Kidnapped

Chapter IX (Part Two)

Marinette froze, scared of seeing what had caused her friend to scream like that.

With her heart pounding she took slow steps towards Alya.

"Come on Marinette!" Tikki whispered from Marinette's bag. "You can do this!"

Marinette's worried eyes meet Tikki's.

"I'm scared." She whispered, barely audibly.

"Alya needs you right now."

Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before nodding and running to her friend.

She arrived just in time to see the paramedics start putting the person on the gurney in the ambulance; Alya close behind them.

"Please let me ride!" Alya begged.

"Ma'am we can only let parents of young children ride. And I'm afraid you're not a parent and she's not a child. If you insist on meeting us at the hospital I suggest you ride the subway."

Marinette watched the exchange, when her eyes drifted down to see who was in the gurney. She gasped when she saw Nora; her face was bloody and bruised and her body had multiple cuts. Some of them bleeding profusely.

Marinette let out a low moan, no wonder Alya had screamed like that. It was a horrible sight to see.

"But I need to see if she's okay!" Alya countered. "Please my mom still hasn't even gotten off of work!"

Alya was getting hysterical now, Marinette was shocked to see her usually calm and optimistic friend so distressed. She had to do something.

She reached out and lay her hands on Alya's shoulder. When it failed to catch her attention Marinette enveloped her in a hug.

"You need to calm down. What about the twins? They need you more than ever now."

Mentioning the twins seemed to get to Alya.

"The... The twins?" She blubbered through tears.

Marinette nodded. "Mhm, the twins."

Still hugging Alya, Marinette turned them around so that now she was facing the paramedics.

"Go" she mouthed to them, and they got back into action; loading Nora and driving away.

Marinette turned her attention back to Alya. She let go of her hesitantly and started guiding her to the apartment building.

"Excuse me," a police officer stopped them a few steps short of entering the building.

"I'm sorry officer but we have to go check on my friend's sisters, is it possible to go in? We'll come right back out I promise."

"Yeah, no problem." The officer took out a pen and notepad. "I just have to ask her a few questions like who would target her older sister."

The cop turned his attention to Alya. "Miss does your sister have any enemies?"

Marinette growled and stood in front of Alya, blocking the cop from her view. "What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you see she's not in the right state of mind right now?!"

"Miss I'm going to have to ask you to step aside, you're getting in the way of justice."

"Justice my-"

"Marinette! Alya!" A voice interrupted.

Nadja ran up to them followed by her camera man.

"Are you girls okay?" She asked, concern evident in her face.

Marinette nodded.

"I just need to get Alya to her sisters."  She said glancing at the officer.

Nadja got the hint and nodded. Turning into professional reporter mode, she motioned to the camera man and walked up to the officer.

"Sir do you have anything to say about the incident here?" Nadja asked, promptly shoving the mic in his face.

"I... Uh..."

Nadja discreetly winked to Marinette, and started bombarding the officer with questions.

Marinette grabbed Alya and ran into the building before anyone else could stop them.

"Here's some tea" Marinette said to Alya.

She carefully approached her friend with the hot mug.

Cautiously setting it down she turned to Alya. She was wrapped in a blanket on the couch staring into space.

"My mom just got to the hospital, they haven't update her yet. But once they do she'll call us and let us know. Your mom finally answered and she's headed to the hospital as we speak. Also I just called Nino, he's on his way."

Marinette looked at Alya with soulful eyes, feeling upset that she couldn't do anything else for her friend.

"I'm gonna, go check on the twins." Marinette said.

Alya showed no response.

Marinette walked to the twins' rooms, remembering how scared they had been when Alya and her had walked in.

Thankfully they were not hurt, they had hidden in their closet when they saw Nora fighting. When Marinette asked them who it had been that attacked Nora they started crying, so Marinette didn't see the need to pry.

Now they slept soundly in their beds.

Marinette smiled and closed the door. She came back to the living room as someone knocked on the door urgently.

Cautiously Marinette opened the door a sliver. She found Nino waiting to be let in.

Once she realized it was just him she opened the door the whole way and he rushed in. His eyes desperately searching for his girlfriend.

Once he saw her he rushed to her and enveloped her in a hug. Alya still gave no response.

He started talking to her quietly and Marinette took this as her cue to leave.

She slipped out of the apartment and into the hallway.  She sighed, tired of the day's events.

The note flashed in her head, she gasped when she realized this was what they had meant. They weren't targeting her dad, it hard been Nora all along. Or maybe... maybe her dad had been the target; but when she ran to him, they had changed targets.

Marinette groaned, tired of all this thinking. She ran out of the building intending to transform and find Chat.

"Hey! It's you again!" The cop from earlier ran up to Marinette. "Get your friend back here I need to interrogate her!"

Marinette scowled at him.

The cop glared at her.

Marinette glared back.

The cop grunted.

"Well?" He asked.

"Well what?" Marinette responded sharply.

"Aren't you going to get her?"

"Are you going to stop being such a pushy prick?"

He gasped, offended "I am not!" He put his hand on his chest pridefully. "I am simply doing my job!"

Marinette glared harder. "But pushing my friend into giving you answers? She knows as much as I do! Nothing!"

"Well I dont-"

The cop's radio interrupted him midsentence.

"We have a new case we need to work on. Give it major priority." A woman's voice spoke.

The cop looked at Marinette and motioned for her to leave. Marinette stayed planted in her spot.

"What is it?" Someone else spoke throught the radio.

The cop glared at Marinette.

Marinette crossed her arms, not making a move to leave.

"Code 140, Gabriel Agreste's son has just been reported missing."