Disclaimer: The characters of, "Sons of Thunder" and "Walker Texas Ranger", are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation and production of these two shows. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

Chapter 5: Missing

Hunter was heading to his office when someone called his name. He turned around and saw a man in blue jeans, a black cowboy hat, and a red, cotton shirt with a star pinned onto it. The man had a reddish brown hair and a beard of the same color.

"Good morning, Walker." Hunter greeted the Texas Ranger, who was the leader of Company B.

"Good morning, Hunter. I need to speak with you." Walker said.

Hunter knew exactly what Walker wanted to speak with him about. He nodded his head and followed Walker into Company B's office. He greeted Rangers Gage, Sydney Cooke and Jimmy Trivette who were all seated at their respective desks and they all returned his greeting. Hunter leaned against Gage's desk and waited for Walker to begin.

Walker took of his hat and placed it on Trivette's computer. Trivette frowned and glared at the hat, as though the hat would move at of its own accord. Walker didn't seem to notice as he faced Hunter. "You may need to be placed in a safe house." Walker said firmly looking intently into the younger man's eyes.

"Walker, I am not going to run away and hide, that's exactly what they are expecting. I'm going to have Diego and his associates sent to prison where they will be locked behind bars for a long time." Hunter said firmly.

"Alex said that a lady friend of yours got hit. Aren't you worried about her?" Trivette asked, having taken his eyes off of Walker's troublesome hat.

"She'll be alright. I'll make sure she's safe." Hunter said.

"Diego's associates may go after her to get to you." Walker warned.

"You're right. I'll go see her and let her know." Hunter stood up and was about to leave when Walker stopped him by grabbing onto his arm.

"Take Gage with you." Walker said as an order, not a suggestion.

Hunter sighed. "Alright. I know there is no use trying to dissuade you from giving me a bodyguard."

"Hey, buddy, don't worry. You won't even know I'm there." Gage said as he stood up from behind his desk, walked over to Hunter and slapped him on the back.

"Make sure Gage doesn't get distracted from his job." Sydney said teasingly.

"Sydney, I'm hurt." Gage replied in a false heartbroken voice grabbing his heart as though it were going to break or fall out.

"Funny, Gage." Sydney remarked and rolled her eyes.

"You two should go warn that girl." Walker said.

"We'll go see her right now." Hunter said, a little too quickly.

Gage raised his eyebrows. "You really want to see this girl again, don't you?"

Hunter rolled his eyes. "You've been listening to Alex, haven't you." He said as a statement and not a question. Then he looked at Walker and gave him a sheepish grin.

"Actually, Sydney told me. You know how those two love to gossip, especially when it comes to relationships." Gage remarked with a grin and ducked as a small writing pad flew through the air that had been aimed at his head.

"Let's go before Sydney tackles you." Hunter joked as he headed toward the door with Gage right behind him.

A distraught Kim came running into the bar and saw Butch behind the bar as he always was and Kendra sitting on a barstool. "Have you guys seen Trent and Carlos?" Kim asked out of breath.

"No, I haven't seen them." Kendra answered, with a worried frown.

"Same here." Butch agreed, his face becoming grim as he saw the concern and worry on Kim's face.

"Have you called around? Have you asked Tommy?" Kendra asked.

Kim nodded her head to both of Kendra's questions. "I've called their cell phones about a hundred times, but they both just go straight to voice mail. I've called the Malloy house and I've called Carlos' family. Neither have seen nor heard from them since yesterday." Kim started to wring her hands in worry.

"When was the last time you heard from them?" Kendra asked calmly.

"I saw them yesterday and they were working in the office until three that afternoon, then they went to speak with Mr. Miller, our newest client. He hired the guys to determine who was stealing from his warehouses and they did. But I was doing a search and found that he, Miller, owned a warehouse in LA and the same thing happened out there. And when one of his warehouses burned down, he collected the money and moved right to Dallas." Kim said quickly, filling them in.

"They didn't call you after that?" Kendra asked.

"Trent called at about five last night and said not to worry, but they were going on a stakeout again and I probably wouldn't hear from them until this morning." Tears filled her eyes as she continued. "Trent and Carlos would answer their cell phones, especially when I call, so something must have happened to them." Kim replied, taking the cup of coffee Butch had offered her, her hands were shaking and coffee splashed onto a bar stool and the floor, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Okay." Kendra said, standing up and placed her hand on Kim's shoulder. "I'll go check out Carlos' apartment but I don't think I'll find anything, but I'll check. Just in case. I'll call you when I'm done and if I don't find anything then I want you to check their phone records. Find out who called them last and whom they called last; not just their cell phones but also their home phones. I'm going to need Miller's address and I'll go speak with him."

"I'm going with you." Butch declared.

"Butch…" Kendra began, but Butch held up his hand to silence her protest.

"Don't argue with me Kendra. The boys are missing and we don't want you to go missing too. Let me make a phone call, and I'll have someone watch over the bar. It will be only 10 minutes." He added, having noticed Kendra's look.

Kendra and Butch had to wait only five minutes as a petite blonde woman in her forties entered the bar and gave Butch a warm smile. Butch quickly introduced the three females to each other and then followed an anxious Kendra out the door.

They took Kendra's car and headed to Carlos' apartment. When they got there, they knocked on the door and waited a few minutes for a response. When no one answered the door, Butch unlocked the door with a key that Carlos had given him in case of an emergency. They checked the apartment out thoroughly and there were no signs of forced entry or of a scuffle. When they had finished looking, Butch locked the door and they headed to meet with Miller.

It was about a twenty-minute drive from Carlos' apartment to Miller's office because of traffic. The office was located in a high-priced office building that was four stories. They practically jumped out of the car and rushed to the fourth floor where they located Miller's office easily enough. The office door had Miller Enterprises printed in block letters. They went in and stood before the assistant's desk.

"We're here to see Mr. Miller. Tell him we're friends of Trent and Carlos." Butch said politely and smiled at the petite brunette who was wearing a very expensive silk blouse.

He certainly has enough money and pays his employee well. Kendra thought as the young woman picked up the phone and spoke with Miller.

"Yes, sir. I'll send them right in." The assistant hung up the phone and smiled at Kendra and Butch. "He'll see you now." She gestured to Miller's office door.

"Thank you." Butch said, as he and Kendra headed to the office. Butch knocked but didn't wait for a response as he opened the door. He and Kendra walked in, Butch sat down but Kendra remained standing, her eyes were fierce.

"Good morning. How may I be of service to you?" Miller said with a smile.

"Where are Trent and Carlos?" Kendra asked fiercely.

Miller's smile faded. "I do not know where they are. I saw them yesterday for about half an hour and I haven't seen nor heard from them since." He said tartly as he rose from his chair and glared at the abrasive Kendra. "Now, I'm going to ask you two to leave."

Before Kendra could do or say something, Butch spoke. "I'm sorry, Mr. Miller. Kendra's just a little frantic because our friends are missing." He said with a smile. "I was wondering if they had said anything to you about where they were going or did they happen to mention if they were going to go see someone?"

"No. Now, please leave." Miller said anger flashing in his dark eyes.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Miller. We'll get out of your hair." Butch rose, grabbed Kendra's arm, and led her out the door. He said good-bye to the assistant and headed to Kendra's car.

"Butch, let go." Kendra ordered and Butch let go of her arm.

"That would have gone smoothly if you hadn't lost your head in there. We would have picked up more information." Butch said harshly.

"Right, like he was going to tell us if he had Trent and Carlos." Kendra snapped.

"Of course not, but if you had remained calm, we would have picked up something from his words, his expressions, or in his body language." Butch explained.

Kendra sighed. "I'm sorry, Butch. It's just…the guys…"

Butch's face became somber and his voice softened. "I know you're worried. I am too. I wanted to punch that arrogant, self-centered man, but we have to cautious."

"What now?" Kendra asked disgusted with herself for what she had done and for sounding defeated.

"We head back to the bar, get a drink and talk about what we are going to do to find our friends." Butch declared with determination.

guardianM3: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing!