Disclaimer- I still don't own Castle, Andrew Marlowe does, and I don't want him to sue me for playing in his sandbox.
Jack arrived with a car lent out to us from the military; non-descript, european, navy-blue sedan. I took the backseat and laid out while Ben took the front. We stopped for breakfast on the road, but didn't stay long. We arrived in Vienna by mid-afternoon. We got some dinner and a hotel, where I unwrapped my hand, and examined it. It was looking pretty ugly at this point; it was turning purple as I iced it down. There was no way I'd write with this hand until it healed. I took a shower, wishing there were clean clothes to change back into, but for now, I'd settle for what I had. When I came out, I saw that a fresh pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie had been laid out for me and a toothbrush. I dressed and brushed my teeth, which was hard to with with only one hand. As I spat into the sink, Ben opened the door to the room.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, kissing me quickly.
"Better. Any news?"
"Not really. Their home base here in Vienna hasn't been active," he admitted. "Jack and I staked it out. How's your hand?"
I held it up. "It's hard to get dressed with only your non-dominant hand," I admitted.
"Let me wrap that for you." He got out a fresh bandage and we rewrapped it so it was supported.
"Ben, did you really mean what you said on the bomber?"
"Yes," he said, kissing my hand. "Of course. Now listen. As far as we know, nobody's come in or out of there all afternoon and there are no cameras. There's a chance they transported her there."
I nodded, feeling that grinding sensation in my stomach again.
"I know your expressions by now, Allie," he said, pinning the bandage. He kissed me on the lips. "We're going to go find her." He picked up a gun and tucked it into the waistband of his pants and headed towards the door.
"Wait, where are you going?" I asked.
"I'm going back to the warehouse. You're staying here."
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are! There's a chance there's armed men out there and you don't know what to do."
"Yes, I do!" I cried.
"These aren't your father's books, Alexis," he warned. "He doesn't know as much as he thinks he does. He almost got himself killed twice when you were kidnapped."
I crossed my arms.
"Come here," he said, softly and apologetically, opening his arms. "I'm sorry."
"Alright, so you're letting me go with you?" I wrapped my arms around him. "I love you, Ben."
There was a click and I felt something heavy on my injured hand's wrist. I looked down to see that he had handcuffed me to the bedside table. "Ben!" I cried.
"Not to be kinky, but you are not going."
"You're going to leave me here, handcuffed? You know I know how to pick locks, don't you?"
He grinned. "I seriously doubt you can pick it before I'm long gone. But get on it, we may have to run. Don't use the phone, we'll text you. Bye, Allie."
He tossed down the phone and walked out the door.
"Damnit," I muttered to myself. I dismantled the cheap ink pen on the nightstand and began picking the handcuff lock. It took me a few minutes, and I knew I'd never catch up or find Ben or Jack, now. I sat down on the bed and played with the phone.
I was certain that Dad had to have lost his mind by now, with me missing along with Lily. I played with the phone, wishing I could text Dad, and turned on the television only to see Austrian television. A moment later, there was a text from Ben.
No outcome. We're on our way back for you.
"Shit," I muttered.
A half hour later, the door opened and Jack and Ben came into the room; Jack was holding a tablet.
"No luck," Jack said. "We got in and it was empty. Except for this. You might want to see it."
I pressed the start button and there was a video file on the desktop. I tapped on it and a file came up.
I saw Lily, sitting sleepy-eyed front of a sheet. I gasped "Lily, hold this," a lady with a Russian accent sang softly. Lily pouted and pushed it away, rubbing the sleep out of her eye.
"She's been drugged," Jack said.
"No!" I cried.
"It's a good thing, she won't remember the kidnapping."
By now, Lily was holding a German newspaper: I could see it was today's. My heart stopped in my throat. "Tell Mommy you're safe?"
"Mmm," Lily said, groaning and nodding.
"She's not safe until she's back in my arms!" I cried, indignantly.
The screen went blank and for a moment, I thought the video was over; then I saw words across the screen.
Tell the operatives to meet at this address in Moscow in thirty-two hours:
The address flashed across the screen in cyrillic. "Ben!" I cried.
"I know what it says." He grabbed my hand. "I'll remember."
Lillian will be safe unless you do not meet us there.
All three of you are expected.
Or no deal.
"We have to leave for Moscow now! Can we drive?" I asked.
"We'll hop a train," Jack said. "Come on."
We checked out and went to the train station. We found a train that went east, and we'd have to change at several locations. I sat in the train compartment with that nervous, nauseated drilling sensation in my stomach. I felt like vomiting several times that night. All I could think of was if they were hurting my Lily.
At one point, I saw her sitting in the compartment next to me, her little Hello Kitty backpack still on. I shrieked, and jumped. It shook everyone in the compartment awake; she wasn't there.
"I think you nodded off," Jack said.
"I think I did."
"Do you need something? Coffee?"
I shook my head.
"It's best that you get some sleep," Ben said. "You haven't been trained in sleep-deprivation techniques. It could cost you your life if you got sloppy."
"How many days have you stayed awake?" I asked.
"My personal record is four. It took a lot of discipline. I'm nodding off here and there right now. I'm not in the same shape I was while working intel."
"I'm surprised I've lived this long," Jack said. "You two rest for now."
I tried to fall back asleep thinking about Lily. I found that when I focused on something, I rarely dreamt about it. I finally drifted off to sleep.
I woke up around dawn when the train stopped in some city, I hadn't kept track. Jack had bought some food for us right away, some breakfast of a brochen with butter. I really hadn't realized how hungry I was getting. My own hunger kept on getting overshadowed by my worry about Lily. The sun rose outside my window, and all I could see was how beautiful it was. At the same time, I could think of was if they were feeding Lily, if she was eating healthy or was she too drowsy from being drugged? What kind of drugs were they using on her? Were they feeding her sodas, which I wouldn't let her have? Were they molesting her, God forbid? All I could do was worry that I'd never get her back and made me sick.
"She'll be okay," Ben whispered in my ear, as if reading my mind. Lily's well-being had to be obvious on my face. He held me close in the compartment, and I leaned into him. I didn't want to put so much trust and responsibility into his hands, but I had to at this moment.
In Moscow, I had never seen such quiet and drabness. It felt like a heavy cloud hung over the city once we exited the train station. I was afraid of becoming completely illiterate here, but luckily, there was some English on the signs. We checked into a hotel to have a private place to plan.
"Alexis, I don't want you going," Ben said.
"I'm going," I said.
"There's no way," Jack said. "They asked for all three of us. They want a trade."
"I thought you said they wanted to take somebody down. I don't know anybody who cares about Lily or me that could take them…" I realized what I was saying. "Ben?"
"I told you, if you and Lily get home safely and I never get back, my mission's completed." His expression was stoic.
"You're not going to do that," Jack said. "We'll arrange an equal trade."
"What?" I asked.
Jack shook his head. "We can't tell you. It's safer for you not to know. But we'll get her back. I've already alerted my contact at the Embassy; Peter Halcomb and his people will come for you, and we should have Lily delivered to the Embassy by then. He'll get you home."
"What happens to you?" I asked Ben.
He shrugged. "Mission accomplished. But I'll try to escape with you if I can."
I nodded.
"I'm not promising you anything, though."
A stark realization for us.
"Alexis, I want you to wear your bullet-proof vest until someone arrives for you," Jack said.
"How do I know who to go with?" I asked.
"You'll know," he said.
We put on our bullet-proof vests on and Ben strapped it on me so tight I could hardly move.
"I just want you to know that as long as you're alright, I'm alright," he whispered.
"What if you die?"
"Then I die a happy man." He slipped a plaid flannel work shirt over my shoulders. "Just make sure Lily knows how much I love her. Do you understand how much I love you?"
I nodded, fighting back tears. I felt selfish and unworthy of his love at this moment. If I had the promise of a future with him, I'd spend the rest of my life making him happy. I had been a fool to believe that all men were just like Pi, except Dad. They weren't; Ben had only his heart and no other proof to offer his love, but I hadn't taken his word. How foolish of me.