Author's note: Thanks so much to all you new followers and favorites and reviewers. I seriously didn't think this story would be so popular! XD
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 9
Discovered
"I tried so hard, and got so far. But in the end, it doesn't even matter." - 'In The End' - Linkin Park
Kendall, James and Carlos had saved the address in their phones like Mr. Garcia did. Then, knowing she would never let them go otherwise, they told Mrs. Knight they were going to chill by the pool. When Mrs. Knight gave them the go ahead, they quickly ran out of the apartment and caught a bus to the location.
They arrived twenty minutes later, and were standing at the bus stop slightly further up from the house. They approached with extreme caution, trying not to be seen.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Carlos whispered as they made their way down the walk subtly.
"Yes I'm sure." Kendall said. They slowly snuck around the front lawn, then onto the porch, trying to see if anyone was home.
Carlos peered through the windows. "Nice place." He said.
"Yeah,". James agreed. "You really sure this is-"
"Yes!" Kendall said. "It's the right place! Look right here on my phone. This is where Logan's cell signal is coming from. He has to be here." James and Carlos shrugged. "Now remember the plan." Kendall said.
"Find Logan, and get out as quickly as possible." James and Carlos recited, and they continued looking around the front porch.
"Well, I don't see anyone inside." James said as he peered through the windows. Then he tried opening the front door. He pulled at it a few times. "It's locked." He announced glumly.
"Alright." Kendall said. "Let's try the back way." They all started walking towards the back then Kendall stopped. "But be quiet." He added. "There could still be someone here." Carlos and James nodded and they snuck around the side of the house.
Mr. Garcia was extremely unsettled as he stood in the elevator. His encounter with Mr. Mitchell and his brother had seriously bothered him and sent chills down his spine. Unfortunately he didn't get what he wanted; He didn't see Logan. Nor did he get the answers he was looking for. He also didn't have enough of a reason to barge into the house just to talk to Logan. So he basically came back empty handed. Mr. Garcia wasn't looking forward to facing the boys with this news. They were expecting him to come back with Logan, but he had failed to even see him.
Mr. Garcia stood in front of apartment 2J and took a deep breath, bracing himself for the inevitably horrible experience of having to break the news to the boys about not getting Logan back yet. But he wasn't about to give up, he was just waiting for the opportunity to present itself for them to see Logan. Though he knew very well that the boys would definitely not like this plan at all.
One more deep breath, and he knocked on the door.
"Oh hello Mr. Garcia!" Mrs. Knight greeted. "The boys told me you went to talk to Logan and his father about him quitting the band. Were you able to talk to Mr. Mitchell?"
Mr. Garcia sighed. "No unfortunately. He wouldn't talk to me or let me even see Logan. We're just gonna have to wait for a chance to see him." He let out another heavy sigh. "The boys aren't going to like this."
Mrs. Knight's face fell. "No, they aren't."
"Where are they?' Mr. Garcia asked. "I need to tell them the news."
"They went down by the pool." Mrs. Knight said.
Mr. Garcia frowned. "I just walked passed there and I didn't see them."
"What? They told me that's where they were going!" Mrs. Knight said with raising panic in her voice.
"Well, did they maybe come back inside without you noticing?" Mr. Garcia asked.
Mrs. Knight turned and walked further into the apartment, Mr. Garcia following and closing the door behind him. "Boys!" Mrs. Knight called. "Kendall, Carlos, James! Where are you? If this is some sort of joke it's not funny! Come out here right now!" No response. Mrs. Knight looked to Mr. Garcia with worried eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know where they could have gone."
Mr. Garcia frowned in concentration as he tried to think of where they might be. Then a thought hit him that made his stomach turn. "I think I might know where they are."
"Ow Carlos! You're stepping on my foot!" James whispered.
"Sorry." Carlos whispered back.
"Shhhh!" Kendall hushed behind him, then turned back. The boys were at the side of the house, sneaking through single file. Kendall in front, then Carlos, and James in the back. They were hunched over so that they couldn't be seen through the windows, and were walking slowly so as to make as little noise as possible.
Finally Kendall rounded the house, only to bump into a chest. He slowly looked up, and his eyes widened.
"Hello boys." Phil said dangerously calm. "How nice of you to visit. Though you really should have called first. We were in the middle of something."
The boys stumbled back, and Phil grew a wicked smile, then chuckled.
"Where-" Kendall started, but his voice cracked so he stopped himself, cleared his throat, and tried again. "Where's Logan?" He asked more confidently.
"Like I said,". Phil started as he slowly advanced on the boys. "We were in the middle of something. But I guess you could join us too." He said and suddenly he was right in front of them.
None of the boys had a chance to even realize what was happening. Carlos didn't see the fist that knocked him to the ground and rendered him unconscious. James didn't register when his body was slammed into the wall of the house, making his body go limp as his mind fell into a sleep. Kendall didn't expect the crowbar that had hit him over the head, shrouding him in darkness.
"This is what happens when your friends interfer with my business!" Mr. Mitchell said and finally released Logan from the choke hold. "People get hurt." Mr. Mitchell said.
Logan fell to the ground on his hands and knees, coughing and gasping for air. He brought a hand to massage his sore throat.
"When will they learn? I don't like to be trifled with!" Mr. Mitchell yelled. "And I will not tolerate it!" He kicked Logan in the ribs, making him rolled onto his back, still gasping for air. "That police officer should've just left well enough alone. Now look at the mess he's caused."
Suddenly the door opened. "Uh, Greg?"
"What is it Phil?" Mr. Mitchell asked furiously. "I'm busy disciplining my son here!"
"I'm sorry,". Phil said, standing in the doorway. "We uh. . ." He fumbled.
"Out with it Phil!" Mr. Mitchell barked.
"We have a problem." Phil admitted reluctantly.
Mr. Mitchell slowly turned around menacingly to look at his brother. "What?" He seethed.
Logan watched from the ground as his father went over to his brother and Phil whispered in his ear, too quiet for Logan to hear it. But he didn't miss the way his father's shoulders tightened in fury, then relax as he thought. Then he turned around and walked over to Logan, leering over him, and he smiled as he knelt down to Logan's face.
"Well, I tried." Mr. Mitchell said apologetically. "But now there's nothing I can do. I'm afraid they brought this on themselves."
Logan's eyes widened. "No." He rasped out as he sat up slightly, leaning on his elbow, and started to cough some more. "P-please!" He stuttered.
Mr. Mitchell slapped him across the face. "Don't stutter." He said calmly.
"Please." Logan whispered. "Don't."
"I'm sorry Logan." Mr. Mitchell said nonchalantly. "There's nothing I can do." He repeated. "They're just gonna have to learn themselves that I'm not one to be bothered." He said simply and started to walk out of the room.
"Please!" Logan cried. "Don't hurt them! Please!" But his father ignored him and with one final smile, he closed the door tight.
Carlos moved his head up slowly, wincing at the stinging on his cheek, where he was positive a big purple bruise was forming. Finally he opened his eyes.
James' whole body ached. His back was sore, his neck and shoulders hurt everytime he moved them, and his head pounded hard. He slowly rolled his head up, wincing as he did so, and opened his eyes.
Kendall's head was pounding when he woke up. It felt like shards of glass were being stabbed into his temples over and over again. He groaned and slowly rose his head, before finally opening his eyes.
It was then, that Kendall noticed that his hands were bound by a rope and tied to metal loops that were attached to the wall behind him and above his head. He tried to pull at them in a feeble attempt to free himself but they didn't budge.
Kendall looked to the right of him. "Carlos?" He asked.
Carlos groaned. "What happened?" He said, then finally realized his hands were bound above his head, to the wall behind him. He started pulling furiously at them. "What's going on?" He asked as his panic rose.
"I don't know." Kendall answered helplessly.
"This was so not apart of the plan." James said, causing both of them to look to their left.
Kendall scoffed bitterly. "Ya think?"
"Ah, good. You boys are awake."
The boys all turned to see Mr. Mitchell standing in front of them. Then they finally took in their surroundings.
They were inside the house, obviously. But they didn't recognize the room from when they were looking in through the windows. There was a big old fireplace right behind Mr. Mitchell, and a hot fire burning. As they looked around, they noticed a staircase further to the right, indicating that they were in a basement.
Kendall glared at Mr. Mitchell. "Where's Logan?" He demanded.
Mr. Mitchell smiled lightly. "Don't you think you should be more worried about yourself?" He asked. "I mean, I do have you all tied to the wall after all."
"What's going on here?" James yelled.
Mr. Mitchell sighed. "You boys really should have just left us alone when you had the chance. You should have just listened to Logan when he told you that he didn't want anything to do with you anymore."
"What have you done?" Kendall demanded.
"And, what are you going to do?" Carlos asked sheepishly.
Mr. Mitchell chuckled darkly a little at Carlos' question, and the clear fear in his voice. "Well you see boy, you three have interrupted me during a very important time. It's a shame that you missed officer Garcia when he visited us a couple hours ago. Maybe you could have gotten away with him. But now I'm afraid, you've stumbled onto something you shouldn't have. You've seen too much, and I'm afraid I can't let you leave."
"What important time?" Kendall asked. "Too much of what? What are you up to?"
Mr. Mitchell laughed. "Don't worry, it's nothing devious or anything. I'm merely spending some time with my family. I haven't been able to do that for a very long time, and I've just been catching up. Really, it's no concern of yours."
"I highly doubt that." Kendall said, his eyes narrowing.
Mr. Mitchell's smile dropped. "You should really learn some manners boy." He said menacingly. "That's no way to talk to your elders."
"Or what?" Kendall challenged. He could vaguely hear James' quiet whispers of protest to his left, and he could vaguely see Carlos frantically shaking his head to his right, from the corner of his eye. But he didn't care. He had no fear for this man. He was furious with this man. This man had ruined everything they had, just a couple weeks ago. He took Logan away from them. Kendall had no fear for this man, only hate.
Mr. Mitchell leaned in close to Kendall's face. "Or I may have to teach you some." He said dangerously calmly.
"You won't get away with this!" Carlos said shakily. "People will be looking for us!"
"Yeah!" James said. "You can't win. They'll find you and take you back to jail!"
Mr. Mitchell leaned back and considered the boys' words. "Hmm. There may be a problem in your plan there." He leaned in close to the boys. "No one knows where you are." He said quietly with a smile.
The boys' eyes widened and they shared confused looks. "But,". Carlos started. "I thought-"
Mr. Mitchell laughed. "Oh, you think this is that house you were sneaking around before? That's where my brother and I live. This. . ." He gestured around the room. "This is where we work." He smiled. "But to be perfectly honest, I think we have way too much fun with it to really call it work." He said cheerfully with a childlike gleam in his eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Kendall demanded.
"This is a completely different house." Mr. Mitchell said. "Far away from that other one. No one knows where we are. No one will see or hear anything."
"They'll find us." James said confidently. "And they'll find you." He added threateningly.
"What makes you so sure?" Mr. Mitchell said, then walked over to a table behind him and emptied his pockets of their cell phones. "Do these still send a signal when they're turned off?" He asked mockingly and switched each one off. He turned back to the boys. "Now, what were you saying?"
The boys just stared at him with angry, and fearful eyes. That was their last hope. What were they gonna do now?