Luke awoke slowly, consciousness returning to him bit by bit. Even as his vision cleared, he realized he was in darkness, unable to make out his surroundings. He tried to raise his hand in order to rub his temple, only to realize, with utter shock, that he couldn't move it. For a moment, his horrified thoughts returned to being paralyzed, only it was his hands this time, not his legs. What the hell's going on?

He wracked his brain for answers. The last thing he remembered was going out for drinks with Noah. They had a great time… maybe he drank too much, despite his assurance that they wouldn't go beyond a couple of shots? That would explain waking up all groggy, for one. But why couldn't he move his hands?He tried again, more fiercely, and felt ropes biting into his wrists. He glanced downward; his hands were tied to a pipe on the wall behind him.

Confused and unable to contain the terror inside him, he looked up. His eyes were starting to adapt to the darkness, and thankfully, a high window on the far end of the room allowed in a small amount of light from outside. The walls were grimy, and there were all sorts of furniture and random items strewn around. It seemed like a warehouse, or something.

The sound of a door creaking open almost made his heart stop. Not really wanting to, he slowly focused his eyes on the approaching figure. Only when it was close enough could he recognize its face, given the darkness around them. It was a face he didn't think he'd ever see again, and sure as hell didn't ever wantto.

"Col. Mayer?"

*

Life could be ironic in the cruelest ways. Just when you thought everything couldn't be better, that you'd finally found happiness and peace, something terrible would strike and it would all be gone. Noah had had no reason to suspect that his and Luke's happiness would suffer another blow at this point.

Just a few hours ago, everything was perfect. Noah had suggested a weekend together in San Diego as a bit of R&R for the two; between college, the foundation and Noah's trip to Italy, they hadn't had a chance for that in quite a while. "And if you take any calls from Brian or your grandmother once we're out of Oakdale, I will kill you," he announced with a sexily wry smile. "I think they'll have to do without me for the weekend," Luke promised equally sexily before leaning in for a kiss.

The city was beautiful and vibrant, and Luke was in such good mood by the end of the day that he insisted they go out for drinks. "Okay, we're both underage and you don't even drink," Noah quirked his eyebrow. "You're only young once, Noah," teased Luke, easily winning the argument. So they toasted to their relationship, and Noah honestly didn't think he'd ever been happier.

Then he went to the restroom, and when he was back Luke was gone.

Noah wasn't the type to panic too quickly. At first he just searched the bar, asked everyone if they'd seen the handsome blonde guy who arrived there with him, but nobody had noticed where Luke disappeared to. He called Luke's cell, but there was no answer. He went out on the street, back to their hotel room – no sign of Luke anywhere.

And now he was panicking. He contemplated calling the Snyders, but he had to wonder what good it would do; it was getting late, they were probably all asleep by now, and what chance was there that Luke would tell them but not Noah where he was going? At this point, Noah was prepared to call the police, but Luke hadn't been missing nearly long enough for them to take it seriously. All that was really left for him to do right now was stay at their room and wait; maybe something had happened to make Luke take off and not even answer Noah's calls, maybe he'd be back with an explanation. He fixed his eyes on the wall and waited, feeling painfully helpless.

*

Luke couldn't believe his eyes, not that he wanted to. The venomous smile the Col. flashed at him increased his already considerable panic tenfold.

"I thought you were dead," Luke said slowly. "We all saw you jump off the boat in New York… the police told Noah you were dead, they found your dog tags."

"I always say that with the kind of police we have these days, it's no wonder the country's going to the dogs," the Col. replied conversationally, pulling a chair near him so he might sit down in front of Luke. He proceeded to turn on a light bulb that hung from the ceiling, and Luke's eyes stung as they had to adjust to the sudden light. "I should think you know me better than that by now, Luke - know I wouldn't just kill myself because the cops were closing in on me."

"Oh, I know you," Luke said through gritted teeth. "Better than I ever wanted to."

"Then it should have been obvious to you that it wouldn't end with me jumping off a boat," the Col. said. "Especially when I knew my son was still under your influence, that he still needed my help."

"Nice to see you haven't changed one bit," Luke spat.

"Of course, I knew they'd think I was dead," the Col. continued, as though Luke had said nothing. "That part was easy. Taking care of Noah, now, that was more complicated. I meant what I told him on that boat, he's braver and stronger than I ever thought, but unfortunately he's still corrupted… by what you did to him. And now it's time to fix that."

"How'd you even find us here?" Luke wondered, though that was not his main concern at the moment.

"I knew where you were stationed," replied the Col., "been watching you for a while. It would have been foolish to make a move in Oakdale, right under everyone's noses. So I waited until you went away, and I followed you here. Once you were alone, all I had to do was put something in your drink. I dragged you out of there, nobody asked too many questions; probably thought you were drunk. Guess you should have thought twice about underage drinking."

"Your moral perceptions never cease to amaze me, Col.," said Luke, with false bravado that he hoped wasn't painfully obvious. "What's murder compared to drinking underage, huh?"

Again, the Col. ignored Luke. "Let's get to the point, Luke. As much as I hate to admit it, I've realized that since you were the one to do this to Noah, I need your help to fix it."

"My help?" asked Luke, his jaw hanging open.

"You need to call Noah right now," said the Col., retrieving Luke's phone from a nearby desk, "And tell him it was a mistake. That this lifestyle will destroy both of you and you have to stop. You don't have to actually stop, of course… once you do what you're told, I'll let you walk out of here unharmed. You can continue with your sins all you want. But you leave my son alone."

It took several moments before Luke could comprehend the Col.'s offer.

"Okay… I knew you were a murderer, Col. Mayer, but I never thought you were an idiot," Luke snarled, his fear temporarily dispelled by pure shock. "Noah and I are in love. We go on a weekend together, we have a great time, and then suddenly I disappear, only to call him and say that he - shouldn't be gay anymore? You really think he wouldn't see through that crap? And even if he didn't," he continued before the Col. could make an interruption, "It's about time you realized that he IS gay. There's nothing you or I, or anyone, can do to change that. You take me out of the picture, he's just gonna meet some other guy and – "

The rest of Luke's sentence was cut off as the Col.'s sudden, hard blow landed on his head. He bit his lip to minimize his cry of pain, a reflex meant to keep his captor from relishing that pain. That was the least he could do right now.

"My son is not like you," the Col. hissed as he leaned close to Luke, their faces inches away. "And if you say that again, I will kill you."

"You might as well do that, because I'm not doing what you want," Luke gritted, again playing braver than he truly felt.

"I'll give you some time to think about it," the Col. said after a beat. He stood up and turned off the light, leaving Luke in darkness once more. As the older man turned and walked away, Luke struggled to return his breathing to normal, finally realizing what predicament he was in. Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, but he held them back, summoning no small amount of willpower. The Col. could still be watching him, and Luke was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing his weakness. He was still Luke Snyder, and his stubbornness was going to win over anything. Even this fear.

Tbc...