Arís, go raibh maith agat, Allanon-One! Hope y'all like this chapter, everyone.

Doc followed Marty's kidnappers in the DeLorean, thankful that they weren't driving too fast; he was easily able to keep up and without drawing attention to himself. When they finally reached their destination, he pulled up at the side of the road and peered through the front window to see what they were doing. They were getting out of the car…and he could see a small figure being pulled out – Marty. He was dragged to a door in the building and shoved inside…Doc squinted, trying to make out what was going on among the small cluster of people; but then they were all inside and the door slammed shut.

So that was that. Marty was kidnapped, and Biff Tannen was refusing to pay the ransom. Doc drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. What could he do now?

He could rescue Marty himself, but how on earth was he supposed to do that? One of him couldn't do very much against a bunch of thugs who were almost certainly armed. OK, leave that option for now. There had to be another way.

He could pay the kidnappers the money himself on the condition that they let Marty go. He laughed mirthlessly at the thought. Five hundred million? There was no way in hell he would ever, ever get that kind of money. And whatever sort of action he was going to take, he had to do it fast.

He could tell the police where Marty was.

He hesitated. It was a dangerous risk to take. In this 1985, he'd been declared legally insane; if he was recognized…he just couldn't think about the consequences.

Rain beat down on the windscreen, blurring the street from view. It was beginning to get cold inside the DeLorean, but Doc barely noticed. He wished he had a friend in this world, someone he could talk to, who would help him in rescuing Marty…

Wait a moment. Lorraine McFly – Marty's mother. They had met a few times, and Lorraine, remembering him as "Calvin Klein's" uncle, and was quite friendly to him. Could she possibly look kindly towards him now, even in this awful alternate world? If he told her where Marty was, she was sure to believe him. She was sure to take action.

Doc shrugged to himself and started up the DeLorean again, driving away down the street. A spark of hope had ignited inside him. He would spend the night in the car, to avoid his other self who was at the lab, and go to Biff's Pleasure Paradise in the morning to try and speak to Lorraine.

It was not a prospect he was looking forward to.

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The next morning, after grabbing a quick bite to eat, Doc made his way towards the steps of Biff's Pleasure Paradise. Drunks were slumped on the ground everywhere. In the distance there was shouting and the wail of sirens; but compared to last night it was quiet. Presumably the bikers were in bed, Doc thought with a roll of his eyes.

He found the reception area and made his way to the desk. He had his hat pulled low over his eyes, trying not to be recognized at the risk of looking suspicious.

The girl slumped at the reception desk had dark circles under her eyes and was chomping on a piece of gum. She glanced up at Doc in a bored way as he approached.

'Yeah? What do you want?'

'Hello, I'm, uh, looking for Lorraine McFl – I mean, Lorraine Baines – er, Lorraine – Lorraine Tannen.' Doc winced, shadowed by the brim of his hat. Not a good start.

The girl stared at him for a couple of seconds, then raised heavily plucked eyebrows. 'You're kidding, right?'

'No.'

'Look, mister, you can't just demand to see Mrs Tannen whenever you feel like. She hardly ever sees anyone. Especially not today.' The girl's eyes lit up with gory delight. 'Haven't you heard? Her son's been kidnapped.'

'Yes, I heard,' said Doc, fighting a powerful urge to slap the girl across the face. He couldn't bear to see her taking such obvious enjoyment in the news. 'In fact, that's why I'm here. I have information concerning his kidnapping.'

If the girl's mouth hung open any further her gum would fall out onto the desk. 'Seriously?'

'Yes,' said Doc, unable to keep the bite of impatience from his voice.

The girl stared at him a moment or two more; then, to his relief, she reached for the intercom. 'OK, but don't blame me if she doesn't believe you or something,' she said, pressing a button.

Several seconds later Lorraine answered. 'Yes?' she snapped.

The receptionist's tone had become respectful. 'Mrs Tannen, I hate to bother you, but there's someone here who says he knows something about your son's kidnapping.'

A pause, then, 'What's his name?'

'Um…' The girl glanced at Doc.

'Tell her that we've met before,' Doc said eagerly. 'Say that I'm Cal – uhm, Marty Klein's uncle.' Saying he was the uncle of a famous fashion designer certainly wasn't going to do him any favours in the receptionist's eyes.

The girl repeated this information into the speaker. There was a longer pause before Lorraine replied, 'Send him up.'