.

Choose for Happiness

But for what does a man need God?

Chapter 2: Out of the fire

"Snow, stop the car," Lightning commanded as they pulled up to the station her phone's GPS identified as Horton. She didn't even wait for the large man to fully comply before abandoning the vehicle and racing over to the platform, flashlight in hand. It had taken roughly forty minutes to reach the station from Serah and Snow's place and Lightning could only hope that they'd made it in time.

She flashed her light across the platform and her pulse quickened at what she saw. Two large, bloody stains on the cement, a busted up phone, and no Hope in sight. She looked at the blood and swallowed thickly. Please don't be his, she prayed silently.

Snow joined her a moment later, stopping short as he took in the scene. "Oooh boy," he remarked in a low voice.

Lightning ignored him and studied the scene, looking for any clues as to where Hope might have gone. The station was quiet and empty, save for them. There were no noises to indicate that anyone else was still in the area. She flashed her light around regardless, just in case someone was hiding out of sight, but she caught no whisper of movement beyond the gentle rustling of tree branches.

Silently cursing, she pointed her light back at the carnage on the platform, and that's when her sharp eyes caught several dark blotches leading away from the main puddles. "Look there!" she said sharply to Snow before hurrying over to get a better look.

"Seems whoever—or whatever—it was left us a trail," Snow observed, pointing his own light in the direction the droplets led.

"Great. Let's go," Lightning said, already following the droplets. She clenched her jaw as she swiftly moved along the trail. It seemed her earlier concern had been warranted after all. Hope was clearly being targeted by someone, although toward what end she hadn't the foggiest.

The blood path became harder to follow once they entered the woods, but Lightning didn't falter. Hope was depending on her, and she'd be damned if she let him down. She picked up her pace, darting over the underbrush as she tracked her target with the singleminded determination of a bloodhound. Snow followed close behind, jaw set and eyes trained straight ahead. Lightning knew that Hope had become like a brother to him, and nobody got between Snow and his family.

Roughly ten minutes into their chase, Lightning's trained ears picked up the sound of voices from up ahead. Not wasting any time, she reached for her standard issue glock and broke into a sprint right for the voices. "Oi!" she called out as three men wearing black suits came into view. All three of them, she noticed, were sporting an extra body. "I'm Sergeant-major Lightning Farron of the YPD! Stop where you are and put your hands in the air!"

Instead of doing as commanded, the men swore and broke into a run. Oh no you don't! Lightning raised her gun.

A hand landed on her shoulder, stopping her. "Don't worry, Sis. I got this," Snow called as he sprinted past her, a large grin on his face.

True to his word, Snow charged in like a wrecking ball, merrily sending each of the three men flying with his large fists. In a matter of mere seconds, the men, along with their human luggage, were brought down, leaving the ground littered with bodies. Lightning's gaze zoned in on a head of moonlight colored hair among the carnage and she rushed over.

"Hope!" she cried as she lifted the unconscious man's shoulders, taking in his pale face and clammy skin. "Hope!" she called again, slapping his cheek several times in quick succession. "Come on, wake up! Hey!"

Hope remained unresponsive, his head falling back and lolling to the side limply.

"Dammit!" Lightning swore. Only then did she notice his bloodied shoulder and her own blood ran cold. "Snow!" she cried, grabbing the blond man's attention. "Hope is injured! We've gotta get him outta here!"

"On it!" the big man called, abandoning the other men who were now in various stages of picking themselves up and fleeing the scene. Snow jogged over to her and immediately scooped Hope up in his arms with a grunt. "Damn! This was a lot easier back when you were a kid, kid," he told Hope's unconscious form. Then, to Lightning, he asked, "What about the other guys?"

"Forget about them. I'm more concerned about Hope," she said, turning back the way they had come. "He needs a doctor, now. Let's go!"

Not wasting any more time, the two of them hurried back to the station, both praying that their friend would be alright.

Lightning called Serah as Snow drove them out of the wilderness and toward the nearest hospital. When they arrived, Hope was immediately taken to intensive care and Lightning and Snow were left in the waiting room, much to both their frustration.

The waiting room was a large, spacious area full of chairs and magazines, but no other people save for the two of them. In the wee hours of the morning, the hospital was even creepier than it probably was during its normal hours of operation. Lightning had never liked hospitals. They brought back memories of the weeks she'd spent watching her mother slowly die of illness. Back then, she'd practically lived in hospitals; her and Serah. She always thought maybe that was what caused Serah to give up her dream of becoming a nurse.

Beside her, Snow stretched with a loud groan and then fell into one of the chairs. "First it's go, go, go! And now it's wait, wait, wait," he complained, stretching out his legs.

"That's how hospitals are," she informed him, settling her back against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest.

Lightning thought they might lapse into silence after that, but she forgot who her company was. "Well," Snow said with the air of someone about to make a big announcement. "That sure didn't take long."

"What didn't?" she asked, not picking up on his meaning.

Snow let out a short chuckle. "I mean we've only been in this world for what, a year? And trouble has already found us again."

Lightning sighed. "Looks that way," she agreed. Perhaps it was inevitable. Adversity clung to their group like Snow to the word 'hero'. Whatever had lead her to think that would change just because they were in a new world?

"So," the big man said, folding his hands over his stomach, "Who do you suppose those guys were? The ones trying to carry Hope off. Something tells me they weren't our friendly neighborhood watch."

"That's for damn sure," Lightning agreed, tightening her fingers around her upper arm. "I'm guessing they're reason Hope's been missing for two days."

Snow exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck with a serious expression. "So you think those people kidnapped him?" he asked, moving his hand to thread his fingers through his hair. "Makes sense. Except…why? I mean, why Hope?"

Lightning narrowed her eyes and glared down at the tiled floor, her mind buzzing from that exact question. "I don't know," she admitted. She looked up at Snow then, and in a low, menacing voice added, "But I'm going to find out."

It was another twenty minutes before the doctor came in to inform them of Hope's condition.

The doctor was a surprisingly youthful looking man with light brown hair and a serious face. He pulled a ballpoint pen from the breast pocket of his white coat and used it to make a few marks on his clipboard before looking up at them. "I'm assuming you're family or friends of Mr. Hope Estheim," he stated. There was nobody else they could be, after all.

"Friends, yes," Lightning confirmed, watching the doctor levelly.

The man nodded and made another mark on his clipboard. "My name is Dr. Paul Laurent. I've been placed in charge of Mr. Estheim's care for the duration of his stay here at Valley Cross Hospital."

Lightning and Snow both nodded.

"Let's see," Dr. Laurent continued, looking down at his papers. "Mr. Estheim was brought in with a gunshot wound to his collarbone as well as trauma to the head and multiple light abrasions on his arms and legs, likely from running through a heavily wooded area…" he trailed off as he flipped to the next page. "His condition is currently stable, however he appears to have suffered an allergic reaction to an as of yet unidentified tranquilizer…administered via a dart, as indicated by a puncture wound on his chest."

"Allergic reaction?" Lightning repeated. "What do you mean?"

The doctor let out a short sigh and lifted his eyes to meet hers. "It means his body reacted negatively to one or more of the chemicals in that dart. Your friend is currently in a coma."

Lightning's jaw went slack and next to her Snow cursed.

"Don't worry," Dr. Laurent assured them quickly. "We expect him to awaken within the next day or so. There's no cause for alarm at this point."

Lightning exhaled in relief. For a single, horrifying second she thought that Hope wasn't ever going to wake up again and her heart had nearly dropped out of her chest.

"But it's a very good thing that the two of you got him here when you did," the doctor continued. "Had you been much later, Mr. Estheim's prognosis would not have been so good." The man seemed to look right at Lightning when he said this, and the certainty of his statement struck her like a hammer. It wasn't 'might not have been so good', it was 'would not'. As in Hope's life had been in serious danger tonight, and nobody had known. If she and Snow had stopped to chase those men, would Hope still be with them now? How close had they come to tragedy?

Lightning's anger at whomever had taken Hope exploded into outright fury. How dare they lay a hand on Hope. How dare they drug him with weird medications! What if he'd died? What if he'd fallen into a coma and never woken up? How would she live with herself?

How would she live without him?

Lightning's fists clenched hard enough to make her bleed, had she not been wearing gloves. She was going to find whoever did this and she was going to make them pay. They were going to wish they'd never even heard the name Hope Estheim.

"Thank you for your trouble, Doc," Snow said next to her. "We really appreciate it. If something had happened to that kid…well, I'm just really glad it didn't."

"Of course," Dr. Laurent said with a nod. "We'll continue to monitor him overnight. Rest assured that if anything should happen, not that I'm expecting it to, but if something does, we'll know." He placed his clipboard under his arm then and gestured at the reception desk. "Please see our receptionist, Amélie, for details concerning visiting hours and, later, discharge protocol."

Lightning nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. Truly."

Dr. Laurent's expression softened and he bowed his head slightly. "We'll take care of him. I don't know what happened exactly, but if you need to contact the police, there's a phone through that door." He gestured across the room to a blue door bearing the words 'Call Area'.

Snow let out an amused chuckle and Lightning cracked a smile. "Thanks, but I am the police."

Doctor Laurent raised his eyebrows. "I see." He seemed to consider something for a moment and then he asked, "Then would Mr. Estheim happen to be a fellow officer?"

Lightning's smile fell from her face. "No," she answered. "He's just a guy who draws the short straw a little more often than most."

After the two of them left the hospital, Lightning got straight on the phone to report Hope's case to the YPD. She spent the next hour describing what few details she knew about his kidnapping to several different people within the branch. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning by the time she finished, and by then her adrenaline from the incident had long since worn off. She was almost temped to take the next day off work, except that work was exactly the place she needed to be to follow up on Hope's kidnapping. Like hell was she giving the case over to some greenhorn just so she could get a few extra hours' rest.

So it was that the next morning she marched into the Yaschas City Police headquarters the same as any other day, but with a pair of fresh bags under her eyes and fiery determination on her face.

"Sergeant-major Farron," her boss greeted as she walked through the door. "Good morning. You look a tad dark under the eyes today. Rough night, I heard."

Lightning saluted respectfully. "Yes, Captain. I'm assuming the details of last night's incident were relayed to you already."

"They were," Captain Amodar confirmed. "I was told you found your friend."

"Yes, sir," she answered, still in her salute.

Amodar smiled warmly. "That's excellent news. I know how much Hope Estheim's disappearance was weighing on you." He leaned forward then and his face adopted a scolding expression. "But Farron, you really should have reported the call and waited for reinforcements before going in. You know that what you did is a violation of protocol."

Lightning's face tightened. "Sir, there was no time to wait for backup. If I'd spared even a moment, Hope might be dead right now."

Amodar leaned back in his seat and nodded. "Yes, I heard about his condition in the report." The captain looked around briefly as if making sure nobody was paying attention to them and then beckoned her forward. When she was within range, he leaned toward her and said lowly, "I'm not saying what you did wasn't the best course of action given the situation—because certainly it was—but try not to step out of line too often, yes? You're a pretty hot topic around here and you don't want any marks on your record."

Lightning nodded respectfully. "Yes, sir."

Amodar laughed and leaned back again. "You know, you don't have to be so formal," he said, his tone laced with amusement. "We're not in the military."

Lightning faltered slightly and then lowered her hand. "Sorry, sir," she apologized with a small smile. "Old habits die hard."

"Hm?" the captain questioned, looking confused.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Just talking to myself."

There was a moment of silence between them after that, which Lightning broke when she said, "Sir, if I may, I have a request."

"What's that, sergeant?" Amodar asked. Suddenly there was a twinkle in his eye, as if he somehow knew what she was about to ask.

In her most professional tone, Lightning said, "I'd like to be put in charge of Hope Estheim's case." Really, there was hardly any need to ask. Amodar already knew how important this case was to her, and there was no reason why she shouldn't be the one to lead it, but just in case... No point in risking it.

Amodar chuckled. "Ah, yes, I knew you'd ask me that."

Lightning smiled at his response. "Then do I assume correctly that I have your consent?"

To her confusion, the large Capitaine de Police's expression sobered slightly. "Normally, yes," he said, watching her steadily. "But I'm afraid this time I must decline."

Amodar's response hit Lightning like a slap in the face. He was...declining her request? She examined his face, but the big man showed no sign that he was joking with her. "Sir?" she questioned, her heart feeling like it was sinking in her chest.

"Ah, please don't misunderstand," he said quickly, waving a hand in front of him. "I'm not meaning to take this from you, Farron. You see, the paperwork for your commandment training went through last night. I'm not pulling you from the case—you can still be involved—but I'll have to place someone else in charge while you undergo training here at headquarters."

Lightning's eyes widened. "Sir! You don't mean..."

"I do, Farron," he said, his smile returning. "Congratulations. You're being promoted."

If Lightning were any less of a soldier, she might have fallen out of stance in surprise. She was being promoted to lieutenant? Already? But she hadn't worked nearly long enough to be considered for that kind of promotion.

Amodar must have seen the surprise on her face, because he said, "You've earned it. You're more skilled and more disciplined than any other officer I've ever met, and I've been doing this for a long time. I don't know how you do it, Farron, but it's like you have a thousand years' experience over everyone else in the force."

At these words, Lightning cracked a smile. "Five-hundred and three years and thirteen days to be exact," she told him.

Amodar blinked up at her from his chair uncomprehendingly for a moment and then a huge grin split his face. "Well, isn't this a surprise! The all-business Sergeant Farron has a sense of humor after all."

Lightning let out a short chuckle. "Don't go telling anyone," she joked.

Amodar shifted in his chair and pulled a slip of paper from the pile on his desk. "Farron," he said in a slightly more serious tone. "I'm sorry that this promotion happened to fall during such a stressful time for you. I can't change the scheduled training dates, but I can assure you that you'll be informed immediately about anything our officers find during their investigation." He held out the slip of paper and Lightning took it curiously. It was statement of permission for police admittance. "That's for you," he continued. "Take it with you when you go to the hospital. I want you to question the victim when he wakes up." The good captain embellished his instructions with a wink.

Lightning clutched the paper tightly and gave Amodar her most crisp salute. "Yes, sir!" More softly, she added, "Thank you, Captain Amodar."

Amodar waved her off. "He'll be more open with you anyway. I'd be remiss in my judgement if I sent anyone else."

Lightning gave her commanding officer a sincere smile. Amodar had always looked out for her; ever since she was first placed under his command in the Guardian Corps at the tender age of eighteen. That was lifetimes ago now, but the large, easy-going man hadn't changed a bit. For her to be placed under his care once again in the new world, surely the stars were looking out for her.

Just before turning to go, Lightning posed one last question to the captain. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, who will be put in charge of Hope's case?"

Amodar surprised her when he let out a troubled sounding sigh at her question. "Ah, about that..." he said, raising a beefy hand to rub the back of his neck. "I'm afraid the only officer not currently occupied with another case is Sergeant-major Guillory."

Lightning stiffened at the name. Amodar saw this and added, "I know you're not especially fond of him, but he's a good, reliable officer, and I know he'll handle your friend's case with the utmost professionalism."

Lightning nodded stiffly and turned to the door. "I won't let my personal feelings interfere with our cooperation on this case, I assure you."

oO0Oo

Phew! Extra long chapter for you this time. Hope is back with his friends now, but his kidnappers are still on the loose. Oh calamity.

Once again, thank you for reading, and please! Leave a comment! I get lonely. I think I feel a cold wind blowing. I'd be ever so appreciative for the warmth of another human out here in this brisk tundra that is the LR fanfiction section.

Have a lovely day and I'll see you next chapter!