Smokescreen

17

They fell asleep like that, his head resting on her shoulder, watching each other's back. Ben occasionally jolted from nightmares, and Erica awoke, rubbing his hand with her thumb as she grounded him with whispers. He did the same for her, wondering if it had all come so quickly. Was this part of Cain's plan? Surely, Erica knew more about the inner workings and secrets of the CIA  than he did. Was he really just a puppet used to lure her here? Ben would seem like the perfect bait to the person who only knew them years before.

Zoe glared at the computer screen, frantically typing as she tried to pinpoint the location using the nearby cell towers in the area that she had dropped Erica off in. Her friend had shown up on the video feed with Ben an hour or so after the arranged drop off time, and though Zoe couldn't see her face, her bodily wounds were extensive. She drew the conclusion that either Cain had tortured Erica in a different vehicle that they had taken to their location, or it was just a way of distracting her.

She tried the old, tried and true method of picturing all of her feelings- worry, sadness, nostalgia anger, and (most prevalently) bloodthirst- being shoved into a trunk that she locked. The laptop gave a sad bleep as a negative notification came up once more.

Zoe growled, slamming her fist down on her desk, making the computer and everything on it jump. She was considering letting Alexander know. Erica had seemed to have an inkling of who Cain was before she left, but even though Zoe was majoring in profiling, Cain didn't seem to fit the typical serial killer archetype. Typically, they were white males, ages 25-45, introverts who stood out as people that were extremes. However, all of Ben's notes seemed to indicate that she was a female, but Zoe couldn't be sure.

Ben had named five victims: two security guards- she made a note to research any unsolved murders of security-, the assassin that was sent after him, a man named Dirk that she vaguely remembered him mentioning he went to school with, and Cain's brother. The security guards would have a few articles on them, especially if it was something high profile that they were guarding.

Zoe refocused, opening a web browser and inputting 'security guards murder unsolved' with astericks around the phrase to direct the search. Thousands of results came up, but she quickly amended it by placing a minimum year of 2015. She narrowed down her search to two possible crimes, one in Virginia and the other in Georgia.

Zoe poured over the information, researching travel times and dates. She was stumped, until she found a crime scene photo in the local police database: a knife mark that was the same symbol that marred Erica's arm and Ben's neck. Shaking her head and with a heavy heart, Zoe unclenched her jaw and stood up.

"I'm sorry, Erica. I have to tell them." With that, she rushed out of the dorms, determinedly making her way towards Alexander Hale's office.

After Erica had confronted her father about his neglect, he had gone out of his way to avoid making the same mistakes. They frequently talked on burner phones when she was on a mission- more often than Zoe and Erica talked normally- but their favoured communication was letters that they would leave in places around the house, office and headquarters. Alexander often spoke fondly of finding a letter from his daughter on a down day when he needed a pick me up, and slowly but surely, they had begun to reconnect.

"Ben was kidnapped something about a month ago and we've been trying to track him down, but Erica was taken as well." She busted out in one sentence as she leaned in the doorway. Zoe stopped to catch her breath, staring into the small office. Cyrus Hale stood up to his full height, barely leaning on the polished oak cane that had a strange stain on the handle. Zoe would have bet that it was probably blood.

"Are you meaning to tell me that my granddaughter has been missing for nearly twelve hours, and the CIA has no idea?" Cyrus punctuated his words carefully, speaking as if each one was his last. Zoe gulped, her gaze going to the floor.

"Yes, sir." Cyrus seemed to snarl, limping forward on his cane to check the doorway. He peered out, checking each side. The metal bottom of the cane made a strange noise against the tile of the hallways as he hit it against the floor, almost like he was beckoning a dog.

"Schacter, get in here!" He bellowed down the hallway to Chip, who Zoe presumed was far away.

"No thank you, sir!" Came Chip's answering voice. "I hear better from far away!"

Zoe stifled a teary laugh, resolving to find Chip after she updated the Hale men. Cyrus grumbled as he shut the door. After checking the lock and reaching into his pocket for a detector, he checked the room for bugs before he finally sat down.

"Debrief." He commanded her, and Zoe scrambled to think. She was running on an hour or so of sleep, having not eaten since before Erica left. She began to summarise the chain of events that she and Erica had been chasing down for nearly two weeks- since the first broadcast. Alexander solemnly watched from behind his desk, and when she finished, he clarified.

"So, from what you've inferred, Ripley either staged his kidnapping and then was kidnapped, or he was actually kidnapped a month ago by a serial killer, which no one noticed? Erica went after him and was kidnapped by the same serial killer?" Zoe nodded. Cyrus grunted, shifting his cane slightly and arching his back.

"Just when I thought that I could enjoy retirement." He sighed, a new spark in his eyes. As much as he grumbled, they all lived for the chase. "Let's figure out where my granddaughter is."