Spencer
"What the hell do you mean no one can find her?" Soot yelled, anger evident in his voice. "She was fifty feet away from the doors. How is she not here?"
"I'll go see if they have security camera footage." I quickly walked out of the room, heading for one of the officers that worked in the building. "I need access to your surveillance cameras."
He merely nodded and moved over so that I could see the screen. "What time are you looking for?"
"6:30 last night, right at the end of the press conference."
"Got it, give me just a moment." He started typing quickly. "This should be right." He moved back and I stepped forward, watching the screen.
After a few seconds I saw Lilah, walking towards the doors to the building we were in. I watched as two men came from the side, one grabbing her and the other seeming to push something into her neck. I could only assume some kind of drug. They dragged her off before I could get a good look at them. "Do you have another camera over from this one?"
"Sorry no, we don't have the funding for any other than the one."
"Damn. Send this footage to our tech analysis at Quantico." I stood, looking to him.
"Will do." He went back to the computer as I walked off, going to Soot.
"We have her being grabbed on the cameras. But we can't see by who or where they dragged her. We can assume it was Cairn and Gale but we can't be certain."
"Shit." Soot dragged a hand through his hair.
"It's been sent to Aether for him for analysis." I looked at our bulletin board. "They have to be somewhere secluded.."
"Not necessarily." Emily walked over. "Small town, everyone is tightly packed together. They could simply be using a basement. It's not hard to soundproof a room."
"But what about them getting the women to the basement."
"Well, they took Lilah once it was dark out. If they're drugging their victims, they don't have to worry about them being loud. If they move at night, they can get the women in their basement while neigbours are asleep."
"True. But by now, one of the neighbours would recognize Cairn and Gale." Soot pointed out.
"Not if they're only moving at night." I walked over to the board. "Think about it. Small towns usually have abandoned houses, or just unused ones." I looked to the map, taking note of the pins that represented dump sites. "We may not be able to pinpoint an exact location, but if find where these meet.." I dragged my finger across the map. "We can assume they'd be about here."
"Salmon, come with me, we're going to check out the area." Soot looked to me. "Viatrix, Sherman, stay here in case you hear anything."
"But Will she's-"
Soot cut Emily off. "I know Em, she's your best friend and you want to make sure she's okay." He set a hand on her shoulder. "But I need to make sure I know where you are. When we find her, we know she'll want to see you the most. I also know that when it comes to your loved ones, you don't always think rationally. I can't risk losing the both of you okay?" He kissed the top of her head, seemingly an impulsive move.
"Fine. But the second you find her, you call me."
"We will. I promise."
"Soot." At his name Will looked to Lumine. "Didn't Lilah say she wore a pair of earrings with trackers in them? If Aether can give us the location, Emily and I can go check that out while you two go where you were."
Soot nodded. "Alright, keep me updated."
"We will." Lumine nodded, picking up her phone. Seemingly to call her brother.
Soot and I walked out after a confirming nod from Emily, climbing into one of the SUV's.
Twenty minutes later, we made it to the general area we were looking for.
"Salmon, head down that way, I'll head the other and meet you back here."
"Alright." I nodded, double checking my gun and such before heading out. The first three houses saw nothing. When I reached the fourth, I noticed that it seemed to be in some disrepair. The first time I knocked there was no answer, so I tried again after a minute. A male opened the door, his face similar to the aged drawing of Gale.
"Can I help you with something?" He asked, clearly annoyed that I was there.
I held my badge up. "I'm SSA Spencer Salmon of the FBI, I'm just going around asking if anyone has seen anything suspicious around here. Have you seen anything? A strange car, a person you've never seen before?"
"No I haven't, sorry I can't be of any help." He moved to close the door.
"Are you sure? Anything can help."
"I said I haven't seen anything."
Before I could get out another word, I was grabbed and yanked into the house. I grabbed at essentially whatever I could, trying to keep myself off the floor. There was a flurry of movement, and I soon realized a second pair of hands joined.
"Hold him down." I heard the voice from a moment ago say as I moved to push myself to my feet.
"I'm working on it." A second voice as
I was forced onto the floor, my wrists pinned behind my back. A cloth was pressed over my nose and mouth, a hand in my hair. Most likely to prevent me from pulling my head back.
Shit shit shit.
I thrashed slightly as my eyes slowly began to shut. I blacked out before I could do much.
When I woke up, the first thing I realized is that I was tied down. I groaned, glancing down at my arms. Finding them to be tied to a chair.
I lifted my head, realizing I was in a dark room. There was some light coming from the small windows at the top of the walls, enough that I could see the figure chained to a wall, trembling.
I knew immediately who it was. "Lilah?" I called quietly, hoping I caught her attention.
Her head lifted slightly, and I was able to make out that she was gagged, her face tear-stained.
"We'll be okay. Soot knows I came this way." I wasn't certain how long that would take, but I could guess he would find us.
She couldn't even react before the door to the basement was opened, a light switch flipped. I squinted faintly to adjust to the sudden light, able to make out two figures walking down the stairs.
"Good, you're both awake." I had earlier noted the voice to belong to Gale.
"We have a deal to make with you." I guessed the other had to be Cairn.
I heard the click of a gun beside my ear and froze slightly, looking to Lilah.
Cairn walked over to Lilah. "Here's the deal Sweetheart. You come with us quietly, and we'll leave him for your team to find. Disagree and." He looked up towards Gale, and I felt the barrel of the gun press against my temple. "Either way you're coming with us. You simply get to decide whether he lives or dies."
