Author's Note: Buckle Up!

Monday was a busy day for Big Time Rush. After attending Palm Woods School for four hours, practicing the new dance moves for five, and room inspection at home, James was too exhausted to come up with any ideas for accessing the fourteenth floor safely. Plus, Kendall and Logan didn't actually want him to go back up there. Luckily for him, Carlos had drunk two Mountain Dews since coming home and was jacked up even after cleaning.

"I've got it! What if we get Bitters to call up there because a free pizza got delivered to the front desk for them? I mean, who turns down a free pizza?"

THE NEXT NIGHT:

"Guess we know who turns down a free pizza," James said gloomily.

"At least it's really good pizza," Carlos said with his mouth full. They sat at the table waiting for Kendall and Logan to get back from the movies, some boring old black and white war film.

"Hey!" James sat up taller. "Maybe we could tell them an exterminator needs to spray their room for bugs?"

Carlos turned to look at James with his mouth open. "That's so good, Jay! How did you think of it?"

James grinned and pointed to the advertisement on the side of the pizza box for BUGS-B-Gone.

THE NEXT NIGHT:

James entered the apartment dressed in loose denim coveralls, a mustache and a denim cap, carrying a bug sprayer.

Kendall took one look at him and laughed so hard he fell on the couch. James rolled his eyes in return. Then Logan came in to see what was happening, took one look at James and started cackling, too.

Carlos, who had helped James get the coveralls, was also there laughing; but he can't help it; he's a sympathetic laugher.

James sighs. "Yeah. I know. Even I don't make this look good."

"So... it didn't work," Carlos finally managed to ask.

"Nope. Bitters called up and they don't have bugs apparently."

"Okay, okay," Logan said, trying to calm down his laughter. "It's time for me to get involved. I can at least find out their room number."

"Really?" James asked, brightening.

"Yep. I'll just need a bag of watermelon gummies - actually, make that two - a cell phone, a jump drive and a big distraction."

"I am really good at distractions," Carlos said.

"True," Logan agreed. "It might be your greatest gift. And I'm good at handling Bitters."

James unzipped the coveralls to reveal shorts and a t-shirt underneath. "Okay, I'll go get the gummies." As he finished stripping, Kendall grabbed the keys from the wall.

"We'll go get the gummies. You suck at nighttime driving."

"That's because it's super dark! How can anyone be expected to drive good when they can't see?"

"That's drive well," Logan corrected him.

"No, James," Kendall dragged James out before he could retort angrily. "We'll be right back. Don't start without us!"

Carlos was vibrating with excitement. "Okay. So what kind of distraction do we need?"

"We need a blocked toilet on the second floor," Logan said, his eyebrows raised. "Think you can handle it?"

"Dude. I can do that without even trying."

"Yeah, but this time with something...you don't usually put down a toilet, okay?"

Carlos frowned. "Like...Cheerios?"

"How are you going to block a toilet with Cheerios?"

"...use the whole box?"

"Nope. Not enough fiber," Logan said. "Try...a section of a pool noodle."

"Ooo...yeah," Carlos breathed. "I'm on it!"

"Good thing Mama Knight is out getting groceries. She might not like this plan."

While Bitters was plunging their toilet (Buddha Bob had already gone home for the night), Logan and Kendall prepared to hack Bitters' computer in the backroom. But once Kendall got the door unlocked, they found that Bitters kept his records in a handwritten ledger. The fourteenth floor was all rented out to someone with the name Schlemensky, and four suites were blocked off.

"Schlemensky? Sounds fake to me," Logan decided.

"But whoever this girl is, she's gotta' be rich, right?" Kendall asked.

"Yep. I hate to say it, but maybe James is right. Maybe she does need help to meet someone. Imagine being stuck in a room all the time and even if you do get out, there's nobody on the same floor as you."

"Maybe we should grab a passkey for the fourteenth floor rooms, you know...just in case it comes in handy," Kendall said with a smirk.

"It won't help James to get into the room if Huge Dude is there waiting for him, especially with throwing knives. Frankly? He's terrifying."

"We can't let him win," Kendall said intently. "If only there was a way to - wait..." He interrupted himself, staring off into space "I know exactly what to do."

Of course, Kendall was the one to do the deed, since he didn't cave under pressure. James was waiting impatiently in the snack alcove where he could watch for the new girl. Carlos was in front of the desk, keeping an eye on Bitters. Logan was sitting "casually" on the couch, flipping through a magazine and trying not to look suspicious. He was really, really bad at it. Kendall was really going to have to help him learn how to act natural in these type of situations.

After a few minutes, Bitters went into the supply closet and Carlos scratched his nose: the signal. Kendall smirked and nodded to James, who pointed to him with both hands and grinned like a total cheese doodle. Then James turned and scratched his chin, which was the signal for Logan. The genius stood up while reading and moved to the one place that would block the security camera's view of the fire alarm.

Bingo. Kendall turned to the red box, lifting the case and ripping the handle down before dropping to the floor.

A shrill ringing shattered the calm buzz in the lobby. Logan stayed in place, hands over his ears, acting confused. Carlos ran over to "ask Logan a question", further blocking the view of Kendall as he crawled over to the couch and jumped up holding a pen in his hand, as if he'd been searching for it and had just found it.

By this point, the lobby was filling with irritated people holding hands over their ears and heading outside to get away from the "fire." No one knew if it was real or fake, and the boys certainly weren't talking. James was waiting anxiously out of sight for the new girl and her bodyguard to make an appearance. When Bitters showed up and started asking questions, James realized that he looked too suspicious and had to go outside with everyone else.

Then the fire department showed up and Bitters started loudly accusing people of pulling the alarm. The boys insisted they had nothing to do with it, and Bitters threatened them with investigating the camera footage. But first the fire department had to canvass the building thoroughly to make sure there wasn't any smoke.

Just then, as the firemen divided up to cover all the floors, the new girl and her bodyguard showed up outside. Kendall got James' attention. James grinned and got his sign ready.

After the firemen entered, Bitters blocked the front doors off with a red velvet rope. "Until the fire department finishes their investigation, no one goes back inside! No one!" Everyone groaned and tried to find comfortable places to wait.

The girl's bodyguard went immediately to Bitters and started arguing, leaving his charge off to the side, looking uncomfortably alone. Logan tossed a small pebble at the girl. She turned in shock and stared at him, but he directed her toward James, who was grinning and lifting a sign.

Hi! I'm James, it read.

Then he flipped to other side of the sign.

Remember me?

*FLIP*

I met you by the pool.

*FLIP*

Want to talk?

"How do you do that?" she mouthed to him, looking amazed.

James considered his sign and then shrugged.

*FLIP*

I don't know.

*FLIP*

I'm just amazing that way.

She giggled quietly, trying not to get her bodyguard's attention.

*FLIP*

Want to sneak off and kiss uh...talk?

Her blue eyes looked mischievous as she motioned toward the wall behind her. Viktor was busy arguing with Bitters and the firemen about getting back upstairs, so James worked his way over to her. He gently pulled her by the hand until they were far enough away to not be overheard.

"Hi, my name is Grace, but you can call me Dia."

"Okay," James thought about that a minute. "It's cool that you have two names."

"Well, one is official and the other is the one my family uses. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, like nicknames? I've got a lot of those."

"You do?"

"My friends call me a lots of things: Jay, Jamie, J-dog, J-dizzy, J.D."

"That's so sweet. I've never had anyone give me a nickname before."

"Really? Maybe it's because we've been friends for so long. I met Kendall in Kindergarten."

"That's so nice. And those are your friends here, the ones I see you with all the time?"

James raised one eyebrow, smirking a little. "Have you been watching me?"

"Maybe," she said, "not too often. But you always look like you're having so much fun."

"Well, yeah, they're my friends. We live together in 2J and we're in a band called Big Time Rush. Have you heard of us?" he asked hopefully.

She flushed and fiddled with her long hair. "I'm sorry, I haven't. I'm not actually what you would call a normal teenager."

"You're too beautiful to be anything close to normal."

She smiled up at him. "And you are very handsome and charming."

"Not the first time I've heard that."

She giggled. "I didn't expect you to also be sweet. When boys are as handsome as you, usually they are full of themselves and pompous. But you seem different."

James smiled ruefully. "That actually may be the first time I've heard that."

"Really?" She frowned and took one of his hands in her own. "I like you and I want you to come upstairs and have tea. Will you come?"

James' eyes lit up. "Are you kidding? I've been trying forever to get up there and meet you but Viktor hates me. He keeps chasing me away."

"I'm so sorry. He thinks everyone is out of hurt me. Viktor," she called to her guard and he immediately turned to listen. James was shocked. "Let us return inside and host James as our guest."

Viktor scowled as he strode toward them, reaching out to grab James. But Kendall slid in between them, hands out. "Nope, nope, nope - not happening," he said. The bodyguard glared at him, but Kendall only drew his impressive eyebrows up and crossed his arms.

"Looks like we both have bodyguards," James said to Grace in a low voice.

Viktor pointed at James past Kendall's shoulder. "I have told you to stay away -"

Grace was embarrassed. "Viktor! I have asked James to be our guest! You are shaming me."

Viktor paused, then bowed slightly. "Whatever you say, Your Grace. They will let us inside now."

James turned to Grace. "Did he just call you..."

"Yes. Let's go upstairs. Shall we?"

James nodded, smiling, and offered her his arm. Grace took hold of his elbow gently and walked with him to the front door. The bodyguard nodded to the firemen and led the two of them past the rope. For once, James was glad that his mom had made him practice being a gentleman in all sorts of situations. He held the door for Grace and gave Kendall a giddy grin of thanks.

In return, Kendall gave James a proud nod, kind of like the one Mr. Miyagi gave his student at the end of Karate Kid. It was cool. James felt even better when he was led past the spot he had staked out for hours on the fourteenth floor. Chatting with his beautiful date, he walked proudly down the hallway to enter the forbidden apartment.

Once inside, James was shocked by his surroundings. The suite was more like four suites with most of the walls taken out. The furnishings were fancy, with rich fabrics and carved wooden scrollwork, heavy draperies and many, many expensive (priceless?) rugs. It looked like the kind of stuff his mom would drool over. James was overwhelmed as Grace turned to him.

"It's a little much, I know," she said. "My people have always spoiled me."

Viktor broke into the conversation from a few steps away. "It is only what her Grace deserves, nothing more."

"So then...you're a..."

"Princess? Yes..does that...bother you?" She tilted her head at him.

"No. You're actually the second princess I've dated." He paused, "Although the first was actually more like an enforced engagement."

She giggled at his expression. "It sounds like a good story. Are you hungry? Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please. That sounds really good."

Grace led him to a dark red room that looked like a study and they sat in two soft, comfortable chairs situated by a coffee table. It was difficult for James not to stare at the collection of exotic animal heads on the wall along with spears and swords until he saw the three-feet-tall golden statue of a lion-eagle-dog standing in the corner. It was way creepy, but also kinda' cool.

"My country is a small, independent nation called Indostani. It was a part of our neighboring country Kerplankistan, but fought for independence four years ago. Since then, our land has been in constant turmoil. Kerplankistan and their royal family would love nothing more than to take back our land for their own and so we..."

James had started out listening - really - but got distracted by the way Grace brushed her long blonde hair to the side and ran her fingers through it. It caught the light like...liquid gold. Wow. Something she said sounded familiar, but he wasn't focused enough to ask about it, which was really Logan's fault. The genius had gotten James used to turning off his brain as soon as big words entered the conversation.

James was wondering what he needed to ask so that he didn't sound completely stupid, when Viktor approached them with a tray of sandwiches and pastries. He set them down on the table, gave James a hard look and walked away.

"Please, have something to eat. Viktor is a very good chef."

"Chef?" James was sure he'd heard wrong.

"He is also my bodyguard. But the fewer people we employ, the safer I am, or...at least Viktor thinks that way. So he is my bodyguard, my companion and my chef."

"Kendall's mom is kinda' like that," James said thoughtfully. "She's our chaperone, our chef and our...um, clothes-washer?"

"And Kendall was the friend you have had since Kindergarten?"

"Yeah! He's the one who kept Viktor from pounding me a few minutes ago!" James said with a wide smile. "We grew up playing hockey together and got in fights together and dated girls...well, not together, but we did go on double dates a few times. And then we got picked to be a band along with our friends Logan and Carlos, so we came out here to LA. Now we play concerts and have fans and an album and songs on the radio! It's a blast."

"How amazing!"

Her response was a little underwhelming, to say the least. James had gotten used to girls knowing at least the name of the band, if not some of their actual songs. "I have a few songs downloaded on my phone, if you want to hear them."

Viktor walked back in, this time with a tray holding a teapot and some other tea-making things. "Would you like tea?" he asked James in a very aggressive voice.

James swallowed and nodded. There was silence as Viktor set down the tray and poured a cup for both of them, then left. James let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Sorry about him," she said, wincing. "You're the first boy he's ever let in for tea. I guess he's overprotective?"

"I guess. Hey, can I try one of those?"

"Oh yes, please, do. They are Viktor's specialty: mini pain au chocolate. There's a little bit of chocolate hidden inside of a very delicate pastry."

"They're so tiny," James said, picking one up in wonder. "I might - no. Wait, where did it go?" James looked at his empty hand in surprise, flipping it over and then checking his lap. "It was just in my hand."

Grace laughed a tinkling, adorable laugh that made James melt a little. "They do that sometimes. It's the lightest pastry I've ever had and, personally, I think Viktor might use a little magic to make them that way."

"I wish Carlos was here. He would love these so much!" James picked up another, focusing on the pastry all the way to his mouth. When he bit down, there was a burst of chocolate and flaky pastry and then it was gone - completely. "Wow."

Grace was sipping her tea. "Aren't they amazing?"

"Yes. Can you fix my tea for me? I don't know how to do it without breaking something."

Grace asked him a few questions then loaded his tea with sugar and milk. The cup was so dainty and small; the handle barely allowed two of his fingers. But the tea tasted amazing, so different from any he had before.

"So, I have to ask you a question," he said, "and I hope you don't mind sharing your secrets with me."

THUD

They both paused as there were several other noises from the kitchen.

"Viktor," Grace called out hesitantly. "Is everything okay?"

He grunted in return and she seemed satisfied. "I guess he's taking out his frustration on the kitchen furniture. Now, what were you going to say? You can ask me anything."

"How do you get your hair so shiny?"

She laughed her sweet laugh again, charming him completely. "It takes forever, truly. But there's not much else to do here. I have a special rinse made... in Kerplankistan and..."

She trailed off, her gaze fixed on something over James's shoulder. James sat forward. "Is something wrong?" he asked her. Grace wavered in her seat. "Grace?" He set down his cup and reached out.

"James," she whispered, taking his hand. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize I was putting you in danger."

"What? How?"

"She's talking about me," a snide voice called out.

James whipped around and jumped to his feet when he saw a short, thin man with wire-rim glasses and, more importantly, a gun. Behind him was a bigger, heavily muscled man leveling a dark gaze at James.

"Who is this, Grace?" James asked as he reached out and took her hand, pulling her up behind him.

"I don't know, but I imagine they work for the Kerplankistani royal family."

"Perhaps indirectly," the man admitted, "but we are only here to make sure that you return home safely, Princess Grace. Once you are home, we can get on with the business of rejoining our mutual countries together, the way it should be. I should introduce myself. My name is Antony and this is my associate, Marle."

"Where is Viktor?" Grace asked in a trembling voice.

"He is...indisposed," Antony replied.

"What did you do to him?" she asked in tears, stepping forward so that James had to push her back behind him.

"Careful," he whispered.

"He's fine, only lost a little bit of blood." Antony exchanged a smug glance with muscle-bound Marle.

"How dare you," she seethed and James was shocked to hear the hatred in her voice. That made James hate him, too. But what could he do against a gun?

"You are a surprise, James Diamond."

James raised his eyebrows. "You know who I am?"

Antony moved closer and Grace tensed behind him. "She may not have heard of you, but that's because she has spent the last few years on the run from Kerplankistan. In my home country, Big Time Rush is very famous, as is the name of the boy from America who almost wed our Princess."

"Your princess?" James gasped. "You're from Keplonkishan?"

"Kerplankistan, you fool! And since you've been drawn into our trap with Princess Grace, thanks to a very opportune fire alarm, there are now so many options. Should we kill you?"

"Um...is this a poll?" James interjected, raising his hand. "Because I vote no."

The man ignored him. "Or should we ransom you? I haven't decided. But I do know that Princess Grace will have to behave herself if she doesn't want harm to come to you. That makes you very valuable."

"I'll do whatever you say," Grace said firmly. "Please don't hurt him. He was only here for tea."

"And...I've had tea now and I see that it's time to go. Come on, Grace," James said, "I can show you where I live now." He led her gently around the coffee table but stopped when Marle moved to block them. The man shoved James backward but Grace kept him from falling.

"You live in a very safe world, American. But you should realize that you are no longer there." Antony stepped closer so that the barrel of the gun was nearly against James' chest. "Where exactly did you think you were going?" The man smiled and pulled the trigger.

James jerked back at the instant pain, but it was a dart, not a bullet. He barely had time to pull it out before his legs gave way and he was on his knees. Grace tried to support him, calling his name tearfully, but had to let him slide to the floor as he was too heavy. "I'm so sorry, James."

"'s okay," he slurred, so dizzy and... sleepy.

The room was spinning, but he stayed conscious as the two men headed for Grace. James opened his mouth to protest, but couldn't make his mouth work. She started screaming, and there was a flurry of motion before she was shot with a dart, too. They carried her limp form out of the room. What were they going to do to her?

James was helpless to do anything to stop them. He tried to focus all his energy on moving...anything. But the men came right back, one yelling at the other in a language he couldn't understand. Were they arguing about him? It seemed like one was pointing in his direction. He loathed feeling this useless.

There was a loud knock at the door. "Fire department! Open up, please."

James knew this was his only chance. He tried to call out, but could only manage a wordless groan that was cut off by a kick to his ribs. Then he couldn't breathe as Marle dropped on him, a knee driven into his chest. No air could get in or out.

Panic set in. As black spots gathered in front of his eyes, James wanted to punch and kick and scream, anything to get free. Instead, he was stuck watching the spots grow until black was all he could see.

It had been totally chaotic and crazy once they let everyone back in the lobby. Bitters collared Kendall and Logan and insisted the boys stay downstairs to get interviewed by the firemen. The security camera, of course, showed no evidence that they had pulled the alarm, but since they had been in the area, they were parked on the couches with their friends.

Bitters kept marching around and yelling and calling people until he finally got an investigator there to question everyone who had been in the lobby at the time of the alarm. The boys kept denying everything, of course. But the questioning took forever and things were only made worse by the fact that Guitar Guy was playing mopey music again.

"Sorry. I can't help it, dudes. I'm totally bummed."

Kendall tried calling James, just to get an update, but his friend didn't answer. It was okay; things must be going really well with the girl if he wasn't even picking up his phone. Then Kendall called Kelly, just to see if there was anything they "needed" to do at the studio, but there wasn't.

"I'm bored," Carlos said for the tenth time. "Why can't we play lobby hockey?"

"Bitters," Logan explained, irritated, "investigation, remember?"

"Can't we at least go to the pool?"

Kendall evaluated. Bitters was busy at the moment, having cornered a poor girl who'd only arrived at the Palm Woods a week ago. "Let's go get smoothies. They can't get mad at us for that."

Logan, of course, felt differently, but didn't want to point that out since it would mean that they wouldn't get smoothies. "Perfect," he agreed, offering Camille his arm before following Carlos and Kendall.

It was a relief just to be outside, honestly. And even better, they were only out there for ten minutes when they got word that Bitters was letting everyone go.

The big man gave them a stern warning that he would be watching them. Kendall tried not to smirk too much in his face before walking away, feeling great about how his plan had worked out. James was probably snuggling with his dream girl right now and they'd put one over on Bitters.

Logan said goodbye to Camille and the boys happily boarded the elevator. As the doors closed, Kendall reached out to give both his bros a hand tickle. "That, my friends, was a full-on awesome distraction," he said.

Carlos grinned. "Yeah! I can't believe James missed most of it."

"Yeah," Logan said with a smile, "but he's having a completely different kind of fun right now."

"Whoop! Whoop!" Carlos did a Party-King Celebration in James' honor.

Kendall was happy for a moment with his friends, but then his smile slowly faded. And as the elevator drew up to the second floor, a bad feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. He stepped off wondering if he was getting sick. No...it wasn't that kind of feeling. It was more like...dread.

Down the hall, Logan opened the door and held it as Kendall walked in slowly. Carlos followed, exchanging glances with Logan. "I thought we were just happy. Kendall?"

Their leader had stopped, staring at the floor.

"Uh-oh," Logan said, "it's not your Jaydar going off, is it?" He smiled at his own witty name for Kendall's sixth sense involving James.

Kendall looked at them, then pulled out his cell phone. "All call James now," he commanded. Logan and Carlos exchanged looks of shock and then whipped out their cell phones. They rang him one after the other, getting more and more worried when he didn't answer any of them. Feeling desperate, Kendall ran to tell his mom.

"Maybe he's in the bathroom and he left his phone somewhere else," Carlos said hopefully to Logan.

"This is James. He always has his phone and he always answers, especially if he sees all three of us are calling."

Kendall looked distraught when he returned. "She's going to keep calling him. Let's go," he said as he sprinted for the door.

"Big Brother?" Katie called, appearing in the hallway. "What's going on with James?"

Kendall paused at the door. "We're going to check now. I'm sure he's fine." Her brown eyes went wide because his Reassuring Voice was completely out of order right now. "Sorry, Katie - we have to go!"

As they ran out, they could hear Katie calling for her mom as she ran to the back.

Consciousness returned slowly to James. His body felt heavy and it was hard to think, as if his head was stuffed with cotton. Why is it so dark? Shifting his head slightly, he could see hazy light coming from the side, blocked by...something. His head was throbbing. Once he tried to move his hands he found that they were restrained, only able to move awkwardly together.

James tried to sit up to see better and hit his head on a bar directly overhead. Tears of frustration and pain gathered in his eyes. Okay, you can do this. Just think before you move. After a calming breath, he turned his head and pulled his hands up to where he could see them. Duct tape bound his wrists together. When he got his hands up to his mouth, he found duct tape there as well, making it really hard to breathe.

That was the easiest part to fix, but it took time for his numb, clumsy fingers to find the edge of the tape and peel it off painfully. It was worth it as he took in a full breath of air. But for some reason, it aggravated his chest and the dull ache there worsened.

James went limp, exhausted. Now that his eyes were better adjusted, he could see that he was under something large and flat, with something patterned oddly just above him. It was dusty under here. The pounding in his head was getting worse, so bad now that he felt like he might throw up. What had happened to him? Where was he?

Somewhere nearby, someone started crying.

"H'llo?" he whispered.

"James?"

"...yeah...?"

Then there was a stream of words that he couldn't follow. Slowly, he realized that it was Grace crying above him, still apologizing. The creaking sound that accompanied her movements finally helped him realize where he was; they'd put him under her bed. The hazy light was filtered by the bed skirt.

"James? Are you hurt?"

He wanted to say no, but his ribs were aching with every breath. The ache in his stomach grew sharper and James groaned, rolling toward the darkness to bury his face in the floorboards.

The muffled voice kept talking, but he ignored it in favor of breathing harshly, fighting the nausea as much as he could. Finally he gave up and lifted his head as he threw up what little he'd had in his stomach, making all of the pain worse. He wanted to ask questions, to try to understand what was happening to him, but there was only time to turn over and away from the smell before he fell back into the welcome darkness.

Kendall was stabbing the button to open the elevator doors before it had even stopped at the fourteenth floor.

"... let's at least think about how we're going to handle this," Logan was saying, but Kendall was already sliding through the doors. "Kendall?"

"Come on," Carlos said, sprinting after their leader. "We have to find James!"

Logan, the careful one, the sane one, brought up the rear as usual, muttering warnings to himself since no one else was going to listen. "Maybe we should plan for the possibility of a locked door, or bad guys with knives, or hey, maybe bad guys with guns? Then what will we do? I don't know. Maybe we should let the police know what we know before we go in there like gangbusters...I'm getting a migraine. I'm pretty sure I've had this exact nightmare before."

There were voices up ahead, but Logan didn't rush. He didn't like to rush; it made him feel panicky and he was panicky enough, thank you very much. Once he turned the corner, he saw that the door was open and his friends had gone inside. Fine.

He took a deep breath to fortify himself and stepped through.

The opulence of the room was stunning, first of all. This room was the length of four Palm Woods suites and he was pretty sure just the carpet was worth more than all of their possessions put together. Focus, Logan, he told himself. Second of all, his friends weren't in sight, but Kendall's strident voice was coming from another room.

" -don't care. Where the hell is he?"

"Your friend was here and left earlier, in the company of Princess Grace's bodyguard," someone with a dry voice answered. "I believe they left by the back stairs."

Logan entered the dark red room to see Kendall facing off with a smaller man with wire-rimmed glasses. Carlos stood to the side, arms crossed over his chest as he faced down a very muscular man in a suit. "You're saying he's already left?"

"Feel free to check, my young friends. Just do not disturb the princess, as she has just fallen asleep. Having a friend here has tired her out."

Kendall glared at the man and headed straight for the door he was told to not enter.

"Ah...if you must check, do so quietly," the man said with a dangerous tone, "or else." He brought his hand out of his pocket to show a glimpse of a small silver gun before putting it back.

Kendall paused but didn't stop. He eased the door open and the boys all looked in to see the princess sleeping on the bed, tucked under the covers. The room was undisturbed and silent.

"No closer, my friend."

Kendall felt the nudge of a gun barrel at his back and nodded. The gun lifted and Kendall backed away. The man closed the door behind him.

Kendall's instincts were screaming at him right now.

"We check every room," Kendall insisted, looking Logan and Carlos in the eyes for their agreement. It might be dangerous to search, but that didn't matter. The other two agreed silently and they spread out, followed closely by one man or the other at all times. After several tense minutes, the room survey was done and they were pushed, protesting, toward the door by the muscled man.

The other man held the gun on them. "Thank you for stopping by. I am sure you will find your friend is fine downstairs. Now. Goodbye." He closed the door in their face and locked it.

Logan was shaking as they walked down the hallway. He'd never been confronted by a real gun before. It was terrifying. If those men had James...nope, he couldn't even think about that.

Ahead of him, Kendall yelled a stream of obscenities and punched the wall. Carlos ran over to him, already in tears. "Kendall? Are are you okay?"

Kendall was shaking, like Logan. However, unlike Logan, Kendall was shaking in rage, his eyes murderous. "He's in there somewhere but we can't get back in!" He turned to Logan. "How do we find him? How do we get him out?"

"Shouldn't we check the stairs to see if they were telling the truth?" Logan asked, hating himself for having to ask, but asking anyway.

Kendall sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "Go ahead, Carlos. All the way down to the second floor. Hurry."

Carlos blinked once and then he was gone. "I'll be right back!" He slammed into the stairway door and was through in a flash.

Kendall leveled his gaze at Logan. "Now, when he comes back and says that James isn't in there, because we both know he will, then how do we get him out?"

Logan wasn't often scared of Kendall, but at this moment, he felt shaken to the core. He took a step back so that he could think more clearly. Kendall did the same, obviously trying to get a hold on himself.

"We need to tell the police. We need to-"

"Shhhh," Kendall interrupted him. They both turned back to look at the door they had just left. There were voices arguing and someone was unlocking the door.

"We need to go," Logan hissed, pulling at Kendall. They raced together down the hallway, turned the corner and only paused at the stairwell door to silently debate. "Elevator or stairs?" Once they agreed on taking the stairs, they opened the door and slipped inside. Someone was pounding up the stairs below them.

"Carlos," they realized at the same time. Kendall darted forward and leaned over the railing. "Carlos, stop!" he said as quietly as he could.

Carlos went to the railing and looked up. "I didn't find him," he said in a tearful voice.

"We know, just come up here and be silent."

"Okay," he agreed, sniffling as he tiptoed the rest of the way to where they were. When he got there, Logan slapped a hand over his mouth. "They're coming," he whispered and pulled his friend back to lean against the wall.

"Wait- we need to go up a level," Kendall suddenly said, "in case they come in here."

Wide-eyed, Logan nodded and they all moved silently up the stairs one more level. Just as they pulled out of view, the door slammed open. It was them, the two men and someone with slight, shuffling footsteps. The someone was crying and it didn't sound like James.

"He only wanted water," a girl's voice said angrily. The princess?

"Shut up," the smaller man snapped. "He's still alive, isn't he?"

Kendall couldn't help himself. He edged up over to the railing and tipped his head over just enough to catch a glimpse of the two men hauling Princess Grace down the stairs. It sickened him, even more because he knew there was nothing they could do for her right now. Kendall moved back silently. "... not James," he mouthed to them, but they already knew that because they'd heard what he had heard.

James was still in that room and he was "still alive." Kendall forced himself to wait as long as he could and then started creeping back down the stairs to the fourteenth floor. Carlos and Logan tiptoed with exaggerated movements, all of them determined not to give the bad guys reason to come back up the stairs. In a few minutes they finally reached the door and moved out into the hallway, where they ran flat out.

While they ran, Kendall called his mom and told her to call the police, then handed the phone to Logan. "Explain," he told him and then he was at the door, frustrated to find it locked. But he had in his pocket the tool he'd used on Bitters' office earlier and he set to work on opening it.

"Come on, come on," Carlos said behind his back, pacing when it took him longer than a minute.

Kendall finally got it open and they burst inside, heading straight for the Princess' bedroom. Logan, still on the phone, brought up the rear. When he got there, Kendall was on his knees looking under the bed while Carlos was peering in the closet. "James?"

"Oh god," Kendall muttered, pulling up and looking at his two friends. "I think he was there. Someone got sick."

Logan returned Kendall's phone and knelt to look under the bed. There was a used strip of duct tape off to the side as well as the strong smell of vomit. "Bastards," he mumbled, feeling himself begin to shake again.

"Where else could he be?" Kendall stood up, raking his hands through his hair. "We looked everywhere else already."

"Not the closets," Carlos said suddenly, "not all of them."

"The pantry!" Logan said, suddenly very sure. They all ran for the kitchen and Carlos was there first, opening the folding doors to reveal...a very large man unconscious on the floor.

"It's Huge Dude," Carlos whispered. "They got him, too?"

"Is that...?" Kendall leaned in and then turned away.

Logan knew by his reaction what he'd seen. Sure enough, the man was bleeding from his head; a small pool of it had collected on the floor. "An ambulance will be on its way already, so..." Logan trailed off.

"What else did we miss?" Kendall asked. "We need to find him now!"

Logan knew what he was saying without saying it...that time was running out for James. He took over the search. "Check every single closet. Go!"

One by one, they started combing through each one, feeling their fear grow to a fever pitch over the next minutes. Kendall found himself in the red study and wrenched open the closet door. Inside was a medium-sized black trunk with clothing draped over it. Logan came in just as Kendall was closing the door in frustration.

"Wait," Logan snapped from behind him.

Kendall looked at him in surprise, then looked down at the carpet where he was pointing. There were faint drag marks from something heavy leading to the closet door. "But he's not in there..."

They both realized it at the same time. "The trunk," Logan said faintly, even as Kendall threw open the door and tossed the clothes over his head.

"No, no, no," Kendall whispered. There was blood on the latch.

"They said he was still alive," Logan said as firmly as he could.

"Guys," Carlos yelled from the other room, "did you find him?"

Feeling nauseous, Kendall fumbled at the latch and opened the lid. And there he was. Somehow James was inside, unconscious and folded up, his head resting on his knees.

"Yes," Kendall whispered.

Author's Note: One more small chapter to go! Thank you for reading and reviewing!