Maraya Torres

Fish and Friends

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I sat in the corner of the barn. I could tell when the days passed since Josef came in once a day. I had found a rock and I scratched into the wall how many days had passed. Fifteen days. Fifteen days I'd gone without my father. Fifteen days I've had one terrible meal a day. Fifteen days I've had to do my business in a bucket. Fifteen days non stop wearing my orange overalls. Fifteen days my father has been blaming himself. Fifteen days of listening to his confession over and over again. Every few days he's get angry with himself and hurt me within an inch of my life but... Never put me out of my misery.

I had my eyes shut as I rested my head on the wall. I heard the door open and that was Freeman. "Maraya." He said and I could hear anger in his voice so I looked up to him. "I need a favour, princess."

"And what would that be?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

He dumped my usual soup and glass of water in front of me. "I need you to make a call." He said and also pulled out a gun making my eyes widen. "Relax, it's just a little incentive for you not to tell pops where you are. The police are treating you like a missing person and are all over me, it's bad press. Just tell your dad that you're okay and that this is your decision. Understand? If you don't... I'll shoot you and then I'll shoot your daddy."

"I understand." I whispered.

He handed me the phone and pressed the phone button before aiming the gun at me. "Agent Torres." My dad's voice said, but it didn't sound right. He sounded tired.

"Dad?" I asked.

"Mara? Baby, are you okay?" He pushed.

"I'm fine, dad... Just let me speak. Remember every word I say...
Because I love you...
And I know you're worried...
Right, uhm... I'm safe. I don't want you to...
Not think I am. I'm...
Free. Tell...
Macie that she'll always be my best friend...
And take care of yourself and the fish...
Noah. Goodbye, daddy." I spoke, choosing my words very carefully and then Freeman hung up the phone.

"Good girl." He complemented and pulled a lolly out of his jacket pocket. "You earned this." He told me, unwrapping it for me before putting it in my mouth. "See you tomorrow, princess."

3rd person POV

Once the phone hung up Nick stared at it blankly. "You have a fish called Noah?" McGee asked, already knowing the answer.

"And she doesn't have a friend called Macie." Nick added.

"Did you heard how she froze between some sentences and words?" Bishop asked.

"She was trying to tell us something." Gibbs stated.

Reid had also been with the team and was just finishing writing down everything that Mara said. "The things she said was very odd, mentioning a fish and friend that she doesn't have, telling us to listen to every word she said. There's gotta be a meaning behind it." Reid said looking over the page. "Oh my god."

"What is it?" Nick asked urgently.

"Look at the first words. Because, And, Right, Not, Free, Macie, And, Noah. BARN. FMAN. Barn Freeman. Josef Freeman has her in a barn." Reid spoke quickly.

Both NCIS team and FBI team was in Vance's office, standing around the table. "But we've been over Josef's entire life. He doesn't own a barn." Hotch pointed out.

"Maybe he has one in a fake name or has found an abandoned one." Greenaway suggested.

"Okay, get Garcia to make a list of all abandoned barns in a fifty mile radius. Get a warrant to search Freeman's house. Tell Abby to pull apart the audio and see if she can hear anything in the background that might hint us towards her whereabouts." Gideon ordered. "We're gonna search everything this guy has, we have to find out why he's still keeping her alive when it would've been easier to kill her."

"And we're obviously going to find her." JJ said, looking in Nick's direction.