Vanished

A/N: Takes place during the years of Bo and Nora's separation. It is AU so things are different. Matthew exists but he's a baby and there was no question of paternity. Anna and Robert & Luke and Laura are also separated. This section was written by Sharon and Daphne.

Chapter One

Bo Buchanan strolled into the office of Anna Devane, private investigator. He had a forlorn look on his face as he slapped a photo down on her desk.

"Who's the good looking red head," she asked with a hint of humor in her voice?

"My ex wife...mother of my infant son...she's missing...and I need you to find her. I've heard you're the best."

"I am. Why don't you sit down and tell me why you think your ex wife is missing?"

"I don't think...I know...nobody has been able to reach her for quite some time now...whatever has gone down between us, I know she wouldn't just abandon our son. Something is terribly wrong. I can feel it."

Anna reached out her hand to him and then took out her note pad. "All right, Mr. Buchanan...I'm going to need you to tell me everything that happened since you first noticed she was missing...and don't leave anything out. It's imperative for her survival."

xoxoxo

Robert Scorpio and Luke Spencer were knocking back drinks as they watched Laura Spencer and Audrey Hardy sharing an intimate conversation. Luke was staring at his ex wife intently as Robert gave him the old punch in the gut as he tried to get his attention.

"You still have it bad for her don't you," Robert asked his friend?

"Is it that obvious," he asked?

"Only to someone who knows you...if you were staring at her any more longingly then you'd be transparent."

"What about you old buddy...you hopped on the first flight back here when you thought Anna might be in trouble...you're still in love with her aren't you?"

"What if I am...it's not like it matters..."

"What are you talking about...of course it does...Don't be stupid Scorpio...don't wait until it's too late..."

"Like you," he asked, sarcastically?

'Yeah, like me," he responded, as they went back to their drinks.

xoxoxo

Her mouth tasted like sandpaper as she slowly began to open her eyes. She was in the dark. Of that much she knew. She struggled for breath as she tried to decipher her whereabouts. And then it happened. The lights came on and she could see the silhouette of her reflection...

"What the hell," she mumbled? She was now chained to the arm of an operating table...and she was naked. Something very bad was about to happen. The moment she saw him, she knew why she could taste fear in every corner of her soul...

"Faison," she cried. In all the years she had been with Bo she had heard stories about him...she had never been so up close and personal...

"Hello Nora," he said. "You ready for some fun," he asked, menacingly?

"What the hell do you want," she managed to choke out in the midst of her foggy mind? "Why did you drug me?"

"I think you know the answer to that," he said, as he began to walk towards her. She pulled on her restraints and began to scream. Nobody would hear her.

xoxoxo

"I don't know what you're talking about, Faison. Why in god's name would you want to do this to me?" Nora asked as she tried fighting her restraints but it was impossible and she only grew weaker with the effort. She had to save her energy for fighting him off. He had almost come close enough that she could wiggle her foot out and kick him in the balls but then he'd quickly skirted away before she could make contact.

"Naughty, naughty, Nora," he said in his thick accent. "Trying to assault me? For shame. You know you can't get away, my dear. Besides, even if you managed to escape somehow, you would not get very far. We're too far up."

"Up where?" Nora asked, desperate to buy some time to think of a way out of this.

"Oh high, high on a mountaintop," Faison cackled. "But it's lucky even at this elevation that we get digital services."

"What are you talking about?" Nora asked. He moved over to a wall and pressed a few buttons. A camera on a tripod lowered to the ground. "Oh god, you're actually going to tape me –"

"Oh no - I'm going to tape us," Faison cackled again. "I want the world to see me make sweet, passionate love to you."

Nora felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't believe this. She returned to fighting the bands holding her down but Faison just got aroused watching her struggle. "Soon, soon, darling, soon you and I will be as one," he said and flicked on the camera before moving over to her.

"Stay away from me, you monster!" Nora demanded and gasped as he shot his hand out and grabbed her left tit roughly, squeezing the nipple in a punishing grip. It was incredibly painful but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of crying out. Instead she spit in his face. "You sick bastard!"

He wiped the spittle from his face with a handkerchief he extracted from his pocket. "Be kind, Nora, and I might go easier on you. Now let's turn on the camera cause we'll be … how do you say it … streaming live on the internet in mere moments. I just have a teeny, tiny phone call to make first."

XoXoXo

Anna moved into her seat and pointed to the one across from her. "Please take a seat," she said but seeing the anxiety in Bo's eyes, she knew he wouldn't. He was too worried for the woman he obviously loved.

Bo shook his head. "I'll stand," he said and then took to pacing. "Where can she be? Where can Red be?"

"Red… You mean your ex-wife"

"Yeah that was – is –" he corrected himself – "my little nickname for Nora."

"How long has she been missing?" Anna asked just as her phone jangled to life on the desk. She intended to ignore it but then she saw that she had a picture message from … "FAISON?" She gasped. "No, no, he's dead." But sure enough, the name CESAR FAISON was flashing across the screen.

"Faison?" Bo asked. "As in Cesar Faison?"

Anna tried to catch her breath. It took a little longer to do so than she would have liked. "Yes, Cesar Faison. I take it that you have heard of him?"

Bo shook his head. "I haven't just heard from him, I knew him personally. But he's dead…"

"Not according to this picture," Anna said as she clicked the message and sure enough Faison was mugging for the camera. The date and time on the picture said it was taken just this morning. "What in god's name ... It must be a practical joke…" She started to toss her phone aside but then it rang again, this time playing an unfamiliar ring tone she didn't remember programming into it.

She hesitantly picked up the phone and put it to her ear. "Faison… Is that you?"

"Anna, darling, it's been a long time." His voice sent involuntary shivers down her spine and she felt sick to her stomach but refused to show it.

"You're supposed to be dead."

"What's that cliched American saying – rumors of my death have been exaggerated … Greatly," Faison said and she could imagine him smiling that gross, slimy grin of his.

"What do you want? What are you up to now?"

"Is there anyone there with you?" Faison asked. "Anyone at all?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I have a suspicion that Bo Buchanan is there and missing his dear 'Red."

Anna's eyes shot to Bo's. His hands gripped the edge of her desk so tightly his knuckles were ghostly white. "Do you have anything to do with Nora Buchanan's disappearance?"

"Well see for yourself," Faison said. "I will send you a little video that's in the beginning stages. I so love technology. It's changed so much since we were kids growing up in Nanny McTavish's nursery…"

"What's going on?" Bo demanded. "Let me talk to the bastard!"

"He's sending me a video. I think he has your wife."

Bo punched the desk so hard it rattled on its thick, wooden legs. A video message popped up and it showed none other than Nora lying prostrate on a table, completely stripped naked. The camera lens traced every inch of her nude, unconscious body and then Faison was reaching out and caressing her body and her pebbled nipples. He then turned the camera to face him."When I'm done with her, you're next, Anna, my darling, I promise."

Anna felt ill but especially so when she saw the look of horror in Bo's eyes. He had seen the video too and he was livid. And scared for the woman he obviously still loved.

"Can we trace the freak of nature's location from that phone?" Bo asked in as steady of a voice as he could manage.

"I sure as hell hope so," Anna said. "I am going to call in reinforcements."

"Who?"

"The only man I trust – Robert Scorpio, my ex-husband."

XoXoXo

"So … how are your kids?" Robert asked as he threw back a beer.

Luke smirked at his best friend. "You really want to hear about my kids right now?"

"It's something," Robert said. "We can't keep sitting here mooning over our exes, can we? We're too old for that."

"Who are you calling old?" Luke asked. "And we're never too old to want what we can't have." He looked back over longingly at Laura.

"You fool, you can still have Laura. She still loves you, I know she does. You just have to be willing to fight for her for once, that's all."

"Will you fight for Slim?"

"Don't call Anna that," Robert said. "And I'd fight for her if I thought she wanted me to; if she gave me some sign she needed me."

"There's your sign," Luke said as he pointed to Robert's cell phone which was now vibrating on the table and flashing the name ANNA on the screen.

Robert gave Luke a dirty look but inside his heart was doing crazy things to him. He snatched up the phone immediately. "Anna?"

"Robert, I have news," Anna immediately said. "And not good news, I am afraid."

"What is it?"

"Cesar Faison …"

"What about him, Anna?"

"He's alive."