Hey hey! Man, I write at the strangest times – it's like half an hour before I need to be in school….I'm so going to be late. Lol. Anyways, thanks for the reviews and do not worry Sarah, I'm sure Billy will get what's coming to him! Ha ha! Poor Travis, I know, but who doesn't like a hott guy all beaten and bruised and restrained! XP I'm sure Beck will be there to save the day! Read on troops!

Chapter Ten – Knight in Shining Armour

"Mariana, you stay here and wait in the jeep. If you see anything, drive." Beck gave her a stern look, but then his features softened as he stepped out the car door. With one foot outside he leaned across and kissed his girl.

"Be careful and bring Travis home." Mariana whispered. He smiled and shut the door quietly. Running for the cover of the trees, he dived deep in them and loaded his gun. God, he hated guns.

I yelped in pain as another boot was prodded into my ribs. I was on the ground, curled into a ball to try and protect my internal organs and other things….

"What did you do to piss your old man off, kid?" One of the thugs laughed as he lifted me half off the ground by my hair.

"Slept with your mom." I gasped, clutching my stomach. I was rewarded with a nice punch to the side of the head. I had lost all sense of time and my vision was blurry with unshed tears and way too many hits to the brain. All I could see was my bloody hands and the grey, damp ground. My knees were painfully sore and bruised, my back ached, blood dripped from my head and nose, my lips were cracked and bitten clean through and my head pounded like the worst migraine imaginable.

"You little shit." He smacked me again and threw me back to the ground. I was lifted off my feet and pinned to the wall by my throat. My head lolled to the side, I was quickly surrendering to a dark pit of unconsciousness. I had lost a lot of blood, I hadn't eaten in days and I was getting beat senseless. I tried to fight back, but Hoddit and Doddit had studied the fine art of causing as much pain as possible in the shortest amount of time.

I never heard the door open, but a cold draught crept up my back as I slumped back to the ground. Then my spider sense tingled and I knew he was here. I shuddered and forced the bile that had ridden up in my throat back down. I blinked and felt my hands slip off my legs to lie along side them on the floor. Then Billy was in front of me, smiling lovingly four inches from my face. He ruffled my hair, sticky with blood.

"How's my boy doing?"

"Never better." I mumbled. My eyes drooped, but my father started slapping me gently on the cheek.

"Nuh uh, Travis. Stay awake. We're not finished here."

I glared at him and licked my lips, wincing as I felt them sting. Yeah Travis, concentrate on the miner injuries and force the fact that your ribs and collar bone could be broken out of your head. I could feel tears surfacing, coating my eyes. I was just so frustrated and angry. I hated him. I hated him with all my strength.

"…Hate you…." I coughed. I cried out in pain as the vibration rattled through my broken body.

My dad placed a hand on his heart and looked miserable.

"Son, that hurts." He stayed like that a moment and then suddenly his face was wiped clean from the melodramatics and a malicious, terrifying grin climbed its way towards his eyes. I inhaled a shaky breath.

"Why do you even want me?" I asked slowly and quietly. He grabbed my face in one hand and locked his eyes on mine. I admit, I quivered in fear and my hands trembled.

"You may forget you're my responsibility and your antics are bad for my business. One day you will work for me."

"Never." I spat. He released me and I fell back to the wall, heavy with exhaustion and hunger. Then he braced a hand beside my head and leaned in close. I breathed heavily, but with a surge of determination and disgust I used all my might to lift an arm off the ground and pushed at his chest. I needed him away from me. My effort was in vain – he never even moved an inch.

"Oh, I forget little Travis needs his own personal space. Still getting those panic attacks?" He mocked and I felt his lips against my ear.

"You're coming home with daddy and no one is going to help you."

As soon as his words left his mouth, a screeching alarm hollered through the building. Billy stood up quickly with a frown.

"It's him. Move, move."

"Beck!" I gasped. He was here. He had come. I tried to push myself up, but one of the men shoved me to my side and bound my hands together and with a swift kick to the head, I was lost from reality.

"Crap!" I groaned as the alarm started going off. So much for my subtle entry. They knew I was here now, might as well make an entrance they wouldn't forget. I raced from the shadows and took down three guys in a matter of seconds. Tiles and walls chipped to the floor as bullets ripped into them. I grabbed one of the guys and twisted him into a headlock.

"Where is Travis?" I roared, pressing the gun to his temple. He struggled in my grasp and then I jammed the gun harder into his head.

"Basement." He mumbled and I let him go, but punched him out cold. I clenched my jaw. I needed to get to him fast, before they could arrange a plan of attack. I slid down some stairs, gun raised and eyes darting back and forth.

I was taken by surprise and grabbed from behind. I rammed my elbow into the guy's chest and grabbed round his neck, tossing him over my shoulder. He fell into a table and I watched it collapse under his weight. I exhaled loudly and ran down a dark corridor, stiff with concern and fear. I ran into another six guys and after a scuffle and dodge of bullets, I left a pool of bodies behind, still no further to my surrogate brother.

Half an hour of frantically searching rooms and beating up two hundred pound guys, I came to the last door. Deep on the bottom floor. This had to be it. I grabbed the handle and hurled all my weight into it. It cracked at the sides as my shoulder throbbed. I threw myself at it another three times before it finally gave way. There was no light in the room, but I could make out a body lying on the ground. The room was musky and smelt of blood. I felt sick. Racing to Travis' side, I knew instantly he was unconscious and not dead. A sigh of relief left my lips and I checked his pulse. Weak, but still beating. The kid was a fighter. In other situations, I dared not to have moved him in case of further damaging his already serious injuries, but the alarm still screamed through the halls and the whole factory was crawling with men and that snake, Billy Walker.

I lifted him into my arms gently and placed him over my shoulders. I would need to get out of here fast and get him to a hospital as soon as possible. I still held my gun in my right hand and my left hand was placed on Travis' lower back. I twirled round and felt my blood turn cold. There, in front of me was Billy himself, flanked by seven men all armed with guns.

"Going somewhere?" He drawled.