The Kidnapping King

FOILED AGAIN

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - PRESENT DAY 

 Ethan's eyes flew open and he rolled onto his side, glaring at his aunt.

"What is it?" Inez stood over him, scowling.

"He's gone. It's like we just got...disconnected," he sat up and swung his legs off the cot, placing a palm on his forehead.

"But you had success? You were able to connect with him?" She bent over, placing her scarlet-painted fingertips on his shoulder.

"Yes, yes, I located him. He was downtown...and I got him to obey my commands...but then..." his voice trailed off.

"Then what?" she shrieked.

"Then...his dad and some other guy showed up. He was still resisting them and following my instructions to come back here...but all of the sudden...the connection just went blank."

Well, try again!" Inez threw her hands in the air, "Get him back!"

Ethan shook his head back and forth, closing his eyes.

"I can't...I feel...drained, and my head is throbbing," stringy tendrils of dark hair hung down over his eyes, obscuring his face.

Inez dropped her hands to her sides and exhaled a heavy sigh, "Of course you do, Ethan I'm sorry. This kind of energy work takes intense effort and focus. And practice. You're going to need time to recharge before you attempt another connection." She sat down on the bed next to her nephew.

"Good work, though," she placed her hand on his back, "at least now we know you have the ability. And if you could do it once, you will be able to do it again. But Bart's essence is evaporating from this space...much the same way an odor hangs in the air only for so long, then dissipates," she sighed, "and we really need the information he has.

She stood and turned to face him, "but there will be other opportunities. Come now, let's get you some food and then you should rest a while.

Inez took his elbow and helped him out of the cell and up the stairs. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she swiped it's surface and tapped a message: "Earl, come right away, there have been complications. We need to brainstorm," she clicked send then headed to the conference room on the upper level of her Oestermalm home.

Shortly after entering the room, the dark wooden panel on the wall behind the massive, ebony table began to shimmer, and Inez watched as Earl O'Brien's bulky frame materialized through the portal.

"I'm glad you contacted me," he began, smoothing the top of his mostly bald head and pulling out an ornately-carved, high-back chair to take a seat. Inez walked around the table and turned the chair next to him, so that they were facing one another, and sat down.

"Oh?" she asked, "Why is that?"

"Because there has been some unusual activity with my ring lately," he lifted his right hand in her direction to display the sporadic nature of the light pulsating from deep within the red stone. "It's like...the connection to Jack is still active...but...unstable, somehow," he looked up to meet her gaze.

"Hmmm...strange. Though, I'm really not surprised to see that," Inez replied, "I've been meaning to tell you about developments with Jack," Earl rested both hands on the table in front of him and cocked his head to the side.

"What kind of developments?" He pushed the little, round, wire-rimmed glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, "Hasn't he been cooperating with you?"

"About that," she glanced from side to side and twisted a diamond stud earring perched on one ear lobe, "He's not here, actually," she stated bluntly, "he's in the past, with my mother."

Earl's eyebrows shot up high on his forehead and his mouth dropped open. "How?" He crunched his bushy eyebrows and sat forward.

Inez inhaled deeply and waved her hand with a flourish, rolling her eyes as she spoke, "I compelled him to perform a demonstration with that telescope," she began, "and the little brat outsmarted me," she pushed away from the table and strode to gaze out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the manicured lawns. "Apparently the device can also be used for teleportation...it's not just a communicator," She turned to look at her uncle, "So, we have to shift the game to our advantage, and I need your brains to help me formulate a new plan."

Earl shook his head and licked his lips, "Of course, but as you said, he's in the past. How can we possibly reach him there?" He looked down to his hands once again.

"I have a couple of ideas," she began tapping the tip of her nose as she paced the room, "One, we do know my father didn't die, after all, but is hiding...also somewhere in the past. Which presents it's own challenge, but we know he was communicating with Jack through those reading glasses of his. So, it may be possible to trace either my father, or Jack, through those glasses." She walked to the table and leaned in toward Earl, placing both hands flat on it's surface.

"Hmmm...you may be onto something there," Earl began, "but still, they are both in the past. And it's been so long now since your father touched those glasses...and even Jack had limited interaction with them...so, odds of getting a good connection for tracing purposes are quite sketchy," he looked up at her, pulling his mouth to the side.

Inez exhaled loudly, "Yes, you do have a point about that. I've been working with Ethan to explore his ability to connect with a person through an object they have recently come in physical contact with..." she trailed off.

"And...has he been successful?" Earl's eyes opened wide.

"Yes, he's shown he has the ability...but it's a brand new skill and it's very difficult for him to hold the energy...especially when the person's essence has dissipated. He might have more success with something containing their dna...such as a hair brush or other personal grooming item."

Earl gazed down at his hands again, frowning at the flickering red glow of the ring on his finger. Then a sly grin spread across his face and he blinked one eye slowly, shaking his head and lifting his right hand in Inez's direction.

"Or a ring containing a drop of that person's blood, perhaps? He met Inez's gaze and they both smiled at one another.

"That just might work," her aqua eyes beamed with delight.

"But," Earl interrupted her enthusiasm, "even if Ethan is able to connect with Jack, across time and space, using my ring, (and that's highly questionable) how is that of any use to us? There is still the problem of time travel."

Deflated, Inez sat down in her chair once again, "yes, that is a conundrum," she tapped her fingertips on the table top, "I'm going to have to reach out to the elders about this. We need access to someone with specialized skills."

Earl nodded his head in agreement.

"Still," Inez continued, "it could prove beneficial to find out if Ethan is able to connect with Jack's thoughts, and control his actions. Perhaps he could access helpful information about where Jack and Mother are, and Ethan may even be able to influence Jack in some way. I think it's worth pursuing...once Ethan has had a chance to re-charge his batteries, so-to-speak."