Thank you to all who have taken the time to read, review and favorite this story. Now I know you're worried about what's going on in Genovia, so let's get you back to it right away!

Chapter 8

"Any luck?" Joseph asked Shades for at least the fifth time in the last five hours. Everyone was tired, hungry and irritable but refused to eat or get any rest.

Charlotte's hands moved over the keyboard. "No! There has to be something interfering with the signal."

With a heavy sigh, Joseph reached into his pocket to retrieve his cell. It was the middle of the night, but he didn't care. He scrolled through his contacts until he came upon the right name. After several rings, a gruff voice answered, "This damn well better be an emergency."

"It is. They have my wife."

"Joseph – what do you mean?" Michael's tone had changed, and his voice sounded completely alert. Joseph knew his training was kicking in.

"She was abducted earlier this evening by what we suspect is a wannabe terrorist organization hell bent on keeping Genovia in the dark ages. We've been trying to trace the chip you installed, but we're not getting a reading."

There was a long pause. "They might have already found it and neutralized it."

Joseph's heart stopped as fear clutched his chest. He'd thought of that, but each time came back to the same logic. "I don't think that's the case."

"What makes you say that?"

"She'd only been gone an hour or so at most when we initiated the program. Only you, Amelia, Clarisse, Shades, Charlotte, and I knew about it. We didn't tell anyone else. This organization isn't technologically savvy. Even if they considered it as a possibility, I think we still would have pinged it before they arrived at the conclusion, scanned for it and removed it." Ice seeped slowly through his veins causing a chill as he considered the piece of technology being forcibly removed from her tender thigh.

The silence continued for far longer than Joseph liked, but he knew Michael was thinking the options through. Finally, he spoke. "It's possible wherever they're holding her could be interfering with the signal."

"Can we boost it somehow?"

"Depends on what's causing the interference. Let me talk to whoever is operating the program."

Joseph handed the phone to Charlotte. "Do whatever he says."

She nodded and spoke into the receiver. "Tell me what to do."

After what Joseph felt like had to be a thousand or more keystrokes, she finally spoke. "Got it. Refreshing the program now." With a click of the enter key, the screen became a hub of activity. Several more painful minutes passed before a tiny red dot appeared on the screen. "We've got her!"

"How far away is she?"

Charlotte's face fell. "Over fifty miles outside of town. Near the mountains of Pyrus."

Joseph looked at Shades, "Let's go."

"We need reinforcements. We can't go storming the proverbial castle alone." Shades grimaced knowing Joseph wouldn't like this detail.

"We don't know who the mole is yet. We can't take others until we're certain." Joseph reminded him as he started to pull his jacket on. "You do whatever you need to here. I'm getting the coordinates from Charlotte and I'm going to find my wife."

Shades moved in front of him. "Joe, please. Help me find the mole so we can be sure she'll stay safe. Then we'll take the entire Royal Guard and bring her home. If whoever is the traitor sees you leave, they can notify the Order and it may put her in greater danger."

Charlotte locked the laptop screen and moved over to stand by Joe. "Listen, I know this is my…" she looked at Shades… "our fault for not being upfront to begin with, but we all agreed – right or wrong – that it was for the best. I'm being upfront with you now that you have to trust that Shades will find the mole and we'll get to her before it's too late."

Joseph rubbed his head as he fought fatigue. He needed to do the right thing, not the impulsive thing. But his need to protect her was inborn and strong. "I don't know. I don't like this." His entire mind was in turmoil. He needed some space. "I need a few."

Joseph stormed out of the security hub, more unsettled than he had ever been in his entire life. Could they not understand that for most of his adult life, his sole purpose on this earth had been to protect HER! Yet they expected him to stand by while they did God knows what to her and he just waited. No way in hell.

He'd decided he had to go after her. He'd head out in the direction of the last ping on her GPS then call them to let them know. By then he'd be too far ahead to stop him, and they could either join him or not. His life for hers. That was the deal. And if she wasn't alive, then there no purpose remained for his.

He started to make his way toward the garage to get his car. When he turned the corner, he ran straight into Amelia. "Princess…I mean Your Majesty. My apologies." He was so flustered.

The young woman pulled him into a hug. "I've always been Princess to you, Joe. No reason to be formal now."

He squeezed her tight. "Yes, you have. I'm just all out of sorts right now."

She pulled back a little, but still held him close. "I know how scared I am, and I imagine it's worse for you."

Joseph shook his head. "Not worse, just different."

Mia nodded. "So where are you headed. The security hub is the other way."

He sighed. He couldn't…wouldn't lie to his granddaughter or his queen. "I'd say you don't have security clearance for it, but…"

She smiled. "But as Queen…" Her smile disappeared. "You can't go after her, Joe. Not yet."

"Not going is killing me."

Mia pulled him close again. "But going without all the intel and backup could end up killing you both. Joe, I can't have that."

He looked into her tear-filled gaze. "Are you ordering me not to go?"

She shook her head causing a few tears to fall down her cheek. "I'm asking you to trust Shades to do his job like you've trained him. Help him. Help Charlotte. Whatever you need to do, but please wait."

Joseph sighed. He knew she was right. And he could never deny her any more than he could deny her grandmother. "Okay, Princess. I'll give it a little more time, but I can't promise unending patience."

Mia nodded and smiled. "That seems fair. Thank you, Joe." She pulled away from the embrace and took him by the hand. "Let's go check on their progress."

A couple of minutes later, they walked into the security hub. Charlotte shot Mia a quick glance and she returned it with a nod. So, the women had been collaborating against him. He'd forgive them…this time. "Has there been any ransom demand or any communication from them?"

Shades shook his head. "Not yet. But that could be because she won't cooperate. I would think they would want her to make a personal plea to the Queen for whatever it is they want."

The weariness in his bones won out and he collapsed onto the chair in front of the security desk. "You and I both know she'll never agree to that."

"Which is why we need to finish the search for the mole, make sure he or she never sees the light of day again, and then go bring her home."

"I'll give you until ten tomorrow morning. Whether we have the person or not, I'm going to get my wife."