North (A Robert Downey Jr Fanfic)

"Gone Away"

"Venti Iced Americano for Vanessa!"

"Vanessa? Venti iced Americano up!"

Jeremy heard the barista call for Vanessa twice and then a third time before he turned his attention to the inside of the shop.

"Vanessa! Venti--"
"Where is she?" Jeremy asked, trying to keep cool.
"Uh. That's what I'm wondering. Her drink is ready."
"Did she go to the bathroom?"
"How should I know? I'm not her babysitter."
"Shit," Jeremy muttered to himself as he crossed the shop to check the bathroom only to find it was empty, the door wide open. He pressed the button on his two-way ear bud to radio to the others assigned to her.
"I've got a situation here. Miss Day is not in here anymore."
"What did you just say Jeremy?"
He swallowed hard, knowing how badly he'd fucked up.
"I said, Miss Day is not in the Starbucks location. I'm going to check the back alley now."
He pushed open the back door that was right next to the bathroom and immediately noticed a cell phone laying on the ground next to two fresh tire marks. He clicked a button on the phone and a picture of Vanessa and Robert appeared on the screen. His blood ran cold.

"Jeremy? Details?" A voice crackled in his ear.
"She's not here. You'd better come out here, Cory."

Their car rounded the corner and skidded to a stop right next to the coffee shop's back door. Gwyneth jumped out and went into hysterics.
"Are you out of your God-damn mind? You were supposed to be watching her! She was in danger and you let her out of your sight! Not for one second! You were instructed to not not lose sight of her for one second!" she screamed and snatched the cell phone from his hand. One look at the phone's screen and the other shoe dropped. She began bawling and hyperventilating, worked up into sheer panic. Cory was already on the phone with his superior.
"Yes. She's gone missing. Yes sir...yes sir...no sir...Jeremy...yes sir," he ended the call and looked at Jeremy,"back to the office. Now."

Cory pushed past him and entered the store, demanding access to the security camera footage from the back alley. He and Gwyneth watched in horror as they saw the grainy black and white video of Vanessa being muffled and dragged into a vehicle, kicking and flailing desperately. Gwyneth covered her mouth with a trembling hand, utterly terrified. Cory was on the phone again, "Hello, I'd like to report an abduction. Yes...Cory Miller...Starbucks on Santa Monica Boulevard...Thirty three...brunette...five foot four...Vanessa Day. Yes. The alley behind...yes we'll be here," he ended the call and looked at Gwyneth, worry painted on his face,"they're sending someone immediately."
"I need to call Robert...oh god...he's going to flip his lid...oh god...I feel like I'm going to be sick...how could I let this happen?"
"We'll find her. There's cameras all over this city."
"I hope you're right."

***

Vanessa struggled and strained herself against the restraints on her wrists and ankles. Tears poured down her face and the tape covering her mouth tugged at her skin as she tried to scream. No sound. The air around her was black as pitch and her head was throbbing.

Did I pass out? Did they knock me out? Where am I?

More struggling but to no avail. She was laying on her side on the floor, it was cold and gritty under her bare arms. She'd been taken somewhere and by whom she wasn't sure. She'd tried to run from her past for too long and it had finally caught up with her.

Robert. Help me. Find me.

***

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" he shouted into the phone "where are you?"
"Starbucks on Santa Monica Boulevard," Cory responded.
"Starbucks? Who let her go to Starbucks?"
"She took Jeremy with her. We didn't know about the back entrance. It wasn't on the agenda, or we would have covered it."
"I'm on my way," Robert said, hustling to gather his things and change clothes.
"I don't think that's a good idea sir, Miss Paltrow has already been taken to the precinct. I'd suggest you go there. They're filing a report and trying to access traffic cameras."

He paced the floor, trying to get his head straight. He had no idea who he was dealing with. He didn't want her to go shopping in the first place but he also didn't want to keep her locked up behind a gate forever. He just hoped his decision wouldn't lead to something terrible...something he couldn't even bring himself to think of.

"Robert? When is my Mom coming back?" Penny asked, peeking in from the front door of the guest house. His stomach dropped when She asked the million dollar question. He didn't know how to answer her, he certainly didn't want to scare her.
"I'm not sure Pen. I'm going to meet G downtown and I'm sure she'll be back soon. You and G's kids will have to mind the Nanny while I go, ok?"
"Ok," she responded easily and turned to go back to the main house. Robert let out a deep breath and tried once again to gather himself
"Wallet. Car keys. Cell phone. Penny. I'm sorry, Penny," he muttered to himself. His eyes landed on the little black box under his side of the bed. He'd never even opened that box and he was pretty sure Vanessa would know how to operate it more handily than him. He wasn't a fan of guns, not in the least but when you need protection, you need it.
"Fuck it," he said to himself and grabbed the case.

The children were all sitting inside on the couch, sheltered from the summer heat.
"You guys stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can. Listen to Lena. Nanny is the boss now. Got it?"
The three of them nodded their heads yes and Robert swiftly headed out to find Vanessa.

***

"Wake up bitch...wake...up!"
Pain ripped through her side as a foot made contact with her ribs. She'd been drugged. She whined from the pain but was unable to move. Her mind was on fire, screaming, kicking and fighting but no movements or action were possible because of whatever she'd been given. She couldn't even open her eyes.
"I told you to go easy. Now she's almost comatose, idiot," a far off voice said. It sounded to her like they were miles away but her instinct told her they were watching her, she was helpless.
"Whatever. I'll send Frank in later, once the drugs wear off."

Frank?! Frank is dead. I shot Frank.
Robert. Help me.

***

"Miss Paltrow, Mister Downey, I'm going to show you what we've put together from the footage from traffic cameras in the area. Have you seen the footage from Starbucks yet?" The detective sat down next to them.
They both shook their heads no.
"It might be a little difficult to watch but we did get a good shot of the vehicle and most of the license plate. Ready?"
They nodded and he hit play on the dvr.
"Here you can see that she struggled quite a lot before they got her in the car. Unfortunately, as you know, her cell phone was dropped on the pavement in the scuffle or we'd be able to track her location with gps."
Tears pricked Robert's eyes and he covered his mouth with his hands. Gwyneth reached over and squeezed his shoulder, trying to comfort him.
"The car sped off and we've spotted it on numerous cameras on Wilshire, Pico, and Robertson. Unfortunately we lost it after the intersection of the 10 and LaBrea."
"Fuck," Robert hissed and slammed a fist on the table.
"We've run the license plate on the vehicle she was taken in, a 2013, black Audi s8. We got part of the license plate and are working on the owner's information now."
"So? When are you going to find her?"
"Sir, we are working as quick as we can. Might I suggest you head home and as soon as we know more, we will contact you."

Robert and Gwyneth started towards the elevators.
"G, this is so fucked up. How am I supposed to just go home right now? What am I going to tell Penny?"
"I just don't know. I feel terrible. It seemed like such a harmless thing...she just wanted a coffee. My god, they were probably watching us shop!" she wilted and sunk down onto a bench in the hallway of the precinct.
"You go home and be with the kids. Don't say anything about this to Penny. I'm going to talk to Cory and work this from my own angle. Tell the kids Vanessa and I are staying downtown for a day or two."
She was weeping, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry. Robert, I'm so sorry. I should have been paying closer attention."
"This isn't your fault. It isn't anyone's fault but the ones that took her. We'll find her. We have to find her."