Erin didn't know what woke her up a few hours later, but as she went to sit up and turn the lights to the room on, she felt the cold, sharp, steel of a blade against her jugular. Still not really able to put together what was happening, she reached across the mattress for Alex's hand, assuming that David hadn't had the chance to join her yet, only to find the other side of the bed cool to the touch, and Alex missing. Once more, she went to sit up, only to feel the sharp blade actually pierce her skin.
"I'd think twice about moving any more, Erin. After all, I wouldn't want you to die just yet. I have so much more in store for you before I take your life. And as fate would have it, I can take care of Alex as well. I didn't realise that Fate would smile so kindly on me when I lured you and your team up to New York City."
She blinked rapidly as the realization that she knew exactly who was speaking to her filled her still awakening brain. "John…"
"Very good, Erin."
Frowning, she tried to look around the room as best she could without cutting herself on John's knife, wanting to know where Alex was, fearing her dead already. "Where's Lexie?"
"I have her trapped in the bathroom right now, which was another piece of good luck that tells me I was right in deciding to finally take action against you and the way that you destroyed my career."
"If you're hellbent on punishing me, why are you also going to hurt Alex?"
He chuckled darkly as he straddled her body, his heavy weight pressing her down into the mattress as he picked up one of her wrists, bringing it close to his chest and using his knife to cut something on her tender flesh there. It hurt much more than she could have imagined, almost as bad as being shot, and she struggled not to move her arm, as she was worried that his blade would slip and do true damage to her. "I'm punishing you both because you've both made a mockery of what I went through. You rose through the ranks of the FBI, Alex had an illustrious career in her field, and where was I? Sent out to pasture to learn from my mistakes and seething at your success. I might not have taken action, had you not brought Alex back into the FBI. And I gave her tools to take you down, hoping that she would see that we should be working together. Instead, you managed to worm your way back into her life, and I was left on the outside again."
Erin blinked rapidly as John climbed off her body and yanked her to her feet, wrenching her arm around in her socket. Somehow, she knew enough not to cry out, that that would have just made things worse for her and Alex, and she took a deep breath as she waited for John to indicate what was happening. "John?"
"Put on some shoes, we have a journey to go on."
Frowning, she shoved her feet into a pair of flats as she stared at John. "I'm ready to go."
He nodded and pulled open the bathroom door, shoving her inside, but not letting go of her arm. "I have my knife positioned to kill her if you don't come out of there quietly, Alex. Now, we're going to head downstairs and out to my car, and we're going to do so quietly. Before we leave, I need you to put these on." John pulled a set of Flexicuffs out of his pocket, tossing them at Alex. She looked ready to protest when John dug the knife into the side of Erin's neck, drawing enough blood to roll down her neck. Hurriedly, Alex followed orders, and then John was tucking a sweater over her hands to obscure the fact that she was wearing the handcuffs. "All right, we're heading down now. I don't think I need to say this, but I know that you won't say a word, will you?"
"No, John, we'll be good." Erin threw a desperate look to Alex, seeing her nod in response as they left the hotel room. It was a short walk to the elevators, and then they were riding down to the ground floor. The man behind the front desk gave them a smile, as if he had anticipated their leaving, and that was when she knew that this had also been planned by John. He had always been three steps ahead of them, and Erin kicked herself for not being quicker on her feet. As John herded them over to the small parking lot behind the hotel, Erin wondered how they would ever be able to escape this.
"All right, Alex, I want you up front with me. Erin, you'll be in the back. But don't think that this will give you a chance to escape. There's plexiglass separating you from us, and if Alex tries to make a move against me, I can flood the back of the car with enough gas to kill an elephant. It won't hurt us, but you'll be dead in moments, even though that is not the ending that I want to give to you. Do I make myself clear?"
"As crystal," Alex muttered as John opened the passenger door and prodded her into the passenger seat. After that, he opened the back door, and Erin shivered as she climbed into the back, knowing that this would probably be the last time that she ever saw freedom in her life. It was distressing that it was nighttime, where the darkness of the sky and the brightness of the city lights obscured what she might want to see, and she couldn't help but start to cry as John closed her in the back.
As she made herself comfortable in the back, Erin felt an odd shape dig into the meat of her back thigh, and she tried to school her features so as not to reveal her glee to John as he backed out of his parking spot and then pulled out onto the street. "You know, I had planned on making you drinking bottle after bottle of tainted wine, so that you would die just like Sean's girlfriend, but that would have been too easy an out. You'll see what I have in store for the both of you when we arrive at our destination. Until then, I'd suggest praying to whatever God you might believe in that some miracle happens and you're able to escape me. I don't think that will happen, since no one knows that I've taken you, or where I'm taking you to, but it will be nice for you to pray."
Erin allowed herself to cry as she slowly and carefully slipped her cellphone out of her cardigan pocket. The battery was almost full, and she was thankful for this first small miracle. Making certain the phone was on silent, she then opened up her texts and tapped on David's name before writing him a very simple message. John has taken us. After sending the message, she turned the phone to airplane mode, knowing that Penelope would still be able to track the phone that way and that it would conserve as much battery life as possible, which was necessary when she had no idea where John was taking them. Knowing that she had to wait for her next opportunity to get the upper hand on John, Erin curled up in a ball on the seat and tried to will herself back asleep, knowing that would help her be able to think more clearly once they had reached their destination.