Calming A Racing Heart

Chapter Twenty Seven

          "What the.." was all Joshua could get out as the men closed in, grabbing him and Larcin, separating them. He tried to fight free but the three men holding him were much stronger than he was. His hands were pinned behind his back and his wrist tied. He saw Larcin go down, felled by a punch to the face. He reached for his wrist, for the monitor that would summon help only to realize he wasn't wearing one. He had been so distraught when he left he hadn't gotten one. He watched as two of the men continued to punch and kick Larcin as he lay on the ground.

           "Stop," he screamed at the men who were still attacking Larcin. "You're killing him. You're killing us."

          As the men who were holding him began dragging him toward the dark alley beside the bar, Joshua saw Larcin grasp his own wrist and the monitor shining there. The last thing he saw was the shimmering light of the Joong security team materializing on the scene. He tried to call out to them but was knocked unconscious from behind.

          Two days later Larcin regained consciousness to find himself in the medical facility of the enclave. His body ached all over and sharp pains shot through him when he tried to breathe deeply. Silka and Leavac were with him. They stood on his left, Leavac holding his hand. On his right his mother was holding his other hand, his sister standing behind her. Looking around he didn't see Joshua anywhere and he felt panic rising in his heart.

          "Joshua, where's Joshua?" He grit his teeth against the pain of trying to rise off the bed. Silka and his mother forced him to lay back down.

           "He's not here, honey," his mother explained in a gentle voice. "We don't know where he is."

          "What! Why? Why didn't they get him when they came for me?"

          "He wasn't wearing a monitor," Silka explained. "They thought you were alone. You were in such bad shape they rushed you back here to medical. By the time they went back, there was no trace of him. They did a location trace on his comm.  They found it thrown in the street a few blocks from where he was taken."

          "How long have I been here?"

          "Two days, honey." Essa took her son's hand. "You were in bad shape when they brought you here. We thought we were going to lose you. What about Joshua? Can you tell? Is he..."

           "He's alive, Mom. I know that much." Essa breathed a deep sigh of relief. "I have to get out of here. I have to find him."

          Larcin tried to get up again.  The pain was so great he fell back gasping. Tears of frustration filled his eye.

          "You're not going anywhere, Bro. Not for a few more days at least," Silka told him. "Those bastards did a job on you. Medics figure you'll need a couple more bone regeneration treatments on those ribs before you can safely move around again."

           "I have to find him Silka. It's all my fault he was out there unprotected. We had a fight and he stormed off. There's no telling what those guys are doing to him." Larcin struggled to get out of bed again.

          "Take it easy, son." Essa pleaded with her son. "The government is giving this incident the highest priority. Your assault and his kidnapping will not go unpunished. They are using every means at their disposal to find him."

          "Yes, every means we have." Commander Klun announced as she entered Larcin's room.  Silka gave her a begrudging salute.  Larcin tried to rise to do the same but Bundah waved him back down.  She introduced herself to Essa and Kahlan.