Unpredictable
***NOTE: I posted this early since I'm leaving for Atlanta this weekend. I'll only be gone until Sunday night but I wouldn't be able to update this for another week if I hadn't gotten it up today. So…ENJOY!
(Eventually I will put out a picture of the cruise ship on my profile).
Chapter 12: Perilous Predicament
The fancy waiters walked around holding trays of food in their arms, obviously trained to carry large loads. Their training came in handy as the ship suddenly jolted, shaking the tables and plates. After the sudden small shake, the waiters and waitresses continued to set the meals down as if nothing had even happened. Duo stared around, his eyes ever watchful at the faces around them.
"Did you guys feel that?" Duo asked, turning to look at Heero and Trowa who had suddenly gone into a bought of silence.
"It's probably just the force of the waves," Heero noted calmly, his arms folded across his chest.
Duo nodded, but didn't respond taking his time studying the two. Ever since Quatre had left he hadn't been able to strike up a conversation with either of them. In fact, Duo had noticed that the two of them had become rather silent recently and he was beginning to feel like something was bothering them. Before Duo could think of something, or anything, to say, steaming hot meals were placed in front of them.
"Thanks," Duo smiled up at the waiter, who in turn smiled back.
"Grazie," the waiter replied in fluent Italian. "Is there anything else you would care for?"
"No, this looks great," Duo replied, smiling down at the food. "But I was wondering if you knew what that earthquake-like shake was."
The waiter nodded immediately, "Oh yes, terribly sorry about that. It appears that the ship has run out of gas unexpectedly. The problem was the cause of a leakage that cannot be attended to till early morning."
Duo blinked, "I'm glad it's nothing serious. But what about those staying only for dinner?"
"There was an announcement broadcasted moments ago by captain Noventa, but it was too noisy in here for anyone to hear. I suppose we'll have to post messages for people," he said more to himself. "Those that were planning to stay only for dinner cannot leave the ship, so they will have to stay overnight," he said, glancing between Duo, Heero and Trowa. "However, it will be free of charge, and I believe the Jacuzzi's and bars will be left open all night for convenience. There are some other things the captain is planning, like free drinks at ten and free massages, but the list will be given out later on and sent to each room."
"Sounds like a bargain to me," Duo grinned, leaning back in his seat.
The waiter smiled, obviously pleased, "I'm glad you are enjoying yourself despite the circumstances. Please enjoy your stay and I am Angelo if you need anything tonight."
Duo smiled and nodded politely as the waiter, Angelo, bowed slightly and walked away to tend to other customers. Duo turned around, his eyebrows slightly raising.
"I guess we're staying overnight, and for free too. This is yet another perk Quatre and I have gotten," Duo stated with a gleam in his eyes. "So that means we'll have lots to do tonight, but first let's eat."
Duo suddenly halted, staring at his steaming dish, smelling the delectable meal and wanting to dig in. He realized though that there was still something, or someone missing. He looked around, his eyes traveling through the crowd of people.
"I wonder what Quatre's doing. It's been almost fifteen minutes since he left," Duo said aloud, turning toward Heero and Trowa. "I think I'm going to go look for him and let him know our food is here."
Heero and Trowa nodded almost simultaneously.
"We'll wait," Heero said calmly, folding his arms.
Duo's eyes lit up gratefully, "All right. If I take more than five minutes feel free to start eating. I'm sure Quatre has just gotten caught up in playing the piano or something."
Duo flashed them one last smile before standing up and walking past the table. As he left the table he had the feeling he was being stared at, but shook it off knowing there were too many people having a good time. No one would really pay attention to him.
At the quiet table, Heero and Trowa sat idly with each other. After a minute, Heero unfolded his arms, turning his dark cobalt blue gaze on Trowa.
"What's the matter?" Heero asked quietly, as if he had known the other boy's thoughts.
Trowa stared off into space, looking around as he did until he finally turned his attention onto Heero.
"I'm not sure. There may not be anything wrong," Trowa answered, setting his water back down.
Heero was silent, knowing Trowa would continue when he was ready. It only took a few seconds for his thoughts to be proven.
"I met the captain's niece, Silvia Noventa," Trowa said.
"Yeah, I heard captain Noventa is on the ship," Heero said. "That surprised me from what happened the last time."
Trowa nodded, "That's exactly what I was thinking. Silvia mentioned that her uncle had helped uncover some of the treasures of the Titanic and the Mary Rose. Those were the first ships he helped bring to the surface after years of being under water. That was how Noventa got so rich in the first place. And he kept uncovering ships until he finally had his own built. Now, he's still searching for the El Caribe that vanished without even a distress call."
"That's surprising that he's still searching for ships, especially those that disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle," Heero stated, casually folding his arms and leaning back in his chair.
Trowa nodded, "What surprised me more was that he told his niece about everything, including his plans of finding the ship. If the wrong person hears about a sunken ship possibly having treasure inside that could lead to some trouble. According to the law in International waters any ship found after a certain number of years can be salvaged by anyone. What worries me is that she was telling me all of this without really knowing me."
"Which means she could have told a number of people on this ship," Heero finished, realizing what his concern was.
"I know we don't have anymore missions," Trowa said closing his eyes momentarily before opening them, "but I think we should keep our eyes open."
"Agreed," Heero said, nodding. "If something does happen we may have to find a way to get the civilians off the ship."
"Hopefully it won't come to that," Trowa said.
*~*~*~*~*~*
The crowd that had gathered wasn't too difficult to push through. He made his way out of the restaurant in no more than five minutes, walking up the stairs toward the bed room suites. Duo glanced around, looking for bright, noticeable blonde hair amongst the people and figured Quatre was still inside the room.
He did seem a little upset. I wonder what's bothering him. Come to think of it, Heero and Trowa were being a bit silent themselves. I wonder if Quatre felt the shake of the boat. I'm sure he would've rushed to come get us though, wouldn't he?
Duo's thoughts were all unanswered as he tried to figure out what was going on. Usually every time it appeared they got a perk in their vacation it turned out to be an adventure they didn't want to have a second time.
I'm sure that was just a coincidence. The shark, and then the room suite with the fake French woman, then the crazy poachers…I mean what could happen on a cruise with thousands of people?
Turned reach the floor their rooms were at and turned down the long hallway, heading toward the suites. Duo reached into his pocket and grabbed the key card, sliding it through to open the door. He walked inside and closed the door behind him, looking around.
"Quat, you in here?" Duo called out walking through the huge suite toward the suite that Quatre and Trowa were to share.
He stopped suddenly, listening as he thought he heard something. There was no sound or answer that he could here so he kept walking. Duo wondered if perhaps Quatre had decided to take a shower, or change.
But he knew the food was coming. Maybe he doesn't feel so good. That might explain why he looked a bit on the down-side.
Duo entered through the door, past the living room area toward the rest area, which included the separate bed chamber, figuring that was the only place he hadn't checked. He walked into the room, glancing around.
"Quat?"
His eyes glanced over at the baby grand piano, noticing that the keyboard was visible since the cover had been lifted. Duo walked toward it and put the cover down. Duo then went toward the bedroom door, noticing that it was shut. He rapped lightly on the door.
"Quat, are you changing?"
A muffled sound that had to have been a voice answered in reply. There had been no words just a noise and Duo hoped that Quatre wasn't sick. Turning the knob, Duo opened the door a crack, peeking his head inside. His eyes traveled across the large bedroom, landing on the king-sized bed. From his angle he could just make out a foot on top of the bed.
"Sorry I'm just barging in," Duo said, entering the room, "but I thought you should know our food…"
Duo finally approached the bed, his words disappearing as he saw Quatre lying on the bed with his hands tied to the board and his feet laying helplessly on the bed. His mouth was covered with duck tape and he was blind-folded; his blonde hair tousled as if he had been running.
"Quatre!" Duo exclaimed, running to his side without hesitation.
With the tape covering his mouth, Quatre made noises as he tried to tell him something.
"Hold on, I'll have you out of this in a minute," Duo said, untying the blind-fold. "When I found out what sick creep did this to you we'll make sure Heero and Trowa take care of him real good."
"Mmmfmm!" Quatre exclaimed through the duck tape.
The blind fold fell off, Quatre's blue eyes wide with fear and uncertainty as he locked gazes with Duo. Immediately, Duo worked at the duck tape until his peeled it off.
"Duo, you have to get out of here!" Quatre exclaimed suddenly once the tape was off, startling Duo.
"Not until we find out who did this," Duo said angrily, his eyes narrowing as he untied Quatre's hands. "Who did this?"
"I don't know! Some guy named Eli, but Duo listen to me! He'll be coming back soon so you have to get out! He wants you too!" Quatre said desperately.
"What?" Duo asked, looking down at him as he pulled the last of the binds from his arms, allowing Quatre to rub his sore wrists. "How does he know me?"
"He doesn't know either of us! We're just the so-called victims he's chosen to get away with his dirty work," Quatre said darkly. "He and his partner John are scavengers for boat wrecks and sunken ships. They want to scare everyone off this ship so they can take it and use it to find one of the sunken ships and attach it to a chain. Apparently this boat is big enough to drag whatever ship they want."
Duo ran his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath, "And let me guess. Somehow they're connected with whatever trouble is going on with the ship."
Quatre nodded, "The guy named John put a hole in the gas tank so it would leak, causing us to be stuck in the middle of no where from our destination with no help coming till the morning."
Duo's eyes widened in realization, "We've got to get to Heero and Trowa fast."
The door suddenly slammed shut and Duo wheeled around just as Quatre grasped his arm in surprise. Standing before them was Eli, looking both bewildered and amused; the smirk on his lips unsettling to both Duo and Quatre.
"Well, well, here I was waiting for John to let me know when he's caught our next victim and what do you know, here he is," Eli smiled. "Duo, right? I'm sure Quatre has told you everything by now."
"You really think you can get away with this?" Duo said, his voice flat and cold.
Eli rose his eyebrows, "Funny, Quatre said the same thing to me. You two must be hanging out together a little too much, hmm? Sorry I don't have a proper welcoming for you both," he sneered picking up a large bottle of wine that had been sitting on the table and pulling out a small pistol that had been hidden inside it, pointing it at the both of them. "Just sit and relax until John gets here, then you can become of use to us."
Duo glared at him coldly, his expression rivaling that of Heero's when he got angry, but he had no choice but to sit down on the bed next to Quatre. Duo squeezed Quatre's hand that had attached itself to his arm. Eli watched them with hardened eyes as he walked closer.
"I guess I'll have to introduce myself like I did with Quatre. My name is Eli, and that's all you're going to get. We've been planning this for a while and if you try anything to ruin this I'll put a bullet through your heads, is that clear?"
There was no response, but Eli didn't seem to care. His eyes traveled from Duo to Quatre.
"Once this ship has only us four on it we'll be home free," Eli said.
"Us four?" Duo asked sharply.
Eli's smirk widened, "Yes. What, did you think we'd take the boat then let you two go? First, that would be incredibly stupid since you know what I look like, my first name and more, but second…I've become attached to Quatre."
Duo's eyes narrowed as Eli's eyes flashed, knowing exactly what the creep was thinking.
"I don't think you've met his boyfriend then," Duo said darkly.
Eli's eyebrows rose as he leaned up against the wall, the gun glistening from the lamp light.
"No, I haven't. I don't think I've met yours either, Duo. But what does it matter? No amount of strength they have can overcome us," he said, running his finger across the gun. "I know what's wrong, Duo. You feel left out. Well, don't worry, because my partner has set his eyes on you."
"Oh joy," Duo quipped sarcastically. "How about you let us go now while you're still in one piece? I'm going to warn you that our boyfriends can get very hostile, especially when they find out what you're up to."
"Oh really— " Eli began with narrowed eyes.
"He has quite a big mouth on him, don't he?" a deep voice came from behind them.
Eli turned with a smile to the man who had entered the room so quietly none of them had heard. He stepped forward, finally illuminated by the light. Quatre stifled a gasp, his hand instinctively squeezing Duo's arm tighter. A man with somewhat bulging muscles came forward; both of his arms bearing a tattoo. One arm with a pirate flag and a bloody demon-looking skull staring back at them. The other arm had a broken heart on it and was dripping blood. He was taller than all of them and had a bandana around his head. He was wearing leather-looking pants and a very tight black t-shirt to go with it. Dressed in all black he certainly appeared evil and malicious.
"Well, well, we finally get to meet…Duo, is it?" the man grinned. "You're even better up close."
Duo tensed but didn't reply, his eyes watching the man's dark brown gaze on him. The man's eyes finally moved from Duo's face traveling toward Quatre and taking him in.
"How typical, Eli. You always go for the pretty-looking ones," he said, one eyebrow partially raised.
Eli half-glared at him in annoyance, "Well excuse me, John, for having an obsession with blondes. Besides, he's a great pianist."
Both men were now turned on them, grinning sinisterly. John walked forward, his eyes tracing along every inch of their bodies.
"I'm sure Eli has told you why we needed you. He always ends up blabbing our plans to someone, which is why I told him we won't be able to let whoever we choose go, since they'll know too much. Besides, it's more fun to keep our victims so that way the fun will last longer," he smirked. "That's why I told him to make a good selection on who he wants. Can't say I have a fetish for blondes, but I can see why he'd want you in particular," John's gaze fell on Quatre, who shifted uncomfortably from his piercing eyes. "What's your name cutie?"
Quatre stared at the man, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. His hand was squeezing Duo so hard he couldn't feel it any more. The situation was much more dangerous than before, for this time they were truly helpless and with men who had the advantage.
John leaned down toward Quatre, "What's the matter? I hope I didn't frighten you."
Before Quatre could back away, Duo was suddenly pushing him behind him, facing the man with a cold glare. John's piercing eyes locked into Duo's before a visible sneer came over his face.
"How sweet…And you're the tough one, right? Well, let's see how tough you are," John smirked, his arm lashing out and grabbing Duo by the chin.
He pulled Duo's face close to his, squeezing him roughly until Duo winced from the pressure. He tilted Duo's head back, staring at him almost intrigued.
"Well at least I get to see your pretty eyes. How about we have a little fun, huh? Since you're so willing to put yourself in his place," John whispered in Duo's face.
"Quatre."
John turned his attention from Duo, staring at Quatre who had come up from being pushed on the bed. He was staring at the man with a hard expression, making his face look more experienced.
"What?" John asked, releasing his harsh grip on Duo, who immediately brought his hand to his sore jaw.
"My name is Quatre," he answered again, but with more confidence.
John smirked, "Good. At least one of you cooperates. Quatre, hm? What a unique name. You know a name can say a lot about a person, but let's not get into being friendly. We're here to do our business and you two will cooperate. Now," he said turning to Eli, "is everything set for tonight?"
Eli nodded, "Yeah, the captain won't know what hit him."
"Good," John smiled.
"However, there is one problem," Eli continued, earning a glare from John. "It appears these two have boyfriends which they claim are going to mess us up if we do anything to them, or continue on with our plan of hijacking the boat."
"Ooo…Well, I'm scared now," John laughed, giving them a harsh look. "Look, your boyfriends can do whatever they want, but if they try and stop us we'll mess them up, got it?"
Duo's eyes narrowed, as well as Quatre's.
"You don't know who you'll be dealing with," Duo said.
"Do your little boyfriends have guns and are trained in martial arts?" Eli said mockingly. "I don't think they'll be any match for us."
"I'm sure they don't believe us," John said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as his smirk widened. "We'll have to prove it by pounding their little boyfriends into a pile of ash."
"But what about the plan?" Eli asked.
John turned to him, "It might be better to do it in the middle of the night rather than the morning anyway. That way there won't be more people that could get suspicious, hence the rescue boat that's coming to fix the tank. Besides, if their boyfriends are going to cause us trouble, we might as well get them out of our way first. So tonight…we're going to have a little get together," he sneered at Quatre and Duo.
"How are we going to get their boyfriends?" Eli asked, folding his arms casually.
"Easy. Now that I think about it, holding these two hostages would alert them and they'd tell the captain to search for missing parties. That would get things riled up. So we'll have to send a message to them telling us to meet us up on dock after midnight, when everyone is inside in their rooms or playing around and relaxing. That way there won't be any witnesses," John said. "Start writing their boyfriends a message and leave it on the bed. If they really care about them, they'll be checking in here.
"As for the two of you," his eyes flashed toward Duo and Quatre, "we'll have to find an appropriate place to put you until your boyfriends come to your rescue…," he sneered. "Eli, what time is it now?"
"It's a little after eight," he answered. "People will still be eating dinner for another hour or so before they either go to the game rooms or their suites or something."
"Right," John nodded. "Lock these two up in the boiler room for now. No one goes down there check, or at least they won't until midnight. Then the fun will really begin."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
TO BE CONTINUED…
***NOTE: I know this isn't as long as a lot of the other chapters, but this was a good place to stop I think. Besides, this weekend I'm off to Atlanta so I won't be able to update. Thought I'd give you all an early update because of that! (I stated that at the top too!) Anywhoo, the next update will take a little longer because I have some other stories I've been neglecting, yet again, but it won't be THAT much longer. ^-^
To Reviewers:
Ashen Skies: *grins* Yes, I do seem to love getting Quatre into trouble, except this twist is different. Both Duo and Quatre are in the same predicament so they'll both be tortured equally. *cackles* I tried to explain what was up with Trowa and Heero. They sense something is wrong so they've gone into mission-mode, but it's only temporary don't worry. It won't last past this chapter, well they'll still be in it but they're not the same as before they met Duo and Quatre…you know. Sorry this chapter wasn't as long; I wanted to update before I left. I leave for the plane in a half hour! O.o it was a close call but I did it! Anyway, YES much more action/suspense and FLUFFINESS to come! Plus wait till you see what predicament they'll be in next…Hehehehe…I love torturing the poor guys! ^-^
Shadowofdragons: *grins* Hehehe…sorry, kidnapping them won't save them. They're in for a real trip this time. Much more fluff and suspense to come too! Plus limey moments and Quatre and Trowa will have another lemon! *cheers*
Laney1: *smiles* Glad you like the twist! There's much more coming up, and lots of fluff too! I got this up early since I'm leaving to go to Atlanta, so that's why it's not as long. I hinted what was bugging Trowa and Heero. They sense something is wrong so they're in mission-mode; just overprotective boyfriends, ne? ^-^
Anna may: Well I'm glad I got this up early then! ^-^ Sorry it wasn't as long and it ended in a bad cliffhanger, I know, but otherwise I wouldn't be able to update this for another week. *grins* So I just cut the chapter short a bit. Oh yes, both Trowa and Heero are very overprotective boyfriends. Don't worry about that. Poor Duo and Quatre though…they're in for some big surprises. ^-~