A Case of Love (26 page)

Hawk whistled as he opened to door to their hotel room, a bag of food in one hand, in his other he held clean clothes for Mackenzie. He could hardly wait to see her in what he'd picked out.

"Hey sleepy head,” he called as he opened the door. “Time to get up...Mackenzie?"

The bed was torn apart, sheets and blankets on the floor. Hawk dropped his bags and ran into the bathroom. “Mac?"

She was no where to be seen. He reached for the phone and called the lobby. “Did anyone see Mackenzie Hunter leave the building?"

"No sir,” the desk operator said.

He dropped the phone in the cradle without answering. “It has to be her cousins. Dammit, I knew I should have taken her with me.” He picked the phone up again, pulling Brett's card out of his wallet and dialing the number for his cell phone.

"Where is she, Hunter?” he asked when Brett answered.

"She's with you, isn't she?” Brett answered.

"No, she's not. Why would I call you if she was with me? Where are those damn cousins of yours? They must have taken her.” He dug his hand into his hair, frustrated.

"They're with me right now, Hawk. They couldn't have taken her."

Gideon heard some noise on the other end of the phone and then Dillon's voice came over the line. “I thought you said you didn't have her, Hawkins."

"Can I help it if Mackenzie would rather hide out than have you stick your nose into her business? If you weren't so heavy handed, she'd probably be with you right now instead of...” Gideon took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “This won't get us anywhere. We've got to find her. I left her to go get food and when I came back, she was gone."

"We'll meet you at the hotel."

"No! Meet me at the precinct. Brett knows which one. I need to talk to some people.” He hung up the phone, not giving Dillon any say in the matter. Grabbing up his keys, he ran from the room and took the stairs down to the main floor. They ended in a small hallway that was out of sight of the front desk. One door led into the main lobby, the other went outside. The door to the outside was locked and you needed a room key to open it.

Hawk went out that way, checking for security cameras, searching the parking lot for any sign of Mackenzie. There was none.

Going back inside, he flashed his badge at the desk. “I need to see the security tapes for the back entrance and parking lot for the past two hours."

He was shown into a tiny room that held a desk and a couple of chairs as well as a whole bank of video equipment, monitors flashing different cameras on a steady circuit, moving every two to three minutes. The hotel's security manager was there.

"What's this about?"

"My girlfriend was taken from our room, I believe by force. I need to see the back parking lot security tapes, especially the ones that show the exit."

"Have you called the cops?” the manager asked. “Usually we give those to the police."

Hawk yanked out his badge and slammed it on the desk beside the man. “I am the police, now do it."

"Yes sir,” the manager said, pulling out a keyboard and typing in some commands. “All our security videos are done digitally now. We print them off onto disks. Easier storage as well as the ability to store more on one disk then a whole shelf of VHS tapes. It'll come up on this screen,” he said, indicating the one just above him.

Gideon watched the tape and the steady stream of people coming in and out of the building. He perked up when he saw a man in a dark sweatshirt standing next to the door, ducking his head when someone walked past him. As soon as the person unlocked the door, the man stepped forward, grabbing it and letting himself it.

Ten minutes later, the same man walked out the door, carrying Mackenzie's unconscious body in his arms.

"Come on, look up. Look up you bastard. Give me a shot of your face,” Hawk growled. The man took two steps and then flinched, looking up as if startled and staring right into the camera. “Yes! I need a copy of this film."

The manager pressed a few more buttons on his keyboard and put an empty disk into a disk drive. He didn't say anything while it burned and then popped out on its own. He slipped it into a small paper envelope and handed it to Gideon. “If there is anything the hotel can do...” he said.

"Lock that door and keep it locked,” Hawk growled. Then he was gone.

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Hawk parked in the underground parking lot, tires squealing. He threw it into park even as he opened the door to get out. The lot was attached to the “house” as everyone called the precinct station. He was the only one in the elevator and pushed the button for the first floor.

The usual chaos reigned along with a bit of an added bonus as Dillon paced back and forth, snarling at anyone who crossed his path. He looked up when the elevator doors opened and marched toward Hawk with murder in his amber eyes. “What did you do?” he growled. “Who did you piss off so much that they are going after my cousin?"

"This time your cousin did the pissing off, Hunter. Remember where you are before one of these cops decides they don't like your tone.” He motioned with his hand for Brett and Hunt to come with him and turned toward the stairs. “I've got a disk that shows the kidnapper as well as Mac. I want to get it to our Audio/Visual guy and see if he can clear it up some more."

"Maybe you should send it to the feds, I happen to have one as a brother-in-law."

"And you're still alive?” Hawk sneered. “We've got one of the best crime labs in the state. Our A/V guy was trained by an expert. He's come through for me before, he'll do it again."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Charlie Holcomb said, holding his hand out for the disk that Hawk carried. “What am I looking for?"

"His face. I need you to clean it up and use that face recognition program that you are so proud of on it. I need a hit on this, Charlie. He's got my woman and I want her back in one piece.” Hawk stood over him, having him fast forward through until he got to the spot where the man in the dark sweatshirt was standing outside the back door of the hotel. “That's our guy, Charlie."

Charlie went through frame by frame, searching for anything that would help tell who the guy was. He cleaned the video up as much as possible, stopping on one frame. “Fuck me, look at his hands."

"Holy hell, the pain should have him half mad,” Brett said, sidling closer to the big screen. “He's had to have them checked out at a hospital. Shock alone from burns like that could kill a person.” Hawk picked up his cell phone and a phone book.

"Hospitals, call em all and see who's missing a burn patient."

Brett threw him back his cell phone and pulled his own out of his jacket. Taking the phone book, he went to the back of the room and started making calls. His voice was an almost indistinct buzz as they continued to go over the video.

Hunt and Dillon both growled when he came back through the door carrying the unconscious body of their cousin. “Fucker, if he's hurt her..."

"Stand in line,” Hawk growled. “There, back it up one frame. Can you clean that up anymore?"

Charlie's fingers flew over the keyboard typing in things that Hawk didn't understand. He kept his eyes on the big screen, watching as the picture grew clearer. “His face is burned too. God why isn't he deadly afraid of fire? That has to be excruciating."

"Psychosis. The voices in his head telling him to set the fires are more painful than his burns. The longer he resists, the louder the voices get until his only relief is the fire."

Charlie looked up at Hawk, surprise in his eyes. “I didn't know you Narc guys were so in tune with how people think and feel."

"We aren't usually. Most of the scumbags we deal with are out there getting little kids hooked on drugs and fucking up lives. No, this is something that Mackenzie taught me. She got in to that guy's head, which is why he fixated on her. Now, I've got to get her back before the voices tell him to burn her next.” He watched the screen, seeing the man look up, which was where he'd stopped the video before. Now he watched as the man went to a car, small, dinged up and popped the trunk. He dropped Mac inside and then slammed the trunk lid down. “No way this is going to be that easy. No way."

"I got the plate, running it now.” He rattled off an address that was almost smack dab in the middle of all the arsons and only a few blocks away from Mackenzie's apartment.

"We're heading down there now. Call the arson squad and the fire department. If this guy is as big a loon as I think he is, he's not going down without a fight. Thanks Charlie, I owe you one.” He slapped the A/V geek on the back, knocking his glasses askew.

The trip didn't take long, especially with Dillon and Hunter arguing and back seat driving. Hawk was tempted to stop half way there and kick them both out of the car just so he could have some quiet to think.

"If you two can't stop your bitching, you're staying in the car when we get there,” he yelled at them.

"Give the guy a badge and he thinks he's superman."

"Dillon, give him a break. He's found Mac, now we just need to go get her."

"I'm going in, you two are going to stay by the car and wait for the arson squad and the fire department. Just think, he might get away from me then you two can perform a citizen's arrest and rough him up some.” Hawk squealed around the corner, his car going up on two tires before slamming back down and making Hunter grab his seat belt and click it into place.

"Listen, crazy man, I have a wife and two children at home. I'd like to get back to them in one piece,” Hunt squawked.

"No one said you two had to come along,” Hawk said, hitting the brakes in front of a dark looking apartment building and slamming the transmission into park, rocking the entire car.

In the back seat, Hunt smacked Dillon in the arm. “Would you say something?” he hissed.

"I can't,” Dillon said. “I'm praying."

Hawk got out, opening the back seats of the squad car he'd requisitioned and letting the brothers out. “Stay down here,” he ordered.

He pulled his gun from the holster, checking the load before slamming it back into place. Sliding it back under his shirt he looked up at the top floor of the apartment building. “Is that on fire?” he asked, squinting.

Mackenzie could feel the heat of the flame against the tips of her fingers as she tried to get close enough for the candle to burn through the tape but stay far enough away to keep the gauze around her ripped up hands from catching fire. Her breath came in harsh pants, the fumes of the gasoline making her nauseous. She badly wanted to hear Hawk's voice right now. He'd always showed up just in time to save her. If he planned to stick with tradition, he'd better get a move on. She didn't know when the bomb was rigged to go off, but it had to be soon.

The sound of a cell phone going off almost made her scream. She bit it back, but barely. Looking around the brightly lit room, she found the cell phone on the table across from her, the vibrations sending it dancing around the table.

Her legs were taped to the chair legs, her feet were bare. But she forced herself to lean forward, lifting her butt so that the chair rested on the small of her back. She half hopped, half hobbled over to the table the phone was on.

"Keep ringing,” she panted. “Don't stop, please don't stop, God!” she cried as she felt the heat of a candle against her bare leg. She reached the phone, bending even lower to press her nose against the on button.

"Hello,” she said, whispering loudly. She wasn't sure where the psycho was and didn't want him coming in here and finding her like this.

"Still there are you?” she heard his voice on the other end. “I thought for sure that explosive would have blown by now. But we're upping the thrill factor. You're boyfriend just showed up at the front of the building. Let's see if he can get through all my booby traps to get to you, shall we?” He laughed and hung up.

"Noooo,” Mackenzie moaned, sinking back down on the chair and lifting her feet out of the pool of gasoline. “Gideon, I have to warn him."

She leaned forward again, her attention on the phone. Turning it off, she carefully used just the tip of her nose to press the number keys.

Hawk stared with distrust at the elevator. The building was old, abandoned and condemned if the yellow papers on the door meant anything. There probably wouldn't be electricity to run the elevator. As if he'd conjured it up, there was a crackling sound and then the hall lights turned on, one sending an arc of sparks over the floor from a broken bulb.

"Nope, I'm still not taking the elevator,” he hissed. “You can't tempt me enough to take that.” His phone in his pocket vibrated, startling him. “Shit,” he breathed, grabbing it out. The number on the view screen was unfamiliar so he flipped it open. “Hello?"

"Oh God, Hawk. You can't come up here. The place is booby trapped."

"Mackenzie? Baby are you all right?"

Mac looked around the gasoline filled room. “I've been better,” she said.

"I'm coming to get you."

"No. You can't come up here, it's too risky. He's got booby traps waiting for you on every floor. He's got this place set to blow. It's on a timer. You have to get out."

"Mackenzie, I'm coming to get you. You just hold on, okay?"

"God dammit Hawk, do you ever listen to anyone but yourself. Quit being a hero and listen. He's set up booby traps, he's got the room I'm in wired to blow up. I'm standing up to my ankles in gasoline. There are candles everywhere."

"And you want me to just walk away? Mac, I don't do that honey. Now sit down and hang on. Keep your feet out of that stuff if you can. I'll be there as quickly as I can.” He would have loved to have kept her on the line but he could hear the panic in her voice.

Glancing one last time at the elevator, standing there open and so inviting, he headed for the stairs. The first trap was easy and one that he could just step over. Their arsonist had set up a trip wire on the stairs. What it was attached to, Hawk wasn't too sure of. He stepped over it and kept moving.