I stare at Ian wide eyed as he unties my restraints, watching as I fall forwards onto the ground.
I let out a groan, pulling myself up and off the floor.
He turns to look at me with a sick grin and I back away.
"Hey...we can talk this out. You know? You don't have to—attack me!"
"Oh darling...attack you? You're a silly girl. I won't hurt you, that's not my job here. You can choose to do this willingly, or unwillingly. Whichever one you choose doesn't matter to me. I'll have my simple fun either way. So tell me, Jae Williams, easy way, or hard way?"
My eyes catch on the knife in his hand, and the rope in the other.
Oh hell no.
I grab a gun off a small table next to me, pointing it at him.
"Get away or I'll shoot you!"
His eyes snap on the gun, then glide back to my face with a smirk.
"Pull the trigger."
I stare at him blankly, before resting my finger on it.
Ian looks at me expectantly, an amused smirk stuck on his face as I pull it.
Nothing.
He starts laughing, and my eyes widen.
It had no bullets.
Ian sighs, clapping slowly.
"You're brave, darling. I've gotta give you that...but I dodged your shoot before, what made you think I couldn't do it again? I don't keep loaded weapons near my hostages...that makes it far too easy for you. I like to see you struggle."
I still point it at him, glaring.
"Doesn't mean I can't whack your ass over the head with this...guns have more purposes then projecting bullets."
Ian places his items down before cocking his head to the side.
He walks closer to me and I resist the urge to back away, standing my ground.
I stare up at him angrily, and he smiles whilst taking my wrist, bringing it higher before squeezing it.
Ian twists my wrist painfully until I let out a yelp, dropping the gun onto the floor.
Its clatter echoes in the room, and he releases my wrist.
I yank my hand back, looking down at the bright red hand mark on my wrist.
"You better let me go, Ian. My team will find you. And when they do it—"
He grabs my chin harshly, snapping my head to look up at him.
"Listen to me, princess. I don't think you're understanding that you're not the one in charge here. I am. So if you know what's best for you you'd go into that room and sit on that chair. Don't make me drag you there myself. Know your place, Jae."
Ian releases me and I stumble back into the wall, glaring at him before sliding from between him and the wall to go into the other room.
Almost all white, and empty besides a metal chair, a table, and a cart.
I hesitantly walk over to the chair, feeling his presence behind me.
"Don't be scared. Take a seat, Williams."
I sit down and he straps me there, grinning.
"Ahh...this is very entertaining for me. I get to see you squirm around while I'm in control. It does feel nice to be able to do this again."
"Do what?!"
My eyes follow him as he begins humming.
Creepy.
He stops at the metal cart, holding a needle that he begins to fill with some sort of liquid from a small pill sized container.
My eyes widen as he comes back towards me, an even larger grin spreading across his face as he probably sees the fear in my eyes.
Ian brushes my hair from the side of my neck, raising the needle when I open my mouth.
"What're you doing, Ian?! What is that?!"
His eyes snap on mine.
"I'm putting you to sleep, darling. It'll be better for you...you won't feel as much. You'll just have a nice dream and wake up. Everything will be fine."
My eyebrows furrow and he strokes the side of my face.
"Don't be scared. It'll only pinch a bit. Just look away."
Ian faces my head away from the needle, inserting it into the flesh of my neck.
He injects the drug of some sort before pulling it back out, placing the thing back on the cart.
He looks back at me with a cold smile.
"How are you feeling, Jae?"
My eyes move to meet his, and slowly the world spins behind him, until it blurs out completely.
"Dizzy..."
He snickers as my head lolls to the side, backing away.
"That's perfect."
********
(DRAKE'S POV)
I stare blankly at the red numbers on the floor, my head spinning.
34. He's in prison...there's no way he could've done this. Unless there's someone else.
I turn to look at Georgia who's already on her phone, eyes wide.
"I'm going to call Bronwyn and alert her and Cyrus on what's going on. Call backup to search the place. Someone still might be here."
"Got it."
I take out my phone, dialing the station.
"Hello?"
"Brianna, yes. There was an incident at Agent Williams' house. We believe she's been taken...or worse. Can you send backup right away for a search?"
"Yes. Yeah. On it. I hope y'all can find her...good luck."
She hangs up the phone, and I search around with my eyes as I hear Georgia panicking.
"Bronwyn?!"
"Yes, Gigi? Is everything okay?! You don't sound well."
"No. Nothing's okay. I think Jae's dead."
"What?!"
Bronwyn's voice pierces through the phone and I grimace.
"Drake and I came to check on her...and her door was left wide open. Everything of here's was left behind, and there's blood. Lots of it. Everywhere. The number 34 was painted in what we assume is her blood as well but I don't know. Come if you want...but I'm not sure it's something you want to see."
Bronwyn sighs.
"I'm telling Cyrus now. We'll be there."
She hangs up the phone as we hear more care, tons of officers with gloves and evidence bags coming in.
"Look around everywhere! Don't miss a spot! We need to find Jae as fast as possible!"
They all nod and go off, and I look at Georgia.
"We might be able to find something too. Come with me."
"Okay."
Georgia steps over the blood painted message, following me down a narrow hall to her opened bedroom door.
We walk in, and I go over to her desk where I see a ripped piece of lined paper, seemingly from a notebook, bending over slightly to look at it.
My eyes widen as the scan the words.
I'm helping a serial killer. Or spree killer. Whatever. It doesn't matter about the name...what matters is that I'm going completely mad thinking about this. I can't tell anyone...and I sure as hell can't do anything! I guess I'll just have to see what happens...
I look back at Georgia who looks just as confused, and we both give each other a look.
"She's been kidnapped by some sort of psycho, hasn't she?"
*********
(JAE'S POV)
My eyes flutter open, and I'm sitting in the grass.
There's a large still lake in front of me, and the world is motionless and quiet.
I look down at my hands, and they're coated in blood.
Weird...
When I look back up I'm in an all white room...with blood oozing from the ceiling. My blood. Its creating a sloppy blood-monster of some sort that begins to crawl towards me.
I scramble backwards, but the thing comes closer and closer, swallowing me in its sticky red void of a trap.
I feel myself suffocating, drowning in my own blood.
Dying.
I suck in a huge breath, my eyes opening again to be in the same white room.
This time there's a computer in front of me, and I feel someone directly behind me.
It was a dream.
A really weird dream.
I look down, at my reddening and purpling wrists from the tightness of the metal restraints keeping my arms down.
This is like an electric chair. But without the electrocution.
I blink a few times, my eyes adjusting to see that I'm on camera.
Camera?!
"What's going on?!"
I look around, and hear the same familiar laughter, feeling someone brushing my hair with their fingers.
"Smile at the camera, Jae."
He directs my face by the chin to look directly into the camera, and I try to look at him.
"Why are you filming me?"
"This is live broadcasting to your little detective friends! Say hi!"
I look at the camera, trying to move my arms.
"Let me go! This is...this isn't what I agreed to do! I swear I just wanted more information for the case! Not to be scheming with you! Or—or being harassed by you, Ian! Or Alan! Whoever thought this mental torture was a good idea! I'm done!"
Ian shakes his head quietly.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Too late for backing out, love. If you're done I'd simply have to kill you. You know too much."
He walks around me, placing another computer that is footage of something else.
"What's that?!"
"You're workplace! I'm watching you're little friends to see every little thing they do! Look! They're watching you right now."
I squint, seeing the four of them watching me.
"How—how is this working?!"
"Technology, sweetheart. Not rocket science."
"Can they hear us?!"
"Not at the moment. They can just see you, cherry. I figured we could have some fun."
He pulls a gag over my mouth, blowing me a kiss that I give him a disgusted look for.
"Now be quiet for me, will ya? I have a show to put on."
Ian somehow unmutes the thing, coming back behind me.
He caresses the skin of my arm, before gently dragging a knife over it.
I jump slightly, and he smiles, squatting down to be in view of the camera.
Ian waves and I see their scared and confused faces.
I would be confused too. He does look exactly like Alan but with dark brown hair and green eyes.
"Hello, agents. I'm Ian Thomas, the less well known of the Thomas brothers. But don't worry. I'm just a little violent. I like to see people in pain if that eases your worry. As you see my new BFF and otherwise pain in the ass acquaintance Jae Williams is here with me. She isn't here against her will. Promise. But now that that's out of the way...I'm going to state my price."
He grins, and when I start making muffled noises slashes my leg.
"Shut up, woman! I'm trying to have my moment in the spotlight and you're ruining it with your moaning and groaning. Do that again and I'll cut off your limbs."
He looks back into the camera, smiling.
"I apologize, my hostage is being a little bitch."
He lets out a sigh, tapping the knife against the side of the chair.
"Listen closely now, because you have two tasks at hand. You get my brother out of prison and safe first. Then you bring us him with a promised 10,000 dollars in 33 hours at the parking lot behind that club. Zero Extreme is its name. Give everything to us and I'll give you the girl. Understand?"
I see my members' faces in the other computer, and tears begin to run down my face as he starts laughing.
It's just now that I realize it.
This was a mistake.
There's no way in hell I'm getting out of this shit alive.