Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 9- Ransom

Hey there! I'm so sorry about the delay! School recently started and I'm having trouble balancing Geometry homework, choir practice, cheerleading, and my SENIOR BOYFRIEND! Ha! A freshman's dating a senior! How awesome! His name is Ramon! .

Ahem, so, on with the detail! I can't quite remember what happened last chapter, so bear with me here… I'm pretty sure the last one was "A Deeper Understanding", right? Right?

Well, anyway, I thank everyone who commented on my fic thus far! For those of you who are sitting at home thinking, 'Hm, this bites. When will she get to the good part??' and write 'Hey! Great stuff! Keep up the good work!! ', this is where it gets interesting. I FINALLY HAVE A PLOT LINE! AFTER SEVEN CHAPTERS THERE'S FINALLY A POLT LINE!! … BE HAPPY FOR ME! DANCE! ::is under stress::

--

It was Fathers' Day. He was technically considered a father, right?

Right. He fed the kid, he clothed the kid, he punished the kid, and he got a one hundred dollar check each month for caring for the kid. That's what a dad does. So he had liberty to take the day off for Fathers' Day, right?

Right. Even if he didn't exactly TELL the kid he was leaving, nor when he'd return…

But darn it, Gene Starwind had been raising the kid for nearly half a year now, and nothing was going to stop him from taking this day off!

As the cocky redhead strode down a crowded street, he wondered why all his thoughts seemed to be tracing back to the little messy-haired boy still sound asleep at his apartment. Could it be that he was concerned about how Jim might react when he noticed his parental unit had dispersed?

No, Gene was gone all the time without any warning at all.

Of course, when he was gone, he was out with some air-headed bimbo and it hurt his head too much to even manipulate a thought about the eleven-year-old.

But now he was sober, and as he paid a hotdog vendor for a hot one, he couldn't help but wonder if the young child was waking up yet.

-

Jim's mind seemed like it was on fire- he could almost hear his own brain cells popping. He struggled as hard as he could, but unconsciousness was taking him quickly.

His foe held a damp, foul-smelling rag to his nose and mouth and with his other hand he held Jim in a headlock. The boy's tiny hands clawed helplessly at the man's hand and arms trying to break free.

'Chloroform,' Jim's mind screamed as it registered what was happening. 'I'm being gagged with chloroform.'

That was the second-to-last thought that entered Jim's mind before he succumbed to darkness.

The last was about Gene.

-

The redhead was halfway across town at a bar with a martini in one hand and a brunette in the other. With a slight buzz coming on, Gene had forgotten all about his little friend. Instead, he moved onto the next big question-

-How was he going to get into Joan's pants?

-

As he staggered home from his new friend's house, drunk and completely satisfied, he remembered he left his keys in his pocket, which he undoubtedly left in his jeans, when he inadvertently left at Joan's place. He had no idea whose pants he was wearing now.

But the key issue wasn't a problem, since he seemed to have left the front door open. And that lamp smashed on the ground. And that table overturned.

He was seeing a pattern, and he distinctively remembered being sober this morning when he left.

They say a sudden shock can actually send a drunken person to soberness.

Gene saw Jim's brown coat lying in the middle of what used to be his room, the boy nowhere to be seen. Pinned to the coat, however, was a yellow slip of paper.

"We have him. He is not hurt. He knows too much. Don't come looking for him," Gene read aloud. It was signed "Kei Pirates".

Gene not only cleared his buzz that second, but he also almost peed whoever's pants he was currently wearing.

--

Wow! That was actually better than I had hoped! Especially considering it's 6:45 A.M. I THOUGHT IT WAS AGAINST THE LAW TO GET UP EARLY ON CHRISTMAS VACATION! I know it's a bit shorter than my other chapters, but that's the drama. ::drama ensues:: See?

Well, let's see here… Next time we're going to go a bit more in depth as to who exactly kidnapped Jim. Gene's going to recruit some painfully familiar people to help him solve the case- or solve the case for him.

But he never returns Joan's pants.

Until next time! Love ya', byes!

-CU