A/N: Sorry I missed posting last night. I shall try to make amends for that. And to everyone I wasn't able to thank via PM, Thank you!

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Kitty came to in a dark place that smelled of earth and…. She couldn't be sure exactly what else. What she was sure of was that her head ached and she was sick at her stomach.

She didn't realize her hands were tied until she tried to push her hair from her face. Sitting still for a moment, she waited until a wave of nausea passed before attempting to get to her feet. That's when she found her feet had been tied as well.

Closing her eyes for several long moments she took deep breaths until the nausea passed then opened her eyes again and looked around in the darkness, trying to see any source of light. She found a slice of light above and to her left. It dawned on her that she was probably in a cellar of some kind.

That's what the smell was, earth and probably rotting vegetables of some kind. "Well, I won't starve." She mumbled before she realized that even with food, rotten or not, she'd have no way to get to it. "Wasn't hungry anyway." She mumbled again just one of the overhead doors opened.

"You okay?" A female voice asked. The brightness behind the woman blotted out her features so Kitty couldn't see her face. She could tell she was a thin woman but that was about all.

"Where am I?" Kitty demanded. "What's this all about?"

"Are you okay?" The woman's voice nor stance changed as she repeated her question.

"No. I'm not alright!" Kitty angrily retorted. "My head hurts and I'm sick at my stomach and I'm trussed up like a hog on market day. Of course I'm not okay. What I am is angry and I want out of here!"

"That will depend on your man." The woman answered. "I will bring food and water to you later." Before Kitty could respond, the woman dropped the door closed and left her once again in the dark.

"Hey! Hey, come back!" Kitty yelled in vain. "Lady?!" Kitty laid her head back against the rough wall of the cellar. The woman's statement about 'her man' let her to know that she was being held in order to make Matt do something, but what? Closing her eyes she concentrated on that question and it dawned on her.

The Granger boy and the dead girl. She was most likely taken to exchange for the boy. Both the dead girl's father as well as Dale Granger wanted Rey Granger out of that jail. But Dale Granger had no woman on his ranch, aside from the housekeeper. And she was a lot larger than the woman at the door. "The girl's family." She mumbled to herself figuring that it had to be them who'd taken her.

Kitty let out a frustrated breath. They didn't know Matt. He wasn't going to give that boy to these people. He couldn't. Even if it meant her life.

After leaving Victor, Matt went over to the Long Branch and spoke to Sam. Regretfully, Kitty's friend and employee couldn't tell Matt much more than he already knew. He was taking it hard that Kitty disappeared when he was away and felt guilty about it.

"Sam, you had nothing to do with this." Matt assured him. "If anything, the fault is mine."

"What do you mean?" Sam didn't know all that Matt had found out since he'd returned to town.

"It's a long story." Matt shook his head. "She was taken in order to force me to do something I can't do."

"So what can you do?" Sam didn't want to think what could be happening to his boss and friend.

"First of all, I can organize a search for her." Matt told him. "And you can help me in that if you will. I need to get some men together to search around town for her. You know, look through any empty buildings, old cellars and so forth."

"I can organize that." Sam volunteered. "I've already searched the Long Branch top to bottom."

"Good. THen while you're organizing a search of the rest of the town, I've got somewhere else to search." Matt didn't elaborate and instead quickly turned and left the saloon. He knew he'd have to give no further instructions to Sam. Leaving the bar, Matt walked briskly down to the blacksmith's shop. Quint Asper, although new to Dodge, had already proven himself to be a reliable and handy friend when needed. And right then, Matt needed that.

"Hey, Matt." Quint nodded at him when he entered the shop. "Need your horse shod?"

"No, thank you, Quint." Matt sighed as he pushed his hat back from his head. "But I do need your help."

"Oh?" Quint put the horse shoe he'd just finished down and reached for a rag to wipe the sweat off of his brow. "What's going on?"

"Get your horse and I'll explain on the way." Matt answered.

As Matt and Quint rode north to Victor's small village, Matt told Quint what had taken place in the last few days and what he believed they'd done with Kitty. Quint had heard about the Granger boy but not about Kitty until Matt told him. He liked the red headed saloon woman and was more than willing to help Matt find her regardless of what they had to do to accomplish that.

While Matt and Quint headed north, Chester sat inside the jail, watching over Rey, prepared to stop anyone who might try to take him from the jail. He was aware of just how important his job was right then. With Mr. Dillon out of town, the only thing standing between the Granger boy and anyone who might want him was Chester. Chester wasn't a gunman and knew he didn't have half the skills or abilities as his boss but he was determined to not let him down, no matter what.

Sam, shortly after Matt left, gathered together a group of men he felt he could trust and dispatched them throughout the town in search of Miss Kitty. Their instructions were brief. Search every nook and cranny of Dodge City and find Kitty Russell.

While Sam searched, Chester worried, Matt and Quint rode, Doc sat in his office and simply prayed. He knew that the power from above was greater than any here on earth and he had a distinct feeling, they were going to need all the powerful help they could get.

That evening Matt, Sam, Chester, Quint and Doc sat in the front room of the jail with dour expressions. None of their searches turned up anything and no one claimed to have seen anything amiss.

Victor refused to say anything aside from demanding that Matt turn the Granger boy over to him. When Matt and Quint had arrived at the little village no one in the town would so much as talk to them. Matt and Quint searched as much of the place as they could but they knew it was probably futile before they started. There were simply too many places where Kitty could be hidden.

Sam and the men who'd joined him had achieved the same results. Nothing.

"What are we are gonna do, Mr. Dillon?" Chester asked worriedly. "If we don't give them Rey…." He stopped not wanting to go any further with that thought.

"I don't know." Matt admitted. "I know I can't turn Rey over to those people. And I can't just set him free. If he did kill that girl, he needs to stand trial for it."

"That won't do Kitty very much good." Doc observed.

Before anyone could reply, a knock came at the door. Chester, who was closest to the door, opened it to find a young blonde haired boy standing there.

"Is Marshal Dillon here?" The boy asked.

"I'm here." Matt got up and stepped to the door. "You're the McGruder boy, Jeremy, aren't you?"

"Yes, Sir." The child nodded. "I got a message for you." He extended a piece of paper to Matt.

Matt took the paper from the boy, glancing down at it before nodding to the child. "Thanks, Jeremy." He reached into his pocket for a coin but the child turned and ran from the jail before he could offer him a tip. Shrugging it off, Matt opened the paper and read the note on it.

'Her life is in your hands.' Was all it said.

Underneath the writing was a bright red smear. Matt clenched his jaw and looked over at Doc, handing him the note. He knew he didn't have to explain why.

Doc took the paper and after reading the note, looked closely at the stain underneath it. "It's not blood." He told Matt with a relieved tone to his voice.

"Blood?" Chester questioned. "What…"

"They're trying to scare me." Matt answered. "They're reminding me that they'll kill her if they don't get Rey."

"They know they can't take him from you." Quint shook his head. "I guess they figure that's their only option is to use her and force you to give them what they want."

"Yeah, but I can't do that." Matt said just as a thought came to him. "I can do something else, though." Grabbing his hat, Matt opened the door and left saying nothing more to the confused men behind him.

"Well, what do you figure that means?" Chester wondered. "Ya think he figured out where Miss Kitty is?"

"No." Doc got to his feet and shuffled towards the door. "But I think he has an idea of who might."