A/N: Not as long as I'd like it to be, but it's an update. Several factors held this up. First was writer's block...didn't last too long, luckily. RL wise my upper back has been spasming making sitting difficult; seems to have died down a bit. And last, but not least, I have issues with depression. Not to mention busy with my daughter and her dance team and my son wants to stay up as late as possible. Got a nice long trip coming up Monday...will be taking the laptop and working while my husband drives.
Dedicating this chapter to Winterschild11 and Mdkelly1 who nagged and kicked me in the pants to get this done!
"I don't have access to that kind of money, do you?" Penny said sharply.
"No need to get nasty," James said, staring the pretty brunette in the eye. He knew he was glaring, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Under different circumstances he would have been hitting on her hard, however, with his childhood best friend being sold off to the highest bidder he just couldn't bring himself to.
"OKAY!" Logan said suddenly. "Since we can't buy Kendall and the whatever it is, what plan do you have?"
"The first part of my plan is to get to my father's favorite secret spy chamber. The second part of my plan is to contact Moon from there and get him to agree to a meeting. The third part is to hope that Moon doesn't look in the backpack before he releases my father. Once we've got my father back, he'll be able to help us figure out where Kendall is being held."
"That's quite a plan," Logan said.
"And if Moon doesn't agree or isn't fooled?" Katie said.
"Then I use my father's equipment and see if we can find Kendall ourselves."
"And if Moon takes you hostage too?" Katie challenged Penny's logic again. "Or when he kills you for not having the whatever the hell it is he wants?"
"Doesn't matter," Penny said, irritation clear in her tone. "What ifs won't get Kendall or my father back. Going to my father's favorite spy base and using his computers will. Anyone who wants to come with is welcome."
The three teenage boys gaped after the young woman as she stormed toward the suite's door.
"Wait!" Carlos called out, communicating silently with his two best friends. "Katie?" He said, turning to face his adopted little sister. He wasn't sure what he was asking of the young girl.
"I'll stay here and call whomever comes up first on the speed dial list when/if something happens here. You promise to do the same," she said sounding far more confident than any of them felt.
"We will," the three said in unison, before turning toward the door of the suite and the older teen waiting for them before it.
BTRBTRBTRBTRBTRBTRBTRBTR
Kendall's shoulder collided with the wall of the corridor as he turned sharply in the opposite direction of the photo room, causing him to stumble slightly. Regaining his balance, Kendall pushed forward hoping that it lead to a way out. All too quickly the hall ended with a closed door. His body collided harshly with the solidness of the door. The air rushed from his lungs with a grunt. Fear and adrenaline caused his hands to shake as they grappled with the knob.
Behind him he could hear Adam's pounding foot falls coming down the hall. He swore, willed his hands to still long enough to firmly grab the cool metal in his overheated hands and twist. The knob turned ever so slightly in his grasp. He tried again, forcing it farther than before and again it barely turned.
"No!" he cried, twisting the locked knob in his hand, pulling and pushing against the door. "No. !" Kendall slapped a hand violently against the door—fear and frustration bubbling over in him. Turning away from the door Kendall stared down the hall. The teen quickly, thanks to years of hockey play, calculated his options. The bedroom had no windows or opportunity for escape. The photography room was similar to the bedroom. Precious seconds ticked off as he decided to chance Adam catching him to get to the photography room.
Decision made, play calculated Kendall set into motion. More gracefully than his previous trips down the grey hall, the teen ran toward the photography room. His steps faltered and slowed as he neared the bedroom. He was sure he hadn't knocked Adam out.
BTRBTRBTRBTRBTRBTRBTRBTRBTR
"A bathroom?" Logan said incredulously, trying not to lean against the wall of the public toilet as Penny pushed a spot on the wall. "This is your idea of a spy chamber?" A small electronic whirring noise filled the room as a 4x6" area of the wall pulled away to reveal a metal console.
"No," she said curtly, quickly punching buttons on the console. Another mechanical whirring filled the small structure, boarding on painful for the occupants ears, seconds after Penny pushed the enter key. The floor rumbled beneath their feet.
"What's happening?" Carlos said, clearly panicked.
It was at that moment the noise grew louder and the floor began to pull apart from the center. Logan glanced around the room to see his two best friends flush to the wall, fear more than evident on their faces, and then to Penny standing next to the console an expectant look on her face.
"The floor's moving! Why's the floor moving?" James said, his voice nearly three octaves above normal.
The noise of the floor opening up and Carlos' and James' screams seemed surreal to Logan for a long moment before he felt his body drop through where the floor had been. He yelped in response to the sudden loss of flooring beneath his feet, and again when his backside collided with metal that formed a chute funneling them down. Five seconds or less later, Logan found himself tangled in James and Carlos on a thick mat.
"This is my idea of a secret spy chamber," Penny said, standing before a large bank of computer monitors and various other pieces of electronic equipment.