Part 1: 1,970 words in total Part 2: 1,056 words in total Total: 3,026 words Part 2: You sit at your desk, your head buried in your hands. You can't seem to figure out these recent disappearances, no matter how hard you try. They all have one thing in common- apparently the victims all lived alone. To you, this isn't very important- everyone knows it's easier to take people who are by themselves. You've been looking for 3 months and can't seem to find anything else to link them together. 6 people- 4 men, 2 women- taken two weeks apart with no sign of them left behind. No family members, employers or friends saw them the day they went missing, and it almost seemed like you were the only one who still cared. Regardless, you had to figure out this case. Your boss knocks on your door, interrupting your not-very-important thoughts. They open it before you can say a word. "Are you still looking at the disappearances? We've had our top agents working on it and even they can't figure it out." "It just seems wrong to leave them alone like that! Unless you have any other work for me to do, I'm going to keep looking." They sigh, shaking their head at you. "What am I going to do with you, y/n?" You grin. "Maybe promote me when I figure out this case?" They return a brief smile then close the door, leaving you to your work. ----------One day later----------- You sit in the front seat of a black van with your best friend, Devin Carters. You've known him for almost 8 years, and there's no one you trust more to help you with this operation. "This better be good, y/n. I called in sick to help you with this- I'm technically on a different case." "I admire your dedication to this- and your dedication to me," you respond cheekily. "Now come on, the code I have to get into this house turns off in an hour. We have to hurry. I have a feeling this'll be the one." Devin doesn't say anything in response and gets out of the car, lugging the duffel of equipment you brought with him. When you get into the house, the two of you decide to split up. You go into Alicia's (one of the women who got kidnapped) bedroom, while Devin goes into her personal office. You cautiously walk up the creaky, wooden stairs even though there's no one else home (besides Dev). You wonder what you'll find there, if you do find anything. The thought that all of this might've been a waste had invaded your thoughts a lot lately, especially since this was the last victim's house you had to explore. You make it to the top of the stairs and push the door to the room open. You look around as thoroughly as you can, but even though you're extremely distracted, you can't find anything. You open up the closet and find nothing but shoes, dresses, and a wardrobe with shirts and bottoms. You look under the bed and find a box of old school stuff. Maybe all the victims went to the same school? You know it's unreasonable but still make a plan to revisit the other houses. At this point, you'd do anything to get the kidnapper and secure your job at the agency. You start walking down the stairs to tell Dev about your plan. You walk into the study on the 1st floor, not seeing him anywhere. "Devin?" You call, unsure about where he could be. You're about to turn around and look in another room, maybe the kitchen, when everything suddenly goes dark. You're about to scream when the smell of chloroform invades your nostrils and you briefly hear your head hit the ground. -------2 and a half hours later--------- "Devin? Devin Carter. You were the kidnapper? Why?" You ask in a shaky voice, not sure of anything that was going on. "I'm sorry, y/n. Or actually, I'm not. It needed to happen. I was sick of being stuck in that filthy office room, nothing but a secretary. Even prison would be better than being your second-in command. All in all, I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out already. It was pretty obvious." You pause for a moment, thinking about how Devin could've linked the kidnappings together. And that's when you realize. -continued-
-continued- "You called in sick. Just like you did today to come here with me." He grinned, and you could feel years of betrayal emanating from that one smile. "That's right. And now, it's time for me to become first in command." What could that mean? you think, not knowing what he was going to do. But you don't have to wait long to find out. Before you know it, the bag is back over your head, and you get nauseous from the lingering smell. Devin leads you to the van and shoves you in the back seat, not bothering to buckle you up. He gets in the front and before you have time to become aware of your surroundings, the vehicle is moving. He must've noticed you were awake, because the chemical smell once again invades your head and you're passed out. Once you wake up, you manage to sit upright and pull the bag off of your head. You look around, trying to find something to attack with. The only thing there is a pen. You could stab him with it, but you don't want to permanently maim, or kill, your old best friend. Devin doesn't seem to notice you're awake yet, so you use that to your advantage. You look at his seat, trying to find something that could help you get out. Nothing. You know what you have to do. Taking a (quiet) deep breath in, you aim and throw. The pen slices through the outside of Devin's hand, the one on the wheel. He barely has time to turn around before you jump in the passenger seat and kick him out of the seat and into the crook of the door. You fiddle your way into the drivers seat and get your hand on the wheel, regaining control of the van. You grab his gun and phone, knocking him out with the gun and dialing a number on the phone. "911? Hello, I'd like to report an emergency."
