Kory opened her eyes in the darkness again and felt around on the floor near her bed. She'd convinced her captures to allow her some light after explaining about her fear of the dark. Unfortunately all she was given for illumination was a penlight Tim had stolen from his father the Doctor. Even a resourceful, clever girl like Kory wouldn't be able to use that as a weapon. MacGyver himself wouldn't be able to use that light to his benefit or aid in escape.
Her hand found the small white piece of plastic and quickly she picked it up. The tiny beam lit up very little more then the palm of her hand when she turned it on. With a sigh Kory looked at herself and shook her head. The outfit the Pirates had given her to put on was an Aspire Prep cheerleading uniform, to her it felt like the ultimate betrayal.
The door to her room opened and Ethan Marlow stood in the doorway with a cell phone in his hands. He beckoned her with his finger and let her out into a room so bright she could scarcely tell where she was. It was the first ray of natural light she'd seen in days and her pupils shrunk to the size of a head of pin. Her head swum from the light, suddenly feeling dizzy. It over loaded her senses and sent her reeling, Kory almost fell over. She didn't know how she managed to read Ethan's lips when he instructed her to dial Charlie's number, or how she saw the keys on the phone, but she managed.
Charlie paced his room from the fifth time, agitatedly wringing his hands. His face was white and his eyes bounced back and forth in his head like a ping pong ball. The Ducks knew something was wrong, but after ten minutes of patient waiting their captain still hadn't told them what. He'd remained quiet throughout the parade to the room he shared with Banks and Guy, hadn't uttered so much as a syllable. Everyone looked at him worriedly, on the edge of their seats in anticipation for when he'd open his mouth. When Charlie finally did, they were all speechless.
"Kory's, been kidnapped guys, the only way I can get her back is if we let the Pirates win the championship. I know you guys don't really like her and I know how much the banner and trophy mean to you. But I'm begging you, please don't turn me down, make me lose her."
You could've knocked any one of the teens standing in that room over with a feather. Kory, kidnapped? How could that be? Kory Montel was the girl that kept Portman in line and popped Ethan Marlow one in the kisser. She was a brown belt in martial arts and was sharp as a tack. The silence was deafening in the ten by ten room. If you listened hard enough you could hear Charlie's erratic heartbeat pounding in his chest like tribal drums.
Fulton was the first to find his voice.
"Are you sure dude?"
Charlie nodded grimly, handing him the note he'd received.
"I found that in my locker. I can't even tell her parents, because her father would pull some stupid macho something, that'll get her killed."
By the end of that sentence the note had been passed to everyone in the room. All of the Ducks' faces were ashen, eyes wide as saucers and lips tot as a wire. None of them had ever so much as dreamed up that sort of situation. It was beyond anything their young minds could fathom.
"How are we going to do this Charlie? Everyone knows we're better then the Pirates, we beat them every year. Don't you think it would look suspicious if we just lost this year? Someone would know something is up." Ken folded the note and gave it back to the Captain.
"I dunno how we can pull this off Kenny. Jules, are you willing to fake an injury or something? Then Orion will have to put Goldie in, he hasn't been in net for years. That would make it believable if Aspire wins scoring on him." Charlie suggested.
Then Guy spoke up from the secluded corner he'd been sitting in.
"That's a good idea Charlie, but you know Orion, if Catlady says she's sick or hurt coach is going to want proof."
"Yeah, you're right, but I have to think of something. I can't just let them torture her, or worse. Oh god what if they kill her?"
The room went mute again as the congregation of teenagers sat trying to come up with an idea. They couldn't just allow the love of Charlie's life to be held prisoner, no matter how much they resented her. And they couldn't in good consciences sit back and let an innocent girl get hurt, when it was up to them what happened to her. The situation was brittle and the air thick with tension as they sat there, some running through scenes they remembered from their favorite cop drama. But no episode of NYPD Blue could help. Nothing to compare to knowing the life of a girl their own age was in their hands and it hung in the balance.
"Charlie, now I don't know much about this sort of thing, but it seems to me, maybe if we find whoever let the Pirates in, we might be able to find out where Kory is." A soft southern drawl came from the top bunk of the beds.
Strangely Dwayne had actually made sense, that was something that never happened.
Connie agreed.
"You know Cowboy, you have a point. Did Kory have any trouble with anyone around here Charlie?"
Charlie reflected for a minute before declaring.
"Sonya Rhodes. When Kory beat her at band auditions, Sonya told her to watch out."
"We better go have a word with that babe." Portman cracked his knuckles and punched air.
Before anybody had a chance to make it to the door, the telephone in the boys' room rang. Banks was sitting on his own bed, closest to the phone and reached over to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"I'm looking for Charlie Conway." The unfamiliar voice on the other end replied.
However there was a very familiar voice screaming in the background, screaming.
"Charlie, get me out of here please!" It was Kory.
"Charlie," Adam waved at his roommate and held up the phone. "it's them, it's the Pirates. I don't want they're doing to her, but I can hear Kory."
The captain grabbed to phone, without as much as saying 'hi' he demanded fiercely.
"You sick bastards, let her go."
Ethan didn't even bat an eye at that.
"Um let me think, no! I'm the one making the demands here Conway. Now have you given any thought to our offer, for the safe return of this gorgeous creature?"
"Charlieeeeeee!" Kory yelled again.
A lump formed in Charlie's throat, he felt so helpless. Being powerless was a feeling that drove him to the edge of madness. Hearing Kory cry out for him, and knowing he couldn't do anything to help her at the moment nearly crippled him.
"Someone shut her up." The head Pirate barked.
"No! Don't hurt her, okay? I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt her." The Duck swallowed both his pride and the lump in his throat.
"Alright, here's how it's gonna work. You're going to be in the lead by two though out the first two periods, in third we'll tie it up and will win in over time. See ya at the game." With that he hung up on Charlie.
Her hand found the small white piece of plastic and quickly she picked it up. The tiny beam lit up very little more then the palm of her hand when she turned it on. With a sigh Kory looked at herself and shook her head. The outfit the Pirates had given her to put on was an Aspire Prep cheerleading uniform, to her it felt like the ultimate betrayal.
The door to her room opened and Ethan Marlow stood in the doorway with a cell phone in his hands. He beckoned her with his finger and let her out into a room so bright she could scarcely tell where she was. It was the first ray of natural light she'd seen in days and her pupils shrunk to the size of a head of pin. Her head swum from the light, suddenly feeling dizzy. It over loaded her senses and sent her reeling, Kory almost fell over. She didn't know how she managed to read Ethan's lips when he instructed her to dial Charlie's number, or how she saw the keys on the phone, but she managed.
Charlie paced his room from the fifth time, agitatedly wringing his hands. His face was white and his eyes bounced back and forth in his head like a ping pong ball. The Ducks knew something was wrong, but after ten minutes of patient waiting their captain still hadn't told them what. He'd remained quiet throughout the parade to the room he shared with Banks and Guy, hadn't uttered so much as a syllable. Everyone looked at him worriedly, on the edge of their seats in anticipation for when he'd open his mouth. When Charlie finally did, they were all speechless.
"Kory's, been kidnapped guys, the only way I can get her back is if we let the Pirates win the championship. I know you guys don't really like her and I know how much the banner and trophy mean to you. But I'm begging you, please don't turn me down, make me lose her."
You could've knocked any one of the teens standing in that room over with a feather. Kory, kidnapped? How could that be? Kory Montel was the girl that kept Portman in line and popped Ethan Marlow one in the kisser. She was a brown belt in martial arts and was sharp as a tack. The silence was deafening in the ten by ten room. If you listened hard enough you could hear Charlie's erratic heartbeat pounding in his chest like tribal drums.
Fulton was the first to find his voice.
"Are you sure dude?"
Charlie nodded grimly, handing him the note he'd received.
"I found that in my locker. I can't even tell her parents, because her father would pull some stupid macho something, that'll get her killed."
By the end of that sentence the note had been passed to everyone in the room. All of the Ducks' faces were ashen, eyes wide as saucers and lips tot as a wire. None of them had ever so much as dreamed up that sort of situation. It was beyond anything their young minds could fathom.
"How are we going to do this Charlie? Everyone knows we're better then the Pirates, we beat them every year. Don't you think it would look suspicious if we just lost this year? Someone would know something is up." Ken folded the note and gave it back to the Captain.
"I dunno how we can pull this off Kenny. Jules, are you willing to fake an injury or something? Then Orion will have to put Goldie in, he hasn't been in net for years. That would make it believable if Aspire wins scoring on him." Charlie suggested.
Then Guy spoke up from the secluded corner he'd been sitting in.
"That's a good idea Charlie, but you know Orion, if Catlady says she's sick or hurt coach is going to want proof."
"Yeah, you're right, but I have to think of something. I can't just let them torture her, or worse. Oh god what if they kill her?"
The room went mute again as the congregation of teenagers sat trying to come up with an idea. They couldn't just allow the love of Charlie's life to be held prisoner, no matter how much they resented her. And they couldn't in good consciences sit back and let an innocent girl get hurt, when it was up to them what happened to her. The situation was brittle and the air thick with tension as they sat there, some running through scenes they remembered from their favorite cop drama. But no episode of NYPD Blue could help. Nothing to compare to knowing the life of a girl their own age was in their hands and it hung in the balance.
"Charlie, now I don't know much about this sort of thing, but it seems to me, maybe if we find whoever let the Pirates in, we might be able to find out where Kory is." A soft southern drawl came from the top bunk of the beds.
Strangely Dwayne had actually made sense, that was something that never happened.
Connie agreed.
"You know Cowboy, you have a point. Did Kory have any trouble with anyone around here Charlie?"
Charlie reflected for a minute before declaring.
"Sonya Rhodes. When Kory beat her at band auditions, Sonya told her to watch out."
"We better go have a word with that babe." Portman cracked his knuckles and punched air.
Before anybody had a chance to make it to the door, the telephone in the boys' room rang. Banks was sitting on his own bed, closest to the phone and reached over to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"I'm looking for Charlie Conway." The unfamiliar voice on the other end replied.
However there was a very familiar voice screaming in the background, screaming.
"Charlie, get me out of here please!" It was Kory.
"Charlie," Adam waved at his roommate and held up the phone. "it's them, it's the Pirates. I don't want they're doing to her, but I can hear Kory."
The captain grabbed to phone, without as much as saying 'hi' he demanded fiercely.
"You sick bastards, let her go."
Ethan didn't even bat an eye at that.
"Um let me think, no! I'm the one making the demands here Conway. Now have you given any thought to our offer, for the safe return of this gorgeous creature?"
"Charlieeeeeee!" Kory yelled again.
A lump formed in Charlie's throat, he felt so helpless. Being powerless was a feeling that drove him to the edge of madness. Hearing Kory cry out for him, and knowing he couldn't do anything to help her at the moment nearly crippled him.
"Someone shut her up." The head Pirate barked.
"No! Don't hurt her, okay? I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt her." The Duck swallowed both his pride and the lump in his throat.
"Alright, here's how it's gonna work. You're going to be in the lead by two though out the first two periods, in third we'll tie it up and will win in over time. See ya at the game." With that he hung up on Charlie.