Hourglass [2/6]

[shadowcat]

Title: Hourglass
Author(s): enochiansigils & not_from_stars
Artist(s): sexycazzy
Fandom(s): Primeval
Type: Het
Rating: PG-13 (R in some places for mentions of sexual assault)
Word Count: 21,654
Characters/Pairings: Abby Maitland/Keller Darrow (OC)
Warnings/Spoilers: This is completely AU with mentions of sexual assault.
Summary: Lieutenant Keller Darrow thought that creature incursions and the occasional insane scientist were going to be the worst things he'd need to deal with after he and Abby Maitland fell in love and started dating. However, when Abby is kidnapped by someone from Keller's past, he has to confront things he'd kept hidden from everyone close to him in order to find Abby in time. Meanwhile, in the clutches of vengeful mad man, Abby has to pull on every trick she knows to guarantee her survival. However, when the unthinkable happens, how is Keller going to deal with this while at the same time making sure his past doesn't threaten anyone ever again?
Notes: Written for casestory Big Bang 2011. We want to thank our wonderful artist sexycazzy for the wonderful header she made to go along with this fic -- and the matching icon.







Jenny came back in the room and her eyes were hard. "Lester says whatever we need, we have. He also says he wants a security detail nearby, especially on Sarah and I. Apparently, we're the most likely targets because we look like easy prey." Jenny's first reaction had been that anyone who ever made the mistake of assuming she or Sarah were easy prey would find out how wrong they were -- and deserve everything they got. However, she knew for a fact that Abby wouldn't have been easily taken down, and it worried her to think about what had been done to her friend in order to kidnap her.

"I'm not going to argue," Keller said. "But I want their involvement minimal. He -- because it has to be a he, I just know it -- said you guys could help me; I don't want to push him by involving anybody else."

"It's Lester, it will of course be minimal. He knows what's needed to keep people from taking a second look at a situation," Jenny assured him. Lester was terrifyingly adept at his job.

Keller just nodded slightly. "I know. I just... I'm terrified of doing something wrong. Because if I screw up, if I get an answer wrong in his little game, he's going to send me a piece of Abby."

"What kind of game are you supposed to be playing with him?" Jenny asked him. "I didn't hear you supplying a lot of details or answering any questions while he had you on the phone. "

"I don't know."

"So, we can assume he's going to start sending you puzzles that you have to deal with in order to get a clue as to who this guy is holed up and where he's got Abby," Danny mused as Sarah wrote everything down.

"That sounds about right," Keller said. "It would fit with everything else, at least."

"We can also assume that this isn't related to the ARC." Connor sounded very sure of that. "If it was, they would have called Lester." That was a call that no one would have wanted to see Lester deal with.

"Also a good assumption."

"Have there been any strangers hanging around this area lately?" Danny asked. "Has there been anything out of the ordinary that you’ve noticed or that Abby may have mentioned?"

"Well..." Keller thought for a second. "There've been a lot of strange phone calls, lately."

"Strange how?"

"They hang up when I answer."

"Did Abby ever answer the phone?" Sarah asked as her pen flew across the paper in front of her.

He had to think about it. "Couple times, maybe. Told her to treat this like it was her place, so she probably answered my phone half a dozen times."

"Abby said a few times that she felt like someone was watching her or that she was being followed," Connor said quietly. "When I told her she should tell Becker or Keller, she said it was probably just because of the menagerie or the anomalies. She didn't think it was anything to worry the team about." There was regret in his voice. "I should have said something even if she wouldn't do it. After everything that happened with Stephen and with Cutter, I shouldn’t have let her dismiss her instincts so easily."

"He was watching us," Keller said, realizing. "He was learning our schedules, learning everything he could about us."

"So, whoever this bastard is, he's been planning this for awhile, then," Danny said, looking over at Becker who had remained silent as he stood near Keller.

"He's been to our flat, too, I think," Connor said quietly. "There's been times where Rex started freaking out and he wouldn't let Abby even go near the door until he calmed down. We thought it was strange behavior for him, but Abby reasoned that maybe he was being territorial because it was a mating urge or something."

"Oh, God..." Keller was trying to keep it together. "We've got to figure out who this guy is."

Becker put his hand on Keller's shoulder, trying to calm his Lieutenant down. "We will. We'll find him and we'll make him regret ever laying a hand on Abby or fucking with you."

"We're going to find him and once Abby's safe, I am going to kill him," Keller said. No one argued with that statement, and it wouldn't have done any good if they had. "But not until Abby's safe," he promised.

Danny nodded. "We'll get Abby back... and then we'll do some creature hunting -- or creature feeding."

There were reasons Keller and Danny got along so well, after all. One of those reasons was in the way they both dealt with threats to their people. Neither one of them allowed the same threat to happen twice – real or implied. They didn’t give warnings to the people who hurt one of their own.

Sarah continued writing on the paper. "Keller, are there any people in your past who stand out as capable of being this vindictive and sick?"

"I've got a list," Keller said. "It's a short one. Only two or three people." He went over to the file cabinet by his desk, opened it, and dug through for a moment before pulling out a thin file.

"You keep everything on file?" Connor asked in awe. “And manage to keep it all organized?”

"Just about, yeah."

"That's impressive," Connor said.

"There are times when being obsessive about keeping track of everything that happens can be a good thing. Hopefully this will come in handy for our situation," Jenny said as she sat next to Sarah.

"Hopefully," Keller echoed, passing the file to Sarah.

"Can you give us a rundown of any of these that might have reason to hurt you or kill Abby?" Jenny questioned. She winced inwardly at the idea of someone killing Abby.

"Uh." Keller frowned, forcing himself to settle down and think. "There's... three people on that list, right?"

Sarah flipped it open and looked at the first page. "Yes, three. All of them are men."

"Colin Andrews would hurt me, but I don't think he'd hurt Abby. He was sneaky, not psychotic like this," Keller said. "Next guy is Lucas Bryant... he's a solid possibility. He and a couple of the other guys were running a scam I busted... Becker, you probably remember him."

Becker's jaw tightened and he nodded. "But would he really hurt Abby? He was psychotic when it came to women being hurt."

"It's either him or the guy behind door number three," Keller said. "Michael Wingate. Didn't know him that well, but again, busted him for something he was trying to run."

"I hate to say this, because I could never stand the guy, but I think we can count Bryant out.” Becker sighed. “He doesn't deal well with women being manhandled. He wouldn't go for torturing a woman -- especially someone who looks like Abby. He's an asshole, and he hates you, but you remember what happened to that bloke that tugged an unwilling girl into his lap in front of Bryant at that pub?"

"I remember it involved a broken nose," Keller said. "So... Andrews or Wingate, then. But Andrews isn't the kind of guy who'd do this... okay, maybe he'd play games with me, but they wouldn't involve someone else. He had a problem with you, he took care of it alone. So... Wingate, then."

"But why would this guy resort to hurting Abby," Danny questioned as he watched Sarah take notes.

"He said I ruined everything he'd worked for," Keller said. "So I'm thinking that what I busted him for went deeper than I knew."

It was Connor who looked carefully at Keller. "Mate, what exactly did you do in the service that led to you busting so many people and making so many enemies you have to keep files of them?"

"Did a stint as the military version of Internal Affairs, which was a joke they quickly realized since I was more of a loose cannon than half the guys I took down, only minus the actual law-breaking."

Danny snorted. He apparently understood that situation all too well.

"So I moved on from that, but I obviously made my share of enemies."

"And you think one of them has Abby." Danny stated quietly.

"It's the only thing I can think of."

"I know you said these were the only three that might hold this kind of a grudge against you," Jenny said in an even voice. "But we have to be aware that it could be others from your past that want to strike out at you. Whoever he is, he's obviously been watching you for awhile and knows that you'll snap completely if anything happens to Abby."

"But at least this gives us somewhere to start."

"Yes it does and we can start making profiles of them. However, the fact of the matter is that any of these three could be innocent and someone you may have dismissed in your mind has made the running leap from minor annoyance to raging psychotic.” Jenny got to her feet and leveled a look at Keller. “Abby is being tortured, Keller, and we can't pretend we don't know that. I need a list of names to do background checks. Everyone that is outside of this room and has a connection of any kind to you is a potential criminal. We cannot afford to leave any of them out – no matter what you might think at first. The moment that Abby was taken, everyone in your past or present affixed a target to themselves in my mind and until I say differently they remain a suspect. In the past, we’ve dismissed the wrong people as threats and people we cared about died. That will not happen again.”

"I don't exactly keep a list of everybody I know," Keller protested. "But if I had some idea where to start, it'd be easier to put one together."

"Then get me a file of anyone you had dealings with while you were with Internal Affairs,” she snapped. “It will help us fill in what gaps there might be."

"Now that I can do," Keller said, going through the file cabinet again for a moment before coming up with a thicker file.

Jenny took the file without looking at it and handed it to Connor. "Connor, you and Sarah go through these and make me a list. Once you've done that, Danny will use his connections as a constable -- providing he hasn't burned all of those bridges -- to see if these guys have gone through our legal system. Connor and Sarah will run computer checks to make timelines of each person’s activity since they've come into contact with Keller. I don’t care how long it’s been since they’ve seen each other. Everyone outside of the ARC gets checked out if they’ve ever seen or spoken with Keller.” Jenny’s coldly efficient voice belied the fear she was feeling inside.

Keller was suddenly grateful for his compulsive need to keep files on things. It was one of the first times in his life it'd come in handy, and certainly the first time it'd ever come in this handy.

"Becker, your job is to stay with Keller at all times," Jenny continued. "This man has Abby and he has already shown us that he is unhinged. We don't want to take the chance that he'll try to grab Keller to be the star in some snuff film scene where he's forced to watch Abby die in front of him because he suddenly decides that it’s a better revenge than sending us bloody pieces of clothing!"

Keller paled at the thought but forced himself to nod. "Good thinking."

"No one messes with my damn family," Jenny growled angrily as she considered what else could be done right now.

In other circumstances, Keller would've smiled at being included in Jenny's family -- he was still new enough to it to still like hearing it. But there was no room or reason for smiling at the moment.

"We will get her back and make the bastard pay," Danny said as he looked out of the window and onto the street again.

"Damn right we will," Keller echoed.

"I'm not caring about legalities in this case," Danny warned them all.

"Good, because I'm not, either," Keller said.

"I don't think any of us are," Becker said. "We want Abby back and we want her back safe, and we'll do what we have to. We protect our own."

“As far as I’m concerned, this bastard gave up the right to exist as soon as he made Abby scream like that and then sent us her bloody shirt.” Danny didn’t look away from the window as he spoke.

Jenny nodded, even if she didn't say anything. She didn't need to know all the details of what her people did, after all.

Keller felt helpless and he hated that, but the fact was that there was nothing he could do except play this guy's game and hope to God he didn't screw up while everybody else was doing what they were going to do.

Sarah looked up from her notes. "Keller, we're going to get her back alive. I promise you that."

"We have to," he said. "I don't know what I'll do if we don't."

"We will." Sarah's voice was harder than anyone had heard it before.

Keller just nodded.

"Danny," Jenny said. "Do you think you can run background checks on this list?"

"Of course I can."

Keller leaned back against the file cabinet. He still felt helpless to help Abby, but at least he had people who were helping him. He was grateful for them, for all of them.

"Keller, you and Becker are responsible for keeping records of any communication you get from this man." Jenny said crisply.

Something for him to do. Good. Having something to do made him feel a little less helpless. He'd take whatever he could. "Got it," he said with a sharp nod.

"The more we know from him, the more pieces we have to put together and track him down. Obviously he’s been either in this flat or in Abby and Connor’s because he called Abby by something I know I’ve never heard you call her at work.”

Silence met Jenny’s words as Danny turned from the window. None of them had picked up on that before, but Jenny obviously had.

"I'll get whatever information out of him I can."

Jenny nodded. "One of us will be here at all times."

"Okay." He nodded slightly.

"Because you will need rest." Jenny pinned him with a look. "You will be no help to Abby if you fall over."

Keller wanted to protest, but he knew she was right. He had to stay strong for Abby, and that included something at least vaguely approaching proper rest.

Jenny gave him a sympathetic look. "You can't hunt this guy and get Abby back if you don't get rest. You and Becker can't tear the guy limb from limb after you skin him alive if you guys haven't slept at least some." It was almost scary how calmly Jenny was passing sentence on this faceless kidnapper. It might've been scarier if they all didn't know Jenny's fierce devotion to the team.

"When you put it that way... I'll try to sleep." It was the best she'd get out of him at the moment.

She nodded decisively and looked at Becker. "You, too, Becker. Don't make me have to start drugging you both." The look in her eyes left no doubts that she would should them with tranquilizer guns if she thought she needed to.

"We'll rest," Becker promised. "The both of us." Notice he hadn't said they'd sleep. Becker wasn’t sure either of them could sleep right now. This resembled a combat situation too much for either soldier to relax enough to sleep.

Jenny noticed exactly what he said and didn't say and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Like I said, one of us will be here at all times while Lester has teams being run at the ARC. That means fresh eyes and fresh guns."

Keller nodded, not sure what to actually say.

"We will be hooking up devices to your phones and recording every --" Jenny's words stopped and her eyes widened slightly as she thought of something. "Keller? Where's Abby's phone? Was her bag still in her car or on the ground next to where the struggle was?"

"I..." He had to think about it. "It wasn't on the ground, but I don't remember if it was still in her car."

"We need to go down and investigate the area around her car, then. We need to know what extra information he has. If he has Abby’s ARC identification or has managed to get her security passwords, then there is no telling what additional damage he could decide to cause.”

Keller nodded again.

Jenny turned to the door, expecting the rest of them to follow her.

"I'm staying here," Keller said. "In case he calls again. I don't want all of us to be outside, just in case."

"Connor, you stay with him, then. Becker, we'll need you and Danny."

Becker gave Keller a sympathetic half-smile before the group split up and everybody else followed Jenny.

Becker fell into step with Jenny once outside the flat.

"You and Danny will be able to tell what kind of struggle there was," she explained.

He nodded. "For Kell's sake, I hope we can take care of this quickly." He had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy, however.

"I hope so, too... but Becker? I don't think it'll be that simple. And... I'm scared for Abby. Really scared."

"Me too, Jen," he said quietly. "Me, too."

She stopped and made him stop with her. After Danny and Sarah were out of hearing range, she looked into his face. "If we don't find him, he will kill her. You know that as well as I do. He's doing this to toy with Keller, but in the end, he'll still kill her."

"So we're going to find her." Becker refused to think otherwise, even though he knew the reality of the situation.

Jenny nodded. "We will and that bastard is going to pay."

"Slowly and painfully," Becker agreed. "Slowly and painfully."

"I'm glad we understand one another," Jenny nodded.

"Don't think it'd be possible to misunderstand each other on this," Becker said with a mirthless smile.

Jenny nodded again. "I will do whatever we need to in order to get her back to us in as few pieces as possible and to keep Keller from going over the edge."

"Keller... has a temper," Becker said. "Not when it comes to using it against people, but when it comes to someone hurting people he cares about. It might not be so easy to keep him from going over the edge."

"We just have to make sure that we can bring him back if that happens, Becker. The last thing Abby would want is for us to lose him, too."

"It's all going to depend on if we can get her back or not," Becker said. "Because if we lose her... he won't care."

"We won't lose either of them." Jenny said firmly. "Somehow."

"Somehow," he agreed as they reached the scene.

At first glance, it didn't look like anything was out of place. It looked like a typical parking structure. Abby's car was sitting where she had parked it.

Becker made a slow lap around Abby's car, looking for anything out of place.

"Danny, Becker," Sarah said in an even voice. "I have blood here."

Becker moved to Sarah's side to take a look. "Damn it."

"She fought," Sarah said quietly. "We shouldn't be surprised. But this means she was at least conscious for a few moments." She swallowed. "And she knew what was happening to her."

"That's our girl," Becker said softly. "You fought, Abby. Good for you."

Beneath the car they found Abby's keys and her jacket.

Becker was silent as he looked at both things. This wasn't good. This really wasn't good.

Danny reached beneath the car and pulled out the jacket and the keys. "He put them there. No way they fell like that."

"Trying to delay us as long as he could, you figure?" Because the keys could've gotten under there, maybe, but definitely not the jacket.

"I'm thinking so. Make us wonder where her things were."

"If her jacket and her keys are there, where's the rest of her things? She'd have had her purse, possibly an overnight bag..."

They looked everywhere. There was no sign of the purse or overnight bag.

Danny met Becker's eyes. "That means she still has her mobile."

"Then it's possible she might try to contact us, if he hasn't managed to get it away from her."

Danny nodded. "It's Abby, of course she'll try something." That was what worried him.

"God, let her stay safe."

Danny nodded in agreement. "We'll have to make sure we work twice as hard to get her back before she does do something that could..." He didn't want to finish that sentence.

"Because it's Abby. She'll do something." Becker said with a groan. "She won't just let him use her to hurt anyone -- especially Keller. She'll make it hard for him."

Danny nodded. "And it might get her killed."

All Becker could do was hope and pray that Abby would think of Keller before doing anything, because if she did something to get herself killed, Keller would never be the same.



When they went back upstairs with what they had found, Keller's phone was starting to ring again.

Jenny nodded. "Answer it, Keller, just be careful with what you say."

Keller answered his phone quickly. "Yes?"

"Lieutenant Darrow. And how are we feeling?"

"Scared as hell."

"Good. I'm glad." There was a pause. "Would you like to hear something from Abby?"

"God, yes." Keller couldn't keep the hope out of his voice.

"Oh good, because she would like to say hello."

He could hear someone else breathing as the phone moved, and then he heard a blood-curdling scream. It was obviously Abby and it was also obvious that she hadn't been expecting whatever had happened to cause her to scream like that.

"Just thought you might want something to remember from Abby tonight before you sleep." The phone went dead.

Keller just stared at the phone for a moment. He didn't realize it until the tears hit his hand, but he'd started crying.





Part One || Part Three

Comments

[fredbassett]

Bloody hell, whoever the guy is he's a nasty bastard.