I'm back, but one day late! (I know, I know, I just suck at remembering stuff.) Anyway, it's that time of year again! What time of year, you ask. Finals! So I may not get a chance to update next week. We'll see.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Beck's POV

It had been three days since I saw Jade. Who knew these psychopaths would be so damn smart? There was no indication of where they took Jade and Tori.

Their parents were hopeless. They didn't know a damn thing about their kids. Thought they were perfect little angels until four days ago. Even now, I don't think Chad's parents believe it. They think that we made it up, or that Adam was blackmailing Chad or some bullshit like that.

The rest of us spent those four days together, in my RV. It was our new unofficial hangout, since hanging out at Tori's would be weird. Cat and Andre's houses were too insane, and Robbie's parents didn't like him…or us. So, even though it was small, we all crowded onto the orange couch and watched movies, ate junk food, and stared at the phone, waiting for it to ring. Begging, pleading, praying for it to ring.

It was somewhat awkward, I must admit, having three guys and one girl on a couch made for two. We were zombies, just moving through life. We did the motions, played along, but we couldn't do much else. 'Cause everywhere we looked, in everything we did, there were constant reminders that Jade and Tori were gone. There was a giant hole in our lives, and it was impossible to miss.

Our parents made us go to school today. Kicked us out of the RV. So, while the rest of them went home to get their stuff, I silently packed my bag.

Even that was a painful reminder. With Jade, things were never quiet. We were either yelling, or singing, or even just talking, but there was always noise. Music was constantly played, an infinite playlist that blended into the background as Jade and I would talk about nothing in particular.

The silence, and my internal reverie, was interrupted by the phone ringing. I scrambled for it, tripping over a forgotten plaid shirt and falling to the ground in front of the counter it was placed on. My hand reached up, blindly feeling for the phone as I used the other to untangle my legs. I got it, nearly dropped it, but miraculously managed to catch it and answer it.

"Hello?" I asked, anxious.

"Hello sir, I would like to inform you about an amazing opportunity-"

"Don't call here again," I seethed, my voice dangerously calm.

"Well, sir, if that's-" the telemarketer was interrupted by me furiously jabbing 'end' and slamming it down on the receiver.

Just my luck. Sometimes, I feel like my life is a TV show, everything scripted to conspire against, or sometimes for, me. Usually a sitcom, with all the insane adventures me and my friends had fallen into, but not anymore. My problems weren't solved in thirty minutes. No, not even in three days.

I wanted to punch something, or rather, the someones who had taken Tori and Jade. But that didn't seem like it was happening anytime soon. The phone rang again.

Angrily I picked it up.

"What!" I screamed into it.

"Sir-" It was the damn telemarketer.

"Don't call here again." I threw the phone at the wall and sank down till I was sitting against the counter. I wanted to cry. I wanted to do a million things, but I couldn't do any of them, because, what right did I have to cry, when I wasn't the one whose life was in danger.

The freaking phone rang again. Why wouldn't this fucking telemarketer get the hint?

The phone was resting a few feet away, and I stretched out to get it, ready to kill the man on the other side of the line.

"I said, don't call here again!"

"Beck!" I guess third time's the charm because it was Mr. Vega.

"Do you have new information?" I asked eagerly.

"Yes, well, sort of. We have some leads, but it's not enough." I sighed, defeated and deflated.

"So why are you calling here?"

"We need to meet, somewhere private." He sounded nervous, and somewhat jittery. "I have a…favor to ask of you."

I figured I could miss another day of school, so we arranged to meet at a coffee shop a few blocks from Hollywood Arts. Jade and I used to go there every day after school. Most days, since the break up, I found myself taking a wrong turn and going there accidentally.

I really needed a coffee fix, so Mr. Vega waited while I bought some. When I returned to the table, I got a good look at him.

He looked like a mess. His hair was greasy and disheveled, and there were deep purple bags under his eyes. His clothes were mismatched, his socks two different colors, and his tie was horribly out of place. In other words, he looked exactly how you would expect someone to look like if their daughter was kidnapped.

He glanced around the coffee shop then turned back to me. "Beck, what I'm about to ask from you is highly illegal, so I need to know that I can trust you. If you don't want anything to do with this, I understand, and you can walk out of here right now, no hard feelings. But if you do-"

I interrupted him. "Will it get back Jade and Tori?"

"If all goes according to plan, yes."

"Then count me in." He seemed a bit startled by my harsh tone of voice but recovered quickly.

"I'm not really supposed to be working on this case," he stated. "But I have a few friends, and they let me look at the files. When they weren't looking, I made copies." He glanced around the nearly empty coffee shop and pulled out a blank manila folder from a black, leather laptop bag sitting next to his seat.

He laid out a few pages on the table. I scanned them. There wasn't much information, but it looked like there were a few good pieces.

"I have a few street contacts, so I put out some feelers, and found out that the two guys – Chad and Adam – sometimes hang out near some old warehouses. It's not much, and not enough to get a search warrant. Since I'm a police officer, I can't do anything, and I have to work inside the law. But you…" he trailed off, leaving me to fill in the illicit details.

I smirked. This day was already getting better.

I rushed into Sikowitz's classroom, more than thirty minutes late, but I was in a good mood. Better than I had in awhile.

"Beck! You're late," Sikowitz stated, pointing out the obvious.

"Yes. I am."

"Okay then. Take a seat." I smirked. Sikowitz only ever gave out detentions if you touched his coconuts, which was one of the reasons he was my favorite teacher.

As soon as I sat down, Sikowitz yelled, "Quick! Drive-by acting exercise!" We spent the rest of the class doing various and ridiculous tasks Sikowitz made up for us to do.

The bell soon rang, ending the class right before we were forced to pretend to be broke superheros. Robbie, Cat and Andre were about to leave, but I called them back.

"What, Beck?" Andre asked. He looked fatigued, and I knew I was wearing on his patience.

"Why are you so happy?" Cat asked after scrutinizing my face. "Did they find them?"

"No. But, I do have some news," I stated, spying Sikowitz preparing to leave out of the window. "Sikowitz! Wait up!" I called out.

If this was going to work, we'd need all the help we could get.

So... what'd you think?