Fated: An Open Heart AU

Fated

"Hey, Valentine!"

Agent Cassie Valentine turned at the sound, her reflexes kicking in as she caught the baseball thrown in her direction.

"Yeah, you still got it," said Assistant Director Banerji, smiling at her quick action.

"Chief, we've talked about this," said Cassie, exasperated. "You can't keep throwing things at me just because I got top scores for speedy and agility at the Academy."

"I know, Agent Valentine," he grinned. "And yet you always catch them."

"Instinct, Doc," she quipped, leaning against her desk as her boss and mentor, Dr. Naveen Banerji (PhD, not MD) walked into the bullpen.

They had been having a version of this discussion since Cassie had graduated at the top of her class from the FBI Academy a year ago. She had had her choice of assignments and had opted for this specialized team within the Violent Crimes division that dealt with crimes against non-diplomatic American on foreign soil.

"We have a new case," he said, handing her a folder. "Wheel's up in 30. We'll brief on the plane."

By the time they landed at an airstrip outside of Manaus in Brazil, Cassie knew everything there was to know about Dr. Ethan Ramsey.

World-renowned diagnostician and infectious disease specialist, he'd received numerous honors including a Nobel Prize in Medicine. He was also known for his love of opera and highly exacting standards.

Cassie thought he sounded like a prick.

"What's our plan, Agent Valentine?" asked Dr. Banerji.

"I've got a contact, freelance courier," said Cassie, holstering her weapon after checking to make sure the safety was on. "He's got his ears to the ground and would have heard about an American doctor that's gone missing."

"You head to the safe house, set up communications," she continued, pulling on her sunglasses as the sharp rays of the sun hit her face when they exited the plane. "I'd also like to visit the neighborhood he was kidnapped from, see if I can find something the team missed."

"Sounds good," replied Dr. Banerji as he got into one of the SUVs waiting near the hanger. "Stay in touch, every 30 minutes."

"Copy that, Chief."

Cassie got into the other car and gave instructions to her driver. Ethan Ramsey might be a prick, but he was hers now and she never left a person behind.

-----------

Dr. Ethan Ramsey knew that keeping calm and not angering his kidnappers was likely the smart choice. But he hadn't succeeded so far as evidenced by the bruises forming on his jaw and his ribs.

His formal white shirt was wrinkled and stained from sweat; his dark hair rumpled from several days of running his fingers through it. He'd lost his jacket and tie sometime after the first night.

He'd been attending a benefit for the local opera house, his one night off from the gruelling schedule that his mission with the World Health Organization required, when rough hands had grabbed him.

They had placed a black hood over his head and whisked him out of the venue and into a van of some kind. That had been four or five days ago. He'd lost track of time in his dark prison.

He hadn't recognized the dialect of his kidnappers, but they spoke some form of Portuguese. His own was passable so he understood enough to know that this was about ransom, nothing more. That had been yesterday.

He laughed out loud — causing the guard outside to bang on the door for quiet — thinking how disappointed they'd be to learn there was no one in his life that would be willing to pay it. Or, in the case of his father, have the wherewithal to secure his freedom.