CHAPTER 6

Joseph heard voices calling his name and general chaos surrounding him as the blackness cleared though the fog in brain remained. "Clarisse?" The hoarseness of his voice sounded foreign even to him.

"She's gone, Joe." Mia's voice sounded like she was barely holding it together.

He blinked a couple times to try to clear his head. He noticed a circle of security, Mia, and Charlotte were all gathered around him, protecting him from curious eyes.

"Joe, we need to get out of here and assess the situation." Shades' quiet, but deep voice left no room for argument.

"Any clues?"

Shades shook his head. "The elevator stalled between floors, but by the time anyone realized it and called for help, they apparently had already gassed both of you and taken her through the shaft somehow."

"They dusted for prints?" He knew it was a useless question, but had to ask anyway.

Shades nodded. "Let's talk in the car." Without another word, he started moving toward the door. Mia, Charlotte, Joe, the royal guard and security there completed the entourage.

Once inside the car, the driver started moving away from the theater. The royal guard provided security with additional cars ahead and behind. After a few moments, Charlotte turned toward Mia. "This is all your fault."

"Char?!" Shades started.

Mia shook her head, "No, let her finish."

"Your speech just fired them up and made them want to take revenge. The reason I didn't tell you or Clarisse was I was trying to protect you! For all the good that did…"

Mia opened her mouth to speak, but Charlotte continued. "It was me they were trying to stop and I was fine with the target painted on my back, but now she's gone. Do you understand?! My best friend is GONE!"

With her last words, the tears escaped down Charlotte's face and she lowered her head. Joseph moved over to sit next to her. "Come on now, Charlotte. You know what a fighter Clarisse is. We're going to find her."

Charlotte shook her head. "They have her, Joe. They are going to take their retribution for what Mia and I did, OUR choices, and they're going to make her pay for it."

"Not if I have anything to say about it, they're not." He left his arm around Charlotte, letting her cry on his shoulder as he fought to clear his head. He needed to think.

After several minutes, he turned to Shades. "You indicated they dusted for prints. I'm assuming they found none."

"Right. We can only guess they wore gloves, used a harness to get in through the top of the elevator through the shaft, connected a harness to her and lifted her out. The whole thing could have been done in a matter of minutes."

"But they had to get her OUT of the theater. With both Mia and Clarisse being in attendance, besides the royal guard and assigned security, the place was swarming with local police. You can't just carry an unconscious Dowager Queen out over your shoulder without anyone noticing." Joseph rubbed his temples. He was missing something.

Mia leaned her head back against the seat. "Yeah, it's not like there are secret passageways at the theater like there are at the palace."

Her remarks hit the center of Joseph's brain and dispelled the remaining fog. "Oh but there are, Princess. The original owner of the theater partook in many illegal and illicit activities, he included them in the plans to ensure he had many exits available to him whether it was to avoid his wife or the police." He knocked on the partition separating them from the driver. "Turn around! Go back to the theater."

When they arrived at the theater, Shades insisted that security stay there with Mia and Charlotte. He and Joseph headed in the back door, wanting to keep everything as quiet as possible. The ballet was still going on after all, the show must go on…or at least that's what they'd told him. "Where to, Boss?"

Joseph shook his head. "You're the boss now, remember?"

"Your wife was the one abducted and you know these passage ways far better than me. So, for now, you have lead."

Being reminded his wife had been abducted and those men had her made his stomach lurch. Clarisse was strong and he was hopeful that the Order was just trying to send a message of fear and that Clarisse would be returned, unharmed once their demands were met. He sighed. There was no way in hell that Mia would back down. Charlotte might, but his young queen had been adamant that she didn't bow to bullies in high school and she wouldn't now that she was reigning over Genovia.

He also knew Clarisse would do the same. As hard as it would be. She would not turn her back from something she knew was right. Women in parliament was progress and Genovia needed that.

So the only solution was to find her before this situation got beyond whatever minimal control they might have. He clasped Shades' shoulder. "Okay, follow me."

Silently they worked their way back to the access panel for the elevator shaft and then made their way through the tunnels that Joseph had reviewed in the early days of taking command of security. They kept their heads on a swivel, looking for any clue. When they reached the end of the tunnel that led them outside, Joseph felt deflated. He wasn't sure what he hoped to find, but he'd hoped there was something.

They stepped outside in the cool night air. Shades continued to look while Joseph leaned against the brick wall of the building. "There has to be some clue!" Shades grumbled as he walked the length of the building."

"These men hire professionals. Clarisse told me how they set fire to every tree in the pear orchards in Genovia, except one. From that one, they hung their banner. They have to outsource the work to experts. Old men in Genovia aren't going to know how to use knock out gas or harnesses. They may have had the knowledge about the tunnels and it's no big secret that the monarchy attends this production every year so it was simply a matter of getting the right people and waiting for the right moment."

"But they couldn't have known she'd take the elevator. Don't you normally take the stairs?" Shades came to stand beside him and lean against the wall.

Joseph shrugged. "I'm sure they had contingency plans. Maybe if Mia or Charlotte had taken the elevator, they would have grabbed one of them. They only needed one of the three to try to force the others to do their bidding."

After several long minutes, Shades turned to him. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Joseph's eyes closed. "I'm thinking many things right now, none of which are very pleasant."

"I'm thinking this was an inside job."

"What makes you say that?" Joseph determined that there must be lingering effects from the gas, otherwise he should have figured that out. Either that, or he really was getting too old for this stuff.

"We already suspected an inside job on the bomb placed under the Queen and Prime Minister's platform."

"Right…"

"Well, we did a security sweep of the theater this morning. Even though we didn't know about the tunnels, we had men stationed at every access point and entrance, including the roof. So someone had to have let them in ahead of time in order for them to get all of their gear in and ready. Someone carrying a large black bag would have garnered some attention."

Joseph had straightened and was giving Scott his full attention. He nodded. "So whoever was on duty the night of the explosion and on guard duty here tonight is a suspect."

"And a traitor."

With a hearty pat on the back for Scott, Joseph guided him toward the car. "Let's get to the palace and get to work."