Immediately upon arriving home, Victor went to his office. He knelt down next to the huge black telescope and pressed the buttons on the side. The secret door slid open, revealing his most prized possession, the metal ball. It floated weightlessly, happily unaffected by gravity. He looked around until he found a small plastic container. Carefully he positioned it around the ball and then closed the lid, sealing it inside. A two-dollar container now held the key to everything.

On the ledge behind his desk was a framed picture of Sarah. He picked it up now and studied it thoughtfully. He was not usually sentimental, and his logical mind knew that talking to a framed piece paper was wasted effort. Somehow he couldn't stop the words from coming out.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I know this will delay our plans a bit longer. But I know you would understand." Her smile never changed, as if confirming she was in agreement with him.

He set the photo back down and dropped into his padded office chair, suddenly feeling exhausted. He was tired of waiting, of thinking, of worrying; he just wanted this to be over. He didn't need hours to make his decision. He would give Brady anything he wanted.

He toyed with the idea of trying to call Brady, now that he knew he was using Ted's cell phone. But that might cause him to do something rash. Victor couldn't believe how much his old partner had changed, and how unstable he was. How many other people have I affected that way?

He could not get past the feeling that Brady was always one step ahead of him. He knew exactly where to get Vaughn, when to call and what number to use. He knew Victor was bluffing about the ball. He knew about Peradyne Two. There was no way he could've gotten all that information from Ted Clarke. Either he had some amazing, undetectable surveillance set up, or someone was feeding him information.

Someone close.

"Victor," Miller asked as he came into the room. "How did the meeting go?"

Victor just stared for a moment, regarding him carefully. "Fine," he finally answered. "I mean, as well as can be expected. I'm meeting him again tonight."

"Do you need my help?"

"No," Victor answered slowly. "I think you've done quite enough for me. Why don't you go back home? I'm sure Vicki is wondering where you've been."

"Are you sure?"

Victor nodded. "I can take it from here." He stood and shook the attorney's hand. "Thank you, Frank. I mean that."

Miller nodded. "Just call me if there's anything else you need."

Victor watched until he was out of the front door. He looked at the clock. 11:15. It was going to be a long night.

The closet was dark, stuffy, and infinitely worse than the bedroom. Vaughn sat in the cramped space now, tears sliding down his cheeks, feeling isolated and afraid and angry. Angry with himself for crying, instead of facing death bravely and stoically, as his father would've; and angry at the whole situation. It was such a stupid, ridiculous way for his life to end. He was barely even alive when the original events happened, and yet he was paying the price.

He wondered about his father now; if he was making an effort to find him, if he would pay the ransom, if he missed him at all. He knew in his heart that his father was doing everything he could to find him, but exhaustion and fear clouded his judgment and caused him to doubt.

One thought was clear in his mind, and it nagged at him now. If Brady simply wanted to kill him, he could've done it a long time ago. What was he waiting for? It could be the ransom…or there was the very real possibility that Brady was waiting to kill him in front of his father. Vaughn momentarily felt sick to his stomach.

He forced the thought out of his mind, and shifted his focus to his friends in the Science Club. It was strange, that in such a dark time he would think of the people he was really just beginning to know well. He had always been "popular," and had always had a lot of so-called friends, but he had never really felt close to any of them. He suspected they interacted with him mostly because of his name, his athletic ability, and his social status. They didn't really KNOW him, and they didn't really care. Strange too was the feeling he had that those in the Science Club DID care, even though he hadn't always treated them very well.

Didn't treat them well? OK, that was putting it lightly. He had been a stuck-up jerk. It seemed ridiculous now, and he desperately wished he could go back and change that.

Memories of his friends, and school, and football, and Josie all filtered through his memory and danced in front of his eyes. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he felt someone shaking him awake.

"Crystal?" he mumbled groggily.

She didn't answer but began tugging at the ropes that bound his feet.

"What are you doing?" he asked softly.

"I heard them talking," she explained. "I heard Brady say he was going to kill you. I didn't know, I swear...I never thought..." she swallowed hard and took a breath before continuing.

"I had to wait for Michael to leave. Brady's been gone for a while, meeting with your father, I think. Michael just left to run to town for more beer. We have to hurry." She finally succeeded in freeing his ankles and was switching to his bound hands when footsteps sounded behind them. She froze, looking at Vaughn with wide eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Michael! I was just, um, checking on him, to, uh, make sure he doesn't get away." She stood quickly and tried to smile at him.

Michael Jakes took two more steps towards them. "Why are his feet untied?"

"Um...I found him like this! I was re-tying him."

Jakes studied her face carefully. "You're lying."

"No..."

"You were gonna let him go."

"Michael, you've been drinking...just calm down."

"Calm down?" he grabbed her by the arm and jerked her towards him. "I supposed you were going to turn me in to the cops, too!"

Inside the closet, Vaughn braced his feet and pressed his back against the wall. He managed to push himself into a standing position and stumble awkwardly into the bedroom.

Crystal jerked her arm free and stepped back, towards the door. "Michael, I would never turn you in."

"You bitch. You were going to betray me. I knew from the moment you showed up we would have trouble." Vaughn saw a flash of metal and felt his heart leap. He has a gun.

"Michael, no...put that down...Michael!"

Outside in the driveway, Brady was once again calling the familiar number. "Hello, Victor. Did you get what I asked for?"

"I've got it. Where can I meet you?"

Brady began to grin. "I want to hear you say it. What do you have for me?"

"I have the floating metal ball, and all the information about Peradyne Two."

"And you'll give it to me?"

On the other end of the line, Victor sighed. "Yes, Jonathan. I'll give you anything you want. Just please, give me back my son."

Brady's grin turned into a full-blown smile. "Follow the interstate north to Highway 17 East. There is an old rest area there on the right side of the road, about two miles from the interstate. I'll meet you there." He hung up the phone and was surprised to hear a gun shot from inside the cabin.

"Don't!" Vaughn shrieked. But the gun was already going off, shattering the nighttime silence and making Vaughn's ears ring. He saw Crystal stumble, grab at her stomach, and then fall to the floor. Blood was already beginning to seep between her fingers.

Vaughn stared, frozen with shock and horror. He had just seen someone shot. She was bleeding...Vaughn dropped to his knees next to her, wanting to help but useless with his hands still bound. "Crystal?" He looked up at Jakes, eyes wide with shock and horror. "How could you do that?!"

For a moment, Jakes looked surprised himself. Then his face hardened again. "She deserved it. She never should've gotten involved."

They both looked up as Brady appeared in the doorway. "What happened?"

"She was going to let him go," Jakes explained.

Brady nodded. "I told you she would be trouble. Come on, we've got to meet Pearson at the old rest area."

"Meet him? I thought you went to get the money? You said I was through after that."

"He didn't give me everything. He was unwilling to give up the ball or the plans."

What? Vaughn felt his heart sink.

"I don't care about that! Give me my money so I can get out of here!"

"The money is at the rest area," Brady said calmly. It was a lie, but Jakes was half-drunk anyway. "I'll give it to you there, along with a plane ticket to get you out of the country. I just need you to help keep the kid in line."

Jakes stared hard, as if considering the offer carefully. The gun was still in his hand, raised in Brady's direction.

"It's almost over, Michael. We're almost there. Just give me another hour of your time, and we will be home free."

Once again, his words were mesmerizing. Jakes slowly lowered the gun.

"Good, Michael, good." Brady grabbed Vaughn's arm and pulled him along. "Let's go."

Vaughn took one last look at Crystal. She was still breathing, but shallowly now, and appeared to be unconscious. She was his last hope. Now she was gone, and his father wouldn't pay. Vaughn could do nothing but meekly follow his kidnappers out the door, his fate in their hands.

The ride to the rest area wasn't very long. Vaughn lie on the floor of the van and focused on breathing in and out, on good thoughts of his friends and happier times, on anything to keep himself calm and keep the dark thoughts away.

He thought of his mother. He had never met her, so he didn't have any memories of her, and yet he felt closer to her than ever. Maybe I'll get to be with her. The thought was soothing, and Vaughn focused on it.

The rest area was just off the lonely highway, shaded by large dark trees. A flimsy barricade warned travelers that the area was closed. Brady easily pushed it aside and drove his car into the parking lot. The building was long abandoned and boarded shut. A single orange light illuminated an area roughly 50 feet wide; the surrounding yard was dark and tapered off into thick forestland.

Vaughn was surprised at the cold night air when he exited the van. It had been cool but pleasant autumn weather the last time he was outside. Now it was chilly winter, with an icy breeze that his sleeveless shirt was powerless against. It made him wonder if he had been in captivity for weeks and not days. Everything he knew before was becoming fuzzy now. He was so tired...

After a few minutes, a car pulled into the lot, coming from the opposite direction. Vaughn recognized it as his father's Porche. His heart leapt as he watched Victor exit the vehicle and walk towards the circle of light.

"Don't come any closer," Brady instructed as Victor stepped into the light. He and Jakes stood on the opposite side, still in shadow, with Vaughn shivering between them.

"I brought what you wanted," Victor replied. "Come into the light where I can see you."

"I told you, you don't get to make demands," Brady growled. "Walk forward ten steps. Let me see what you brought."

Victor came forward and pulled a CD case out of his coat pocket. He opened it up and held it out, and Vaughn saw a flash as the light reflected off the CD. "The plans are on this disk."

"Set it on the ground. What about the ball?"

Victor reached inside his long black coat and pulled out the container. "It's in here."

"Show me!"

Victor slowly removed the lid. The metal ball floated gently into the air, hovering above his palm. Vaughn's eyebrows raised. His father had never told him about this. Still, he couldn't imagine why it was so important.

Apparently, neither could Michael Jakes. "Well, whadya know," he mumbled. "That's what you went to all this trouble for?"

Brady ignored him. "Put it back in the container and set it next to the disk. Then step back where you were." He turned to Jakes as Victor complied.

"Your part in this is done. The briefcase is in the front seat of my car and it has all your money in it, plus a plane ticket to Chicago. From there, you're on your own." Jakes grinned and winked at Vaughn, and quickly trotted to the car to claim his prize, not bothering to say goodbye.

"I brought what you wanted," Victor called. "Let Vaughn go."

Brady gripped Vaughn's arm tightly. Vaughn could feel the barrel of the gun poking into his ribs. Behind them Jakes's van rumbled to life and pulled out of the rest area.

"Walk up and get the stuff, then bring it back to me," Brady instructed in a low voice. "Come straight back to me or I'll shoot him instead of you." He pulled the ties off of Vaughn's wrists and nudged him forward.

Vaughn cautiously walked into the light to the container. He thought he heard a car pass on the highway near them.

"Stay where you are, Victor," Brady cautioned. "He's going to fetch for me."

Vaughn reached the center of the circle. He could see his father on the edge of it, his face eerily half-lit, half-shadowed. "Vaughn," he called softly.

"Dad," he answered desperately. "Get out of here."

"Shut up!" Brady yelled from behind him. "Get that stuff back here now!"

"POLICE! EVERYBODY FREEZE!"

Vaughn jerked to the left in surprise.

"THIS IS THE POLICE! NOBODY MOVE!"

He couldn't see anything beyond the circle of light. The voice screaming "police" was somewhere off to his left. He knew his father was in front of him and Brady should still be behind him. Brady...

'Are you going to kill me?'

'Yes.'

"Vaughn!" his father shrieked as Vaughn instinctively dropped to the ground.

Behind him, a shot rang out.