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CHAPTER TWO.
DAVENPORT KIDNAPPING:
PART TWO
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A THICK SILENCE HUNG IN THE AIR as Evangeline softly tapped her fingers against her knee. Her, Morgan and Hotch were currently waiting in the car, parked in a spot at a rental car lot. Reid had told them that the ransom drop was going to happen there. Cheryl sat in her yellow Volkswagen Beetle, just barely visible to Evangeline's eyes. "You know my guess?" Morgan started, breaking the silence, "One of these cars has a set of keys already in the ignition with a disposable cell phone sitting right in it."
"—So she switches cars and phones," Hotch said.
"Mm-hmm," Morgan mumbled, letting out a sigh and checking his watch, "5 minutes." Evangeline furrowed her eyebrows together, suddenly finding herself deep in thought. "He's probably gonna have her drive around for over an hour just to make sure no one's following her."
Hotch nodded, "And then the ransom drop." Evangeline suddenly grabbed onto the back of Hotch's seat, grabbing his attention.
"Something's not right about this," she told the two, "What if he was watching us—or listening to us?"
Hotch shook his head, "The local office did a bug sweep."
"But that ransom call," Evangeline trailed off, biting her bottom lip, "It was way too simple." Hotch then realized just how close she actually was to him. Pieces of her wavy hair tumbled over the side of the seat and onto his shoulder, and her peach-colored nails gripped onto the leather, practically brushed up against his suit. She had a distinct smell; almost like a fresh coconut scent that drowned him completely.
Hotch cleared his throat lightly, "All right, you're the unsub. What would you have done differently?" Evangeline thought for a moment before speaking.
"I would have said don't involve the police or the media. $500,000. No consecutive serial numbers on the bills. No marked bills. No new bills. No tracking devices in the money bag. No tracking devices in the car," She trailed off, and she could go on and on. Hotch knitted his eyebrows together.
"Why didn't he say any of this?" He questioned. It was as if right then in that very moment, a lightbulb went off in her head.
"This was never about the money," Evangeline said, feeling her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.
Hotch quickly caught onto her theory, "It's not a ransom drop."
Evangeline met his gaze, her blue eyes widening, "It's a second kidnapping." Morgan and Hotch immediately hopped out of the car, causing her to do the same. "Cheryl!" Evangeline yelled, causing the blonde to immediately turn in her direction.
"Get down! Stay down!" Morgan ordered her. Cheryl did as she was told and quickly dropped to the ground. Hotch and Morgan shot at the car that was currently speeding off into the distance. Unfortunately, the two agents missed the shots, allowing the unsub to get away.
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The team was gathered in the kitchen of the Davenport's house. Evangeline was leaned up against a counter next to Hotch with her arms crossed over her chest. "Crime of obsession," Hotch's voice caught her attention, "Your specialty, your lead, Morgan."
"I think we should recheck everyone on Davenport's staff against the profile of a stalker," Morgan suggested.
"Aren't stalking behaviors pretty diverse?" Elle asked.
"There's overlap," Evangeline answered, "Narcissistic, inflated sense of self-worth, history of bad relationships..."
"What do we know so far?" Hotch questioned, sighing softly as he rested his hands upon his hips. He acted very professional, which Evangeline found extremely attractive. But of course, she kept that little thought to herself.
"He's probably white, obviously male—sophisticated speech patterns..." Morgan trailed off. Gideon began to hand out slices of an orange he was cutting. Evangeline took a piece and happily ate it.
"Sophisticated, yet bizarre," Gideon added.
Evangeline nodded, "He rarely uses contractions. It's not 'you're,' it's 'you are.'"
"This guy's pretentious. He wants to sound smarter than he actually is. Whatever position of authority or level of success this guy has, he had to struggle for it," Morgan deducted.
"We also have to face the possibility at this point..." Hotch trailed off.
"—That Trish may already be dead," Evangeline finished, causing him to glance over towards her. She shared a look with him, but the little moment was interrupted by Morgan's voice.
"You know, so far he's called every play. I say we apply some pressure, make him sweat."
Gideon sighed softly, "Well, there's only one way to do that."
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The sound of the phone ringing grabbed everyone's attention. After the 3rd ring, Mr. Davenport made a move to answer it. "Hold on," Gideon told him. Mr. Davenport scoffed lightly and took a couple steps back. Gideon stood from his chair and waited until the last minute before answering the call. As soon as he answered it, he hung up.
"What are you doing?" Mr. Davenport questioned. The phone rang again, and Gideon didn't make a move to answer it. "Agent Gideon?"
After the fourth ring, he answered, "Hello?"
"Tell me there was a technical issue with the line, because if you actually just hung up on m—" Gideon hung up on him again.
"What the hell are you doing?" The phone rang again.
"Are you going to answer it?" Cheryl asked, worry clearly vivid in her tone.
"W-Why is he doing this? What is he—what—you're gonna drive this guy crazy," Mr. Davenport said, "Just answer the phone."
"Quiet. Please, quiet," Gideon told him. Cheryl made a move towards the phone, but Evangeline tried her best to hold her back.
"Cheryl, he knows what he's doing," she tried to reassure.
"—Somebody has to answer it!"
"J-Just answer the phone, for God's sake!" Mr. Davenport yelled, starting to move towards the phone as well, "Pick up the phone—"
"—Don't touch it!" Gideon said sternly. Morgan and Hotch grabbed ahold of Mr. Davenport to keep him away from the phone.
"Gideon knows what he's doing," Morgan told him.
After another moment, Gideon pressed the button, "Davenport residence."
"Are you out of your mind? Do you realize, you do understand, that I'll kill her?! Do you—" And just like that, he was hung up on again. A heavy silence filled the air as they waited. The phone started to ring, causing Gideon to smile.
"You're killing my daughter!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed, trying to get at Gideon, but Hotch held him back, "Pick up the phone! Pick up the phone! You son of a bitch!"
"Keep him quiet," Gideon ordered.
"You're killing her!" Mr. Davenport sobbed, falling down to the floor. Evangeline pulled Cheryl into her arms, letting her cry into her shoulder. She rubbed her back, not even coming close to understanding how she felt.
"Mr. Davenport, get a hold of yourself—"
"—Answer the phone!"
"Quiet him," Gideon said, waiting a couple more rings until he pressed the button.
"She is dead!" The unsub yelled.
"No!" Cheryl exclaimed.
"You hang up on me again, and I rip her open!" Evangeline practically flinched at the sound of his venomous tone.
"I'm sorry. You must have the wrong number," Gideon said whilst hanging up.
"Come on, Gideon," Morgan trailed off.
"You killed her," Mr. Davenport cried.
Gideon shook his head, "No, sir."
"Oh, yeah. Then what—what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I'm saving your daughter, Mr. Davenport." The phone rang again, causing Mr. Davenport to bury his face in his hands. "Have a little faith." He answered the phone once more.
"Put Cheryl on the phone," the unsub ordered.
"No," Gideon shook his head, "You're finished talking to Cheryl."
The unsub scoffed, "Listen to that tone of authority. Just like your published work, agent Gideon. Fascinating to hear that same arrogant quality in your own voice. You are a bit of a pedant, Jason, a bit didactic?"
"Well, that's a very interesting conclusion. You sound," Gideon trailed off, running a hand over his chin, "intelligent, and you certainly sound educated, and...we both know that's not true."
"—Oh, I know about all of you," the unsub said, "The ambitious agent Hotchner? Do you wanna be director of the FBI someday, agent Hotchner? Would you step on Jason Gideon to get there? I think you would. Post-traumatic stress is a very good excuse. Even your sick, pregnant wife can't get you to leave your post." Evangeline looked up at Hotch, her eyes widening slightly. She didn't know that he was married, nor the fact that he was having a baby. She looked down at his ring finger, noticing the ring that rested on it. How could she not have noticed that before? Perhaps she didn't want to notice.
"Jason Gideon, an expert in the criminal psyche, yet unable to diagnose the autistic leanings of the very insecure Dr. Reid. Well, maybe he can make money counting cards in Las Vegas." Reid looked unfazed by the unsub's insults. "Elle Greenway was promoted too soon. She doesn't have what it takes to make it in the B.A.U. boys club." Elle shook her head in disapproval and clenched her jaw. "The lovely Evangeline, this is your first real case, correct?" Evangeline tensed up at the sound of her name. "Let me tell you something, sweetheart. You're no threat to me, you're no threat to anyone." Evangeline tried to not let his opinions get to her, but she couldn't help but feel personally attacked.
"And token Derek Morgan wants to be taken seriously, but he is just a pumped-up side of beef." Morgan scoffed at the unsub's comment, clearly finding it funny. "I know who you are, I know how you think, and I know what to do next! Do you?" He hung up, causing the room to grow completely silent.
"What the hell was that? Why did he say that he knows what to do next?" Mr. Davenport breathed out in disbelief, "I-Is he gonna hurt my daughter?"
"He was grandstanding," Gideon informed.
Mr. Davenport scoffed, "You don't know that. You—you can't possibly know that."
"Mr. Davenport, I have learned more in the last 5 minutes than in the last 24 hours."
"Oh, really? Well, I don't understand. Why is he focused on you right now?"
"—Because we are interfering in his relationship with the girls," Morgan told him.
"He said he knows all about you."
"Yes, apparently," Hotch said, causing Evangeline to glance at him. "He profiled us, Mr. Davenport."
"Why would he do that?" Cheryl asked.
"To show us how smart he is," Evangeline exclaimed.
"Oftentimes the best profilers are the unsubs themselves. They're the ones who are able to walk into an arcade full of children and pinpoint the boy or girl that can be led out quietly," Reid informed.
Evangeline bit her lip, "But he made a mistake, because he gave us something he didn't expect."
"Uh-huh, which is?" Mr. Davenport asked. Evangeline looked at Gideon, causing him to do the same.
"He told us how to find him."
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The team decided it was best for Cheryl to go to a safe house. So, Evangeline, Morgan, Shyer, and another agent took her somewhere safe for the time being. Evangeline walked Cheryl into the house and led her into a bedroom whilst Morgan went his own way. Cheryl sat on the bed, letting out a distressed sigh and rubbing her face in her hands. Evangeline rested her hand against her shoulder and squeezed it lightly, "We're doing everything we can to get your sister back." Cheryl looked up to meet her gaze, the smallest smile forming on her lips.
"I know," she said, nodding slightly. "Thank you, for everything you've done so far." Evangeline returned a smile, squeezing her shoulder once more.
"Of course." Evangeline took out her phone and clicked on Reid's contact name. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" Cheryl nodded in response, causing Evangeline to leave the room. She still had this one feeling buzzing around inside, as if her conscience was trying to tell her something. She held her phone to her ear, waiting for him to pick up.
"What's up?" Reid answered.
"Hey, I-I was just thinking," she bit her lip gently and began pacing around the room, "they did a bug sweep, right when we arrived."
"Yeah, I remember."
"—And yet the unsub seems to know all about us," Evangeline trailed off, "Do you know what non-local interaction is?"
"What are you getting at?"
"How can he be holding Trish prisoner and still know exactly what we're talking about?" Evangeline questioned.
"I know what you're saying," Reid said, "It seems like he knows what's going on here the moment that it happens."
"—There's gotta be a listening device."
"They swept the room when we got here," Reid reminded her.
Evangeline shook her head, "And then they brought in their own equipment." A short silence was heard on the other end of the phone.
"Their own equipment..." Reid repeated, "I'll get back to you." With that, he hung up. Evangeline sighed and slid her phone back into her pocket.
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Not even 3 minutes later, Evangeline's phone started to ring. She quickly answered it, only to hear a familiar gentle tone on the other side, "It's Hotch. The unsub's Shyer. We're on our way right now."
Evangeline felt her heart rate speed up, "R-Right, Okay." Just as she was about to hang up, his voice stopped her.
"Vrubel—be careful. Morgan's not answering his phone." Evangeline's eyes widened slightly.
"Yeah, I-I will. Thanks." She hung up and quickly grabbed the gun from her holster. The first thing on her mind was to get to Cheryl. She quietly made her way through the halls, making sure to keep her footsteps calculated. The faint sound of a voice came from the other side of the bedroom; a male's voice. She took a deep breath before grabbing onto the door knob, turning it slowly. She quietly stepped into the room, pointing her gun at Shyer's back.
"But this is how it should have been all along, the 3 of us together," Shyer said, holding his pocket knife towards Cheryl.
"Put the knife down," Evangeline told him. Shyer slowly turned around to face her.
"You don't understand," he shook his head, "you don't understand my relationship with these girls."
"Put the knife down," Evangeline repeated, tightly wrapping her fingers around the gun and readjusting her stance.
Shyer clenched his jaw, "You don't understand—"
"—I said put it down!" She yelled, a bit louder than she intended to. She narrowed her eyes, telling him she was serious.
"Okay," he replied, holding the knife out and slowly leaning to put it down. Evangeline's gaze flickered towards Cheryl, which was a mistake because Shyer backhanded her in the face, causing her to stumble back into the wall. Her gun fell out of her grasp and onto the floor. Shyer grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head up, being the reason a groan escaped her lips. "No one is going to stop me from having them," he hissed in her face, wrapping his hands around her neck, "no one!" Evangeline clawed at his hands, desperately trying to gasp for air. He squeezed her neck hard, his eyes showing no sympathy whatsoever. He was going to kill her.
Evangeline's eyes began to water and her face turned into a red, purplish color. Just then, a quick blur slammed into Shyer, causing him to let go of her. Morgan tackled him to the ground, throwing a few deserved punches his way in the process. Evangeline fell to her knees, instinctively reaching for her throat. She felt a hand on her shoulder and heard that same soft-spoken voice, "Vrubel?" She violently coughed as she tried to take in air. "You're all right, just take deep breaths," Hotch told her, moving around so that he was now in front of her. His hands rested on her shoulders, making her look up to meet his gaze. As cliche as it sounds, she felt like she could breathe again as she looked into his eyes. Her chest heaved as she took in deep, slow breaths.
"You okay?" He asked. She nodded her head in response. Hotch made sure she was actually breathing properly before standing her up. "Get her out of here," he told Elle. She nodded in response and grabbed onto Evangeline, helping her walk out of the room. They made their way outside and into the crisp cool air, the wind shifting her hair over her shoulders.
"Here, sit down," Elle said, helping her sit on the edge of the porch. Evangeline rubbed her arms in an attempt to keep herself warm, trying her best to ignore the throbbing of her already bruised throat.
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Evangeline sat at the back of the plane, resting her head against the window as she looked out of it. Slight shuffling was heard as someone sat in the seat in front of her. "You all right?" She glanced over to see Hotch's eyes trailing over her neck. Everyone else on the plane was fast asleep except for them.
"Y-Yeah," She said whilst nodding, "yeah, I'm fine." He looked at her with pity, which made her gaze fall down upon her lap. "What Shyer said..." She trailed off, "maybe he's right. I don't have what it takes." Hotch didn't like how broken her voice sounded.
"You're brave," He said, causing her to look up, "and that's all it takes." Evangeline couldn't help but fall into the endless pit of his chocolate brown orbs. She smiled softly, watching as his eyes trailed towards her neck again. "Mind if I take a look?" She shook her head, telling him she didn't mind. He leaned over and brushed her hair out of the way, tilting her neck to the left, and then to the right. His thumb gently glided across her bruised skin, giving her a sort of pleasurable relief. "Looks like it hurts."
Evangeline chuckled, "This little thing? No, it doesn't hurt at all." Hotch could hear the sarcasm laced through her voice, causing his lips to curl into the smallest smile. She smiled lightly, biting her bottom lip, which Hotch noticed was a habit of hers. Suddenly removing his hand from her, he sat back in his seat, grabbing a stack of files.
"Here," She said, moving the covers off of her and sitting up straight, "Let me do half."
"Suit yourself," He said, handing her half. She flipped to the first page, as did Hotch. She glanced up at him, smiling to herself at the sight of his concentrated expression. Biting her lip once more, she got back to finishing the Davenport file.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE ━ Holy chips with a side of guacamole, the first case is closed!!