Alex kept trying her number, hoping in vain to get through to her, but the call kept going to voicemail. Eventually, he stopped. Not because he was getting tired of calling her, but because he had filled up her voicemail with messages which went unanswered.
One more time, he thought, staring at his phone. Just once more. Maybe this time I'll get through!
So, he tried once more. The phone rang as it normally did, and Alex felt just the slightest twinge of hope that this time, this time, would be the time when Flora would answer.
"Voicemail full." Said the automated voice of Flora's voicemail. Sighing heavily, Alex buried his face in his hands. Debbie was driving them down the highway, on the way to Yvonne's house.
"We'll find her," she assured him.
"I hope you're right," he said, leaning against the window. "I don't know how much more of the waiting I can take."
They had just gotten back from Paris. Thankfully, the journey back had been less eventful and more streamlined than the journey there. Alex felt relieved by that simple fact, but it wasn't enough to comfort him. His mother had been kidnapped, was missing, and they had to keep it a secret from Gideon otherwise he would grow suspicious and freak out. Alex was on the verge of freaking out, and he was barely keeping it together.
***
Yvonne wasn't happy about missing date night with Christopher. However, as Christopher himself had pointed out, "Kidnapping trumps date night", and there had, indeed, been yet another kidnapping. This time, it was Alex's mother, Flora. None of them had any inclination as to who had taken Flora, nor where she could be. Alex had called them, and they had agreed to convene at Yvonne's house.
About an hour later, Yvonne's living room hosted everyone in the gang: Alex, Debbie, Louis, Christopher, and Ken Stokes. Tom Sawyer had insisted on staying behind at Alex's house to keep an eye on Gary the super soldier horse.
Alex had taken a seat on one of the armchairs, his head buried in his hands as he tried to process yet another kidnapping. This time, it was his mother. Flora was a nice enough woman, if a little sharp and crude with her comments. Yvonne seemed to remember that Flora had been overwhelmed by Yvonne's "primitive" coffee machine. Yvonne chuckled at the memory, then stopped herself.
This is not the time to laugh, she told herself. Alex needs his friends!
"We're here for you, Alex," Christopher said. He was sitting between Louis and Alex, acting as a buffer.
Yvonne wasn't totally sure she understood what had happened. As far as she could gather, Louis had allowed Riley into their circle. Apparently, Riley had told Louis he wanted to be a better person. Almost immediately after, his assistant Todrick Dangles had signed up under the good guy banner. That had led Louis to introducing both of them to an old martial arts teacher, and both Riley and Dangles had been tossed to the curb after a couple of lessons. Yvonne couldn't help but think that that was what Riley deserved after all he had put them through.
Yvonne felt a little sorry for Louis. If Riley, one of the most evil men in the world, had told her he wanted to be a better person and amend his wrongdoings, she probably would have tried to help out in any way she could.
"We'll find her, Alex," Louis was saying. "I called Stefan and gave him her description. He said he'll keep an eye out for her, and any clues as to her whereabouts." Louis paused, trying to look Alex in the eye. "Stefan is really good at finding people. He used to recover people who got trapped by rubbles after earthquakes or mudslides!"
Yvonne blinked.
I have to meet this Stefan guy at some point, she thought. He sounds like quite a character!
Alex was pointedly looking away from Louis.
Christopher turned to Louis. "Did Riley say anything?" he asked. "Or Dangles. Dangles always knows what Riley's about to do. He had to have said something!"
Louis shook his head. "Neither of them said anything," he said, spreading his hands. "We thought they were on our side, didn't we Ken?"
The whole group turned to look at Ken Stokes, the multimedia personality who sat on another armchair and cradled his video camera like it was a newborn child. He looked around the group with sad eyes.
"They had us fooled," he said. "I hate to admit it, but old Ken Stokes got caught up in the possibility of a redemption arc for Baltimore's most evil man."
Yvonne paced around the living room, paying half attention to the conversation. She looked over at Debbie. Yvonne knew that Debbie and Alex were trying to be friends following their breakup, but Debbie had too much pain in her eyes. She clearly still loved him, but was struggling with her desire to be friends.
"Don't blame yourself, Ken," Louis said, leaning back on the sofa and looking over at him, "Stefan tried to warn me, remember? He said that I would have to deal with the consequences if I decided to help Riley."
"Well that's not very good advice," said Yvonne. She stopped pacing and looked over at Louis. "He should have said no, right then and there."
Louis shook his head. "No," he said, "Stefan gives everyone a chance, and I know I'm not the cheeriest person in the world, but that is something I want to extend to people more often."
Yvonne nodded, then went back to pacing. A thought struck her.
"Hey, Alex?" she said, turning to face him.
He turned around and propped himself up on the back of the armchair to face her.
Yvonne took a couple of steps forward and said, "How's your dad handling all this?"
It took a moment for the words to sink in, and when they did, Alex's eyes widened and the color drained from his face. His jaw went slack and he buried his face in the soft paisley cushion, letting out a muffled, frustrated scream. When he was done, he turned around and busted his face in his hands, his cheeks turning red and sweat beading on his forehead.
"Oh my god," Alex said as Yvonne's words hit him. "What am I going to tell Dad?" Alex asked, staring at the floor.
"You mean you haven't told him?" Louis said, startled. "Is that why you haven't gone back to the house yet?"
Alex nodded. "I tried to call him, but it went to voicemail." he let out a frustrated sigh. "And I was really tired of leaving voicemails."
Christopher nodded, understanding.
Yvonne pursed her lips. Alex's dad, Gideon, was a nice enough man, but he was more than just a little oblivious to the world. The house could be on fire around him and he would start barbecuing.
"Try calling him now," she suggested. "It's late, but he might pick up."
Alex fumbled in his pockets for his phone and called his dad. The phone rang, and Alex's face creased into worry. He hung up and flopped back into the armchair. He looked despondently at Yvonne.
"No answer," he said wearily. "Straight to voicemail."
Yvonne pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Flora had been kidnapped not once but twice. Yvonne had some experience of that, and those were not the best memories. She tried to think about Riley, and his patterns of behavior, and what he might or might not be likely to do as thing
[SFX: ping]
Alex sat up and looked at his wrist, gasping.
"SCOT!" he said, leaping to his feet. "Oh boy, am I glad to see you!"
"Likewise, Alex!" said SCOT's voice.
The group stood up and crowded around Alex, keen to see SCOT's friendly computer-generated face. He smiled up at them from Alex's watch. Yvonne never thought that she would be glad to see the artificial intelligence. The past few days had been so remarkably human, with limited access to science fiction-type technology that she felt a little guilty. She realized that she hadn't missed SCOT in the slightest, although she was still glad to see him.
"What took so long, buddy?" Alex asked.
SCOT pulled a face. "I'm afraid I was having some connectivity trouble," he said. "It appears that my range does not extend to Paris."
Alex shrugged. "Something for us to work on."
"Indeed!" SCOT said enthusiastically. "Once you returned, it took me a while to reestablish a link as you had most of your devices deactivated." SCOT raised a disapproving eyebrow at Alex.
Alex cringed and gave him an awkward smile. "Sorry about that," he mumbled.
SCOT smiled. "It's alright," he said. "Anyway, the timing couldn't be any better as I have news!"
Yvonne watched as Alex's throat bobbed.
"Good news," he said, "or bad?"
SCOT made a considerate face and hummed as he thought.
"I supposed it's both?" he said, ponderingly. "You received an email about an hour ago. I took the liberty of reading it, as I'm your email as well as your security software."
"Of course," Alex said, nodding. "Go on."
"The bad portion of the news," SCOT said with an edge to his voice, "is that the email is from Riley Naysmith."
Everybody gasped. Yvonne's blood ran cold. She looked at Alex, and saw that his jaw was tight.
"The good portion of the news," SCOT said before anyone could speak. "Is that Riley had been generous enough to leave us some clues as to Flora's whereabouts!"
Yvonne sighed with relief, and she saw all the tension leave Alex.
"Thank you, SCOT," Alex said with a small smile. "You always come through."
SCOT hesitated.
"SCOT?" Yvonne asked. "Is there more you're not telling us?"
SCOT looked up at Yvonne, then around at all the stunned, waiting faces of the group.
"The clues are encrypted," SCOT said, his computer-generated eyes looking away from everyone. "I've already tried cracking them, but they require the flexibility and imagination of a human mind to be able to crack them. I'll forward them now."
The face of Alex's smartwatch filled with a list of encrypted clues. Yvonne's heart sank as she looked them over.
"Thank you, SCOT," Alex said, then he sighed heavily. He scrolled through the encrypted clues, and with each scroll his face fell just a little more.
SCOT disappeared from the smart watch, and Yvonne looked up at Alex. He looked completely broken and defeated, like he just wanted to go to bed. Unfortunately, she knew Alex, and what he was like. He would not rest until he had found Flora.