Mark

When the plane touched down Mark was at the limit of anxiousness. Time had never moved so slowly in his entire life. The four-and-a-half-hour flight felt more like four and a half days. Panicking wasn't going to help. He needed control. He had learned control; it was the one thing he could count on. He scheduled every moment of his life, including his marriage. That helped him feel in control, it was comfortable.

During the flight, Mark made several calls, to his mother, his father, Janice, Manuel and to the Bozeman PD. He even called Aliss's cell phone despite being told it was at the house, just to make sure. This final call, was one of persistent pushing. The 911 operator was trying to tell him that they were already doing all they could. That was not going to do. He pushed the caller asking for a supervisor who then transferred him up until he got in touch with a Sargant Hayes. This man was at least willing to hear him out.

He was headed straight to the precinct upon landing. He made sure a car was waiting for him. It was a 20-minute drive but he did it in 12 minutes flat.

He walked into the BPD front door with strength and purpose in his stride. At the counter he firmly asked for Sargant Hayes. It took only a minute and he was ushered into a room with the Sargant and a petite plain clothed female officer.

"Dr. Conners, I'm Sargant Hayes and this is detective Smythe. We understand your wife went missing. According to our field officers we estimate she went missing around 6 hours ago. That's based on the last phone call between a Janice Arellano and your wife and the time she was noted as missing. What can you tell us about your wife's usual routines, her hobbies or work?" Hayes peppered him with questions.

Hayes's blood pressure was sky high and it showed on his bulging veins and red face. He had just gotten a call from the Governor. This perp took the fucking daughter-in-law of Governor fucking Conners.

"Sargeant Hayes, I gave these details to the operator on the phone. Understand that there will be full cooperation from myself and my family in assisting in anyway to find my wife. In the few hours since she was first reported as missing, what have you done, what is available and what are our next steps?" Mark took his trained calmness and switched his brain to a serious confident tempo. If he let his emotions rise up too high, he wouldn't be able to keep calm.

Terry stepped in front of Hayes, not caring how pissed off he would get. She looked directly at Conners, showing her capable detective side. Mark noticed.

"Dr. Conners, what is your wife's full name?" Asked Terry. She had a deep pit in her stomach telling her she already knew the answer to that question.

"Alissandra Conners, but we all call her Aliss." He looked at her with his eyebrows cinched together.

Hayes's eyes widened; he knew shit was going to hit the fan if the governor found out about the string of missing people, all with variations of her name.

Terry's stomach dropped and she almost sat down. It was rare she was scared or nervous so she steeled her spine and continued with; "Dr. Conners, I am part of a task force that has been looking into multiple missing persons from Bozeman that have disappeared over the last few months. We think your wife may be the next victim with similar circumstances. We have dispatched every available officer to assist in the search and in doing so, in finding your wife. Time is of the essence here. The best that you can do, is start calling everyone that she knows. Check to see if perhaps, she is just off doing something and forgot her purse and phone. The possibility is small, we know, but stranger things have happened. Here, at the precinct we are treating this as a high priority. If you find anything out, let us know." She purposefully left out the bit about them all having similar names. That would just make this husband even more nervous, and it just wouldn't help at all.

Mark finally knew what terror felt like. His eyes burned red with contained tears. 'Not my sweet Aliss.' He thought. It was hard for him to let anyone take the lead on anything in his life, but for now he had to let them do their job. He wasn't without resources though.

"Ok I will make the calls and keep you informed. This is my cell number, call if you find out anything. Any minor detail is important. I have considerable resources at my disposal, so don't close your wallets on this. I want my wife found, and found in one piece." Mark wasn't one to flaunt his wealth or his family and their influence. But this was one time he was going to use everything at his disposal. He meant everything.

Mark left the precinct and climbed into the limo that his mother had sent for him, leaving his car there. He gave the driver an address and started calling everyone he knew. There was no news to tell, but he wasn't surprised. On his way he called Janice one more time to check the details of the last known place and time she had contact with Aliss then he gave her an address to meet him at.

A few minutes later they were both at the Bond Agency. In the lobby Cindra was waiting.
"Mother, where is Mac?" He asked her staring her down.

"He is with your father at the house. When Alistair heard, he left the office and came home. He is calling all of his contacts and doing all he can to help. Son, let us help you. This is one time we put aside our problems and bond together. You might not believe me but we both love Aliss and want her back safe at home." Cindra showed genuine concern on her face. Despite her methods she really did just want her family intact, including Aliss.

They spent the better part of an hour appraising the private detective on all they knew about Aliss's disappearance. They made it clear that every staff member at this agency was going to be working on finding her. Expense was not an issue.

Just as they were leaving, Marks cell phone rang. An unidentified private call. He answered the phone.

"Hello?" he answered with his heart in his throat.

A faint whisper, "Mark?" followed by deep breathy sounds.