A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 7 (Brainstorming)

Jade was beside herself with grief, grappling with uncertainty and fear. While Beck and Sam took notes, analyzing every detail of the video, Jade was trying to bite back her own tears and screams. The others in the room seemed to do the same, while Jason was very still and very quiet, staring at the video with a number of emotions.

It was a bitter pill to swallow and tough to accept. Because it was on video, it didn't seem real. At the very least, Jade didn't want this to be real. "There are a number of clues," Sikowitz said finally. His voice was soft and calm, it seemed like he was trying to hide his own distress. "My first question to you is, do you recognize any of the attackers? Is there anyone that might be familiar?"

The question was less a test to see if they were paying attention or if they knew what they were doing, but more of a hope that they could identify at least one person that might lead them to potential suspects.

"I do." Andre whisked his hand from his chin and narrowed his eyes. "That girl that seemed to be leading the charge. At least I got the impression she was." Sikowitz hummed and rewound the video to the image of the woman holding the gun at Trina's face. Jade leaned forward, moving her hand to her chest as the face started to become familiar to her. "I've seen her before. We all have, I think."

"Hayley." Jade shook her head, her heart filling with disbelief and shock. "Hayley Ferguson. From that karaoke place a couple years back." Her heart sank into despair and she looked at the others, all beside themselves with disbelief and horror. "What would she be doing caught up in something like this? I know she was like, this cruel and horrible person, but…to think she could be this bad."

Sikowitz turned to Cat, who was working on a company computer at her desk. The redhead typed Hayley's name into the system and raised her hands a few inches from the keyboard. Her fingers trembled as the computer buzz3ed. "I don't think it's so surprising." Cat's face started to pale and she turned to the others. "She's got a record, an extensive one at that."

"E-extensive?"

"Yeah. She's been busted for possession of narcotics, busted for breaking and entering, prostitution, and even armed robbery." Cat dropped her hands to her lap and shook her head. "Her mom's a really good lawyer, which is probably good because it seems like she's already a fairly hardened criminal."

Jason growled and turned to Sikowitz. "Uncle, can we make any arrests?" Sikowitz shut his eyes and pushed his hands down his legs, curling them over his knees.

"Honestly, I'm not sure."

Sam lowered her notebook, her expression was grim and her gaze rough. "I was asking someone in my department why we were ignoring the Vega disappearance, and they told me I shouldn't ask questions and I need to be careful. I can't trust any of my people, and that troubles me greatly. If we make any arrests, something tells me we'll be shut down faster than we can blink an eye."

Sikowitz nodded and reclined his chair. "Besides, you guys don't have the authority to make an arrest." He frowned as Jade and the others gawked at him. "I do, Sam and Beck do, but that's the problem. Beck is only my apprentice, so he doesn't have full legal authority to make an arrest, and Sam is working essentially with a hand tied behind her back and a gun to her head."

Jade cursed and looked towards the camera. Staring at Hayley filled her with anger and rage, but she didn't know where to direct it. Even the aspect of questioning could raise flags; if a group this large could attack the Vega family and win, then just investigating could cause the group to attack and kill.

"There's a danger to this investigation," Jade whispered. Beck gave a nod, seeming to understand. Andre furrowed his brow and Jason turned his head slowly. "That looks like a gang right there. We don't know if they're affiliated with a gang, if they are at all, and it looks large enough that they might try and kill us just for looking around."

Jason's lips tightened and his nostrils flared open. "So if it's a gang, we cripple them!"

"It might not be that simple."

"It is that simple. I say we cut them down."

"No, you're not listening." Jade looked at him, furrowing her brow as she saw the pain flicker in his eyes. "Whoever is holding the Vegas, whoever has Trina and Tori right now…they've got protection. They have the protection of the police, most likely and the protection of a possible gang. They may be dangerous themselves. We can't just go in guns blazing. We have to be cautious."

Jason's voice started to rise. "We don't have the time. While we sit trying to figure things out, those bastards are out there hurting them. Trina might be dying out there."

"We can't afford to be hasty. I want to go in just as badly, but think about this carefully Jason. If the Vegas are alive, they're holding onto life." Jason furrowed his brow and Jade steadied her breathing, trying to calm her own nerves and be calm enough to relieve him. "If we go in hastily, that might cause the attackers to kill the Vegas. If we go in carefully, don't let them know anyone's investigating them, then the Vegas might stand more of a chance of survival."

"But if we take too long…"

"You're both correct," Sikowitz said. His interruption was abrupt and caught them off guard. "Right now, there's no right way to handle this. Or if there is, I'm not sure what it is." He scratched his chin and narrowed his eyes. "Open and quick investigation could endanger the family as much as covert and careful investigation could. If we rush through, we'll miss evidence and clues and possibly tip our hand so early that the Vegas are murdered; but if we take too long, the kidnappers will eventually tire and kill them all. We must pace ourselves, but we take too long or go too fast."

"We don't know where they are." Beck moved his hands behind his back and stretched himself, grunting softly. "We don't know what circumstances they're being held in, or-as much as no one wants to say it or hear it-we don't even know if they're actually alive." Sikowitz nodded and Sam closed her eyes.

"Exactly." Sam opened her eyes slowly and gazed out as everyone bowed their heads. "Everyone remembers the case involving Charles Lindberg and his child. The child was held for ransom, but it was found out he'd been dead the entire time."

"Most ransom kidnappings are like that, to be honest. With the victim dead, usually within minutes of abduction."

"But this isn't a ransom." Sam pointed her pen at the computer. "Beck, you caught where the abductors said whoever was in charge wanted the family alive." Beck nodded and Sam turned back to her notes. "We also have a second name of someone that may be involved." Jade blinked twice and Beck smacked his lips.

"Yep. Stephen. The guy that cheated on Tori." He narrowed his eyes and reached over, backing the video up to nearly the beginning. "That note Tori had, it flew underneath the couch."

"We'll have to go back and collect it. Do you think Daniel is involved at all?" Beck hummed and Sam fast-forwarded the video to the husky guy that had been fighting David. "This guy, along with Hayley, mentioned him."

"We couldn't even prove his involvement. Hayley tells Trina later that they 'researched' the family. Anyone could suggest that they were only bringing Danny up, not that they were involved in any way."

"Right." Beck exhaled and paced away, lowering his chin and shaking his head. "God, whoever has this family has the numbers. We don't even have the police on our side." Robbie suggested his brother once more, but Beck turned the suggestion down and raised his head back. "No, the CIA wouldn't help us out anyway Rob, they don't act in the US."

Robbie sank in his chair, despairing over the failure of his idea. Jade furrowed his brow and looked at Sikowitz for an answer. He had always been the one with all the answers and wisdom, but now even he seemed to have nothing. "Who could possibly help us?" She reached over, pushing Sikowitz's arm.

"I…" Sikowitz rubbed the back of his neck walked away, standing in front of his office window. His somber gaze studied the cars passing below and for the first time, he looked upset to be the man without answers. "I mean the FBI, maybe, could declare an open investigation. Still, open investigation could endanger the Vegas. There are people that need to be questioned, but how can we possibly do that without risking their lives? I mean, we are dealing with a proverbial hostage situation…"

Sikowitz turned around, his hands trembling and his face ashen and pale. "I…" His voice broke and his eyes glazed over. "I'm sorry to say, I don't know what to do. I have no idea how to proceed here. I'm at a loss…I'm the leader, and I have no answers for you."

A hush fell over them. Jade looked from side to side, watching the depression that surrounded her friends like a dark cloud. "We can't give up," she whispered, "That family is out there. They need us. We may as well be telling the kidnappers to kill them." It wasn't as though Trina and Tori didn't already feel like the world didn't care about them. "Just someone else to let them down…"

"No." Sikowitz walked over to his desk and grabbed his coffee mug carefully. "No, we won't let them down. We just have to think of something, anything that can possibly help our situation."

Jason was standing nearby with his arms crossed and expression heavy. He started to hum, his brow furrowing. "I think I have an idea, but it would be difficult. We have no one in position."

"Any idea is better than none, Nephew."

Jason uncrossed his arms and sighed. "Covert ops. An inside man. If we could find a link weak enough, somebody on the side that could help us…We may be in the best position, like it or not."

He scratched his chin and narrowed his eyes. "I remember a drill we had when I was stationed overseas." Jade listened attentively, eager to hear his suggestion. He pulled his hands behind his back and stood at attention. "We had someone on the inside, behind enemy lines, giving us intel. Our group was small, small enough to be unnoticed and small enough that the enemy would not determine us a threat."

Her heart began to rise as a sense of hope filled her. It was the first idea she liked, though it was the first idea anyone was coming up with. She wanted to get behind it, but was nervous because they didn't know of anyone that could help them.

"Our small group amassed the allies and connections we needed in silence, so as not to tip our hand. When we were ready, our inside man told us the best time that we could strike, and with all our allies and newer numbers, we were able to infiltrate their troops and attack. We took out the enemy before they knew what happened."

"It's certainly something to think about." Jade smiled, approving of the idea. If anyone else had ideas, she wanted them to bring it up and would begin thinking up ideas herself as much as she could. Still, she liked the thought of covert operation. "Our little private investigations group is small, small enough that we'd be unnoticed unless we tipped our hand…"

"I think it's great," Andre replied, "But the only problem is we don't have an inside man." He tapped his chin and looked at the security video with narrow eyes. "So maybe we find one…the question is, how and where?"

Jade frowned and gazed upon the computer, studying the attackers. One thing of note that she caught was the thick, black armband each member wore. On these armbands were a metal shield shaped insignia with the letters BK embroidered upon it. "I guess if we see anyone with those armbands, we know they're a part of that group…"

In the dungeons where the Vega family was, Trina sat behind the bars and glared at the metal door several feet in front of their cell. Her stomach churned with hunger, her muscles burned with rage and hatred.

Behind her, Tori and Holly slept on the cold floor, using each other as a pillow. David still hadn't moved from where he'd been the entire time, breathing heavily; but at least he was asleep.

Trina felt a need to stay awake and alert, guarding them. The guard that had been stationed had been pulled out for beating her up before, and now they were trying to find a new guard to stand post. She didn't get the point, but she was ready to fight as much as possible.

The door slid open and light spilled into the room, stabbing her eyes. Two men walked in the room, one holding a tray of food. Trina growled as they approached.

"Hey," someone said with a shaky voice, "I'm sorry for all this." The man was whispering. There was something familiar to his voice, but Trina couldn't put a finger on it. "I'm Jesse, Jesse Klein. You know, Jerome's brother…" Trina's eyes widened and her eyes darted to the second man with the food in his hands. She flared her nostrils and let the aroma of the food enter them, tempting her.

The light revealed his face and shock filled her heart as she studied the man's distraught expression. "S-Sinjin?" Horrified and confused, Trina grabbed the bars and watched as Jesse opened the gate and Sinjin pushed the food in. Her heart began to race and she let her glare dart to the food for a split second.

"I'm the cook," Sinjin muttered. Trina's stomach growled and she tightened her grip on the bars. The food was consistent of biscuits and gravy, fried eggs and sausage patties, and thick Texas toast. "Jesse and I convinced them to give you guys actual food."

Tears welled up in her eyes and mentally she cursed him, hated him for being here. When she looked to him, she saw a black armband on his left wrist. "What the fuck?" Her chest expanded and when her glare intensified, Sinjin took a nervous step back.

"We need to go now," Jesse replied sadly, "Enjoy the food."

Well, what are your thoughts? What do you think the gang can do at this point? Also, could there be an inside man potentially?