Chapter 27

Hysterical tears were falling down Alexa’s face. The metallic smell of blood wafted in the air, though Alexa didn't know if she smelled her own blood or if she smelled Ben’s. Ben was lying—dead—on the cold, stone floor below. Alexa couldn’t look down at the semblance of a man that was lying on the ground. He was unrecognizable.

Searing pain rushed through Alexa’s entire body. Her arms were still tied above her head on the cot that she had been tied to for the last 24 hours. She didn’t know if the way that she was laying was helping or hurting the flow of blood that was seeping from her shoulder. She tried to breathe evenly, knowing that at this point, she was her own hope of making it out of that basement alive.

The camera was seemingly still rolling, though Alexa didn’t have any idea if Ben actually had anyone watching. For all she knew, Ben could have just told her that the video was streaming on the Internet so that she would fight to stay alive, thus suffering, for as long as possible. Alexa looked into the camera licked her chapped lips softly. “Pennsylvania.” She whispered into the camera, hoping desperately that someone was watching. “He said that we’re in Pennsylvania.”

Alexa’s eyes fought to stay open. She knew that she had to stay awake. The moment that she fell asleep, she would be asleep forever. “Please God,” Alexa whispered to herself. “Help them find me.”

-----

In Maryland, Brian’s heart broke as he watched Alexa struggle. He was sitting in front of the FBI computer watching every breath. He couldn’t tear his eyes away for fear that the moment that he did, he would never see her alive again.

Across the room, Brooke couldn’t stand to watch her sister suffering any longer. She was sitting at the dining room table sobbing softly. Lance was by her side, begging her to get a hold of herself. Lance cared about Alexa as he would a sister, but he was also understandably concerned about his baby.

The detective was in the adjoining room. The house was bustling with FBI agents and computer technicians who were working furiously to try to track down the IP address from where Ben’s computer was broadcasting. Since the IP address would only bring them to a relative location, they had to work quickly to track down the area in which Alexa was hidden.

Detective Morgan rushed into the dining room and stood behind Brian. Brian looked up at the detective. “Pennsylvania. She said that she’s in Pennsylvania.”

The detective looked down at Brian and nodded distractedly. He then turned his attention back to the computer screen.

“What are you doing standing around?” Brian demanded. “Pennsylvania. Don’t you have to go give that information to your police officer friends and computer people?”

Detective Morgan shook his head slowly. “We already knew that she was in Pennsylvania. Her tip came a little too late, besides who knows if Silverman had even told her the truth about where she was?”

“He knew that he was going to kill himself.” Brian replied. His eyes were narrowed at the cocky FBI agent. “What did it matter if she knew what state they were in?”

Detective Morgan rolled his eyes.

“Do you have some kind of problem with me?” Brian asked, offended. “You’re supposed to be here to save Alexa Owens’ life, aren’t you? You’re not here to look down on some ‘lowly’ Backstreet Boy.”

The detective scoffed. “I could not care less that you’re a Backstreet Boy. I care about you coming in here thinking that you know anything about police work and trying to run things.”

“Excuse me, but I never came in here trying to ‘run things’ as you so eloquently put it.” Brian replied, standing up. “If I’m correct, which I know that I am, I got here and you immediately jumped on the defensive, assuming that I was involved.”

“Hey!” Lance called out from across the room. His jaw was clenched and he look angry. “Would both of you shut up and keep focused on the task at hand? If you would look at the computer screen, there is a girl very close to my heart, to my wife’s heart, to Brian’s heart and to my children’s hearts that is dying. Detective Morgan, I suggest that instead of powwowing with Brian over who hates whom more, you and your team get a unit together. Brian, instead of getting upset that the detective obviously doesn’t care for you, just keep your mouth shut and pray that Alexa is found safely.”

Brian sighed and sat back in his chair. Lance was right. For a moment, Brian had taken his eye away from what was important. No matter how big of a jerk Detective Morgan may have been, he was still going to be the one that was going to lead his team to find Alexa.

Lance left his wife’s side of the first time since they had all watched Alexa get shot by Ben and walked over to Brian and Detective Morgan. “Can you give us a status update? Do you have any idea as to the area that she’s in?”

The detective put his hands in his pockets and turned toward Lance. “She’s in a small town called Hanover that is just north of the Pennsylvania/Maryland boarder. We just released this information to the press in hopes of getting some calls from local witnesses. There is a police helicopter searching the area for an suspicious activity. The local FBI, as well as the local police department, is scouring the area as well. They’ve checked the port from where the router was hooked up, but the house was abandoned. There was a white economy sized van parked outside. There was no forensic testing; however, visually it appears that the back of the van was littered with blood stains. We seem to be close, Representative Taylor.”

Brian shook his head and stared back at the computer screen. Alexa was talking to herself softly. She was saying the Lord’s Prayer over and over. Time was running out. Ben was smarter than the FBI was giving him credit for. No way would he have left the van within blocks of where he had left Alexa, especially if he honestly expected Alexa to die.

“Do you have something to say, Brian?” Lance asked as he tore his attention away from the detective.

“I knew, Ben. I know that he wouldn’t be stupid enough to come up with this whole plan and then give it all away by leaving a blood-stained van parked at the house where the router from which he is was broadcasting is hidden.” Brian shook his head. “You’re probably focusing your efforts in the wrong area.”

Brian sighed and tore his gaze away from the computer screen. He put his hands up in front of him. “But you know, what do I know? I’m no FBI agent.”

Lance turned back to Detective Morgan. “Do you have your team spread out around the area?”

Detective Morgan clenched his jaw and glared at Brian. “Spreading the team around is going to take time away from finding Alexa. We need a concentrated effort in one area.”

“And what if you’re wrong? Then she dies in cold blood?” Lance questioned harshly.

Detective Morgan grinded his teeth together in frustration. He wanted what every agent on the force wanted, to move up in the company, to work for the big guys in Washington. Solving a high profile case and having a State Representative on his side was exactly the way to take the fast track to the top. However, this new addition to the case, who obviously thought that he knew everything, was proving to make his job difficult.

The detective’s thoughts were interrupted by a young FBI agent rushing into the room. “Detective Morgan. We may have gotten a hit. A caller from the Hanover area says that he was watching the news about Alexa and recalled hearing what sounded like a gun shot in the area close to an hour ago. There was another call that came in shortly thereafter from the same area that cited hearing the same shot off in the distance and also noticed a suspicious man hanging around a seemingly abandoned house in the area. The local agents are on their way now.”

“Are they close?” Detective Morgan asked. The excitement of finding Alexa safely was rising inside of him.

“Actually, they were a few miles away. It seemed that the house with the router was a pretty good distance from where Alexa is thought to be trapped.” The young agent replied.

Detective Morgan nodded sharply, releasing the young agent. Apparently, Brian had been dead on.

Brian turned away from the detective and smirked to himself. The smirk immediately evaporated from his face, however, when he noticed that Alexa’s words were becoming soft. She sounded like she was saying her goodbyes. Her eyes were beginning to flutter closed. “NO!” He screamed to the computer screen. “No!” He turned to Detective Morgan with tears rising to his eyelids. “You’re losing her! Do something!”

-----

Alexa was having the hardest time staying awake. Her eyes fluttered closed and she popped them back open. She recited the Lord’s Prayer over and over until it was ingrained in her mind. It was time to come to terms with the fact that she might not be going home after all. It was time to say goodbye to the people that she loved.

“I don’t know who’s watching.” Alexa started weakly. “But I want to tell you goodbye. Goodbye Brooke. I love you. I’m going home to Daddy. Goodbye Lance. Be good to my sister. Goodbye nephew. Goodbye new baby. Goodbye friends. Goodbye Brian.” Alexa choked up at the sound of Brian’s name. “Goodbye love of my life. I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry and I love you.”

Alexa could feel the muscles in her body begin to relax. She was suddenly so tired. She couldn’t fight the fatigue that was falling over her any longer. She allowed her eyes to close as she said a final whispered, “Goodbye.”

------

Brian pounded on the computer and Brooke fell into a new set of tears. “Wake up, Alexa. Wake up, damn it! Don’t you give up,” Brian screamed to the computer screen. He then turned to Detective Morgan. “Why are you just standing there?”

The detective was also panicked inside, though he knew that his unit was close by. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, a slew of people burst into the room on the screen. The FBI agents quickly untied Alexa’s arms as the emergency medical team rushed into the room. One of the EMTs worked to stop the bleeding for long enough to get Alexa onto a gurney.

Brian watched on horrified. Alexa had stopped breathing on her own. The EMT quickly intubated her and then, two of the EMTs rushed Alexa up the basement stairs and then she was out of sight. None of it seemed real. It all felt like they were watching a terrible suspense movie.

“Where are they taking her?” Brooke finally squeaked out, speaking for the first time since Alexa had gotten shot earlier that night.

“They’ll be taking her to Mercy Joyner hospital in lower Pennsylvania.” Detective Morgan replied softly. “As you can tell, she wasn’t breathing when they left with her. She’ll need surgery. You have plenty of time to get there.”

Lance turned to his wife. “Hanover isn’t that far from here. I can get a helicopter fueled within the hour.”

“No need Representative Taylor.” Detective Morgan broke in. “I’ll take you all to the bureau. We have a helicopter fueled and ready to go for you.”

Brian turned to the detective quickly. For the first time, he was softening while the rest of them were tenser than they had been all night.

Within minutes, Brian, Brooke and Lance were in the air flying the short distance to Hanover. Brian stared out the window down to the sleepy cities below. He began to pray for the thousandth time that day for Alexa's life. Repeatedly in his mind, the vision ran of Alexa getting shot. Though the camera only showed one angle, Brian saw the shot at every angle imaginable in his mind. In front of Alexa, BOOM. Behind Alexa, BOOM. On the side of Alexa, BOOM. Over and over Alexa screamed out in pain as blood began to pour out of her arm: BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.

When they arrived to the hospital, Alexa was in surgery. She was unconscious when she arrived, but she had began to breathe on her own again, which was a good sign. However, the doctors couldn't tell how long her brain had been without oxygen. Judging from the descriptions of Brian, Brooke and Lance from watching the video, it seemed that she was probably going to wake up without any brain damage. Still, she wasn't completely out of the woods. During the surgery, the doctors needed to remove the bullet that was lodged in Alexa's shoulder and sew her scalp back together from where she had been bludgeoned by Ben.

Alexa was proving to be very lucky. She easily could have a concussion, which you aren't supposed to fall asleep with, or a broken skull, but it seemed like Ben had lessened the blow once he reached her head.

After speaking with the doctor, Lance and Brooke went to sit in the waiting room until Alexa was out of surgery. Brooke was still highly distraught, but also relieved, that her little sister had been found alive. She felt so incredibly guilty for not being more concerned that Alexa was spending so much time with a complete stranger that night. Of course, that was the mommy in her talking. She wasn't Alexa's mother, though she had tended to be the mother figure for so many years. Neither Alexa nor Brooke couldn't possibly have known the danger in simply walking someone out that she met at an exclusive party at Brooke and Lance's house. In the end, Colin seemed to fight for Alexa, although at that point it was too late.

Brian glanced over at Brooke and Lance. In many ways, he felt that he was intruding on some family moment. They didn't know what he and Alexa had shared. Alexa may have mentioned their relationship to Brooke, but Brooke was never there to see the amount to love that they had for each other. She had no idea how much Alexa had done for him—not that either Brooke or Lance had discounted his feelings either.

By this time, Brian had been awake for almost a full day. Still, he didn't think that he could sleep if he tried. The image of Alexa tied to that cot—bleeding, suffering—still plagued his mind. When he closed his eyes, the imagery of the entire horrifying experience was tattooed on the backs of his eye lids. Now, he still didn't know if she would make it through the night.

A few hours later, the doctor came into the waiting room to tell Brian, Brook and Lance that Alexa had made it out of surgery. She was probably going to be fine, but they didn't know the extent of, if any, brain damage had been done by the lack of blood and oxygen that had been circulating in her brain. Apparently, she was going to be knocked out for a while due to the heavy anesthetic that had been administered during her surgery.

When the doctor walked away, Lance turned to Brooke, who was now wiping a set of happy tears from her face. “Baby,” Lance started, as he wrapped his arm around Brooke's waist, “there's a nice looking hotel right across the street. You really need some rest, why don't we got check in for the night?”

Brooke shook her head emphatically. “No, I'm not leaving her alone.”

“I'll be here.” Brian spoke up. “I mean, I know that she's your sister, but you really should get some rest. Alexa is going to hate waking up to see you crumbled over in a chair. Of course, I don't want you to think that I'm forcing you out.”

Brooke sighed and rested her hands on her pregnant belly. If Alexa did happen to wake up, she'd probably be more relieved to see Brian sitting there anyway. She finally nodded. “You're probably right. The doctor gave her another eight hours anyway, right? To give her some time to rest and all?”

Lance nodded. “Exactly. It's the middle of the night. We're used to getting up with Wes, anyway, so we'll be up and back over here in plenty of time for Alexa to wake up.”

“Okay,” Brooke relented. “I am pretty tired and this baby has been kicking me for hours. We also need to call the babysitter and check on Wes.” Brooke reached over to Brian and hugged him tightly. She knew that since Alexa had been found, Brian had gotten pretty tense. The truth was, he and Alexa weren't together and he had no idea what Alexa had told them about him. She wanted to give Brian at least a little comfort if she could. “If she does wake up, she'll be really glad that you're here.”

Brian smiled and kissed Brooke on the cheek. “Thank you. I'll call you if anything changes.”

Brooke let go of Brian and allowed Lance to take her across the street to the hotel. Brian followed Alexa's nurse to room 3201. The number flashed in his head. 3201. That was their room number the first time that they went to Kentucky. Brian smiled to himself and ran his fingers over the numbers. He guessed that he could take that as a good sign. Brian sighed before finally opening the door and entering the room.

As he walked toward the bed, he began to tremble. It had been months since he's seen her face. Now, she was bruised and battered—a lot of which had to do with him.

Brian shook his head. He couldn't go on feeling guilty again. Ben was a deranged man. It wasn't fair to Brian for him to think that things would have necessarily been different if he wasn't in the picture. Alexa worked for Ben for a long time, who knows what would have happened in the future. Brian also had the sinking feeling that Ben may have had some underlying feelings for Alexa, though the world will never know.

Brian walked over to the bed and took Alexa's hand in his own. He rubbed the top of her hand with his thumb. Gentle tears began to run down his face. She was still here. She was still alive and mostly okay. He had come so close to losing her forever. He kissed the back of her hand and placed her hand gently back on the bed.

He reached behind him and pulled the pink, cushioned visitor's chair over to Alexa's hospital bed. He leaned back in the chair and watched her chest rise and fall slowly. It was hard to imagine how he could have thought that he didn't want anything to do with her. Even with Alexa lying there, not conscious, Brian felt complete just being near her. She was the wedge that was missing from his sphere. She was his 'Missing Piece.'

Brian leaned his head back and let his eyes close slowly. Finally, he was able to drift off into a semi-peaceful sleep.