Into Darkness

Chapter 35

Colt:

I have been chasing down leads all morning on burgundy Toyota Camrys that could possibly belong to our suspect but they have all led me nowhere. I feel helpless and useless and I fucking hate it. I hate that this son of a bitch is taunting us and attacking Ryler's family and there isn't a fucking thing I can do about it.

I should get back to her soon. I'll admit she has me worried, especially with the way she kissed me before I left this morning. She kissed me with such desperation like that kiss was going to be our last. I didn't like that one bit. I need her to not think that way.

It's all because of that fucking note. I want to kill Chief Bronson for showing that to her. Ryler is already too selfless and reckless for her own good. She didn't need any more reasons to hand herself over to that psychopath.

I'm on my way back to the dorms but I decide to try and call the agents accompanying Nikki to make sure they arrived safely. Ryler hasn't called or texted me worried sick so I'm assuming she heard from her but I would like to check in anyway. I call both agents and neither one answers which worries me. A lot. I call Nikki next and I get no answer from her as well. Shit. Next I call Ryler's parents because Nikki is supposed to be with them. If they don't answer something is definitely wrong.

"Hello?" I hear Ryler's mother's voice come over the phone.

"Mrs. Stevens this is Agent Storm" I say.

"Oh Agent Storm" she says sounding happy to hear from me, but I can also sense some worry probably for her daughter. "Is everything okay? How's Ryler?"

"Ryler's fine ma'am" I say gently. "I was wondering if Nikki and her agents arrived yet. We haven't heard from them."

"Nikki?" she questions like she's never heard the name before. "She's not here. We got a call from one of the agents last night saying there was a change of plans and that she was no longer coming."

Shit. I go dead silent as fear and panic grip me.

"Agent Storm" I hear her call. "What's going on? Where is Nikki?" I can hear her beginning to panic as well and so I automatically feel myself calm down. I need to remain calm.

"I'm sorry ma'am there must have been some confusion" I say calmly. "I've been out most of the morning and I must not have gotten that info. My apologies. There is no need for you to be concerned."

"Okay" she says uneasily and I can tell she doesn't one hundred percent believe me. "Have Ryler call us when you see her" she adds.

"Will do ma'am" I say before I hang up. I press my foot harder on the gas as I begin speeding towards campus. I call Manning and there is no answer. Fuck.

I reach the dorm in three minutes and I practically park on the side walk as I run up the stairs to Ryler's room. I bang on the door but there is no answer and so without warning I kick the door down. I wildly look around the room feeling desperate as I see no signs of her anywhere. I notice her phone is gone. That's good. She took her phone. I can track her that way. There is no sign of a struggle so I try to find comfort in that too. I look for some type of message, praying that she left me one, but I find nothing. God dammit.

I sprint across the hall to my room and break down that door too, not bothering to get my key out. I call for Manning and I hear him groan from inside the room. I run and find him handcuffed to the bed frame bleeding profusely from his nose.

"Jesus Manning" I say as I appraise him. "What the hell happened?"

"Ryler" he rasps.

"What?" I ask bewildered. "She did this?"

"She attacked me in the hallway" he says. "I was so shocked. I didn't even have time to react before she knocked me unconscious. I'm so sorry Colt."

I can hear the guilt in his voice. He feels guilty for letting her get away, for not protecting her the way I needed him to. I want to be angry with him but I can't. Neither of us saw this coming. I never would have thought she would hurt Manning. Why would she do this? What happened since I left that would make her so desperate to hand herself over? Then it clicks. Nikki. He fucking has Nikki.

"It's okay" I say as I uncuff him. "We just need to find her. I think he has Nikki. She never arrived at the safe house and it's the only thing I can think of that would make Ryler do this."

Manning rubs his wrists as he stands and gathers himself. "Okay, let's try tracking their cells" he says as he walks over to his computer.

"Okay" I agree since I remember I didn't see Ryler's phone in her room. "Check her call history too. I want to know who she talked to last."

"You got it" he says.

While he does that I make calls to Agent Hawthorne and the police, even though I would rather not involve Chief Bronson I know we need as much manpower as possible.

Minutes later Manning is done and says, "I checked her call history and the last call she received was from Nikki's phone and that was about a half hour ago."

Dammit. "So he definitely has her then. He used Nikki's phone to call her to make sure she'd answer. Were you able to track her?" I ask.

"No" he says. "I'm afraid her phone has been destroyed or something. Nikki's too."

"Dammit!" I yell as I slam my hand against the desk. I hate this. I hate this feeling. I feel desperate and out of control. I need to reign it back in. I need to get a handle on things. I won't be able to help her if I can't keep it together.

"We'll find her" Manning says calmingly but strongly. "We need to remain calm though. Getting worked up is not going to help her."

I breathe deeply knowing he's right, but I'm filled with such rage right now. I just wish she was here so I could yell at her for being so reckless. I hope I get the chance to yell at her again. I hope I'm not too late.

I straighten as I take in another deep breath, "We need to check all the cameras on campus to see if they caught anything" I say regaining my focus.

"Good idea" he says as he slaps a gentle hand on my back. I look at him and I try to draw strength from him, from the man who has been my mentor. Most people think it was Agent Hawthorne and yes he has been a mentor to me as well, but it is Manning who has taught me so much. It's Manning who has become like family to me.

Together we head over to campus security and thankfully they hand over their office to us so we can do what we need to do. I really didn't feel like having to threaten anyone to get what I needed today. We begin checking all the cameras starting with the parking lot ones to see if she got into a car. Sure enough we see her, but unfortunately from the angle we cannot see the license plate on the car. Fuck.

I stand angrily as we are once again led to a dead end and have now wasted another hour. That's another hour that Ryler is in the hands of maniac. That's another half hour leading closer to her death. I feel sick as nausea and grief grip me, but then something pops into my mind and I run from the security office without a word and I hear Manning following me seconds later yelling for me to slow down but I can't. I run to Ryler's room as I search desperately for something that I hope I do not find. I cling to this one final hope and when I come up empty after tearing her room apart I feel that hope spark into something greater. I send a silent message to Ryler in my thoughts. I'm coming Ryler. Hold on. I'm coming.