This is the last chapter for a while. I'm going on holiday with my family, so I won't be around for a few weeks.
"I'm still waiting for your explanation, Blaine."
Blaine looked at Burt, completely speechless. What the hell should he say?
"I... how did you get this?" he asked finally.
Burt slammed his fist on the desk, breaking the wood easily. Blaine gulped and stepped back quickly.
"It's not important" Burt said. "How do you know him?"
"Burt, it's really complicated..."
"I asked you a question!" Burt thundered.
Blaine closed his eyes, bowing his head in shame. It was time to tell Burt the truth but it was so hard to begin.
"We... we were dating. Back in New York" he said quietly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Burt asked and sat down behind his desk.
"Because I know it was a mistake. I was so stupid but I wanted to start over here. I just... I was afraid that you would kick me out for this" Blaine said.
"You were right" Burt nodded.
Blaine looked up with wide eyes but before he could say something, the door of the study swang open, revealing Carole and Finn.
"Honey, could you come back later? Blaine and I have..." Burt started but Carole ran to him.
"No, it's urgent. Finn, tell him" Carole said, grabbing Finn's hand.
"Rachel's just called me. She said they can't find Kurt anywhere" Finn said.
"What?" Burt asked. Kurt was supposed to have a sleepover with Rachel and Mercedes.
"They went to sleep together and when she woke up, she couldn't find him. He wasn't there" Finn said.
"No, Kurt would never do something like this. He's a good boy" Burt said, mostly to himself. "Have you called him?"
"His phone is turned off" Finn answered.
Nobody noticed Blaine staring at the carpet with wide eyes.
"I'll go out to search for him. Call Schuester, the Berrys, everybody you can get in touch with" Burt said and walked to the door.
"I'll come with you" Blaine offered and went after Burt but the man stopped him easily.
"No, you will stay here. You've caused me enough trouble already" Burt said and left quickly, leaving Blaine with the stunned Carole and Finn.
~ o ~
Sebastian sighed happily as he heard another muffled cry from the trunk. The kid wouldn't stop trying to escape, he heard him screaming and kicking, although it was useless. Locked up in a small place like that with nothing to use to free himself, it was impossible for him to get out until Sebastian wanted to let him.
He heard Kurt's scream again and turned off the radio to listen to that voice. He loved hearing the desperation and fear that became stronger with every passed minute. He knew the boy was scared and it made him smile again. Sure, Sebastian had committed crime several times but he had never kidnapped anybody. He knew it was harder than robbing a bank, he had to make sure the boy couldn't escape and he needed a place to keep him away from help, but the thought made him feel excited. If he could have seen Blaine's face when he found out about it...
Sebastian stopped the car in front of the house he had picked out and got out to open the door to the garage. He had found that house just after he had arrived in Lima. It was perfect for hiding. It was large, empty, and far from the town with no neighbours. Nobody could find them there.
After closing the garage's door behind them, he went back to the trunk. The boy was silent, he wasn't screaming anymore. He could probably hear that he had gotten out of the car and Sebastian imagined him shaking with fear. He laughed and grabbed his key to open the trunk.
He almost laughed again when he saw Kurt lying in the back of the trunk, his eyes wide, looking scared. He was right, the boy was shaking, although he tried to not show how frightened he was.
"Get out" Sebastian said.
The boy gasped and moved back, trying to be as far from him as possible. Sebastian sighed and shook his head. He should have known the kid wouldn't make his job easy. He reached out with a sudden movement, gripping Kurt's wrist, tugging him towards him.
"No!" Kurt shrieked and tried to break free from Sebastian's grasp but he was held tightly.
Even with the fight Kurt put up against him, Sebastian dragged him out of the trunk fast and threw the boy over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" Kurt shouted, pounding the man's back with his fists.
"Shut up!" Sebastian hissed and put his arm around Kurt's legs, holding painfully tight.
He could hear the boy breathing heavily as he tried to free himself. Sebastian's grip didn't loosen around his legs. He had seen the first time how skinny the boy was, he didn't have muscles at all, and his little effort to get free only made Sebastian smile.
He opened the door and stepped into the living room. He walked through it and went into the small room beside the one he used as his bedroom. He grabbed two zip ties from the desk and dropped Kurt onto the chair in the middle of the room. The boy tried to jump up immediately but he caught his wrists easily, twisting them behind his back.
"Stay still" he ordered.
Kurt started trashing and tried to pull his hands away but Sebastian held them securely. It didn't take him long to place the zip tie around Kurt's wrists. The boy didn't stop struggling as he stepped back for a moment, watching him with a smile as Kurt hissed in pain. Sebastian knew it was painful as the zip tie cut into his skin.
"You should stop it" he said as he grabbed Kurt's ankles to put the other zip tie around them.
"Why are you doing this?" Kurt asked, still not accepting the fact that he couldn't escape.
Sebastian didn't answer. He reached out for the scarf around Kurt's neck and yanked it away quickly.
"Wha-"
Kurt was silenced in a blink as the man shoved the scarf between his lips and secured it with a tight knot behind Kurt's head. He stepped back and looked down at his captive, listening to the muffled sounds he made with a sadistic smile on his face.
"Perfect" Sebastian said and turned around, stepped out of the room and locked the door behind him.
~ o ~
"Did you find something?" Burt asked in concern.
"No" Mr Schue shook his head. "But we will find him, Burt."
He reached out and squeezed the man's shoulder.
"What the hell was he thinking?" Burt sighed, rubbing his forehead. "He's a good boy, he wouldn't disappear like that."
"Maybe something bad happened to him" Ms Pillsbury said quietly.
The two men looked up at her and the small woman's face reddened instantly.
"Sorry" she muttered.
"What about the camera system?" Burt asked, turning away.
"Hiram's working on it" Mr Schue said.
"Call him. I want to know if he could find something" Burt said.
Mr Schue nodded and walked out of the room.
"Can-can I ask you a question?" Ms Pillsbury asked uncertainly.
Burt nodded but didn't turn to face her.
"Was there... everything fine at home? With Kurt, I mean" Ms Pillsbury asked and stepped back as Burt turned around.
"What do you mean?" he asked angrily.
"I just... I-I saw him reading the pamphlets in front of my office. And he took one of them. It... it was about suicide" Ms Pillsbury said.
"What?" Burt asked angrily. "Why didn't you call me?"
"I didn't know if it was a family problem..."
"What do you mean? You think I hit my son? He's my only child, I would never hurt him!" Burt shouted.
Ms Pillsbury stepped back, hugging her arms. Burt Hummel was really scary in that state.
"I-I'm sorry" she said.
"What's going on here?" Mr Schue asked as he walked back into the room.
"Did you know Kurt had suicide thought?" Burt asked furiously.
"Well, Ms Pillsbury told me that..."
Mr Schue fell silent immediately as Burt hit the wall beside him, breaking a few bricks.
"You should have told me!" Burt said.
"Burt, please, calm down..." Mr Schue said gingerly.
"Listen to me, William" Burt growled quietly. "Once my boy is back safely, my first thing will be visiting the principal and telling her how imcompetent you two are. It's a serious thing and you had no right to keep it from me. Kurt could be dead because of you!"
Mr Schue knew there was no chance to make Burt calm down until Kurt was back.
"Hiram's found something" he said hastily. "He said that you should go there immediately."
Burt shot a last angry look towards him and stormed out of the room, leaving Mr Schuester alone with Ms Pillsbury, who was shaking like a leaf.
~ o ~
Kurt groaned as the zip tie cut into his skin. Sitting on the hardwood chair with his boud hands and legs was really uncomfortable. Every time he tried to move, he groaned in pain. He knew he should try to relax but it wasn't so easy. After the man had left him alone, he had tried to find a sharp object to free himself from his bounds. Unfortunately, the man had made sure to not leave anything useful in the room. So he had given up his struggling.
As he was waiting for something to happen, he tried to remember what his dad had told him about situations like that. Being the son of two superheroes, especially when one of them was the famous Silver Bear, meant that he was targeted way too often by his father's enemies. He remembered that he had been kidnapped and held in dirty rooms several times, waiting for his dad to save him. He had been only five years old when one of his father's enemies had taken him from the mall while he had been waiting for his mother to come back from the bathroom. It had been the first time he had found himself locked up in a small room like this, with his hands tied to the leg of the bed. He had been crying so hard that his kidnapper had threatened him with a beating.
After his father had freed him, they had had a long talk. Burt had admitted that it could happen again, although he had promised Kurt that he would do everything to not let anybody take him again. And he had told Kurt what to do. Kurt recalled Burt's words, telling him that he should never show fear but he shouldn't anger his captor. Kurt smiled for a second as he remembered his father hugging him and telling him that no matter what, he would come to save him. He just had to wait.
Right, wait... But it wasn't so easy. His hands were cold from loosing circulation and his lips were dry from thirst. He was tired and afraid of what would happen. Not to mention that he couldn't warn his father or Blaine that something bad was coming.
He sighed and looked back over his shoulder as he pulled against his bonds again.
In the next second, the door swang open and Kurt jumped as he watched his captor enter the room. He wore that evil smile on his face again, the one that made Kurt shiver every time he saw it.
"Oh, I thought you would produce some tears for me" the man said and laughed as Kurt glared at him. "Come on, honey, look scared at last. I have to send Blaine a photo, so he knows you're fine."
Kurt frowned. He thought he was here because of his father. What did Blaine have to do with all of this? He didn't understand.
"He didn't tell you, right?" the man asked. "I thought so. He thinks that he's an awesome superhero but actually, he's nothing but an incompetent loser."
Kurt tried to form a question but because of the gag in his mouth, it was impossible.
"I'm Sebastian, by the way" the man said.
Kurt closed his eyes. He didn't care who this man was, he didn't care what he wanted. He just wanted to go home.
He heard a clicking noise and looked up with wide eyes. The man – Sebastian – had his phone in his hand and he was taking photos of Kurt.
"I think this one will make it" Sebastian said and put his phone away. He flopped down beside Kurt, grabbing the boy's chin and forcing him to turn towards him. "There's so much we have to discuss. Where should we start?"
Kurt tried to turn away but Sebastian held him securely.
"Oh, come on, we're going to spend a few days together. You should get used to my company" Sebastian said and shook his head. "I still don't understand why he's so into you. You're just a whiny little boy with too feminine features and irritating voice. God, you don't even wear boy clothes most of the times."
Kurt looked at him angrily and tried to pull away again, groaning as the zip tie cut into his wrists again.
"You really don't like me, right?" Sebastian sighed. "Well, the feeling is mutual."
He finally let go of Kurt's jaw, so he could turn away from his captor. The boy hoped the man would finally leave him alone. Sitting in silence was much better.
~ o ~
Burt was standing behind Hiram Berry, watching him working on the computer impatietly. They had been there for minutes and Burt wanted to see what the other man had found.
"...So I followed him on the cameras and after leaving our house at 2.31..."
"Can you show me the relevant recordings?" Burt cut in. He really didn't have time for this.
"Right, sorry" Hiram said hastily and clicked on the other file. "See."
Burt leaned closer to the monitor, watching the two figures. One of them was Kurt, he was sure. He would have recognized his son from everywhere. He didn't see the other man's face, though. He could feel his heart beating faster as he watched his son run and the man approach him fast...
Hiram looked at him in concern as Burt watched the man grab Kurt and drag him to the car too quickly. He couldn't watch it anymore. He knew what had happened after that and he couldn't watch it. He felt pain in his chest, a pain that was a thousand times worse than his heart attack. His son had been kidnapped and he hadn't been there to save him.
"Can you... can you have a picture of that man? Where we can see his face. I have to know who he is" he said quietly.
"Of course" Hiram nodded and stopped the recording just after the moment Kurt had been pushed into the trunk. The man looked up right into the camera, so they could have a good picture of him.
He printed the picture and handed it to Burt. The man looked at it and his desperation turned into anger in a blink. He knew who it was. He had seen his face on the photos Adam had sent him.
He growled and kicked the chair behind him before turning to leave.
"Where are you going?" Hiram asked in confusion.
"Keep working on the other recordings. I have to know where they went" Burt said and tore the door open. "I have to kill someone" he muttered.
~ o ~
Blaine sighed as he put his phone away. He had tried to call Kurt several times but the boy hadn't asnwered. After Burt had been gone, he had tried to follow him but Carole had stopped him, telling him to stay and let Burt work. Burt had needed time to calm down and seeing Blaine wouldn't help. So he had stayed.
It was hard to sit and wait for news about Kurt. He was worried that something bad had happened to him and it made him want to help even more.
"Stay out of this, Carole!"
Blaine jumped as he heard Burt's angry voice coming from downstairs. So they had found something. Blaine gulped and rushed to the door, he needed to know what had happened.
As he stepped into the living room, he saw a furious Burt, towering over Carole and Finn, who tried to hold him back. When Burt saw him, he needed all of his willpower to not shove the others out of the way to get to Blaine.
"How could you do that?" Burt growled.
Blaine's eyes widened when he realised Burt was angry because of him. Again. But he didn't understand why.
"Burt, honey, calm down. Please" Carole pleaded.
"I won't calm down!" Burt shouted and turned back to Blaine. "It's all your fault!"
"Burt, I don't know what you're talking about" Blaine said, stepping closer carefully.
"Your lover kidnapped my son! Where is he?" Burt demanded to know.
Blaione frowned. He still didn't understand... Oh.
"Sebastian kidnapped Kurt?" he asked quietly.
"Don't look so surprised. I know everything" Burt growled. "I let you live with us. I trusted you. Hell, we all trusted you. It was part of your little plan, huh? You know I'm weak and you use it against me."
Burt shook his head slowly.
"I thought you wanted to help us, I thought letting you hang out with Kurt would be good for him" he said quietly and took a deep breath. "He's innocent! He's never hurt anyone! You had no right to do this to him!"
The room feel silent. Blaine didn't know what to say, although he knew what Burt said wasn't true. Carole looked at him with wide eyes and Finn... Finn seemed to be just as angry as Burt.
"Is it true?" Carole asked quietly.
"It is" Burt replied.
"No, it's not!" Blaine shouted, finally finding his voice. "I'm not working with Sebastian. And-and I would never hurt Kurt." I love him.
"I got the reports from Adam" Burt said. "You were living together in New York. You knew who he was and you let him go."
"I know" Blaine sighed, looking down. "You're right, I... I made a mistake. I should have noticed that something wasn't right with him. And I should have sent him to jail, not let him go. But I'm not working with him. I didn't know he wanted to hurt Kurt, or else I would have told you."
"I don't believe you" Burt said and the others nodded in agreement.
"Please, Burt. Let me help you" Blaine pleaded and blinked rapidly to not let the tears escape his eyes.
Suddenly, Blaine's phone beeped and he took it out carefully while still looking at Burt. The man nodded and he opened the text to read it. And his heart skipped a beat. It was a photo of Kurt, sitting on a chair, tied up and gagged.
Burt stepped to Blaine and grabbed the phone. He looked down at the photo with a mixture of worry and anger in his eyes. And then he read the short text beneath the photo: Look who we have here.
As Blaine's eyes met Burt's, he knew what the older man was thinking. Burt still believed that Blaine was working with Sebastian and he thought that Sebastian had sent the text to let Blaine know everything went according to plan.
"Burt, I know what you're thinkint but..."
Burt's hands started shaking and he dropped the phone, grabbing Blaine's shoulder instead, and he pushed the younger man to the wall. In that second, Blaine understood why every single villain got scared from just the name of Silver Bear. As the large man was towering over him, his whole appearance showing how dangerous he really was, keeping him steadily with one hand, Blaine got so frightened that he forgot how to use his power. They stared into each others eyes for God knows how long, none of them noticing Carole and Finn shouting in the background.
Blaine gulped but didn't dare to break eye contact with Burt. He knew the man was considering what to do with him and he had to wait for his decision. Finally, Burt leaned closer, right to his ear, and Blaine closed his eyes in fear.
"If I find a scratch on Kurt, if your partner dare touch a hair on my boy's head, I will make sure you never leave jail in your life."
Blaine opened his eyes just in time to see Burt's fist before it made contact with his face, knocking him out cold.