A/N: Chapter 25 up and runnin'. Five more to go till this story is complete.

Thanks for all of Chap24 rewiews!

Now to see what's up with Spence and Ash. . .

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The wood floor in the bathroom was dirty. Not the kind of dirt that came from people using it. The dust and grit was from construction.

Spencer remembered when she was about twelve, she and a school friend had sneaked into a house that was being built in a lot in their neighborhood. The smell of the new wood and the wallboard made an impression on her. She could smell it now, too.

While she had the butterfly feeling in her stomach then because she was in some place she shouldn't have been, right now she had a cold stone about the size of a coconut sitting on her belly. And with no good reason, too, she thought. She and Ash had been kidnapped.

Ash had immediately put up a fight on the beach when their abductors appeared. With the cold muzzle of the gun pressed to Spencer's temple, Tony had explained that Ash had better cooperate or her girlfriend was dead. Spencer remembered Mackenzie's story, and fear unlike anything had washed through her. She had no doubt they would carryout their threat. She broke into a cold sweat, and her chest began to tighten, making it hard for her to breathe.

Ash's decision to stop fighting only brought slight relief, though. The creeps had dragged them to an SUV that was waiting not too far up the beach. Spencer had known right then the real danger was starting.

She just couldn't figure out what they wanted.

She pulled at the duct tape they used to bind their hands and feet. There was no way she was going to free herself. While Tony held the gun, the goon had taped their hands behind their back as soon as they got here.

She looked up at Ash. She'd succeeded in inching her way to the small single window. The moon was just starting to shed some light through it.

"See anything?" Spencer asked.

"Not yet." Ash moved to the side, trying to look from a different angle.

Tony had made them lie down on the car seat before throwing a blanket over them. Spencer didn't know exactly where they were, but the drive hadn't taken too long. They had to be in the northern part of the island. She had a feeling they went straight inland.

"There's another house about a hundred away to the left. It looks like they're still under construction, too. There is no sign of life anywhere."

"Perfect for holding us," the blonde whispered. Tomorrow was Sunday, which meant no one was coming to work on the house. They could be held here for at least 24 hours.

A few minutes after they were dumped here, she heard a car drive off. She had a feeling that one of their abductors - probably the gorilla- was still downstairs, though. It wasn't a warm feeling.

Ash turned away from the window. The blond saw her look around the dark room. The tub was the only thing that was installed. The sink and the toilet were only holes and copper pipes coming out of the wall. There were stacks of tiles in the corner. She knew what the taller girl was looking for- anything left behind that they could use to get loose. There was nothing though.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" she asked.

"I don't know. . .maybe about 2 or 3 o'clock."

"Ash, do you think anyone has figured out that were missing?"

"Of course," she said, sliding down the wall that had the water pipe for the toilet sticking out.

She saw the brunette sit on the floor and try to rub the tape on the metal. "No one saw us being kidnapped," Spencer argued. "They might just assume. . .you know, you and I might be spending a romantic time on the beach."

"Well, this is pretty romantic, isn't it?"

"Yeah. A dream come true."

"Seriously, despite our disagreement, I think your father knows I wouldn't keep you out this late. At least, not without calling him."

After her own argument with Arthur this afternoon, Spencer figured her father would probably think she was trying to teach him a lesson. She heard someone walking across a floor downstairs, and she tensed. The way Tony had been eyeing her dress and making comments before made her feel sick to her stomach. They hadn't treated Ashley any better. They were silent until the footsteps stopped.

"What do you think they want?" she whispered.

"I don't know," Ash answered. "Its not like we come from families famous for having lots of money. If they were going to take somebody, why us? I don't get it."

"Taking us wasn't random. They know who you are."

"But so what? It's not like I'm an offspring of Gates or something."

Spencer didn't tell her she was probably the reason that their lives were now in danger. "There's something you should know," she said softly.

Ash recognized a change in her tone and stopped struggling with the pipes.

"The creeps that kidnapped us know me too. And I know them."

"You do?"

She quickly recognized her error. "I mean I know of them. They were at the Brick Oven on the Thursday. Mac gave me the lowdown on them."

"Who are they?"

"The younger guy is named Tony. He's supposedly the nephew of Lorenzo the Chin."

"You've got to be kidding me. The guys name is The Chin?"

"That's what Mac said, and she seemed to know what she was talking about."

"Okay, so what is it about us that would make the Chin want to grab us?"

"So vulgar Ash. . . Babe," Spencer remarked.

"Spence, you know what I mean."

"Okay, okay. He was the dude who was hassling' me at the airport. You know, once you finally decided to pick me up and all." Spencer faux-exasperated.

Ashley smiled and rolled her eyes. "I still cant see why he would want to come after us."

"That day at the restaurant, when Mac and I saw them, Lorenzo was with these two other guys that she thought were Colombians and might be involved with drugs. And this is where everything gets ugly." She let out a shaky breath. "I think. . .I think we're here because of Arthur is involved in, and I think they were planning to take me. I think you were just an unexpected bonus. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. You heard the phone call Tony made in the car. I think he was telling Lorenzo that there was a change of plans. . .that he had the two of us."

"Well, good thing I was with you when they decided to kidnap you. Wait, Arthur is involved with theses criminals?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know Spencer, " she said doubtfully. "Your father might have some job issues, but being mixed up

with criminals seems a little far-fetched."

"I'm telling you, he is." Spencer leaned her back against the tub. "I know he knows them. I just don't know for sure if he's doing something wrong."

"I cant believe your father is-"

"There's all this mysterious evidence," she said, cutting the brunette off. "All of this incriminating stuff. But I still want to trust him. I don't want to believe he'd knowingly do anything that would hurt me. Hurt us."

"What incriminating stuff?"

Spencer took a deep breath and startled at the beginning, telling him about the five passports she'd found in his desk, about the private phone line in the office, and how he always spoke in a different language when she was listening to his conversations. . .like he was hiding something. Finally she told Ash about seeing Arthur getting into a car with the Colombians she'd seen with Lorenzo.

"The sad thing is that I confronted him with all of this yesterday. I told him what I knew. I gave him a chance to explain it. But he didn't. He just walked away." She fought back the tears that were gathering in her eyes. "What am I going to believe except that he's mixed up in something illegal?"

Ash didn't say anything for the longest moment. She stretched her legs out in front of her. "Have you ever thought that your father might not be telling people the truth about his job?"

"Since I've been here, yes. But before that. . .?" Spencer looked at the other girl from across the room. "I don't know. Before this trip to Aruba, I hadn't seen him for three years. Why?"

"Because of something I've suspected of my own father."

"What do you mean?" She was all ears.

"Despite what I was told about him having a desk job in finance, I've had a suspicion that he always

worked in the field, as spy."

"Like, he was working for the CIA or something?" She asked, stunned.

"I think so."

"But, how did you find out? Did he tell you about tit?"

"No, never. But there were enough clues." Ash said. "Odd things. Such as passports you discover in Arthur's desk. But I think the final thing that convinced me happened about six months before he left his job. He was supposedly doing an audit of some government office in Idaho. My mom got a call one night. A car came and they flew her to Turkey to visit him in a hospital."

"Was he sick?"

"I wasn't suppose to know, but she was a wreck when she was leaving. She was almost hysterical. I pried it out of her that he had been wounded."

"Tough audit," Spencer said quietly.

She shook her head. "My father and Arthur started working together. I think Arthur might be in the same business. He doesn't have five passports and different identities because he's making a buck on the side working for drug dealers. There is something much bigger involved."

"And I screwed it up,' the blonde said, horrified.

"What do you mean by that?"

"The first day at the airport, I told Lorenzo that my dad is a high-ranking official for the U.S. government. I thought he was just a boring clerk. I might have exposed him to his enemies."

"You cant blame yourself for that." Ash lowered her voice. "The important thing to remember is that if all of our assumptions are right and Arthur is CIA or in some other government agency, then at least we have a chance. Creeps like these guys aren't going to outsmart him."

Spencer hoped Ash was right. At the same time, she couldn't stop the guilt piling up for all the doubts she'd had about her father. He deserved better.

More than anything right now, she wished she could get a second chance.

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