Shawn woke up with a jolt in the back of a van. He groaned in pain and squeezed his eyes shut. The bouncing ground underneath him made him feel a little nauseous. What he wouldn't give to wake up normally for once.
He froze when he felt something around his neck. It was cold and rough and when he tugged on it, it wouldn't come off. Thankfully, his hands were free so he managed to push himself up when his escalated panic added to the nausea he was feeling.
After ridding his stomach of its measly offerings, he dry-heaved a few times. His whole body shaking in fear at the idea of something around his neck.
"You're finally up, psychic," the voice that had been haunting him sounded from the front of the van.
Shawn forced himself to slow down his breathing; he was huffing from all the heaving he had just gone through. The dirty FBI agent behind the wheel was alternating between watching the road and glancing at him through the rearview mirror. No matter what, Shawn didn't want to show the man his weak side if he could help it.
"S-so..." Shawn began. He immediately gripped his neck in pain as the collar around his neck zapped him. "Argh!"
The Broker chuckled at his pain, "I see you've discovered my new toy. It works so well, doesn't it?"
Shawn gave him a pointed look that obviously translated to 'do you really expect me to answer that?'.
"I was really hoping you would've tried to reply to that."
Shawn pushed himself up against the wall of the van and surveyed the road through the front window since the back windows were all blacked out. They were in one of Santa Barbara's industrial districts.
The next thing he surveyed was the items on the front seat. A taser, some night vision goggles, a police radio and a remote. Considering the dial on the remote consisted of voltages, he could definitively say that it most likely controlled his collar.
"Let's see how your friends are going with the case," the FBI agent said. "They still haven't thought to cut me off from Ewing's feed. Did you know that I was the one who suggested the idea? In fact, I was the one who 'persuaded' his stenographer to retire just so I could suggest it."
Shawn closed his eyes and folded his arms in an act of defiance. If he couldn't talk, he'd let his body language do so for him.
The Broker huffed before he reached over and turned on his car radio. Voices that Shawn recognised as his friends at the SBPD came through the speakers in a harsh tone.
"Someone's going to have to notify Henry!" he heard the Chief exclaim.
"Chief, with all due respect, we're fine on our own. We don't need Spencer's help," Lassiter said.
"He's only to be notified, Detective," the Chief responded. "The man is still in hospital, for God's sake."
"I'm with Carlton on this one," Shawn's girlfriend's sweet voice cut in. "Shawn's father won't sit still if he knows. The hospital won't be able to keep him there."
Her comment was met with some silence. In the back of the van, Shawn was silently cheering for the two Detectives. No pun intended. He really didn't want his father to put stress on his body so soon in the recovery process.
Although, at the same time, Shawn remembered back to the time when he was shot. His father had been instrumental in finding him and he really did want to be found.
"I understand where you're coming from; believe me, I do," Chief Vick finally responded. "However, it is protocol that family is informed in situations like this."
"I'd be willing to inform him," Ewing volunteered. It was about time that the man unwittingly recording this for The Broker spoke. "After all, I sort of owe you all after this whole mess. Both times I've come here I've brought a traitorous colleague with me, after all."
The Broker snorted at the Ewing's comment. "I knew he'd worked with you guys before but this takes the cake. For a senior FBI agent, he's sure bad at reading people."
Shawn shifted a little, itching to say something but he managed to keep his eyes closed and his arms folded. It was taking every ounce of control he had to stay silent. He hated having ADD.
"Nevermind, I'll look it up after we head out of state," The Broker conceded.
"I really appreciate that, Ewing, but I think it might be better if I told him personally," the Chief's voice returned Ewing's offer. "That way I can be sure that he won't be leaving the hospital anytime soon."
A muffled knocking sound could be heard in the background of the feed. He heard a few sighs and some footsteps before a click was heard.
"McNab, this better be important," he heard Lassiter growl loudly.
"It is. We have an old lady in interrogation claiming to know where Shawn is being held," he heard the officer respond.
Shawn sighed, he was glad that Rosa had managed to get to the police but it was too little too late. He was already being moved to another location.
When The Broker cursed under his breath and slammed his fists on the steering wheel of the van, a spark of hope welled up in Shawn. Obviously, if this news wasn't welcomed by the serial killer, there must be something Rosa knew that made The Broker uneasy.
"Seriously?" the Head Detective said surprised.
"Yes, Sir."
"Are you sure she's not in on this whole kidnapping thing?" Lassiter asked suspiciously.
Shawn groaned loudly at Lassiter's reaction to this news. Unfortunately, the collar seemed to think he was trying to talk and zapped him. He winced and gritted his teeth as he rode out the pain.
"Carlton! I know the whole Allison Cowley thing has made you even more suspicious of people but if she has credible information on Shawn we can't afford to treat her like a suspect from the get-go."
"O'Hara is right. You can grill her after we hear what she has say. Still, take whatever she says with a grain of salt. This could be a trap. I want you two to check it out."
The Detectives must have left right after the Chief had given them orders because, less than a second later, he heard footsteps and a loud click from the office door.
"Since the FBI is no longer on point, is there anything you want me to do?" he heard Ewing ask.
"No offence, Agent Ewing, but I'd prefer it if you stayed put," the Chief answered. "Feel free to pull FBI files related to the case for us. Your clearance level will be much appreciated. Otherwise, I expect you to stay out of our way."
Author's Chapter Notes:
Decided to use Google Docs while writing this fic. That way I don't have to worry about saving cuz it automatically does that and I have up-to-date working documents shared to all my devices!
Anyway, enjoy this next chapter! Its still in Shawn's Pov. Next chapter will be following the SBPD's Pov again.
Anyway, enjoy this next chapter! Its still in Shawn's Pov. Next chapter will be following the SBPD's Pov again.
Chapter End Notes:
I hope this is moving forward at a decent pace. If its too fast or too slow, feel free to tell me. :-)