I've Never Been So Cold

Missing

Jack arrived at work early the next day. He hadn't really slept, thinking about Nikki and leaving his job that he loved, and going back to Ireland. It had been tearing him in two all night. The thought of never seeing those deep brown eyes again, or never hearing her laugh again, was too much to comprehend, but he couldn't continue to work with her knowing that she didn't really want him, and never would. How he'd have to see her with other men, maybe even that man whose voice was on his answerphone message. He'd deleted that straight away, although the voice was burned into his mind, playing over and over again.

As he pulled into in the car park, he noticed that Nikki's car was still in the same spot. He got out and wandered over to it, noting that it was locked and that her possessions didn't seem to be inside, at least, not that he could see.

He let himself into the building, expecting to see her sitting at her desk, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. Her desk was as she had left it when she'd walked out the previous day.

He asked a few of the technicians if they'd seen her, but nobody had seen her since the previous day. It felt a bit odd to Jack. Yes, she may storm off and work at home for a few days, but why would she leave her car here when she didn't live within walking distance.

He tried her phone. Nothing. An out of service message. Either she was somewhere without signal, or she'd let her phone run out of charge. 

He sent her a text. 'Everything ok Nikki? Worried about you' He debated whether he should put a x. He usually would, but now he really wasn't sure where they stood with each other, so he left it.

As the morning went on, Jack began to feel more and more uneasy. Something wasn't right. No body had seen or heard from Nikki since the previous morning. He grabbed his car keys and drove over the her house to check that she was ok.

There wasn't any answer when he knocked on the door, so he let himself in with the spare key that Nikki had given him. 'Nikki' he called out softly so he didn't scare her. 'Nikki'

He looked in through the living room door, but he could tell by the chill in the air that it had been a while since anyone had been in there. He checked the downstairs rooms, before heading upstairs. He stopped at her bedroom door, eyes running over her bed, which hadn't been slept in. He kicked himself for imagining what it would be like waking up in that bed, next to her, spending the day there with her. He heard the sound of her laughter in his head, visualized her deep brown eyes and soft blonde curls. 'Stop it Jack' he said aloud. 'Idiot'

He ran back downstairs and drove back to the Lyell as quickly as he could.

He found the CCTV footage from the car park from yesterday, and clicked it to play. He spotted Nikki walking towards her car, looking for something in her bag. Then he sat bolt upright in his chair and let out a startled cry as he saw a hooded figure coming up behind her and putting something over her face. Nikki sagged against him and he dragged her away out of shot. Jack tried to find another CCTV angle, but that was the only sight of him.

'Someone's got Nikki' he shouted out, running his hands through his hair. He didn't know what to do, how was this happening again. Why her. He paced the office wildly.

'Jack' said Simone, calmly. 'I'm calling the police, just sit down for a minute, take a breath, calm down'

'Calm down. Calm down' he shouted. 'How can I calm down. Someone's taken Nikki...Again'

At the sound of those words coming out of his mouth, he collapsed down into his chair and sobbed. It was his fault again. In Mexico, it was because he had loved her too much, and had let everyone see that he would do anything for her, and now it was because he had hurt her with those awful words causing her to run out of the office. He should never have met her, never have taken the job at the Lyell. She would be safe now, probably married with a few children, living a comfortable life. He put his hands over his face to hide the anguish he was feeling. 

'The police are on their way' said Simone. 'Now you need to calm down so you can help them. I know how much she means to you, but you can't help her if you're wallowing in self pity'

Of course, Jack knew she was right. This wasn't about him. He had to do everything he could to get Nikki back safely.