Author's Note: Alrighty, here's the long overdue, highly anticipated next chapter to my fic. hehe. J Sorry it's taking me so long to update, work has kept me busy lately. Anywho…ahh yeah, "Give me the beat boys and free my soul, I want to get lost in your rock and roll and drift away…" *listening to walkman right now* Muwhahaha! I love that song, I think I must be one of the few classic rock enthusiasts on ff.net. Okay, also working on my Taiora vamp fic, and if you're lucky I may be updating it along with this fic.
Oh, btw, let me know what you think of this chapter, I'm sorta lost with what I want to do w/ this. Don't worry, something should come to me shortly though.
Rating: PG-13, some cussing.
Disclaimer: *rolls eyes* Welp, if someone was gonna sue me, they'd have done it by now, but might as well slap a disclaimer on this sucker anyhow. …hey…did I just rhyme? Coolness. lol.
Mac burst into the small room, and as expected he discovered the vent shaft grating crammed behind the door. He proceeded to the center of the room and hopped up onto the desk. With his two massive hands, he lifted himself up into the shaft opening and began to crawl through it. He smiled to himself, knowing the two couldn't have gotten far since the ductwork inherently got smaller as it went on.
T.K. became increasingly cramped in their present surroundings. The young blonde contemplated on whether this had been such a good idea or not.
"Hey Matt, I want to get out of here." He whined, his eyes searching the darkness for his brother.
"Alright, T.K." Matt agreed as he shoved open the cabinet doors. T.K. stumbled out into the blinding bright light. It took mere seconds for his eyes to adjust as he and Matt scrambled to the open door.
"How'd you know he'd come after us?" T.K. asked the older blonde as they stealthily crept down the long corridor.
"I didn't." Matt grinned sheepishly, "But I figured it was worth a shot."
The two teenagers reached the end of the hall and abruptly stopped. T.K. flattened himself against the side of the wall and poked his head around the corner.
"It's clear." He whispered, stepping out into the main section of the warehouse. Both boys gazed around warily as they walked towards the rows of shelves nearest the west wall.
"I think we came in through this way." T.K. said, pointing past the shelves to a set of double doors.
"Are you sure?" Matt asked skeptically.
"Not really, but those doors have to lead somewhere." T.K. reasoned.
"Nice logic bro." Matt retorted.
"Well, whatever we do, we'd better make it quick before Mac finds out we aren't in the ventilation system." T.K. reminded him.
Matt and T.K. picked up their pace, as they ran down the rows of shelves. T.K. stopped suddenly, his eyes darting up to the ceiling.
"Uh, Houston we have a problem."
"What is it T.K.?" Matt inquired, backtracking to where his brother stood almost in a trance. He brought his eyes up to see a security camera mounted on the wall.
"Uh oh." Matt grabbed his younger brother by his shirtsleeve and hauled him off toward the set of double doors.
"We have to get out of here now!" he instructed, as he reached for the handle of one of the doors, momentarily glancing back to make sure no one was following them.
"Matt!" T.K. hollered, as the older blonde felt a hand clamp down over his. He whipped his head back around to see the disturbing image of the scar-faced man. Murphy reached out and grabbed Matt's injured limb, pulling it around his back.
The older blonde winced in pain, but fought back the urge to cry out, not wanting to show weakness in the face of his enemy.
"Run T.K.!!" he screamed, ignoring the fresh pain as he violently jerked in Murphy's grasp. The younger boy turned to run in spite of the knot that had begun to twist in his stomach.
"I advise against that Takeru!" Murphy hissed, reaching down at his hip and producing a long, deadly looking knife that gleamed in the radiance of the fluorescent shop lights. T.K. whirled around to see the gray-haired man holding the knife just inches from his older brother's throat.
"Yamato!" he cried, a sense of complete fear and terror penetrating his every fiber. His face twisted in disbelief. Two large familiar hands clutched his shoulders, securing him in place. T.K.'s head began to reel with horrific thoughts, as he stood entirely absorbed with the scene playing out in front of him.
"Mac." Murphy signaled the larger man with a nod from his head. Mac inserted his hand into his coat pocket, while keeping one hand on T.K.'s shoulder. It wouldn't have mattered either way, seeing as T.K. wouldn't move from his current position, even if he were able to.
Mac pulled out a small cell phone and jammed it into T.K.'s open palm.
T.K. stared at the small device and glanced up at Murphy, his bottom lip slightly trembling.
"W-What do you want me to do with this?" he mumbled.
"I want you to call your parents." He sneered.
T.K. slowly dialed his father's cell phone number, his hands somewhat shaky in the process.
Malcolm Ishida nearly jumped out of his seat when his cell phone began to ring. He slipped his hand into his pocket and produced the small phone, nearly dropping it in his excitement.
"Hello?" he said drowsily.
"D-Dad?" T.K. stuttered, as he watched Murphy place the knife back in the holster at his hip.
"Oh my God!" his father blurted out. Nancy peered around the corner from the kitchen curiously.
"Who is it Malcolm? Is it them?!" she asked, gripping the door frame.
"T.K., are-are you alright? Is your brother with you? Is he okay?" the questions began to pour out, as his father waited anxiously for his reply.
"I—" T.K. started to say, but was interrupted when somebody ripped the phone from him.
"Hello Malcolm. Remember me? We were having such a nice chat the other day." Murphy uttered into the receiver.
"You son-of-a-bitch! What did you do to my sons!?" Malcolm shrieked into the phone.
"Malcolm!" Nancy cried, new tears brimming in her eyes. She wanted to know what was going on, and hearing the distress in her ex-husband's voice only served to torment her further.
"I assure you, your sons are fine…for the moment." He hissed.
"You bastard!" Malcolm shouted, as Nancy ran to his side.
"Now, now Malcolm. I'll not have such language on this phone. Continue making remarks like that and I shall be forced to do something you won't like." Murphy said, his voice dripping with venom.
"Where are they? What do you want with them?" Malcolm demanded, shifting the phone from one ear to the other.
"Don't be so naïve Malcolm. You know all too well why I've kidnapped them. Revenge of course."
"But they've done nothing to you! They're just kids!" Malcolm pleaded, raising his hand to his forehead.
"That means little to me Malcolm. All that matters is that they are your kids…well you and Nancy's kids." He chuckled.
"When I get a hold of you…" Malcolm threatened.
"Listen Ishida! I'm tired of playing phone games! Don't you ever threaten me!!" Murphy screamed into the phone heatedly. This reaction startled Malcolm and he almost dropped the small apparatus.
In Murphy's anger, the scar-faced man began to squeeze Matt's wrist, causing the teenager to buckle under the pain. He dropped to his knees, with Murphy's vice-like grip still on his wrist.
On the other end of the phone, Malcolm heard Matt groan as if he were in some sort of discomfort.
"Matt!?" he cried in panic. "What are you doing to my son!?" Nancy pulled Malcolm's arm down, so that she could hear the phone conversation better.
"That was just a lesson to you Malcolm. Don't piss me off." He spat, as he began to regain his cool. He slowly released his grip on Matt's wrist and shoved the boy forward, who was intercepted by Mac.
"I'm going to tell you where to meet us, and I don't want any cops involved, or I'd hate to be responsible for what happens to your beloved sons." Murphy explained vehemently.
Malcolm drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "O-Okay."
A few seconds later, he hung the phone up and placed it in his pants pocket.
"Malcolm?" Nancy managed to squeak, as tears streamed down her face. "Where are our boys? Are they okay? Did he say anything…"
The dark-haired man brought his hand up to silence her. "They'll be alright, as long as we meet them outside of town at 4p.m. this afternoon."
Nancy looked into Malcolm's eyes. She stared hard at him for what seemed like an eternity.
"You know what's going to happen if the police don't intervene." She stated, her bottom lip quivering.
"I know." He replied, running a shaky hand through his hair.
"Then what are we going to do Malcolm?" she asked, biting down on her lower lip to steady it.
"We'll have to call the police, there's no other way." He stated.
"But…if we do…he might…" her voice lowering. A grim expression crossed her face. "Oh Malcolm, what are we going to do?" she sobbed.
Malcolm didn't answer. He reached into his pocket and pulled his cell phone back out. Nancy watched as he began to dial the police station.
Murphy tossed the phone to one of his associates and briskly walked over to where Mac was holding Matt and T.K. His eyes fell on Matt's pitiful expression as he cradled his tender, injured limb with one hand.
"There will be no more escape attempts from you two!" Murphy shouted. T.K. squinted his eyes, as the volume of the sinister man's voice made his ears ring. Before he even had a chance to re-open them, a stinging blow to his face sent him stumbling sideways, nearly knocking him off his feet.
"Hey!" Matt yelled, disregarding his throbbing wrist. His good hand balled up into a fist as he angrily glared at the gray-haired man.
Murphy's hands shot out and latched onto Matt's shirt collar. He pulled the boy in closer, so that their noses nearly touched. Matt tried to turn his head away. He could smell the nauseating stench of tobacco on the man's lips.
"You better just keep your damn mouth shut, unless you want your other arm to match that one!" he sneered, bringing his gaze down to the broken limb and quickly back to Matt.
The older blonde decided, however, that he would not be easily intimidated by the scar-faced man, and held his ground.
"Don't you ever touch my brother again!" he hissed back into Murphy's face, a determined look of resolve setting over his features.
"You're treading on thin ice boy." Murphy warned, as he drew his hand back to strike.
"Matt!!" T.K. screamed, breaking the heated moment between the two. He didn't want Murphy to harm his brother, and he knew how stubborn Matt could be at times. "Look Matt, I'm alright. See." He pleaded, trying to convince his brother that the sudden attack hadn't left any visible damage.
Murphy gradually loosened his hold on the older boy's collar. "I'll let this slide this time…but the next time you mouth off to me…" he threatened, "well, there won't be a next time will there?" He asked, placing his hand over the knife attached to the side of his hip.
"No sir." Matt uttered, casting his eyes to the floor angrily.
"Good boy." He cooed, making Matt all the more angrier.
"What should I do with them now boss?" Mac interrupted, still firmly grasping T.K.'s shoulder.
"Let's separate them for now. They seem to stir up too much commotion when they're together." He smirked, as Mac shoved the two boys in the direction of the long corridor from which they came.
"Vanni." Murphy said, coaxing a tall, wiry looking man over with his index finger. Vanni wore a pair of black slacks, and a grungy white tank top. His right shoulder bore a tattoo of a flaming skull with a dagger driven down its center. He was an inch or so shorter than Mac, with a considerably smaller frame.
"Yeah boss." Vanni replied, running a hand through his greasy black hair.
"Why don't you assist Mac over there." He said nodding his head towards the larger man, an evil smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Sure thing." Vanni grinned, eyeing Matt and T.K. intently.
Something about that look made Matt's stomach turn sour. The older blonde gave his brother a concerned look. T.K.'s sapphire eyes met his, and the younger boy bit down on his lower lip apprehensively.
Matt swallowed hard as Vanni slithered up beside him. He kept a cautious eye on the sinister looking man as he and T.K. were led down the hall.
Another cliffhanger, well it's not that bad. I get two days off from work! Woohoo! So hopefully I'll spend some time writing. ;)
