No ransom note had been received and twenty four hours had past. Balinor was with his family who were all frantic with worry. Arthur was there as they worked through details of what could happen next. Balinor had told Arthur his theory about the Prime Minister and told the blonde "If you want to pull out you can, because I will expose all this once Merlin is back, you might find life difficult."

"I only speak for myself but I'm sure the others will agree, we see this through, what happen was wrong but my first responsibility and aim to find and rescue Merlin"

"Thank you, it means a lot" Then the phone rang. Balinor put it on the speaker it was the police in Dover.

"I thought I would let you know that the man taken with your son turned up at Dover Police Station half an hour ago. He says he has a personal message for Mr Emrys which he must give in person." The news was surprising and unexpected.

"What does he say?" Arthur demanded after giving the code he had been given.

"He claims he was released from the back of a van about two miles outside Dover and left to walk in. He believes the men and hostage had taken a boat to the continent. He is on his way to Albion Police station. He is bruised up but otherwise unharmed. He said that Merlin Emrys was being treated well."

"Any evidence to back his claims?" Arthur demanded.

"Yes but you need to go to the police station and Mr Emrys as well." Came the reply.

Arthur called Lance and Percy and together they went to the police station. Edwin was in an interview room leaving Arthur and the others behind the one way glass. After all he was supposed to be in hospital and the others were not known to be part of the investigation. Balinor was taken in first and Edwin refused to give the information unless they were alone "They said they would know if it was otherwise."

Balinor then asked that they be allowed to speak outside and privately. Once Edwin had given him the message he was taken back to the interview room. Both Balinor and Edwin refused to say more. The police then questioned Edwin, the detective in charge had a receiver in his ear so Arthur could speak to him. While Edwin was with the police a team was sent to his house to check it over nothing was found other than what they would expect from a man living alone. Although Arthur had asked for covert cameras to be installed this was turned down much to his disgust. It seemed it wasn't considered necessary.

"How did you get your bruises?" Edwin was asked.

"One of the men hit me, it was to make Merlin behave. They knew he had a bleeding disorder and didn't want to hit him." Edwin replied

"So why did they decide to release you?"

"I don't think they wanted to have an extra person, but I don't think Merlin knew I had been released. I think they planned to continue to use the threat of hurting me to make Merlin do as he was told." Edwin sounded just right, shaky but relieved to be free but still worried about his friend.

"Did you manage to hear any names or get a look at their faces?"

"No I was blind folded from the time we left the campus, and even then I went into a blurr….sorry I'm not much help. I wasn't even allowed to speak to Merlin and I only saw him very briefly when he was put in the van."

The questioning continued but Edwin's story remained consistent. In the end the policeman said Edwin could go and offered a police presence outside his house to give him some protection if news leaked to the press. The police drove Edwin home, after he was checked out by a doctor. Edwin wanted to go home and the police provided someone to stay outside and keep the press and onlookers away. He refused any other help "I just want to go home"

He was asked to contact the police if he thought of anything else at all. After that he left. But while he was being checked by the doctor Lance planted a tracker devise in the sole of his shoe. More in hope than expectation, but if that's all they could get it was better than nothing. What the others involved didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Balinor spoke to Arthur before he went back to his family but no one thought he would get any sleep. It seemed the message had been to say they wanted ten million Stirling in US dollars and would contact with more details, but they would give him a week to organise the money.

Sure enough Edwin went to his house and stayed there. Gwaine had done a search into Edwin and found he had always lived in the same house all this life. Even after his parents had died when he was twelve, this maternal grandfather had looked after him until he died when Edwin was eighteen. Gwaine continued:

"His parents died in a fire when they were on holiday in Devon, the fire brigade where tied up at large fire the other end of the county, and by the time one travelled from there to the cottage fire they could only save Edwin. He had tried to wake his parents but they were unconscious. That's how he got his facial burns. He became a very bitter boy, but with the help of his grandfather seems to have got over it, but he has always had issues in letting anyone get close to him since. A very bright student he has a job for a company who are paying for him to do his PhD. No police record not even a parking ticket, hard worker and well thought off" he paused "The fire the brigade had been attending a hotel, it was fully booked and needed a full evacuation and took all night to get under control. It was owned by a subsidiary for Emrys Corporation."

"So he has a motive for getting involved in kidnapping Merlin" Arthur said thoughtfully. "What company does he work for now?"

Gwaine shook his head "Not Alined's, sorry about that, a small company called Smith Holdings. Also the hotel wasn't directly owned by Emrys Corporation there a good chance he never knew the owners."

"What was the cause of both fires?" Arthur asked

"The cottage was faulty wiring, it was thought the wires may have been eaten though by rats or squirrels, the thatch caught light in the middle of the night. Edwin's parents died of inhalation they never woke up, they were sleeping in the room directly under the start of the fire. The hotel fire was caused by negligent carpenters and a blow lamp. It took hold and was discovered several hours before the cottage fire, in fact the crews had been at the hotel for several hours when the cottage fire started."

Gwaine said he would continue digging around. Until they had some idea where Merlin was there wasn't much else they could do. The police were running searches and Balinor had pay large sums to various sources to try to trace his son. Everything seemed to point to Merlin having been taken out of the country and hidden somewhere in Europe. But Arthur couldn't think they were wrong, he didn't know why but he would bet money Merlin was still in the UK.

Leon was out of hospital and not feeling too bad. His arm was sore and like Arthur he had a multitude of bruising. But he wanted to help. Like Arthur he felt they hadn't done all they should have to keep Merlin safe. He was given the job of monitoring the bug. The tracker was easy if Edwin moved so did the trace. It had a range of a mile so a van was parked up half a mile away in a car park. Inside one end was set up as a technical area the other had a bed and a couple of chairs and some food and drink. The car park had a toilet block so provided they were careful they had all they needed. Arthur was to stay with Leon, they would relieve each other they had a lap top and continued to look for links.

Lance and Percy were checking out the CITV footage from the area around Dover to see if they could find anything to back up Edwin's claims. Gwaine was around the port trying to find out whether any small boats had left that night. Although Interpol and police on the continent had been alerted the men were leaving nothing to chance. Lance and Percy found the film of Edwin entering Dover on foot. So nothing useful was found, as he had turned up at the police station they knew he had been there. He would have been a fool to be seen in a car if it was a set up.

Arthur and Leon had little to do as Edwin stayed indoors. He went out the shops once Lance, who had gone to the van that morning, followed Edwin. He got close enough to see some of what Edwin had bought. Telling Arthur. "General stores enough for him for a week. Nothing outrageous although he does seem to like his bread he bought a couple of loaves"

"Perhaps he freezes it, we need to keep watch." Once back in doors Edwin hadn't go out again. The next day Edwin left for the campus and the lab. Although he didn't seem to do much it wasn't surprising after his ordeal. The Police continued to keep an eye on him for his safety.

When he got home the same thing happened. Inside the house. It appeared as if they were in for another boring evening. Percy. Lance and Gwaine were drawing a blank. So it seemed was Interpol and the police. Even MI5 had nothing. Then Leon found something. He had been looking through various things on the net and looked at Edwin's Facebook age, Lance had worked out Merlin's password as he was friends with Edwin. "Arthur look at this"

Arthur looked at a series of photos taken at some social event. It took him several scans before he spotted what Leon had seen. "Cenred with Edwin! They look friendly"

"They seem to be sitting together, Edwin is gay isn't he?" Leon asked

"He is and so is Cenred, now how did they get to know one another?" Arthur got on the phone to Gwaine and told him what they found. "Fish around for me. The do was for a wedding someone called Tristian and Isolde Cornwall"

Gwaine wasted no time in tracking down the married couple and talking to them. Claiming to be looking for Edwin as they had gone to school together and he was arranging a reunion. It seemed Edwin was a cousin of Isolde's and although they had never been close because she felt sorry for him had added him to the wedding list. Cenred had been Edwin's plus one. "I'm sorry as far as I know he still lives at his parent's house. We have been abroad working and have only just got back in the country. He may well have moved I know he seemed very close to his partner, but I never did catch his surname, or if I did it didn't sink in"

Gwaine smiled at her "Well it was your wedding day!" as Gwaine turned to leave Isolde called out "I don't know if it helps but I remember Cenred telling me he worked for Camelot Corporation. Only Tristian had an interview coming up for them, and Cenred gave him some tips, he never got the job"

Gwaine drove off and then pulled over and spoke to Arthur. "I don't think you will like this. It seems Cenred was Edwin's plus one at the wedding and they were 'very close'. Cenred told the groom he worked at Camelot."

Arthur drew in a breath "So I'm going to have to talk to the old man now, great!"

Merlin meanwhile was working as slowly as he dared on writing down his findings and at the same time carefully putting in small errors that would make it all useless. He saw the men a few times each day and it was clear they were getting fed up. As far as he could work out there were four or five of them. Merlin figured he had been in their care for three days but as even the lap top had had its clock removed he couldn't be sure. One of the men came in, still masked and looked at what he was doing. "You're too slow, do you ever what to go back home. Until this is done we don't send the random demand." He growled

"Look I am having to remember everything!" Merlin said

"Well we have decided you need a prompt. We have to send off what you have done tonight so we need you to get a move on. So your mate suffers, we did warn you!"

"Look why can't I see him?" Merlin asked. He had heard nothing and had no idea if Edwin was alive or how he was being treated and it was worrying him.

"You want to see him" the man said in a voice that showed he was smirking even if Merlin couldn't see his face. "OK once we have given him his punishment for your slowness, In the meantime you might hear him"

That made Merlin fear for his friend "No please just let me see him and I will try harder"

"Oh you will, but you see we are bored as well and we need something to pass the time. Listen" he stood quietly and then Merlin could hear someone crying out. Merlin felt cold and clammy as he listened it was clear Edwin was suffering. Then it went quiet and then there were footsteps and the door opened the second man came in pushing Edwin in front of him. He had no shirt on and his body was covered in bruises and what appeared to be bite marks he was holding his trousers up with one hand. Then Edwin was pushed to the floor. "You have an hour to sort him out, then work or it will get worse for him"

Edwin scurried to the corner and huddled as far away has he could, it was clear too Merlin that Edwin had been sexually abused. The smell was enough to tell him that without the other signs. As the door locked Merlin tried to approach Edwin who cowered away he was crying.

"Edwin I'm so sorry, I have been doing what they said please let me help clean you up" Merlin was distraught.

Edwin looked at Merlin but wouldn't met his eyes. "Leave me" he whispered "Leave me alone, I thought you were my friend, how could you let them do this!"

"I tried to stop it, please let me help you." Merlin fetched some water and a towel from the corner where he washed. He tried to clean Edwin but the other man wouldn't let him. Merlin stood back and said "Please Edwin clean yourself if you won't let me do it. Tell me what to do?"

"DO WHAT THEY ASK!" snapped Edwin. "This is your fault not mine. If you had been normal this wouldn't have happened to me. They wouldn't have needed me!" he snatched up the flannel and started to scrub himself as if he was trying to remove his skin and anything his abuser had touched.