Guardian Angel

Chapter 6 (Tiger002)

He heard them.

Voices, arguments.

But the words they were distant, even as he strained to make them out, the walls blocked the sound. Still his nervousness grew as he took in each noise, the sound of chairs moving, of demands being made, of heavy silences that filled him with dread.

What would they do to him?

Would they kill him, ransom him, or something worse. He'd been kept alive this long, so they had to have a reason for it, but what? Would he rather have been killed, his body dumped in the ocean soon to be shark food.

Compared to this waiting, he almost wished for it.

He remembered what Sam told him, that he would likely be ransomed, that his connections to London could get him out of this, but when? Wouldn't they have made the exchange by now, and surely Sam would have given him some information.

He hoped.

Unless her kindness was a ploy, to get his hopes up before they performed whatever unspeakable deed they had planned.

It wouldn't surprise him, he knew these men enjoyed seeing innocent people like him in pain, it fueled them, gave them something to live for.

No matter how sick or demented it was.

Maybe that was their reason for keeping him alive, entertainment, enjoyment at seeing his agony. How a tourist from America felt when he was taken from everything. They'd keep him alive as long as he served some purpose, then they'd point those guns, he couldn't help but focus on, against him.

And that was if he was lucky.

Through the muffling forces of the walls, he could swear he heard something about his name and a buyer.

Shivers erupted along his body. Nightmares brought on by one too many documentaries racing to the forefront of his mind. He pictured himself, a faceless slave, at best forced to work the fields of a country he had never wanted to set foot on during blistering heat.

At worst…

He cringed at the thought. A personal slave for an older, wealthy guy, forced to do unspeakable things for that man's pleasure. Cody curled up, nearly picturing it, the mere thought of being that kind of slave brining him to tears.

He couldn't do it; he wasn't supposed to end up like that.

He knew the stories though. A young man who had everything going for him wrapped up in something he wasn't supposed to see, the drug lords using him for whatever purpose they deemed right.

It was the lucky ones whose bodies were found discarded in the cities or oceans.

But it wasn't too late yet, there had to be something else he could do, he was smart, he was going to be a valedictorian; he couldn't fade from society like this!

And just maybe, there was hope that he'd be rescued. It had only been three days, not that long, so surely he couldn't give up hope yet.

He knew the statistics though, that the longer people were held by their captors, the smaller the chance was of them being found alive. There was also no reason that the police should care about an outsider like him. After all it would only make sense that they'd only want to focus on their own citizens. That wasn't even taking into account the power the drug rings had, the police might not even be able to do anything against them.

There was still Zack though. He knew that even though he was easily distracted by a girl in a swim suit, Zack would do anything to get him back. And even if it took him looking under every rock on the island, Zack would come for him.

Assuming they let him.

The police wouldn't want an overzealous teen interfering in an investigation, and the ship had to leave sometime.

What if they already had? What if they had given up? Surely the other passengers meant something, and they couldn't just stay docked indefinitely. Especially if they knew a kidnapping had occurred, they wouldn't want to stay on the island long. As he had learned from these criminals, there was truth to the power of the almighty dollar.

He couldn't count on a rescue, or that they'd go with the ransom idea. He already knew too much, he'd seen their faces, had been in this dark room long enough to look outside and get a good idea of his surroundings. A liability to be sure, should he leek information to the authorities.

He could only count on himself.

And despite his intelligence, he knew that he didn't have the physical ability to run or fight, or anything. Should he try something, he was sure they'd shoot. Maybe Sam could help, but he knew he couldn't trust an enemy with his life.

He heard the voices fade once more, and judging by the angle of the shadows from the sun, he was guessing it was almost time for lunch.

Assuming he was of some value to them, keeping him nourished would be worth the cost.

…

"So, the ransom?"

"We just got it in today."

"There is no guarantee it will work."

"Are there any other options?"

Ruffles of paper.

Hushed whispers.

"One."

"Do you think that's wise?"

"Do you want that boy back alive?"

"Let's try it, but be ready should we need you."

Knocking on the door.

"Come in."

…

Zack walked into Moseby's office after the doctor ordered him to take it easy. Still, he needed to know something. And from what he heard of the conversation, he knew their doubts about the ransom. After all the work he did to get the money from London, he'd hate for it all to be for nothing. He knew he couldn't get his hopes up until Cody was nice and safe. They were closer now, that was for sure, but that didn't mean Cody was back.

"You think this will really work?" he asked, the cruel reality of the world shattering his hopeful ideals that everything would be fine with just the exchange of the green paper.

"I hope so, Zack," Moseby said overwhelmed with the weight of the options, and the danger should they choose wrong. Be too cautious, and Cody could be lost forever, be aggressive, and Jack and Zack could die while trying to save Cody, and there was no guarantee that their sacrifices would do any good.

"What will we do if it doesn't?" Zack asked as he took a seat in front of the desk, not bothering to pause while rested his shoes on Moseby's desk, though for once, the ship manager didn't have the heart to scold him.

"Keep looking,"

"What was Jack's plan?" Zack asked, the time for subtle ponderings over, even if it would risk revealing the fact that he'd hidden a microphone under the desk.

The manager wondered how much he should say. Would Zack want to jump on Jack's band wagon, not caring about the danger that they would both soon face. Heck, there was no way to know that Zack wouldn't take these thugs on himself. It was safer if they could keep him content with the way things were going, to prevent his love causing him to do something that could get both twins killed.

"He is afraid that paying the ransom won't work, that they won't give us Cody."

"But what's the point of giving them the money, I mean, we're paying to get Cody back," Zack yelled, slamming his fists on the desk.

"Criminals rarely follow such rules of conduct," Moseby said gravely.

"I want to help Jack, with whatever he's doing."

"I'll give him a call."

Zack nodded, knowing that his heart told him he should do something other than just wait around, he could quiet his impatience at least for now.

He just hoped the time for action was soon, he loathed how powerless he was.

But soon, that just might change.