The room was spinning.

Maura tried her best to focus on the dark figure in front of her, silently willing her eyes to process what she was seeing.

Her heart raced as she swallowed harshly, trying her best to quash the panicked thoughts in her mind. She had been here before; this trauma- tied by her hands, forced into the corner of a dark room- was all too familiar. Bile burned in her throat as she fought the nausea caused by her head injury. Turning to her side, she tried her best to focus on Harriet.

Harriet sat slumped against the whitewashed hospital wall, strands of her messy hair brushing against the patterned curtains of her private room. Maura thought quickly, assessing every aspect of her friend's wellbeing. She was breathing, her limbs looked bruised but unbroken and her drip still protruded from the cannula in her forearm.

"What are you doing?"

Jane always told her not to aggravate a perpetrator. Speaking out of turn, she knew, was enough to get someone killed. But something about this man's demeanour, the lack of certainty or fury in his actions, was enough for Maura to ignore the nagging voice of detective Rizzoli in her mind and speak up.

"What do you want from us?"

Professor Elias Kaplowitz, wearing the same dark brown, woollen jacket he had been sporting the first time they met, sat on Harriet's hospital bed. His eyes darted between the two women, whose arms were tied with rough rope, quietly assessing the situation. Slowly, he opened his mouth and began to speak quietly, addressing them both.

"I didn't want to do this."

Harriet opened her mouth to protest, but a nudge and a discouraging glare from Maura was enough to stop her. They had to let him speak. It could buy them precious time.

"They... they told me what I had to do. To protect them. You understand that, don't you?"

Maura nodded subtly, hoping the professor would continue.

"I regretted it as soon as I told them. I mentioned Martin Richards' letter, and the machine, and before I knew it I was under their control. I… I drove out to the Milton Hotel. I knew Rachel, I knew she would be there so I said I'd meet her before the conference and help her go through her presentation. She was a nice girl, but she knew too much."

Maura watched as Harriet closed her eyes at the mention of her friend's name.

"She had been around the college, asking me questions and taking notes. I knew she wasn't curious. She was suspicious. They told me to protect myself. Make it look like an accident. I… I thought of pushing her down the stairs but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So I bought a bottle of Letarade with me and put it in her drink. I never went up to her room, but I knew she would die before the morning.

I… I used the name Marko Rusieuc as a cover. Just to buy me more time. The anagram was just a bit of fun, but I needed there to be someone else, some other explanation. They… they threatened to kill me and all of my family in Poland and Serbia if I didn't comply. They were watching me, checking on me all the time. The Mercurius messages came every day- go here, speak to this person, change your car, destroy your clothing, kill this person.

They will kill my sons and rape my daughter if I don't do as they say. I may not live with their mother, but they are my family and they are in danger.

That is why I have to kill you both."

/

Jane paced the control room, listening in as officers and detectives began to piece together the final communications recorded on the SD card they had found in Victoria College.

"Detective Rizzoli" one of the technicians called her over to his station where he sat, running his finger down a long list of un-coded messages. "I… I think these are in Serbian. I can get the general idea of what they say from an online translator but I really would like a more accurate translation. Could you ask Dr Isles to look at them for me when she comes back?"

Jane nodded, taking the sheet from the technician's hands. "I…" she froze, looking the technician directly in the eye. "When she comes back from where?"

"From the hospital. She… she took the tox report while you went over the details with the team."

Jane felt panic rise in her stomach, nausea flooding her veins as her heartbeat pounded in her ears. "Wha… what time did she leave?" She clutched onto the hard, wooden desk as she spoke.

"About two hours ago, ma'am.""

"Shit."

/

The hospital room was dark as one of Harriet's nurses approached the door during her rounds. Looking closer through the window, she saw that the bed was empty.

Turning around, she spotted another nurse walking towards her.

"Julia?" she called as the woman passed. "Has anyone taken Miss Morgan out to an appointment? Or for physio?"

Julia shook her head. "No. No, she should be there."

"And do you know where the policeman is? He's usually close to her door."

"Dr Isles sent him for a break when she arrived."

/

"Rizzoli! Panic alarm sounded at the hospital!"

Jane stopped pacing and pulled on her jacket.

Greenly grabbed his radio and began to send out orders to the county's police. "I need incident response at JR Hospital. Gather in the west car park and await my instructions. This man may be armed, and is extremely dangerous."

Turning to Jane he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We don't do guns. We barely use tasers. But we are good at what we do. You need to trust us, okay? We'll get him."

Jane nodded her head, following the man as he walked out of the building and towards his patrol car. She tried as hard as she could to focus on the task at hand, on finding Kaplowitz and finishing this whole disastrous event once and for all, but the only name she could focus on was Maura. She needed to know she was safe. Maura mattered most.

"Jane! Let's go!"

As the patrol car followed a line of blue, flashing lights and screaming sirens, Jane placed her hand over her heart and closed her eyes.

Please.

Please, God.

Save her.

Please.

Save Maura.