Black and Blue (~Leo X Klaus~)

Chapter 3

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Klaus wasn't very aware of the passage of time when he was lost in a Prosfair game at his computer. He thought it would help soothe his nerves after Steven left him alone, and so far, it had done its job in thoroughly distracting him. So much so, that it was only by chance that he overheard the two analysts talking from nearly across the room. They were keeping their voices low, but it was quiet enough in the office that they were easy to overhear.

"Look, I'm starving, you want to just go grab something down the street?"

"But what if Leo's just held up in traffic? He's going through all the trouble of bringing us food, we should wait."

"If I wait any longer I might starve."

That made both Klaus and Steven perk up. Almost in unison, they looked toward the giant clock on the wall, and realized just how long it had been since Leo had left. To their horror, they realized it had been almost an hour and a half. In Hellsalem's Lot, a delay that long always spelled trouble. They locked eyes, wordlessly exchanging concerns. Steven immediately whipped out his phone and dialed Leo's number.

Silently, they both waited for the call to connect. But it never did.

"Keeps ringing, won't even go to voicemail." Steven declared, hanging up and trying once more. Same result.

Klaus stood up from his desk and headed over to Steven's side of the room. He didn't need to say anything; the scarred man was already clacking away at his own computer keyboard. They both watched the screen as a map of the city appeared, and the pulsing green dot that represented the tracker in Leo's phone blinked alive. It was stationary.

"That address belongs to the restaurant." Steven noted. "Looks like he's right beside it...or at least his phone is...and has been, for at least an hour..."

Klaus' knuckles cracked as he made a fist. Without another word, he turned and stalked toward the door, taking his fiery red aura with him. Gilbert, having heard the entire conversation, followed. Steven snatched his suit jacket from the back of his chair before darting after them both. The traffic seemed determined to stop them at every turn, in spite of Gilbert's expert driving. Steven kept trying to reach Leo on his phone with no luck. Klaus just sat in the back of the car, hands fisted over his knees, jaw clenched tight enough to hurt. When they were halfway to the location, Steven finally voiced their fears.

"This looks bad...I don't know what we're going to find when we get there. Let's hope Leo had the wits to keep himself alive, at least."

Klaus gazed out the window with eyes that saw nothing, trying to keep himself contained. Leo had been in danger like this before, but he had actually used his eyes and the rest of the team to get out of it. This was different. Something had happened that had rendered Leo unable to use his phone or escape. The various nasty possibilities of what might have happened to him in this city threatened to break Klaus down into a growling mess. He felt angry as well as worried to death. Though nothing had been confirmed, he already wanted to hunt down anyone who might have hurt Leo and repay them in kind. The urge was so unbearably strong that he felt his muscles quivering with the need to strike.

When they finally pulled up on the street beside the restaurant, both men shot out of the car at once. They broke into a near run on the street, dodging other pedestrians and trying not to bowl them over. They slowed their pace as they reached the alley, however, as neither of them were so concerned that they could rule out the possibility of this being a trap. Klaus thought with a pang of irony, that they really could use Leo's eyes to scan the surroundings right now. They made do with their mortal eyes, and didn't see anyone or anything lying in wait for them.