Wow, this chapter was short O.o It's mostly filler though so I guess it makes up for it =D Hope you like it!!
McCoy had muttered just about every curse he could think of in the time span of about five minutes, even going as far as to create a few new ones in the process. He was pissed off, irritated, and worst of all worried. Since finding out about Jim's step father he'd been more anxious than ever to find the younger man. After leaving Pike's office, Spock had informed the rest of the crew of the danger their captain was in and had organized a search party. Nearly every crew member from the Enterprise had shown up, desperate to help. Spock ordered most of them to stay on Academy grounds, constantly on the lookout in case Jim happened to re-appear. He'd divided the remaining members into two groups and sent them in opposite directions of the Academy to look through the local bars, night clubs, and anywhere else Jim could be.
McCoy had been paired off with Chekov and Scotty and the blurred language barrier was doing little to help his mood. They'd already searched nearly every room on at the campus including the computer room Jim was last seen in only to come up with nothing. For the first time since he'd joined Starfleet, Leonard McCoy had no idea what to do; he didn't even know where to start and that's what frustrated him the most.
"Maybe he went beck to his room?" Chekov said hopefully, nearly jogging to keep up with the doctor's long strides.
"I doubt it kid." McCoy muttered, stalking down the darkened street. He glanced around the empty buildings lining the street, watching as they branched out into smaller neighborhoods behind the main street. They had been searching continuously for the past seven hours and with nothing more than Jim's last known location it was starting to become almost useless.
"Why didn' he say anythin' to any of us?" Scotty asked from behind him, peering into a dark ally and then jogging to catch up to the others. "We coulda helped him…"
McCoy didn't say anything right away and just kept walking. The truth was he wasn't sure either. Surely Jim would have said something if the situation was that bad and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why he would keep quiet about it. Jim had gone off about things much less serious than something like this before so it seemed strange that he wouldn't mention it. That Frank guy must be blackmailing him in someway…something is going on here…McCoy pushed the thoughts out of his head and stopped at the end of the street, throwing up his arms in frustration. "Ugh! This is pointless!! We're being lead on a wild goose chase!" He exclaimed angrily, running a hand through his dark hair.
"I doubt the captain would come this way." Chekov said after a second, taking in the empty streets around them.
"No shit, kid! You think?!" McCoy snapped, sighing heavily as soon as he did. "God…I'm sorry Chekov…I didn't mean to take it out on you."
The Russian boy shrugged one shoulder and smiled faintly. "It's okay…"
"Look, we're all worried about Jim." Scotty said, stepping forward and placing a hand on the doctor's shoulder. "He'll be alright. We'll find 'im." The conviction in his voice almost made the older man believe him but not quite.
Something buzzed against his hip and he grabbed the communicator quickly, holding it up to his ear. "Yeah…but he's not there anymore…?" A long, frustrated sigh. "Alright…we'll be there in a minute." He dropped the communicator back into his pocket and looked back at Scotty and Chekov. "We need to head back to the Academy."
OOOOO
The realization that Jim still hadn't been found was almost more than McCoy could take. He re-made his vow to throttle the younger man the minute he saw him. Their small party reached the entrance to the Academy just after 1:30, the campus quite and dark this time of night. Another group of people were waiting outside for them, this one nearly as small as their own. Spock looked up as they approached, Uhura standing by his side along with Sulu and two other crew members.
"You saw him?" The doctor asked as he approached, his eyes leveled on Uhura.
The young woman looked troubled, her dark eyes shining in the dim light. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "Yes, I saw him. He was at a bar about five blocks away."
"And you didn't drag him back here because…?!" McCoy demanded, anger and anxiety adding a sharp edge to his voice.
"Lt. Uhura contacted me as soon as she located our captain; it was the best thing she could have done." Spock said, stepping in for Uhura's defense.
The lieutenant nodded to him in thanks but it didn't seem to help at all. She still looked torn and troubled as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "I'm sorry…I should have tried harder to convince him to come back but…" She stopped, looking down for a second. She could still picture the bruises and cuts that seemed to cover him from head to toe, the defeated look in his eyes, the vow that he was going to protect his crew no matter what the cost.
McCoy let out a breath and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I know what you did was right…" He wanted to be mad, to lash out at any and everyone but he knew it wouldn't help. "Did he look okay? Was he hurt?"
When Uhura didn't answer right away, McCoy felt his stomach drop. "He…we need to find him again." There was a sense of urgency in the young woman's voice that the doctor didn't like. "He didn't say where he was going but…we need to find him." A silent agreement passed through the remaining members of the party, each one determined to find the missing young man.
Spock took a small step forward, looking at each crew member directly. "I want all of you to continue searching." He looked between Uhura and McCoy before adding the last part. "We will find him."
"What should we do about the mission in the morning?" Sulu asked, glancing back toward the Academy. "They'll want an explanation."
"Leave that to me." Spock assured him in a calm, level voice that belied any trace of emotion. "A mission cannot be undertaken without a Captain to lead it. And seeing as how ours has currently gone astray, I don't think we'll be able to make the morning deadline." He saw the relieved, grateful smiles of his fellow crew members and felt a tiny smile creep to the corner of his mouth, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go explain our situation to Admiral Pike."
Woohoo!! Final showdown with Frank coming in the next two chapters!! :D
