A/N : Here's chapter 18 (which is a bit longer than 17) Hope you enjoy it.

(Disclaimer : see chapter 5)

Chapter 18 - The Darkness

It was eleven o'clock at night when the secret service officials came back to the palace. Jay stood outside a door, listening intently as two of them explained the present situation to Mia and Michael. The guys that had taken Phillippe were criminals from France who had come across the border with the plan it seemed, of snatching the new princess, in order to gain ransom money. They needed the money in order to make a successful getaway from Europe where they were wanted for various crimes in several countries. When their plan of snatching the baby was foiled, they had grabbed the prince as he had made an attempt to save his family. The agents were explaining to the Queen and Prince Consort that whilst these men were criminals they were not murderers and the chances of them harming Phillippe were extremely slim. However, paying them may not serve any purpose as they could easily demand more money before they released the boy.

The agents explained that they knew the location of the prince and his captors and they planned to check out the situation by visiting the derelict building in question, near the borders of Genovia and Italy. (A/N : Genovia is between France and Italy, right?) After they had made their checks of the building, secretly and without the knowledge of the people within, then they would plan their rescue of the young royal.

Jay knew what he had to do, when he heard his aunt begin to cry again and ask what would happen if the plan went wrong. She was not given an answer, because it was obvious - Phillippe could die. It was unlikely, according to the secret service men, that the kidnappers would actually commit murder, but it wasn't impossible and the longer the situation progressed the more likely it became that Phillippe would not come back alive. Jay had a better plan, or so he thought, than anything the secret service could possibly have. If it worked, he would save his cousin, make Diana happy and effectively be a hero, or though he would not do it for the glory. If the plan failed, Jay's life could be more at risk than anyones.

The pitch black of the dark winter night gave good cover to the black car of the secret service agents. The two men, also dressed in black, climbed out and secured the car in the woods, just a few hundred yards from the derelict building where they suspected the royal prince was being held. They carefully moved their way out of the woods and towards the building, checking the weapons that were strapped to their bodies as they went. They did not plan on confronting the kidnappers but if their plan was to fail and they were discovered they would need to be able to defend themselves and protect the Crown Prince of Genovia.

As the two armed agents cleared the last of the trees they were unaware that the trunk of their car clicked open. A young man in a black leather jacket and black jeans jumped out and stretched, before turning around and watching the two agents, only visible from the light of the almost full moon, that had just broken through the clouds, as they disappeared out of his sight.

James Pelkowski prepared himself for what he was about to do. The secret service agents plan was to simply take a look around and come back later for the actual rescue, Jay's plan was much simpler - do the rescue now. Yes, it as more dangerous, but it was the only way to guarantee Phillippe would be okay - or at least, that was how the young Pelkowski rationalised it to himself as he followed a similar path to the agents, out of the woods and across the field towards the abandoned building.

"So what do we do if they don't pay up?" Phillippe listened intently as his two captors discussed his fate. His ankles and wrists were bound to the legs and arms of, a wooden chair, whilst the duo who had done this to him talked over their plan in the adjoining room.

"We're not really gonna kill the kid, are we?"

"Don't worry about it. They'll pay"

"Yeah, but if they don't..."

"Well, then we'll do what we said we'd do"

"But murder, Eddie. We've done a lot of things but we ain't murderers"

"We gotta get that money Joe, we may not have a choice. Now go check on the brat"

Phillippe waited for the return of the man called Joe. He didn't know what to expect from them. He had seen the note that had been sent to his parents as the man called Eddie had taunted him with it, but he did not know whether they were capable of murder. It was now evident that they probably weren't but this didn't quell the Prince's fears. People can be be capable of anything when placed under pressure.

On the roof of the building, the two agents were watching everything from the skylights above each of the rooms. They noted that the Prince seemed physically unharmed and that the two men had just one pistol each as weapons. They watched as one of the criminals came into the room where Phillippe was situated and seemed to talk to him about something before leaving again. It seemed clear to the officials that rescuing the Prince could be done quite easily if enough agents were deployed to the scene. The two men were working alone and it was unlikely that they would harm the prince if there was a possibility of being gunned down by a large group of armed police.

Whilst the agents watched the scenes from the roof, Jay watched from a window in the side of the building. As the criminal left the room where Phillippe was held captive, Jay realised if his plan was to work, it was now or never.

A/N : Please review because I love to know what you all think and I'll update v. soon.