Disclaimer - I do not own anything except Emmy, Ginger, Mama and Chamberson (and anyone who isn't from the book). Hoorah.

Right, I know this is highly unlike me :D but i actually had TIME ON MY HANDS!! So i turned my attention to my dear little Emilia King.

Seth Clearwater - I've now figured out that you're Protego Totalem (name change confuddled me!) :D hoorah! HAHA Gingerhead? What a name... :P Ah you'll have to wait and see who was to blame for Emmy's kidnap... :D I got my GCSE results yesterday :D VERY exciting, and happy! What exams have you got? No, don't worry, I'm not going to give up on this story, I've just been incredibly busy with holidays, back packing, Duke of Edinburgh etc. Hope you enjoy this chapter! And thanks SO much for reviewing!

cherrybomb10295 - Awww! That's so sweet! I'm SO SO SO glad you like this story so much and I really hope you like this chapter!!

The two reviews I got for the last chapter made me SO happy :D I love you guys.

The plot thickens...

Chapter 6 - Against Orders

Dodger slammed into a brick wall, the rough surface grazing his palms as he rested, leaning against the wall, his head pounding from running for too long. As his pulse roared in his ears he concentrated on breathing,

'In, and out...'

He straightened up, not bothering to wipe the grime from the wall off his hands. He didn't care about that, not now, not when so much was at stake. His breath rasped through his dry lips,

"Emmy..."

He had never felt so helpless in his whole life, and it made him furious. Furious at himself for not getting there in time. Furious at the cruelness of fate. Furious at that man.

He resumed running, his feet pounding on the cobbles, he was almost there.

Emmy opened her eyes.

Darkness. That was all she saw. A thick darkness, not the tiniest bit of light showing. She raised a hand to her face, trying to check for wounds, but to her surprise her fingers didn't come into contact with skin, but with coarse material.

'They put a bag over my head?' she thought incredulously, feeling the knot tying the bag on and struggling with it. Blindness foiled her attempts to undo the knot and she gave up, wondering why this had happened. What did they want with her?

Chewing on her bottom lip, as she always did in times of trouble, Emmy reached out in front of her, finding a wall, and the wood of a door. She leant on the door, a shred of hope daring her to see if it would open. Of course it didn't. Lurching back to the floor, she cursed the whole situation, angry tears creeping from her eyes.

It was at that moment that she heard voices in the next room. He was in there. What did he want with her anyway?

Emmy didn't know much about the situation she was in, but she did know one thing.

She hated him.

Dodger's breath shuddered through his chest as he knocked on the familiar door, and he managed to conjure the word,

"Dodger"

A curly head peeped around the door and grinned widely before letting him in,

"'Ello Dodge"

Dodger looked distractedly down at the small boy,

"'Lo Tom. D'you know where- It doesn't matter"

He had spotted who he wanted.

It was surreal, walking into this house, where no-one was worried or scared. He gazed around at the pickpockets. Ace was sitting at an ancient table, dealing cards and flirting outrageously with the three girls who he seemed to have brought back. One, a red headed beauty, was sat on his knee, stroking his face and laughing. Charlie was across the table from Ace, rolling his eyes and resisting the temptation to laugh as he caught the eye of one of Ace's harem. Several smaller pickpockets chased each other around the room, leaping over furniture and laughing shrilly.

For a moment Dodger felt as if the whole trip to Fiddler's Leap had been a particularly horrible nightmare.

But if it had been a nightmare then Emmy would be standing by his side.

The lump returned to his throat and he blinked furiously to stem the flow of tears. He hastened over to the table. Ace greeted him exuberantly while Charlie grinned,

"Dodger!!"

They seemed to notice the look on his face simultaneously.

"You alrigh'?" Charlie asked, his face concerned, "Wha's 'appened?"

Emmy's bottom lip was bleeding. She licked the blood from her lips, unable to use her hands to help.

Curse this bag.

Curse him.

She was still sitting next to the door, the voices still a low hum. She caught odd words, sometimes whole sentences if the speaker became agitated.

She concentrated harder, straining to hear.

They were getting angrier, she could hear more and more,

"What the 'ell did you think you were doin'? Kidnappin' 'er?!"

"I thought that that was the 'ole idea of followin' 'em!"

"Not to kidnap 'er now!"

"'O says that you're always right about when to do everythin'?"

"I told you to leave it!"

"Oh! So I'm takin' orders from you now am I?"

"Well if you're incapable of actin' with any sense then maybe you should be!"

Emmy fought the temptation to continue chewing on her mangled bottom lip, and tried to lean closer to the door. The deeper voice, his voice, had become quieter, thick with threat,

"Are you suggestin' that you are more intelligent then me? You little weasel?!"

"No," the other voice was forcibly calm, but Emmy could detect a tremor of doubt... fear... "I was sayin' that you need to learn to wait before actin' on a whim"

Emmy couldn't tell what happened next, all she could hear, on her side of the door, was the side of breaking wood, a yell, and a dull thud.

Dodger downed the rest of his ale, as Ace and Charlie stared at him in disbelief.

"She got taken?"

"In Fiddler's Leap?"

The two pickpockets looked at each other. Dodger could clearly read their expressions.

They didn't think they had a chance.

He slammed his cup down on the table and glared at his friends, his brown eyes narrowing to slits.

"We've got to find 'er. I don't care 'ow we do it, but we've got to"

Charlie's eyebrows twitched, and Ace licked his lips, feeling awkward,

"But what about Oliver?"

Dodger sighed, and dropped his heavy head into his hands, tangling his fingers in the knotted mass of his hair.

"I'm goin' to 'ave to go back. Tell 'im what's 'appened at least..."

Charlie,still silent, made no reply, but his eyes widened at the thought of walking into a gaol without anyone forcing him.

Ace, however, seemed less perturbed. His whole life spent as a smooth talker, he had less reason to worry about being arrested for simply visiting the gaol.

"I'll come Dodge"

Charlie's eyes flew to Ace, his mouth open in shock. Ace acted as if Charlie had looked at him perfectly normally,

"You comin' Charlie?"

And of course, Charlie had to say yes.

A couple of hours had passed. Dodger had been persuaded by Ace and Charlie that a good night's sleep wouldn't do him any harm, and the police would be less suspicious if Dodger didn't visit in the dead of night.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind,

"Where's Barnsey? And Annie?"

Charlie's face darkened, and Ace took a deep breath, glancing towards the bedroom where the older pickpockets slept.

"She ain't well Dodge..."

Dodger felt the blood drain from his face,

"Not bloody Annie as well..." he groaned. Ace looked at him worriedly,

"She ain't bad... but she ain't that good neither"

Dodger dragged his hands down his face, staring blankly at Ace,

"Go on then, spit it out..."

"Well, she's expectin' another baby, but that ain't the problem. She ain't well, not 'ealthy. I don't think Barnsey reckons the baby's gonna live"

Dodger felt like banging his head against the nearest available hard surface. Sick worry clung to every corner of his mind. Emmy, Oliver, Annie... Emmy.

Emmy listened to the silence on the other side of the door. Her heart pounded in her ears, and her tongue felt enormous in her dry mouth, where the metallic taste of blood still lingered.

She tried to relax, her muscles jumping every time she attempted to slouch against the wall. It was impossible. Her blindness becoming more frustrating than ever, she tugged at the bag again, trying to force it over her head. She winced as she forced the knots to give a little by jamming her chin into the small gap that had been left so she could breathe. She repeated the movement again and again, pulling the bag upwards until it was stuck around her head, stopped by her nose.

Muttering and swearing, Emmy pulled harder on the bag, the coarse material leaving burns on her face.

After ten minutes, the bag slipped, and came off.

Emmy stood up, annoyed to find that she still couldn't see anything, as the room she had found herself in was completely dark. She took a deep breath of pain as she felt the friction burns on her cheeks, but soon forgot about them as she advanced towards the door.

She wasn't sure who had been hurt on the other side of the door.

For all she knew, it could be him who she found at her mercy...

IS EVERYONE SHOCKED? :P lol.

Hope you enjoyed this most recent installation :D (feeling intelligent, i started my A levels a couple of days ago xD.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review.

Emmy/Dodger will give you a big kiss if you do (which one is up to you :P)

Thanks for reading!

Until next time. Cheerio, Blackfishyxxx