Blinded

Chapter 26

There was a stillness in the air that settled upon Jack as he awoke what he guessed was early Saturday morning. It had been another difficult night hearing Sue scream and moan in her sleep. At one point Sammy had come in and given her more of whatever drug they were pumping into her system. He realized they were giving her something to keep her quiet. It meant there could be people in the area.

Her whimpers started to sound weaker, and Jack was worried she was fading. Not that he could blame her. She had been captive since Tuesday. His own body ached after a second night tied to the chair, after multiple beatings, let alone the four she had made it through.

Jack noticed the gag was back on, but mercifully the had not put the blindfold back on Sue. He couldn't imagine a world where she couldn't see or hear, and what torture that must have been. However, it showed they didn't want them communicating.

He longed for her to awaken, but also hoped she was finding some peace in the oblivion of unconsciousness.

Jack knew they were close to the end of this. One way or the other. Pete had mentioned he planned on killing them today once he finished "one more task". He wondered what that meant. Was there another victim on his horizon from his past?

He wanted it to end. One way or another. He just prayed that somehow Sue would be spared any additional pain. He knew that was a hope in vain, but he begged God for protection over her. His faith had never been as strong as hers, and he felt was seriously in question after first handedly witnessing the depravity of evil in Pete Hadley and Sammy Miller. But he knew it was his only hope at this point. To pray that someone would spare them, that God would somehow reveal their location to the team. As each moment ticked away, he felt his hope drain.

Sue eventually stirred, wincing and jolted upright in fear, scanning around the room. Her eyes landed on Jack on gazed back at her. He tried moving his lips to call her name and saw tears streaming down her pale face.

"Jack… Jack… I'm so sorry for this." She said quietly. He shook his head no, trying to communicate to her it wasn't her fault. It was all they had but he loved nothing more than hearing the sound of her voice, even though it was rough and distant. "This is all my fault…". Jack shook his head more vigorously. She was quiet, staring at him with sad eyes. He drunk the sight of her in. Even with her battered face, she was so beautiful to him. She was the last thing he wanted to see. Her voice, the last thing he heard.

"I'm so tired Jack." She finally said in quiet voice. "I can't hang on much longer." Jack's eyes started to water as he again started pulling against the ties that bound him, his arms instinctively reacting to wanting to wrap his arms around her.

"Sue…" he tried to mouth.

"I love you, Jack." She said quietly. "I wish I would have told you so long ago. But I wanted to tell you before the end." He looked at her so intently, trying to communicate his love back to her. "Promise me if you survive this that you'll tell everyone else how much I loved them too. You would be better off without me if you do. Look at me. Look at how they've…defiled me."

He again strained, shaking his head.

"I want you", he tried to say through the gag. "I love you, Sue. I love you." She just shook her head sadly.

"I would give anything right now to hear your voice. Just once." She said quietly to him. He did everything he could to form the words around the gag so she could somehow read them.

"I love you" he said again, slowly. She gave him a small smile.

Neither of them knew how much time was passing as they just stared at one another, waiting… waiting for something to happen.

-STFBE-

Myles and D sped towards Rock Creek Park, Bobby quiet in the backseat. Despite his hesitation, D allowed him to come with the promise that he would not to anything he shouldn't and stay with either D or Myles the entire time. D could tell Bobby wasn't feeling as okay as he protested he did, wincing at any bright lights and showing clear signs of a headache as a result of his concussion. He had eventually removed the sling from his arm, but he could tell he was still favoring his left side.

The sun was now properly up, and they could see dozens of police cars, lights flashing near a broad green area with several beautiful trees and bushes. Near the bushes was a body, and not far off they saw a man in cuffs, kneeling, surrounded by multiple officers who were watching him wearily.

D quickly parked and the three men raced out of the vehicle. They could see the arm of an African American man peek out from under the tarp near the bushes. It wasn't Sue or Jack.

Bobby raced ahead straight towards the man in cuffs.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" He screamed at him, grabbing Pete Hadley by the collar and shoving him against a nearby tree. Pete just smirked as multiple agents pulled Bobby back.

D and Myles both managed to convince Bobby to stand by, his breath heaving at the exertion and the effort. Bobby slammed Pete to the ground and walked off. D steered him towards the police chief who was standing nearby. D shook the man's hand.

"Brian, thanks for calling me. What happened."

"One of our plain closed patrols saw some activity here in Rock Creek Park at about 430am this morning. Two men, one being the man we caught, and the other a larger man in his early 50's were hauling what we now realize what the body of the decedent. Both were more junior agents but were quick to engage the suspects. They dropped the body, and they successfully apprehended the one suspect by tazoring him."

"Has he said anything?" Bobby inquired quickly. The police chief responded.

"No. Once my team and I arrived, we not only secured him but recognized him from your APB as former DEA agent Pete Hadley. I understand you're wanting to hold him on suspicion of multiple other murders and kidnapping?" D nodded. "We tried to press him more on the body and his involvement, but he's been silent. I contacted you immediately."

"Sir…" A young police officer came over. "The coroner is here and wants to take the body to the ME's office. No luck on identifying the John Doe. He had no identification on him." Myles spoke up.

"Can we see him? We may be able to identify him." The police chief nodded. They moved towards the body, and the ME lifted the tarp. Both D and Myles looked at each other, unfamiliar with the decedent. Bobby, however, was staring at the man.

"Do you know him?" Myles asked. Bobby nodded.

"I'm trying to recall his name…. Antoine, I think. Antoine Drummond. He was one of Pete's dealers. Jack and I apprehended him during the case against Hadley."

"So, Hadley is still cleaning up from his past indiscretions." Said D. He turned again to his colleague from the police. "Did you find anything on him? We think he has been holding two of our agent's hostage, one of them for almost 4 days." Brian, the police chief shook his head.

"He had nothing on him. No phone, no ID. Just a 45-calibre colt and this dead body."

"What happened to the other suspect?" Bobby inquired. The chief sighed.

"According to my team, he managed to get away and they were only able to subdue the one suspect. He sped off in a white van, but they were unable to get the license plate." D turned to Bobby and Myles.

"We need to find Sue and Jack fast. Who knows what Sammy will do if he knows Pete has been captured." Both nodded, turning to return to D's SUV. They heard Pete call out as they retreated. The three men turned towards him as he was pulled back up to standing roughly by the agents around him.

"You won't find them." He taunted. "You may have caught me, but Sammy will know what to do. The next bodies you find will be theirs." Bobby moved to go after Pete again, only to be restrained by D and Myles. They watched as he was roughly put into the back of the police vehicle, the smirk never leaving his face.