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I’m losing my mind without Daphne. It’s been three days, and there’s nothing anywhere. From her phone records, she answered a call at 12:27 p.m. that lasted about ten minutes. I listened to it about a million times; the person sounds horrible. But Cordelia is in the station safe. She was picked up from her apartment two days ago and is still here, refusing to leave until her sister comes home. This person on the phone lied to Daphne. And my sweet little fox didn’t think to ask for proof of life. She had no other thoughts but to keep her sister safe. I admit I would do the same if it was my sister. I wouldn’t be able to breathe correctly if I got a phone call telling me Alicia was being held captive. To do whatever they say to get her back.
I wonder if Daphne knows they don’t have her sister. Or if she’s still under the impression that they have her. If she’s letting them do stuff to her because they keep goading her with her sister. These thoughts have been surfacing in my mind for days.
I already know I look horrible. I haven’t shaven in a while, I
barely eat. I live in the conference room, basically. Only go home when Nisa kicks me out to go to sleep. She officially put me on desk duty until Daphne is found. If Daphne is found, that is. But no one will say that, especially to me. The agents working on this dwindled after forty-eight hours. It’s really only me working behind the scenes. I went over the surveillance footage about a million times.
We found her phone and Starbucks drinks in the trash can in front of the building, where she answered the call. We started tracking her face on our feed, but someone knew that we would do that, and the last footage is missing. Completely gone. We have no idea if she turns left or right and no idea where she ends up. Whoever did this had clearance to wipe this clean right off the FBI database. We are trying to figure out who did it, but they say that that clearance is top secret. Nisa has a meeting today on it. I think she’s going to rip whoever is in that meeting apart, and I can’t wait to hear about it.
Currently, I’m sitting in the conference room. Staring at Daphne’s face from one of the video feeds. She looks determined, fearless, and scared all in one. I have to think, how can I find her. But everything is out of my mind. I know I’m a loose cannon waiting to erupt. Somebody unlocks the door and steps in. I can tell
it’s Nisa; she never says hi when she walks in here. She basically owns the place. I have no idea what time it is. Did she already have her meeting?
“Archer, you look like shit.” This has been a daily phrase of Nisa’s. Always pointing out the obvious.
“Thank you, Nisa. You look lovely today.” That has been my daily reply. I look up at her, and she peers down at me with worry.
“Now, Archer, I need to tell you something. But you cannot think rashly about it. Understand? That is an order from your superior.”
“I’m guessing you had your meeting already.” I’m already feeling like it didn’t go the way we wanted it to. They won’t give Nisa a name or a list or anything.
“Yes, I had my meeting. It was with one of my dear friends, Harriet. She told me that on the books she couldn’t give me anything. Even if the case involves an agent, we don’t have the clearance to see those records. They are sealed shut.”
I look down. Fucking FBI always with the ‘You don’t have clearance.’ At this point, who the fuck does have clearance. I would
love to meet them for a quick chat.
“But I didn’t say what she gave me off the books.”
I look up, surprised. “A name?”
“Yes, but you have to promise me that you will stay seated during this whole time. I cannot have you getting up trying to go do something. I have agents going there now.”
“Who is it?” I feel my face paling.
“Grey.” All breath leaves my lungs.
“That little fucking piece of shit.” I try to stand, but Nisa gives me a look that makes me sit right back down. “He did this? He has Daphne right now?”
“That is what we are assuming. He must have retaliated when she came to me with the allegations, and I fired him. There’s more, though.”
“What is worse than that.” My pulse quickens.
“Something better.” She pulls out a USB. “Harriet gave me the missing video feed.”
“No way.”
“Yes, way; I guess even if the video feed is deleted, they still keep an encrypted file of everything.” She goes up to the computer that connects to the projector and plugs in the USB. A file pops up,
and she clicks it. We see Daphne in front of a bank. She goes inside, and Nisa fast-forwards the video until she comes back out. Only this time, it’s with a duffel bag perched on her shoulder.
She starts walking, and it cuts to each different angle that we can see her. That asshole Grey asked her for money. I bet that’s the same bank that the Buchanans run. How much did he take from my sweet Daphne? She would pay anything if it meant trying to get her sister back in her eyes. He played her like a fool. I’m going to see blood when I finally get a look at him. He’s not going to know what exactly hit him.
We continue watching Daphne speed-walking until she gets to an alley. She steps in, and a couple minutes pass before a car comes speeding out. I’m sure that it’s where they stuffed her. It’s a red Toyota Camry. Maryland plates ‘7DF9567.’ It will be easy to track; Nisa is already on the phone with someone telling them the plate number and to get an identification on whoever it belongs to. If Grey had an accomplice.
One step closer to bringing her home. The video surveillance cuts off. Of course, they didn’t give us all the feed. Why would they make it that easy? I’m sure it’s because Grey didn’t think to delete
that footage; why delete footage if you felt your getaway car was undetected. I go onto my laptop and punch in my numbers to get access to the surveillance cameras. I type in the license plate and the make and model of the vehicle. A hundred different sightings pop up. I refined my search to today to start. Knowing that if he’s still on the road, then there’s a chance he’s going to wherever he’s holding her. Or where her body is. I shake my head. I can’t think like that.
