1 week 2 days
"Paul?!" Kyle yells ripping his pocket in his urgency to yank his phone out when Paul's custom ring tone fills the quiet of the motel room he Isaac, Derek, and Stiles are in. "Hello? Paul?" Kyle says again looking at the screen worried he'd hung up. The line goes dead and the phone is silent. Kyle calls back hands shaking but the call goes straight to voicemail. "Danny," Stiles says breathlessly phone pressed to his ear. "We just got a call from Paul's phone…...OK he's tracking it." Stiles says looking around the room. "It's… all over the place. I'm...it appears they bounced the call off of several different towers." Danny's voices says uncertainly over the phone. "What city?" Isaac asks getting up and moving closer to the phone. "Phoenix." Danny says. "Can you narrow it down any?" Stiles asks as they start grabbing their things and heading to the door. "No sorry guys." Danny replies. "We're closer but still several hours away head that way. Keep an eye out to see if…" Derek says but is interrupted by Danny. "More activity!" Kyle's phone beeps with an incoming text message.
Paul: Wanted to make sure you were awake.
The phone beeps again with an incoming google hangouts video call. Kyle answeres it as dread starts to cloud his mind. The camera shows a small room. It's semi industrial some electrical panels on the wall. The camera appears to be handheld and moves slightly. The person holding the camera turns and the pack gasps when they see Paul handcuffed to a metal ladder attached to the wall. He's hanging limply his head moving slightly. His dark blond hair is matted and clumped with blood. "You might as well stop looking for him." A voice says with a heavy Scottish accent. "As you can see he is alive and while not entirely unharmed, far more obedient." Someone else's arm comes into view and grabs a handful of Paul's hair. He wrenches his head up. Several low growls fill the room when the sight of Paul's battered, cut and bruised face fills the screen. "Don't you have something you want to say to them?" Someone says. Paul's eyes are open but unfocused. A loud *slap* rings in everyone's ears as the person holding the phone slaps Paul across the face causing his head to jerk to the side.. He moans loudly. "Kyle...Isaac." Paul whimpers blinking his tear filled eyes as he tries to focus. "Let me go…..Dangerous….don't….try to find me." the person holding Paul's head yanks his hand back causing it to slam against the ladder Paul groans face going slack as his head drops forward. "I know I know, you fucking dogs will never stop looking. I just couldn't resist. You'll never find him. You'll never find us.." "What do you want with him? Please take me instead." Isaac pleas grabbing the phone from Kyle. "Please I'm begging you, if you want to kill wolves kill me just let him go. Please I'll do anything you want… Please!." "Oh I want to kill wolves alright but one? No that's not even worth my time. Your mate as you call him is worth far more than just one dog's life." "Time!" A voice out of range of the camera says. The voice sighs. "Well we must be going. Danny will have our location soon. He's pretty good. It's a shame he'll be put down with the rest of your kind. Farewell… It's funny actually. This human piece of sheit that so willingly turned his back on his kind will be the death of you all. Oh hell one for the road shall we?" At that Paul's head is lifted up again he's regained consciousness and focuses on the camera. "Peter… Don't…" is all he says before he's punched brutally in the face. Blood spraying from his split lips the call ends.
"We need an address Danny." Stiles says as they jump into their cars and race towards Phoenix. "I can't give you one." Danny says in tears as he smacks his fists on the keyboard of his laptop. He looks over at Scott feeling helpless. Scott nods and smiles at him before reaching around and squeezing the back of his neck. "You got this babe. You're the best." He whispers. Danny takes a deep breath and in seconds his hands are flying over the keyboard. "Play the video back." Peter says from the front seat. "Look for anything that can give the location away." Danny pulls up the hastily made copy he had made of the video signal to Kyle's phone. As the video plays Scott and Danny stare at the screen. "Wait stop.." Scott says. "Go back." Danny moves the video back a few seconds. "Stop. What is that?" Next to the ladder are two metal cases on the wall with thick cables going up into them from the floor. One of the cases has a series of numbers on it. "Oh my god." Danny exclaims. "What is it what did you find?" Kyle demands. "The telecom demarc is in the picture for a split second." "Ooookay?" Kyle says. "It's where the phone and data lines come into the building." Danny says typing madly on his computer. "Each one has a unique number on it identifying the customer." "Which is tied to an address in the telephone company's records." Peter adds from the front seat glancing over and making eye contact with Scott he says. "Well done Scott." "How long will it take you to get an address." Kyle asks. "Guys I'm going to have to get into the phone company it's going to take some time. I….. I'll have it by the time we're close to Phoenix."
Hours later Isaac kicks a door in at an empty building on the outskirts of Phoenix. "I have his scent." He says urgently racing through the darkened building. "Wait!" Derek commands as Kyle and Isaac race through the darkness following the scent. Neither of them slow as they race towards their mates last known location. Soon they are kicking open another door. The room is easily recognizable. Kyle touches the ladder gently barely able to contain his emotions as he see's a tuft of Paul's hair stuck in the peeling paint. Scott and Danny eventually have to pull Isaac back out of the room. His fury nearly raging out of control as the heavy scent of Paul's fear, pain, and hopelessness assails their senses. Derek and Stiles search the room while Kyle stands motionless. Head down both hands on the ladder where Paul had been secured. His eyes blurring with tears when he sees drops of Paul's blood on the floor..
Isaac's boiling fury surges across the bond. A loud crashing sound bring Derek, Stiles and Kyle rushing out of the small room. They see Scott pulling himself out of a wall and Danny struggling to stand from where he'd crashed against a glass shelf. Isaac roars in fury and begins destroying anything in reach. Claws slashing he rips, shreds and punches anything in his path. "Isaac." Kyle says moving to intercept the raging wolf. "Let him be." Derek says taking Kyle gently by the arm. "Let him work it off." Stiles says moving to check on Scott and Danny. Following at a distance they become more worried for Isaac's state of mind. Derek is about to intervene when Isaac slows and collapses to the floor drenched with sweat and panting. Kyle rushes to his side. "He's gone." Isaac whispers to Kyle staring past Kyle vacantly into space. "How are we to get him back? We have nothing, no leads. They don't want money, they don't want us. All they want they have." Kyle cradles Isaac's still bleeding hands in his and squeezes gently. "We will find him. You can't give up." "I'm going to kill them." Isaac says. "I'm going to find them and I'm going to kill every single one of them."
"Anything?" Stiles asks when Peter enters the building. He shakes his head no. "They left no trace outside, no scent to even indicate which direction they went." Peter says gravely. "One thing I don't understand." Kyle says from where he's still kneeling holding Isaac. "How is Paul going to be the death of us all. I didn't get the impression he meant just us." "He seems to think that some how Paul is going to make it easy for them to wipe out all wolves." Scott says standing next to Danny and placing his arm around his waist. "How would Paul be able to do that?" Stiles says. "The bond." Isaac says. Peter makes a "hmmmm" sound drawing their attention. "Paul is a very rare human. He has two mates and is extremely adept at interacting with the pack bond. It may be that they think his ability can be learned or transferred to someone else." "He isn't connected to all wolves though." Derek says. "How could they use that to harm all wolves?" Peter shrugs. "We should talk to Deaton and see what he has to say. If there is nothing else to be gained here?" "Yes." Stiles says. "We've been here far too long we need to get going before we're discovered.
Kyle helps Isaac to his feet, now recovered from his explosive wave of destruction. Derek pulls him close. Isaac buries his face under his Alpha's chin and shivers. "We'll find him pup it's just going to take some time. He's useful to them so he'll be kept alive." "For how long?" Isaac's wavering voice asks. "Long enough." Stiles says gently ushering them out of the building and towards their cars.