Disclaimer: I don't own the TBs or the Tracys with the exception of Sam and the original characters developed because of her.

A/N: So, I fibbed a little bit in the last chapter. Sam and Alex were well behaved. I really have been friends with Lillehafrue for awhile cus I kind of like the whole cliffhanger updates. Just another warning, some language might be offensive to some readers.

Chapter 14

Hours had passed since Benny and Alex went to the park.

"Nicole has Alex called home yet?" Sam asked from her place on the couch. She and three of her children were bundled up in blankets on the couch watching cartoons. Their faces were still a bit flushed and they were all lethargic due to the flu.

"Sorry, Sam, but I keep getting his voice mail," she answered apologetically. Gazing down at her children, Sam wondered what was keeping her husband and tried to quell the sense of foreboding that was building.

"Will you keep trying?" asked Sam, worriedly. She knew that if she didn't hear from him soon, she'd contact whoever was on TB5 to locate him via his watch.

"Sure," Nicole answered. She went to the kitchen and kept trying Alex's cell phone.

In a nondescript building:

Groaning at the throbbing pain in his head, Alex cautiously opened his eyes. The bright lights of the room caused him to close them again instantly. Trying again, he opened his eyes and looked around the empty room. There was no sign of Benny and he struggled to stand up to no avail. Looking down, he saw that he had been securely tied to the chair that he was sitting in. His arms were bound to the armrests of the desk chair and a curious looking bracelet was on his right wrist. A slight cough made him look up at his captor.

"Did you have a good sleep?" he asked sarcastically. Alex glared up at him and struggled against his restraints. "Struggle all that you want but you're not going anywhere. That bracelet on your wrist is…well, how should I put this, an explosive device. Your family will have two hours to find you from the time I make contact with them." He paused and let Alex absorb what he'd said. Nervously, Alex looked down at the bracelet and paled.

"Of course, your wife can buy you some time if she grants me an exclusive interview," he continued. "If not, and she can't find you in time, she'll suffer the deaths of her husband and youngest child. I will continue to prey on her until she loses everything that she holds dear to her as compensation for ruining my life. I will haunt her every waking moment and one by one, she will bury her children and husband."

"You sick son-of-a-bitch," snapped Alex, angrily. "She didn't ruin your life. She has only talked to the media once and that was when she was twelve-years-old." He had no sooner finished his tirade when his antagonist punched him in the face with brass knuckles. Alex heard and felt his cheekbone break before he tasted blood. His head rocked back and then fell forward to his chest. Another blow to his ribs resulted in another broken bone or two. Gasping for breath, Alex willed himself to remain conscious.

"Wh-where…is…my son?" he stammered. His head was jerked back and he looked into the wild eyes of the man who had stalked his wife for the last nine years. He'd harassed her, abducted and tortured John, and almost killed Sam and Gordon on a rescue.

"He's in another room," he answered. "I had to make him go to sleep. His crying and whining was most annoying."

"What did you do to him?" Alex snapped. His captor didn't say anything but pulled Alex's cell phone from his pocket and hit the send button. The call was answered almost instantly.

"Alex? Sam is so worried about you," said Nicole. Mark glared down at Alex before speaking.

"Let me speak to Samantha," he snapped.

"Who is this?" Nicole asked. Sam had walked up behind her and put her hand on the nanny's shoulder.

"I said let me speak to Samantha," he ordered again. Nicole handed Sam the phone and stayed near her.

"Hello?" Sam said. "Alex, where are you and Benny?" Her face paled when she heard the voice of the man who had frightened her for too many years.

"I have your husband and son," he told her. "Your precious husband has an explosive bracelet on his wrist that once I hang up, you will have two hours to find him before it detonates and kills him and your baby. Grant me an interview and that will buy them another hour."

"How do I know that you are holding my husband and son?" she asked while pacing the floor in despair. She heard some mumbling and then Alex's voice came on the phone.

"Honey, I love you," he said. "Always." The phone was ripped away from him and she sobbed aloud.

"ALEX!" she cried. Her nemesis' voice sounded in her ear. Without thinking, she turned her watch to com and was connected with her family on Tracy Island.

"Are you willing to grant me an interview?" he demanded.

"Yes, I'll grant you an interview," she cried. "Please, don't hurt my son and husband. I'll do whatever you want just, please, don't do this." Her tears coursed down her face and her sobs intensified.

"Meet me at this location in thirty minutes," he ordered. He gave her the location and hung up. After severing the connection, he left the room and returned with Benny. The little boy ran to his daddy and struggled to climb on his lap.

"Daddy, me 'fraid," he muttered. Alex kissed the top of his son's head and wished that he could hold him.

"Can you untie the ropes?" he asked. "I want to be able to hold and comfort my son."

"Do you take me for an idiot?" Mark asked. "Enjoy the last hours of your life." He left the room and headed for his 'exclusive' interview.

At the Murphy residence:

Sam paced the floor and every once in awhile looked at her watch. After the fifth time, Jeff spoke up.

"Samantha, calm down," Jeff ordered. "Alan is tracking Alex's watch and the locator in Benny's baseball cap. John, Virgil, Gordon, Brains and Scott are on their way in TB2. Lady P has arranged an area for them to land nearby and they loaded a car inside TB2 to drive them to your location. Scott will be watching you while John, Gordon, and Virgil go after Alex and Benny. Brains will be standing by to deactivate the explosive if it comes to that." Sam wiped her eyes and slipped on her shoes.

"Nicole, keep an eye on my babies," she said before kissing her children. "I'll be back in a little while." She hurried out to her car and drove to the location she'd been given. Mark was waiting on her at a picnic table on the beach. Sam noticed Scott just a short distance away.

"Samantha Tracy," he said. "Finally, a chance to interview you. The only Tracy that has shunned the media and only daughter of Jefferson Tracy." Sam gazed back at him impassively.

"Start your damn interview," she hissed. "I'm not in the mood to be pleasant right now." She didn't notice him look back at a small building across the street from where they were sitting.

"How is it that in a family of overachievers, you have managed to avoid the spotlight?" he asked. "Surely you are talented in your own rights."

"I don't seek the spotlight," she said. "I don't see a need to flaunt my family's wealth or my talents to the world. I prefer to live a quiet and private life with my husband and children. I've done a lot in my life and I've achieved everything on my own."

"Let's start with your family," he said. "How many siblings are there? And what are your ages?"

"There are six of us total," she said. "Scott is twenty-nine, John and I are twenty-seven, Virgil is twenty-six, Gordon is twenty-four, and Alan is twenty-three."

"Of your brothers, who are you closest to?" he asked.

"I'm close to all of my brothers but I'd prefer not to state who I'm closest to," she answered. "After all you have a tendency to target my family and I refuse to give you more ammo to cause them pain." He looked at her and weighed his options before continuing to ask his questions.

"You and John were co-valedictorians in high school, is that correct?" he asked. Sam sighed and wondered how much longer she'd have to suffer through the lamest and most infantile interview she'd ever heard or been subjected to.

"Yes, we were and then we both went to Harvard and graduated in three years along with my husband," she answered.

"Ah, yes, your husband. When did you and he marry?" he asked with another glance back at the building. Scott spoke into his wristcom.

"Alex and I were married during our first year at Harvard, when we were nineteen-years-old," she replied.

"What did you do after graduating from Harvard?" he asked again, not noticing the three figures sidle into the building.

"John and I were hired in at NASA in the astronaut program," she answered, distractedly. Her worry for her husband and son was making this sham of an interview lose her concentration. "We both went on assignment to the moon before I resigned to start my family." A slight vibration on her wrist alerted her to the fact that John and Virgil had found Benny and Alex. Snapping her head up, she looked into the eyes of the lunatic that had haunted her for years.

"I think that this interview is over," she stated quietly. He looked at her and realized that she was allowing her anger to surface. With an easy gracefulness, she stood to her full height before striking him with lightning fast reflexes and pinned him to the ground.

"You were warned never to come near me and my family again or you would pay," she growled. "If my father hadn't taught me to be forgiving, I'd kill you right now. I probably should and then I'd rest easier knowing that I'll never have to worry about you hurting my family again."

"Samantha, get off of him," ordered Scott. He had heard the words that she had spoken and was worried that she would carry out her thoughts.

"Scotty, if I kill him now then he can't hurt us anymore," she said quietly. "It will be payback for him beating me up in Boston, torturing John in Florida, almost killing me and Gordon in New England, and for what he's done to Alex and Benny. He's responsible for me not being able to nurse my baby boys cus I was doped up on pain meds. And the reason, it hurt to hold them but hurt worse when I couldn't." Tears of anger and frustration leaked from her eyes and suddenly she cried out. "You bastard, you've messed my life up and so help me, if my husband and son are hurt in any way, I will beat the shit out of you and drop your sorry ass in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and watch you drown." Standing up, she noticed a small group of people across the street. A sense of dread and despair rushed over her and she started running. Scott hauled Mark to his feet and bound his wrists before guiding him to the small but growing crowd.

John caught her before she reached the inner edges of the crowd.

"Sammie, listen to me," he said quietly. "Benny's fine and will be out here in a moment with Gordon. Virgil and Brains are in the building with Alex. He's been beaten up and looks pretty bad." Sam continued to gaze up at her twin, waiting for the 'but' that always followed that kind of remark.

"He is wearing an explosive and Mark lied," he started. "It's set to go off in less than ten minutes." Sam fell against him and let him support her.

"Johnny, take me to my husband," she begged. "I have to see him…just in…case he…oh gawd, Johnny…not Alex! I can't live without him!"

"MOMMY!" Sam looked up and saw Gordon approaching them with Benny in his arms. Pushing away from John, she ran to their younger brother and her son.

"Benny, oh baby, you're okay," she cried. "Mommy missed you so much. Baby, Mommy loves you." She kissed his face and held him tight, thankful that he was alive and in her arms again.

"Mommy, Daddy got owies," he told her. "Him bweeding here." He touched her face where Mark had hit Alex with the brass knuckles. Sam struggled to keep from running back and killing the sick bastard that had kidnapped her husband and son. Her son had seen his father's injuries and that image would be burned in his impressionable mind for sometime and surface in nightmares.

She noticed that Alex, Virgil, and Brains had not come out of the building and that the minutes were counting down. Determination set in and she approached the building and went inside. John, Gordon, and Scott with Mark walked behind Samantha and Benny.

The police kept them back away from where Brains was working feverishly to deactivate the explosive. Virgil looked over and noticed that Sam had come into the room and hurried to her side. Gordon took Benny again and held him protectively.

"You'll never disarm it," laughed Mark maniacally. His crazed laughter continued to resound throughout the room.

"SHUT UP!" yelled Samantha. His laughter intensified until Virgil whirled around. Mark stared back at him and smirked.

"What are you going to do, pretty boy?" he taunted. "You look like a sissy boy." Virgil looked over at his brothers and sister before he slammed his fist in Mark's face.

"That's for messing with my nephew," he snarled. "And my family, you sick fuck."

"Thanks, Virg," Sam said, her gaze shifted back to Alex and Brains. Sam could see the bruises and cuts on Alex's face. His left arm was held tight against his ribs. He looked over at her and tried to smile. They were down to three minutes before Sam lost her husband and father of her children. John wrapped his arm around her as her tears ran unchecked down her face. At the two minute mark, Brains had sweat pouring down his face and nervously wiped his face while continuing to work at saving Alex's life. At the minute and thirty second mark, Alex looked at Sam again.

"I love you, Alex," she said aloud. "Always."

"I love you, too, remember that," he mouthed. "Always." With a direct order from the police, Sam was escorted from the building with her brothers and away from the man she had loved for thirteen years.