Chapter 30 Tension

"How dare you all leave like that?!" Soriano shouted when the crew trooped in later. "Do you know how worried I was?! No, you don't, because you're all irresponsible, hotheaded -" he stopped when he saw their faces and noticed Brook was missing.

"Where's Brook?" he asked Payton. Leslie came behind him looking worried.

"Michelle? Are you okay?" she asked. Michelle swayed a little but Paige held her hand tight in support.

"She'll be fine after some sleep." Michelle pulled her hand away and clenched her fists.

"No, I'm not sleeping until we find Brook. Jett, you said you know how we should get started. Lead the way." She said to Jett.

"Michelle, it's past two in the morning. We should get some rest. I promise we'll search for him in the morning." Jett said. Michelle steeled herself, a look of determination crossing her face.

"Suit yourself. I'll find him myself." said walking into the office where Jett kept all his computers and devices. Soriano stared after her.

"Brook is - missing?" he asked with piercing eyes at Payton.

"He ran away. We found his Bugatti about thirty miles from here. He was gone." He said. Soriano pressed his eyes for a moment.

"I knew this would happen. Reece, get the computer fired up. We're gonna start looking for Brook right now. The rest of you get yourselves some coffee because we're gonna be up all night."

The crew spent the next few hours doing some intense tracking and studying of the Inferno Ghosts' sightings, trying to map possible locations where they may be hiding. Finally, they had come up with a dozen different locations where the Inferno Ghosts might be in Vegas.

"We'll need to check at least five of them up," Paige said.

"And the others?" Michelle asked.

"We have a bunch of contacts around those areas; we can call them up without having to go all the way there," Payton said.

"Guys, I've got bad news," Jett said, startling everyone. Michelle perked up, a desperate look in her eyes. Everyone gathered around the computer he was working at and he opened a video.

"This is the CCTV footage of a camera about twenty feet from where we found Brook's car," Jett said. "I've been trying to track the car that Brook was taken off in but I can't trace them any further than twenty miles from the spot where he was kidnapped. There aren't enough CCTVs around there and I lost them."

"What about the road leading on?" Michelle asked. "If we know where they were heading for-"

"No good, Michelle. There are about twenty different routes from there." Jett said apologetically. Michelle felt her hopes dash again.

"Play the video. Maybe we can pick up clues from it." Paige said. Jett pressed the spacebar on his computer and the footage played. They saw Brook's Bugatti being parked and him getting out of the car. A few moments later, another car drove up and three men got out. They seemed to converse with Brook before striking him on the head. Michelle gasped and covered her lips in horror.

"Brook..." she watched as they dragged him into their car and drove away.

"Well, that didn't help much," Reece said grumpily. "We're still no closer to finding him." Payton straightened up a hard glint in his eye.

"That jerk knew how to find them and didn't tell us." He said.

"It's like he put himself out there like bait," Leslie said slowly.

"Why would he do that?" Michelle asked.

"He wanted them to take him - lead him to their hideout. I don't know what he plans on doing when he gets there when he's alone." Reece said.

"That was the stupidest thing he's ever done," Paige said. Michelle could see she was angry but also worried.

"How do we know he's still alive?" Michelle asked, her voice quavering. Jett patted her arm.

"He is. If Jackson wanted him dead right away, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of kidnapping him," he said.

"And Jackson won't be happy with just half his prize. Don't forget, he's after you as well." Payton said.

"How did he know where to find them? It's like he knew they would meet him there." Leslie said thoughtfully.

"If he's gone through all my data on the Ghosts... he must have found something I missed," Soriano said. "Maybe there's more we can find there. Reece, Payton, I need you both in the garage now. We're gonna go through everything I have on the Ghosts and see if we can find something else that'll help."

"Oh, joy. Now he includes us." Reece said with sarcasm, but he followed Soriano out. Payton nodded at the girls and went too.

"Now that we have some locations where they may be hiding, when do we leave? We need to check them out and get Brook back right away." Michelle said. Her eyes were heavy with sleep and she looked pale but she retained her resolution.

"Michelle, we need to rest a bit. None of us can drive like this." Paige said unusually gently.

"Paige is right. We get a few hours sleep and set off at midday." Leslie said. She took Michelle's hand and squeezed it.

"We'll get him back Michelle, no matter what." She said. Michelle nodded trying to keep her thoughts from thinking the worst.

"Yeah, a bit of shut-eye and we'll be fighting ready to get our Brook back," Jett said with a yawn.

"Come on, let's get some rest," Paige said. "You can sleep in my room."

"Thanks," Michelle said. She didn't think she could go into Brook's empty room, let alone lie in his bed knowing he wasn't there.

It was nearly eleven when Michelle felt someone shake her arm.

"Michelle, wake up," Paige said.

"Is it time to go yet?" she asked.

"No, we had something we wanted to show you. Get dressed and come to the garage." Paige said and left the room. Michelle dressed quickly not caring what she threw on and went to the garage. Paige and Payton were waiting there, dressed for action.

"So what is it?" Michelle asked.

"Self-defense. You'll need it if we come up one-on-one against the Ghosts." Payton said.

"You're fierce, angel face, but you need to know how to take a guy down," Paige said. Michelle saw that she was chewing gum.

"Okay, if you think it's necessary and if it'll help get Brook back." She said.

"Good. So first let's begin with what you know and improve on that." Payton said.

"I can throw a couple punches and maybe kick someone?" Michelle said doubtfully.

"If you're kicking, it'll have to bring them to the ground. But I'll show you how to block, dodge and strike with your fists first." Paige said. "Now watch me. Payton, come at me." His lips twitched slightly.

"I don't want to hurt you too much," he said almost teasingly.

"Pft. Lesson number one. Don't go easy on your opponent. Watch and learn, Michelle. Payton's gonna get it." Payton came at her from behind and clung to her neck. She crossed her arms before grabbing his and twisting them over her head and escaping his grasp. She then gave him an elbow to the jaw. Payton let out an 'ow!' and stepped back.

"That should hold them back temporarily. You saw how that works?" Paige asked Michelle.

"I did."

"So did I. I am never underestimating you again," Payton said to Paige. She winked at him.

"You do have that weakness. Keep that in mind, Michelle. If you see your opponent have a moment of weakness or hesitation, use it to strike."

"Got it."

"Now you try." Paige encouraged her. "Stand firm, bend a little at the knees, and balance your weight in the center. Fist your hand, bend your elbow, and wham him." Michelle looked at Payton.

"I'm sorry in advance if this hurts." She said. He came at her but she dodged and gave him the elbow strike succeeding in hitting his neck.

"Ah! That was actually almost painful." Payton said.

"Harder Michelle. Don't hesitate or be afraid of hurting them. They'll hurt you a lot more than you can hurt them if you're not quick." Paige said. Michelle nodded.

"Now I'm gonna show you how to avoid punches and pushes," Paige said. "First simple thing for this is to identify if your opponent is right or left-handed. If right, they'll hold their right arm in front and always strike from the right."

"And vice-versa," Michelle said.

"Yes. Payton, throw some punches at me." Paige said. Payton obeyed a small smile on his face as he hurled well-aimed punches at Paige. But she dodged them with nimble accuracy and finally gave him a one-two in the stomach and face.

"Oh, ow. That was not bad." Payton said. "I need to give my face a break." Paige rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Michelle, I'll spar with you instead." She positioned herself and threw steady but careful punches at Michelle. Michelle dodged them but she glanced up at Paige's face for a split-second and one of Paige's wrists connected with her waist bowing her over.

"Focus Michelle," Paige said. "You can't think of anything else when getting hit." Michelle gritted her teeth and stood straight. She waited for Paige to stop throwing punches before aiming her fists at her and giving her a solid double punch like she had with Payton.

"Hmm, better. You need to focus better for your punches to count. Good. Use that as your anchor."

"My anchor?" Michelle asked, confused.

"If you focus, Michelle, you can get some decent hits in," Payton said from behind. "Don't overthink it."

"Right. Now let's work on some leg work. Payton..." Paige gestured for him to come forward. Payton came at her attempting to subdue her from the front. She raised her knee to his stomach and kicked hard, making him stumble back, letting go of her. While he was recovering, she raised her leg straight and spun it around in a spin kick before it contacted his jaw, sending him to the ground. Payton coughed and nursed his hurt jaw.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but go easy on my face Paige," Payton said. Paige smiled.

"Don't worry, you're still hot even with a couple of bruises." She said. Michelle cleared her throat.

"Guys, can we get back to it? We haven't got all day." She said.

"Okay, the last thing is the high kick and leg sweep. It will bring your opponent down for longer if done right. You ready?" Paige asked. Payton held up one finger and nodded it from side to side.

"Uh-uh. I'll sweep you this time. I've had enough falls for one day."

"Weakling. Fine. You can try to sweep me." Paige said airily. Michelle watched as Payton came at her, giving her a high kick toward her face. She dodged backward to avoid it but did not see him sweep his other leg toward her feet. He knocked her down and she fell flat on her back, supporting herself with her arms.

"You know I let you do that, right?" Paige said.

"As if," Payton said with a grin as he helped her up. "You ready to try that Michelle?"

"The high kick doesn't look so hard but... the leg sweep looks like it will work on people weighing only a hundred and ten pounds."

"It's all in your center Michelle. Use one leg to ground yourself, stretch your other leg out, and concentrate all your strength on the leg with which you'll sweep. Even the heavy ones fall with it." Paige said.

"Okay, I'll try," Michelle said. Payton came at her and stood firm as he threw a punch. She dodged it and tried a high kick like Paige but it wasn't fast enough and Payton caught her foot and brought it down, making her lose her balance. She toppled to the side and groaned in frustration.

"It's okay, that's usually for more advanced defense," Paige said. "Stick to kicking the knees and feet. A woman has an advantage there."

"What's that?" Michelle asked.

"Stiletto heels," Paige replied. "Makes it considerably slower to walk when they have a heel hole in their foot." Michelle winced at the thought.

"Sounds painful." She said.

"It is. That's why it's effective." Paige said.

"Unless the guy's wearing army boots. I think she should practice the leg sweep." Payton said.

"There's no time, Payton!" Michelle said impatiently. "This will have to do. Now come on, let's go. The longer we wait, the more Brook is in -" she shut her eyes as the thought of Brook being hurt constricted her heart. Paige squeezed her shoulder.

"He'll be okay, Michelle. We'll leave right away." She said.

Paige insisted Michelle dress appropriately for the 'rescue mission' as Jett called it and made her wear a comfortable but fitting leather and denim combo paired with stiletto boots.

"If looks could kill..." Paige said admiring her handiwork as she circled Michelle. "Now let's go get your man back." Michelle almost smiled at that.

Everyone was already in the garage prepping for the mission. Jett handed out their earpieces they had used before and a tracker each.

"In case we get separated." He said. "Use this to track each other. And if they're in cars, we get out of there before they try to blow us up."

"What about Michelle?" Reece asked.

"What about me? I'm coming and no one can stop me." Payton bit a smile back.

"He meant are you driving or riding with one of us?" Payton asked. Michelle by way of answer got into her McLaren and started it, a look of fierce determination on her face.

"That answers that. Let's go." Paige said.

"I'm coming too," Soriano said coming into the garage.

"No way," Payton said with a scowl. "This is our mission. We'll find Brook and bring him back."

"Chief, you're not up to it anyway. Stay here and rest." Leslie said through the window of her car.

"Roll out everyone!" Jett said before an argument could break out. Soriano watched them all drive out of the garage, a crease of worry between his eyebrows.

"Be careful." He mouthed quietly.