I know this chapter is a bit shorter then my last ones, but I wanted to set up Max, and what his real thoughts about Luke and Noah were. I'm hoping to put more of Holden in this story, expecially since he has been such an influence on the boys. I'll try my best to get chapter 8 up soon.

Please review, I really want to know what you think.

Thank you ditzbea for all your help.

The Search – Chapter 7

The Hunt Begins

The hotel room was dark and dirty. Noah could see the grime and stains on the walls and wondered what made them. It seemed an odd place to meet. With all the resources that Lucinda Walsh had, this hotel did not seem to fit into what she would want for her son-in-law and the love of her grandson's life. Noah was afraid to even put his bag down, for fear of what might crawl into it. He looked at the man that brought them to this place and saw him smile. "Mr. Mayer, I know you're wondering what we are doing in an establishment, such as this, especially with the amount of money Mrs. Walsh is paying me. But I find it much easier to not be noticed by those who don't want to be noticed themselves." Noah's expression must have given away his confusion at the statement, because Max smiled again and said, "Mr. Grimaldi has a lot of influence, and a lot of people who are on his payroll. He probably already knows that you are here, but we don't want to alert him as to where exactly you are staying. By staying at a fine hotel, he would know exactly where to send the men who would kill you both. So by hiding in a place such as this where others are hiding as well, we blend in and leave Mr. Grimaldi guessing as to how close you are to finding him." Noah nodded at the man his understanding. Max couldn't help but admire the kid.

From what he learned, because he always did his research, the kid had just recently had his eyesight restored and was still in the healing process. Max learned that Noah Mayer was the son of Colonel Winston Mayer, and what the Colonel had done when he found out his son was in love with another boy. When he met Noah at the airport he had already had this information but wanted to gage the kid's reaction to the question he asked. Noah's calm anger let Max know that this kid had more of his father in him then he'd like to admit. Max had served under the Colonel but did not believe in his methods of getting things done while they were at war. He was a cold man, a cold blooded killer, and Max could only stomach so much before he was finally released from his command. Looking at this boy, no young man, Max couldn't help but wonder how much of his father he really had in him, and when they would find out. He knew also that Noah was in constant pain. He could see it in the young man's eyes every now and then, but he could also see Noah take control of that pain and use it to focus. What he was focusing on, Max was sure, was Luke Snyder.

According to his research the boys had been through hell and back, and seemed to have come out whole. Max's informant told him about what the Colonel had done to Luke and to Noah's mother. He knew that they survived through that and became closer for it. He knew about the Iraqi girl and the sham marriage. Max remembered the Colonels dealings in Iraq, but he knew better then to let the Colonel know that he knew anything at all. The boys again survived through another episode involving Noah's father. They seemed to persevere and their bond grew stronger. Max was surprised to find that Noah had actually begun the enlistment process, but didn't go through with it. According to his good friend, who just happen to be the recruiting officer, Noah did not continue because he refused to hide who he was. Max, though, knew that Noah did not go through with out because he could not imagine being away from Luke and running the chance of never seeing him again.

All of Noah's actions, proved to Max that he was a person worth keeping an eye on. The accident that caused Noah's blindness, well that Max wasn't too sure about. It was vague information, all to do with jealousy and anger. Max was able to find out that after the accident Luke went above and beyond to try and help Noah, only to be rejected time and time again. This Luke kid must have been glutton for punishment from what Max found out, because even though Noah blamed him and kept pushing him away, he would just come back for more. Max had never known a love like that, and he wasn't sure he'd want to. How much pain can one soul take from another before your own is broken? Now, here he was in a grimy roach infested hotel room, willing to do whatever it took to get back the man he kept pushing away. Max knew that something great and powerful was holding these two boys lives together, and if he were a sentimental man he would say that destiny had something to do with it, but of course he would never say that out loud. These two very young men have had more thrown at them in their short time together then most people who have been together for decades, yet they kept coming out of it and back into one another's lives, if that wasn't destiny then he didn't know what was.

Holden broke the silence in the room first, "Okay, I get why we're here. So what have you found out?"