A/N: Aw guys, you continue to overwhelm me with all your kind reviews. Thank you so much. And thank you to everyone who reads/favourites/alerts :)
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Chapter Nine

They had trudged through the woodland for what felt like hours, neither speaking much until they knew that they were in the safety of their own company. They came to a stop at a small clearing by the edge of a field, Mike propping himself up on top of the old rickety wooden fence as Scott angrily paced in front of him, kicking some strewn leaves that lay at his feet.

The thought of Flynn Rider did nothing but make Scott's blood boil. They had been friends for over ten years, had seen each other through thick and thin. When Flynn had been arrested for being under the influence, he had been there in his corner supporting him the whole time. When his dad had kicked ten shades of shit out of him and Eugene for breathing the wrong way, it was him that had taken them to the emergency room. Now it was him, again, who was doing all the supporting. Doing all the running around. All the dirty work, while he left his brother to die in a hospital bed as he snuggled up next to the Princess! Flynn Rider was definitely not his favourite person right now.

"What you thinking?" Mike spoke, his voice rough and hoarse from his usual silence "You think we should 'take care' of him?"

"No." Scott murmured "We do that then we're stuck with her and the mess that he's made...No...We need to play it cool, for now."

"Then what to you suggest!?" Mike snapped, hopping down from the fence to face his brother "We just sit back and leave it? Watch him walk away with the money?"

"No..." Scott replied "No. He obviously has trust for us, right?" Mike nodding at his deluded comment "Well then, we don't break that trust. We'll cool it down. Maybe even 'apologize' for our attitudes. Let him think that he's the one in control."

"Ok..." Mike droned, crossing his arms over his broad chest "Then what?"

"We make our move." He smirked "Get the cash, kill Rider and make off with the girl before we've got the chance to hand her back."

"Ok...And what about Eugene?" Mike asked "What will happen to him?

"Forget about him." Scott shrugged "He's in the dark about what's happening anyway. As far as he's aware, he's a dead man."
…

He was greeted by the cool air as he stepped out into the sunlight, the phone that Scott had brought him wedged tightly between his ear and his shoulder as he lit himself a cigarette. He could feel his heart drum heavily in his chest, his mouth going dry as he impatiently waited to be put on to the detective in charge.

He thought the young woman who had answered the phone was about to pass out when he had said that he was calling with information on Rapunzel. Flustered she had asked him to hold the line which brought him to where he was now, sitting on the porch steps waiting. He had almost finished his cigarette by the time he heard the rattling of the phone cord bumping against the receiver, the sound of coughing and whispering in the background not going unnoticed by him. He had an audience. Great.

Showtime...

"Hello..." Came a forced calm voice "This is Detective Maximus Guard, MPDC..."

He had no idea what he was going to say or how he was going to say it. The sound of the Detective's voice temporarily muting him. What was he meant to say? Hi? How are you? I have the Princess. Would you like her back in exchange for cash? No way.

"Hello?" Came the irritated voice of Max once again "Is anyone there..."

Just get it over with, Rider...

"...Hello" Flynn finally spoke, his voice that of a strangers as he hung his head low "I believe you've been looking for me..."

He could hear rustling around in the background, the Detective probably looking for a pen and paper.

"Yes, hello..." He had changed his voice, an element of kindness in it "I was expecting a call from you a bit sooner..."

"Yeah, well things have been a little hectic here." Flynn replied, tugging at his shaggy hair.

"I understand that..." Max spoke softly, his breath hitching slightly "This must be quite a stressful time for you..."

Flynn knew what he was doing. Playing the good, helpful cop who didn't want to cause him any harm or to feel threatened. He would make Flynn feel like he was just another victim that society had screwed over one too many times, that it was understandable why he had done what he did. He'd make out that he was the only 'friend' that he could trust.

"Look..." Flynn cut in, unwilling to fall into the trap "Let's skip all the bullshit pleasantries, OK? You know I know what it is that you're really digging for, so I'll just flat out and tell you. Yes, she's alive. Yes she's safe."

Max went silent on the phone before clearing his throat a little. He knew the boy meant business.

"Ok..." He finally spoke "We'll get straight to the point then...what is it you're wanting? Cash? Fame, power?"

"I want $250,000" Flynn replied bluntly "In cash. There's no catch, no hidden agenda. I just want the money and then that's it. Over. You'll get Rapunzel home safely and we'll part ways."

"Well, that's a lot of money, son." Max said, all kindness in his voice gone "You got yourself into some sort of trouble that you can't get out of?"

"Doesn't matter." Flynn shrugged "For all you know I could just want a vacation of a lifetime."

"Well why don't you give me a name..." Max chanced.

"...John." Flynn replied, knowing that the detective wasn't stupid "You can call me, John."

"Ok, John..." The Detective drawled "When are you wanting it by?"

"Tomorrow. Noon" He forced himself to reply, his heart sinking deeper into his chest "Outside DC USA Shopping Centre."

"Oh, I don't know, John..." Max began "That doesn't leave me a lot of time to try and pull some strings."

"Then I guess you've got a challenge on your hands." Flynn retorted "I'll call back in 6 hours time Detective. I hope by then you can give me an answer."

"Wait! John, don't hang up!"

"6 hours Detective." And with that he hung up.

Flynn let out a breath that he didn't realise he was holding in. He knew that the Detective was bluffing. He knew he wanted him to stay on the phone just a little bit longer. Leaving him for six hours would probably drive Max insane, but for Flynn it gave him that little bit of time to be with her. Tomorrow would come too soon and today would be gone with the wind.
…

Slamming the phone back on its cradle, Max could feel the start of a migraine. The boy was smart, he'd give him that. Blunt, sharp and straight to the point. He probably knew that getting the money together wouldn't be too difficult. That trying to keep him on the phone that bit longer was their task at hand. Now he was going to have to wait. Again with the waiting.

"Elsa..." Max murmured, rubbing his temples as he took a seat at his desk "Please tell me that you managed to get a location?"

"Sorry, Sir." She replied, shaking her head sadly "We were just a few seconds out."

Of course.

"You heard him guys. $250,000 by 12 Noon tomorrow." He grumbled, looking up at his team "That's what he's wanting...But the good news is that she is alive."

"How can you be so sure that he was telling the truth?" Conrad asked "He could be trying to pull the wool over our eyes."

"You missed it, didn't you?" Max asked, looking up at the Rookie "He called her by her name. He called her 'Rapunzel'."

"Yeah...so?" The Rookie questioned "What's that got to do with anything?"

"It shows, Conrad..." Max began, standing up "That he has a personal connection with this girl, even if it's just in his head. He is using her name because he feels like he knows her. He's too connected. Hell, you could even tell that simply by the tone in his voice...He's not planning on hurting her...He cares for her."

"You got all that because he said her name?" Conrad asked a little bewildered.

"Yes." Max replied "Princess is what she is, Rapunzel is who she is..."
…

She had seen him make the call from the window. The pain that was etched across his face tore her heart in two. She had watched as he tugged at his hair, tightened his jaw and shut the world out. What she would give just to go and wrap her arms around him. Tell him that everything would be alright. That she was there. They were never going to say 'Goodbye'. That was a promise.

"Oh, Flynn..." She sighed, gently drawings sun shapes in the dirty glass panes as she watched him get off the step and walk back into the house "If only you could see how much you're worth to me."

Turning, Rapunzel made her way back over to the bed, sitting down and pulling her knees up into her chest. She hadn't been lying to him when she wished that they had met under different circumstances. She wanted to be with him. No matter how stupid and crazy it sounded, she did. She wanted a life with him. She wanted to hold him close and not worry if she was ever going to see him again. She wanted to bring him home to her Father and ask for his blessing. She knew that under any other circumstance her Father would have loved him.

Closing her eyes, Rapunzel bowed her head and began to pray again, something that had kept her sane ever since she was a child. Even if she didn't know how to explain how she was feeling, she knew God would understand.

"God..." She whispered "Thank you for bringing him into my life...Please don't take him away..."
…

He couldn't remember the last time that he had had something to eat, the sound of his stomach growling indicating that it hadn't been recently. But he knew that he couldn't eat. The very thought caused his stomach to somersault. Instead he found a cold beer in the fridge would suffice.

Sitting at the table in the kitchen, Flynn cracked open the can and began to down the contents, the sound of the front door slamming shut as he did so. Fucking perfect.

Wiping his chin with the back of his hand, Flynn watched as Scott and Mike made their way into the kitchen, both looking a little calmer.

"...Hey..." Flynn started, taking another sip of his beer before setting the can down "You...you ok?"

"Yeah." Scott said with a slight nod, motioning for Mike to join him at sitting at the table "Yeah, we're ok."

There was silence, Flynn not daring to look them in the eyes.

"Look, Rider..." Scott began causing Flynn to finally meet their gaze "I'm not good at this sentimental shit, but I just want you to know that...well, I'm sorry for the way I've been behaving recently."

Sitting up a little straighter, Flynn never took his eyes off the two brothers. Never in his life had he ever witnessed Scott apologize for anything. Not when he accidentally broke Mike's nose or the time that he had scratched Eugene's new car. Apologies were just something that he was not acquainted with.

"You're sorry?" He questioned "For your behaviour?"

"Yeah." Scott nodded "Mikey too. You're right on us losing track on why we're really here. It's about Eugene. It ain't about us. I guess in a situation like this you can kind of forget that."

He didn't know what to say. They looked sincere enough, but even a serial killer could look kind hearted to someone.

"What'ya say?" Scott asked "Call it a truce?"

Flynn watched as his old friend held out his strong hand, his head and his heart pulling him in two different directions. A truce...No more arguing. No more fear of leaving Rapunzel in their company for any length of time. None of that.

"Truce..." He breathed out, shaking his hand.

A smile splayed across the twins' faces as Flynn shook both their hands. Getting up, Scott went to the fridge and pulled out another two beers, tossing one in Mike's direction.

"To Eugene!" Scott bellowed, holding his can up "He's comin' home!"

"To Eugene!" Mike cried with a chuckle, throwing his own can in the air.

"Yeah..." Flynn said softly, the sadness of losing Rapunzel evident in his voice as he gently held his own can up "To Eugene coming home."

With a loud cheer from Scott and Mike, the three clinked their cans together before taking a swig.

"The only way is up!" Cried Scott "The only way is up!"
…

A/N:Ok, so a little shorter this time guys, but it was one of those chapters that I kinda had to finish like that. Lol. Hopefully you all enjoyed it anyway, and thank you all for your comments about the rating change. I think for now it's just going to stay T :)

Please review and let me know what you all think. I will be honest and say that I have NEVER been to America in my life, so I'm fully relying on Google Images and Maps to help me set the scene. Hopefully the locations that I've written about so far are kinda accurate lol. If not you can all shout at me lol :)