Karen dimmed the lights inside the café, turning the ones outside completely off. She flipped the sign from OPEN to CLOSED as she made her way back behind the counter. She gave a worried look as her only son emerged from behind the counter. He walked over to a booth where Larry Sawyer was waiting for him and he took a seat.

"Thanks for doing this, Luke," the older man acknowledged. "Thank you for helping me."

Lucas nodded.

"We're doing it for Peyton."

Larry looked around. They were doing it for Peyton but so far it was just the two of them.

"Anybody else coming?"

"I guess it's just you and me," Lucas shook his head.

"And me," came a voice from the back.

The two looked up to see Nathan joining them. He walked over to the booth as a worried Haley joined Karen at the counter.

"I can't believe they're gonna go through with this," she whispered. "It's crazy."

Karen nodded in agreement.

"I know but Lucas is convinced and you know how stubborn he is. He really feels Derek is responsible and this is the only way."

Lucas bumped fists with his brother and Larry gave Nathan a nod as well as he sat down.

"So my wife thinks I'm crazy and that's about the only thing we agree on these days. What's the plan?"

Lucas took a deep breath, pulling out a note pad he had been writing on.

"You guys tell me what you think. Basically the plan is to go after Derek."

"If that creepy son of a bitch is the one who took my daughter then I'm all for it but really, Lucas. What proof do you have? The kid is acting strange and he got mouthy with you. So what? It doesn't make him guilty of anything."

"Larry…"

"Don't get me wrong. I'm on your side. No one wants to find Peyton more than me but I need something more than a hunch."

"I understand that but truthfully, that's about all I've got."

"Lucas…"

"Just hear me out. Think of this as a puzzle. The main goal is to solve it and find Peyton alive and well. In order to do that, we have to fit together every piece. Right now all my leads point straight to Derek. I know he's involved somehow."

"What do you have?" Nathan sighed.

"Derek has Peyton. He kidnapped her."

Haley rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Buddy, are you even listening to yourself?" she asked gently. "You don't have any proof and it doesn't make sense. I mean, why? What's the motive?"

Lucas swallowed hard.

"Love. Obsession."

"I don't get it."

"Think back to all the times we were hanging out, especially at TRIC whenever Derek was around. At the time it didn't seem like much but now I can't stop thinking about it. Did you ever see the way he looked at her? Derek never just looked at Peyton, he kind of stared. No matter what she was saying he always seemed to hang on every word like a lovesick puppy. He was always messing with her, trying to get her attention. And when he hugged her, it was like he would smell her hair. It was kind of weird."

"So he's a little strange and he had a crush," Haley pointed out. "Big deal. You need something more than that before you go out here and do God knows what, risking your life, Larry's life and my husband's life and possibly accusing an innocent man."

"After we realized Peyt was missing, I made it a point to contact everybody she may have been in contact with. Hell, I even went downtown to that vintage music store she likes so much and talked to the clerk that sold her some CDs the day she left. I was desperate, grasping at any straw I could. Naturally, I wanted to talk to Derek. He and Peyton were friends. So I tried to get a hold of him. I called his cell and left about a dozen voicemails. I left messages at TRIC. He never called back."

"Okay…"

"I finally talk to him in person and he seems non chalant, like it's no nig deal. He completely blows me off, no emotion whatsoever until I mention that I moved Peyton's car. That got his attention. Why? Why would he care? Then I told him we had the cops involved. I can't explain it but the look on his face said everything. He even had the nerve to say we were overreacting and doing too much to try to find her."

"What if he legitimately thought she had taken off on her own?" Karen posed.

"Maybe in the beginning but by the time we had the vigil for her, everybody knew what was up. I mean, come on. And even then he was carefree and cool as a freaking cucumber. I didn't say anything but during the moment of silence he was drinking from his flask and acting like we were getting together for a party or something. Think about it. How did you all feel that night? Weren't you scared? Upset? Sad?"

"Because we love Peyton," Larry answered. "We were worried about her."

"Not everybody. This person that is your good friend, that you have a crush on is missing for weeks and you're not even concerned? We were all fearing the worst, that something really bad might have happened to her. Maybe Derek was acting like everything was okay because he already knew what happened to her. If he has her somewhere and he knows she's fine, then there is no need to be upset."

"I don't know," Nathan leaned back. "Maybe he's on to something."

"Brooke and I were in here a couple of weeks ago. Derek was picking up a to go order. Two cheeseburgers, two fries, two teas and a side of egg salad."

"Oh my God," Karen put her hand over her chest. "I, I didn't put two and two together that night."

"That was what Peyton always ordered here," Lucas continued. "When he wasn't being weird, he was being cocky. It was sick. Brooke was there, she noticed it too. And when we followed him the other night, he knew what we were doing."

"I got that feeling, too," Nathan played with the wedding band on his finger. "He knew what was going on. I think it might have freaked him out."

"Exactly," Haley pointed out. "The guy is a loose cannon. We don't know what he's capable of. Luke, if he is truly guilty of what you're saying, if Derek kidnapped Peyton, then what the hell else will he do? I love Peyton just like everybody else here but I also love you guys. Be smart, don't try to be the hero. Talk to Detective Shelton. Maybe she can help."

"She won't, Hales," Lucas bit his lip. "She won't. Look, I already tried that route and either the cops don't have the time or they don't give a damn. They need hard evidence to go after Derek and I don't have that. All I have is my gut and my love for Peyton and my desire to find her. I have to do this. I know you and Mom are scared and worried and if it's too risky for Nate and Larry to get involved, then I understand that but this is something I have to do."

"I understand," Larry spoke up. "Luke, you have been by my side on this since day one. I couldn't have made it this far without you. She is my daughter and it's my responsibility more than anyone else's. You're a good man and I know how you feel about Peyton. If your instincts are screaming at you this much, maybe they shouldn't be ignored. Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I'm in, son."

"Thanks, Larry."

Nathan looked over at his wife.

"What do you want to do?" she asked, rubbing her growing belly.

"I want to help Peyton."

"She deserves a chance," Lucas interrupted. "Just like the two of us ran back in the school that day of the shooting for you two. No regrets, right? Everything turned out okay but I was prepared if it didn't. But there's no way I'd be able to sleep at night knowing I didn't do everything in my power to make it right."

Haley wiped away a tear.

"Then go for it. All three of you."

"You mean that?" Nathan asked.

"I do. I'm not happy about it but do what you have to do. If it is true what Lucas says, I just want Peyt out of there. I want her home with us. Just please, please promise me you'll all be careful."

"You heard my wife. I'm in. Tell us what to do, man."

"Okay. We go back to that abandoned house and find a way to get it. I don't care if we have to use a putty knife or a blow torch but we have to get that door open. There are a couple different scenarios. If we find Peyton and Derek is not there, we take her and call the police. If he is there…well, it's three against one and we're gonna take his psycho ass down."

"What if she's not there?" Nathan looked right at him.

"We wait. Look for signs if she was there. Confront Derek."

"What if…I'm sorry to say this Luke and especially in front of you Larry but what if we, what happens if Peyton is dead?"

"She's not," Lucas quickly cut him off. "Don't say that. Don't even think like that."

"Luke…"

"I mean it. Peyton isn't dead. If she was…I would know it. I'd feel it."

"Alright," Larry tapped his fingers against the table. "We're all in agreement on this. When is it gonna go down?"

"Probably soon," Nathan said. "We freaked Derek out pretty bad. If he thinks we're onto him and he does have Peyton, he might try to move, take her somewhere else."

"Good point, son. So when?"

Lucas looked at everyone as he felt his heart pounding in his chest.

"Tonight," he said emphatically. "Right now."