More than twenty-four hours had passed since Dana went missing. Abandoned warehouse after abandoned warehouse; there was no clue as to where they were. No-one to torture into telling him where either of them may be. No addresses of potential hide outs had been sent to him yet, so Christian was flying blind. Worry gnawed at the back of his mind with each hour that ticked by, but his focus remained on searching throughout the city, relentless in his quest to find answers. It was the only thing that was blocking his feelings of dread as thoughts of finding Dana dead in a ditch somewhere swirled in his mind.

It was nearing the thirty hour mark when his phone chimed, stopping him just moments before breaking into yet another warehouse owned by the Kurai Company. An unknown number sent him a message, but the words texted were ingrained into his memory: Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday...

Christian quickly texted back: Christened on Tuesday...

This continued back and forth, each sending the next lyric until the nursery rhyme was complete. Christian then rang the number, ducking down behind a dumpster to make the call.

"Christian, it's me," the familiar voice muttered into the speaker.

"Yes. I know. Where are you?"

Braxton paused. "Somewhere... Not far from Brooklyn, I think. I got this burner phone from a corner store."

All useless information to him. "Dana?"

"Look, Christian, we need to regroup and-."

"Braxton," he all but shouted through the phone before regaining his composure. Christian's eyes were drawn to the rubbish strewn across the alleyway, taking note of each colour, sorting them into their correct place within his mind. "Where is Dana?"

"I had to leave her behind or we both would've ended up trapped. Christian, I know where they have her, so now we can regroup and figure out a plan."

It made sense. Now that he had escaped, Braxton could lead them back in to rescue Dana. Christian knew the odds of him finding where they were on his own were slim. The anger that started burning in his chest subsided as the logic flew through his mind, once again pushing his worry and anxiety to the back, helping him to focus back in on what was important.

After taking a few seconds, Christian asked, "Whose blood was in the bathroom?"

"Some random guy. Dana did it." A low chuckle, followed by Braxton saying, "You should've seen it, bro. She was firing shots left and right - almost clipped me again."

Christian's mind flashed back to all the bullet holes in the walls of their hotel room. "Is she injured?"

"Not too badly. A dislocated arm, or at the very least an extremely sore arm. Where should we meet?"

"Station at 47th and Ann," he answered before ending the call.

The station wasn't too crowded when they both arrived. A small cafe sat just next to the station entry, so that's where they decided to get a coffee, sit down and act natural. Christian was sent the addresses of all Kurai Company owned buildings and businesses, though promptly ignored them now that it was no longer necessary. Braxton had told him where Dana was being kept as soon as they sat down at their table. If they weren't trying to act inconspicuous for anyone who may be watching them, Christian would've already left to rescue Dana. They needed more of a plan, though, before taking any sort of action.

"You said that the man who took you was expecting to transport both of you?" Christian glanced around casually, eyes scanning for a potential threat. "Where?"

Braxton shrugged. "No idea. I didn't even get his name. He didn't really seem to care who I was - just Dana. I was just taken because I happened to be with her at the time."

"You were meant to take care of her," he stated.

"And I did."

"If they've hurt her-."

"Christian, look, she's fine. Whoever these people are don't want her - they want you. They aren't stupid enough to kill their only bargaining chip." Braxton paused to take a sip of coffee, grimacing at the bitter flavour. "I hope."

"Kurai Entertainment Company."

"What?"

Christian's eyes roamed back over the crowd, pausing on a man sitting alone at a table, clicking away at his laptop. "Japan. The people who took you and Dana; I know who it was. And why."

"More people you've screwed over in the past?" His brother asked sarcastically.

"They screwed themselves over," he murmured in return.

"Jesus. You should have stayed away from her, you know? You were gone for so long, doing so well wherever you were."

"I know," Christian admitted, not letting any emotion slip out. "Dana is in this mess because of me, and that's why we need to get her back."

His eyes never left the man with the laptop, watching his fingers from an angle as they flew across the keys. Christian was able to image the keyboard in his mind, where each key was exactly, right down to the diameters of the keyboard itself, giving him an overview of what letters the man would be using as his fingers pressed down on them. The words started flowing through his mind, constructing sentences as the man's hands continued to hover over the keyboard. His posture was too rigid for someone relaxing with a cup of Jo, and his stiff fingers were a telling of the anxiety he was feeling.

Noticing his brothers fixation, Braxton glanced towards the man as well. "Should we go?"

"He typed our names out - it must be an online chat room."

"You think I was followed?" Braxton asked.

"No." He turned back towards their table, not wanting to raise suspicion by watching the man with the laptop any further. "I think they've been following me, but not from the same company."

"How many enemies have you made exactly?"

Ignoring his brothers jab, Christian said, "Tell me where Dana is. You cover for me, get this guy off of my back, and I'll get Dana. When you're done, round back to the hotel, steal a car from valet, and have it waiting in the alley. We need to leave this state."

"We should just leave the country."

"Okay. Just don't buy tickets for Canada. I hate the cold."

"I was joking," Braxton pointed out.

Christian just shrugged. "It's a good plan."

"Jesus Christ," his brother muttered.

Five hours later, and Christian was at the location Braxton had given him. It was an office building on the outskirts of Brooklyn. Nothing too fancy. A six story building with single glass paneled windows, one elevator in the main foyer, a single set of fire escape stairs on the inside, and a rickety old fire escape on the outside of the building. Kurai Company apparently owned shares in whatever company ran this building, though from the state of the actual office, it was definitely a front for illegal activities. Exports of weapons, drugs, people - anything.

A smiling lady moved to greet Christian upon his arrival into the front office. His eyes instantly noticed the small bulge beside her right breast, under the fabric of her suit jacket. His gun was in his hand and, within moments, a bullet was put through the woman's head. There was no need for a receptionist to carry a gun unless the building was a front for something more sinister. He moved towards the elevator, hitting the button for the basement with the butt of his gun.

Braxton had said they were in a room with no windows, and that he had to climb stairs to make it to the ground level before escaping from a small bathroom window. He was lucky to have escaped in the evening when the office was empty. The basement was the only logical choice, and the only area of the office building that would have air ducts to circulate air and regulate the temperature.

Two men stood in the corridor just outside of the elevator, though were quickly disposed of silently. Christian laid each man down to the ground so they're lifeless bodies hitting it would not alert anyone to his arrival. It was hard to tell which door would lead to Dana, so he gently pushed each of them open, hoping any one of them lead to her. All of them were filled with office supplies, desks and chairs, with some doors pad-locked from the outside, adding to his suspicion that they were hiding something more. Christian kept his gun at the ready as he moved along the corridor.

Just as he rounded a corner, Christian spotted a door swinging outwards, quickly stepping back around the bend and pressing himself to the wall. With a single peek, he was able to determine that one man stepped from the room before pad-locking it once more. He jumped out from where he was hiding once the large man's back was turned, aimed straight, and waited for his body to thump onto the floor before retrieving the key. It was eerily quiet in the room as he stepped in, kicking a piece of wood by the door to block it from closing all the way.

Dana was tied down to a chair in the middle of the empty room.

The flickering fluorescents overhead were hard to filter out, so Christian stopped a few steps in, focusing on relaxing his heart rate. Dana's head lolled forward, brown hair spilling onto her legs, clumped together in tangles. His eyes assessed everything quickly in an attempt to ignore the harsh lighting from above. Thick ropes tied her wrists and ankles to the chair. The pale skin of her arms had patches of bruising, even showing cuts in some places, especially where the rope dug into her wrists. Her chest rose and fell on shaking breaths.

Christian took an army knife from his pocket and began hacking at the bindings around her ankles, then her wrists, then her chest. All the while, Dana did not move or even seem to notice he was there. She began to tip forward once the rope around her chest - the only thing keeping her upright - fell away. He steadied her before gently lifting her face up, pushing the hair away from her face. His heart went cold at the black bruising over one eye and cheekbone. Her bottom lip was cracked and bleeding, along with a nasty gash on her temple.

Opening her eyes for a single second, Dana sighed as she weakly said, "Chris..tian."

"Can you walk?" His mind was running on auto pilot, afraid to express any emotions he might be feeling at the sight of her on the off chance he would do something horrible. "Or stand?"

A weak shake of her head was all he got in answer. Christian lifted Dana into his arms, wasting no time in making his way back to the elevator. The doors were shut, the little screen above it indicating it had returned back to the ground level. The only other person who had been in the office was the receptionist - who he had killed. This meant someone else had arrived and had pressed the button. They could be on their way down to the basement right now.

Taking a split second to think, he remembered Braxton's escape through the air vents. It was - at the very least - a good place to hide until he could take Dana out of this place. He walked back into the small room, kicked the chair into position under the metal grate, and climbed on top with Dana still in his arms. She was conscious, though barely, but he needed her to cooperate.

"Dana, do you think you can open your eyes?" He waited until she was staring up at him with foggy eyes before nodding to the vent half a meter above their heads. "I'm going to push you up into the air vent, and then you're going to need to move down as far as you can. I'll be right behind you."

Thanks to her smaller size, Christian easily lifted her up through the opening, waiting until she was far enough in before letting go of her legs. A thought came to mind, and he quickly tugged off one of her sneakers, doubting she would notice in her current state. She slowly moved along the air vent until she was out of sight. He knew she was using the remainder of her strength in order to do this. Before jumping up behind her, Christian darted out of the room, making his way towards a door with the emergency stairs sign. He pushed it open a fraction and dropped her show in clear view for anyone who happened to be walking past. It would serve as a distraction; they'd think he made an escape up the stairs and begin searching the upper levels of the office.

Finally, he climbed into the vent, knocking over the chair with his foot as he went. He slid the grate back into place before sliding along behind Dana. It was bigger than he thought, with enough room for them to squeeze in side by size. Dana had crawled further down than he would have thought, but now she laid motionless on her side, her breath coming in quick pants. Christian slowly moved up behind her, laying his arm out and rolling her until her head was cushioned by his arm. She didn't protest or even open her eyes.

Whispering, he said, "I'm sorry, Dana. We're going to have to hide out here until I can be sure the coast is clear. I can't carry you and fight at the same time."

He hadn't been expecting a reply, just telling her what was happening, so he was shocked when Dana moaned and opened her eyes. She stared at nothing for a few seconds until she rolled her head to the side, looking at him with a surprising amount of clarity despite the pain she would have to be in. Christian looked down at her blankly, unsure of how to react to the sudden hostility in her gaze.

"This is... all your fault," she breathed.

Dana then closed her eyes and shifted onto her side, facing Christian, grabbing the front of his shirt with both hands, fisting it in her grasp. Her breathing fell into a steadier rhythm and he knew she had fallen asleep. The pain must be too much for her. The words she had spoken were truer than anything he had ever heard before, but now was not the time to let emotions get in the way of the threat they were under. Christian had to remain vigilant until he was positive they could escape this office building alive.

So he remained motionless, his arm going numb as he counted the seconds between each breath Dana took.

I know I've been slack with the updates, but in between being promoted, a literal WAR breaking out in Europe, the ongoing Panini, and now flash flooding where I live, it's been...stressful lol I hope the few of you reading this enjoy the new chapter :)