Eric remained glued to the spot he had first landed after being thrown into the back of the van. His appeared mom tied up to the back of the driver's seat and the man-mountain that had greeted him back at the motel was a formidable buffer stretched out between them. There was one other guy sitting with the driver in the front of the cabin, neither of which looked any less intimidating than the behemoth that was on guard duty. From his prone position on the floor of the van, Eric was able to shift his eyes discreetly and survey their current predicament. His conclusion was swift and most likely accurate - hopeless and dire. He wanted to crawl over to his mom, lay his head in her lap and simply bawl his eyes out, but he didn't imagine any scenario where he could bypass the enormous lump between them. His mom had sent a number of reassuring glances in his direction, which in this situation counted for nothing. Eric had been around the block enough times to know that they were indeed, in deep shit.

He wasn't sure where they were being taken and he didn't for a second expect they'd be any better off, but part of him hoped they'd get to wherever it was they were going soon, because the side of his head was getting a pounding every time the vehicle drove over a bump in the road plus, his arm was beginning to get pins and needles as the circulation to his fingers continued to be cut off by the weight of his torso.

As soon as he had thought it, Eric was sorry and mentally berated himself of not being careful about what he wished for. He felt the vehicle slow down to a complete standstill and the motor shutting off. They'd reached their destination.

When the side door opened, Eric was surprised to see that they were at the harbour and a little part of his brain, the wishful thinking part, momentarily considered that perhaps it wasn't as ominous as it all seemed. Perhaps the charter his mom had arranged had sent out an overzealous welcoming party to bring them to the boat. But when the thug untied his mom and shoved her out the door before turning back and ordering, "Doći!" Eric's stomach took a dive and any hope he'd felt about an optimistic outcome pooled at the bottom of his feet. The guy had just grunted something in Croatian. What he'd said, Eric wasn't certain of, but he understood the gesture, loud and clear…'Get out, now, before I break every bone in your neck!'

Reluctantly, Eric scrambled out of the van and started over to where his mom was being manhandled towards one of the floating docks, but he soon found himself secured by a beefy hand, wrapped tightly around his upper arm. As he was forced to march alongside his handler, Eric considered the ramifications of kicking the guy between the legs and trying to make a break for it and the chances of success. It wasn't good. Unless his mom was going to try a similar move at the exact same time, all he'd be doing was putting them both in jeopardy. In fact, one wrong move by either of them could ultimately lead to getting a gun pointed at one's head. So far, Eric hadn't seen any weapons being wielded around but he had no doubt that all of hired thugs had them tucked away, close at hand, if any trouble should arise. However, it didn't stop him making mental notes of all possible getaway vantage points and scanning for any object that he may be able to use either as a weapon or a shield as he was dragged along towards a ramp leading down to a row of the more elite luxury yachts. As he looked around, his focus came to rest on an item one of guys ahead had tucked under his arm. Eric almost stopped dead in his tracks when he realised what it was - his mom's overnight bag.

"Pomicati!" the king-sized thug spat out through his ugly teeth as he tugged his burden along to shorten the distance between themselves and the others. Eric didn't want to make it easy so he pretended to trip and lose his footing but found out the hard way that it didn't matter – he still continued to be dragged along at a more hurried pace, regardless of whether his feet were on the ground or not.

Soon, the others stopped at the stern of one of the yachts and after words with two of her crew, stepped aboard and disappeared into the cabin. Eric and his handler followed suit and were pointed in the direction of the cabin as they stepped on board.

It took Eric a few seconds to take in in the small gathering congregating in the palatial style lounge, before he was immensely relieved and surprised beyond belief to see a familiar face. "Sir Marc!" he shouted while breaking free from his handler and racing across to the salt and pepper haired gentleman who, over time, had become more like a beloved uncle than a business acquaintance of his mothers.

"Hello, my little mouse." Marc held open his arms and embraced the boy as he fell into his chest. "It's been a long time."

"Not that long," Eric corrected as he looked up into the man's warm, welcoming eyes. "But I have grown quite a bit taller since I saw you last."

"That I noticed the moment you stepped through the door-"

"You mean dragged through, don't you, Marc?" Alex decided it was high time to break up this unexpected reunion. "What the hell?"

"Alexandra," Marc unravelled the boy's arms from around his waist so he could step closer to the young woman. "Calm yourself down."

"No, I don't think I will!" Alex did the opposite to what was requested and raised her voice even further. "You've had my son and I forced along here to what end? This is not what we had arranged. I had organised a charter and-"

"and I decided…" a new arrival to the room stepped into view and cut into the rant…"that I didn't like your plan, and we were going to do it my way." The man sauntered across the room and took Alex's hands in his own. Alex instinctually tried to pull away but one of the hired-guns behind her was preventing any backwards movement. "You can't blame me, can you, Miz Hunter, surely not after you broke your promise on our last dealings and absconded with," he turned and faced Eric, "both of my treasures."

Eric wilted back against the wall behind him and stared down at his wrist, tracking the seconds ticking over on his watch while trying unsuccessfully to block out what was taking place before him – his worst nightmare come to life. He tried counting in his head…sixteen…seventeen…eighteen…nineteen…and matching his breathing accordingly, but his heart rate was skyrocketing and beyond his control and every breath seemed to become more rapid and more shallow than the one before.

Alex watched her son's reaction and made a move to lunge forward but instantly found her wrists restrained behind her back. "Lorekovic, you lying slime-ball bastard. You sandbagged the deal, not me!"

"Tut, tut, Miz Hunter, that's no way to speak in front of your child." The man stepped over to Eric and placed his hand on the side of his cheek. Eric shuddered as a chill found its way into his bones, then without being able to help himself, he looked up. "How are you boy? Have you missed me?"

Eric remained stock-still, as though he didn't have the power to do anything else, his eyes glued to the man's like he was caught in some kind of spell.

"Leave him out of this, Lorekovic!" Alex tried to break free, but continued to be restrained by two pairs of unyielding hands.

"Oh, but whether you'll admit it or not, the boy is an integral part of this, Miz Hunter." Lorekovic swiped his fingers across Eric's forehead, collecting the sweat beads that had begun to form. "It wouldn't be right to leave him out."

"You've got what you wanted," Alex indicated her overnight bag sitting on one of the tables. "I got your jades for you, now let him go."

As Lorekovic turned away from Eric and walked over to the table, Eric found that his legs were shaking so much that he involuntarily dropped to his knees. He watched on with increasing alarm as the Croatian stepped over to his mom's bag and rummaged through the packets of sweets before pulling out the small blue padded box. The moisture in Eric's mouth dried up and he almost choked with each new breath that he struggled to take in as he observed the man unlatching the catch and lifting the lid.

Lorekovic turned to Alex and growled in a quiet, menacing tone, "What is this?" He stuck his hand into the box and scooped out one of the clumps of green spearmint leaves that had been squashed together and dropped it onto the floor. The candy leaves broke apart, making a small mess where they'd landed and he glared at his men in a way that said, 'You will pay for this later,' before fixing his eyes once more on the subject of his fury. "What kind of game are you playing with me, Miz Hunter?"

Eric's eyes darted across to his mom, thinking that she was going to shoot him a, 'What the hell?' glare, but she didn't take her eyes off the Croatian. "You changed the rules of the game, so can I."

"Alexandra," Marc moved to place himself between the exchange. "Don't be stupid. Don't make this any harder for yourself. Where are the jades?"

"As if I'd tell you. I trusted you and-"

Slap! Alex righted her head before pressing her palm to the sting on her cheek where Marc's hand had just connected.

"I said, where are the jades?"

"Go to h-"

Slap! This time the other cheek took the strike.

"When I get out of here," Alex spat out through clenched teeth rather than lick her wounds, "I'm going to-"

"What?" Marc leaned in close so his nose was all but touching the young woman's. "How foolish are you if you think you'll be walking out of here?"

"It's what's going to happen if those jades are ever going to see the light of day. In case you didn't notice, I'm the one with all the cards."

"No," Lorekovic nudged the older man aside so Alex had a line of sight to her son. "In case you didn't notice, Miz Hunter, once again, I am the one in possession of the trump card."

"Let him go…" Alex tried not to plead… "and I will tell you where they are."

Lorekovic considered the proposal before shaking his head. "No. I don't think I will."

"Then you'll never have what you so badly desire. All you'll be left with is a whole lot of trouble and nothing to show for it."

Lorekovic pondered some more before deciding, "The boy will do it. He will go and get the jades, and bring them to us, and if he fails in his task," he returned his attention to Eric and stretched his lips out in a most sinister line, "sadly he will have to live with the fact that he was the one responsible for his mother's demise."

"He doesn't know where they are. I have to show him."

Lorekovic laughed. "Not going to happen, my dear. Besides, don't you think it's time the boy became a man? This is what you've been readying him for all along. Is it not?" He started at Alex, willing her to dispute the point before continuing, "No? A partner, an equal? The boy needs to accept his role at some point. Does he not? He will go and get the jades and bring them to us, and then we will discuss the terms of who owes what to whom." Lorekovic signalled his men, "Pustiti da ode."

Alex found herself no longer restrained and she immediately raced across to her son and knelt down next to him, wrapping him securely in her arms. "You okay?" she whispered and all Eric could manage was an unsteady blink of his eyes. She held his hands and almost cried at his hot, sweaty palms made contact with hers.

"Tell him where they are," Lorekovic ordered. "You have one minute."

Alex pressed her lips to her son's ear and whispered, "Listen, Eri. Under no circumstances are you to go back to the motel to get the jades. You lead these guys somewhere crowed and then you get away, however you can. You run, you find a phone and you call Peter."

Eric pulled away and stared to object but Alex held a finger up to his lips. "Don't worry about me, I know how to take care of myself. If I know you are safe, I can do what I need to here to get out of this situation. I still have a few cards up my sleeve," she attempted to reassure. "But you mustn't, I can't reiterate this enough, no matter what, get those jades. If you do, they will-"

"Enough," Lorekovic announced and Eric found himself being reefed out of his mother's arms and onto his feet by the oversized thug. "Go do your job, boy," Lorekovic patted Eric's cheek softly. "Do your job well and your mother will live." Then he lowered his voice to an icy whisper and threatened, "But you try any games, you try and deceive me, and I will take you back with me and make you watch as your mother cries out and asks to be put out of her misery."

Eric pulled his eyes away from the man's and looked back over his shoulder at his mom's. She nodded at him but said nothing, and then he found himself being dragged out of the cabin by two of the hired-guns and back onto the dock. His head was spinning fast, and his heart rate even faster as he processed the understanding that it could very well be the last time he would see his mom. There was no way that the crazed maniac would ever let her go after he had possession of the jades but if he didn't take them back, they'd kill her anyway. Eric's brain went into overdrive, trying to work out what he should do while his gut filled with the juices of bitter betrayal at the actions of Sir Marc. Eric was finding it almost impossible to believe that their friend had turned on them like a snake on a day old chick and if he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he would have thought it inconceivable, but now, all he wanted to do was take something sharp, and drive it through the rat bastard's heart. Still, that wouldn't help his mom's situation and even though she said she'd be okay, that she still hard cards up her sleeve, Eric highly doubted that was the case. As he began searching his brain for something he could do to give her an advantage, something he could do that would force them to release her, he found himself deliberating on what Neal would do in the same situation. Without showing herself in a less favourable light, his mom had often alluded to the fact that they guy could get himself, or anyone out of anything. If he could get away from his handlers, maybe he could find a phone and…no, his mom didn't have the luxury of that kind of time. Eric continued processing other, less time consuming strategies and became so desperate trying to think of a life saving plan that he barely registered one of the thugs ordering, "Dobiti!"

As he climbed up into the van, his brain cleared just enough for a decision to be made. Somehow, he managed to snap himself out of his delirium and work out what he needed to do. If there were any chance of saving his mom, he'd have to get the jades by himself and arrange an exchange. It was the only way the psycho Croatian was going to let his mom go free. With the plan under construction in his brain, Eric turned around and looked over the behemoth's shoulder, back in the direction of the dock. "Mom!"

The guy spun around to see what Eric had noticed and in that split second, Eric took a hold of the rail above the door so when the man turned back around after seeing nothing, Eric lifted his foot and booted him hard, right on his nose. As he watched the big man stumble back, holding a hand over his face while blood poured from every crevice, Eric was certain he had achieved his goal of breaking his nose. The other guy, who'd already climbed into the drivers seat, cursed something unintelligible and proceeded to scramble out but Eric was already one step ahead. The boy pushed down on the bar and released the back door before leaping out and sprinting down a path that led away from the docks.

As his little legs bolted, he could hear the other man in pursuit, his pounding steps trailing not too far behind. The man wasn't fuelled by nearly as much adrenaline or want for survival as his prey and as Eric rounded the first corner, he felt he stood a good chance of getting away. But unfortunately, his pursuer was much taller than Eric and his strides further reaching and when Eric shot a glance over his shoulder, he was alarmed to see the guy almost within grabbing reach. Eric picked up his pace, desperate to break away, not only because he didn't want to think what the guy was going to do to him when he caught up, but because it was his mom's only hope. He knew it was only a matter of seconds before his legs would rebel and force his speed to decrease but he pushed on regardless, and hurried around the next bend…only to land smack bang into a set of open arms.

At first he struggled to get away, trying frantically to break free, while screaming out, "Let me go!" But any fight he had left in his system soon fizzled out from the energy drain during his mad dash to escape. As his body buckled in defeat, he accepted that he had lost any chance of saving his mom…and himself.

"Eric…Eric…It's okay."

Cool fingers touched under his skin and lifted his head.

"Eric…Look at me Eric…"

"Peter?"

"Yeah, kiddo. It's me…and it's going to be okay."