Chapter 29: Kidnapped

Ebony was fighting with Thunder, trying to get him to take a bottle. She had grown tired of nursing him, but he was being stubborn.

"I wonder where he gets that from," she sighed. Of all her traits to inherit, he got that one.

Suddenly the door to the hotel room flew open and Ruby came flying into the bedroom glaring at her.

"Um gee Rubes, wrong room," she rolled her eyes.

"Where is he?"

"Out tinkering with pipes someplace with Ram and Jack."

"Don't play stupid Ebony, where is Jay?"

"Like I said wrong room."

"Oh no! I know I'm in the right room."

Ebony was furious now. She lay Thunder in his basket and stood, "I don't like what you're accusing me of!"

"Come off it, he says your name in his sleep!"

"Look around, do you see him anywhere?" Ruby's eyes darted to the small bathroom. And Ebony laughed, "Go ahead check it."

Ruby made haste to do so, but it was empty. "Just because he's not here doesn't mean he wasn't. I know the two of you have been playing some kind of game."

"Honey if you can't keep track of your man well that's your problem!"

Ruby couldn't contain herself. She slapped Ebony.

"Oh you've done it now!" Ebony swung back, but someone caught her arm in mid swing.

"What's going on here?" Slade demanded to know.

"I'm sitting here feeding our son when barbie busts down the door accusing me of an affair!"

He turned to Ruby, "Is this true?"

"Don't tell me you haven't seen them making eyes at each other!"

"Listen Ruby if this is about him disappearing today, he's not the only one. Cloe's just as worried as you because Ved is gone too as well as two Pirates. Amber and Mikhail have called a tribe gathering."

She flushed red and Ebony couldn't resist getting in the last word, "Yeah, oops."

Thunder gurgled and cooed breaking some of the tension and Ruby ran off teary eyed.

"Does it hurt?" Slade asked Ebony kissing her red cheek.

"Not as bad as she'd be hurting if you didn't have perfect timing."

He shook his head, "C'mon the meeting is bound to be starting," he picked up their son.

"This is really serious?"

"Mikhail thinks they've been taken."

"I knew this place was too safe to be true," she kept shaking her head as they headed to the meeting. Trouble followed the Mallrats wherever they called home.

~0~

Jay awoke feeling groggy. His whole body felt heavy and he had to blink several times before his vision was clear. When he tried to shift he realized his wrists were bound as were his ankles.

He was unfamiliar with his surroundings but he wasn't alone. There were others too, men and women. Some were disoriented trying to figure out where they were, and some appeared to have been there awhile. Then there was Ved, still unconscious.

"Welcome aboard mate!" a scrawny kid across from him said.

"Wait a second,aboard as in on a boat?"

"Yup you've been kidnapped."

"Where are they taking us?"

Scrawny kid shrugged, "I don't even no where we are or where I came from."

A voice Jay recognized spoke next, "We're still at Fleur Isle Jay."

"Lefty, how'd they get you?"

" Same way they got Toc and you and Ved, poison darts. I knew that jungle wasn't safe. I told Toc we didn't have parrots on the island, but she wouldn't listen."

"Parrot? Ved and I saw one before we were shot."

"Figures," came the voice of Toc. She was out of his line of sight, "It's their decoy."

"If you got friends here, they aren't safe," the scrawny kid said.

Jay begin to panic. He didn't know what they were dealing with, but on Fleur isle they were pretty much defenseless.

"Relax," Lefty saw the terror in his eyes, "Four of us mysteriously disappeared. No way Khail isn't preparing the battle stations."

"I hope you're right, some of the Mallrats are fighters, but we don't know what we're up against."

~0~

Cloe's eyes were red from crying when everyone was finally gathered for the tribe meeting. Even a few indigenous to Fleur Isle straggled in.

"What's going here?" Lex asked because everyone was just sitting there blank stares.

"Four people have gone missing from the island in a matter of two days," Khail spoke on behalf of the Pirates, "Two of my own, Lefty and Toc, who I thought were taking a leisure cruise until Ryan found their boat still tied to the pier this morning."

"And two of our own, Jay and Ved gone, missing for hours now," Bray explained.

Salene listened as she tried to comfort Cloe. She was trying very hard to avoid Jaffa's voice in her head. He said bad mojo was coming thanks to Tai-san and here trouble started.

"The pirates and I started coming to the island a few months before we happened upon you Mallrats, there has never been any reason to doubt it's safe here," Khail said trying to quiet Rylan in her arms.

"That's right," Ryan said taking his son so Mikhail could focus, "since Khail brought me here there's never been a threat."

They all began talking at once. Salene watched Tai-san. The other woman seemed distressed, but relaxed in a way.

"Al lright shouting won't solve anything, look Ruby, Cloe we'll start searching at first light. Slade, Lex, Trader, will you search the jungle tomorrow?" Amber's naturally ability to lead kicked in.

"Why Slade? Why not Bray or Darryl?" Ebony responded.

"Ebony..." Slade began to interrupt her.

"No slade, she's always dictating things forgetting important risks. Are we forgetting the disappearnces occured in the stupid jungle? What happens when you go marching out there tomorrow? We don't even know if they're alive!"

"How can you be so insensitive?" Rayne asked as Cloe's sobs grew.

"I'm just saying, we don't now what we're up against."

"Point taken," Amber sighed, "however there are safety in numbers. "

"I'll go," Alice voluntered.

"Me too," May piped in.

"Alice, May, Trader, and I will search tomorrow," Bray said volunteering himself so Slade wouldn't have to go. He knew Ebony would put her foot down otherwise.

"Happy?" Amber looked at Ebony.

Ebony shrugged, "They wanna take the risk, fine. It doesn't affect me."

"Then it's settled. We'll need volunteers to keep watch tonight."

Sammy ever so eager to impress Gel volunteered as did Lex, Darryl, and Slade.

"Very well then," Mikhail sighed, "Try and get some sleep everyone."

When the lounge was near empty Salene approached Tai-san, "You're bringing disharmony to Fleur Isle!"

Tai-san dismissed salene's accusations. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Jaffa said you aren't who we think you are, who are you?"

"It's not a secret I was with the Technos for awhile."

Salene blushed, "Well no, but then why would Jaffa tell me to warn the tribe about you?"

"Yes Tai, why don't you tell her?" Ram smirked as he re entered the lobby.

Both women froze staring at him.

"Oh don't stop arguing on account of me. Brady forgot her teddy."

Before either woman could respond there was a commotion down the hall. Tai-san grateful for the distraction went to investigate. She found Lottie in tears.

"It's Ruby, she's gone, I tried to stop her, but her mind's made up."