Disclaimer: I do not own Suite Life
Chapter Two
The rest of the voyage towards Cambodia passed with little incident. Zack was steadfastly ignoring Maya, who had reduced her attempts to show her interest in him and was now only waving at him or winking at him whenever she saw him, which he was willing to put up with. Melbourne had become quite popular, and it was clear that she definitely had more brains than London, and it soon became clear to Cody, and also to Bailey (to her great disgust) that she was just as clever as they were. Maya, as mentioned, had reduced her efforts to attract Zack's attention and was acting relatively normal, and even made the class laugh when they pointed out that Miss Tutweiller didn't have much success in her love life after she had gone off on yet another tangent about one of her failed relationships. Cody and Bailey had had several other dates, and Bailey had happily spent the night on the phone to Maddie describing a few of them, making Maddie jealous as she couldn't see her boyfriend until next time she came aboard. And London and Marcus had progressed to London introducing Marcus to some of her rich friends, an experience Marcus had said he enjoyed but didn't want to repeat.
"They're all just so...so...dumb! You just want to take out a reference book and hit them around the head with it." He complained.
"You never know it might do some of them some good." Bailey said with a tight smile.
The ship came to a stop finally in Sihanoukville in Cambodia, allowing several of the passengers to disembark and allowing the students to get off the ship and explore. Melbourne was of course dragged to the nearest load of shops by London, and not wanting to endure another shopping trip with London all alone, Melbourne forced Maya to go with her. Marcus and Woody went to get some Cambodian food, and the twins and Bailey decided to explore around the town.
However, as they were leaving Maya waved at Zack and gave him a smile of farewell, and Zack was standing looking at her just a little too long.
Boy, she is persistent. She's worse than me, and I didn't even think that was possible, he thought as she was dragged down the ramp by a harassed looking Melbourne.
"What's the betting poor Maya comes back looking like a pack horse just like I normally do?" Bailey said with a grin and held Cody's hand as they left the ship.
Zack was relatively silent. Yeah, sure, he was flattered by the fact that Maya seemed to like him as much as she did. But...why wouldn't she give up? He had told her he wasn't interested, and she, like Melbourne, seemed to have taken this defeat with good graces. However, unlike Melbourne, who was being perfectly friendly and not at all flirtatious towards Cody, Maya was still being slightly flirtatious to him. Normally this wouldn't bother him, but he was dating Maddie. Worse, he was in love with her and was missing her like crazy. And having Maya flirting with him was just making him miss her even more.
He looked ponderingly at his brother as they walked through the streets of the vibrant port, looking in the various shops that lined the streets. He had told Cody about Maya's initial flirtation, but hadn't told him about the stuff that was still going on. He wondered if he should. He wanted to, to see what his brother would suggest he do about it, but at the same time he didn't think it was a very good idea. If he told Cody, his brother might get the wrong idea about why he was asking about it, and he didn't want the argument.
"Um, Cody?" he asked, hoping that events would stay the way he wanted them to.
"Yeah?"
"Well, remember how I told you about Maya?" Zack asked uncertainly.
Bailey shook her head.
"What? Is she still trying to get with you? What part of 'girlfriend' doesn't she get?" Bailey asked.
"Well she's not overtly trying to get with me, it's just she's still flirting with me." Zack said.
Cody raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Zack asked defensively, and knowing both twins as well as she did, she could tell that there were danger signs in the air so she squeezed Cody's hand.
"Nothing, I just didn't think I'd see the day when you complained about someone flirting with you." He said with a grin.
"Well maybe I don't want her flirting with me!" Zack yelled, annoyed by the look of amusement on Cody's face.
Cody took a step back, hurt flashing in his eyes, not knowing why his twin was so angry.
"Zack, Cody was just making a joke..." Bailey said, coming to her boyfriend's aid.
"What is it Cody? You think that just because Maddie isn't here I'll settle for the nearest girl who comes along?" Zack yelled.
He wasn't quite sure why he was so angry, and he knew his anger was only increasing because he saw the look of hurt on Cody's face, and he was angry at himself for causing it, but he just wanted to keep yelling.
"No I don't think that! I'm beginning to think Maddie would be better off with someone who doesn't start yelling at people for one little thing! God I only made a joke, and you call me emotional!" Cody yelled back, and Bailey winced, not seeing this end well.
"Yeah well I was just wondering how I could get rid of Maya, but you seem to think I want her to flirt with me so I don't think I'll bother getting your help. I'll just do what you always did and act like a little dork and that will get rid of her soon enough."
Cody shook his head angrily.
"I should have known you didn't mean it when you said you would stop picking on me. I was stupid to even believe that you could change!" Cody yelled back.
"Well maybe I was stupid for saying it in the first place!" Zack roared, and with that he spun and walked down a side street, leaving Cody and Bailey standing there.
"What the hell was that about?" Bailey asked, and was saddened to see a thin layer of tears in his beautiful eyes.
"It's was about me being stupid enough to believe my brother could change." Cody said miserably, and he walked away, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking down at the ground to hide his tears.
Bailey took a moment to get her bearings. What the hell...? Then, realising that her upset boyfriend was getting further away from her, she dashed after him, making a mental note to kill Zack, or at least force him to take a chill pill later.
XX
Zack scuffed his feet as he walked aimlessly through the port's streets. He knew he shouldn't have gotten mad at Cody. Cody was just making fun of him, for god sake, he had done it enough times to him. And only very rarely did Cody ever completely fly off the handle like Zack had just done.
He knew he was angry at himself, because a small part of him actually did find Maya attractive. But, every time he thought of Maya, thoughts of Maddie always came back into his head. Cody had it so easy, you could tell just by looking at how he acted around Bailey that he was completely devoted to her and didn't have thoughts of any other girl. Zack just wasn't like that. He as in love with Maddie, definitely, but that didn't mean he couldn't find other girls attractive could it?
And now, along with the anger at himself for being slightly drawn to Maya, he was feeling guilty and madder with himself because of how mean he had been to Cody. He had promised not to be mean, and here he was doing so yet again. He knew his brother had only been playing, but his anger at himself had just come out and had latched onto Cody instead, and to make matters worse he had simply gotten madder when he had seen that he had hurt his brother.
Miserably, Zack continued aimlessly down the streets. Part of him wanted to go back to the ship and apologise to Cody, but the other part of him didn't because he knew his brother would tell him to get lost, probably rightly so.
After a while of bitterly wishing he could take everything back that he had said to his brother, it suddenly dawned on him that in his listless fury and irritation, he didn't have a clue where he was. He was definitely at the end of the docks, as it was full of warehouses and there very few people milling about. Zack looked around, wondering how easy it would be to get back to the ship from here. True, he would be back early, and Moseby would most likely figure out he'd had a fight with his brother, but it beat staying around here.
As he started to head back, he saw that of the very few people present, all eight of them were heading towards him, from all sides, cutting him off from any potential escape. Zack hated to admit it to himself, but he was slightly frightened. All eight of these Cambodians were taller than he was and all of them were a lot more muscular than he was. Zack was suddenly very aware that all he had that they might be interested in was his phone. Either that or they had something a lot more sinister on their minds.
Zack began walking more and more quickly, fumbling with his phone in his pocket to try and dial for someone, anyone... but then the lead Cambodian guy caught up with him.
"Look pal, I don't have anything you want..." he protested, trying to get his wrist out of the Cambodian's grip.
The Cambodians shouted to each other in Khmer, and Zack knew he was in trouble. He could see that they were communicating with people on a long barge, and Zack had a horrible feeling in his stomach: that he might not get to see his brother again. He started pulling at his wrist, trying to wriggle out of the Cambodian's grip, but another one came up behind him to stop him going anywhere and they started roughly shoving him towards the barge.
"No! Help! Help!" Zack yelled, and finally wrenched his wrist free of the Cambodians holding him.
The guy who had been holding him exclaimed in surprise, and reached down to grab him but he evaded his grasp, and the large Cambodians grabbed for him. One guy grabbed a handful of his shirt and it popped open, and then the momentum made Zack tumble into another Cambodian.
"Help!" he cried, but the person he'd just been sent sprawling into placed his hand on his mouth to shut him up.
Zack pulled down at the hand, but the guy lifted him up, and Zack began to kick and tried to force his hand down. Although he was struggling for air he was putting up a good fight, and eventually got in a kick where it counted the most and the guy holding him let go, and in the confusion Zack escape from the ring he was in and dashed away.
"HELP!" he roared.
For heaven's sake, where was everyone? And why had he gotten mad at Cody? If he hadn't he wouldn't be in this mess. He was running as fast as he ever had, and he was hoping the Cambodians would give it up as a bad job. He ran, his open shirt flapping in the wind, and he was beginning to think he'd outrun them, when a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, making him stagger. Zack gasped as he did so, and saw that at least three of them had managed to catch up with him.
"Help!" he cried, but then he felt something hard connect with his skull.
As the world went black around him, the last thing he thought of was his twin...who he would never get to apologise to. And with that, Zack dropped unconscious to the ground.
XX
The captain of the barge came out of the ship and smiled down at the unconscious boy on the floor, his eyes closed, his mouth open, his hair tousled and his arms sprawled out to the sides.
Grinning, he picked up his phone and dialled the boss.
"Boss, we got him." He said triumphantly.
XX
"Hey Cody, have you seen Zack?" London asked as she approached.
The sun was setting and they were soon to leave port.
Cody, who was having dinner with Bailey, shook his head.
"I haven't seen my jerk brother since this afternoon, why?"
"Cody..." Bailey scolded softly.
London frowned.
"You haven't seen him at all? He isn't on board anywhere that I can find, and we're leaving soon." She said worriedly.
Cody looked at her sharply.
"What do you mean he's not on board?" he demanded, and even though he didn't want to admit it, there was a trace of panic rushing through his system. Yeah, Zack was never punctual, but he didn't want to be left behind anywhere and he would normally be on board by now...unless he had gotten lost.
"Well I checked his room, the pizza parlour, the ice cream parlour, even the beauty parlour and a load of his other hangouts and I haven't seen him all day. He's got my diamond polisher, he's using it to clean some bowling balls or something. See, look, there's a speck of dirt on my ring!" she said and thrust the ring under Cody's nose.
"You haven't seen him all day? Have you tried phoning him?" Cody asked, worry creeping into his voice and exchanging a concerned look with Bailey.
"He's your brother." London said.
"Yeah and now I'm worried about him. He won't answer if it's me, but he might answer for you. Please London!" Cody said, beginning to look desperate.
Zack should be back by now, and he normally made a point of talking to London at least once a day, so even if he was mad at Cody for their fight, he should still have been back.
"He's not answering." London said, and began to feel a trickle of worry in her own stomach.
Marcus then arrived and was about to go and kiss London when Cody got in the way.
"Please tell me you've seen or heard form Zack." He demanded, and Marcus shook his head.
"No buddy, I thought he was with you two all day."
London and Bailey looked at Cody in alarm as he went white as a sheet.
"Cody?" Marcus asked worriedly.
"Moseby." He said in a small voice and the friends dashed to find the manager.
XX
"Mr Moseby!" Cody yelled as he entered the lobby.
"Whatever it is I don't want to know I am going on a date with Miss Tutweiller." Moseby said as he stepped out from behind the desk.
"What, in those shorts?" Marcus asked, earning him a reproving glare from Moseby.
"Moseby, I think Zack's missing." Cody said, worry etched on his face.
Moseby looked at Cody in concern. Normally, Cody wouldn't be that bothered, but they were meant to be leaving port soon. While he didn't want to put off his date with Emma, he was afraid that Zack may very well have disappeared.
"When was the last time anyone saw him?" Moseby asked, concern growing within him.
"Cody and I saw him hours ago when he and Cody had a fight, and no one's seen him since then." Bailey said, holding Cody's hand as her boyfriend began to look frantic.
Moseby hated to admit it to himself, but he was worried. No matter how tardy Zack was, or how bad their fight had been, Zack wouldn't just disappear. Something had to be wrong.
"Alright Cody. We'll look for Zack. He's probably just gotten lost somewhere and we've missed him." Moseby said, more to calm Cody's fears than his own.
Because if Zack wasn't on board...and he didn't come back by the time the ship was scheduled to leave, he dreaded to think what could have happened to the boy.
XX
The captain smirked as he looked down at the unconscious teenager. The boss said that they had nabbed the wrong one, but admitted that was more her fault than theirs, as she had expected the younger, more sensitive twin to head into their trap. After all it wouldn't have been that difficult, there were various other groups of goons lurking around the city waiting to nab either of them, but it was made all the easier by the fact that this twin had blundered right into their trap. Good. When they got to their storehouse in Vietnam, they could do with a new guinea pig to test their new synthesised drug.
This little blond whelp would suit that role quite nicely.
XX
"We can't find him anywhere!" Miss Tutweiller wailed as she dashed into the lobby.
"We've looked everywhere Mr Moseby, he isn't on the ship." Kirby reported.
"Then where is he?" Cody demanded, looking frantic and tears coming into his eyes.
"He isn't answering his phone either." London reported, as she got negative responses from Marcus, Woody and her own phone again.
They had searched the entire ship, and Melbourne and Maya had even volunteered their services to help, and Melbourne had phoned a contact she had in the police department.
"They don't have anything on lost looking blond teenagers." She said sadly, and Cody felt the tears begin to roll down his face.
"This is all my fault, if we hadn't had that stupid fight..." he sniffed and Bailey took his chin in her palm and forced him to look at her.
"Honey, this isn't your fault. And we will find him I promise." She said, but far from looking convinced he just looked worse.
"Well he can't have gone far..." Tutweiller said, though that was mainly to soothe Cody, but like Bailey he was just looking more and more worried.
"What if he's..." Cody said, tears sounding in his voice.
"No Cody. One you can't think like that. And besides, I asked and they said no one had died this afternoon anyway that they know of." Melbourne said kindly.
"Well where is he? He can't just have disappeared, he's my brother...we have to find him." Cody said miserably.
"Cody, I promise you we will find him!" Moseby said firmly.
Bailey looked at Cody. The twin had tears running down his cheeks, and she knew that whatever anyone said he would continue to blame himself for Zack's disappearance.
"Well we were in the main street and he walked down one of the roads heading off it..." Cody said, trying to imagine where his brother might have wound up.
"What if he left?" Marcus asked.
"What do you mean, left?" Moseby asked curiously.
"Well what if he wound up at the docks and left Cambodia?" Marcus theorised.
Everyone looked at him in shock.
"No, he may have been mad, but he wouldn't do that! I know he wouldn't...he wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye to any of us!" Cody wailed, but a small part of him, the part that never believed what he heard when his brother said he cared about him, was wondering if that might not be true.
Maya clapped Cody on the shoulder.
"He isn't saying he did Cody. I don't quite know what he is saying, but I'm sure he doesn't mean that Zack just upped and left without so much as a word to any of us." She said soothingly, then looked at Marcus questioningly.
"But what are you getting at Marcus?" Tutweiller asked in confusion.
"Well what if he...," he said hesitantly, looking at Cody's already devastated expression, "what if he was kidnapped?"
Cody looked at him in alarm.
"Kidnapped? Why would he be kidnapped? Who would kidnap him?" Cody demanded hysterically, wondering who would want to do such a thing to his twin and why.
"Cody...I know it's hard sweetie but you need to calm down ok? You can't help Zack if you're an emotional mess." Bailey said in a firm, strong voice.
Cody looked at her, and she was in his eyes just how tortured by all this he really was. For all he knew his brother could be anywhere, and they had established that he was indeed missing. She knew he blamed himself, even though it had nothing to do with him.
"Ok...you're right. But what do we do?" Cody asked in a soft voice, betraying the fact that he was about to burst into tears.
"I'll get onto the police and see if they know anything about the docks. We will find your brother I promise." Melbourne said sweetly, then headed off to make the calls.
XX
A few hours later, Melbourne came into Cody's room looking forlorn. He had managed to get a little bit of sleep at Bailey's insistence, but it had been a fitful sleep and he hadn't recovered much. Worry for Zack, and visions of him lying dead or wounded somewhere kept flashing through his mind, preventing him from getting any sleep.
"I'm sorry Cody...but while a few ships did leave in the time period where Zack went missing, they can't narrow down which one may possibly have Zack on board, and even if he was on one." Melbourne reported sadly.
The most maddening thing was the fact that they didn't know. They didn't know where Zack could have gone, though Marcus' suggestion of kidnap seemed to be the most prominent, much to Cody's dismay. His brother, in the hands of some thugs, maybe trying to ransom him off...it didn't bear thinking about.
"But...I still don't get why someone would kidnap Zack. What's the point? He's harmless!" Cody protested, and Moseby, who had just entered with London in tow, looked at him gravely.
"Well I did some investigating of my own...it turns out that the dock we can assume Zack wound up at is also one where drug dealers bring in shipments. The authorities of the port tend to turn a blind eye, but with a few bribes London managed to get their port records and it turns out at least three of the ships in port at the same time Zack went missing could be drug related. Perhaps he just stumbled on something that he wasn't meant to." Moseby said gently.
"Drug dealers?" Cody demanded weakly.
Drug dealers...Zack had stumbled onto drug dealers? Oh no...
"But we can track them right? I mean if drug dealers kidnapped him..." he said hopefully, willing to do anything to get back his brother.
"Cody, if drug dealers are involved..." London said in a scared voice, but he shook his head adamantly.
"No! He isn't dead! I would know if he was! And he isn't. Wherever these drug dealers have taken him, he isn't dead, I know it!" Cody said earnestly.
Moseby cocked an eyebrow at Bailey questioningly, but she shook her head so he let it go. He knew Cody just wanted to believe his brother was alright, but there was a good chance Zack was dead. But while Cody didn't give up, neither would he.
"Alright Cody. But we still have no idea of where he is." He reminded his young charge.
Melbourne looked over at Maya and shrugged.
"Well, I reckon he isn't in Cambodia anymore. So he could be anywhere if he was kidnapped and taken onto one of those boats." She said sadly, as though trying to spare Cody any more hurt.
Cody looked at her desperately, then he looked at London and his eyes lit up.
"You said you got the port records right?" he asked urgently.
Moseby looked at him curiously, wondering where he was going with this.
"Yes, but I don't see how that would help..." he said worriedly.
"Well port records show country of origin and country of destination don't they? We might be able to use that to figure out where they could have taken Zack!" he said excitedly.
Melbourne looked at Maya worriedly, then turned back to Cody.
"Cody I know you want to find your brother but that will take ages! Do you have any idea how many ships come in and out of that port in a day?"
Bailey looked at her boyfriend and made a contemplative noise. While doing that certainly would take a long time, they could narrow down some of it. And if they used common sense, and just checked the ships that left after their own arrived, they may very well be able to narrow it down.
"Now don't discount that Moseby. Cody's right. We can narrow it down to ships that left after we arrived, which shouldn't be nearly as many, especially if we figure out where the ships were when they left, because each ship should have a berth number..."
"And we can then figure out where Zack might have been and rule out the other berths and try to find him that way!" Cody finished.
"Will it work?" London asked sceptically.
Moseby grinned.
"If we get some more help, then yes. Go and find Miss Tutweiller, Marcus, Woody and Addison. We have a twin to find."
XX
The captain looked down at the boy and frowned. The boss had just phoned and had warned them that there was a good chance that the other twin may very well find out where his twin had been taken, and once he did so it wouldn't be long until they figured out where the boy was being hidden. However, when the captain had suggested killing the twin they had their hands on, the boss had refused, saying that she was interested in evaluating the capabilities of the ones she was dealing with, and killing the boy's brother would make her game less exciting. She had then ordered him to burn all the records that could link the drug cell to her and to leave their current port on Vietnam and head for one further up the coast before the ship she was on caught up with them and the boy's highly stubborn brother tracked down his twin and ruined the entire drug cell.
He frowned. She was leaving them high and dry as part of this plan she had to get revenge. However, she was depositing a large amount of money in their accounts to compensate them for the upcoming loss of their current base...so maybe it was time to abandon this sinking ship and strike out on their own. But first they would have to get most of the new material they had made, and a fair bit of the old stuff to the new location before they abandoned the wider organisation. Their boss, while young, was anything but forgiving.
"So what do we do with you?" he asked the unconscious boy.
He then saw one of the crates that the boss wanted them to export to another one of her cells in Vietnam, but one further up the coast than this one was. It was filled with a new synthesised drug, similar to a rape date drug. The drug would give the victim a euphoric high, and then keep them in a sort of listless state that would make them forget what had happened and make them easy to control while the users would do whatever they wanted. While the captain wasn't interested in anything like that, the ability to keep the boy spaced out would suit him.
"Load up the barge with everything we can. We'll send the rest on to the new location and meet up with the other cell." He ordered.
"What do we do with him boss?" one guy asked.
"Inject him with the Rohypnate. Let's see how it works on young, gullible American teenagers. Oh...and get everything out of the office. Burn it all." He ordered, and the stooge nodded.
"Time for your medicine." The captain said with a malicious grin as he got a syringe full of the new drug and advanced on the stirring teenager.
XX
The lot of them, aided by a generous supply of coffee, were pouring over the records of the port that London had acquired. They had already discounted all of the ones that had arrived the day before they had, and the ones that had only gotten there the day before, as they would look far too suspicious. Now, they had four possibilities, all having left slightly later than their arrival, and any one of them could very well have Zack on board.
"Right...I think we can rule out the fishing boat, because that didn't go far it only went out into the bay." Moseby said.
"Well that leaves us three...one bound for Vietnam, one bound for India and the other for Indonesia." Cody said, frowning in concentration at the three possibilities before them.
"You do realise Zack could be on any one of those boats?" Melbourne said sceptically.
Cody looked at the three. One, a cargo barge. One was a small private yacht...while that one was possible, Cody doubted it due to the fact that it belonged to an Indian businessman who was a well known philanthropist. And the other was a small, mercenary vessel...while they would seem the types, they were more concerned with accumulating their paycheque, which was kept by some businessman in Indonesia who had had a problem with local protestors.
"He was on the barge...he's in Vietnam." He said slowly.
"How do you figure?" Bailed asked, glad that he had found something, because looking at the disorganised port records for so long was driving her crazy.
Cody showed the curious others the notes he had made.
"He can't have been on the yacht, the guy seems decent enough and besides the Indians would have called us to let us know they had him, their customs are a lot more rigorous. The mercenary ship wouldn't have anything to gain and are more concerned with actually getting paid for doing their actual job. That only leaves the cargo barge that was headed for Vietnam." Cody deduced.
Moseby looked at Tutweiller. Although Cody's reasoning did make sense, there was still the possibility that he was wrong and Zack wasn't on any of the three ships and was simply somewhere still in Cambodia. But they did have to admit, the fact that he hadn't come back and the fact that he wouldn't respond to any of their calls did certainly suggest kidnap, and the lack of a ransom demand meant that they were most likely not from Cambodia.
"That might be it Cody...but we have no way of knowing for sure that that's where Zack is. He...I know I said it wasn't true earlier but you need to face the possibility that he might be...dead." Melbourne said hesitantly.
"No, I would know if he was! He isn't...and I actually think Vietnam is our best bet of finding him." He turned and looked pleadingly at Moseby.
"Please Mr Moseby!" he whined.
Moseby looked at Cody. He was just determined to get his brother back, and he did have to admit, the Vietnam theory was the most probable.
"Cody...you do know you are risking a lot on this theory of yours, perhaps even your brother's life?" Moseby asked uncertainly.
"Yeah I know, but I'm sure he's been taken to Vietnam. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and we can't just leave him there. He's alive, I know he is, and I know that he's in Vietnam. We need to go and rescue him." He said firmly, and Moseby nodded.
"Very well Cody. We'll trust you on this and hope we find Zack in Vietnam. I just hope we're not too late."
XX
The ship had made good time on its trip to Vietnam and had docked in the port, allowing Cody, Bailey, Marcus, London, Woody, Moseby and Tutweiller to get off and look for information about Zack. Meanwhile, Melbourne started calling up her contacts, which she seemed to have quite a few of, to see if any information had been gathered.
"I spent a lot of time here when I was a kid, before my dad died. A local crime boss knows me." She explained as she called.
"Define 'knows'." Marcus said sceptically.
Melbourne grinned.
"He used to spoil me rotten and give me gifts every time I visited." She admitted with a blush.
"I'd love to see his list of charges in court: extortion, bribery and present buying for a young heiress." Tutweiller said with a smile.
"Don't knock it until you've tried it. I bailed him out of a tight jam once..." she began explaining, only to be cut off by Moseby.
"You bailed out a crime boss?" he demanded.
"I was speaking metaphorically. His limo got a flat tyre and he was going to be late for his anniversary, and I gave him a lift that got him there and with time to spare."
"Oh, sorry."
"And now he owes me. So, being a crook, I can find out if that barge got up to anything suspicious, as he is bound to know. I'll call you when I get some information." She promised.
Meanwhile, London and Cody went to the police station to see if they could find out anything that way, while Marcus, Moseby and Woody did some investigating at the ports themselves, and Tutweiller and Bailey went to the market to try and find some leads there.
"Oh yes, big movement over at docks. Lots being loaded onto big barge." A wizened old woman said as she sold both Bailey and Miss Tutweiller straw hats.
"That has to be the ship Cody thinks Zack was on." Tutweiller deduced, looking at Bailey in concern.
The thought that one of the students had been kidnapped was terrible, and seeing what it was doing to Cody was terrible to watch, as it was obvious that poor Cody blamed himself for his brother's disappearance. And although there was a chance that something had happened and Zack was still in Cambodia, Tutweiller knew that if Cody believed his brother was in Vietnam then there was a very good chance that he was. After all, she did think the two of them had a deep bond even if they didn't want to admit to it, and not knowing what state his brother was in was clearly tearing Cody apart.
"But why would they be loading onto the barge unless...? Unless they figure we might come after them and are making a run for it." Bailey said darkly as the woman put the straw hats onto their heads.
"We gotta warn the others, quickly!" Tutweiller said and dashed off, Bailey close on her tail and leaving a disgruntled saleslady behind.
"Looks like they're moving a lot of stuff onto that barge...pity there's no way of knowing what's in the crates." Moseby stated as they watched several rough looking guys haul several crates onto the barge they thought Zack was on.
"Moseby, you don't actually think Zack is dead do you?" Marcus asked worriedly.
"I certainly hope not. But I actually do think Cody is right in believing he is here. Something about all this isn't right, and why would they be packing everything up if they have a profitable organisation?" Moseby said.
"Because they must know we're onto them." A voice said, making them jump, and making Woody spill his juice down himself.
"Dang it!"
Bailey and Tutweiller then arrived, looking grim.
"We reckon they think we followed them. A cruise ship appearing in the same port as them would probably just seem like a coincidence to ordinary people, but to drug smugglers who need to be relatively paranoid to keep ahead of the police..." Bailey said.
"It will probably seem like we followed them, which we did, and now they're trying to escape before we blow the whistle on them." Tutweiller finished.
"So what do we do?" Woody asked in worry as he dried himself off.
"We go back to the ship after we meet up with Cody and London and then we see what we do next."
XX
"You think there is a drug operation at the docks?" the on duty policeman asked curiously.
He was an old and kindly man, with a small moustache, and he seemed a lot more helpful than the policemen that Melbourne had dealt with in Cambodia.
"Yeah, the barge that came in earlier, it was in Cambodia, and we think it was that barge that has my twin brother on it." Cody said calmly but forcefully, hoping to persuade the policeman though sheer force of will that the docks were worth a look.
"Kidnapping? Well that is serious enough to investigate, but do you have any proof?" and Cody knew that that was where their fault was. They had no proof Zack had been kidnapped, just a suspicion and a lot of guesswork. And if he hadn't been kidnapped, due to his lack of response, that would mean he had to be...
Cody shivered and London rubbed his back, then answered the phone as it started to ring.
"Hold on Melbourne, I'll put you on speaker phone so Cody and the police guy can hear too."
"Hey Cody. I checked with my contact and he says that the drug cell that operates out of the docks is apparently moving out. Their barge, which is the one we think has Zack, is being loaded with everything they can get out of their storehouse. And get this...one of his guys was checking out the dock to try and see what they were moving, and they definitely have cocaine in there, and they saw they hauling out an unconscious, teenage blond boy." She reported.
Cody's heart leaped with joy. That had to be Zack they were carrying around. But cocaine...what sort of operation had they stumbled on to?
"Please sir, please, you need to go down to the docks! That's my brother they have! And besides they're trying to smuggle drugs, and already have! You have to stop them!" Cody implored, looking at the man intently.
"Look sir, it's his brother, and I'm fed up of him being so miserable! And Zack is more fun than this guy, we need him back!" London whined.
"Thanks London." Cody said, casting a hurt glance in her direction.
"And anyway, if he keeps being so miserable, Bailey will dump him and then he'll have no one to cheer him up! You need to help him get Zack back!" she wheedled.
Cody shot her another hurt glance. Did she really think so little of him? It was always clear that she liked Zack more than him, and he didn't mind that, and he knew he shouldn't be worrying about this when his brother was in the clutches of drug smugglers, but still, it hurt...
The policeman frowned at London then favoured Cody with a kindly look.
"Don't upset yourself son. We'll get your brother. Miss Melbourne, can you identify which storehouse they are at?" he asked to the phone.
"My contact didn't know for sure, but it's in the vicinity of six through nine he reckons."
The policeman stroked his moustache in thought.
"Hmm, storehouse seven was registered unusable three years ago and nothing has been done since...six is a fisherman's store, eight is one used by the government to store emergency supplies and nine has got a gaping hole in the roof and in the walls...if the contact of yours is right, it must be seven. Right, you go back to your ship...don't worry lad, we won't let them get away. I'll round up the boys and I'll give you a call when we're about to go in, ok?" he said in a grandfatherly voice, and a worried looking Cody gave a nod, thanked him and headed outside.
"And miss?" he asked, and London turned to look at him.
"You may prefer his brother but that boy is still your friend. Perhaps you should treat him a little more like such." he suggested simply.
London gave him an uncomprehending look, and she followed Cody from the building.
"Tcah. Heiresses'." He grumbled and began to prepare for the operation.
XX
Cody was going frantic. The drug smugglers were loading up their barge in order to escape, and he could see it from the sky deck, even in the light of the setting sun. They were preparing to make a dash for it. What was taking the police so long? How long were they going to take? His brother was in the hands of evil drug smugglers and he was just supposed to sit here?
Deciding, he headed down towards the gangplank and was just about to go down it when a voice from behind him called out.
"Going somewhere?" Bailey asked as she came out of the lobby.
"Bailey! Go back to your room." He ordered, annoyed that he had been caught while trying to sneak out the boat.
"What, and let you wonder Vietnam alone? No way." She said defiantly, looking at him with the blazing look that he loved.
"Bailey..." he complained.
She smiled and held his cheek in her hand.
"Cody, you're my boyfriend and I love you. I'm going with you." She said plainly, and he smiled.
"Travelling halfway across the world was the best thing I ever did." He said and rubbed his nose against hers.
"I agree. I love you."
"Love you too." He said softly and gently kissed her on the lips.
"You still shouldn't be sneaking out." She said mock sternly as he took her hand.
"Yeah, sort of goes against my character doesn't it? But he's my brother Bails, I need to find out if he's alright." He said softly, looking at her desperately, as though seeking approval for the fact that he was about to possibly lead the two of them into danger.
"I'm not arguing with you. I'm coming with you." She reiterated and the two of them were just about to go down the gangplank when a man dressed in black appeared.
"Where do you two think you're going?" Moseby's voice demanded from the black clothed man.
Cody looked at Bailey in worry, then he decided to turn it around on Moseby.
"Never mind where we're going, where are you going?" he demanded.
Moseby stepped into the light of the lobby as the last vestiges of sunlight sunk beneath the horizon.
"I asked first." He said triumphantly.
"Judging by the lack of shorts and pocket hanky, I assume you're going the same place we are." Bailey said certainly, and he shot her a searching look.
"Well as you haven't told me what this place is I can't confirm, deny or be elusive now can I?"
"Ahha! So you are going to where the sting operation is being set up." Cody said victoriously.
"What makes you say that?" Moseby asked, not at all phased.
"The fact that you wouldn't be elusive if it was something you could be doing, and also the fact that you're wearing all black when, as Bailey says, you're normally clad in your suit and shorts." Cody said and he grumbled.
"Oh alright. You two had better come too. But stay close to me." He warned and the three of them left the ship and headed off through the night.
The neon lights of Vietnam's port were coming alive as they made their way down the docks, travelling quickly so as to avoid any suspicion. People were milling about, selling their wears or getting ready for the nightlife in the city. Moseby led the two of them down towards the warehouses, and they spotted the policeman they had talked to earlier just about to dial his phone.
"Don't bother, we're here already, I couldn't stand waiting anymore." Cody said.
The old man patted Cody on the shoulder.
"We think he is in there, ever since you reported it we've had people scouting out the location and no one has brought anyone out, so we don't think he could have moved. Stay back. GO GO GO!" he yelled and policemen burst into the storehouse, bullets firing.
Cody started pacing, never taking his eyes off of the storehouse as several more policemen rushed inside, more bullets firing and a few screams of pain coming from the open doors. Worry for Zack was filling him. If he wasn't in there, he didn't know what he would do. Or even worse, if they had killed his twin...the thought was so horrible he couldn't bear it. It would be like living with half your side paralysed...and what if London's prophecy came true if the worst happened? What if he lost Bailey too?
His mind was reeling from what ifs, and as such he didn't pay much attention to the policemen climbing up into the barge and taking control of the ship.
"Clear!" a voice shouted from inside.
"Good, now..." the old policeman said, but he was too slow as Cody had already vaulted the fence and had dashed towards the storehouse.
"Cody!" Moseby yelled in frustration.
"Hey!" Bailey yelled in annoyance at being left behind as she followed the other two.
"You could have waited. I have standards you know!" the old policeman yelled, then headed after them.
Cody barged in, knocking one of the captured drug dealers for six, and as his hands were bound he wasn't going to be getting up in a while.
"Zack! Zack!" Cody yelled desperately.
"Kid, over here!" one policeman yelled and Cody ran over to find his brother slumped up against the wall, his eyes glassy and his face expressionless, his shirt open and a small injection plaster on his arm.
"Zack." Cody moaned and skidded to his knees and hugged his brother to him, stroking his hair, willing him to wake up.
"Come on Zack, wake up!" he pleaded when his brother didn't respond, but he didn't understand why he wasn't, he was still breathing after all...
"What's wrong with him?" he demanded angrily, angry that his brother wasn't going back to normal as he held him close.
"We don't know, the captain will find out don't worry son." The close by policeman said as Bailey and Moseby came around the boxes and Bailey knelt down beside him.
"Is he alive?" Moseby demanded of the policeman.
"Yes, but he's unresponsive to his brother...we think it might be Rohypnol, there's a load of that going around, along with cocaine, cannabis and methadone." The policeman reported darkly.
Cody looked around in alarm as Bailey squeezed his hand.
"Rohypnol? But wait a minute, that's a date rape drug, he hasn't been..." Cody began hysterically.
The captain came around the corner and shook his head, and Cody could feel his beating heart start to slow down.
"No. We got them all, two of my mine have got minor wounds and one of theirs will need hospital treatment but we have everything we need and more to convict them for kidnap and for drug dealing. And the leader swears on his life and on the life of his three mistresses and all his men that no one touched your brother after they injected him with this new drug of theirs. I have a doctor on the way...and you'll all need to give a statement, but provided the judge uses his head we shouldn't even need that, for all the drug dealing they'll get a long time in prison anyway."
Cody looked at his twin, refusing to let him go, willing him to be alright.
"Will he be alright?"
"That's for the doctor to say son, but I reckon so. But you might need to watch his head, they apparently smacked him quite hard."
"Why did they take him? He's harmless to everything bar my blood pressure and Cody's self esteem." Moseby said grimly, looking sadly down at Zack.
"Wrong place, wrong time. The doctor is on his way. I'm going to deal with the rest of these clowns and get some help in to get rid of some of these drugs. Hang in there son." The man said then headed off.
"See? It's over, he's alright." Bailey said in a soothing voice as she hugged him.
"Not until he wakes up." Cody said stubbornly and held his unseeing brother close, hoping he knew he was there.
"It's ok Zack...I've got you...you're safe..." he whispered repeatedly while Moseby kept a firm hand on his shoulder and Bailey hugged his side.
XX
The doctor gave them something that would help work the new drug out of Zack's system and said that while it was a nastier version of Rohypnol, it could be treated much the same and washed out of his system. Also the concussion he had received should work itself out with time, and if not the doctor on the ship should be able to take care of it, so as a result, Zack was moved to the ship ward, where Cody refused to leave his brother's side.
Meanwhile, the Vietnam police captain was being lauded in the press as the successful director who pulled off a big drugs bust. They had seized nearly half a tonne of various types of drugs, and with all of that they had the ability to prosecute all of the drug dealers. Also, their illegal weapons, along with their kidnapping of Zack and the fact that their barge wasn't properly registered meant that they were all going to go to prison for a long time. Despite this, they all gave their statements, and the kindly policeman bid them goodbye as the ship set off to resume its world tour.
"So they will all be prosecuted? Did they tell you who their boss is, where the other cells are?" Moseby asked a day later over the phone as the ship passed through the bright sunny seas of Indonesia.
"Yes, they will all be prosecuted...all bar the leader of the entire cell." The policeman said grimly.
"How not, he's the worst offender!" Moseby exclaimed.
"Well its rather hard to put him on trial where he is." The policemen commented wryly.
"Which is where exactly?"
"Knowing him, hell. He's dead." He reported.
Moseby looked at the phone in surprise.
"Dead? How?" he demanded.
"Suicide. Took some pill and killed himself. We shouldn't have missed it, but unfortunately we did and now he's gone. And along with that they clearly figured out we would be coming, they had burnt all their records and had destroyed their computers. They weren't very smart, but they were that smart sadly. So, unless one of them spills more, which I doubt as they seem to have told us all they know, we're not going to find any of their friends." The policeman lamented.
"That is unfortunate. But I suppose all turned out for the best?"
"Oh yes, I'm getting a promotion, and we did get them so the entire cell will go down. It's just a pity we can't find any more of their friends. How's the laddie by the way?"
Moseby frowned. Zack still hadn't woken up, and Cody had refused to leave his brother's side, and was still in the infirmary.
"He's still asleep. Our doctor says he could come round any day now once all those drugs they pumped him with are out of his system."
"Well let me know how he gets on. Good luck on the rest of your journey."
"And you with your promotion." Moseby said, and hung up just as Tutweiller entered the lobby.
"Well if that doesn't just beat all. He's dead." He complained as she came over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Who is?" she asked in confusion.
"The leader of the drug dealers that captured Zack. He committed suicide in prison, taking with it the knowledge of any other drug dealing groups like that with him. Typical." He grumbled, annoyed that they couldn't find out if there were any other people who might pose a threat to the boys or London. He knew it was irrational, but there you were.
"Don't worry. The nurse said Zack showed signs of life last night, and then all of this can be over. And besides, our next stop is Australia, and there shouldn't be any major problems there...unless of course one of the kids gets bitten by a shark or a snake or something..." she said with a laugh, then quickly avoided Moseby's glare as she saw the expression on his face.
XX
Zack awoke to find himself in a large bed, and blinked slowly at the lights shining above him. He slowly turned his head, which was thumping quite loudly, to see his brothers head on his bed, and his hand clasped around his own.
"Cody?" Zack asked in confusion.
Cody slowly raised his head and his pale face broke into a grin as he leaped onto the bed and wrapped his twin in a hug.
"Zack! You're alright! Oh I've never been so happy to see you awake." He said joyfully as he hugged his twin to him.
"Ow, take it easy Cody, my heads killing me...," he said, then saw the slightly downcast expression on his twins face, "not that I didn't appreciate that warm welcome for some reason. Why am I in the infirmary?" he asked in confusion.
Cody looked at him in concern.
"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked urgently.
Zack cast his mind back, trying to break through the fog that was his memory.
"The last thing I remember is us getting off the ship..." he said, and Cody looked at him sympathetically, but his arms were still wrapped around his brother as though afraid to let him go in case he lost him again.
Zack looked at his brother worriedly, and pushed himself up straighter, feeling Cody's arms get tighter around him as he did so.
"Ok, I'm clearly missing something...what happened?"
Cody then explained everything. Their stupid fight (which he apologised incessantly for, despite Zack's hazy returning memory clearly showing him as the main culprit), Zack storming off and his kidnap (which Cody started to cry over, saying that he feared he would never see his brother again), their tracking him to Vietnam (which he boasted was his doing), and the operation that led to the capture of an entire drug smuggling ring and getting him back.
"Wow...I've missed a lot. But I feel like I've been run over by a steamroller. Why do I feel so bad?" he asked his brother, who cocked his head in sympathy.
"The drug dealers injected you with Rohypnate, a rape drug."
The wide eyed look of alarm and panic on Zack's face made Cody consider that he could have delivered that little bit of news a bit more delicately.
"Oh no, don't worry! Nothing happened, you were cleared by the doctor, and he said you would remember eventually if anything happened anyway, but you're fine. The headache you've got and the weariness and stuff is just the stuff he gave you fighting off the last remnants of the Rohypnate." Cody said, and smiled a little as Zack leaned his head against his shoulder and started to rub his head wearily.
"I'm out of it for a while and everything goes to pot. You sure I'm alright?" Zack asked, and Cody smiled as he nodded happily.
"Yeah, you're fine. But...never do that to me again. I was so afraid I was going to lose you, never going to see you again." He said, and kissed Zack's head as he held his brother close.
"Oh, so that's why you aren't letting go of me." Zack said with a grin.
"Yeah. It's good to have you back." Cody said fondly and mussed up his hair.
"Cody!" Zack protested, and Cody laughed.
"Hi stranger." A happy voice came from the door as Bailey, Marcus, London and Woody walked in, grinning at him.
"Welcome back to the land of the living." Marcus said and shook Zack's hand.
"Thanks."
"Did you see anything strange when you were out? Like other worlds, or the past? That's what happened to Batman!" Woody said as he gave Zack a whole pile of chocolate bars.
"Um no, but thanks for these." Zack said, as Bailey hugged him.
"Thank god you're awake. Selfish as it sounds, I'll finally be able to get my boyfriend back." She said, smiling at the twins, making Cody blush.
"What do you mean?" Zack asked in confusion.
London smiled as she lifted a large gift basket onto Zack's bedside cabinet.
"What she means is that Cody hasn't left here ever since we got you back," she said and Zack grinned at his brother, who looked away in embarrassment, "But it is good to have you back." She said and hugged him.
"Thanks London. Telling me you're pleased to see me and a gift basket? I am impressed." Zack said with a grin.
London looked at her shoes, then looked at Cody.
"Speaking of which, I owe you an apology Cody. I was pretty mean to you in the police station. I'm sorry." She said, and Cody looked at her in surprise.
"Well...thanks London." He said with a smile, and London shuddered.
"See how much better you feel?" Bailey asked teasingly.
"No. Thank god you're back Zack. All I've had is Bailey whining 'Cody isn't here' all the time you've been in here. That feels better!" she said brightly and Bailey rolled her eyes.
"This make London nice thing is a work in progress." Marcus said, then he bent down and whispered into Zack's ear.
"My presents in our cabin, once you're out...and you're ok to drink, we'll crack it open." He said conspirationally and Zack grinned.
"Um...did anyone think to tell Maddie, or mom and dad what happened?" he asked awkwardly, and Bailey winced.
"Yeah...I told Maddie and she went into hysterics for an hour and a half. But once I managed to break through the panic and tell her you would be fine she calmed down and says she'll meet us in Australia." She said happily, and Zack's heart leapt.
He could see his girlfriend again. He missed her like crazy and who knows, she might find him more interesting.
"Moseby told mom and dad. Mom went hysterical and Esteban had to revive her when she fainted, but she got the gist that you're ok and will meet us in Sri Lanka, after Australia, he managed to convince her to give you and Maddie some alone time." Cody said with a wicked grin and Zack shot him a quelling look.
"How did he do that?" Zack asked, and Cody scowled.
"By telling her I'd send her daily reports. Bailey, because she is a brilliant girlfriend, has been doing them since I've been in here with you." Cody explained, and Bailey smiled at him.
"Thanks guys." Zack said with a grin and the door opened again to reveal a smiling Melbourne and Maya.
"Welcome back, good to see you awake, and to see Cody with something other than tears on his face." Melbourne said fondly as she patted Zack's knee.
Cody mock scowled at her and she grinned. London gestured to Melbourne.
"She was very helpful in getting you out. She has a fair few useful contacts." London said and Melbourne grinned at her cousin.
"I'll tell you about it sometime." She said enigmatically to a stupefied Zack.
"And you will be relieved to know I've given up on you. I'm sorry I was so relentless but I do tend to get a bit carried away." Maya said sheepishly, but Zack waved it off.
"It's alright. I know it's hard to resist these boyish good looks." He said with a smile, until Cody flicked his ear.
"At least we know he hasn't been irreparably changed by his experience." Melbourne said, and they all laughed, while Zack shot Cody a dirty look, then joined in the laughter too.
XX
The boss sat on her chair, drumming her fingers on the desk. The last few days events had been...interesting to say the least. Perhaps she had underestimated this little band. After all, one of her many drug smuggling rings was now totally demolished, but she had always known that she may lose one or two. A pity her goons had nabbed the wrong twin. If they had taken Cody like they were meant to, they might never have been found in time. But...it was just one battle, and that battle was only a skirmish if anything. After all, she did have the initiative.
This endeavour had been instructive. She had learnt a lot about the group she was travelling with to add to the information her faithful spy had already accumulated. And next they were bound for Australia, where Maddie would be visiting her dearly beloved. Time for the first main moves.
After all, the Cambodian kidnapping had only been one of opportunity, as she had known they would eventually be able to separate the twins. Perhaps she had underestimated Cody...it would be interesting to find out. But now, in Australia, things could truly begin.
She smiled. One small battle was not the war, and one small, albeit effective cell, was not in any way all of her criminal empire. So she could accept the loss of the cell this time round. But now the true game would begin.
And if she read the situation correctly, it could prove to be a very interesting game indeed.
Well our first main chapter!
Zack was lucky there, thank goodness he has such a clever twin. And the drug leader has committed suicide...interesting turn of events. There is more going on here than meets the eye.
Who is this boss, and who is their spy? What is their plan? What will happen in Australia?
And as you may have figured out, Maddie is back next chapter! Things start to get a little darker from here on out, be warned.
So, until next time, please read and review, and I appreicate you may be busy with Christmas so I won't get too upset if I dont get may reviews ;)
Merry Christmas, and until next time!