Chapter Text
TK was missing and no one knew why.
At first Carlos thought TK had just slept in without Carlos, who’d been working a different shift pattern, there to wake him and that was probably why TK had missed his own shift. It soon became clear that was not the case. There was no sign of TK at the house he shared with Carlos, or Owen’s place, or the firehouse, and the longer he was missing the more likely it seemed something had happened to him.
Owen and Carlos feared he’d gone back to drugs or indulging in reckless behavior just to feel something, but as the days went by and there was still no sign of TK Owen filed a missing person’s report on him, assuring the cops his son wouldn’t have run away, that he had a job he loved and a good relationship with his boyfriend.
The 126 were also worried about their friend, all of them missing him in their own way.
Carlos’ dad, Gabriel Reyes, joined his son in the search for TK. He’d already met Owen the last time TK had been kidnapped and Carlos had been suspended. He could feel Owen’s pain over the void losing his son had left in him and could only imagine what was going through his mind while his son was missing, not knowing what had happened to him.
Gabriel being a Texas Ranger paid off when he was able to alert his son when he heard from another division about a human trafficking ring, one which focused on kidnapping men. The disappearances of several men were believed to be connected to this ring and while it wasn’t good it was at least better than Carlos’ fears about a serial killer possibly having taken his boyfriend. Still, there were no leads on where TK might be.
A year passed, a very long year, and they still didn’t have a clue where TK or the other missing men were. Carlos knew he was very near the end of his rope. The only reason he hadn’t snapped yet was because of the support he received from his parents, Owen and the 126 crew. None of them believed TK was dead and Carlos needed to hold on to that belief.
If Carlos was being exact, it had been one year, twelve days, fifteen hours, forty-nine minutes and three seconds since TK disappeared. They were following leads, but with nothing concrete to go on they were all dead ends.
Carlos refused to give into the darkness he felt closing in on him. He had to stay strong for TK, he had to find his boyfriend, and the sooner the better.
He walked through the house, barely able to touch TK’s stuff without crying, sniffing the clothes he’d left behind hoping to catch a trace of his scent still on them. He missed him so much it hurt.
Turning to his phone he looked down at the picture of him and TK, remembering the day it was taken and how in love they’d been. He loved the smile on TK’s face as he looked at Carlos in the photo, the love he had for Carlos there for all to see. Carlos vowed he’d find his boyfriend even if it killed him.
He was still gazing at the photo when the phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, Carlos answered right away.
“Dad, is there any news?”
“No, but hopefully there will be soon. The team investigating the trafficking ring found something. Do you want to come?” Gabriel asked.
“I’ll be at the station right away,” Carlos said, hanging up.
He kissed TK’s framed picture that was beside the bed and went to freshen up before heading out. He hoped the team had found a good lead, something that would tell them where the missing men were and hopefully where they would find TK alive.
At the station he found his dad who told him they had found something and his instincts were telling him it was important.
“What did they find?” Carlos asked.
“As far as I know, the surveillance team spotted something suspicious,” Gabriel replied. “They’ve been watching a location they suspect the trafficking ring’s been working from and apparently there’s a black van that hasn’t moved from the area in a few days. They finally got the warrants to move on it. Do you want to come and check it out with me?”
“I’ll come,” Carlos agreed, “and I think the 126 should join us just in case. We don’t know what we might find and I have a hunch we might be in need of their services. I just hope we’re not too late.”
“I hope so too, son,” Gabriel told him as he squeezed his son’s shoulder. He saw Carlos’ eyes, how tired and sad they were. He knew his son barely slept at night, not knowing where his boyfriend was.
Gabriel would do whatever it took to see his son happy again and he too hoped to see TK found alive and well, but he also knew that the odds were not in their favor.
He gave Carlos the location the surveillance team had given him so he could let Captain Strand know where to bring his crew.
Carlos knew Owen would want to know what was going on and would want to be there in case they found TK, be it dead or alive. Carlos called him, telling him about the lead and giving him the location they were heading to - Barton Creek Greenbelt: Trail 35, close to the river.
Owen thanked him and told Carlos that he and the 126 would be there as soon as possible.
Once they arrived at the scene, they spotted the black van.
Carlos and his dad circled the van, sighing in relief when they figured it was abandoned, but Carlos had an eerie feeling as he got ready to open the van door.
“What is it, son?” Gabriel asked as he noticed the way his son seemed hesitant to open it and reveal what was inside the van.
“I don’t know. I hope I’m wrong, but I have a bad feeling, and I’m scared I might find him dead inside,” Carlos replied.
“Whatever is inside, we will deal with it together. You are not alone, Carlito,” Gabriel tried to assure his son. He hoped for the best, that if there was anyone, be it TK or someone else, inside the van that they would still be alive. He stepped forward and pulled open the door of the van himself.
As Carlos got into the van a shiver ran through him as he noticed how cold it was before his eyes fell on a bound and naked man slumped in the corner, his eyes covered with a blindfold. Something else caught his attention then. An ‘SOS’ tattoo. His heart almost missed a beat as he saw it.
He called to his dad to send in the paramedics, fearing he was too late to save the man he’d dreamt about every night since he’d gone missing and who was finally right in front of him again.
Gabriel instructed the other cops on scene to let the 126 through. Hearing the okay, Owen was out of the truck and across the street in a flash, attempting to climb into the van next to Carlos before Gabriel stopped him with a warning about contaminating evidence as little as possible if they were to find the people who took TK. Inside the van, Carlos had covered the naked man with his jacket, but Owen could see enough of him to spot tattoos that he too found familiar.
“It’s TK, we found TK!” Owen yelled to his team.
“I need something to break these chains! Get me some bolt cutters!” Carlos demanded. Owen relayed the order to his crew and watched as Judd hurried to grab the bolt cutters.
Judd handed over the cutters to a waiting Carlos and couldn’t help but look at the slumped body in the van. He truly hoped TK was alive. He’d grown to love the kid like a brother and he didn’t want to think about how his captain would feel if they’d found his son but couldn’t save him in time.
Once Carlos had released TK’s hands he carefully half carried, half dragged him to the door of the van where Owen and Judd helped get him on a gurney. Tommy and Nancy moved in then, trying to get an IV into one of TK’s arms, knowing he was probably badly dehydrated from lack of food or water, but having no success. Carlos could only watch in fear as Nancy tried to find a pulse. She lowered her head, but he saw her nodding it. His boyfriend had a pulse! Thank God!
Except TK wasn’t breathing.