Chapter 14-I Need Proof of Life

Hank glanced down at his phone when it started to ring. It was a number he didn't recognize, so he hushed everyone and told Mouse to be ready to get a location.

"Voight."

"Good morning Sergeant."

"Who am I speaking with?"

"It's your good friend Pulpo. I'm disappointed you didn't recognize my voice."

Hank closed his eyes, realizing who they were dealing with and just how much danger Jenna really was in. This was truly one of his worst nightmares coming to life. The rest of the team looked at each other in shock. Al put his hand on Antonio's shoulder, knowing he was moments away from exploding. They couldn't really be doing this again, could they?

"Where is she?" Hank asked.

"Your girlfriend? She's right here with me. You did good Sergeant. She's very beautiful."

"You listen to me Pulpo. You keep your hands off of her, understand?"

"That all depends on you and your willingness to give me what I need. Shall I give you the list?"

"I need to talk to her first. I need...proof of life." Hank cringed as he said the words, his heart aching that he was talking about the woman he loves.

"Of course. Say hi to your boyfriend."

"Hank," she said, her voice shaking as she tried desperately not to cry, but also overwhelmed at how much she wanted him.

"Jenna. Honey, are you ok?"

"Yeah."

"You're sure?" Hank asked, sensing hesitation in her answer.

"I'm ok," she whispered.

"Ok. I need you to stay strong for me. Everything is going to be just fine. I love you."

"I love you," she said softly through her tears. His heart broke at the sound of her tears.

"Ok, that's enough of that," Pulpo said. "Here's what I need. I need a black SUV with bulletproof glass, two million dollars, and a private plane to fly me to Columbia. You have one hour to gather what I need. At the end of one hour, I'll call you with instructions for how to make the trade. In the meantime, your girlfriend and I are going to get better acquainted."

"Don't you dare touch her, or I swear you'll end up at the bottom of the lake," Hank said, clenching his fists as he tried to control his anger.

"Talk to you soon Sergeant."

Hank dropped his phone on the desk as the call disconnected. He put his hands on the edge of the desk, putting his head down as he leaned against it. Erin walked over, putting her hand on his back. "We'll find her."

"We have to. Knowing who has her...what he's probably going to do to her..."

Erin's hand moved to Hank's shoulder. "Don't think about that. Mouse is working on locating the phone. We're going to get her back, and she's going to be just fine."

"I want to rip him apart with my bare hands."

"Hank, I think everyone in this room wants that. But right now, we need to do our job and focus on bringing her home."

"Mouse, do we have a location yet?"

"Having some trouble Sarge. Give me a few more minutes."

While they were waiting for Mouse, Hailey pulled Adam aside. "Who is this guy? It seems like everyone knows him, but I'm in the dark."

"Adres Diaz. He calls himself Pulpo. Several years ago, when we were trying to bust him, he killed Antonio's partner and kidnapped Diego. We got Diego back, and we put Pulpo behind bars. A few months later, he got pulled out of lockup to help on a case, and his girl snuck him a gun. He shot Antonio, killed a lieutenant and two guards. He's a horrible person. I can't even imagine what Sarge is going through, knowing he has Jenna and knowing what he's capable of."

"Wow," Hailey said. "That makes it worse, knowing what could be happening."

"Yeah. We've gotta find her quickly."

[][][][][][][][][][]

Hank replayed his conversation with Jenna over and over in his head. She sounded so scared, but he could tell she was trying to stay strong for him. He walked into his office so he could have a moment away from his team. He leaned against the wall, fighting back tears. How could he have let this happen? He was supposed to protect her, and he let her down. He punched the wall, letting out some of his anger and frustration. Then, he headed back out to join his team. He wouldn't rest until Jenna was safely home.

[][][][][][][][][][]

While Hank was taking a moment in his office, Jay sat down beside Erin, handing her a bottle of water. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Erin said, not making eye contact with him.

"Er, you're not fine. You can't be, not when it's Jenna."

"I'll be fine as soon as we find her."

Jay grabbed Erin's arm and pulled her down to the locker room.

"Talk to me," Jay said. "I know you're freaking out right now."

Erin sighed, fighting back tears. "I can't freak out right now. I have to stay strong for Hank. He can't see me fall apart."

"Then fall apart with me. Please, don't shut me out," Jay said, taking her face in his hands, making Erin look at him.

"I just...finally have a mom again, and she may be dead before we can find her," Erin said tearfully.

"I know, babe. But we'll find her."

"But what if we don't? Or what if he kills her while we're on our way? We can't do this again. Hank can't lose her. She's everything to him, Jay. He won't recover if he loses her."

Jay pulled Erin into his arms, stroking her back as she cried into his chest.

After a few minutes, she pulled away, wiping at her tears and composing herself. "Let's go see if there's any news."

As Jay and Erin walked back in, Hank was coming out of his office.

"Do we have anything yet?" Hank asked.

"Not yet, Boss. We're still working on it," Adam said.

He sat down at Erin's desk, putting his head in his hands.

Erin put her hand on Hank's shoulder. "It's going to be ok. She's going to be ok."

Hank shook his head. "I just keep thinking about Justin."

"Justin? Hank, this is a completely different situation."

"I was too late. When Justin needed me, I wasn't there, and I lost him. Jenna…we have to find her. I can't be too late this time."

"We'll find her. Pulpo won't win, not this time."

Hank sighed. "Erin, he's already taken so much from us. Jules, Diego, Antonio…"

"We got Diego back, and Antonio survived. Yeah, we lost Jules, and that's something that's going to haunt all of us for the rest of our lives. But we won't lose Jenna. He needs her to be alive so he gets what he wants."

"How do we know that once we say we're on our way, he won't kill her? How do we know we won't rush into wherever he's holding her to find her dead? I don't…I can't survive that, Erin. I just can't."

"We just…it's not happening. We're finding Jenna, and everything will be fine."

Just then, Erin's phone started ringing. Erin looked to see who was calling and held the phone out to Hank. "It's for you.

"Not now, Erin."

"Now, Hank."

"Erin!"

"Take the phone!"

Hank jerked the phone away from her. "Voight!" he yelled into the phone.

"Hank, it's Olivia Benson."

Hank froze for a moment as he processed. Olivia was the last person he expected to hear from, but he found a moment of comfort in the voice of his friend. "Oh. Hi Olivia."

"I just heard about Jenna. What can I do?"

Hank brushed his hand over his face, fighting back tears. "Nothing. Right now we are trying to get a location and trying to gather what he's asked for so we can try to meet."

"I'll come out there if you need me," Olivia said. "I'll bring Fin and Rollins, and we'll help. We'll be on the next plane."

"It'll be over before you can get here. He's calling back in an hour with instructions for meeting."

"Do you know this guy? Any connection to the unit?"

"I do. I put him away a few years ago, twice actually. He shot Antonio, and kidnapped his son and killed his partner a few months before. He's...the worst kind of evil."

Olivia covered her face with her hand for a moment, her heart breaking for her friend. "I'm so sorry Hank. I don't mean to be grim or assume, but when you find her, if she needs someone to talk to, or if you both need help navigating through things, I'm here, or I can come out there. Whatever you need and whatever she needs."

"Thank you Olivia. It means a lot."

"Take care, and have someone let me know."

[][][][][][][][][][]

Hank looked down at his ringing phone, realizing it was Pulpo. He signaled the team and answered the phone. "Pulpo."

"Sergeant. Your girlfriend and I have really gotten to know each other over the last hour. She's very...sweet."

"I will kill you if you touch her."

"Oh, I did a little more than that," Pulpo said, grinning as he looked over at a bloody and bruised Jenna crumpled on the floor. "Are you ready to meet? Do you have everything I asked for?"

"We're still working on it. Tell me where you are, and I'll come talk to you."

"Nice try, Sergeant. So, you need more time?"

"We're working on the plane. Tell me where you are, and by the time I get there, we should have the plane ready to go," Hank pressed.

"I don't think so. I need confirmation of all of my demands before we meet. I guess I can spend another hour with your girlfriend while you work. I'll call back in an hour to check on your progress."

"Put her on the phone first," Hank demanded.

"Of course."

Jenna tried desperately to choke down her tears before she talked to Hank. She didn't want him to know what had happened in the last hour or how bad she was hurt. As Pulpo held the phone up to her, she quietly said, "Hi."

"Jenna. Honey, are you ok? What did he do?"

Hearing the sound of his voice, hearing how concerned he was, how scared he was, she was unable to hold in her tears. "Hank," she said, covering her face with her hand as tears poured down her face.

"Jenna, please talk to me. I need to know if you're ok."

Pulpo picked up the gun, pressing it into the wound on her forehead. She winced in pain, stifling a small cry so Hank wouldn't hear. "I-I'm ok. Just give him what he wants, ok? Please, give him what he wants."

"We're doing everything we can. Hang on for me. I'm coming for you. I love you Jen."

"I love you."

Pulpo jerked the phone away. "One hour, Sergeant. If at the end of one hour you aren't ready to meet, I'm going to shove this gun in your girlfriend's mouth and put a bullet down her throat. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Hank dropped the phone and grabbed a water bottle from the desk in front of him, throwing it across the room. Everyone flinched, and Erin put her hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be ok Hank."

"We're not waiting for him to call back in an hour! She's hurt! I'm not losing her, not like this!"

"I have an address," Mouse said.

"How?" Adam asked. "How did it work if we didn't get it last time?"

"He slipped up somewhere, but we have it. I'm sure of it."

"Everyone gear up. Let's go get Jenna," Antonio said. He put his hand on Hank's shoulder. "We've got this, Sarge."

[][][][][][][][][][]

When Pulpo hung up the phone, he turned back to Jenna. "Now, we have to make Sergeant Voight remember exactly who he's dealing with and exactly what I'm capable of. He's never going to forget my name, and you aren't either."

Pulpo walked over to Jenna, and she scooted farther back against the wall as he loomed over her. "Please don't," she begged tearfully. Pulpo raised his fist, and Jenna was overcome with excruciating pain. She fought to stay awake, knowing that she had to push through the pain so Hank could get to her. But the blows were too hard, and she reluctantly let the darkness overtake her.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Author's Note: lizchicago, you guessed Pulpo correctly! I think out of all of the offenders they've put away, Pulpo has always been the scariest and most unpredictable to me. I've just been waiting for him to show back up and do something crazy.