Trifecta

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 8 (Precarious Situation)

Nevel's place wasn't so difficult since his mother let Freddie enter. He was still disturbed by the woman's empty eyes and stopped himself partway through greeting her when she walked back to the couch. "I bet that chip of his has something to do with how you're acting. I could remove it, but Nevel might figure something's up…" He approached the woman and sat next to her, studying the chip on her neck carefully.

It was unlike any piece of technology he'd ever seen before . If he studied some of Nevel's technology, he could potentially become well versed enough to combat him should the need ever arise. It was irritating that some of his technical smarts had fallen in the last couple of years. "Too many days at the gym and not enough fiddling around with computers." At the very least, the woman's trance allowed for him to snoop about without problem.

He slipped carefully into the basement and stepped with care on the off chance Nevel might be inside. He bent to gaze over the stairwell and was relieved to see an empty basement. He already was aware Nevel was out at the library, since he saw the man there. In recent days he spent all his time researching.

Freddie cut off the power to the basement earlier, so it was dark. This was the only way to ensure any cameras didn't catch him meddling about.

He pulled a flashlight from his overcoat and made his way to Nevel's computer desk. "Okay, I've already found ties to your little buddy, almost got my ass caught in the process. Thank god Nevel's place is cleaner."

As he studied the paperwork on the desk, he couldn't help but notice a failsafe code Nevel had for all of his work. It was a code to internally destroy one of his inventions should something ever go wrong. "One code for everything? For such a genius, he sure isn't the smartest." He removed his phone and took a picture of the code, then continued to further search through Nevel's material.

While reading through a journal, he couldn't help but to hear an annoying rattle. His eyes drifted up from the book and he scanned the area with his flashlight, but could see nothing. "Strange." He turned the light back onto the book and held his breath as he read the words.

It's time to meet up with the boss, she has promised me vengeance on Carly, but this means I have to work with that moron Gibby. At least he's good for something. I'm not sure why she's issued his help though, he's the person that destroyed her plans the first time-but as long as she sees value, fine.

"No." Freddie moved his hand over his mouth and turned his head up, ignoring the incessant rattling that was blocking his thoughts. "He can't mean her." Nora could not do anything from prison, or so he hoped. If Gibby and Nevel were in cahoots with her, then they would only be guard dogs without teeth.

Concentrating was a struggle as the rattling noise furthered its annoyance in his mind. "Electronics are powered off down here, so what the hell is making that noise?" His eyes narrowed and he returned to the journal.

Gibson and I are to secure a warehouse where the captives will all be placed. What she intends to do with the hostages, we're not sure. She claims a desire to hold them for ransom. Strange, because between Benson's mother, Carly's brother, and Sam's mom, the only one worth anything is Carly's brother…who is a paralegal now. However, Miss Shay's father could be important. Unlike the nurse and the mentally deranged nut sack of a mother that is Sam's mom. I should ask sometime, why do we know so little of her father or Carly's mother?

Freddie looked up and squinted his eyes in thought. He always figured since Carly's mom had been in the military too, that she may have passed on, but he didn't know. As for Sam's father, he left when she was young, wanted nothing to do with them.

Nevel had a point, there was little sense in holding them for ransom. None of their relatives were influential or even people of power. Granted, Spencer was now a paralegal for Seattle's most powerful attorney. "So, maybe they want to grab Carly and force a ransom-maybe not in profit but if it's Nora, she could want him to convince the attorneys he works for to free her parents!" He snapped his fingers and moved his hand up to his forehead.

"I should warn Sp-" The rattling sounded off again and he threw his hand down, growling angrily. "What the hell is that noise!" He grumbled and dismissed the thought. His fingers moved in circles on his forehead as he thought about the warehouse mentioned. "Probably the same warehouse in Gibby's letter from Nevel."

Just then the lights flickered back on and the computers proceeded to echo with loud hums. Startled, Freddie jumped behind the desks, hiding in the narrow crevice between the wall and desk. "Damn mother," Nevel muttered over the hums, "Probably shut off my basement power to spite me. Hell, she even made up some stupid sounding disease just throw me in an asylum. Whoever heard of 'porcu-pox'!"

The stairs creaked as Nevel descended. Freddie put his hand to his chest and winced as his heart started to pound. Unlike Gibby's place, there was no easy escape route. The only thing was a small rectangular window that he could potentially squeeze through, but it was on the other side of the room and above some stacked crates.

"How did I get myself into this position? Oh right! I had to be stupid enough to come down here. I can't risk getting caught now!"

His hands began to sweat as he watched Nevel's feet move across the floor. They stopped and turned away. Freddie went to wipe his brow and froze when the rattling noise was heard at a louder intensity.

Slowly Freddie turned his head and paled when he looked into the cage seated against the wall beside the desk. Inside was a rattlesnake, coiled up and facing him. Its tail was vibrating and its tongue was flicking in and out. "Did he trade his stupid porcupine in for a snake?" His hair was clinging to his skin and sweat was now pouring down his trembling body. "Shh snake, don't make a sound. I'm trying not to get caught here…"

The snake swayed to the right, then to the left, its tongue still flick in and out. So long as the snake stayed in the cage, Freddie could be relieved. "Probably doesn't even have venom." His eyes drifted to a large pile of remains in the cage and his sweating increased. White fur was littered about the cage, indicative that Nevel likely fed live animals to the snake. In which case, it could still be venomous.

He swallowed down his nervousness and glanced back through the slit in the desk. Nevel's feet had turned back to face the desk, and Freddie could hear what sounded like papers rustling. "Great, so I've got the blueprints for the plane but they're not ready to fly out. That's fine, I've still got to figure a way to keep it off radars. How the hell am I going to do that?"

"What could he want with a plane or keeping one off radars?" An undetected plane could fly anywhere. His heart sank as he considered the use. "Carly. Nevel wants to go after Carly. His 'team' isn't wanting to do that first thing, though? Why?"

He had to consider the possibility of Nora's leadership, as well as Gibby's involvement. In which case, Sam had already put a stop to Nora, and Gibby didn't like her. He didn't want to think Gibby would do anything to Sam, but if Nora was able to manipulate them, then it was an opportunity.

"We need to deal with the easier task first," Nevel muttered, "Even if we got to Italy…we would still have to get into the base that Carly lives with her father. Then to kidnap her and take her away from that base, we have to fly back here and put her in the warehouse. It's not an easy task! We should focus our efforts on Sam or Freddie first."

Nevel's feet moved away and Freddie leaned down to get a clearer view. When he did, he could see Nevel talking on his phone. This was a benefit, since Nevel wasn't too aware. He slid his gaze to the window and began a mental map of an escape route.

His thoughts were cut when he heard his phone start to chime. Thinking fast he grabbed it and put it to his ear. "What!" He hissed in a quick whisper.

"Well that's a new greeting," Sam replied. Freddie winced and he instantly bowed his head. "I was just calling to check up on you."

"Sorry Sam, I'm in a bit of a situation right now." He smiled gently and closed his eyes. "It's good to hear from you."

"Yeah…so why are you whispering?"

"No reason."

"Is everything okay?"

"Fine. Don't worry about me." He tapped his fingers slowly on the floor and checked on Nevel. Fortunately for him, Nevel was still talking on the phone. "You uh, you remember that time we all got trapped in Ms. Briggs's closet?" He began to relax, ignoring the precarious situation he was in.

"Oh god yes." Sam chuckled once and released a heavy sigh. "I remember even then, in the middle of danger, you still hit on Carly."

"Would you rather me have hit on you?"

"At that time? No." He smirked playfully and lifted his eyebrows, curious at the phrasing of her statement. "I think I would have preferred you be more focused on the situation we had been in, and not on the girl that wasn't going to reciprocate your obsessive love for her."

"I suppose it would be nice having you here with me right now. A beautiful woman would definitely make things a lot better, considering I'm sort of in a situation similar to that time."

There was a pause, followed by an anxious sigh. "What trouble did you get yourself into now, and are you seriously flirting with me?"

"I wouldn't say flirting so much as stating facts." He looked to the snake in the cage and frowned as its eyes burned into him. "Having you here with me would make this day a whole lot better…you don't even know." As well as a much better, safer, and more beautiful companion than what was now staring at him like a piece of food.

Even now, he'd rather see Gibby's Doberman instead of a rattlesnake, considering he was much more receptive to dogs than reptiles.

"Freddie."

"You know I'd never do anything to hurt you, right?" There was a sigh on Sam's end, followed by the sound of a dish hitting a counter.

"You're in Seattle, and I'm in LA. Your mother's sick, you need to focus on her right now. If you're serious about…how you feel, then please, stop flirting around with me. I don't like it, and I don't like you acting lovesick like you did with Carly."

"I'm sorry, I just, in this moment you know. I'll stop if it makes you uncomfortable."

"Please. Just-" He sensed hesitation in her voice and held his breath as she paused. He could hear items being moved around on her end, and the microwave in the background going off. "I'm not going to tell you I don't see anything between us, but if anything were to happen, just let it happen at its own pace. Okay?"

His eyebrows rose and he slowly nodded. "Are you saying there's a chance?"

"God, I don't know. I just, it's hard to explain. I felt something for you once, okay? I thought it meant something, and you know damn well I'm not good with emotions. I don't know how I feel, but you telling me how much you miss me, or that I'm 'beautiful' is not helping. Besides, you're a thousand miles away, and I would love for you to be closer. What I want doesn't matter, I just don't do well with relationships that have distance involved."

Freddie heard a shuffling noise in the room and glanced back to Nevel. "Hold on," Nevel spoke. His heart stopped and he held his breath as Nevel walked slowly towards the snake's cage. "Hello Fuzzles, do you smell a rat? Is that what's got you all worked up?"

"Oh no."

"What?" Sam asked quickly. Freddie shut his eyes and whispered.

"Not you Sam, um, can I call you back in a couple of minutes?"

"I guess so. Sure." She hung up and Freddie shoved his phone into his pocket. A wave of guilt punched him in the gut, but it was for the best in this moment.

"Here you go Fuzzles, I'll let you out to catch the rat." Freddie's eyes widened as Nevel opened the cage. His sweating increased as the boy left the basement.

"Fuzzles, is it?" Freddie backed up slowly as the snake began to slither towards the exit. "You don't want to bite me, I um…I taste bad! Right!" He shot up and struck his head on the side of the desk. His hand moved up to the sore spot as pain shot through his body. "Christ. I'm not a rat!"

Then again, Nevel was likely aware of this.

Freddie pressed his back against the nearby wall and looked to the escape window above the crates. His chest heaved and the arteries in his throat seemed to bulge from his neck. "What kind of sick bastard names his sorry ass snake Fuzzles?"

As the snake began to slither around the desk, Freddie slowly removed his jacket. "This is going to be painful." The snake coiled itself and lifted its head off the ground, swaying back and forth.

While eyeing the snake, Freddie tied his jacket sleeves into a knot, then held the edges. The creature's hiss struck a painful chord in him, and paralyzed him with fear. He started to blink, struggling to keep the sweat out of his eyes. "Sam implied a chance in the future, so damn you to hell if you think you're going to bite me, Fuzzles!"

As the snake shot forward, Freddie lunged towards it. In a quick motion he threw the jacket over the snake and pulled it up like a burlap sack, holding it so all openings were closed.

His body trembled as he watched the imprint of the snake move along the jacket. "S-S-Shit." Thinking fast, he proceeded to slam the jacket on the ground, trying not to scream out in terror with each swing. "I hate snakes!"

Freddie hurried towards the window once he felt the jacket go limp. He climbed the crates and held his arms out to the sides while fighting to maintain balance.

After pushing the window open he began to climb, freezing when he heard a rattling noise. "It's still alive, isn't it?" His heart sank and he let the jacket fall open. The snake fell onto the floor and slithered back to the cage.

With that, Freddie pulled himself from the window and bent over, grabbing his knees as heavy pants fell from his lips.

Moments later, he was running down the street to the nearest cleaners where he planned to have his jacket washed. Once there, he dialed Sam and struggled to catch his breath. When she answered, her vocal inflection seemed more annoyed than joyous. "And now you call me while breathing heavily."

"Sorry, I just got done running for my life."

"What? Freddie, tell me what's going on!"

"Snake. Just a stupid, venomous, snake." He chuckled nervously and wiped his brow. "You know how I get with snakes."

"Are you okay? He didn't bite you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Sam let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Do I even want to know what you were doing around any kind of snake?"

"Probably not." He sat down on a bench beside a dryer and took a deep breath. His hand circled his knee and his back left a sweaty imprint on the wall behind him. "Sam, I just want to let you know…if it bothers you so much when I say things like you're beautiful or that I miss you, then I'll say them less. That doesn't mean they're not true, and it doesn't mean I'm just saying it loosely for nothing."

"Freddie…"

"I mean it. I care for you, and in a way that I've never cared about anyone. Even Carly. I don't want you to think I'm obsessed, because I'm not. I want to be with you, not for any trivial reason. Not because I can't have Carly or something stupid like that, but because of you."

The pause that followed was nervewracking and to the point he had to check and make sure their call was still going on. Eventually, he received a response. "Okay."

"I respect you, Sam. I think you're an amazing person. Yes you're a little rough around the edges, but I don't care. I don't care if people think you're a little rude just because you speak your mind and you don't conform to the way society thinks you should be…You're who you are, and you're beautiful for that." He looked towards the jacket lying beside him and chuckled softly. "If there's even a slight chance that you and I could ever get back together, that's great. I would wait for you, but I'll respect your wishes and stop acting like a stupid romantic whenever we talk."

"I…appreciate that. Thank you. I really do need time to sort things out." His heart lifted up and he smiled in the distance. "Look, call me if you need anything okay? I hope Mrs. Benson is alright."

"Thanks."

"Bye for now."

"Bye." He pulled the phone away and set it gently in his lap, watching as the call signal popped off. His eyes closed and his chest fell with a relieved huff. "Sure Freddie, let's investigate Nevel's home. Such a great idea…God, I am an idiot."

Snakes, why is it always snakes!-a quote from a friend of mine. Well Freddie found some clues, and the talk with Sam seems to be a step in the right direction where at least he knows a little about how she feels. Now, I believe the next chapter is the emotional tear jerk, so be prepared