25

~ Kevin ~

"ARE YOU SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW!! YOU HAD ONE FUCKING JOB, AND YOU TWO SHITHOLES DIDN'T DO IT!!" I was turning like a tomato. I was beyond furious. The two detectives who guarded Aria stood there with their tails between their legs. “The chief is going to be up my fucking ass for sure!! Hell, our department will get kicked off the case!! I can’t let those bastards take this!!”

A coworker tried to calm me down, but it didn’t work. Ellie talked to police officers in the next hallway over. “Fuck you for telling me to calm the fuck down. My girlfriend is fucking destroyed, and two people have kidnaped my close friend!! Don’t tell me shit!” I kept yelling at my coworkers. They would be like this, too, if something happened to their people.

We didn’t know what to do at this point. I explained that the chief was coming for our heads because of this screw-up. Right when I pointed that out here comes the boss. "HOW IN THE FUCK DO YOU LOSE A FUCKING WITNESS!! HOW!! WHEN YOU WERE GUARDING HER!! HOW IN THE FUCK DO YOU MESS UP EVERY SINGLE TIME. Kevin, you need to do a better job. Now the FBI is up against our asses, and guess what... your department is off the case."

I knew it. I knew that was going to happen. We stood there blankly. Once he stormed off, I turned to my coworker with determination. I wasn’t going to give up that easily. We are taking this into our hands. We will work against the law. We can’t let the FBI fucked this up more. I went to my girl to comfort her. The officers left when I came in. I wiped her eyes and pulled her in for a hug.

She was lifeless when I looked at her. Everything has been sucked out of her. "I'm sorry..." I said.

"I see why Evan is acting like an ass because having someone you love get taken away destroys you. She is gone, and I don't know if we can get her back." Ellie buried her head in my chest. That’s when I told her everyone would be safe soon. We needed hope.

“You are right, I need to start doing things my way, and that's what will happen. You with me?"

"Let's get this bastard," she stated.

~ Ellie~

There was a tap on my forehead the next morning. "Wh-what the... Evan, ain't you supposed to be gone?" I was still half asleep when I said that. He didn’t want to walk alone, so he waited for me. How sweet. We headed out once I got dressed for work.

“I didn’t mean to walk out like that the other day. I feel horrible because we could have caught the guy by now.”

“The way it was set up was too perfect like they practiced. One is the bait, while the other finishes the job. Boom! Simple.” I said in an upset tone. Evan side-hugged me for comfort. He knows we are both hurting. As we entered the building, we immediately got to work without a single hello.

Kaylee was in a meeting, so I had to wait. Standing in that busy hall, a guy tripped and fell in my sight. “You alright?” I asked as I went to help him.

“I’m fine. Thanks for helping me.” He gets on his feet and brushes off. “I’m new around here, and I can’t seem to get my way around these floors yet.”

Our eyes met, and I had this strange feeling that we had met before. Maybe I just imagined we met— my stress is getting to me. Kaylee finished her meeting and came out with the others. She immediately came by my side when she saw the worker. “I'm sorry, but she is taken,” She said with a serious expression.

My face went into shock as that was her choice of words. The guy chuckled and stated he wasn’t interested as he had a girlfriend. He also pointed out I was a downgrade anyways. Hurtful. I was going to say something, but he disappeared into the crowd—a strange man.

“Rude ass,” I snarled. As I said, Kaylee dragged me to the elevator, and we went to the basement. I plopped down in a chair when we arrived, and Kaylee went on her computer.

"What happened last night? It was all over the news?"

Well, my best friend got kidnapped right in front of the police. They found out there were two suspects, which made me right all along. I knew Brad wasn't doing this by himself. It's weird how I figured this out before they did. Kaylee mentioned being involved in the case as extra help. She didn't know citizens could do this.

Technically we can't due to safety issues. However, Kevin has taken this case into his own hands. After being kicked off the case, he was looking into it more. He wasn't going without a fight and wanted to take him down.

Kaylee was amused. To know an officer is not following orders from their superiors is something else. It’s something she wanted to see. She grabs a notebook and pen and then goes to look for something. I sat there thinking about the guy I saw. That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks.

The boss came back and slammed the materials on the desk, waking me up from my thoughts. She stated we should write down all the events, clues, and hints during this. Then see if anything ties together.

The first victim got murdered without a cause. She still has no name, is a John Doe, and has no evidence to identify a suspect. However, these women were talking to someone before their disappearance. That was every witness statement. The scenes take place in the neighborhood near each other. Due to a lack of evidence, the police can't do anything.

“We know he only takes girls that weigh less than 120 pounds. Due to the fact, they are easy to carry.” Kaylee said.

“Not only that, they are connected to someone we know or have seen before. Bailey is Henry’s wife. Henry is Brad’s boss. Jennie is possibly a friend of Brad or someone she randomly talked to. Aria is a stranger, but she is my best friend, and Brandon is Evan’s boyfriend. He knew every last one of them. Including you, Evan, and me. Either he picked this group out of luck or specifically wanted us.” I explained.

Kaylee mentioned that Henry’s death was a suicide. How does that tie in with the rest?? They stated it was a suicide, but Henry wouldn’t do that. He wasn’t a depressed person, and even if he were— he wouldn’t go that far. Plus, he is an ambitious person; he would do anything to find his wife. To kill yourself right after talking to your worker is odd. Nate told me what he said, and that was goodbye.

We continue to sit there and think about what we talked about. The messages!! Brad has shown he is excellent with technology, like me. That skill is why he got many jobs, especially this one with computers and software. He sends threats to us and tries to scare us. He has been messaging me out of the blue, and he doesn’t even have my number, which is the reason why I found out about Brandon.

When he told me that, I turned my phone completely off. Kaylee was confused by that part. Why would I turn it off?? What would it do?? “It may not stop his actions fully, but it would stop recording me. Oh, by the way, Kaylee.”

“What?”

“That guy thinks I must have been stupid. The new guy, my ass. Why would anybody get hired during this mess?? I have never seen you post new positions, either. I wanted to check on him more before he left.” I rolled over to Kaylee and took something out of her pocket. “Looks like someone lost their fake ID. What an old trick in the book. Acting innocent to get someone's attention to do something later.”

"What are you trying to say?"

I walked up to her computer and checked the monitors. “Kaylee, we have found one of the suspects.”