Hey! Look at that, two updates in one day and if I remember when I get back from a flat party, you might even get a third update! Because the deadline is tomorrow, there is a mad rush for my lovely Beta Jay to try and edit the last three chapters tonight and hopefully tomorrow night his time if we can get away with it! So while we know that the deadline is tomorrow, we hope to get away with posting a couple on Saturday morning when I will also be frantically writing the first 1,600 words of my NaNoWriMo. I am hoping to post that either on fiction press or on AO3 or somewhere like that so that people can read it. It's an original work but I hope you will consider reading it!

Enjoy the new chapter and PLEASE let me know what you think, I love hearing what people have to say.


The Prefect office had changed dramatically in the hour since Todd had left with Charlie. All of the furniture was still there, but the desks had been pushed against the wall, and the central table had been folded away and was in the bay window. Chairs were pressed against the walls but were turned inwards in a circle to face the middle of the room, and fifteen boys sat on the seats, looking at each other like lost puppies.

The five Windsor boys plus Charlie sat in front of the bay window. Han shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, fiddling with his cell phone and glancing at the door occasionally as if questioning whether or not he could make a break for it. Ethan and Evan stared at everyone there in turn, eyes gleaming as they scrutinized every move made. They were the only ones who looked truly at ease there, lounging in their seats like they already knew why they'd been called, even though it was impossible. Blaine adjusted his blazer, trying to calm his breathing and give his hands something to do at the same time. Todd was feeling decidedly awkward now, even more so than he'd been when telling the story the first time to the Prefects. There was no way around it, telling them the truth. How would he disguise the fact that he knew where to look?

Logan sat silent with his two offerings from Stuart. Sean Powell glanced around the room with wide eyes; he had to be there because he was friends with Bailey, same as Todd. Derek Seigerson, was there merely as an observer and an offerer of advice and ideas. He was here to support Logan; everyone knew that the Prefect was suffering because of this. Besides, he had nowhere better to be. Julian was off god-knows where dealing with his manager and schedule, and given the choice between the two, even Logan's stunted emotions were more appealing than that.

Justin had three members from Hanover, all sitting patiently next to him, trusting that he'd tell them what was going on in due time. Spencer sat to his right, his phone resting carefully on his lap in an attempt to look casual. The quick click-click-click of his heel tapping the ground was the only thing that gave him away. Danny was on his other side, nervously shifting but looking prepared; good day or bad day, he was the one people trusted to be ready. Oli sat to Danny's left, mostly calm and composed as he surveyed the group. He was the youngest there and he knew it, but he also knew how to find people; it was supposedly one of his more supernatural abilities.

Riley sat with only one other member from Lancaster, Isaac Graves. The boy was practically a snake, the one who could smooth talk his way in and out of anything. They were in need of an actor who could get them places, and since Julian wasn't exactly low key or available, Isaac was the next best thing.

Dense silence filled the room as they looked at each other. Only the Prefects knew why each of them was there, and confusion stifled the air, making the atmosphere grow thicker and thicker as the seconds ticked by. Logan couldn't take this. He couldn't take not knowing where people were; he couldn't take being responsible for his house when it was vulnerable. He liked order, he liked security and right now he had none of that. Derek was the one thing that was keeping him from exploding.

"None of you know why you are here." Charlie spoke, looking around the circle, all eyes turning towards him. "None of you except the Prefects."

"And now we are going to tell you why." Logan took over. "Each of you is here because you have a skill that is going to help us find Laura and Bailey." He looked to Isaac. "Graves, you're the best actor we could find that isn't a diva being hounded by paparazzi." There was a small snort from Isaac. "Willis, you have enough contacts to let us to scour the whole county if need be." Spencer grinned at him. "And I don't know why, but my gut tells me that we might need that at some point." Spencer's grin disappeared in a flash, retreating at the thought of actually having to use his influential powers.

Charlie saw his opportunity and grabbed control of the group, used to taking charge in times of stress and mayhem. "Danny, you're here because you know the Bancrofts better than any of the rest of us. You're the eyes and ears of Hanover and people trust you and your judgment, and that's the kind of person we need to communicate with the rest of the student population. Oli," he looked to the youngest boy who gazed up at him through small rectangular glasses, "you're going to working with Han because we need bright minds who can get inside the heads of the kidnappers, find where they could have taken them. Derek," Charlie racked his brains fast to think of an excuse why Derek was here, other than the fact that Logan had begged to drag him along. "We'll need an athlete for when the actual retrieval goes down, and you have the strength and agility to help extract Bailey and Laura, and distract the kidnappers, if it comes to that."

Derek smirked; it was the highest compliment any Windsor would ever pay him. Then Justin spoke up quietly, capturing the attention of the room in a few short breaths. "Sean, you knew, uh, know Bailey. We need friends who can think as he does, get into his head and work out what his moves would be if he were in that situation. Blaine," he offered the lead Warbler a small nod, "you know pretty much every student in the school. You know how the school works; you know how the body of the school thinks. We need you to hear the suggestions and worries the boys might have about the safety of the school. We need you to be the voice of the Prefects, the liaison between this crack team and the student body. They respect you, and so do we."

Blaine offered the Hanover Prefect a grateful smile before Riley turned to the remaining four boys who hadn't been spoken of yet. "Twins, you two are the best hope we have at cracking into anywhere. You know the school, it's faults, and it's safety nets and we need your knowledge to get hold of anything that could even remotely help us. Han, you and Oli are going to watch those security tapes, and hack into whatever you can. Try and keep it legal, though, the last thing we need is the CIA nosing into our business." Han nodded hurriedly, pushing his glasses up from where they'd slipped down the bridge of his nose. "Get footage from all over Westerville, maybe a bit beyond. It all depends on the information we get."

"What's Todd doing here?" Derek asked after a pause, echoing the thoughts of many of the room. "I know he's a friend of Bailey and all that, but we've already got Sean."

All eyes turned to the Windsor sophomore, who shrunk under their gaze. "Todd is here because we asked him to be." Charlie said slowly, unwilling to let anyone except Todd reveal the truth.

"He was the Dalton mole, wasn't he?" The seven words from Oli Snow sounded so simple and naïve, yet the 12 year old looked at Todd with a sharply cocked head, his eyes narrowed in thought. "You haven't told us who it is, and given the dwindling possibilities of what people could be here for, it makes sense. Although not much sense given that he's supposed to be friends with us, with Bailey."

The hurt in the boy's voice was enough to make Todd wince, his gaze returning to his lap, fingernails scratching and picking at his rubbed-raw skin. The boys looked at Todd, waiting for an answer. Most were undecided, eyes darting from Oli to Todd to the Prefects, then back again, Oli and Sean were angrier than the others, Sean immediately twisting his expression darkly, angling his body away from Todd.

Finally, Todd nodded, still looking at his lap. "You don't understand, none of you do. But yes, I told the kidnappers how to get into Dalton and I told them where Laura and Bailey were. But I have no idea where he's taken them. I have ideas, theories based on the places I met them but nothing concrete." He looked up at the rest of the boys, his eyes pleading. "It's a long story, but I promise you that I didn't mean to hurt them. I never meant for anything to happen to them, I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I want to help get them back; I care for Bailey and Laura more than anything. I played a part in their kidnapping but I want to play a part in their rescue, too. I regret it, I regret it so much; please, let me fix this!"

"And what would have happened if you hadn't said anything?" Sean spat, not bothering to conceal the hurt and disbelief on his face. "If you had never told them how to get to us? What would have happened? Would we be safe?"

Todd swallowed. "I would be dead." He squared his shoulders. "But I won't let either of them die. I can promise you that."

Worried murmurs and critical whispers met his words, and Sean met Todd's gaze, accepting his words along with his actions. Was that the price he would have had to pay? What would he have done in Todd's situation? Would he have rather died than put his friend in danger? Half of him said yes, said that Todd was selfish and cruel for putting himself before Bailey. But the other half of him understood. He didn't want to, but he understood. Sean didn't quite smile at Todd, but he wiped the scowl off his face and did his best to straighten out his furrowed brow.

"Well we better get to work then. Laura and Bailey are depending on us to find them." The other boys, content to let Sean speak for them, muttered in consensus before the moment was over.

From inside one of the many blazers in the crowd, a familiar song started playing. "After all you put me through, you think I'd despise you. But in the end, I want to thank you, cause you made me that much stronger."

Todd blushed as he reached into his blazer pocket and took out his iPhone, every eye impatient on him. The caller ID flashing brightly on the screen, however, made time come to a crashing halt. "It's Bailey."

"Well answer it, idiot!" Logan snapped as the others froze. "Put it on speaker."

"Can I use one of the computers?" Han interjected, and Charlie pointed to his own laptop. He was hopefully able to trace the call through some sort of server, or one of the dozens of program he had.

Overwhelmed by the sudden clamour and bustle, Todd hastily clicked the accept button and held it out so everyone could hear. "Bailey? Bailey, thank goodness, are you okay?"

The only noise at the other end of the phone was a hacking cough, wet and thick and sound like a summary of how Todd felt right now. "Todd? Is that you?"

A collective sigh of relief came from the boys and despite the circumstances, Todd couldn't help but smile as he replied. "Yeah Bailey, it's me. Are you okay? Where are you? Laura's missing from Dalton too, is she with you?"

Bailey swallowed. "Yeah, she's here."

Justin looked up. "Can I speak to her? Bailey, is she okay?"

There was a pause before Bailey answered. "How many people are listening Todd? That was Justin wasn't it?"

Todd bit his lip. Something sounded off; the strain in Bailey's voice went deeper than just a cough. "14 of us, the group that are going to get you and Laura back." Derek side-eyed him and tried to pantomime a hand slicing through a throat, shaking his head violently, but Todd was too wrapped up in Bailey's voice to notice.

"Laura's fine, a little cold, but she's got my blazer Justin." Bailey went flat, as if all his emotions had been sucked out of him. "She's okay, Justin."

"He's being listened to." Todd murmured to Charlie who nodded in assent as Bailey kept talking. Derek threw his hands in the air

"I'm looking after her, don't worry." Bailey said, "I'll make sure she comes out of this. Oh, and please, don't call Josh, please. He's got enough to worry about without having to drive himself mad with worry over me."

"What do they want with you?" Justin said gently when Todd didn't look able to speak anymore.

Bailey swallowed. "To send a warning. They want $100,000 for each of us within the next 24 hours. Another $100,000 for each 24 hours we're here."

"But why ring us?" Justin said. He knew that they were both thinking the same thing; why call them when Justin was the only family member of them at Dalton? The kidnappers hadn't even known Justin would be there when they called Todd.

"To send a warning." Bailey murmured. "They wanted me to tell you that you can't come and rescue us. If you even try, then…" he choked up and started to cough, unable to finish the sentence.

"They'll what Bailey?" Todd suddenly found his voice again, driven by the fear that had been squirming in his guts again.

"They'll make us watch the other being tortured before they kill us, and then you. They said that they know exactly where you are, they always do, and they wanted to remind you." The last part was said with an inquisitive air, as if he was trying to make sense of the lines he was being told to parrot over the phone. "They know where you are? Todd, what's going on?"

He couldn't. He couldn't tell Bailey, not now. Maybe not ever. "I don't know, Bailey. But I promise, we will come and rescue you, and we will get you back."

"Tell the guys that I'm fine and I'd rather die than let anything happen to Laura. I promise to keep her safe. See you soon, right Todd?"

Todd nodded, never more certain of it. "Right you are, Bailey." The phone clicked off. "Right you are." Todd looked at the assembled group.

"What does he mean by 'they know where you are'?" Riley frowned.

"I honestly have no idea," he shrugged, " it probably means that I have a tracker or something on me. I probably shouldn't go on any of the hunts in town."

"Okay, I got you a vague area of where Bailey was coming from but I can't get you an exact location." Han said sharply, his fingers clicking rapidly across the keyboard. "I'm printing a map of the area…now."

Oli stood up and hovered over the computer tentatively. "I m-might be able to lend you a hand. That is why I'm here after all."

Blaine clapped Han lightly on the back. "Nice work, Han. Can I suggest that maybe Todd stays with Han? It's not ideal, but better than him being tracked moving all around town."

Logan nodded. "What is this, are the Windsors actually using their brains for once? This is a surprise."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "The last thing we need right now is the rivalries to start up, Logan. Can't Stuart and Windsor put aside their differences just for 24 hours? Look, we've got the biggest offering, and we're willing to put ourselves on the line to get a Stuart back."

Justin stood up and moved into the centre of the space and immediately all eyes were trained on the determined and somehow still composed Hanover. "Please, guys. We have 24 hours. 24 hours to get them back, alive. So can we please stop bickering? There's only so much that either of them will be able to handle. We need to start working right away." He looked to Han. "Han, work on getting the co-ordinates and work with Todd and Oli to figure out where the signal is coming from. Spencer, I need tactical ideas, how do we approach this from start to finish? Evan and Ethan, is there any way to narrow down the area we search?"

The Twins looked at each other. "We'll work something out, don't worry. You can count on us."

Justin nodded slightly. "At the moment, the 13 of you are the only people I can trust. We need to get Laura and Bailey back home."

Riley nodded. "That's all we want, to get them both home." He clapped his hands and got the attention of all the boys, even the Prefects. "Let's get to work."


What did you think? I know this was a bit more of a filler chapter than anything but I hope you enjoyed it all the same! Plus we get to see Oli who has only made an appearance in CP Coulter's side stories written about Dalton, not actually in the story! He belongs to her, not me.

Happy writing,

PenMagic x