Big, big, big hugs go out to these people, who without, I would have packed this story up ages ago. Love for Aeroja, Miss-Invisible-Heartbreak, BigTimeOzzy, brittney, taeXen,UltraViolet116, nigel small, WeLoveTheLove, Cookie Monster Giggles, I AM AIR, Hikari no Kasai, rosebud and of course, MoonbabyAstroRock3r.
Once again, I'm so thankful for the alerts and favourites. Personally, I'm surprised it's still happening, despite it being almost 2 months since I started this story. Time sure does fly by.
This funky little chapter is dedicated to Miss-Invisible-Heartbreak and ThisHendersonChick14. Why, you may ask? Simple. Without both of these girls, I don't know if I would even still be writing. They both inspire me so much, that they push me forward without possibly even realising. Love you girls!
Behind The Lens
Chapter Eighteen; There's Always A Light.
"Roberto?" Logan repeated, gaining no response.
"Yeah, it's me," Roberto coughed, spluttering from the dust and conditions. "I take it he got you too."
"Who's he?" Logan asked, whispering across the distance between his cage and Roberto's, sound echoing.
"I have no idea," Roberto weakly responded. "I haven't heard nothing except when he talks to you. I've had a stupid rope over my mouth."
Logan pulled back, sitting back down, legs in front of him. He let out a deep, depressed sigh as he began to start up his supercomputer of a brain, trying to work out why both him and Roberto would have been kidnapped. It was weird, seeing as Logan had never met Roberto, only seeing a picture. Carlos always thought that Roberto didn't return any texts or calls because he hated him. Slightly frowning, Logan moved forward, desperate hands gripping onto the metal bars imprisoning him.
"Roberto," Logan whispered again, noticing Roberto look over. "How long you been here?"
"N-Not long," Roberto spluttered. "I must have been here a few hours before you were dragged in."
"Bastards." Logan grumbled under his breath.
"Now now Logan, no need for the cursing," the man said, walking out from the darkness. "What a nice little family reunion."
"Screw you," Logan hissed. "You knew the exact connection between me and Roberto."
"That I do," the man darkly chuckled. "Otherwise, I'd be an idiot to bring both of you here."
Fear boiled up in Logan's body, bubbling at the seams. The obvious connection was Carlos. That's the only thing and him and Roberto had in common.. Carlos. The gears and cogs began to churn in Logan's mind once more, wondering why this man would kidnap the pair of them if Carlos was the simply connection. Why not kidnap Carlos?
"Who are you?" Logan asked weakly, pulling himself to the edge of the cage, hands gripped onto the metal bars.
The man let out another dark and sadistic chuckle, making his way over to Roberto. "If Carlos does as he's told, you'll soon find out."
Carlos leaned back in the car, resting his head against the back seat. A depressed and overall sad sigh escaped his lips, prompting Lucy to say something.
"You're gonna find him, you know that, right?" Lucy said quietly, almost in a whisper.
"I don't know anything," Carlos replied icy, voice slightly ready to crack from the emotions. "I-I-I don't know i-if he's even alive or d-d-dead."
A tiny tear rolled down Carlos' cheek, falling from the edge and splashing on his t-shirt. He moved his head over, facing Lucy, forcing his most positive smile ever. Of course, this only made things worse and suddenly, a flurry of tears broke free and streamed his face as Carlos let out a strangled cry.
"Shhh, it's okay," Lucy cooed, quickly scooping the Latino in her arms and stroking his hair. "We are gonna find him, I promise Car.. Hey look, James and Kendall are coming back, maybe they have good news?"
Lucy moved away, allowing Carlos to resume his seat. The Latino tugged on his sleeves, pulling themselves passed his balled up fists, using the material to wipe away the fresh and stinging tears that escaped. Letting out a small cough, Carlos looked out through his blurry eyes, noticed the paleness in Kendall's face and the red, puffy cheeks on James. His eyes widen and thoughts penetrated his mind, jabbing him mercilessly.
Kendall opened the car door, climbing into the seat, avoiding Carlos from seeing his face. James done the same, sniffing as he settled behind the wheel. An uncomfortable silence soon fell down in the car, making things seem tense and horrid.
"Not good news?.." Lucy broke the silence.
James turned around, passing Kendall's phone and the piece of paper to Lucy. She took the objects, her eyebrows dancing as she read what it said. Quickly, she repeated it onto the phone, letting the video begin to play. Her eyes began to gloss, streams of tears and mascara pulling down her face. Instantly, Carlos faced her, the colour draining from his face as he watched her hand hastily fly to her face, catching the strangled cry she croaked.
"What is it?.." Carlos asked, voice wavering.
No response.
"Lucy? Tell me now.." Carlos asked once again, a slight crackle to his voice.
Lucy didn't respond, again. She let out more subtle, croaky whimpers, blurry eyes fixated on the phone and video in her hands. Anger burned in Carlos' body, prompting him to lean across the back seat, snatching the phone from the girl's hands. Bringing the phone to his face, Carlos watched as the video was now zooming into the bruised face of Roberto, light violet marks streaking his tanned skin, dark waves of hair straggling everywhere. Carlos' jaw slowly dropped as Roberto looked up at the camera, his eyes showing a sense of hatred and vulnerability, all mixed in one.
"C-C-C-" Lucy stammered through her tears.
"That fucking cunt," Carlos spat between his gritted teeth. "He has Roberto."
The silence soon fell again, Carlos' eyes fixated on the camera and the contents. Tears streamed his face as he pressed down on the replay button repeatedly, watching the screen with focused eyes. Constantly, Carlos watched as the camera moved in on Roberto, noticing his face before swinging around to an unconscious Logan, dirt and sweat smeared on his face as he's tied up to a metal chair. A small, sliver of amber light peers down on both boys, illuminating their cages but not much else.
Then, Carlos draws a small gasp, pausing the screen.
"There!" Carlos shouts, slamming his finger against the screen. "That sign!"
Lucy's eyes widened as she leaned over, using her hand to quickly wipe away at her tear-stained eyes, trying to focus in on Carlos' findings.
"What does it say?" Kendall asked from his seat.
"It says.." Lucy paused, squinting. "It says, 'Woodgrave Factories'!"
James and Kendall share a small smile of relief, quickly leaning over and sharing a soppy, tear-stained kiss. Sighing, James pulled away, pushing a small smile on his face as he turned around, noticing Lucy looking worried as Carlos' colour came back, only this time, in a violent and angry red, the colour filling his cheeks, teeth clenched and fists gripped.
"Carlos?" James asked quietly, nerves building on the inside.
"Henry's last name is Woodgrave. It's his family business, obviously." Carlos bitterly replied.
"I thought you said his dad was a lawyer or some crap like that?" Lucy questioned.
"It looks like Henry was lying," Carlos scoffed, gulping down the remainder of his fears and anger, scratching the back of his throat. "James, we're going to save Logie."
The man paced back and forth in front of the two caged boys, his footsteps echoing out on the concrete floor. His arms were crossed behind his back, a suit draped on his body, clinging to him. Logan squinted as he tried to make out the man's looks, but cunningly, the man kept his face shrouded by darkness, only his actual body being seen by the flickering, amber light overhead. His dark, sadistic chuckle flew around the room, soon accompanied by the sound of oncoming footsteps.
"Ahh, you've made it."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world."
That voice. Logan's ears perked up at the sound of the syllables, the husk and deepness to the voice was something Logan had heard before. Had spoke to before. Argued with before. Henry.
"You bastard!" Logan screamed from the cage, gripping onto the bars. "Show yourself Henry!"
Another chuckle filled the room as footsteps moved closer, another body moving out into the light, except instead of covering his face, he moved out fully.
"Logan," Henry smiled grimly. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, y'know," Logan spat sarcastically. "Chilling out in a metal fucking cage because you're an asshole!"
"Now now, did I or did I not tell you that I would get revenge?" Henry cocked an eyebrow.
"You did not.." Logan said quietly, voice turning into a husky whisper as the adrenaline slowed down, revealing his vulnerabilities once more.
"Oh, I take it Carlos didn't tell you," Henry smirked as he began to pace the outskirts of Logan's cage. "Looks like your relationship isn't as strong as you think."
"Carlos woul-" Logan began.
"Oh but he would," Henry glared, bending down so his eyes met Logan's. "And now, you're going to have to pay the price of it all, right Boss?"
"That's correct, Henry," the man said from the shadows. "Logan will have to pay the price if Carlos doesn't play by the rules."
"Is this some sick game to you?" Roberto hissed from his cage.
His only response was another dark chuckle from the boss.
"So if I'm to pay, why's Roberto here? Why not let him go if it's about me?" Logan asked, bitterness laced in his every word.
"I hear you're a genius, Logan, so I highly doubt that you don't know," Henry scoffed. "You and Roberto here are our leverage over Carlos."
The car purred, James and Kendall sharing worried looks. The hum of the radio kept away the awkward silence that threatened to loom, seeing as no-one was talking. Carlos just looked out the window, staring at the blur of trees and buildings as they passed him. He didn't understand why everything was happening now. If it was all for him, then why punish those he loved? If it was some sick way of torturing him, it was working. Carlos felt the guilt creeping up his body, eating away at every positive emotion the Latino had left.
Lucy's eyes flickered out the back window, noticing Drew and Sabrina were still following closely. Soon, her phone began to buzz, a text coming through. Her breath quickly hitched in her throat, the horrible images of the other texts and picture that the gang all received shortly after finding out Logan had vanished.
"Who is it?" Carlos' croaky voice asked her.
Her finger hovered over the button, hestitant at pressing it down. She was always tough, but after everything she's seen, she knew they were wading out into dangerous waters. Nerves built up as she pressed down on the button, her mind praying that it wasn't from a text, picture or worse, a video.
"It's only from Sabrina," Lucy sighed, relief washing over her body. "She just wanted to know if we were nearly there?"
"Just gotta turn this corner." James replied in a mumble, his voice wavering slightly.
James turned the wheel, the car moving to the right down a pretty narrow and empty street. Tall, brick buildings loomed on either side, increasing the feeling of claustrophobia in the small environment. At the end of the road was a warehouse, a bright red neon sigh flickering the same words that Lucy had pointed out on the video. Pulling the car to a halt, James turned around, breathing in as much air as possible.
"I'm coming in with you." James said sternly.
"No you're not," Carlos cautioned him. "This is for me and me only. You guys aren't getting involved."
"We're already involved!" Kendall interjected. "We got involved when Logan, our friend, went missing. We got involved when text messages and pictures came to our phones, not just yours Carlos."
Carlos looked taken aback by both boys willingness to enter into dangerous terrority alongside Carlos. Sealing his eyes, Carlos pinched his nose as he exhaled another depressed sigh. Both nausea and pain flooded his mind, stabbing at the back of his eyeballs.
"Fine, but Lucy, you are-" Carlos began.
"No!" Lucy shouted. "Just because I'm a girl, it doesn't mean I don't count. I'm going in as well, whether you like it or not."
"I don't like it, Luce," Carlos argued back, voice becoming solid. "I don't like any of this. I don't like the fact that my brother and boyfriend are trapped in that stupid building by some crazy motherfuck. I don't like the fact that you guys are so willingly throwing your lives in danger when it doesn't concern you. I don't like any of this one bit."
Before anyone could reply, Carlos pulled away the handle to the car, climbing out and slamming it in annoyance. Quickly, as if on instinct, Kendall and Lucy jumped out also, slowly followed by James. Carlos paced back and forth on the concrete, cursing and swearing under his breath as Kendall attempted to calm him.
"Carlos, just let us help-"
"No! Too many people are getting hurt because of me," Carlos said, fighting back the tears. "I can't let you guys fall as well."
Sabrina and Drew pulled up behind them, parking the car and climbing out. Both of them moved towards the group, watching Kendall wrestle Carlos into a hug.
"Carlos man, Logan's going to be fine!" Kendall shouted, squeezing his arms around Carlos, trying to stop him from moving. "You know why? Because we're going to get him back, together!"
The Latino soon stopped wiggling, allowing the emotions to take over, causing his body to shake as he cried. Kendall soothed him, rubbing out a circle on his back as the group started to come together, forming around Kendall and Carlos. Kendall smiled softly as he pulled away from Carlos, letting the Latino look up at the group, warm and friendly smiles on their faces.
"We do it together, Carlos." Drew said, moving his arm around Sabrina's shoulders.
"He needs all of us." Sabrina joined in, moving her body closer to Drew as she took hold of Lucy's hand.
"We're a group, we stay as a group and we fight as a group." Lucy smiled, squeezing onto Sabrina's hand. She moved hers out, stretching it for Carlos to take hold of. He quickly did, a smile painting itself past the tears.
Then, Kendall snaked his hand down, grabbing onto Carlos' other.
"That way, we go down as a group." Kendall softly smiled, pulling his and James' linked hands out.
"Because we love each other as a group." James grinned his perfect smile.
The sounds of the footsteps bounced around the room as Logan slumped back in his cage, bringing his knees up to his chest. He slowly rocked himself back and forth, trying to ignore the pain from the back of his head, combined with the darkness that was swallowing his eyes with every breath. A warm, sticky sensation clung to his neck and throat, crimson painting over his pale, porcelain-like skin.
"Logan?" Roberto mumbled quietly, moving as close to the edge of his cage as possible.
"Mmph?" Logan responded weakly.
"Do you think we can escape?" Roberto asked, hope laced in his voice.
Logan's blurred eyes blinked around the room and his cage, looking for both a solution from the prison and then another to the building, all the while avoiding Henry and the other man's watchful eye.
Realising there was no way, Logan shook his head, fighting back the urge of falling asleep.
"I think I see some light over there.." Roberto quietly said, pointing his frail finger to a small crack, peering underneath a door. "That could be our escape."
"I wouldn't try to escape, if I was you," the man sniggered. "This place is crawling with people.. People with guns. Even if you managed to break through those bars, which I highly doubt you can, someone will be on you like a shot, tackling you to the ground and dragging your sorry ass back to your prison."
"I could still try!" Roberto argued back.
The man let out another dark, raspy laugh as he stepped forward, for the first time, allowing his face to shine in the light.
"You'd be an idiot to try." the man responded, glaring down at Roberto with his dark eyes narrowed.
From afar, despite the constant blur peppering his eyes, Logan carefully studied the man's features. His skin was caramel, a lot more darker than a normal Latino's, but that's probably because of the age. His skin was slightly sagging, wrinkles covering every inch of flesh. His eyebrows were scruffy, but perfectly proportioned, just like Carlos'. His chocolate eyes were also familiar, because despite being able to see them properly, Logan noticed the twinkle that would shine every so often in Carlos' orbs.
His mind whirled as realisation pounded him. He stared at the man again, only this time, more focused. The dark raven hair. Tanned skin. Eyebrows like Carlos. Eyes like Carlos. Now, re-listening to the words in his mind, he even sounded similar to Carlos, just a little bit deeper.
Then, the picture was clear. Logan, being the genius he was, had worked it out.
"I know you are." Logan said quietly but strong.
The man let out another dark laugh, moving from Roberto to face Logan, allowing the brunette to scan his face properly one more time, just for confirmation.
"Do you now?" the man smirked.
"Yes.." Logan responded, raising to his knees and crawling over to the edge, only metres away from the man. "You're Carlos' dad. His real dad. The dad that's supposed to have left."
"They don't call you a genius for nothing," Carlos. Sr smirked, glaring at the boy. "But wait til Carlos arrives. Things will become more interesting from there."
Mystery man revealed! It's Carlos' real dad. So, Carlos. Sr and Henry were working with each other all along.. Well, don't worry, questions will be answered next chapter, when Carlos and his long lost daddy meet for the first time! Then, you'll find out the whole plot that's been pestering me throughout this whole story, reminding me to add little, pointless details here and there.
One more chapter left! Only one more!