Broken

The Devil You Know

"Where is my sister?" She asked me standing up and laying her hands on my desk.
"Last time I saw Eve she told my fiancè and I that she was leaving New York to find you." I answered.
"When was that?" She asked harshly.
"Almost a month ago I guess. The twenty fourth of April."
"And you haven't seen her since?"
"No. I haven't heard from her since I dropped her off at her apartment that afternoon. After talking to Martin Whitly."
"You took her to talk to The Surgeon?" She snapped glaring at me.
"I couldn't exactly stop her. She is quite persistent." I responded harshly stepping forward towards my desk.
"She found me. A little more than two weeks ago. Stayed with me in Connecticut for four days. She talked information about Endicott out of me effortlessly. Told me she was coming back to New York to get you to come talk to me so you could take him down. She has a lot of faith in you, Doctor. Nicholas Endicott isn't going to be easy to take down, even for an FBI chief." She finally softened looking down seeming to see my own love and care for her sister in my eyes.
"Perhaps that's true but I'm not about to lay down and let him continue to send people to kill me and my family." I responded with a sigh.
"You're braver than I ever was. I ran the moment I had a chance. Eve was adopted. I didn't even think he knew she existed. I thought if I stayed away that she'd be safe but..."
"She needed to know what happened to you. She loves you, Sophie." I told her gently.
"I should have reached out years ago. What if something happened to her?" She looked up at me again her eyes glossy with emotion.
"I'll help you find her. She's a good friend, but it'll have to wait, my fiancè and my team are on their way here right now." I explained.
"I can't be here." She looked around the room frantically.
"I know. Come with me." I motioned for her to follow me.
I lead her down my long hallway away from my office passed a private conference room to a back staircase.
"Go down one floor and wait in the conference room for me." I insisted.
"Why are you helping me?" She turned to look at me.
"As I said, Eve has become a very good friend to my fiancè and I. She even planned our engagement party. Nicholas already sent someone after me once. He's not going to stop coming for us until I stop him. I'll need all the help I can get but Malcolm isn't ready to see you yet."
"Malcolm..?"
"Lily!" Malcolm called for me cutting her off.
"Go. Now." I ushered her into the stairwell and closed the door before rushing back towards my office.
"Lily? Where are you?"
"Malcolm?" I called back walking briskly back down the hallway.
"Are you okay? What happened?" He asked rushing over and touching my face.
"A man attacked me in the parking garage. I need everyone to take out their phones and leave them in here on the conference table before following me into my office." I told everyone motioning them into the conference room.
There were no arguments. It wasn't often I asked them to do something a little crazy. I closed the door and lead my team back down to my office.
Once everyone had found a place to sit in the office I closed the door and took my place in my office chair.
"Even here in the FBI office this is the only place completely impenetrable to any kinds of listening devices simply because of the jammers installed in the walls. It's also soundproof so I can have private meetings with assets and they feel safe to divulge all of their information without being burned." I began cautiously to an array of confused faces.
"This morning I went to visit your father." I told Malcolm whose mouth dropped open in shock.
"He requested a private meeting nearly a month ago and I finally decided I needed to hear what he had to say."
"You lied to me?" Malcolm asked shattering my heart.
"I left out information until I could verify the story he told me. Your father has not been known for his honesty." I sighed trying to put on my Chief of the FBI face.
"What did he tell you?" Gil asked.
"The reason he supposedly released Sophie Sanders was that she had information on..."
"He told us that with Eve weeks ago." Malcolm cut me off.
"I get that you're angry and you have every right to be but right now I am chief of the FBI and you are a consultant for the NYPD so you will hear what I have to say. Our lives may depend on it." I snapped.
"Martin said that Sophie worked for Nicholas Endicott. She told him that Nicholas would use his power and influence to force his employees to commit crimes for him. Anything from stalking to murder."
"And you believed him?" Malcolm asked rudely.
"I will only say it once more. This is an official informational meeting. We will deal with us at home when this is done." I glared at him.
"I did not trust him at his word, no. I called upon a trusted asset I've used since I left Bryce nearly a year and a half ago. They were able to get me files on Endicott's criminal empire."
"That's the text you got at the crime scene?" Gil asked to which I nodded.
"When I got here I was attacked in the parking garage. I checked the cameras afterwards but they'd blacked out the screen before I arrived. I went back to Claremont and found a camera in the ceiling of Martin's cell."
"Where's the camera?" Dani asked curiously.
"I took it to my asset to run a full scan on it. I've come to believe that Nicholas does have eyes and ears in the NYPD." I answered.
"You think he owns the NYPD?" Gil asked.
"I think that money talks. It doesn't take but one detective or officer to divulge information from a precinct to put someone's life in danger. I also believe he has friends in the upper echelon of the department." I answered.
"Who's the asset?" Malcolm asked still glaring at me.
It wasn't often I broke his trust but if Nicholas came for him because I didn't see him coming that would be worse. We could get through this.
"You know I can't tell you that." I sighed.
"You really believe that Nicholas Endicott is behind all of this? The man dating my mother? All because my father said so?"
I noticed Gil flinch slightly at the mention of Nicholas and Jessica.
"No. If you were listening to me instead of being bitter that I chose to wait to tell you what I was doing, you'd know exactly why I believe he's behind this. You explain to me how talking to your father about Nicholas then beginning an underground investigation before being attacked in my own parking garage is a coincidence. And while you're at it explain the hidden camera in your father's cell that Mr. David knew nothing about." I looked up at him.
"If he's bold enough to send someone to kill me, a Chief FBI agent, in the FBI's parking garage it's only a matter of time before he comes after all of us, and Jessica and Ainsley and anyone else connected to us that could be a threat to him."
Gil, JT, and Dani nodded but Malcolm still looked unsure.
"Why did he tell you and not me?" I could hear the pain in his voice.
"Because as the sole living member of the Russell family I have the money, power, and influence to rival Nicholas Endicott." I answered.
"I have to go over these files. Gil, I'll call you in to discuss what I find. Will you take Malcolm to his loft?" I asked my eyes meeting Malcolm's.
"I trust you all can see yourselves out."
"Lily..." Malcolm started after everyone else had left.
"Stop. You want to be angry, fine. You can do it in your own home. You don't want to believe me, fine. Mine will be the next funeral you attend." I snapped.
I got up and walked over to the door motioning him out without another word and slammed the door behind him leaning against it.
I needed to keep him out of harm's way while I continued investigating Nicholas and helped Sophie find Eve. It ripped my heart out to hear him walk away from my door.
I waited a full ten minutes to ensure they all had left before setting out to find Sophie.
She was pacing back and forth in the conference room I'd directed her to.
"You're going to wear a hole in my floor." I sighed.
"Sorry." She looked over at me.
"You look upset." She noted.
"You met me barely an hour ago." I shook my head.
"I'm vigilant." She smirked.
"I argued with my fiancè." I admitted.
"Malcolm. Why wouldn't he be ready to see me?"
"He's The Surgeon's son." I answered.
"The boy in the basement." She mused.
"Everyone told him for twenty years that you didn't exist. That he made you up. Martin used chloroform on him every time he stumbled on something he shouldn't. He's not ready to have all those memories flooding back. Certainly not after how he reacted to what I had to say about Nicholas."
"That's a horrible thing to do to anyone, let alone his own child." She looked sad.
"Come on. I have some files to look through on Nicholas."
I lead her back up into my office. I laid my hand flat on the mouse pad causing a drawer to open to the right of my keyboard. Inside were easily over a hundred and fifty very small files with a small sticky note on the top.
Each one of these are an accident, suicide or murder file where either the victim or a suspect was employed by Nicholas Endicott. -A
With the files being as small as they were it was clear without even opening them that there was no real resolution to any of these cases.
"How long did you work for Nicholas?" I asked Sophie almost mechanically, pressing the 'fuck you' button on an incoming call from Malcolm.
"Just over three years. I met Nicholas in Virginia in September of ninety five as he was beginning his 'credit card' company. He moved me to Maryland the next year to open a new location, and finally New York in early ninety eight. I was still here in November of ninety eight when I was taken by Whitly." She said.
"Now, I need you to answer me honestly. What did you do for him?" I asked.
"The list is extensive and I'm not proud of any of it." She sighed.
"I understand but I need to know exactly what I'm up against especially if I'm going to be fighting alone."
"You're not alone. I'm sure Malcolm's going to come around." She paused glancing at my phone.
"At first it was small stuff. Almost like P.I shit. Follow this guy and see what he's up to. Follow her and tell me what she does. Then it graduated to full fledged stalking. Learn their movements, their routine. By the end of my first year I was Nicholas' first choice to intimidate his enemies. Mostly just standing outside their office or letting them know I was following them. I'm not very big but my 'resting bitch face' is second to none. It wasn't long before he tasked me with the murder of Scott Allen, accident on his yacht off the coast of Virginia, body never found. In my three years with Nicholas I killed six people. You don't say no to Nicholas Endicott." She sighed.
Six murders in two years by a single employee. The depth of his depravity might not be discoverable.
"Are you going to put me in prison?" She asked and I realized I'd been silent for a long while.
"No. I don't think so. We need to find Eve before I make any decisions. That's the most important thing right now." I sighed returning the top file to my secret drawer.
"Come on. Let's go see if she made it back to her apartment."
I led her out to my car in the parking garage and we drove out to Eve's apartment building. Sophie sat in my passenger seat staring up at the building.
"Are you ready?" I asked gently.
She nodded almost absently.
We climbed out of my car and walked up into the building taking the elevator up to the third floor and over to her apartment. I knocked first then used the key she'd given me.
The apartment was spotless which was a little odd but she did know she was leaving town. There wasn't any obvious signs of a struggle.
My phone started vibrating with another call from Malcolm which I ignored again.
"Lilian!" Sophie called from the bedroom.
I rushed into the room and found her holding a brown purse.
"This is the purse she took with her when she left." She told me handing it to me.
Inside was all of Eve's credit cards and her identification along with her cellphone. There was also her beige long coat lying on the bed.
"This proves she was here." Sophie said looking at me.
"There's no sign of a struggle. If she was taken from here then they were lying in wait for her. Could have ambushed her right here. Used a weapon to force her to walk out of the apartment on her own." I mused pulling her phone out of the purse.
It was locked but she'd given me the code as a precaution before our first trip to see Martin.
3183
There were roughly a dozen missed calls from Sophie starting two days before she came to find me. I opened up her text messages and found one dated May twelfth at nine fifteen pm from a number I knew was associated to Endicott Corp.
I know you've been asking questions about your sister. Meet me and I'll tell you everything you could ever want to know.
How do I know I can trust you? Eve's reply read.
You don't.
"Where?"
"Franklin Park. One hour. Come alone. Don't call Lilian. Leave the phone."
There wasn't another message either to or from Eve in connection to that number.
"It looks like they lured her out with these messages." I told Sophie showing her the messages.
"We have to get out to Franklin Park." She urged.
"We need to be careful. It's not out of the realm of possibility that they took her to draw either you or I out." I explained.
"If she's still alive we need to find her!" She insisted.
"I'm not saying we're not going. We are. I'm just saying follow my lead. We're no good to Eve or anyone else dead."
Sophie reluctantly agreed. We pulled up outside Franklin Park less than a half an hour later.
"Where would he have met her?" She asked me as we sat in my vehicle.
"Somewhere isolated. Those messages were nearly two weeks ago. My guess is they abducted her from here. I've come to know Eve as a fighter. Even after ten pm there is a decent amount of foot traffic in this park. Come on. I need to see more."
I climbed out of my car and 'fuck you'd' yet another call from Malcolm.
We walked around the park from the parking lot systematically through the fields and trees.
I found more areas that showed signs of a struggle than I could have imagined.
I focused on isolated areas with minimal signs of struggle as we walked around the lake in the center of the park. This was an abduction. Not a rape or assault. I would guess they used chloroform or some other type of sedative to control her and move her.
"What are we looking for?" She asked me.
"Anything that could tell us exactly where she was taken from. I'm actually disgusted with New York right now." I sighed.
Something in the dirt caught my eye. A small pearl earring with dots of blood on the back. Likely ripped right out of the ear.
"That's Eve's. I gave her a pair of our mother's earrings before she left." Sophie said when I showed it to her.
It was honestly a bad sign but I couldn't tell Sophie that. It wasn't significant evidence that she was already dead and I didn't want her jumping to conclusions yet.
"Come on. I need to find some traffic camera footage or something to give us a timeline." I told her and she followed me back to my car.
I drove her out to the bunker near the FBI station.
In a smaller room off the main hallway was a sophisticated computer system that was fully encrypted and impenetrable.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Sophie asked as we walked in.
"Of course. The Director and the President are family friends. They gave me this when I left my abusive ex as a precaution." I answered.
I hacked easily into the traffic cameras directly across from the park and was able to find Eve driving into the parking lot at just after ten ten on the twelfth then roughly fifty minutes later her car drove out of the parking lot but the driver clearly wasn't Eve. I followed the car to the Hudson River bridge where the camera was blacked out similarly to the one in my parking garage.
"We have to go out there!" Sophie exclaimed.
"Sophie... I need you to hear me right now. If she was dropped off that bridge into the Hudson, she's not alive anymore." I told her.
"You don't know that." She insisted.
"It's been two weeks, Sophie."
"I've heard of crazier things. Lilian, please."
Reluctantly I drove us out to the river. We started walking the rocks above the banks.
I saw her first as I stood on the rocks above the Hudson River's east bank. The body of a blonde woman was washed up on the banks. She was wearing a dirty grey pantsuit and her hair was matted by the current. My heart ripped out of my chest when I heard Sophie take in a sharp breath before freezing and standing silently next to me for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, she moved to try and climb down to her sister's body.
"Sophie. Sophie! Stop. You can't touch her." I said my voice strangled grabbing ahold of her arm.
"Why the hell not?" She spun around and screamed in my face.
"You know why, Sophie. You know why." I told her gently and she collapsed into my arms and we fell down to our knees.
"This is my fault. This is my fault." She sobbed.
"No, Sophie. This is Nicholas' fault."
I held her as she cried into my shoulder.
"I'll testify. I'll do whatever it takes to put him away. Lily, please." She told me looking up at me her eyes glossy with tears.
"What I need you to do right now is go back to Connecticut and wait for my call."
"Lily..."
"Trust me. You've been able to hide there for over twenty years. I need you to go back until I'm ready to confront him. I need you safe. You are the entire case against him right now." I helped her stand back up.
"Okay. Okay. Find who did this. Endicott ordered it but someone carried it out. Find them, Lily, please."
She took one look back at her sister's body and walked away from me.
I pulled out my phone and called 9-1-1.
"New York 9-1-1. What's your emergency?"
"This is Chief Dr. Lilian Russell and I need to report a body on the banks of the Hudson. I  need a crime scene unit and coroner to the East Bank of the Hudson." I answered with a sigh a single tear falling from my eye as I looked down at Eve's lifeless body still lying on the rocks beneath me.