Mark Discovers Alana has been Taken

Mark was whistling as he climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor apartment that was Alana’s home while she was on assignment. Today, he didn’t even mind the fact that this wasn’t the most secure neighborhood or that the building was a little rundown. Alana wouldn’t be coming back here. A baby. They were going to have a baby. He carried corned beef sandwiches and fruit salad from her favorite deli. Noon. She was probably still in bed. Would she need more rest now that she was pregnant? It didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to be working nights any longer.

A red flag went up the minute he turned his key in the deadbolt. It wasn’t locked. Double locks were designed to keep agents safe and give them an extra few seconds to get to their weapons if they were in trouble. In the years she’d been on his team, it was a protocol that Alana had never broken. Never.

He set the food on the floor and pulled his weapon from the waistband holster before inserting a second key into the handle lock. As usual, it turned without much resistance.  Standing to the side where the opening door could still shield him, he called her name. No response.

“Baby, are you home?” he called more loudly. Quiet. Placing both hands on his gun, he used his foot to edge the door fully open before crouching slightly and entering the room. A quick grid search of the sparsely decorated livingroom took only seconds. He entered carefully, sliding his back against the wall and moving toward the kitchen. Empty. Hands extended, elbows slightly bent, he nudged the front door closed with his foot and proceeded down the hallway toward the single bedroom. Empty.

What he saw made his heart stop. Drawers partially open. Closet cleaned out. No Alana. But he saw the signal. A red silk blouse lay crumpled on the closet floor. He picked it up; it was ripped. He had to swallow the panic.

Rip something red. If you can’t rip it, leave it in plain view. Alana had done both. It was what they’d agreed on if she got into trouble. It was the sign his team always discussed but had never needed to use.

With his heart pounding, Mark pulled out his cell phone and hit a number. Quickly, he gave the address and the words no one wanted to say: Agent lost. Then, he followed protocol and sat on the neatly-made bed where he was less likely to disturb any evidence that might help them find Alana. A team would arrive soon, but soon was a long time to think about the fact that he didn’t know where she was: his partner, the other half of his life, the mother of his unborn child.