A Blessing in Disguise 5 | COMPLETED

She's Here

"We got the address." This was the last thing Kevin Atwater told the people on the intelligence floor before they were all rushing out of the building. Jay was the quickest one out. He got in his truck and turned the siren on as he swiftly cruised through the busy streets of Chicago. After several minutes, he parked his truck in front of an abandoned house while the rest of the team arrived at the location. This was the place Kevin managed to find that had the similarity to the background of the pictures that was sent to Lizzie. Everyone was already in their tactical gear, ready to go in the house. Jay pointed at the house and looked at Kevin. "Is this the one?" "Yeah," the man replied. Jay ran up to the front door, his gun raised ready to defend himself.  But before he could enter the withering building, he saw a dusty piece of paper on the ground. It took one glance at it for him to lose his composure. His eyes ran over the words 'Come in, miss Upton' scribbled with a black marker onto the paper more times than he wanted to. The phrase 'Miss Upton' caused his grip on the note to tighten, leaving creases on its surface. 'She's here,' the realization of his partner being near was all that took him to think before going into the house without waiting for any backup or for the team to get ready.

The man quickly navigated the interior of the first floor. "Hailey!" His voice echoed through the house. He looked around the entryway. There were no signs of anything moving, no sounds being made... no sights of the blonde. "Hailey!" He called out again before opening a door near him, it was just an empty closet. "They might be in the basement." Hearing Kevin's words made him bolt towards the basement door. He swung it open and there was a flight of stairs. He rushed down and met a narrow hallway that led to a door at the end. "Hailey!" There was more hope and determination in his voice now. He felt so close yet there was an odd feeling brewing in him. He pushed it down and kicked the door in. "Hai—" His eyes scanned the insides of the room. The golden locks that he hoped were on the other side of the knocked down door were not there. The steps he took inside were heavy as he made his way to the spot where Hailey was seen in the photograph. 'She's supposed to be here. Why isn't she here?' Panic loomed in his mind. "Jay?" His head snapped towards the voice. His hysteric expression switched to a serious and composed one as he saw Adam standing by the doorway. "They're not here," he deadpanned.  Adam was taken aback by the sudden way Jay was taking this situation. He didn't know if he was supposed to feel sorry for his friend or be scared of his emotionless state. "I'm gonna get some air," Jay stood from his crouch position and walked towards Adam. The concerned man by the door gave way for the other to pass. His dark eyes then followed his friends up the stairs.

The people upstairs were busy securing and searching around the house. They didn't notice Jay as he trod his way past them. The brunette walked out of the front door without anyone acknowledging him and that was what he wanted. He passed the withering grass on the front yard and ended up on the sidewalk. He looked around the houses across the street as his repressed fear engulfed him. 'I'm too late. She's gone. She might be...' Even with the current situation, he still couldn't bring himself to think about the worst. He wanted to be hopeful. He wants to see her again, her wavy blonde hair, her bright smile, her warmth. Tears started forming in his eyes, then he remembered Hailey's words. 'I know you will eventually find me.' The letter she saved for him, her soft voice played in his head. 'She knows and trusts that you would find her. Get yourself together, Jay!' With this, he snapped out of his depressive state just in time to hear Kim call out his name. "Jay!" His body swiveled towards her and he started walking to her. He also saw the rest of the intelligence team following behind her. "Trudy was able to get footage of this place from that POD," the woman pointed at the POD diagonal to the house. Jay gave the camera a glance from behind and cursed himself under his breath. 'How did I miss that?' His eyes went back to Kim as he waited for more news or anything about Hailey's well-being. "Vannesa and Hailey were seen being dragged out of the house." Jay's body tensed at the words 'dragged out', his mind started racing to different possibilities. "Their bodies... were lifeless." Something in Jay just completely shattered. 'Bodies... Lifeless' Kim's words repeated in his head. 'My partner... my girlfriend couldn't be dead. She couldn't be.'