Chapter 5: Lies

Yakov sat at a table in his kitchen with Lilia in a chair near him. A detective sat in a chair on his other side, and the two watched the small television on the wall near the table. A warmly dressed female reporter on the screen stood in the falling snow in a wooded area, facing the cameraman in front of her as, behind her, rescue crews worked hastily.

"Earlier this evening," the reporter shouted above the buffeting wind, "it was reported that a commuter jet carrying members of the Russian National Figure Skating team crash landed in the gorge behind me. About an hour ago, the pilot, Khipa Vasin, staggered up this hill, dragging an injured Georgi Popovich. Not known as of yet are the fates of Mila Babicheva, Yuri Plisetsky, Victor Nikiforov, Kazakhstani skater, Otabek Altin, Swiss skater, Chris Giacometti and Japanese skater, Yuuri Katsuki, who were all listed on the flight manifest. The pilot was questioned by Russian police, but did not appear to know what happened to the rest of the crew or the missing skaters. The plane, he said, landed without exploding, however it did break up, and only one section has been found."

Yakov scowled and shook his head.

"I don't know why they are bothering with all of this acting," he complained, "That pilot is lying through his teeth."

"He is," the detective agreed, "Obviously, this is an attempt by the kidnappers to keep the abductions out of the news. I've had word that, in addition to the demands made to you for the Russian skaters, the embassies of the other skaters' countries have also been contacted. All were warned not to reveal anything about the ransom demands. We are lucky that they simply gave Georgi back as part of the ruse to focus attention somewhere else, but we do need to find clues quickly that will lead us to the other skaters."

"What are you doing about the pilot?" Lilia asked sharply, "I agree with Yakov that he must be involved in this."

The detective sighed.

"The ransom demands came in after Vasin made his statement to the rescuers and police, so we didn't know about the abduction plot in time to arrest him. He was let go after he made his statement at the hospital, and he disappeared after."

"Was Georgi able to remember anything about what happened?" Yakov asked.

"Unfortunately, no," the detective answered somberly, "He said that he only recalls getting onto the plane and it taking off. He remembers nothing after that. We have to conclude that the skaters on board were probably incapacitated somehow, probably with the use of a drug that they would have ingested or breathed in on the plane."

"How badly was Georgi injured?" asked Lilia, "Will he make a full recovery?"

"He should. His injuries were minor, and since we know there wasn't really a plane crash, we can assume that he was simply battered while he was unconscious, then Vasin dragged him up the hill to where the two were found."

"Do you have any leads at all about where the others could be?" Yakov inquired worriedly.

"I'm sorry. We are, of course, working on investigating anyone and everyone associated with Vasin. We know that this plot has to have been conceived over time and carefully laid out."

"But how could they know that the boys would be stuck at the airport that day?" Lilia objected, "That couldn't be planned very well in advance."

"No," the detective agreed, "It couldn't. However, we suspect that all of the other aspects of the plan were in place. Vasin and his crew knew that you sometimes chartered planes for your team and there was rough weather forecast. I suppose they had everything prepared and when they learned there was going to be a big storm, they took advantage of that to put their plans into motion. They may have had other possible means to pull off the abduction, itself, but this situation just presented itself and they went with it."

"Is there anyone besides Khipa Vasin and his crew members who you think could have helped pull this off?" asked Yakov.

"We have a suspicion…because there is someone known to have been friendly with him. Someone who has been involved in a few high profile abductions."

The detective removed a picture of what looked to be a very effeminate man with a face altered to look catlike and a slim body dressed in women's clothes.

"The suspect has male apparatus, but lives as a female," the detective explained, "We have only a couple of pictures of her and a name. As you see, the alteration of her face and the fact we have no fingerprints for her, means that we can't be sure of much of anything about her."

"Have you ever caught anyone else involved in the other abductions?" Lilia asked, "Someone must know something about this woman."

The detective's expression darkened and his eyes took on a grave look.

"We have never captured any other suspects alive," he answered unhappily, "There was just once that an abduction went very wrong and the victims being ransomed, as well as their captors were all killed in an explosion. The government didn't want Kat to know that they had any information about the group, so it was never made public that there was a kidnapping. This is the way the group works. They take the victims and set up a situation to make it look like an accident has happened and the victims are simply missing. They keep the loop small to avoid attracting a lot of attention. The good news is that although they have done this several times, all but that one time, they delivered on their promise to return the victims safely when the ransom was paid."

"Do you know what it was that made everything go wrong that time?" asked Lilia.

"No one is sure," the detective related, shaking his head, "There may have been some kind of confrontation between the victims and their captors. But it was impossible to he sure since the bodies were burned beyond recognition."

Yakov and Lilia exchanged worried glances and the detective gave them a questioning look.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Well," Yakov sighed, "Of the ones who were taken, most of them would be wise enough to be cautious. They would cooperate unless there was some very clear way to escape without injury. But one of the men is still young and impulsive."

"Yuri Plisetsky," Lilia supplied, "He is a spirited boy and sometimes too bold for his own good. He could cause trouble for his captors."

"That could endanger, not just his life, but all of the victims," the detective concluded, "He and the others are going to have to be exceedingly cautious if they want to live and come home safely."

"Hmm," Yakov mused, rubbing his chin, "That doesn't bode well, does it?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Victor heard approaching footsteps, then he heard the chair next to his infirmary bed move as someone sat down beside him. He felt a soft, warm hand take hold of his and his heart skipped.

"Yuuri," he managed weakly, turning his head to look, and finding Yuuri in the chair and Tasha standing next to Kat behind him, "are you okay?"

His brow furrowed at the fact that Yuuri's head remained bowed and Victor could feel from his hand that his body was shaking.

"Yuuri?"

"I-I'm okay," he whispered dispiritedly, "I wasn't hurt."

"But they did something to you?"

"Just be glad your cherry blossom was so cooperative I brought him back," Kat growled softly.

"What did you do to Yuuri?" Victor asked worriedly, "Why is he acting like this. Yuuri, what happened?"

Kat leaned over Victor and breathed her next words into his ear.

"Stop now or there will be serious consequences for both of you," she warned him, "You know, I didn't want to bring him back. He was a lot of fun for me, so it's annoying having to give him back to you so soon. Be quiet little ice prince, or you'll both be my love slaves as soon as you're well enough to move!"

Victor's jaw clenched, but he read the warning in Tasha's expression and gave no response. Kat gave him a wicked smile.

"Good boy," she praised him, "You are learning to be nice and obedient now. Maybe if you keep this up, you will earn a few privileges, da? But, mess with me anymore and you will be very, very sorry that you did!"

"I'm not going to do anything," Victor answered, shuddering as Kat's hand slid under the blanket and caressed his belly, then slid slowly down his torso and between his thighs, "I don't want any of us to be hurt."

"Good," Kat purred, giving him a little kiss on his collarbone and her hand moving provocatively beneath the blanket, "What a good little ice prince."

Victor shuddered again as Kat's hand very slowly retreated, and Kat and Tasha left them alone in the room. Victor looked up at Yuuri, his expression darkening as he spotted tears in the corners of his blind eyes.

"Yuuri, what did she do to you?" Victor breathed softly, squeezing the hand that held his.

Yuuri shivered at the memory.

"It d-didn't go far, luckily," he answered in a shaky whisper, "M-mostly, she just teased me. I was only scared because I was tied up and I couldn't move much at all, and the whole time, she kept telling me what she would do if I didn't behave. Honestly, I was more scared by her words than anything she did. She's really dangerous, Victor!"

"I know," Victor agreed, "so we have to be careful. Yuuri, we need to be sure everyone is okay. Somehow, we have to get information on how they are."

"Well, Kat told me, although I couldn't see, that she has monitors in her room that let her see into all of the rooms where we're kept."

"Do you know if there's a monitor in here?" Victor asked.

"I don't know. She only wanted me to know that she watches us and the guards."

Victor felt another very hard shiver go through his distressed partner.

"Victor," Yuuri said shakily, "She almost killed Alek for damaging us."

"Strangely, I'm not very bothered by that," Victor said dryly.

"Kat is insane!" Yuuri hissed, "She wouldn't hesitate to kill us if we make her angry enough!"

"I know that," Victor assured him, "That's why I want you to be careful, solnyshko. I know you're scared and you're worried about me, but you have to be really careful not to make Kat angry. Don't do anything but what you're told."

"I won't," Yuuri promised, "But…do you really think they're going to let us go?"

"Of course they are," Victor said reassuringly, "They are dangerous people, but in the end, they just want money. It's bad for them if they do something to us and don't get anything for our return. Keep that in mind and you won't feel as frightened."

"I'm okay now," Yuuri assured him, "I was really scared when I was alone with Kat, but I'm all right, now that I'm with you. How are you feeling?"

"Awful," Victor admitted ruefully, "But in here, I can overhear the guards, so I've learned that Chris is alone in a room down the hall. Mila is across from him. Otabek and Yurio are in a room near ours. I've also learned that the shifts change every four hours, and that the pilot who flew us, Khipa, had not checked in on time as expected."

"Wow," Yuuri mused, "you have overheard a lot."

"I didn't hear anything about Georgi," Victor said, lowering his voice, "I would have thought he would be put with Chris, maybe, but they didn't mention him at all."

"I haven't heard anything about him, either," Yuuri confessed, "Victor, do you think they…?"

"No," Victor said quickly, rubbing Yuuri's hand comfortingly.

"But they said that…!"

"He's all right," Victor said soothingly, "We'll find out something soon. For now, just stay by me and be quiet and listen with me. We need to learn more."

"You need to get well," Yuuri said, lowering himself to rest his head on Victor's warm chest, "You're not as warm, but you still feel feverish."

"It comes and goes," Victor admitted softly, "but I feel better…well, except for the damned catheter. Maybe you can pull it out?"

"Oh, I don't know about that," Yuuri said anxiously, "I don't know how to do it. I might hurt you. Besides, what if they are watching us. They're watching all of the people in the rooms. And we've already troubled them, so they're not going to leave us able to do anything, right?"

"You're probably right," Victor sighed, considering, "It's just really uncomfortable."

"Sorry," Yuuri said sympathetically, "Maybe since you're better, Tasha will take it out when she comes in here again."

"Maybe," Victor agreed.

"Until then, let me comfort you," Yuuri said, stroking Victor's hand and tilting his head to kiss his lover's warm cheek, "They've hurt you."

"They've hurt you too, Yuuri. How are your head and your wrist?"

"Better," Yuuri answered more calmly.

"Good. Are you able to see anything yet?"

"No. I still just see grey with some light patches."

"It's okay. You'll get your eyesight back," Victor assured him.

"I hope so," Yuuri sighed, "But Victor, I want to tell you…I don't want you to miss a chance to escape because of me."

Victor gave him a shocked look.

"Yuuri!" he objected.

"If you get the chance to escape, please go, even if you have to go without me!"

"Yuuri, I'm not going to…"

"Even if you have to go without me," Yuuri said again, dissolving into tears, "Victor, I have to know that no matter what happens, you're going to be okay!"

"Yuuri," Victor said, touching his face and kissing him tenderly, "no matter what happens, we will face it together."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kat gave a bored sigh and curled around the pillows on her bed, still catching little whiffs of Yuuri Katsuki's sweet scent. She thought regretfully about how their fun had been interrupted, and her golden eyes narrowed as she observed the Russian and Japanese skater, who occupied the infirmary. Yuuri laid, resting on Victor' shoulder, and the two men held hands and kissed frequently as she watched.

"What a bother," she complained to herself, "If it wasn't for that stupid little ice prince being so delicate, we could have had such fun!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have been so rough with the ice prince and nearly drowned him if you wanted to have your fun," said a feminine voice from the doorway.

Kat looked up, wearing an evil smirk.

"Oh…it's you," she chuckled, "What brings you in here?"

The person at the door swatted a small crop against her opened palm as she stepped into the light.

"Someone has been a very bad kitty!"