Jake And Trevor

Twenty minutes later, Zach, Trevor and Jared were sitting at a table; the girls had gone off to the restroom. Jared started looking around. He turned to his friends with a puzzled expression.

"Has anyone seen Jeremy?"

They all looked around for him but could not see him anywhere. They stood up to get a better view, but couldn't see him out on the dance floor or near the refreshments.

"Not for awhile now and I don't see him out in the room."

"That's funny; I haven't seen him for awhile now either."

"Maybe he went to the restroom."

"Yeah, maybe."

Allison, Susan and Julie rejoined the boys at the table. Jared looked behind them and turned to them.

"Have you seen Jeremy and Lacey?"

"No."

"You didn't see them near the restrooms or anything?"

"No, although I thought I saw them go outside earlier."

"Outside? Why would they do that without telling us?"

"Well, it is a little crowded in here, ya know. If, you... uh, want some privacy."

The three girls grinned a little at that, but Jared frowned at that thought. He turned to his brothers with concern.

"Maybe we should go look for him?"

"Oh, don't do that! Leave them alone; I'm sure they'll be back any moment now. In fact I wouldn't mind taking a little walk myself."

Trevor pretended he didn't understand what Allison had said. He closed his eyes for a few moments and concentrated on Jeremy. He sent his mind searching. He quickly found the energy from all the kids around him them in the room; feeling the love from Jared and Zach, he pushed his love back out to them as he moved outward. He felt Zach push power toward him. He moved around the building and then outside, looking for the familiar energy that was Jeremy, and found nothing anywhere nearby. He pushed his senses out farther and still found nothing. He pulled his senses back, and opened his eyes; Zach and Jared were looking at him. He shook his head slightly. He turned to the others.

"I don't know, I think we should look around some. Something doesn't feel right."

Jared got a worried look on his face and immediately got up.

"You couldn't fi... I mean, yeah, let's take a look."

The three boys got up.

"Jared, why don't you check the restrooms, and can you guys just check around the room and see if anyone has seen them? Zach and I will go outside and see if we can find them."

"Why are so worried about them? They probably just wanted to get outside in the cooler air and talk and stuff, nothing really to worry about. We wouldn't want to interrupt anything."

"I don't know and Jared will forgive us, I know. I'm just worried they've been gone for quite awhile. So will you check around and maybe see if Lacey is in the restroom?"

"Okay Trevor, sure I guess, we'll check."

"Thanks. Let's meet at the entrance in few minutes."

They went their separate ways to find out what they could. Jared and Julie went to the restrooms and checked them, Allison and Susan checked around the room, while Zach and Trevor went outside. They looked around at the parking lot and could not see them. So they headed around the corner of the building. They saw nothing and so they walked to the next corner. When they were about halfway along the wall, something caught Trevor's eye. He turned to where he had seen the reflection of light off of something lying in the grass. He turned back and started toward the location of the reflection. Zach had taken a couple more steps before he realized that Trevor had stopped. He turned and saw that Trevor had turned around and was looking at the ground.

"What is it, Trev?"

"I don't know. I saw something in the grass as we walked by, like something was reflecting off of something metal on the ground."

Zach moved up beside Trevor and started looking at the ground. They didn't see anything right away, until Zach moved a couple of feet from Trevor's side and the light from the streetlight shone in the area where Zach's shadow had just been. Trevor saw the reflection off the metal object.

"I found it!"

Trevor knelt down, feeling the dampness from the grass on his knee as he reached toward the object. Zach was beside him as Trevor picked the object up. As soon as he saw it, a cold shudder ran down his back.

"What is it? What did you find?"

"Oh shit, Zach! Jeremy's in trouble. I gotta call Dad."

"What, what d'you mean, he's in trouble? What is it?"

Trevor held the object into the light and Zach's mouth dropped open as he saw the small round metal dart. He recognized what it had to be. He had seen such things on TV and in movies, but never a real one.

"A tranquilizing dart, like they use on animals?"

"Yeah. Damn, I just remembered, I shouldn't have touched it. Fuck, now my fingerprints are on it and I might have messed up any other fingerprints. Damn, damn, damn."

"Chill love, call Uncle Jake; I'll call Mom and Dad."

Trevor nodded and put the dart back where he found it as he took out his cell phone.

Jake looked at the clock and picked up the phone. He smiled when he saw Trevor's name on the caller ID.

"Hey, bud, you guys ready to be picked up already? It's only 8:30."

"Dad, there's a problem."

Jake's smile disappeared immediately and he got serious.

"What's going on, Trev? What's the problem?"

"Jeremy and his date Lacey are missing."

"What do you mean, missing?"

"A few minutes ago we noticed he wasn't around and started looking for him. The girls said that he and Lacey went outside for some fresh air, but it had been almost half an hour since any of us had seen him, so we decided to look for him and make sure he was okay. We had had a little problem with some jerks at the dance, nothing we couldn't handle, but I was worried maybe they had seen him leave and might have followed him outside and maybe hurt him. We checked but couldn't find him."

"Have you checked those jerks, as you called them?"

"It couldn't have been them; they wouldn't use a tranquilizer dart."

"What are you talking about?"

"Zach and I were walking around the building outside and we found a tranquilizer dart in the grass. I'm sorry, Dad, I already touched it before I realized what it was."

"Don't worry about that; put it back where you found it.  I'll call Tom and Terry…."

"Zach's on the phone right now with them."

"Okay, we'll be right there then. Wait for us."

"Okay, Dad, hurry."

"Don't worry; we'll find him.  I love you."

"Love you too, Dad."

Trevor closed his phone and looked at Zach. They heard a shout behind them.

"TREVOR, ZACH!"

They turned around and saw Jared coming toward them, followed by the three girls.

"There you are. When you didn't show up at the entrance, we thought we'd come looking to make sure you were okay. So did you find Jeremy?"

"I'm sorry, Jared, something's happened. Jeremy and Lacey are missing."

"What! What d'you mean, missing? Have you looked all around, maybe you missed them and they went back inside."

"No, I think they've been taken."

"Taken!? Why do you say that; how do you know?"

"Look at what we found."

Trevor pointed at the ground near his feet and Jeremy saw the dart lying on the ground. Jared sank to his knees and his eyes filled with tears.

"Noooooo!"

Zach sank down next to his brother and put his arms around him, as Jared started crying. The girls looked shocked at how lost Jared sounded. They moved closer so that they could see the dart lying in the grass.

"Bro, Dad, Mom and Uncle Jake are on their way. We'll find out what happened. We'll get him back."

"I... I... can't lose him, Zach, I can't. I love him."

"I know, bro, I know. We'll find him."

Julie's eyes went wide in shock when she heard Jared say that. Allison looked at them and then over at Trevor.

"So it's true then?"

"What?"

"You guys are gay?"

Trevor hesitated a moment and then solemnly nodded.

"Yeah... we are. Zach's my boyfriend, and Jeremy and Jared are together."

"So I guess that means not much chance that you and I could be boyfriend and girlfriend, huh?"

"No, sorry. We like you guys, you're great and if I liked girls, I would have liked to go out with you some more, but I love Zach. He is my world and nothing can come between us. So if you're going to hate us and out us to the school, this is the place to do it, but I hope you won't. I'm sorry if you guys are mad at us, but it is who we are, we can't change that."

She looked at him for a few moments before she answered him.

"I'll admit, I am a little upset about it, but I think I'm more jealous of Zach. He gets one of the cutest guys in the class for his boyfriend and I'm just a friend."

She looks around at the other girls.

"Actually I think we're all jealous. I mean, you guys all look hot in those kilts; who wouldn't want you for a boyfriend?"

They laughed a little, which broke the tension a bit. Jared was no longer crying; he was just trying to find comfort in his brother's arms. He looked up at Trevor.

"D... did you try to find him?"

Trevor nodded.

'I searched for him, Jared. I couldn't find him anywhere nearby.'

Jared nodded. They heard the Jeep and the SUV pull into the parking lot nearby and the doors slam. They all looked up and saw Jake, Tom and Terry running over toward them. Jake hugged Trevor, while Terry knelt down as Zach got up and she took Jared into her arms and held him. Tom put his arm across Zach's shoulder and hugged him to his side. Jake let Trevor go and Trevor wiped the tears that had started to fall.

"Where is it?"

"Right there, Dad."

Jake and Tom knelt down and saw the dart; they looked at each other and nodded. Jake stood back up.

"Yeah, that's what it is. I'm going to call the Sheriffs and file a missing person report."

He started to dial 911 and stopped before he hit send.

"No wait, I've got Detective Graham's number in here; I'll give him a call first."

"Good idea, Jake. C'mon, everybody, let's back away from the area in case there is anything else that will tell the sheriffs what happened. Girls, here take my cell and call your folks and have them come here. The sheriffs may want to ask you some questions before they will let you go. Do any of you know Lacey's home phone number?"

They all nodded.

"Good, one of you call her parents and I'll talk to them. You girls call your parents first before you call Lacey's house."

"Okay."

Julie called her parents first, then Susan and finally Allison. Each set of parents were told what little they knew before the phone was passed to the next person. The parents were on their way. While that was happening, Jake was on the phone with Detective Graham.

"Detective Graham."

"Detective, this is Jake MacLaren."

"Oh, hi, Mr. MacLaren, what can I do for you?"

"I think we have a problem. My son, Jeremy is missing."

"He's missing? Have you called the station yet?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to talk to you first because I know that they would probably take the report over the phone and treat it like most missing persons report, especially when a minor is involved. They would ask if there have been troubles at home and ask if maybe he had run away and all that. I know this is not the case in this matter."

"What makes you say that, Jake?"

"My son Trevor found a tranquilizer dart on the grass near where he they believe he was last."

"A what?! A tranq dart?"

"Yeah, and Jeremy or his date are nowhere to be found."

"His date? You mean the other boy, the twin?"

"No it's a girl from school."

"But I thought...."

"Yeah he is, they were just friends. They were here at Mayfair High at a dance and they disappeared. The others came looking for them after they had not seen them in a while and found the dart in the grass."

"Okay, clear the area; you know what to do. Has anybody touched the dart?"

"Yeah, Trevor did. He put it back where he found it, but he did touch it."

"That's not good. Make sure nobody touches anything else."

"I've already moved everyone back out of the way. I know it's not good about the dart. Trevor realized it too late as well, but the son of a bitch probably used gloves anyway."

"Yeah, my thoughts as well, but the criminals do tend to be stupid most of the time, and they do make mistakes. We'll still check it, but I don't hold out hope. We'll be there as soon as we can. Have the girl's parents been called?"

"Yeah, Tom's taking care of that."

"Good, I'll call it in and get a couple of cars out there to assist Jay and me. See you soon."

"Thanks, Detective. We'll be here."

He closed his phone and walked over to where the others were standing. Allison was just handing Tom's phone back to him.

"The sheriffs are on their way. So we need to all stay back here away from the area so that they can look around and see if they can get any more information about what happened."

Everyone nodded just as Tom started talking on the phone in his hand.

"Hello, Mr... Phillips. You are Lacey's father?... Yeah, sorry, but there's been a problem... No, we don't know exactly... She's missing... Yes, missing... I'm Tom Browning... No, I'm not with the police... My nephew Jeremy was with her... He's missing too... We don't know how long...."

He looked at the other kids.

"About thirty or forty minutes now."

"My son says about thirty or forty minutes... No, we can't find them anywhere... Yes, we've called the sheriffs, and they're on the way... No, we're not sure... Yes, you should come down here to the school right away and bring a recent picture of her... Yeah, sure, you're welcome... We'll talk to you when you get here... Bye."

He closed the phone and turned to the others.

"They're on their way."

Now it was just a waiting game. Within a few moments, they saw flashing lights nearing the school. One car pulled into the nearby parking lot and a Sheriff's sergeant got out. He walked over to the group and they recognized him as Sergeant Tratner. By the time he made his way over to the group, another car pulled into parking lot and another deputy got out of that car. The sergeant yelled over to him.

"Rick, get some tape out and cordon off this area."

Rick Bonelli waved in acknowledgement and went to the back of his patrol car and got some crime scene tape out of the trunk. By this time, the flashing lights and activity had started to attract the attention of everyone in the building, and students and teachers started streaming out to see what was happening. Rick told everyone to stay back as he tied the tape to a small tree near the edge of the building and proceeded to unroll it. Mr. Boyce, the school principal, gently moved students out of the way as he moved forward.

"Excuse me, deputy, I'm the principal here. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't exactly know. We'd really appreciate it if you and the other adults here keep the students back."

"Who is in charge?"

"Sergeant Tratner over there, sir. I'm sure he will answer your questions as soon as he can."

"Very well."

He turned around to the people from the dance and raised his voice.

"Everyone, can I have you attention please! Can everyone please back away and let the police do their work? Teachers, please help me get everyone back into the hall."

He turned to Rick.

"Deputy, should we have them call their parents to come and get them?"

"Calling their parents is a good idea; we may need to talk to the students and teachers that are here and ask them a few questions."

Mr. Boyce turned back to the group of students and teachers.

"Okay, you heard the deputy. Everyone go back inside and call your parents if you can. The teachers and I will lend our phones for those who don't have them so that you can call as well."

The students moved back into the hall ushered by the teachers. The family and their dates, along with Alex, watched as the principal got the group to move back. Alex closed his notebook.

"I'll be back in a few moments, Jake."

"Sure."

Alex walked over to the principal.

"Mr. Boyce!"

The principal turned around and saw the sergeant walking toward him. He turned to the teacher nearby and gave him some instructions before he turned his attention to the sergeant.

"Yes, sergeant?'

"Could you help me clear some things up for your students, and then they will be able to leave when their parents get here."

"That would be very helpful; thank you."

Alex ducked under the tape and followed the group of people into the hall. Alex followed Mr. Boyce up to the stage. Mr. Boyce took the microphone that the DJ handed to him and stepped to the front of the stage.

"Attention, everyone, may I have your attention please."

He waited until everyone quieted down.

"Thank you. I will now turn the mike over to the officer here. He says that he can clear some of this up, and you will be able to leave when your parents get here. Sergeant?"

Alex walked to the edge of the stage as he took the mike from the principal. He looked out over the crowd of students before he spoke.

"Thank you, sir. My name is Sergeant Alex Tratner; I have a couple of questions to ask you guys so that we can sort out what's going on. I can't go into a lot of detail, but apparently two of your classmates are missing; we don't know exactly what happened, but I just need you to answer a couple of questions by raising your hands."

He took his notebook out and opened it before turning back to the people below him.

"It is very important that you answer honestly. How many of you know who Jeremy MacLaren and Lacey Phillips are?"

A large number of hands.

"Thank you. Those students who do not know who they are may leave and wait outside for your parents, thank you."

He waited until the excused students had left.

"How many saw them here at the dance this evening?"

Almost all raised their hands. He looked at the few who had not raised their hands.

"Are you sure that you did not know they were here?"

A couple of them now raised their hands. Alex smiled.

"Thank you for being honest. Those who did not raise your hands may leave."

He waited until they left before continuing.

"Did any of you see them leave the building about forty-five minutes ago?"

A few hands were raised.

"Very well. Those of you who have their hands up, please stay; everyone else you may leave. Mr. Boyce, can you have these students wait in here until the detectives get here. I'm sure they will have a few more questions before they can go home. You can have their parents come in when they get here and wait with them."

"Of course, you have our full cooperation. Mr. Richly and Mr. Johnson, please conduct the parents of these students in here when they arrive. Students, please make yourselves comfortable until your parents get here."

Mr. Boyce walked Alex to the door.

"Sergeant, is there anything more that you can tell me?"

"No, I'm afraid not at this time."

"Okay, thank you; let me know if you need my or my faculty's assistance.'

"I will; thank you for your help so far."

"Not at all, good luck."

Alex walked back outside and saw that another couple of patrol cars had pulled up, and they were working on keeping everyone back from the scene and directing traffic as cars pulled in to pick up their kids. When he neared Jake and the family, he saw that Detective's Graham and Matsura were there talking to Jake, his family and the families of the four girls. Terry was comforting Mrs. Phillips.

"Detective, I have a few students in the hall that saw the two young people leave the building. I've let everyone else go."

"Good, thanks, Sergeant. We were just getting started here. I'll have Jay go talk to them right now, so we can see if we can let them all get out of here and go home."

Jay Matsura nodded and left to talk to them. Bob turned back to the families. He was standing in front of Trevor and directed his questions to him.

"Okay, Trevor, tell me about it."

"Yes sir. We were in the hall and Jared said something about not seeing Jeremy around anywhere for awhile. So we decided to look for him. One of the girls said that she thought they might have gone outside for some fresh air. It was about twenty or thirty minutes since any of us had seen them, so we went looking. We split up, Zach and I went outside. We were walking about here and we were heading to the next corner to look around and see if they were there, when I saw something shiny in the grass. I stopped and looked and that's when I saw the dart in the grass. I'm sorry I wasn't thinking and I picked it up, because I couldn't see what it was; it was kind of mashed into the ground a bit."

"That's all right; your dad already told me about it. I doubt if we will get anything from it, but we'll check. Does anyone have anything else to add?

The others shook their heads no.

"Okay, wait here a moment. Trevor, show me where the dart is."

Trevor led him to the dart. Bob pulled a latex glove out of his pocket and a plastic baggie. He picked the dart up and pulled a small maglight out of his pocket and turned it on. He inspected it before carefully putting it in the baggie. They walked back to the families.

"You were right, Jake. It is a tranq dart. There was a small amount of blood on the tip. We should be able to match it to one of the kids. I think we're done for now."

He pulled some cards out and started handing them out to each of the girls' parents.

"If any of you hear from either one or can think of anything else, please call us. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips and Mr. MacLaren if you could stay for a little bit longer?"

"Sure, Detective."

The Phillipses nodded in agreement.

"Jake, I'll take Trevor with me; you can come by and pick him up when you're done. See you later."

"Thanks, buddy. I'll let you know if there's anything new."

Tom nodded as he and Terry escorted the boys to the SUV and left. A few minutes later, the lab guys showed up and Jay Matsura rejoined them. By this time all of the students had left or were waiting with the faculty members for their parents. Bob handed the baggie with the dart in it to the lab guys and showed them where he found it.

"Check the area around here for anything you can find. Alex, get the deputies to help the lab folks now that the traffic jam is gone and they don't need to do crowd control anymore."

"Got it."

They started directing the deputies in where and how they wanted them to search. Soon all of them had their flashlights out and were sweeping the ground looking for any evidence. Bob turned to Jay.

"Anything?"

"No. I talked to the students inside and they were only able to confirm that the couple left the building about one hour ago at about eight pm. No one remembered seeing them since that time."

"Thanks, Jay. Well, folks, there is not much more we can do right now. Why don't you go home now? Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, do you have a current picture of your daughter? Jake, we have the picture from a few months, no differences?"

"No, his hair is a little longer, but other than that he looks the same."

"Why do the Sheriff's have a picture of your son, Mr. MacLaren? Has he been in trouble with the law?"

"No, Mr. Phillips. Jeremy was assaulted a few months ago."

"Oh, sorry about that, Mr. MacLaren."

"Please call me Jake."

"Jake, Ray."

"So if there are no more questions. If you have any concerns please don't hesitate to call us."

The Phillipses shook hands and left. Once they were gone, Bob turned to Jake with concern.

"Jake, you know this was probably not random. This speaks of a planned attack."

"I know; when I saw the dart, that was the first thing I thought of. Your average kidnapper doesn't carry around a tranquilizer gun."

"Do you think it's Harvey?"

"That thought did cross my mind. It's been a few months; he probably figures he can nose around. Jeremy and Trevor are the only witnesses to what he did, so he might be trying to clear that up. You got that info about him that Jeff Gant pulled together, about him supposedly having had some plastic surgery?"

"Yeah, I was thinking about that too. He may be trying to finish up some old business. Didn't Trevor mention something about Harvey having a use for him?'

"Yeah, I think so. We know that the slimy bastard is into child porn, so that may be his plan... for both of them. Lacey was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got swept up with Jeremy. I hope we find them soon."

"We'll keep you informed, Jake. See if Gant can get anything."

"Will do, thanks, Bob."

They shook hands and Jake left. He pulled into his driveway and walked back to Tom's house. He let himself in and was met at the door by Tom with a cup of coffee.

"I saw you drive by. Trevor's in the boys' room. Why don't you sit down and relax a bit before you guys go home."

Jake nodded as he took the mug and sat down.

"Anything new?"

"No, but Graham and I talked for a bit and we both think there is a possibility of it being Harvey finishing up old business."

"Yeah, I can see that bastard doing that. Jeremy and Trevor are the witnesses against him. What should we do?"

"I'm putting security on the boys again, until we know that it's safe. And I mean know as in I see either his ass in jail or his cold dead body on the ground. Until then, the boys aren't safe."

"Roger that. We'll set up the same thing as before. We should keep all the boys together. Why don't we take turns having them spend time at each home? We'll give a schedule to the security teams so they know which house the boys are staying at."

"I guess that'll do. It'll suck for them for a bit, but I'm sure they won't mind being together. They are stronger that way."

"Yeah, I know."

"So where do they start tonight? Mine or yours?"

"Why don't you take them for the next few days?"

"Okay. Let's get them out here and let them know what we have planned."

They brought the boys out and explained what was going to be happening. The boys did not have any problems with it, and the twins packed a bag each to take with them to Jake's. They hugged their parents goodbye, and the four of them walked down the street to Jake's. Once they got home, the boys said goodnight to Jake before they went to Trevor's room. The boys decided to stay together, and they stripped down to their briefs and got into Trevor's bed. The three boys snuggled up together.

"Trev? Could you try again? Please try."

"Of course, Jared, I'll try."

Trevor closed his eyes. He quickly centered and immediately felt Zach and Jared next to him. He could feel the pain and worry that Jared was feeling. He could also feel the strength of the love and support from Zach. He started to push his senses outward. He felt the calm strength and readiness from Jake in the room nearby as he pushed out farther, trying to find any sense of Jeremy. He drew on the strength that Zach offered as he felt his energy start to wane. After trying for several minutes he could not sense the familiar energy that was Jeremy. He opened his eyes and looked at the twins as he shook his head.

"I couldn't find him. He's probably still knocked out by the tranquilizer."

"I guess. You'll try later, won't you?"

"Yeah, I will. Don't worry, Jared, we'll find him and bring him back."

They settled down and eventually fell into a restless sleep.

---

Sunlight shone through the open sliding glass door in Trevor's room and woke him up. He groaned, shivered, turned over and pulled the covers over his head to block out the light. He felt Zach's arm around him and his body cuddled up close to his back. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep until he heard a sound outside. He pulled the covers down and looked at the door; only then did it register in his sleep fogged mind that not only was the curtain open but the door as well. He carefully eased away from Zach and got out of bed. He grabbed his jeans that were draped over the back of his chair, put them on and padded barefoot onto the deck outside his room. Standing with his hands braced on the railing was Jared. He could see that Jared's shoulders were shaking a little. Trevor moved up behind him and gently put his arms around Jared. He rested his head on Jared's left shoulder, bringing his mouth near Jared's ear. He could feel the shudders as Jared cried quietly.

"Everything will work out, bro. You'll see. We'll find him and bring him back safely."

"How can you be sure? Who could have taken him and why?"

"I don't know, but you know we'll do everything we can to get him back from whoever has him. He's our brother, and you know what we always say?"

"We got your back."

"You know it. Try not to worry. I know that's nearly impossible, but try. You can come to us whenever you need comfort."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks."

Trevor and Jared felt Zach's arms hug them both from behind. Jared turned around inside the encircled arms and faced his brothers. He reached around both of them and hugged them to him. Resting his head on Trevor's shoulder, he faced his brother, who leaned forward to touch their foreheads together for a second before giving him a quick kiss, both he and Trevor doing everything they could to ease Jared's sadness. They stood like that for a few minutes before Zach pulled back from the hug.

"Dang, it's cold out here; I gotta get some clothes on."

When he stepped back, that was when they noticed that he was wearing only his briefs. They chuckled and followed him back into the bedroom. Trevor grabbed a shirt, while Zach pulled some jeans and a shirt out of his bag and got dressed. They took care of their morning business and then followed the smell of breakfast being cooked downstairs. Once there, they found Jake standing at the stove, taking bacon out of the pan and placing the pieces on a plate. He was smiling when he heard the boys enter the dining room.

"Morning, boys. Trevor, will you get some juice and milk out of the fridge and put it on the table?"

Jake finished with the bacon and carried the plate of bacon and another plate of buttered toast out to the table. Once everyone was in their seats, they started filling their plates with the food and filled glasses with juice or milk and dug in.

"How'd you guys sleep?"

"Rotten."

"Yeah, me too. Don't worry, guys, we'll find him. Whoever took him had better wish I don't catch him before the police do."

There were nods of agreement among the boys as they continued eating without any more conversation. When they finished, the boys started clearing the table, rinsing off the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. Jake sat at the table sipping a cup of tea, watching the boys clean up. Once they were done, the boys went to the living room and turned on the TV, while Jake went outside to get the paper. One of the morning shows was on as they sat down.

'... .breaking news.  An Amber Alert has been issued for two thirteen year olds, a boy and a girl, who were allegedly kidnapped from outside a Halloween dance last night in Lakewood. Here are the pictures of the two young people, Jeremy MacLaren and Lacey Phillips. There is a $50,000 reward offered by Spirit Wolf Security Consulting and Investigations. One of the owners is Jacob MacLaren, the father of the missing boy. Anyone who has information on the whereabouts of these two young people, please contact either Spirit Wolf Security or the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. They were last seen about eight pm at Mayfair High School in Lakewood...."

Zach turned the channel to something else as Jake came in the door holding the paper.

"Dad, they've put out an Amber Alert for Jeremy and Lacey."

"Good. I expect that the bastards didn't expect us to figure it was a kidnapping so fast. Maybe it'll shake them up and cause them to make a mistake that will help us find them."

He held his hand out to Zach for the remote and he started surfing other channels until he found another channel that had Jeremy and Lacey's picture on the screen. They watched for a few minutes as the reporter told what information the Sheriff's Department had released. Behind her was the outside of Mayfair High. You could see that the crime scene tape was still cordoning off the area.

"... Sheriff's officials have not disclosed much information about the alleged kidnapping of the two teens last night, other than issuing the Amber Alert early this morning...."

Jake turned it off and turned to the boys.

"Guys, because of this and the fact that your parents and I are a bit worried, we're going to have the same security setup like we had a few months ago after Jeremy was assaulted by that bastard, with a couple of extra measures. You guys are going to take turns every few days staying together either here or at Tom's house. It's going to suck a bit for you guys...."

"Don't worry about it, Dad. We'll be okay."

"I know, buddy, but I want you to understand what's going to be happening. We're also going to have a team stationed outside the school, and each of you is going to have panic buttons with you at all times. If you feel threatened by anyone, you push that button and the team will be there within moments. When the first shift gets here, they should have your panic buttons. Tom, Terry and I will be taking turns driving you to school and back home. If one of us can't make it to pick you up after school, the security team will give you a ride home. I hate to do it, but I want you guys to understand, I don't like it, but we're going to curtail your taking off to the mall, park or visiting friends without someone going with you, at least for a little while anyway. We just don't want anything to happen to you guys, that's all."

"Yeah, we know, Uncle Jake. Don't worry about us. Like we always say, we got each other's backs."

"Okay, good."

Jake got up and went to the table to read the paper, while the boys went back to watching morning cartoons.

---

Dion stood up as he heard a groan from the shackled boy on the cot. He looked at the other cot that held the girl; she was still asleep. He went outside the room and walked over to the office, where James Harvey was sitting, drinking coffee and watching the news.

"Mr. Smith, I think the kid's waking up."

James got up and followed Dion back to the small room where the two teens were being held. Jeremy groaned again. James went to a small case and took out a syringe and a bottle of medicine. He filled the syringe and made sure the air was removed and then walked over to Jeremy.

"Dion, hold his arm and put some pressure on his bicep."

Dion followed the instructions and the vein in Jeremy's arm became a little more prominent. James quickly inserted the needle into the vein and injected the medicine. It went to work almost immediately, and Jeremy, who had started to struggle when he felt the pressure on his arm, calmed down and went back to sleep. James threw the needle and syringe away. He filled another syringe and recapped it, laying it down on the table in the room.

"Dion, if she starts waking up, give her a shot of this."

"How long are they going to be out?"

"This'll keep them out until this evening. I want to keep them quiet for now; I have a shoot to finish up here and some calls to make. Once she's knocked out again, go get some breakfast. Neither of them will wake up until later."

"Yes sir. Thanks."

James left the room. A few minutes later Lacey started to move around a bit and groan. Dion was able to quickly immobilize her arm and inject the medicine. She immediately slipped back to sleep. Dion threw the syringe away and left the room.

James returned to the office and checked the clock before picking up the phone and dialing a number. He listened to it ring a couple times before it was picked up.

"Hello, Harvey."

"Hi Kevin, is Mr. Stanhope available?"

"Let me check."

James could hear the faint sound of steps through the receiver, and then he could hear what sounded like birds chirping in the background. The mouthpiece on the other end was covered, and he could barely hear some faint talking, before he heard the phone being handed off to someone.

"James, my father is out riding right now; what do you want?"

"Oh, hello Wil... Mr. Stanhope. I was just calling to let you know that I have the boy."

"Yeah dickhead, we know. It's all over the news. This complicates things a bit. Dad's kind of pissed. Lucky for you he didn't answer the phone; he probably would have sent Kevin down to talk to you about your fuck up. How the fuck did you screw up so badly that they knew it was a kidnapping so quickly?"

"I don't know, I just saw the news myself. Usually the Sheriffs wait a little while until they're sure it's not just a runaway or a prank or whatever."

"If this kid wasn't so important, I'd just have you get rid of him, but I want you to get that kid up here as soon as possible."

"Yes sir, I'll get him up there as soon as I can. By tomorrow at the latest."

"Good, what about the girl?"

"I think she is the kid's girlfriend, so I was going to use her to keep him under control."

"Okay, that sounds like that could work. How are you going to get them up here, drive?"

"Yes sir, Dion and I will drive them up. We'll take turns driving while the other keeps an eye on the kids."

"I'm not sure that I like the idea of bringing this Dion up here. I understand why he has to come along, but he can't know about us here. We'll have to make sure he is disposed of once you get up here and he is no longer needed."

"I understand. Dion has been very helpful, but I can find another like him in no time at all."

"I'm glad we understand each other. Understand, my father is very disappointed; there better be no more fuck ups, or you're going to be joining your friend Dion, is that clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good. Remember, no more fuck ups; you've used all your free fuck ups cards.'

"Yes sir. We will be there tomorrow at the latest."

James heard only the tone of the closed connection in his ear. He put the phone down and sat back in the chair and took a sip of coffee while he watched the news.

---

Jake stood up to answer the doorbell as it rang. He opened the door and saw one of his security people standing there.

"Morning, boss. Here are they panic buttons you asked for."

"Thanks, Jed. We have you and Phil this morning?"

"Yep. We've got the duty this...."

He suddenly put his hand to the ear bud in his right ear.

"10-4... Boss, it appears the news people found out where you live. There's a news van making its way down the street."

"Shit, keep 'em away from the house."

"Can do."

Jed walked back out to the car and signaled to Phil, who got out of the car and met Jed at the end of the driveway. Jake went to the phone and called Tom.

"Hi, Jake."

"Hey, Terry, is Tom there?"

"He should be at your door momentarily; we saw them."

"Good. Thanks."

"How are the boys, Jake?"

"They're hanging in there. I don't think any of us slept well last night, but they're strong, they'll do great. We just have to concentrate on getting Jeremy back. Did Tom tell you what I told him, you know, about who it might be?"

"Yeah, he did. If that slime ball so much as puts one hair of that boy's head out of place, he better find a way to get off this planet because his ass is mine."

"Not if I get him first."

"We can take turns."

"I can do that, but we'll have to share with Tom as well."

"No dice. I'm only willing to go halvsies, not thirdsies."

"Okay, Terry, talk to you later."

"Bye, Jake, tell the boys I love them."

"I will."

Jake hung up the phone and was startled by a voice behind him.

"Dad?"

He jumped and whipped around smiling when he saw Trevor standing there.

"Whew, you startled me, Trev. What?"

"What did you mean?"

"Huh?"

"What did you mean when you were talking to Aunt Terry when you were talking about who it might be? Do you mean you think you know who took Jeremy? Sorry, I couldn't help hearing what you said; I wasn't snooping or anything, I was just walking back from the kitchen with some cokes and I heard you say that."

Jake's smile disappeared immediately and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Why don't we wait until your Uncle Tom gets here; he's on his way. Go on into the living room. I'm going to go outside and get Tom. We'll be right in and answer your questions."

"Okay, Dad."

Trevor went into the living room and rejoined the others. He quickly told them what he had heard. The boys watched Jake as he walked outside. In front of the house they saw a white truck with the Channel 7 logo on it, out in front of the house. They all stood up and went over to the front window to watch outside. They saw Tom and Jake greet each other and they saw two of the guys from Spirit Wolf standing on the sidewalk facing the news van. Two people got out of the van, a lady holding a microphone and a man carrying a camera on his shoulder. They started to walk to where Jake and Tom were standing. The two security people stopped them from going further.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. This is private property. You'll have to step back."

"We just want a quick statement from Mr. MacLaren and we'll go. That's it, a quick statement."

Jed looked back at Jake and Tom. Jake nodded and walked forward; Tom shadowed him. He stopped a few feet away from the reporter.

"Very well, a quick statement."

The cameraman started filming.

"I would like to thank the Sheriff's Department for quickly putting out the alert for my son Jeremy and his friend, Ms. Phillips. We would appreciate it if you would direct any questions about the case to the Sheriff's Department and give our family some privacy while we go through this ordeal."

"Mr. MacLaren, can you tell us why the police were so quick to call it a kidnapping?"

"I'm afraid I cannot get into that. Please make all future inquiries with the Sheriff's Department. We could not comment on a current investigation. All we want is for Jeremy to come home to us."

"But doesn't it usually take...."

"Ms..."

"Rachel Hemmings"

"Ms. Hemmings. You asked for a quick statement, not a press conference. I have made my statement, but I will say one thing more and then I ask you and your colleagues to give us some privacy."

He looked away from her, directly into the camera and his look became fierce.

"If you're watching this, you'd best run and run far. You better hope I don't find you before the Sheriffs do. If one hair is out of place on either of those kids, they won't find enough of you to bury. That's a promise. This Cheyenne is on the warpath and wants your scalp. So if I were you, I'd drop those kids off on a street corner and give them the money for a phone call, and then disappear somewhere very far from here and never return. Because if I get a thought that you are anywhere within five hundred miles of here, we're going to have a nice long talk. Comprende, asshole?"

The reporter shrank back from the fierce look on Jake's face.

"Uh, uh, thank you, Mr. MacLaren. Thi... this is Rachel Hemmings for Channel 7 news."

She nervously nodded at Jake and she and the cameraman quickly walked to the van and got it. They were gone in no time. Tom clapped Jake on the back and grinned.

"Well, that should keep the other busybodies away. When you let your Injun out, it can be pretty damn intimidating."

They both laughed; Jed and Phil joined in.

"Yeah, boss, that reporter looked like she was about to water the ground."

"Okay, guys, keep an eye out. The boys know the rules, so just keep 'em safe.'

"Can do, skipper. No one's getting near 'em."

"Thanks, guys. Let's go inside, Tom. The boys have some questions."

They walked into the house while Jed and Phil got back into the car. They saw the boys stepping back from the window as they entered. Jake motioned for the boys to sit down as he and Tom joined them.

"Guys, this morning Trevor heard me on the phone and had some questions for me. We weren't going to say anything, but since the cat is out of the bag, as it were, Tom and I are going to come clean. Trevor heard me say something to Terry over the phone about Jeremy. Why don't you tell them what you heard, Trevor?"

"I heard you say that you and Uncle Tom might know who took Jeremy."

"Yeah, the Sheriffs do too. We think it was the person you know as Roger Smith. We know him as James Harvey."

"You mean that guy who hurt Jeremy before and killed his mom?"

"Yeah. One of our investigators heard through a contact that he might be in the area. We didn't want to worry you guys, because it was only a rumor, but it's possible that it is more than a rumor. Detective Graham and I suspect that if it was him, he took Jeremy for a couple of reasons; one is for whatever original plan he had for him, and the other is because he is a witness against him and it may be to shut him up. We tend to think it is for the first reason, because if he wanted to just shut him up, then he could have ended it the other night. Lacey just happened to be collateral damage."

"So what are the sheriffs doing, Dad?"

"They're searching for any clues as to the whereabouts of Harvey. They have the Amber Alert out there, but that will only be good if someone sees the two of them, since we have no description of the vehicle that he drove and can't tell people what to look for. The only problem is that he is probably holding them somewhere out of sight."

"What do we do?"

"Not much for you boys to do, but there are going to be some changes in routine like we talked about. I have here the panic buttons that I told you about."

He handed them to each of the boys.

"Pushing the button will signal one of the security guys who will be nearby and they will get to you as fast as possible. Keep them with you whenever you are not at this house or at Tom's house, everywhere else you go, they need to be easy to get to.  Okay?"

They all nodded before he continued.

"What will also happen if you activate them, is that Tom and I will be contacted immediately, no matter where we're at or what we're doing, and we will drop whatever we're doing and be right there. The units also have a GPS chip in them, so that we can find you when you have pushed the button."

"Too bad we didn't have these yesterday."

"Yeah, I know. None of us ever thought this would happen. We thought he was long gone, like down to Mexico or somewhere else, because he covered his tracks really well. I'm sorry we didn't do a better job to protect you guys."

"You've done great, Dad; we know that it couldn't be helped."

"Uncle Jake, what's going to happen to Jeremy?"

Jake went over, sat down on the couch next to Jared and pulled him into his lap, holding him close.

"I don't know, buddy, hopefully nothing. Both the Sheriffs and the company are doing everything we can to find them."

"You gotta find him, Uncle Jake, I can't lose him.'

"I know, honey, I know. I don't think any of us can afford to lose him. I promise we will not stop looking until we find him."

"Thanks."

Jared allowed Jake to comfort him for a little while longer. Outside they heard a car pull up. Everyone looked up and saw Jeremy's grandparents get out of their car and hurry up the walk to the front door. Tom went to the door and let them in. Ben Davis looked thunderous when he walked in.

"What in the hell happened!?"

Jared got out of Jake's lap so he could stand up.

"Ben, please accept my apology that I didn't contact you last night. It was kind of an emotional roller coaster last night, and we were beat last night and everyone went right to bed. I'm really sorry, I just forgot."

Jake was holding out his hand while he spoke trying to calm Ben down. Ben looked at him for a moment and saw the worry and strain and he calmed down, stepped forward and shook hands with Jake.

"Sorry, Jake. We just saw a news bulletin on it and came right over here as soon as we could. After what happened before, it was a shock and all."

"I understand, Ben. Sorry, Evie, I really am, mea culpa."

"We understand, Jake."

"Can I get you something, coffee, tea?"

"I think some coffee would be good, thanks."

Jake started toward the kitchen, but Evie stopped him.

"I know where everything is, Jake, and I'll take care of it. It'll give me something to do while you and Ben talk."

"Okay, thank you."

He went and sat next down in one of the chairs.

"Okay, Jake, what happened?"

"As far as we can tell, Jeremy and his date were kidnapped last night. We are certain they were kidnapped because we found a tranquilizer dart at the scene."

"A tranquilizer dart?"

"Yeah. As far as I know that is the only evidence they have, but it was enough for them to declare it a kidnapping, rather than just a missing persons report. There is something else, we think it was the same guy who killed Denise and assaulted Trevor and Jeremy, the guy who called himself Roger Smith. We believe his real name is James Harvey. One of our investigators heard from his contacts that Harvey may be back in the area. We were trying to find out for certain if it was true or not. He may have taken Jeremy because he knows who Harvey is. There is a case back east where Harvey is implicated in the disappearance of a young lady that he was with at the time."

"Son of a bitch. What's being done to find him?"

"Both the sheriffs and our firm are doing everything we can to find where he might be held. We're leaving no stone unturned."

"What about the boys here?"

"We're doing what we can to make them safe. We'll have some of our security guys nearby at all times, and they're good; they won't let anything happen to them."

"Good."

They continued to talk, with Evie joining them as soon as the coffee was made. The adults went to the dining room while the boys went back to watching TV. The three boys sat together, with Jared in the middle of the cuddle between Trevor and Zach.

---

In the warehouse in Oxnard, three boys were being ushered into the studio. Their names were Derek, Brett and Jordan. The three of them were brothers. All of them had black hair and hazel eyes. The oldest appeared to be about thirteen, the next tallest was a bit younger and looked to be about eleven, and the youngest was probably around nine. They were herded into the studio. James Harvey looked up through the small window of the office as they walked by, and smiled before returning to what he was doing on the computer. As they entered the studio, the youngest one was dancing around a little bit; one of the men noticed.

"What's your problem, kid?"

"I gotta go pee."

The man gave Derek, the teenager, a push toward to the door that they had just come through.

"Here, take your brother to the bathroom; it's back over that way."

Derek nodded and put his arm around his brother to guide him out the door. The man called after him.

"Don't be long; remember we got your other brother here, and you know what will happen."

Derek glared at the man as he nodded his understanding.

"C'mon, Jordy, let's go."

Derek and Jordy went back down the hall that ran from the entrance to other rooms in the warehouse. He looked at the entrance door, which was so close, but as long as Brett was being held by the others, it might as well have been miles away. He turned back down the hall away from the entrance and started looking for the bathroom. They came to a door; there weren't any other doors that had a restroom sign on them so they decided to try this one. They opened the door and stopped in shock as they entered it. Derek quickly looked back down the hall toward the entrance and the office that the boss guy was in, and then he ducked back inside and closed the door. Jordy completely forgot about needing to pee as they looked at the two kids who were apparently asleep on the cots in the room. They saw that the boy was wearing some kind of dress or something and the girl was dressed like a female vampire. Derek realized they were costumes; he now knew that the boy wasn't wearing a dress but a kilt; he'd seen people from Scotland on TV who wore them. He stood next to the boy and reached down and moved his long hair so that his face was uncovered. His eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped open. He'd seen this boy. He ran over to the girl and looked at her and recognized her as well. He grabbed Jordy's hand. He went back to the boy and tried to wake him up, but he didn't wake at all. Then he noticed the shackles, one on the boy's wrists and the other on his ankles. He saw that the girl had the same thing when he tried to wake her up too.

"C'mon, Jordy, let's go get you to the bathroom and then get back there before they come looking for us."

Derek quietly opened the door and looked down the hall both ways before he pulled Jordy out and gently closed the door. They continued down the hall and found the restroom. Derek waited by the sink while Jordy peed. When he was done, Derek had him wash his hands and then bent down in front of him.

"Jordy, I have something important I want you to do today. Whatever those men tell you to do, do it without argument. No matter what, okay? Me and Brett will do the same."

"Why, I don't like doing that stuff."

"I know, Jordy, neither do Brett and I, but today is different. I can't tell you right now why, but it's important. I'm going to tell Brett the same thing. Do we have a deal, little bro?"

Jordan smiled because he loved his big brothers and would do anything they asked, especially since that bad night a few weeks ago when those mean men broke into their Aunt and Uncle's house and hurt everybody and then took them away. Derek had done everything he could to take care of Jordan.

"Okay, Derry, I will"

"Thanks, little bro. Everything's going to be all right, trust me."

"I trust you, Derry. I'll behave."

Derek hugged Jordan and took him by the hand to lead him back to the studio. When they entered, one of the men yelled over to them.

"Get your butts over here and strip, then get on the bed with your brother."

They saw Brett sitting against the headboard already naked. The two boys took their clothes off and laid them on the table nearby. Once they were both naked, Derek took Jordan's hand in his, and they walked over to the bed and climbed up and sat next to Brett. One of the crew turned on the big lights and a photographer started giving them instructions on how he wanted to them to pose as he took pictures. After about an hour under the lights, the boys were starting to get a bit tired from the heat that the light put out.

"Okay, take a break. Get some water. We'll start again in a few minutes."

The crew turned the lights off and photographer took the card out of his camera and slotted it into a computer nearby to download the pictures. He sat and looked at the pictures for a little while. The boys went over to a cooler under the table where their clothes were and took bottles of water. They walked back over to the bed and sat down next to each other. Derek looked around and saw that nobody was paying much attention to them. He leaned close to Brett and nudged him. Brett looked around and then turned toward Derek.

"Brett, do you remember that thing on the TV this morning about those two missing kids, the boy and the girl?"

"Yeah."

"They're here."

"Here?"

"Yeah. When I took Jordy to the restroom, we couldn't find it right away and we went into this one room. They were in there, both of them, lying on cots. They looked like they were asleep. They didn't wake up when I shook them."

"Man, that sucks. Derry, I don't know how much more of this I can stand!"

"Yeah, me too. Luckily they haven't had us do anything to Jordy more than sucking his dick and making him suck ours. I don't want to hurt him that way."

"What are we going to do?"

"I think I've got an idea. We'll have to wait until later, but if it works, we're outta here, and we've gotta get to the police and tell them about those kids."

"Okay, what do we do?"

Derek looked around the room again before continuing.

"We've been here for a little while now, and I think they believe they've got us under control. They know that we don't want to cause any of us to be hurt. So we've been following their orders, and we haven't done anything back at the house either. I've been watching them and they're starting to relax around us. So I say we use that. When Fat Ass gets here, he puts the keys to the Yukon in his jacket pocket and hangs the jacket on the hook right there. See how the lanyard for the keys is hanging out of the pocket. He does that nearly every time. When we finish for the day, I think that's when we have the best chance. See that big light on the left. That's the one they move around a lot, so they don't always put the sandbags around the legs like they do the one on the right. Right now the way it's set up, if it was pushed over it would land on the table over there where they sit and wait for us to get dressed. If you guys will grab the clothes, I'll push the light over. Maybe it will hit one of them and kill the bastard. I'll grab the lanyard on the way out and we'll get out of here."

"Works for me."

"Jordy, you do what Brett says."

"I will, Derry."

"Okay, little bro. Everyone just be ready, I'll let you know when."

"Okay, you kids, time to get back to work."

The boys went back to work. The crew stopped for lunch. Every so often James Harvey came out to watch for a little while. Derek didn't like the way he looked at him and his brothers, like they were his next meal. They saw him talk to a black guy who came to the door of the studio for a few moments. He nodded at whatever the guy said, and after looking back at the boys, he followed him.

James and Dion went to the room where Jeremy and Lacey were being held. He saw that they were awake. Lacey had tears running down her cheeks. Jeremy looked scared as well.

"Well, well, well. I see our two guests are awake. Nice to see you again, Jeremy, it's been a while, and such a cute girlfriend, eh, Dion?"

"Yes sir. Reeaalll cute. Just the way I like 'em."

When Jeremy heard James' voice, the look on his face changed to one of surprise and he focused on Harvey's face. He opened his eyes wide as he realized who he was. The fear disappeared and was replaced by intense hatred.

"You fucking bastard! You killed my mom, you asshole! I'm going to fucking kill you."

"Now, now, Jeremy, is that anyway to talk to an old friend?"

"Fuck you. When I get out of here, you're dead."

"I don't think so. I have plans for you."

"Yeah, I know what your plans are. I don't care what you do, I'm going to kill you, like you did my mother."

"Well, as pleasant as the thought of enjoying you is to me, that is not to be. There is someone else who is willing to pay me a lot of money to get you to him."

"I don't care. I'll get away from him and I'll hunt you down. My dad will help me."

"Who, the Indian? They'll never find you."

Jeremy fought against the shackles. James just watched him struggle and chuckled at his efforts. He walked over to Jeremy and quickly reached down and grabbed a handful of his hair, jerking his head back, which brought a cry of pain. James stroked Jeremy's cheek with his free hand, causing Jeremy to snarl at him and try to bite him. James yanked on his hair, baring his throat, and scowled at him.

"Dion!"

Dion smiled evilly as he made his way over to Lacey. James grabbed another handful of hair with his other hand and forced him to look at Lacey. Dion pulled a switchblade out and moved over to Lacey.

"Noooo, please no."

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to take a peek."

"Leave her alone."

"There, you see, Jeremy, Dion likes pretty young white girls."

Dion held the knife to her throat, which immediately made her whimper. He moved the knife down to the neck of her dress and stated to cut. The razor-sharp knife glided through the fabric of the dress. He stopped when he reached her waist. He put the knife in his pocket and grabbed both edges of the dress and ripped it open, leaving her body exposed in just her bra and panties.

"She does have a luscious body, doesn't she?"

Jeremy said nothing, but tears came to his eyes. His face was filled with worry for his friend. James yanked on his hair again and snarled.

"Doesn't she? Answer me, Jeremy... .answer me. She has a luscious body, doesn't she?"

"Ye... yeeesss."

James smiled at Jeremy's glare.

"Very good. Now if you don't want me to let Dion continue, then you will do what I say and when I say it. Any problems and I will let Dion continue where he left off. Do you understand me?... I said, do you understand me?"

"Yes."

"Good. Dion, that'll do for now."

Dion nodded and put the knife away as he stood up from the bed, leering down at Lacey. James chuckled.

"You see, that wasn't so hard now, was it? In a couple of hours we're going on a little trip to meet your new master. As long as you behave, your girlfriend's safe."

James let go of Jeremy's hair and stood back up.

"Just relax here for a couple of hours, and then we'll be on our way. Dion, stay here and keep an eye on them. I have a few last-minute things to take care of and then we'll be leaving."

"Yes, sir."

"Dion, you can look, but no touching... yet."

James left the room.  Jeremy laid back and closed his eyes.

'Trevor, please hear me. Brother, I need you. Please hear me. TREVOR!

---

Back at home, the boys are swimming in the backyard. Trevor was standing at the edge of the pool and was just about to dive in, when his balance was thrown off suddenly and he fell in the pool. His awkward entry into the water caused the other boys to laugh. He came up coughing and sputtering.

"We... we gotta get Dad."

"What?"

Trevor pulled himself out of the water and headed toward the house.

"DAD! DAD!"

Then Jared and Zach had climbed out of the water by now as Jake came outside.

"What are you yelling about,son?"

"I think I can find where Jeremy is."