buckled over, and Elena began to run away, but the Russian caught her.
"You BITCH!" Edwards yelled, recovering from the blow.
The lights flickered erratically as he strode angrily across the room, putting a hand around Elena's throat, slowly applying pressure. As Elena gagged, Ben stared at her, his soulless eyes filled with hate. Then, he suddenly became tranquil, and he let go of her. As Elena gasped for air, Ben smiled warmly at her momentarily, the lights returning to normal, and he ran his hand along her cheek. Then his expression turned cold again, and he looked at the Russian man.
"Call Drake, stick to the plan," he said, his psychotic playfulness replaced with a tone of pure business, "Put her into the car."
The Russian started to drag Elena out of the room, Edwards close behind. Then the man on the floor spoke.
"Mr. Edwards," the man said weakly as he lay on his back, his hands pressed against his wound, "Please, you can't leave me here,"
The three of them stopped, and Ben turned back to address the man. "You know, you're right," he said, a look of mock concern on his face as he knelt down beside him, "I can't just leave you here like this. If you stay here, and you manage to call an ambulance, the cops would visit you in the hospital." His smile became sadistic and menacing, "And I can't let you be near cops, now can I? Take the risk you might talk!"
"No, I won't talk to anybody, I swear!" the man replied in earnest.
"I'm sorry Richard," Ben said as he stood up straight, "But YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK! GOODBYE!"
Then Ben lifted his foot, a look of sadistic joy on his face, and Elena screamed when he stomped his foot down on the man's throat, crushing it beneath his weight. His face was like that of a kid who was burning ants for fun. Horrified by what she saw, Elena remained motionless as the Russian dragged her out of the house, leaving Ben inside, whistling his favorite tune.
The present
Nate held Elena tight, silent as she finished telling them what happened to her. Reese sat on the bed, rifle resting on his thigh. Nobody knew what to say. Nate felt angry, scared, helpless, and furious all at the same time. He held Elena as much for his own benefit as for hers, his eyes watering as he reassured himself that she was safe now.
Reese finally broke the silence. "Holy shit," he whispered, stunned. No one responded. He looked over at the couple, but they just stood there, holding each other close, each of them seeking comfort in the other. Then, the silence was broken again.
"Nathan?" a disembodied voice called, "Are you there Nathan?" Elena trembled in fear when she heard that Irish accent. "I know you ah-are!" the voice continued in a sing song manner.
The three of them looked around, searching for the source of the voice. Nate finally found a small walkie talkie, hidden underneath a pillow on the bed. He held it up in front of his face, angled so everyone could hear.
"Ooh hoo hoo, I wish I could see your face right now Nathan," Ben teased over the phone, "I really got you didn't I? Made you think I hurt your baby girl!"
"I don't care who you are, or what you want. If I find you, I'll kill you," Nate replied in quiet rage.
Ben continued as if Nate hadn't said anything. "I wouldn't hurt your little girl Nathan! I love babies! I can't get enough of the bite sized little things!"
Nate shook in anger. "What do you want?"
"This was just a warning Nathan," Ben said seriously, "Next time you try and get clever, think you can outsmart us, you'll have to deal with a lot worse than a post it note. We'll be in touch."
Nate had had enough of these people. "LISTEN TO ME YOU FUCKING PSYCHO!" he exploded into the phone, "I AM NOT HELPING YOU! I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT YOUR BOSS WANTS, OR HOW VALUABLE IT IS, YOU LEAVE ME AND MY FAMILY ALONE!
Elena and Reese stood in shock as Nate went ballistic.
"LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE, GOT IT! AND GET IT THROUGH YOUR FUCKING HEAD, I WILL NOT HELP YOU!"
Nate stood there fuming, shaking from his outburst. Then a short reply came singing.
"Yes you will!"
Nate listened for more, but there was nothing else. He yelled in rage, throwing the radio across the room, smashing it against the far wall. Everyone stood there in shocked silence. Not one of them had any clue what to do.