Chapter 13

"Gogo!" Hiro called as he ran upstairs.

"What is it?" Gogo asked holding her phone away from her face.

"Baymax, he's gone," Hiro said.

"What?"

"He's not on his charging station," Hiro said.

"Well he must be around," Gogo tried to reassure Hiro.

Hiro's face fell as he ran through the events of last night while Gogo finished her call to Fred and Honey Lemon. The fight came to a draw with Yama, Jiro announced the draw, then party at the café. What else was there? What was Hiro missing? Baymax wouldn't just leave, unless…unless maybe the fight messed up his data and he thought it was Monday and he went to the clinic by himself, but Hiro always dropped him off. The clinic. He could start there, but Hiro doubted he would be there.

Hiro hung up with the clinic, confirming his suspicion correct. If Baymax hadn't gone to the clinic, then where was he? He checked the garage again.

He looked at the charging station and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. All his computers looked normal and everything was where he left it. He glanced at the garage door. The latching mechanism was unlocked which meant that someone had opened it from the inside. But, who? Gogo was with Hiro all night and there was no way Aunt Cass would take Baymax. Fred and Honey Lemon left early, probably to head back to Fred's place. That left Wasabi. But Wasabi would never steal from Hiro. What motive would he have?

Abigail.

Hiro remembered watching her with Wasabi and the weird smile she gave the other day. She was the odd one out. The group had just met her and she was convenient. But why would she want Baymax?

Hiro needed to talk to her. He pulled out his cell and dialed her number. An empty tone rang out from the other end of the line.

"Huh," Hiro said to himself. How convenient that her cell phone doesn't work. Hiro grabbed his gear and stuffed it in a bag in hopes that they might find Baymax. He spun around and headed upstairs. There were burning buildings and people that needed to be saved.

Hiro drove Gogo on the back of his motorcycle to the site where the explosions had happened. The fire department had put out most of the fires in the buildings when they arrived. Wasabi pulled his car next to Hiro's bike with Fred and Honey Lemon in tow.

"Alright," Hiro called the group to gather around him as he laid out the plan. "Honey Lemon, I need you to be first in those buildings. Use as many freeze chem balls as you can on the open fires inside and go clockwise through the building. I'll let the fire department know your route. Fred you go with her and jump up to the second and third stories. The stairs will probably be inaccessible. Keep in mind that the wood will be burnt and brittle. The building could collapse. Honey Lemon, you need to stop that from happening with your chem balls if you are inside."

Fred and Honey Lemon nodded in agreement.

"Wasabi, you should go with Honey Lemon and help her carry people if there is anyone trapped inside."

Wasabi nodded.

"Gogo, I need to you search the outside of all the buildings. Check for irregularities. I'll talk with the police and fire department and see what they know. Maybe we can help them and they can help us. Let's find out who did this, but first make sure anyone still alive is safe," Hiro finished looking at each of his team mates.

"Let's do this!" Fred said excitedly.

"Wait, where's Baymax?" Honey Lemon asked Hiro.

Hiro shook his head, his gaze on the ground, "I don't know."

Honey Lemon looked to Gogo who gave the same answer.

"Let's not waste any more time. Let's go," Hiro said, and the group disbanded.

Hiro didn't get any new information from the police or fire department. They knew as much as their group did. Hiro sighed and headed back to the cars. He felt helpless without Baymax. Sure he knew karate, but for times like these, karate was pointless. Baymax was most helpful in these types of search and rescue missions. Hiro began to wonder what was so special about him? He rode Baymax and guided him and taught him, but in a group, he was a nobody. This realization hit him like a strong wave, crashing in the ocean. What was Hiro's purpose without Baymax?

He watched as Gogo returned to his side reporting nothing suspicious. Hiro decided not to worry Gogo with his thoughts and kept them to himself. He watched from a distance as Wasabi carried a person to the fire department's ambulance with Fred and Honey Lemon walking closely behind him and they made their way over to Hiro and Gogo.

"Well, did we save some people?" Hiro asked.

"Just one," Honey Lemon said.

"One? Only one person was alive?" Hiro asked.

"There were no other bodies and she was tied to a chair in the middle warehouse. The other two buildings were empty," Honey Lemon said.

"Looks like someone was trying to send a message," Fred added.

"What do you mean?" Hiro asked.

"It's Abigail," Wasabi said.

"What?" Hiro asked more confuse now.

"It was Abigail that I untied and carried to the ambulance," Wasabi said.

What?

Hiro turned toward the ambulance and rushed to it, ignoring his friends calling his name. He pushed past some firemen and spotted Abigail wrapped in a safety blanket, sitting on the back of the ambulance. She offered Hiro a weak smile, one that he did not return. Just this morning he had suspected her of taking Baymax, but now he wasn't so sure she did.

"Abigail," Hiro said.

"She'll have a hard time talking for a while. Her lungs are filled with smoke," a medic informed Hiro.

"What happened Abigail? Who did this to you?" Hiro questioned her. He was going to get answers from her.

Abigail did not answer him at first, instead she gave him a scared look, like she was afraid to tell him.

"Abigail!" Hiro said her name harsher.

She looked away.

"Jiro."

Hiro did think her heard her correctly. Jiro? Why would Jiro do this to Abigail?

"Why?" Hiro asked.

Abigail shook her head. She refused to answer him.

"Abigail, I need you to tell me why Jiro did this," Hiro demanded. By now his friends had joined him and were waiting for Abigail to answer as well when they heard Hiro ask about Jiro.

Abigail let out a long sigh and looked up at Hiro. "Please sit down with me and I will tell you."

Hiro did as she asked.

"I betrayed him," she said to Hiro in a soft whisper. "I was…working…for Jiro. More like representing his clan at the bot fights. But you came along with Baymax to that bot fight. One of Jiro's men was with me and forced me to lose my next game so I could talk to you. So I invited you to the steel wars in hopes that you would eventually use Baymax in a fight."

"You took Baymax from me," Hiro said coldly.

"No! I didn't!" Abigail exclaimed. "Please listen to me! I didn't go through with it. Jiro wanted me to steal Baymax from you last night but I refused. You were too good a friend to me and I couldn't betray you like that."

"You've been betraying me all this time! Why should last night be any different?" Hiro said raising his voice.

"Hiro, I didn't take Baymax," Abigail said.

"Oh yeah? Then where is he?"

Abigail sighed. "Last night, at the end of the fight. Jiro touched Baymax. That touch was Jiro planting a chip on Baymax to control him. He must have activated the chip during the night and made Baymax go to him."

Hiro's mind flashed to the end scene of the fight when Jiro was on the stage. That touch had meant nothing important to Hiro at the time, but now all he could focus on was that image. Was Abigail really telling the truth? He wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe that Jiro would burn down three buildings with Abigail inside, but it seemed so extreme.

"Why did Jiro burn down three buildings with you inside?"

"Because I betrayed him," Abigail said.

"That's kind of extreme for a betrayal," Hiro said.

Abigail sighed again. "This wasn't the first time I betrayed him, but he wanted to make sure it was the last time I betrayed him."

Hiro didn't know what else to say to Abigail so he remained quiet.

"Funny coincidence huh?" Abigail asked.

"What was?" Hiro asked.

"That you came to a bot fight looking for a way to Jiro and Jiro had already wanted something you had. Why were you looking for Jiro?" she asked.

"He took a man's daughter from him. I was going to get her back," Hiro replied.

"Jiro takes and uses a lot of girls," Abigail added.

That comment made Hiro's blood boil. "Do you know where the girls are?"

"No, but I know the head mistress. She could help you find who you're looking for."

"This just became greater than one girl," Hiro said standing up. "I'll contact you," he said walking away. His friends followed silently behind him.

He swung his leg over his bike and waited as Gogo adjusted her helmet on her head, then he sped off with her clinging to his back.

She trusted Hiro, but she couldn't help that feeling in the pit of her stomach as he violently drove through the streets. She had no idea where they were going. Hiro just drove.