94Hey guys! I am LOVING all the speculation and comments and everything you guys are sending- Thank you so much for interacting with this story!
(Complete side note- I'm changing my display name on here, so just a heads up, in case you're like 'who is this?')
Enjoy the chapter!
Everything came in flashes.
Cold metal against her skin. Ropes scratching her wrists and ankles.
Someone's voice, muffled against the film on her mind. The world swayed back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and-
Eyes open, everything was dark.
Eyes open, everything swam in front of her, grays and browns.
The crunch of wheels on gravel. A tinny speaker playing top hits.
Pounding in her head.
Her name, spoken in a gruff tone. Vanessa.
A pinch in her neck. A cold, slick feeling running down her spine.
Darkness.
By the time the day was over, Frank could feel the exhaustion in every piece of his body and mind. There was something grueling about this investigation, more so than any others he'd dealt with, and whether it was because it was personal and his brother was at stake, or because seven hours discussing hell could put a damper on anyone's enthusiasm, Frank had been barely able to think over the throbbing in his skull when hour eight had rolled around.
Their work, however, had not been insubstantial. Where once mostly-empty boards full of half-baked leads and working theories were, now were covered in a cohesive story of the victims of Petya Egorov.
Rubbing a hand over his face, the soft murmurings of other bone-tired police and detectives around him, Frank let his eyes wander over some of their progress, the names connected to each level of hell and their 'sin'.
Limbo: Matthew Greer
Lust: Sara Martinez
Gluttony: Sheila Denvers
Greed: Harrison Yin
Anger: Andrew Dalton & Santino Dalton
Heresy: Mikey Huang
Violence: Joseph Hardy & Vanessa Bender
Fraud: —
Treachery: —
Frank didn't want to think about why Egorov had needed both Joe and Vanessa for the sin of violence. Before they had connected the dots between Dante's Inferno and the sick game Egorov was playing, Frank had thought that Joe and Vanessa being together for whatever Egorov would throw at them could have made them stronger. They were a team, and Frank had witnessed first hand just how strong of one they were. Frank didn't know if he believed in soulmates, but if they were real, Joe and Vanessa would fit the bill. After their realization, however, and the briefing on what had actually happened to the victims taken by the hand of Egorov, Frank had lost the glimmer of hope that had told him Joe and Vanessa were always better together. Egorov had torn apart Andrew and Santino, and he was foolish to believe Egorov couldn't do that to Joe and Vanessa.
At the thought, guilt was immediate. Joe and Vanessa were gone, taken by the hands of a madman, and he couldn't even give them faith in their strength. They needed someone in their corner, someone to believe in them, and if anyone should be doing it, it should be him.
And here you are, doubting them.
They would survive. They would get through it, and Frank would be there for them, every step of the way.
Whatever it takes.
A hand on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts. Frank turned, meeting the familiar gaze of his father. The tiredness he saw there matched his own, and he offered a half smile in greeting.
"You did good work today, son," Fenton said, giving his shoulder a squeeze, "You should be proud of yourself."
Frank nodded, grateful, clasping a hand over his father's. "Thanks, Dad." He turned his eyes back to their newly found evidence. "I just hope it's enough."
There was a moment of silence before his father's sigh, deep and heavy, cut through the air. "We made more progress today than we have for a long time. No case is solved in a day."
Frank echoed his father's sigh. "I don't want to be too late. It feels like we already are."
"We're not." Fenton's voice was firm.
"We have no idea where he is, Dad."
Fenton nodded. "But now we know what he's doing. Those things go hand in hand, we just have to find out how. And we will."
His father's assurance settled in his chest, and with one last glance to the mostly empty meeting room, Frank let himself hope. They had some of the best minds on this case, working together to find Egorov. They would find him, they would find Joe and Vanessa.
With a final handshake from Collig and an assurance that he was officially invited to the case, Frank followed his father out of the precinct, stifling a yawn.
They had just pulled into their driveway when Frank's phone rang, cutting through the exhausted silence that had laid heavy over him and his father. Slipping out of the car and waving his father inside, Frank pulled out his phone, glancing at the caller ID.
Callie.
He had almost forgotten he had called her and left a message, letting her know what had happened.
Frank flipped open his phone, holding it to his ear. "Callie?"
"Frank," she answered, and he could hear an edge of panic in her voice, even through the phone.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Frank let his head sag, chin against his chest. "Hi, Cal."
"Tell me what happened."
There was no room in her tone for argument. If he knew Callie, and he did, she had most definitely found out that he hadn't called her right away. And by her tone, she wasn't happy about that fact. Frank couldn't blame her.
"Cal, I'm sorry-"
"When were you gonna tell me, Frank?"
He swallowed, closing his eyes. "I just," he said, trailing off. He hadn't been going to. Or, he was, but after she had finished the trip she'd been looking forward to for so long.
"Was I supposed to come home and learn they'd been missing for weeks? My best friend? And Joe? I don't understand your thought process, Frank." Her voice was controlled, calm, but he could hear the irritation in her words.
"Cal, listen, I really am sorry. I didn't want to interrupt your trip, you've been so excited about it-"
"Not so excited that I don't want to know when my friends go missing."
Frank squeezed his eyes shut tighter. "I know. It wasn't fair of me. But I guess I just thought…It wouldn't matter if I told you now or later, because I'd find him and Vanessa before you got back. There wouldn't be a reason to make you worry if I could just figure this out and find them."
There was a moment of silence from Callie's end of the line, followed by a soft, sad sigh. "Baby," she said quietly, all frustration that had been in her tone prior now gone.
"I really am sorry, Callie."
Her voice was soothing. "You shouldn't have to keep that all on your shoulders, love. That's why I'm here. Even if it cuts my vacation short."
Nodding, he ran a hand through his hair. "I know. I just kept thinking 'tomorrow, tomorrow I'll find them, and it will all be over'. I thought about calling you everyday, but I thought, 'what's one more? They'll be home soon'. And now it's been a week, and we still have no idea where they are. I'm really worried, Cal. Egorov is," he hesitated for a moment, drawing in a long breath, "really sick. We need to find them."
Ever since his father had caught wind of the case, he and Joe had tried to keep up with it as much as they could, and in turn, Frank had kept Callie up to date with everything he knew. In hindsight, most details had been left out, but even the barest bones of details meant knowing that Egorov was a twisted man. At this point, the whole of New York knew the name.
"You will, love. And it's not all on you, okay? If he hasn't been caught yet, it says more about his skill and much less about what you think is your incompetence."
Frank chuckled grimly. For as much as he knew her, she knew him in return. "Thanks, Cal."
She hummed in response, another moment of silence passing. "I'm booking a flight home, babe, okay? Please don't try to talk me out of it."
"Even if I tried, I don't think I'd win," he said, a half smile playing on his lips.
Her silvery laugh tinkled out of the phone speaker, just for a moment. "You got that right, love."
"Be safe," he told her.
"Get rest. I'll keep you updated on my flight, and I'll see you soon. I love you, Frank."
"I love you, Cal."
Frank flipped his phone shut. There was a soft breeze cutting through the heat of the night, and Frank leaned his head back for a moment, letting it wash over him. Callie had always been his rock. It was foolish of him to think he could leave her out of this or make that decision for her.
"Thank, Mom," he said to the night air, her words from the previous night having struck true.
As someone who has experience dating a private investigator…you should call her.
Behind him, the side door to his childhood home swung open, and Fenton poked his head out. "Everything alright?"
Frank nodded, making his way to the door. "Callie called."
Fenton looked at him knowingly. "I see."
"Mom said I should tell her."
A wiry smile played on his father's features. "She's usually right about those sorts of things."
"She always is."
Chuckling, Fenton patted his back as he stepped inside, letting the door fall shut behind him. "Good man, Frank."
When he got up to his room, he wandered over to the bookshelf, his hand ghosting over the old copy of Dante's Inferno that sat there, unopened since he'd read it in highschool. It was late, but he wouldn't be able to fall asleep right now anyways, his mind too awake. Slipping the book from the shelf, he tossed it onto his bed, staring at it as he slipped into pajamas. If they were going to find something, the source material of what Egorov might be going off of was a good place to start.
He scooped up the book as he sat on his bed, cracking open the pages. He'd have to eventually read the full thing, pour over every detail, but tonight, he had a different goal. Frank flipped through the pages, eyes scanning as he tried to remember the details of each section of the book. He'd liked it, when he'd first read it, but it had been a while ago. Thumbing back and forth for a while, he eventually found what he'd been looking for.
Canto 12.
The seventh circle of hell, the punishment for the sin of violence.
Frank took a deep breath, and began to read.
Everything came in flashes.
Everything came in flashes until it didn't.
Something bright prickled at her eyelids, and Vanessa struggled to open her eyes, blinking at the assault of light. Everything settled, eventually, and Vanessa kept her eyes open long enough to see an unfamiliar man glancing at her in the rearview mirror at where she lay, tied up in the backseat of an unfamiliar vehicle.
Her whole body was sore, which she attributed both to the tight restraints around her wrists and ankles and the hazy memory of lying sideways on something cold and hard, like the back of a truck.
The memories of the past week shuffled into her still-hazy mind, and panic coursed through her, beginning to pull at her bonds.
The unfamiliar man's voice crackled to life, Vanessa's shooting her eyes up to look at him. "Hey, kid, chill. I'm not gonna hurt yah."
He was a burly man, with a thick beard and thicker eyebrows, his hands resting lightly on the steering wheel as he eyed her through the mirror. Vanessa forced herself to take a deep breath through the gag in her mouth, stilling her body. It wouldn't pay to freak out, not yet. And if they hadn't killed her yet, it seemed odd that they would drive her someone else to do it, when they could have just killed her in that cell.
'I'm going to let you go,' Egorov had told her.
But not Joe. Vanessa shut her eyes, letting her head fall back onto the seat.
"Just a job," the older man drawled, and Vanessa opened her eyes again, furrowing her brows, "And I've got debts. I don't usually like doing anything with younguns, but this was just a simple dropoff. So I won't be layin' a finger on yah, kid. Don't worry."
The reassurance was anything but, and Vanessa didn't respond more than staring at the man for a moment, narrowing her eyes.
A dropoff?
From what she could see out the window, they were in some kind of wooded area, and from the way the car moved, on a dirt road. From her limited view, she didn't recognize anything, but other than trees, there wasn't much to see.
All she could do was wait. Vanessa's strong suit had never been patience.
Flicking her eyes up to make sure the man wasn't watching her, Vanessa tugged her wrists against the rope that encircled them, testing. It didn't budge, of course, and Vanessa tried to pull up the things Joe had told her about what to do to get out of different types of restraints. Trying to dislocate her thumb was out of the question. Even if she figured out how, she'd just be in pain in the back of the car, with her legs still tied together, which would be all together unhelpful.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Vanessa hadn't decided yet, she didn't have to mull over the decision for long before the car was rolling to a halt and the burly man was telling her to wait there for a moment.
Not like I can go anywhere, she thought bitterly.
Her freedom didn't guarantee her safety, she knew. Her freedom didn't guarantee Joe's safety either. She didn't know if she had anything helpful to tell the police, when they found her. Sure, she could tell them what had happened, the immediate location where they had been held, but she had no clue where they had been, who the two men were outside of their names, or what they had really been doing.
Egorov's words popped into her mind. 'You will not mention my brother.'
He had known her mother's name, where she lived.
'I've heard Medford is beautiful this time of year.'
The car door next to her head swung open and Vanessa reeled back as much as she could, glaring at the man in front of her with enough vitriol to make Joe proud.
He looked almost sheepish, apologetic. "I've gotta put you under one last time, kid. Won't be for long this time."
At the sight of a familiar syringe in his hand, Vanessa shook her head, yanking the front of her body closer to her legs as he approached, her movement halted by the other car door. With a frantic look downward, Vanessa hooked her bare foot underneath the handle and pulled, the door falling open.
"Aw, kid," the man said as she scooted towards the open door, his large hand coming to wrap around her arm, pulling her roughly toward him, "Don't make this hard, okay? I just gotta drop yah off."
Vanessa struggled, even as she knew it was fruitless, because she absolutely would be 'making this hard'. No one got to kidnap her and Joe and tell her to take it easy.
She felt a familiar pinch in her neck. Lifting her eyes back to the man, she filled her gaze full of spite.
"Sorry, kid," he said to her as her vision faded, going dark around the edges.
"Fuck you," she said through the gag, the words muffled and garbled.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something.
The drugs pulled her under.
–
As promised, Vanessa faded back into consciousness. The haze of whatever drugs they'd been using on her made it hard to focus, and she forced herself to take a few deep breaths, blinking in the wake of the still bright sky.
Her body still ached, but as she moved to stretch her limbs, the realization that her bonds had been removed trumped over any aches and pains. Vanessa rolled her wrists and ankles, ensuring their intactness, before slowly pushing herself into a sitting position, pulling the gag from her mouth.
Surrounding her was what she had seen through the sliver of window in the car: trees. And quite frankly, nothing else.
A feeling of vastness washed over her from her spot on the ground, surrounded by forest for as far as she could see. Not a tinge of artificial sound rang out around her, and as she parted her lips to speak, it almost felt like an offense to the peace of nature around her.
"Hello?" She called, scanning her eyes for any sign of…anything.
Save the sound of the bird's chirping, her call was left unanswered.
A sinking feeling crept over her, feeling altogether small in comparison to the swelling forest around her.
Something told her her biggest problem wouldn't be what to tell the police. First, she had to find them.
Guys, I'm thrilled to have Vanessa as another main character in this story, taking over some of the narrative. While it won't be as much as either of the boys, she's definitely going to have a bigger role, because she's a badass and I love her. And Callie's about to arrive in person! Thanks again for your continued support on this story- please review if you feel so inclined! They make my day.
-Lee :)