Chapter 6

Buck was tired.

The day had been a whirlwind of errands and questions. Chris had so many questions that Buck hadn't been able to answer. The same sort of questions he, himself, wanted the answer to. Bobby had stayed true to his word and stayed with them until after dinner. Even then, he had left with a promise to immediately return if either of them needed anything.

Buck had finally left Christopher asleep in his bed only an hour ago, having spent most of the evening curled up with the boy in his bed as they alternated between stories, tears and fitful bouts of Christopher trying to fall asleep. He moved quietly through the house, checking and then double checking the locks on every door and window.

He grabbed a beer from the fridge, taking a long drink before sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands.

The clock on the stove told him it was almost midnight.

Almost 24 hours since Eddie had disappeared. Almost 24 hours since he had woken with Eddie securely at his side and had been forced to let him go.

He'd come so close the night before. So close to slipping and telling Eddie everything; how deep his feelings for his best friend ran, how he wanted nothing more than to be able to hold him close for the rest of their lives. He'd frozen and instead told Eddie his deepest fear; losing him.

Everyone knew that the first 48 hours were crucial in finding a missing person. Half of that time had slipped by and Buck felt no closer to getting Eddie back.

Buck gasped awake, the heat of the flames warm on his face. He coughed harshly, jumping up from the couch and looking frantically around the room.

"Buck."

"Eddie," Buck yelled, running for the door only to find it locked. He turned the handle harshly before pounding on it when it didn't budge. "Eddie!"

The feeling of the door shuddering under a returned knock made him freeze, leaning forward and placing his ear against the door.

"Eddie!" He yelled once more.

The pounding stopped and the roar of the fire behind him returned. He coughed harshly, covering his mouth and nose with the collar of his shirt. "Buck!" The voice was louder, painful.

"Hang on, Eddie," Buck yelled back, grabbing the door handle and twisting as he threw his body against the door. "I'm coming." Backing up slightly, he kicked roughly at the door.

It groaned in protest but remained tightly closed.

The flames inched closer.

The door began to shake as the pounding outside grew louder; Eddie's voice almost frantic on the other side of the door.

"I'm here, Eddie," Buck yelled back, rushing back to the door.

He barely managed to keep himself from falling to his knees as the door suddenly gave way. He looked frantically up and down the smoke filled hallway.

"Buck." The voice, now merely a whisper, sounded from behind him.

Buck turned and ran down the hallway, doors blowing open behind him, the flames coming closer.

"Buck."

Buck froze, turning toward the voice. A hallway appeared to his right, a red exit sign glowing eerily through the smoke. The door opened and Buck let out a choked sob. "Eddie," he gasped, turning and running toward the familiar figure in the doorway.

Eddie smiled softly at him from the stairwell, his hand reaching out toward him.

Buck hurried forward, arm outstretched, smiling as the doorway drew closer.

Eddie's face contorted in agony and he screamed as he was suddenly pulled backwards. He disappeared back into the shadows of the stairwell as flames burst forth.

Buck stumbled, falling to his knees…

Buck woke with a start, his knees hitting the underside of the table and sending the nearly full bottle of beer to the floor. "Shit," he exclaimed, jumping up, grabbing a towel, and quickly wiping up the mess.

His heart pounded erratically in his chest as he dropped the bottle and towel into the sink. He gasped harshly, eyes squeezed tightly closed as he fought to control his breathing. He turned, sliding down to sit on the floor, his back resting on the cabinets, his eyes darting quickly around the room.

It was quiet. No smoke, no fire.

No Eddie.

He pulled his knees to his chest, arms circling them as he rested his forehead on his knees, pressing his face into the fabric of his borrowed sweats to muffled the gasped sobs.

"Plan on coming to bed any time soon?" Bobby asked, stepping up behind Athena's chair at the dining table and placing his hands on her shoulders, gently massaging the stiff muscles. "It's almost 2."

Athena reached up one hand and grasped his wrist tightly, leaning back into him slightly. "There's something here, Bobby. I can feel it. I feel like it's right there but it keeps slipping away."

"You've been staring at those files for hours."

She sighed and waved him off. "Even if I did lay down, my mind's been going a mile a minute. I couldn't sleep if I tried."

"How the hell did we not notice someone was following one of our boys? How did they manage to get enough accelerant into no one but three separate apartments on three separate floors with no one the wiser? What put Eddie on their radar in the first place? I've been going through the victim's files and I can't find the connection."

"Could they be choosing the buildings and then picking the victims at random at each location?" Bobby pulled away, sitting in the chair beside her. "Maybe it's the locations that are important rather than the people."

"I thought of that. It just doesn't feel right."

"Alright. Talk it out with me. I'm all ears."

"Both Buck and the other witness described the woman as petite. Four of the victims have all be male, of which three would have been quite a bit bigger than her and two have fighting in their background. If they were victims of opportunity, she would have picked people who would be more easily overpowered. She had to already have a plan in place to get them out of the buildings. No one saw her leave with anybody."

"Could she have an accomplice?"

"She must have but no one's seen him."

"It still doesn't feel like they were random. Buck said that she went up to Eddie, grabbed his arm, and asked for help. He said she barely even looked at him or the woman they were helping."

"Which takes me back to figuring out why she targeted him in the first place."

Bobby stood, "I'm gonna start some coffee. I don't know all of Eddie's usual stops, but we'll start a list of places he frequents and get Buck to add to it in the morning."

Athena gave Bobby a small smile before turning back to the file before her.

Eddie jerked away with a gasp, swaying back in his chains. He coughed deeply as the water dripped down his face and shook the liquid away from his eyes. "Rise and shine, pretty boy." Tom said with a grin. "We get to add your second sigil this morning. I'd hate for you to miss it." He turned and took a step toward the small table, where a new tray was laid out with a water bottle, toast, knife, a bowl, and a pitcher. "Oh, before I forget, I brought you something." He turned back, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a photograph, holding it up for Eddie to see.

Eddie's eyes widened slightly before he glared back at the man.

"That captain of yours took your boy with him to the police station yesterday. Thought you'd like the opportunity to see him one more time, so I made sure to get you a picture." He turned back to the table, setting the picture beside the bottle. "I'll have to get you a frame. Can't have you forgetting about our agreement now." He picked up the water bottle, removing the lid and stepping closer. "I'm sure you're thirsty."

Eddie stared at the bottle for a moment, the hard chemical smell within stronger than the last, before his eyes drifted back to the picture.

"Don't you worry about your boy. He seems to be doing just fine without you and he'll stay that way as long as you do what you're told." Eddie turns back toward the other man, eyes narrowed. "Now open up, pretty boy."

Eddie expected the liquid to burn as it slid down his throat, though he couldn't help gagging at the bitter taste. Tom pulled the bottle from his lips, "You keep that down. I'd hate to have to make you drink another whole bottle just cause you couldn't keep yourself from puking."

Eddie coughed, glaring at the other man. "You try it then."

"Oh no, acetone flavored water isn't my thing."

"Not mine either." Eddie slowly turned his wrist in the chains. His arms had long since gone numb, he could no longer feel the dripping of the blood as it slowly dripped from where the chains had cut into the skin as he discreetly fought to pull himself loose.

"We'll save the rest of that for after." Tom turned back to the table, replacing the half empty bottle and picking up the knife. "Try not to jerk around so much this time. I'd hate to have to start over."

Eddie lifted his face and concentrated on the red that coated his lower arms. He clenched his teeth as Tom made quick work of slicing through the barely healed skin of the first sigil, quickly lifting the bowl and letting the blood drip inside before moving to the other side of his chest and starting on a second one.

Eddie stared at the chains above him, pulling slightly at his bonds and hoping silently for it to pass as tensing under the sharp pain of the knife. He breathed sharply through his nose, his mouth continuing to burn as he attempted to swallow around the nausea rolling through him.

"Look at you being so good for me today. Keep this up and I might let you have some of that toast Lissa insists on sending for you."