Uncommon Bond

Chapter 1

Rated – NC-17/MA

Author: Batistafan(given name, given on request)

THIS IS THE SEQUEL TO UNCOMMON SENSE – If you have not yet read the first story, doing so may better help you to piece together the events and characters of this fiction…enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is a mature fanfiction intended for mature readers. This story contains graphic violence, as well as explicit, mature, consensual sexual situations and these would not be deemed appropriate for all readers.

I do not own nor claim to have any affiliation with the WWE, its characters, wrestlers, staff or other affiliates. I do own any original characters that I have created, as well as scenarios that ensue throughout the course of this fiction. However, since both my characters and scenarios are inexorably intertwined with those of the WWE, my ownership of them is not autonomous.

I do not endorse nor do I discourage the use of any brand-name products that might be referenced in the fiction and have no claim to them as they are property of their respective companies of license. Thank you kindly for not suing.

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"The enemy of my enemy...he is my friend."

Anonymous

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It was a silent and unholy clash of wills between the two individuals; gloomy, guilt-filled grey eyes, meeting with wildly-glittering, angry, green irises. Neither woman spoke for a time as the air in the room seemed to vibrate with unseen energy. Nancy's hand was planted on her hip as she stood wordless and livid. Conversely, Barren stood with her arms loosely down to her sides, her demeanor contrite and humble. The seconds on the clock ticked by with exhausting lethargy as both pairs of eyes were locked in a deadly stare with one another.

If the two women had been alpha-females in the animal kingdom, it would certainly have been apparent to a casual observer that they were about to lock jaws and fight, but nothing of the sort occurred as Barren was the first to speak.

"So I guess you finally got your memory back." Barren fidgeted nervously with a loose thread on her shirt. "When did it…how did it happen." Her voice was soft and carried an air of timid interest.

Nancy nearly gritted her teeth at the innocent nonchalance that Barren exuded, but she calmly held her stance, refusing to blow her top when that was what she desired more than anything. After a calculated moment of non-action Nancy responded coolly in true, sarcastic form. "Taking into account exactly what I remember, Barren, do you think it actually matters when or how it happened?"

Barren supposed that answering the rhetorical question might cause the fragile encounter to detonate into an explosive brawl, so she simply nodded and chose to counter with a query of her own. "Well then since you do have your memory, you obviously already know that the key you have doesn't belong to you, right?"

Before Nancy could respond, Audrey was bounding down the stairs making a cheerful childish request for powdered donuts. Nancy opened the pantry and handed over the box, with a soft warning that Audrey was to remain upstairs until she was instructed otherwise. Audrey crinkled one brow in confusion, responding. "But you said we can't take food into our rooms because—"

In her desperate frustration with the situation at hand, Nancy snapped her response. "Audrey!"

Not meaning to be stern in the heat of the moment, Nancy felt her face turn red. "I don't care what I said before…" She amended, placing her hands on Audrey's shoulders to forcibly turn her around toward the stairs. "Just go, with the donuts and stay until I come get you, understood?"

The gloomy nod, laced with a pout told Nancy that Audrey might be confused about the rushed response but she would obey and as soon as she was out of sight, Nancy turned her hateful gaze on Barren. "If we're going to have a conversation of any sort, it's not going to be in here." Nancy didn't bother to hide the angry tone that wound its way through her voice as she stomped down the hall toward her studio, with Barren following her. Nancy allowed Barren inside shutting the adjoining door behind her and then spun to face her adversary.

"Nancy, I'm sorry." Barren began, in genuine repentant fashion, but was ceased abruptly when Nancy held one hand up in the air, her jaw set in a tight line and her eyes clamped shut as if she couldn't stand the sight of the woman in front of her.

Little more than a second passed before Nancy opened them again and spoke. "Barren, I'm not interested in your apologies, or your remorse. I don't want to hear your excuses or lies, or your bullshit, however pretty you package it, because it'll still be bullshit! The only thing I'm interested in; is you, gathering your things up and leaving before my husband gets back."

"I-can't—" Barren began, but was cut short again.

"If I tell Dave what you've done, he'll have you arrested." Nancy informed her. "That is, if I manage to keep him calm enough not to snap you in half before the police actually get here!" She walked a circle around Barren, appraising the woman as if she were a flaw on a silk canvas. "Don't worry; I'm not going to sell you out to Randy, although I think he does deserve to know what a liar you are. He adores you." She shook her head in disgusted awe. "He adores you…and he has no clue that you're using him."

"I'm not using him." Barren explained. "At least not anymore, anyhow."

Nancy nodded perfunctorily. "Oh, I see…Prada and a sense of honor…you have a lot going for you, imagine my surprise." Done toying with the woman in front of her, Nancy warned her once more. "The only reason I didn't 'out' you to Dave a few minutes ago is because I knew you would deny everything just to save yourself and end up making me look like a fool in the process. My advice would be to leave before they get back, unless you're in the mood to do a lot of explaining."

"I can't leave." Barren admitted, her soft voice giving credence to the guilt that bubbled forth.

"You can't or you won't?"

"I can't leave without my key." Barren told her. "You don't understand. I know you think I'm a complete fraud, but—"

"Trust me; you don't want to know what I think about you." Nancy announced.

"That key—" Barren insisted, with a hard edge to her tone. "I-It's really important to me, Nancy I won't leave without it."

"That key?!" Nancy nearly spat the word with disdain. She leveled a finger toward Barren's chest, as her face contorted into a mask of incredulous fury. "That key, almost fucked me out of a perfectly good marriage! That key…and all of the problems attached to it almost ruined my life!"

"It wasn't the key that did that." Barren corrected, her fierce glare suddenly matching that of the woman in front of her. "You and your doubts and paranoid delusions did a fine job of nearly fucking you out of your marriage on their own. Your amnesia was the lynchpin, not my key."

Though Nancy would have liked to lunge for the woman and wrap her shaking hands around her throat, she didn't. However cruel her summation might prove to be Barren's statement hung on a fine sliver of truth. Composing herself long enough to muster a mocking smile, Nancy cleared her throat and announced in a very calm and self assured voice. "Well, be that as it may…you're shit out of luck, because that key and the curse attached to it…is in the trash."

The declaration though worded softly served much like a kick to the gut and Barren, wide-eyed and on the verge of vomiting nearly doubled over. Seconds later, standing to her full height and sucking in a breath, she let her finger-tips fly to her temples as if she'd instantly been stricken with a migraine. "The trash?" She asked. "How could you throw my key in the trash?"

Nancy wouldn't let on that she did feel a bit sorry for Barren when she witnessed the obvious duress that the woman was experiencing. "Well at the time," Nancy explained. "I was under the impression that it was my key and as to how I could do such a thing; it was fairly easy…I just lifted the lid and tossed it in." She smiled as she gestured the action with two hands.

Barren nearly stumbled over her own feet in her state of desperation. "I'll go get it out." She announced rather quickly. "Which trash is it in?" She turned on her heel to go.

"Oh I doubt you'll find it." Nancy told her, smiling. "Dave already took out the trash this morning, so I'm betting it's in a bag by the curb due for pick-up in…" She glanced theatrically at her watch. "Oh…about twenty minutes."

Barren's eyes went wide once more and she rushed to stand within inches of Nancy, grasping her shoulders in sheer alarm. "You have to get it! We have to get it!"

Nancy shucked Barren's grasp and pushed her arms forcibly away. "I? We? Me? Uh, Uh honey, I'm not digging through the trash for you or anyone else and as far as I'm concerned that key can stay lost for good."

"You have no clue what you've done!" Barren snapped, shooting daggers from the icy grey depths of her eyes. "I made a huge mistake when I hid that key on you n the hospital and I admit that, but I did it because my life was at stake!" Barren told her as tears formed in the corner of her eyes. "I know what I did was wrong and I tried to remedy it by getting the key back, but you had to go off and be difficult about it! Every time I tried to pry it out of you, you just clammed up and I tried snooping but I'm betting you had that damned key on you the whole time." She placed her face in her palms in desperation. "I'm not the kind of person you think I am, but I didn't know any other way to go about it. This wasn't supposed to be my burden to carry. Damn, Duncan…he had no clue trusting me with it was the biggest mistake he'd ever make…I'm too stupid and foolish and impulsive to be trusted with something so valuable and now I'm going to end up paying for it with my life…"

The tears dripped unchecked down Barren's flawless face and as angry as Nancy was inclined to be, she sensed the sincerity and the truth behind Barren's confession.

"Why did you not just ask me for the key?" Nancy inquired, her voice taking on a less harsh tone. "If it was truly a matter of life and death, why didn't you ask for Randy's help, or our help? You could have even gone to the police. Why didn't you come clean in the beginning so we'd know what we were dealing with?"

"I know I should have, but you would have wanted to know how you came in possession of the key to begin with." Barren pointed out. "I sensed so much resistance in you when we met that I was sure you'd send me packing without the key and then I would be back to square one and probably dealing with the law on top of it. I couldn't take that chance...I hid the key on you as a spur of the moment thing and then when I met Randy, it all sort of fell into place. He was friends with your husband and it seemed like a perfect 'in' so I took it." Barren sat on the edge of the desk. "I was planning on snooping till I found the key and then leaving without looking back…I never meant for it to go so far. I never meant to become friends with you and fall in love with Randy." She blew out a breath of frustration. "To tell you the truth I was actually planning on ditching the whole damn plan…Randy and I were going to leave Seattle today and I was going to go into permanent hiding…he was going to quit wrestling for me."

Nancy sighed, one hand on her hip and the other pressed to her forehead in contemplation. "Are you doing something illegal?"

"Trying to stop something illegal is more like it."

Everything had spun much too far out of control and Nancy was desperate for a way to pin it all back down. The thought of Randy Orton giving up his entire career for someone with a questionable past was not so foreign to her when she recalled that Dave had been willing to do the very same thing a few years back. Still she knew how young Randy was and very fickle he could tend to be. That fact combined with the unforgiving nature of the McMahons, Nancy was certain that Randy would be fighting a losing battle against being jobbed out if he ever did decide to go back to the WWE. And that would be Barren's fault.

"Look…" Nancy exhaled heavily, exhausted with the prospect of trying to figure out the why's and what's. "It's-it's in a grey garbage bag on the curb." She tempered her voice, unable to hold on to the sarcasm. "Go fish it out before it gets picked up and I'll give you twenty-four hours to get out of our lives. I'll smooth things over with Randy and say you called home to Ireland and discovered your mother was ill. I'll tell him you hopped a flight over seas, something…anything, but if you truly care about Randy you won't put the kibosh on his career for your own selfish desire to run and hide." She chewed her lower lip as she watched guilt and remorse flicker over the pretty auburn haired woman's countenance, when finally Nancy said gently and with finality. "And just so you know we can't be friends or acquaintances any longer…I have a family to think about. So please just go get your key and get gone."

"I think that sounds like a fine idea." The smooth and authoritative Irish baritone resonated through the studio, and the heads of both women whipped around in surprised unison.

Nancy was the first to speak, assuming the man was a prospective client. "I'm sorry sir, I'm not open for business today." She took two steps forward.

"The sign said you were open." Sullivan responded gesturing toward the door.

"My partner forgets to turn it around." Nancy explained with a good-natured smile. "If you'll leave your business card on the desk I'll get back with you on Monday. I'm just not taking clients today."

Sullivan let his hand fall away an inch from his side, a subtle gesture for Evan, who was behind him to lock the door and turn the sign. "Fantastic, then we're sure not to be bothered by any unwanted intrusions."

"Sullivan." The name was strangled in hatred as it fell from Barren's lips and the fact that she seemed to know the man drew Nancy's fearful awareness.

"Barren." Sullivan acknowledged politely with a stiff nod, as if he were merely content to bid her 'Good Day'. He turned when one of his cohorts brought in the garbage bag through the door that as yet had not been locked by Evan. "Excellent, let's get started shall we?"

If the hair on the back of Nancy's neck had been rising only seconds before, it was at full attention now. "You know these people?"

Barren's nod was the wordless affirmation that led Nancy into a silent sense of alarm. Three children in the house and the two women were about to be robbed, accosted, raped or worse? Forcing herself to be calm, Nancy offered up the only thing she was sure they might be interested in. "Look if this is about money…" She began gingerly. "I have a thousand cash in my wallet and I'll give you whatever else you want if you'll just leave and not hurt anyone."

Sullivan lifted his gaze to the woman standing a scant foot or two away from him. Pretty…she was, despite the small slightly reddish scar on her forehead that told him she'd been injured not long ago. She was much shorter than Barren and even with a diamond on her left hand that signified she was married Sullivan still wouldn't have considered her unavailable if he'd had the time to pursue a lay.

He was curious as to her sudden desire to be accommodating for everyone's sake when only moments before, it appeared as if she might be intent upon doing Barren bodily harm. There was surely someone in the attached house, whom she wished to protect…or else she wouldn't be so all fire determined to offer them all of her worldly goods just to see them gone when she could clearly gauge that the only thing he and his men wanted was what was in a garbage bag on the floor.

"Oh, isn't that sweet of you?" He responded, in a soft mocking brogue, reaching out a single finger to brush back a stray curl. He was slightly pleased when she blanched at his touch…he liked women that had spice even if they appeared off limits for the time being.

In a silent military tactical signal, he motioned for Evan to enter the house through the adjoining door. Sullivan knew that Evan could and would enter without alarming anyone, so as to determine its layout and the number of persons inside. He also knew that there might very well only be children, since the three Irishmen had witnessed the departure of Randy and the only other adult male, from their vantage point in the car only minutes before.

"No, please don't go in there." Nancy asked taking a step toward Evan, but she was halted by Barren who held fast to her arm, despite Nancy's struggle. "Let go of me! My kids are in there…" She hissed, prying at Barren's vise-like grip.

"He won't hurt 'em if we just give up the key, Nancy." Barren insisted as the voice of reason. "If you try to go in there, he's going to get edgy and he will hurt them."

"Get the fuck off me." Nancy lashed out in a low voice, pushing Barren's arm away by force of a hard slap to the inside of her elbow. "This is your fault." She reminded through clenched teeth and then she turned to Sullivan inquiring in astonishment. "That idiotic key? That's what you want?"

Sullivan nodded, apparently amused by the anger she displayed. "That'll do for starters."

"Fine." She snapped, stretching forward, grasping the bag with both hands, she lifted it up and shredded the side, watching the entire contents spill out with a hellishly loud clatter onto the concrete floor of the studio. "There it is." She announced, as she kicked aside an empty mouthwash bottle to reveal the key, attached to a ball chain, glimmering amongst the other trash-worthy items on the floor. "Now would you please take whatever else it is that you need, get that guy out of my house and leave?" Nancy fairly begged.

Sullivan tapped his chin in contemplation. "I'm afraid I can't do that." He sighed as he lifted up the key, dangling it in front of his face. "Unfortunately, as handy as this key is by itself…it's useless without the services of dear Barren, here."

Barren tensed and stepped closer to Nancy as she watched Sullivan walk a slow circle around the two women. "I'll go with you Sully, okay?" Barren consented. "But she and her family don't have anything to do with this. She doesn't even know what the key is for. We'll just leave and let them go on about their business, okay? You don't need them." As eager as Barren was to say something that would elicit a concurrent response from Sullivan she was positive it wouldn't be that easy to get him to back down.

Evan reentered soundlessly through the door of the studio confirming in hand signals that there were three children, two female and one infant male. And though the specifics of his wordless dialogue were unknown to Nancy, the chill that crept up her spine told her more than she wanted to know. Her eyes stung with fearful tears that she held back to prevent provoking a cruel response from the men.

"Well, whaddya say ladies? Shall we take a little ride?" Sullivan palmed the key and motioned for Evan to take Barren in hand.

No longer able to restrain the alarm building up within her, Nancy sputtered. "You don't need me." She touched her chest. "You have the key, it's what you wanted. I can't go with you, I-I have kids in there."

Sullivan reasoned. "You don't have a choice…I can take Barren alone, and then you'll call the cops…or I can take you as insurance and be fairly assured that you'll keep her in line long enough to get to the information we need." Sullivan stepped up behind Nancy and lifted his gun, running the muzzle gently upward in a straight line next to her spine. "The way I see it, you have a lot more to lose than Barren does and since I know you'll want to come back to your precious little family in one piece…you'll make certain that your new best buddy Barren doesn't screw up, doesn't run away with my package…get it?"

"I can't go with you." Nancy said firmly, closing her eyes. "I have a baby, I can't just leave." She further pleaded, hoping to stall long enough for Dave and Randy to get back.

"Let's put it this way." Sullivan hissed, tired of stalling. He pressed the muzzle into the cleft her neck just below her jawline, glorying in the tiny whimper he heard when the muzzle made contact with her windpipe. "Either you come along like a good girl, or I'll send Tulley upstairs to teach those pretty little girls of yours some very grown up games." He smiled when he felt her tense in his grasp. "And that brand new baby boy…well, we might be able to find a home for him overseas after we get our money's worth out of a black market adoption. And as for your hubby…as soon as he walks through the door, he'll meet with a bullet in the face and I'll make you watch him die. You…I might keep around for awhile, just for kicks and then I'll make sure that you have the privilege of performing a lifetime of pleasurable duties for a list of fellows who might not care to be very gentle. Do you really want to test me and see if I'll do it?"

Nancy shook her head, and as soon as he pulled the muzzle away, she wiped the tears away with her palm unable to look Barren in the eye. Her sudden all encompassing hatred for the woman eclipsed any sense of forgiveness that she might have developed in the last few moments and it was safer for the both of them if she kept her distance, lest she be possessed with the urge to strangle Barren.

"Okay, now that we're clear…Evan here will walk you upstairs so you can tell your daughters you're leaving for an hour or so. What's really important sweetheart, is that you don't say anything to put anyone on our trail…otherwise I'll be forced to take out my frustrations on your children…keep it simple and buy us some time, nothing funny." Sullivan turned his attention on Barren, instructing Tulley to handcuff her.

Nancy let herself be led away by Evan who had an iron-like grip on her elbow. "Just like he said." He prompted in a whisper, standing just to the left of the doorway so he couldn't be seen by either of the girls, but could hear everything that was being said. This meant that since no one in the room could see him…he couldn't see anything that physically transpired in the room. And though Nancy was counting on that fact, she would never take such a risk by trying to motion or indicate her duress to the girls.

Noticing that Vanessa was still holding the sleeping boy in her lap, while her head was turned, buried in a magazine, Nancy took that opportunity to palm the teenager's tiny cell-phone, slipping it into the cargo pocket of her Capri pants, without Vanessa even seeing it. "Hey Vanessa?" She spoke nervously.

"Yeah." Was Vanessa's nonchalant and distracted response.

"I have to step out for awhile, um I signed up for an art class at the college. I'll be back in an hour." Nancy lied, unable to form a decent excuse, she was just nearly convinced that she was about to get them all killed. "Can you watch Audrey and Nathan for me?"

Barely more than a glance upward from the article in the magazine to which she was riveted, Vanessa murmured her consent. "Uh, huh."

"I know you mentioned that your design project for Ms. Lafferty's class is due tomorrow." Nancy began, desperate to find an inconspicuous way to warn Vanessa.

"Yeah…" Vanessa murmured, still not meeting her stepmother's gaze. "I can work on it after you get back, no biggie."

"Well I was thinking…" Nancy said softly just that moment deciding on the very thing that would clue Vanessa in without raising suspicion. "Ms. Lafferty might really be impressed if you sketched the designs with something other than your plain coal pencils. You should use the Dorsey Coals in the bottom of my desk, your work will look really professional."

As she estimated, the offer of the prized Dorsey's caught Vanessa off-guard and she met Nancy's gaze with just the slightest bit of confusion. But, it was the ever so subtle shake of Nancy's head and the serious and alert expression on her face that told the teen something was amiss.

"I'll be back." Nancy grazed one hand over the soft curls that adorned her sleeping son's head and turned on her heel leaving the room with a newfound sense of survival and an enormous desire to thwart three Irishmen.

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There were easily at least a thousand different types of baby products lining the shelves in front of him, many more choices than had ever been present when his girls were babies. All different varieties and configurations; homeopathic 'this', hypoallergenic 'that', how was a person supposed to choose? Aloe or lavender, lotion filled or perfume and dye-free? It was enough to make a man dizzy with fear, or at the very least intimidated to shop for children under the age of five.

"Look for something that says 'Pediatrician Recommended'." Randy suggested wisely.

"Oh, yeah…that sounds good." Dave reached for a package, pulling it from the shelf. "And how is it you know that?"

"Commercials man. Don't you ever watch television anymore."

"Not lately." Dave admitted, deciding to steer the conversation into deeper waters. "So am I too forward in asking why you have three fully-packed suitcases in the back seat of your car?" He had noticed them as he backed out past the rental when leaving.

"No, you wouldn't be." Randy let a lazy smile drift across his face.

"Well, I know your suspension is almost over, but I didn't think you were planning on hitting the road just yet."

This was the difficult part, Randy knew that Dave wasn't a man that accepted vague explanations and besides, he was a friend…he deserved the truth. "I'm actually thinking of pursuing something other than wrestling." He watched Dave drop his wallet as he tried to juggle the bill he'd just removed from within it, along with the news that had just been dropped in his lap like a bombshell.

"Like what?" Dave asked, as he retrieved his fallen wallet, accepted his change and palmed the box of diaper wipes.

Randy followed behind Dave, out of the store after purchasing for himself a bottle of water and a fitness magazine. "Well—maybe I'll pursue something like, um—I don't know…marriage maybe."

Dave Batista stopped dead in his tracks, spinning around with a furrowed brow and a disbelieving smile carved into his face. "You're full of shit." He observed the look on Randy's face as if to gauge whether he was ribbing him or not.

Both men entered the navigator before Randy finally spoke. "I know it sounds like a 'work', but I'm gonna ask Barren to marry me."

"You…married…" Dave said each word with firm disbelief. "'One night stand, Randy'…the jackass with a black-book full of on-demand, booty-calls…married? You really are full of shit." He laughed as he cranked up the engine.

Randy scoffed in mock regret, holding his hand to his chest as if he'd taken a gunshot. "That really hurts, bro…but seriously…to dispel your doubts about my intentions I have this little token, which I plan on presenting to her tonight." He slipped his hand into his jacket and pulled out a navy blue velvet ring box, snapping it open to reveal a single, large marquise-cut solitaire mounted on a smooth, wide platinum band.

Dave appraised the pretty diamond, letting out a low whistle. "Very nice." He handed the ring box back and watched as Randy slid it back into the inside pocket of his jacket. "Forgive me for asking, but aren't you in hock as far as rings go? I don't remember you mentioning whether you got the other one back yet or not."

Disinclined to mention the entire situation with the first ring and the details of which, when combined with Barren's fears had prompted his decision to leave Seattle, Randy merely responded with a soft, 'naw'. The last thing he wanted to do was to get a lecture from Dave about what his lack of maturity had brought about, so he quickly changed the subject. "So, I'm thinking, small wedding in an obscure location, no wrestlers other than you of course, if you'll stand up for me."

It was a hint, Dave knew, but before he could commit to being his friend's best man, he had to be honest with him. "I have one more question and then I'll be satisfied."

Randy swallowed and nodded, unsure what the question might be or whether he would even care to hear it.

"Is she worth giving up your career and everything you built? Because if not, then it'll never work."

Randy stared down at the dash pondering the question. He didn't have to answer it but he needed to, for himself more than for Dave's curiosity. "You bet she is."

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He had expected to walk in to find the relieved countenance of his wife who would surely be elated to have a fresh supply of diaper wipes. What Dave Batista actually walked in to find was the fearful and panicked visage of his oldest daughter who was desperately trying to calm his loudly wailing baby boy.

The image before him suddenly set him to alarm and he laid the box of wipes and his keys down with a thump, motioning for her to hand over the baby. "What's wrong?" He asked, his face a curious mask, as his mind scrambled for a reason as to why his wife hadn't already come running to soothe the baby boy.

Vanessa, normally composed and collected, burst into tears as she handed the baby to her father. "Daddy…"

Hair prickling on the back of his neck, Dave could tell the sheer difference in the atmosphere of his home and sensed the threat before he could see it. "Where is Nancy?"

"She knows, Dad…she remembers everything." Vanessa sobbed.

"How do you know?" He asked, as he walked with his son fully into the living room.

"She knew about the Dorseys."

"Coal pencils? That's how you know she got her memory back? And why are you crying?" Dave said, trying to tamp down the feeling of foreboding. "Where is she?"

Vanessa huffed in her tearful state. "That's what I'm trying to tell you—she's gone."

"Gone where?"

"She said she was going to an art class—"

"And you let her leave?" Dave boomed in frustration. "She doesn't take an art class!"

"Well I know, but I just assumed she couldn't remember anything and I wasn't paying attention anyhow until she mentioned the Dorseys." Vanessa insisted. "Dad the only way she would have known about the pencils is if she had her memory, because they stay locked up in her desk. She and Barren left not more than a half an hour ago."

Dave knew that Vanessa's claim must be true being as the pencils were a prized gift from his daughters and thus had never yet been used. Indeed they did stay locked away and the key to retrieve them was on an unlabeled keychain in the studio. The only thing rattling his brain at present was the fact that his wife was gone. If she had her memory back she would have known that there was no such class and suddenly he was possessed by the thought that something was truly wrong. He knew unequivocally that she would never have left the house without Nathan in tow, especially when he considered how she hovered around even when someone else was holding him. She simply would never have left Vanessa fully in charge of a new baby, no matter how mature the teenager had proved to be. Something was very wrong. "Why the hell didn't you call me when she left?"

"I tried." She insisted. "But my cell phone is gone…I think she took it and I think that they didn't leave alone because she acted like someone was listening to us."

Dave passed Nathan back off to Vanessa despite his heart wrenching wails. "She took your phone?"

"Yeah, I think…maybe we can call her and see if she's okay."

"No." Was his resolute response as he stalked toward his office. He knew why his wife had taken Vanessa's phone and it wasn't because she was hoping to receive a call. If she was in some sort of danger, calling her would be the worse thing he could possibly do.

Randy who was now utterly floored by the sudden realization that both women had either fled in fear of something or been taken by someone finally found his voice. "She had to have taken it for some unique reason or else she would have taken her own. Maybe Vanessa's was just handier to grab without being seen if she was being watched."

"That's not why." Dave said as he opened his laptop, booting up the program and letting himself into his cellular phone account. "She took it because we had gps locator put on Vanessa's phone. It was this option that came out last year for children's phone accounts and one you hope you'll never have to use, but damn glad that you paid for."

"Smart girl…" Randy mused as he stared over Dave's shoulder watching as he pulled up the location of the phone.

"The only bad thing about it, is that it only updates the location every five minutes so we could pass them if they turn off somewhere and end up having to backtrack."

"I think we should just call the police or something." Randy suggested as he raked his hand through his hair. "We can let them know about the gps and they can take over from there."

"Missing persons reports don't go into effect until 48 hours has lapsed, Randy." Dave snapped irritably.

"Daddy." Vanessa interrupted. "Max was here right after they left, but he was really rushed and he had this huge duffel bag in his truck. I think he knows something. He wouldn't even say more than two words."

"I don't have time to worry about him right now." Dave, pulled the laptop from its location and wrapped the adapter around it. "Call your mother and get her over here to sit with you and you call the minute Nancy walks through the door if this just happens to be some sort of joke." His voice carried a distinct edge of anger as he shuffled the laptop and walked quickly toward the garage.

He had barely pulled his keys from their place on the countertop when he heard the small voice of his youngest daughter as she emerged from the hallway, holding her cape instead of wearing it. "Daddy?"

"Go sit with your sister until your mother gets here." He instructed, but found himself halting involuntarily at her next words.

"I saw a car and they got in it." She admitted softly.

He knelt down and locked gazes with Audrey. "Can you remember, what kind of car it was?" Dave Batista knew that it was highly unlikely that she would know the make, but he was sure that she might remember at least the color.

"I don't forget…if I write it." Audrey said humbly and quietly, yet with the distinct pride of someone who had just saved the day. Her arm lifted and in her tiny, sticky hand was a crumpled page from a coloring book.

Dave Batista accepted the page and as he unfolded it from its tattered ball-like state he made out the blocky child-like letters and a shape that had been drawn in blue crayon. C42 was followed by a backwards L and then a J5. It was no doubt the license plate number. "What's this shape Audrey? Does this mean something?" He pointed one blunt fingertip toward the shape that resembled a 'peace sign'.

"That's the shape on the back of the car. It's like the one on Mommy's car…Just like it." She said proudly.

"I see…" Dave nodded. "It's a BMW, then…is it a car like mommy's or an SUV like Nancy's?"

"It's a car, like Mommy's and it's blue just like the crayon I wrote with." Audrey affirmed and then added with remarkable accuracy. "There are three guys with them, two of them are tall like you and one is short."

Three men. Not bad odds, unless they were armed as Dave assumed they would be. The bigger part of him was insanely confused as to who the men were and why they had come to his home and removed his wife and her friend from the premises. The other part of him; the smaller more animalistic and completely unreasonable side of him was simply filled with rage at the thought that someone had the sheer audacity to abduct them both, in broad daylight. "Good job, Thank you Audrey." Dave kissed her on the top of her head, sending her upstairs and then he left with Randy and the gps locator in tow.

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It was a maddening car chase, even when the person you were pursuing had no idea you were pursuing them. Owen had been parked across the street from the wrestler's home and had just about been prepared to exit his vehicle when he caught sight of Sullivan, Evan and Tulley escorting, if you could call it such, Barren and her friend from the house. There had been no screams of fright, no terrified attempts to escape, just simple acquiescence as the two women were led to the car and placed inside of it.

He hadn't been prepared to have his heart feel like it was being torn from his chest and he paused in such utter fear for Barren that he had almost missed his opportunity to pursue them, having to kick on the ignition and follow the very small puff of exhaust until he regained sight of the blue BMW, half a block later. Owen knew they wouldn't recognize him even if they looked in the rearview and managed to catch a glimpse of him, being as he was wearing a blonde woman's wig. Despite that fact, Owen kept his distance, not daring to alarm the men and cause the two women harm, yet not content to allow the Beamer out of his sight.

It really didn't matter if they did manage to accidentally elude him, via a badly timed run through a red-light or other unforeseeable traffic conundrum. It didn't matter, because Owen knew where they were headed…The YMCA in downtown Seattle. Once he tracked them there, he could in no wise get lost, because after they found what they were searching for, their destination posthaste, would be anyone's guess.

Owen reached over, plunging his hand into the duffel-bag on the passenger seat and palmed the .45 caliber, reassured by the deadly weight in his hand that he was doing the right thing.

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"So tell me…" Sullivan began, as he peered curiously into the visor mirror at Barren's reflection in the backseat. "How was it that you managed to elude me for several months with little to no resources?" Without waiting for the answer, he turned his questioning gaze on Nancy. "And how does it feel to know that she used you to do it?"

Neither woman chose to respond. Nancy sat rigid and fearful on the other side of Tulley. The man had no grip on either woman, but both were equally submitted by sheer force of fear and the fact that the car was barreling down the road much to fast for either to contemplate jumping out.

"No response?" Sully toyed with Barren. "I must say that I admire your ingenuity. I had come to suspect that you were in possession of the key the entire time, though I'm not sure how you came to be, so you can imagine my surprise to find that your friend had it. What was she doing with it?"

Barren made no move to answer. It wouldn't matter if he knew. He might compliment her on her ability to throw them off of her trail, or he might laugh, but in either case he was going to kill them both unless they quickly sought to think on their feet so why throw him a bone he didn't earn?

"Maybe you could answer my question." Sully directed his query back to Nancy, noting that she paled considerably the moment he had her under the gun.

Nancy turned her head and stared out the window as if she preferred the scope of the scenery to answering his question.

After a moment of her silence, Tulley's meaty hand curled around her inner thigh, his fingers biting painfully into her flesh. "Answer him." Was his calmly whispered command after he heard her yelp.

"I had the key." Nancy told him, her voice little more than a choked murmur. "Because I thought it was mine."

"Interesting…and how would an obviously intelligent individual think it belonged to them? Surely you knew it didn't." Sully was curious.

Nancy let out a small sigh and then in a timid response, clarified. "It's a long story."

Another painful squeeze to her inner thigh and she was forced to continue. "I had amnesia from the wreck we were in and she hid the key on me in the hospital…I didn't remember that fact until this morning."

"So you had it the entire time?" Sullivan was verging on laughter that he could not contain. "And you had no idea what it was or why you had it?" He could imagine the woman's confusion upon finding the key and having no memory of it's purpose.

"I thought it was mine." She mumbled.

"Unbelievable. You had it and Barren somehow managed to finagle her way into your home and the sanctity of your inner circle to get it back?" He chuckled.

"Something like that." The moment Sullivan spat out his summation of the situation, it sounded so calloused and cold in Nancy's ears that she could scarcely contain the impulse to scream, but she did, grinding her teeth in frustration.

"How in the world did you manage to keep it out of Barren's hands this entire time?" Sullivan probed.

Nancy speared Barren with a look of barely checked hostility. "I hid it, because I thought I was the one who had something to hide…I should have known better."

Sullivan turned fully in his seat, pinning Barren with a gaze of true approbation. "By God, I had no clue how truly resourceful and cunning you could be—"

"Cunning?" Nancy nearly snorted a laugh, despite the tense air of the situation. "I'm the one who had the key the entire time—don't you think it should be me getting the praise?"

Barren narrowed her eyes giving an equally scathing retort. "You only concealed it, because among other things, you thought you were stepping out behind your husband's back! You didn't even have enough faith in his love for you, to come clean with him and ask him about the damn key—you're not cunning, you're a coward."

"And you're a bitch—" Nancy snapped, making an effort to reach over Tulley's massive body to grasp a handful of any part of Barren within reach. The situation quickly reached a fever pitch with both women hurling deadly insults at each other and two of the three men in the car laughing. It took Tulley wrenching Barren's hair until her face nearly met her knees, along with his other hand once again tearing at the flesh on Nancy's thigh, to temper the quarrel.

Both women finally settled and quieted, with Sullivan and Tulley chuckling all the while. "Well, whoever said this day would be uneventful was certainly wrong."

"Keep your hands to yerself." Tulley instructed finally before releasing either woman.

Despite the anger flooding through every nerve ended in Nancy's body, the argument had served its intended purpose…it had rattled the iron cage and fractured the focus of the three men in the car. It was a distraction and even though peace had been regained, both women instantly knew that another fight was all it would take to tip the balance.

"What makes you think that Duncan didn't have an alternative in place?" Barren dared to ask Sullivan. "How do you know that he didn't already have copies of that information sent to someone else?"

Sullivan laughed lightly. "Well, I can't say that the thought hadn't crossed my mind." He pondered. "But I'm more apt to think that you're the only one he would trust."

"Well, I hope you have a hell of a back-up plan in place." Barren snapped. "You never know if I might be tempted to go AWOL."

Sullivan's nostrils flared; the first outward sign of his inward frustration. "Don't make idle threats, sweetheart."

"It's not a threat, Sully." Barren's deadly calm remark was followed by an icy glare and a sinister smile. "The minute you turn your back on me I'm going to kill you."

Sullivan matched her glare with one of his own. "Is that a fact?"

"I don't have anything to lose, right?" She reminded him.

"And thus I'll remind you of why we brought her along—you may not have anything to lose, but she certainly does." Sully's reminder was the last thing Barren remembered before Tulley's elbow connected with her chin, plunging her into a dark fog.

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