Chapter 10

Alejandro sighed in annoyance as he steered the plane. Of every piece of junk Chris could have brought, this would definitely be the worse. They were travelling for five hours now, while a normal plane would have just taken about two. At this rate, they would never reach their destination.

"Alejandro…"

The tanned boy turned his head to the side a little. He could have sworn he had heard Cody calling.

"Alejandro…" this time Cody's voice came along with some taps on a door.

He clicked a button. "Autopilot Activated." The mechanical voice echoed in the cockpit once again, and the Mexican teen stood up and left the cockpit, unaware of the two figures watching from a grid on the wall.

Patrícia reacted as soon as she saw Alejandro leave, searching through the numbers, trying to find the number that would allow her to warn her older sister.


"Al? Are you there?" Cody continued to call and knock on the door. He felt himself tense up when he heard the door unlocking. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

Patrícia's plan was simple: Cody would keep Alejandro distracted, while the twins went over to the cockpit and make the call. He had asked why the cockpit, and the little girl gave him two reasons. One, while Alejandro was distracted with Cody, that's the place where he would less likely go, and two, he could have something in there that maybe could turn out useful for Ana. So Cody agreed.

And now he was determined not to fail, because if he did, the children would be the ones to pay the consequences.

The door opened, and in came Alejandro, his green eyes immediately looking at Cody.

"I heard you calling. Do you need something, Cody?"

The geek's gaze immediately placed itself on the ground. He was incapable of staring into the other's teen's eyes. They made him feel sick.

"Al… I'm really really hungry… Can I go eat something?" he asked. It was no lie, he was starving. He hadn't eating since he had been taken away.

"I'll get you something." The kidnapper said, already preparing to leave. Cody's eyes widened. That wasn't part of the plan. If Alejandro delivered him the food, he would go back into the cockpit. The children needed more time than that.

"No!" the geek threw himself at the door, holding it. Alejandro looked at him in surprise. "Al, I beg you… Just let me go to the kitchen… I can't stand another minute locked in this room. Please… Even if you stay and keep an eye on me, I don't care, just let me out for a few minutes… Please…"

The Mexican boy stared at the smaller one, apparently thinking about his suggestion. Eventually, he let out a sigh. "I guess you need to get out of that room for a moment. Come, then. But try anything, and next time you won't be let out."

The small geek nodded, stepping out of Chris's room. Alejandro held him by the upper arm gently yet firmly, and led him to the kitchen. 'Great.' Cody thought to himself. 'Now all I have to do is keep him busy.'


The sun's light was barely noticeable due to the menacing clouds floating thousands of feet above the city.

Dark brown eyes scanned the peaceful street their apartment was located. Two little twin girls laughed and played, their grandmother watching over them, while two older boys played soccer not far away from them.

Noah watched everything from his window. He wished he could be as happy as those kids were. No worries, no responsibilities,… no taken away boyfriends…

He sighed in frustration. An hour ago, he had tried to call Cody numerous times, yet he received no answer. It worried him. It scared him not to receive an answer. It could have many meanings. It could mean Cody was hurt. It could mean Cody was dead. Or it could mean Cody was too busy being raped to even pick the phone. The know-it-all shivered at that thought. It was the last thing he wanted to happen to the pale geek. It would tear the delicate boy apart. And Noah would never admit it, but he'd rather see Cody dead than enduring such a thing.

He sighed. He wanted Cody back so badly. He couldn't stop thinking about him.

A warm hand found its way onto his shoulder, and he turned around to see none other than Tyler.

"Hey." The jock greeted. "You okay?" he asked. The tanned nerd shook his head, fully turning to the taller boy.

"How can I feel okay when all that has happened is my fault? If I had been more careful… Cody would still be here… safe…" he stopped talking when sobs threatened to come out again.

Tyler stared at the other sadly. The two had grown closer ever since the incident happened, maybe because Tyler had seen everything, witnessed it all with his own eyes. And he, just like Noah, felt responsible for what had happened. He felt that he himself would've been able to stop it.

"Hey, Tyler?" he heard Noah call, and looked at him straight in the eyes, wondering what the smaller boy was about to say. "How did it all happen? While I slept?"

For a moment the taller brunette was taken aback by such a question, but he soon understood why Noah has asked it. He wanted to know how Cody felt when it happened.

"I heard some noise in the middle of the night and woke up. I saw Al fully dressed, already at the door with two bags. I was curious and asked him where he was going. And that's when things got ugly. He opened one of the bags, took out a gun and pointed it at me."

Noah listened carefully, the images running through his mind as Tyler told him everything.

"I was terrified. I had no idea what he was gonna do. Every movement got slower, and I just couldn't take my eyes off the gun he was holding. He grabbed my clothes and tied me up, and told me he didn't want anything with me, but with Cody." The jock -continued, tears already forming in his eyes as he remembered everything of that dreadful night. "He said that if I tried anything to stop him, he'd hurt Cody… and then he left the room. I-I managed to get out of bed and go over to the door… I waited till the coast was clear, and… what I saw was just…" The brunette boy swallowed hard.

"What… did you see?…" Noah asked, already feeling the tears form in his eyes as well. To know everything had happened mere feet away from him just made him feel strange. As if his life had been on the line.

"I saw Alejandro pushing Cody out. He was pointing the gun at him… Cody was crying… And then he looked at you."

"Cody?"

Tyler nodded. "It was as if… as if he was saying 'goodbye'…" the jock sat on the bed. "You know what happened after that. I just… I just wish I had been faster…"

Tears were already running down Noah's cheeks. He could see himself sleeping peacefully on the couch, while his boyfriend feared for his life. How could he? How could he not wake up at that moment? How could he have fallen for that trap, leaving Cody unprotected?

The know-it-all clenched his fists. He was mad at himself. He had failed Cody. He was the reason why Cody was somewhere away, alone and scared, and perhaps even hurt.

"When he looked at you, it was heartbreaking. It was as if he was afraid you'd wake up…" The jock said sadly.

Noah bit his lip, thinking about it for a moment, and then realization hit him. 'I think I know why…' he thought to himself. To him it was obvious. Cody had the chance to save himself. All he had to do was scream Noah's name, and Alejandro would be busted. But it also meant that Noah could end up paying with his life. It was obvious to Noah why Cody didn't alert him.

He was protecting him.

And he didn't return the favor.


Lunch was served. A long table was set in the dining room, with tons of food on it.

Despite the latest disturbing events, Owen couldn't help but drool at the enormous quantity of food.

"Knock yourselves out." Ana said in a bored tone as she and her sister laid wine, water and sodas on the table.

The fat boy didn't need to be told twice. He took a seat in the middle of the table and dug in happily. He had never thought this would ever be possible. He was eating gabbages, and he was liking it. There were no fried things on the table, and he was liking it. All healthy yet tasty things. The perfect place for a guy trying to lose weight.

"Mmm… hey, Miss Ana?" he gathered the courage to call the girl, trying to sound as respectful towards her as possible.

The killer looked at him. " 'Miss' is an ugly word, big boy. The name is 'Ana', period." she said, approaching him. "What do you want?"

"Hum… I was wondering… is all Portuguese food this healthy and tasty?" he asked.

"No. Some are tastier, some are not, and the same goes for health. Some food we have here is junk in a bowl, while some is actually good for the body. All in all, we're not very different from any other country."

"Still. I've never had this much fun being healthy." The big guy said, serving himself some of what Portuguese people liked to call 'caldeirada'.


When Noah and Tyler arrived, everyone was already sitting and eating, safe for Ana and her crew.

Bridgette was the first one noticing their arrival, immediately signaling Noah to sit next to her. The tanned nerd did so, while Tyler went over to sit next to Lindsay.

"Hi Cody." She greeted.

"I'm Tyler, Lindsay. Cody was taken away, remember?" he replied.

The blonde girl stared at him. "Okay, I'm confused. How can you be away if you're here?" she asked.

The jock let out a sigh. "Oh forget it…" he said, laying his head on the table.

Meanwhile, LeShawna focused on the nerd next to her. It was clear he was devastated.

"Come on, turkey, eat something." she advised.

But Noah just shook his head. "I'm not that hungry."

The other members of the cast exchanged glances. They had never seen their smartest member this… sad.

"Come on, Noah, you gotta eat something." Bridgette said gently. "You need your strength."

The nerd sighed in annoyance. He knew that if he didn't start eat, the other's wouldn't leave him alone.

He served himself of some of the 'caldeirada'. It was like a soup, mixed with various kinds of fish and some clams. Noah had the impression he would throw up as soon as he got the first bite, but surprisingly, he didn't. It was, in fact, quite good. It's just like they say, don't judge a book by its cover.

"Whaddya think, buddy? Pretty good, huh?" Owen asked with his mouth full, which made Heather shiver with disgust.

"Whatever…" Noah said sadly before his cell phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the name. His eyes widened and he dropped his fork.

"Who is it?" Courtney asked, wondering why a phone call would shock Noah that much.

The tanned nerd slowly raised his eyes towards her before replying lowly. "Cody…"

Everyone stopped eating in an instant staring at him. Noah was too shocked to do anything, staring at his boyfriend's name on the screen.

"Well what are ya waiting for, turkey? Answer it!" LeShawna's voice brought him back to reality. The nerd shook his head for a moment, then answered it.

"Cody?…" he asked as soon as the phone reached his ear. For a moment he stood there, an anxious expression on his face, and then his eyes closed in what seemed disappointment, before he talked again. "Where's Cody? Is he okay?" He waited as the one on the other end talked to him. He sighed with relief, though still anxious. The person on the other end kept talking, and then Noah looked at Ana, offering her his cell.

"It's your sister."


Patrícia waited for Noah to hand the phone over to her older sister.

"Carreira." She heard the killer's harsh voice through the phone.

"Mana, sou eu."(1) The little girl said.

"Vocês estão bem?"(2) Ana asked.

"Sim, eu e o Marco estamos bem. O gajo mexicano não sabe que estamos no avião."(3)

"Óptimo. Mantenham-se escondidos, não deixem que ele saiba que estão aí. E o Cody?"(4)

"O Cody está bem. Por enquanto."(5) Patrícia replied before feeling her brother taking the phone from her.

"Ana, estamos na conduta de ventilação sobre o cockpit. O tipo tem um mapa ali, e parece que o tem usado para fazer desenhos."(6) the boy said.

There was a moment of silence before their older sister talked more to herself than to them. "He must have drawn his route on that map." She said lowly. "Conseguem chegar a ele?"(7)

"Será arriscado."

"Se há a mínima hipótese de ele vos apanhar, não arrisquem, ouviram?"(8)

Marco exchanged glances with his sister. If the drawings on the map really were the route they were taking, then it would be of great advantage for Ana to get to them. But if they got caught, their fate surely wouldn't be pretty. He stared straight into his sister's eyes. She was thinking exactly what he was. They had to get their hands on the map. He sighed, preparing himself mentally for what they were about to do.

"Nós vamos buscá-lo." (10)


Cody sat at the table, very still, as he watched Alejandro rummage through the fridge, trying to find something for them to eat. The kidnapper had locked the kitchen's door, keeping Cody from even thinking of running away while his back was turned.

Alejandro grabbed a few steaks and started cooking them. It didn't take long for them to be ready, and the tall teen handed Cody a plate with one on it before going to grab a bag of chips and handing them to him.

The small geek started eating immediately. Even though he was afraid of the tanned teen, he had to admit, he was starving.

Alejandro smiled as he watched the smaller boy eat. He was glad that Cody was finally feeling enough at ease to eat with him. He sat across from the smaller teen.

"How's the food, Cody?"

"Hmmm gweat!" the smaller boy said with his mouth full.

The bigger male was about to say something, but stopped for a moment as a sound reached his ears. He couldn't quite make out what it was. It seemed like… voices. And they seemed to be coming from the wall behind him. He turned slightly in his chair and stared at said wall.

Noticing Alejandro's actions, Cody stopped eating for a moment as well, and when he too heard the voices, his eyes widened. 'The children!' he thought to himself. He couldn't let Alejandro hurt the children. He knew he had to do something. He picked up a big piece of stake and put in his mouth, then let out a yell.

"Oww‼!"

This made Alejandro turn back to him. "Cody, is something wrong?" he asked.

"Hot hot hot‼!" the boy said, using his hand to blow some wind to his tongue. The tanned boy stood up and fetched him a glass of water, which the boy took gratefully. "Th-thanks." Cody said, drinking the cool water in a hurry, not that he really was in one. It was all acting. The stake wasn't really that hot, but he needed an excuse to yell out loud enough to muffle the twins' voices.

Alejandro stared back at the wall after he sat down. Whatever sound he had heard before, it had stopped.

'Maybe it was just my imagination.' He thought, turning back to Cody.

The geek was already finishing his meal, and had a quite satisfied look on his face.

"Better?" the Mexican boy asked, receiving a nod from the smaller one.

"Yeah, it was-"

A loud sound was suddenly heard, once again from the wall they had stared at before. This time, Alejandro knew it wasn't his imagination. He looked at the wall, then at Cody, and that was when he noticed something in the boy's expression. His eyes were wide and staring not at the wall, but straight at him. The moment he stared into the teal colored eyes, he recognized what they held.

Fear.

Alejandro's eyes narrowed. There was obviously someone on the plane, and Cody was covering for them. The Mexican stood up and took a gun from the strap on his belt.

Noticing his actions, Cody reacted immediately, standing up and going over to stand in front of the taller teen, keeping him from approaching the door.

"A-Are you sure you need to be armed? Maybe it's a mouse or something."

Alejandro didn't answer. His angered gaze set itself on the boy. Cody flinched a little at this.

"Who's in there?" Alejandro asked.

"What?"

"Who are you covering for?"

Cody gulped. "I-I-I have no ide-" he was suddenly cut short when a hard slap was delivered to his face, making him lose his balance and fall to the side. He was so shocked he didn't even move.

"You think I'm stupid, Cody? I should have known better than to think you were just hungry!" Alejandro yelled as he opened the door. "I'll be back once I handle the intruders. In the meantime, savor your time out of that room, because from now on I won't be so forgiving!" he said before slamming the door and locking it.

Cody rubbed the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked at it to see blood staining the skin. But he ignored it. At the moment, that was the least of his concerns. He stood up quickly and ran towards the wall, knocking on it hard.

"Children, get out of there! RUN‼!" he called. When two childish screams came from the other side, he paled. "No…" he whispered to himself. He couldn't let Alejandro hurt the children. He had to do something.

He searched around the kitchen, opening drawers and closets, trying to find anything that would get him out. Surely the kitchen would have more resources that Chris's room.

And he'd better hurry finding one if he wanted the children to live.


Adriana reached the room with a world map, opening it on the table.

"Ok, Patrícia, diz o percurso." (11) Ana said over to the phone while Tahira grabbed a red marker, ready to draw the line that would help them in their quest.

The killer waited for a moment, then started listing the places they'd be as her little sister told her.

"Paris, Roma, Kiev, Astana, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Magadan."

The taller girl nodded as soon as she finished drawing on the map.

"É tudo?" (12)

"É tudo o que encontrámos, ele não tem cá mais nada." (13) The girl's voice responded.

"O que temos já é suficiente. Entretanto vejam se conseguem-" (14) Ana stopped as she heard voices screaming on the other end. "Patrícia?"

She stared at Noah's cell phone, only to see that their call had ended.

"Shit!" Ana let out, realizing what just happened. Alejandro had caught them.


Cody opened another drawer. It was filled with cooking materials: spoons, knives, the sorts. He picked a huge spoon that chef used to serve… whatever those things were made of.

"That will have to do." He said to himself before going over to the table and grabbing a chair, placing it right under a grid on the ventilation pipe. He stood on the chair and tried to open the grid with the spoon.

"Come on, come on…" he groaned anxiously. He was running out of time.


The gate to the cargo hold opened, giving way for a tall figure, along with two shorter ones.

"Let us go!" Marco yelled as Alejandro dragged him and his sister by their shirts.

"So you children thought you could just get in here and tell Ana everything, did you?" he said, going over to the gate that Chris would use to throw eliminated contestants out.

"You're not gonna get away with this! Ana will kick your butt!‼" Patrícia replied, struggling in the man's grasp.

"Not likely. She has no idea where I'm going, and you two won't live to tell her. Why should I be worried?"

The tanned teen clicked a button, and the gate opened, letting in air, cold from being so high. The children closed their eyes as the strong wind hit their faces.

"Have a nice flight. Alejandro said with a smirk, ready to push the 10-year-olds out of the plane. However, he was interrupted by a loud sound of something metallic hitting the floor. He turned around to see Cody jump out of the vent, landing on his feet and immediately facing him.

"Stop!"


Translation Key:

(1) "Sis, it's me."

(2) "Are you alright?"

(3) "Yes, Marco and I are okay. The Mexican guy doesn't know we're in the plane"

(4) "Good, keep yourselves hidden, don't let him catch you. And Cody?"

(5) "Cody's okay. For now."

(6) "Ana, we're in the ventilation pipe over the cockpit. The guy has a map in there, and it seem he's been using it to make drawings."

(7) "Can you reach it?"

(8) "It will be risky."

(9) "If there's the slightest chance you'd get caught, don't risk it, you hear?"

(10) "We'll go get it."

(11) "Ok, Patrícia, say the course."

(12) "Is that all?"

(13) "It's all we found, he's got nothing more here."

(14) "What we have is already enough. In the meantime, see if you can-"