Well, my awesome readers, it is that time again. Friday has arrived once more, and so has another chapter. I hope you all enjoy Chapter 4!
Disclaimer: I really don't own Flashpoint or any of it's characters…are you really that surprised?
Ninja slammed his hand on the wall in frustration. There was nothing on the security cameras; they didn't work. Sergeant Donnelly ignored him for the moment. The boy had just lost his sister; she had disappeared right outside the building he and the rest of his team were inside. The rest of the team was also quietly frustrated. They all felt, no doubt, somewhat responsible for what had happened.
"All right, Team Five—I want you to head back to the barn. We'll be there shortly." Ninja looked like he was about to protest, but Sarge and Red grabbed his arms and he turned away without a word. Donnelly and Sabine watched them go.
"What are we doing, Boss?" Donna asked quietly.
Donnelly sighed. "Put out that Amber Alert. See if anyone can remember seeing Snips. With this whole Team Five and that bridge scene last week, people are going to know her. We'll see if anyone can recall seeing her anywhere. Maybe some witness will come forward and say they saw the entire kidnapping take place."
"And if none of that works?" asked his team leader.
He rubbed the back of his head. "We hope we get a ransom call." They both knew this was very unlikely. While many officers could be taken by enemies of their past, Snips' enemies should be in prison right now. If these people that took her didn't see her as an officer, but as a child, then they could only have 24 hours to find her.
FPFPFPFPFPFPFP
Immediately after returning to the station, Ninja vanished. Sarge found him in the workout room, beating the crap out of their punching bag. The teen was twisting, moving, punching, dancing around the bag. He was incredibly graceful while fighting, Sarge noticed. He was even more graceful when he and Snips were fighting. They knew each other's moves so well that they didn't even have to stop and think about their next attack. They just moved. Again, Sarge wondered where they had learned to fight like that, to fight so instinctively.
He didn't interrupt, just watched. When Ninja was finally finished ten minutes later, the entire team was watching silently. He looked at them; they looked at him. They didn't need to say anything; they didn't need to ask how he was doing. He didn't need to lie and tell them that he was fine; he just nodded minutely and they all went back out to see if Team Three had come back.
They ran into Donna on the way out. Her face was tight with worry. "We just got a hit," she began.
"Ransom?" Ninja asked. He was confused; he didn't think people would want ransom for a kid. Most kids were just taken.
Donna shook her head shortly. "No, it wasn't an email or call, Ninja. We put a tab on the internet so that if Snips' name pops up, we would know. It was a link to a video feed—this website is kind of like an online TV show. You might want to see this."
Even as she said it, Ninja knew it was a lie. She didn't want them to see this at all. Muscles tight, he followed her with the rest of his team, wondering what could cause them to be this nervous. Did they really still see them as kids, or was it because it was one of their own?
What was on that online feed?
FPFPFPFPFPFPFP
Snips was doing pushups when she heard footsteps. Cautiously she got up and moved towards the bed. She didn't want to fight, but she did need exercise, so she had begun working out, starting with sit-ups and moving to pushups about five minutes ago.
She was on her feet when the door began to open. Jason came in, seeming startled that she was there and waiting. In his hands he held what seemed to be a tracksuit. It was dark blue with white stripes down the side. It contained pants, a jacket, and a navy blue t-shirt. "You need to put these on," Jason said, tossing them to her. She caught them, watching him. He shifted. "You have an interview and then your first fight. Put those on and I'll tell you about the fight on the way to and from the interview."
"I'm not fighting," Snips said. She didn't say it angrily or fearfully, she just made a statement.
Jason shrugged. "That's up to you. Either way, you're going to that arena. When you get there, you can choose to let him beat the crap out of you or fight. It's your choice." He gestured towards the clothes. "Put those on, then knock on the door when you're ready. If you take more than five minutes, I'm coming in. Your interviews in ten." With that he walked out and closed the door.
Snips stared at the clothes in her hand. Part of her just wanted to ignore him and do nothing, but part of her knew that it would be better to comply now, at least in the terms of clothing. If they wanted her in this tracksuit, she had a feeling they would make her wear it, whether it be in her own power or someone else's. So she put it on.
She was a bit freaked out to find that it fit her perfectly. How did they know her clothing size? How long had they been watching her?
She let out a quiet sigh, controlling her emotions. She couldn't let her fear or anger show to these people. She had to stay calm and keep her wits about her. If her team couldn't find her, she had to get out by herself, and freaking out wouldn't help at all.
She knocked on the door and stepped back. Jason came in and nodded when he saw she had done as he asked. "All right kid, your first opponent—"
FPFPFPFPFPFPFP
Team Five crowded around the laptop that Team Three was using. Finally, Team Three stopped and got one of the large monitors used for debriefing and hooked the laptop up to it, making it large so that everyone could see the screen. Donna clicked on the link that was there and put on the 'web show' or whatever it was they were calling it. Team Five just watched.
A woman sat on a couch, her wavy brown hair framing her face perfectly. She wore a slinky red dress that showed off her curves. Her make-up was done perfectly, not too much on but just enough.
Ninja was unimpressed. This person had to do with the kidnapping of Lucia. He hated her already.
The woman began speaking. "Newcomers, faithful viewers, we have a new exciting fighter for you today!" Ninja began to get a bad feeling, and looking at his friends, he could tell he wasn't the only one. "Now, we normally don't have teenagers fight here, for health reasons, as you all know," Ninja narrowed his eyes, "but this teen is truly remarkable. Maybe some of you know her. We first spotted her from that terrible bridge incident last week, and have since approached her and offered her a spot as one of our fighters. It took some convincing, but we eventually managed to show her that this was a good choice."
"By kidnapping her," Whiz muttered under his breath.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present Lucia Macculloh!"
Ninja's hands twitched into fists in a split second. Team Five watched as their team leader walked to the lady, calmness and confidence shining through every step she took.
The lady smiled. "Lucia, dear. Have a seat."
Lucia said nothing, coming to a stop and lacing her fingers behind her back. The team smirked at each other as one of the eyebrows on that perfectly manicured face twitched. They watched with interest as a man came up behind their friend and began whispering in her ear. Lucia's eyes flickered upwards towards something then back down again. Acting as if nothing was wrong, she took the few extra steps that seated her on the very edge of the couch, sitting with her back straight and hands on her lap. She might've looked like she was being prim and proper, but Ninja knew that she was ready to fight. He could tell by the way that her legs were balanced on her toes that she was ready to spring up; her hands were tense but controlled; the minute twitch of her eyes as she surveyed the room. She glanced up quite a few times. Were there snipers?
"Well, Lucia, do you mind if we ask a few questions before your first fight?"
Snips looked calmly into her eyes. "You can ask all the questions you want if I get to go home after."
The woman let out a light laugh, one that would make most men go crazy for her. Her voice was all silky and smooth, full but light. Most men would fall for something like that instantly.
Ninja was still unimpressed.
"Oh, Lucia dear, we both know you don't want to go home." Ninja noticed that Snips looked ready to say something, but looked at something off camera and shut her mouth. He had a feeling he knew what was behind that camera. "Now, back to the questions. Do you have a strategy for this upcoming fight, or are you planning on winging it, seeing as how it's your very first fight?"
Snips stared right at her. "I guess I'm winging it."
"Isn't that a bit dangerous? Don't you want to have some type of plan before going in there?"
Snips shrugged, suddenly looking uncomfortable. Ninja narrowed his eyes, and then grinned. He knew exactly what she was going for. "I don't know," his sister said, her voice small. "I'm not quite sure what to make of it all, really." Ninja noticed his teammates glance at each other, confused by their normally fearless leader sounding so small, but he didn't take the time to explain. He did notice that Sarge seemed to be catching on.
The interview carried on, the lady asking questions and Snips answering them as quietly and fearfully as possible, seeming to shrink down with each question that was asked. Ninja nodded; his sister was a genius.
"Well, viewers, that's all the time we have for this interview. Let's all wish Lucia good luck in her very first fight. We'll be right back."
The screen became black as Team Three exited out of full screen. Advertisements were all around the outer screen, and some links to other fights were posted. Everyone was silent, until—
"What was that?"
Team Five looked up in surprise at the voice. Constable Lane, Sergeant Parker, Jules and Sam were standing there, looking at the two teams with confusion on their faces. It was Constable Lane that had spoken. "Where is Snips?"
Sarge and Wheels looked at each other, then at Ninja. Ninja, for his part, was staring at the screen thoughtfully. No one said a word until he spoke. "We don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? Who was that person doing the—what, the interview?"
Ninja shrugged. "We don't know." He was still staring at the screen.
Sarge decided to step in. "We were at Laser Quest when Snips got a phone call. She was supposed to go to—what, work?" Ninja nodded. "A while later, Ninja gets a phone call saying that Snips never showed up to work. She had sent her boss a text message saying stay frosty. When we went outside, her car was still there and her stuff was all over the ground. We're not sure where she is."
"She doesn't know either," Ninja finally said. "She would have given us a clue if she knew." He finally turned back to their mentors. "What are you guys doing here?"
Sergeant Parker decided to step in. "When we noticed none of you guys had come home, we figured you were back here." Ninja nodded thoughtfully.
"What was with Snips?" Sharp asked suddenly. "Why did she sound so scared?"
Ninja grinned. "Because she's a genius," he informed his team. Everyone looked at him, confused. Only Sarge seemed to know what he was talking about it. "Think about it," Ninja continued. "You heard them. They don't normally have teenagers. Snips is their first kid that they're fighting. She goes around acting all innocent, scared out of her mind—"
"And people will want to make sure that she's okay," Whiz realized.
Sharp nodded. "Everyone has a kid they care about. Snips is playing her cards in full force."
"She's trying to get supporters. She won't say anything right now, I'm pretty sure they had some guns trained on her, but she's biding her time. She's going to act like a kid who is in way out of her depth, and when the timing is right, she'll play her hand. She'll want to get people on her side, though."
Sarge stared at their youngest teammate. "Where did you guys learn this stuff?"
Ninja gave a half smile. "Here and there." He turned to Teams One and Three. "Is there any way to trace where this website is originating from?" he asked. "If we can trace it, we can find Snips."
Sergeant Parker looked at his team, still slightly confused at what was going on. "Yeah, we can try. We—"
"Look," Whiz said, pointing to the screen. "They're back."
Well, does anyone have any ideas as to what Snips is planning to do? Any suggestions? Any I really really want this to happen? You know what you can do? REVIEW! I love reviews! So do it! Please?!
