A/N: Long story short: I suck. :)

Chapter 9

Josh was shoved into a cellar room and fell on his knees.

Barrett was right behind him and grabbed him up again by his hair and shoved him against a wall.

"I would really like to cut off your toes you know? I hope you don't cooperate. I will put your itsy bitsy little toes in a glass and put them on a shelf. I have quite the collection already. I've got eyes, ears, fingers, even two tongues. And I would love to add your toes to the collection." Barrett smiled sinisterly and connected his fist with Josh' stomach.

Josh groaned and fell down on the floor.

"And I would really like to crush your little fingers." Wade's foot was above Josh's fingers but he stopped.

"This is just the beginning. There is a laptop. Here is your stick. Work."

Wade throw the little USB drive on the ground and left the cell.

Josh grabbed it and crawled over to the laptop. He pulled it down on the ground and booted it up.

"Shit." He exclaimed when he noticed that it had no wi-fi card on board. It was just good enough to work on.

So he started to work but implanted a SOS signal into the program. If Sheamus checked the code later and there was a wi-fi signal, the program would pick it up and send a distress signal to his dad.

Josh brushed away a tear from his eyes. He loved his father. He had been an asshole towards him these past few month. Because it was easier to blame him for his mother's death than face the fact that she would never ever hug him again. If only he had listened to his dad about this guy, Crowe, who betrayed him like that. He was probably upstairs right now, laughing his ass of about the dumb little high school kid. If he had the chance he would beat up his ass.

Angry now he started to work on the code and on the SOS signal.

Dean walked into one of the many pubs in New York.

It was only early afternoon and just a few regulars occupied the bar and some tables.

He sat down on one end of the bar, and the barkeeper walked over. He was well over 50, his brownish hair slicked back out of his face.

"Look who we got here. Dean Ambrose. What a rare sight these days."

Dean smiled. True. He came here often, before Lilly. Since he got her in his life he rather spend the nights with her. She was better than any booze.

"William. You know I have a girlfriend now." Dean told him smiling.

"Aye, I heard that. And she has you on a short leash mate."

Dean shook his head. "No, she is just more handsome than you are. I rather get drunk by looking into her face than into yours."

William laughed and clapped Dean on the shoulder. "Boy, you know I am happy for you. That's the bloody truth. And this is no social call, so what brings you here?"

"I am looking for an Irish bastard. He has a crew, two Brits, a Scott" Dean showed him pictures on his phone.

"Aye, the Brit comes here every once in a while. I have never seen the others. But he hasn't been here in a couple of days."

"Ok, would you give me a call when he shows up here? He has something I am very fond of."

William was serious. "Since there are not many things you are fond of, I can only imagine that it must be something special."

"Someone special. Roman's boy." Williams's eyes hardened.

"I will call you if he shows up."

"Thanks Regal."

Dean left the bar to check on some more pubs. But he had at least one lead now.

Seth came up empty handed with his phone calls. Frustrated he brushed his hands over his face. He wanted to help Roman get his son back. Hell, he liked Josh as well, and kids were supposed to do stupid stuff without coming face to face with criminals in the process.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Claire. Without thought he pulled her on his lap and kissed her.

"I take it you had no success on your end." Claire brushed his hair behind his ear and kissed his temple.

"No. I hope Dean has more success. I want this to end fast and clean. Roman is boiling underneath all that stoic calm. He is really worried and probably blames himself. But kids are difficult sometimes. Kids are allowed to act up. But they are no supposed to get hurt in the process."

Roman paused outside the living room door. His friends knew him well. Yes, he was calm on the outside. But that was his MO. On the inside he was in turmoil. Of course he blamed himself for Josh disappearance in the first place. He loved his son with all of his heart and he hated the fact that they had constantly fought in the past couple of weeks. Roman wanted to get his son back and get back to the way they used to treat each other before Dani's death. They had been a great team. And he prayed that he had the chance to tell him son again and again that he loved him. And if all of this wasn't enough to deal with, fate threw Alex Carter into his way. He couldn't deny the instant attraction but right now he had to put his focus on getting his son back. When he was home safely he could address his feelings and work on that problem.

Lilly was in the kitchen together with Alex. The cop worked on her computer and Lilly prepared dinner. She liked to cook but she felt so out of place here at the moment. She was the only real civilian in the house. Even Claire could help more than she could.

But one thing they all would need was a good dinner to fuel up the energy. And she was a really good cook.

"So, the guys like you. I mean, for a cop. They don't play so well with cops." Lilly tried to start a conversation.

"Yes, I noticed that. Especially your man seems to have some beef with cops."

"He does. Long story, goes way back. But he likes you which surprises me."

Lilly glanced over her shoulder and caught Alex grinning. "He liked the fact that I put him on the ground, kicked his ass. I have no illusions. Men underestimated me. I have exactly one shot to bring them to the floor then I lose that moment of surprise. I am a decent fighter but I lack in size and strength."

"I would have paid to see Dean's face when he found himself on the ground. That doesn't happen often to him, being surprised I mean. But the real reason he gives you a fair shot is the fact, that his brother has his eyes on you. And Roman will come for you once this is over, believe me."

"Oh let him come for me, I am prepared. But right now I am focused on closing this case and getting his son back. That is my top priority."

Alex noticed too late that Roman was in the door and had heard that last comment.

"And I appreciate that Alex, that we are on the same page with this. Josh safety comes first, everything else has to wait." Roman told her and squeezed her shoulder when he walked past looking over Lilly's shoulder.

"This looks good. Thank you for feeding us time and time again."

"I do that gladly. Otherwise I am just dead weight." Roman looked at her and shook his head. "No, you are a part of the team. 100%. We all do our part and believe me, food is important. Nearly as important as keeping my brother in the line. And you do that. So never underestimate your value. You are priceless Lilly." He kissed her on top of the head and plopped down on a nearby chair.

"This waiting around drives me crazy." He sighed.

"I know, but we are working every angle possible. How much code was missing when Josh stole it?"

"Two or three days of work."

"Could Crowe finish the code for Sheamus?"

"No, I don't think so. But Josh certainly could. We think alike. We programmed a lot together."

"So he will be more valuable alive to Sheamus and we have at least two days to find him. We can do this Roman. With your resources and mine working hand in hand we will bring your son back in one piece."

"I hope you are right." He mumbled and closed his eyes, frustrated that he couldn't do anything else at the moment.