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Nauseating anxiety pulsated through Way as he was unceremoniously dropped onto rough concrete. His head ached, the coppery smell of blood almost overwhelmed the smell of burnt ozone and mint, as Kenta was dropped beside him. With a heavy bang they were encased in darkness and Way struggled to remember what happened.
They’d been at the garage with the whole pack and Way had stepped away to take a phone call when, he thinks, something heavy must have slammed into the side of his head, sending him straight into darkness. Whatever room they were in was dark, the only light source coming from the crack under the door, with his foot already pressed up against one of the walls. Already their scents made the air difficult to breathe, a defense mechanism that only worked if their pack was around to track the over-saturated scents.
“Kenta?” With his wrists bound, Way resorted to lightly kicking the other. While the burning mint meant life, he could feel the blood that was pooling below him.
A weak groan was enough to signify life and allowed Way to breathe a little easier knowing he wasn’t lying next to a dead body.
While Kenta forced himself awake, Way tried to piece together the fuzzy memory pieces. He’d been outside, listening to a client, Martin had been running-
“The pups! Where are the pups?”
Kenta jerked upright, his body clearly protesting the movement but there was a sharp spike of terror, his eyes wide as he looked around the cramped space.
“Kim-” Kenta swallowed around a dry sound “Kim had them, was he taken?”
“I don't know. Martin was coming towards me, where is he?” The question was rhetorical as they were alone in what amounted to a 3x3 room, but that didn't mean others hadn't been taken. He knew Martin had been with Pete when he'd felt the hit. Hopefully Pete had taken Martin and run. Even though it pained him to think of his mate abandoning him, he'd prefer that over their pup being taken. He'd only been reunited with Martin for a few months, but he was already prepared to die for him. The thought of giving his pup up like he'd done when he was born no longer existed. That was his baby.
Kenta groaned as he rightened himself, Way’s thoughts racing, probably mirroring Kenta’s own. Taro and Buddy were Kenta’s entire world, he never let the pups out of his sight unless they were with Kim.
And now they didn’t know where either of their pups were.
Time was a tricky thing in a room without windows, that’s why Tony kept useless children in those rooms. Way had no idea how much time had passed when the door swung open, letting in harsh white light. Way had to blink against the glare, his eyes taking in nothing as a man in an ill fitting suit stepped in. He looked like the kind of guy who used to make lewd passes at him when still under Tony’s ownership.
Way had been kidnapped a number of times, well versed by now to keep his mouth shut as this unattractive man stared down at them. Despite the trickle of blood trailing down Kenta’s pale face, Way figured if the other wasn’t tied up he’d have jumped to his feet to punch this fucker.
“Oh good they got both of you.” The man's voice was like an oil slick making Way bare his teeth, “More bang for my buck.”
Way almost groaned, this man sounded like a sale version of Tony which was an impressive feat all things considered because that man was not right in the head to begin with.
The man tilted his head, “You don’t recognize me, do you?”
Oh good, ego.
“I’m hurt Way.”
Hearing his name come out of an unfamiliar mouth made the hair on his neck stand up. While it was possible that this was somehow linked to Pete, there was only one connection between him and Kenta that could explain dual kidnapping.
“You see Mr Chen was a valued business partner,” the man squatted to eye level, “I invested a lot of money into his business and then you and your fucking pack decided to ruin it.” The man grabbed his chin, “so I plan to get my investment back.”
Fear was coursing through him, but confusion took hold. Tony had a number of businesses, though obviously this man was talking about the human trafficking part, but that didn't explain why he and Kenta were taken. He shook his head free from the grip with a glare.
“Whatever you want,” Kenta bit out, ever more definite the longer he was with Kim, “we won't help you.”
“Oh you think,” the man stood up, “Bring them in.”
Way’s heart sank when he heard familiar cries, Mr Oil Slick stepped out of the way as two men appeared just outside of the door.
“Mama!” Martin cried, being roughly held by a man larger than Pete.
“Daddy.” Buddy whimpered in the other man’s grip.
“Buddy,” Kenta growled turning his gaze onto Oil Slick, “don’t you fucking touch my son.”
“Here’s the thing,” the man’s smile was practically gleeful, “I get what I want from you two or I get it from your pups.”
Ice froze him, bile and the instinct to lash out rose inside him. Martin, his pup, his baby.
The growl was not his but it easily could have been. If this fucking bastard thought he was going to touch his son, he had another thing coming. Way may have gone soft under Pete's dotting and Martin's cuddles, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to kill. Kenta was probably worse, subverted omegas retained parts of their previous subgender, and for Kenta that meant his omega and former alpha instincts were both screaming at him to protect his pups. And Kenta was infinitely more likely to stab a bitch.
“Take ‘em away.”
“No,” Way struggled against his bindings as his son cried out from him, mixing with Buddy’s pleading for Kenta, “don’t you fucking touch my kid.”
“Then you’ll give me what I want.”
“What the hell do you even want?” he snapped, “We weren’t involved in Tony’s daily operations.” That wasn’t fully true with Kenta but this guy didn’t need to know that.
The man laughed, the sound nothing like the comforting sound of his mate, “You think I'm going to try that plan? No, I have something better planned.” Shiver raced down Way's spine with the next words, “No, you two are going to give me what I want.”
Words clogged in his throat with terror at the thought. He'd never once thought about how Babe had felt while Tony had angled to have him impregnated, but now he realized how horrible the idea was. The only reason Way tolerated the idea of being pregnant again every time Pete brought it up was because the result out weighted the negatives. Pregnancy had sucked, full stop.
The man gave them a sickening smirk before stepping out of the room. A loud click indicated just how trapped they were.
“We need to- Kenta?” The other was blank faced staring down at the rough concrete of their prison cell. “Kenta?” He called softly, hoping for a response.
“I can't,” Kenta's voice was torn, “not again.”
Realization slapped him across the face, Kenta often clammed up when talking about the origins of his pups, but Way had learned that at least Buddy had been conceived through some fucked up science experiment that Kenta hadn't even known he was pregnant until he was nearly to term.
“Kenta, hey, focus. We won’t let it get to that,” Way shifted on his knees until he was in Kenta's space, something the two of them equally hated, “but that fucker has our kids. I know the pack will already know we’re gone, but every second counts right now.”
“We don't even know if we're still in Bangkok.”
That was a fair point but unless they'd been seriously drugged they hadn't been out long enough to get them that far. Way was still an enigma with heightened healing, no matter what position he preferred, drugs only did so much.
“Then he’s tearing up the country.” Way wasn’t fully confident if Pete was looking for him, but he was positive his mate was looking for their pup. He loved his mate and he’d like to believe that Pete would storm in like Kim, but some part of Way couldn’t quite believe it. If Pete was looking for an excuse to get rid of him this would be a great excuse, it wouldn’t even make him look like a bad guy. He could tell Martin that Way had disappeared and it-
He sharply shook his head, recognizing the negative spiral for what it was. Pete loved him, he’d loved him when Way had been crushed under Tony’s foot. There was no reason to assume Pete would throw him away the first chance he got.
“Look,” he forced himself to be calm in a way he didn’t feel, “we need to get our pups back before that man tries something.”
That snapped Kenta out of it, his breathing evening out as the panic was replaced with the hard determination of a parent. If there was something that would get Kenta moving it was the need to protect his pups.
Kenta groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, unsteady with exhaustion and pain, Way had to bite his tongue to not tell him to sit back down. They did not need Kenta bashing his head open.
“Do you,” he got to his feet, “even have a- where did you get that knife?”
There was a knife in Kenta’s hand that had not been there before. It was small, not something he would normally associate with him since Kenta typically had those scary impressive weapons. But it was still a sharp blade that he was already using to cut through the rope.
The flat look he got was undeserved, “I always have a knife.”
Sometimes you don't question another person's decisions, Way could only be grateful that no one had found it when they got dragged in. Especially when it easily sliced through his own bindings.
“Okay what now?” In front of them was a thick door.
“They have to open it at some point, can’t you hypnotise them when they do?”
Sick bile soured his tongue, he could but Way hadn’t used his powers since they took Tony down. Terror made his hands shake, the thought of Pete only loving him because Way had at some point hypnotised him filled his nightmares. Part of him wanted to never touch another person again to ensure that he’d never be tempted but then Martin would crawl into his lap begging for cuddles and Way could never deny his pup anything.
Martin.
He took a deep breath, his pup was being held somewhere in this building, terrified and Way would find him. No one touched his fucking child.
“Yes,” he looked between the door and Kenta, “but I need an opening.”
Kenta huffed, flipped his knife casually.
There was no way for them to know when the door would be opened again, but every minute that passed was another minute away from their family. Methodically Kenta flipped his knife, no longer the attentive parent to two pups, but the killer that Tony had trained to perfection. Way settled into his old head space, shutting off all his feelings to the world.
It wasn’t long before they heard the heavy clunk of the lock, Way took a step back to give Kenta space. The door popped open and a man -possibly a guard- stepped in. Kenta grabbed his arm and twisted as Way shot a hand forward, “Sleep.”
The guard hit the ground, complete dead weight that neither tried to stop. No shouts followed, giving them the much needed opening.
An office hallway greeted them. He sniffed, were they being held in a supply closet? Each hallway stretched off, the same in all but the way they bent off.
“Where is everyone?”
“Who cares,” Kenta replied, “Let’s go.”
Way wanted to ask how he knew what direction to go in, seeing as both directions looked the same, but it wasn’t like Way had a better plan. The other option was to wait around, already established as a non-option.
Quietly they made their way through the halls, each bending another opportunity to be ambushed, but there was no one.
“Am I crazy?” he asked as they came around another corner with no guards in sight.
“He’s not as smart as Tony.”
The chuckle lodged in his throat, he couldn’t argue that. Tony had every building crawling with guards, though Way would argue for their use, as the pack had been able to walk in and out of the foundation with ease. If Tony had been smart the first time Babe had crossed in, he should have locked him up.
They came across a door unlike the office doors they’d been passing. Hesitantly they opened it to reveal a fire staircase, rough concrete.
“What the hell?” Way muttered, “what now?”
“Shh, do you hear that?”
At first he wanted to complain, this place felt abandoned, and then he heard it. Gunfire.
It was distant enough that Way had to strain to hear it over his pounding heart, but it was distinctly the sound of a handgun. Normally Way would suggest never running towards the sound of gunfire but they needed to find their pups and only a person would be able to tell them.
Whoever was fighting was on the ground floor, the sounds getting louder. Shouts overlapped gunfire, a choir of nothing that had Way’s fists tightening.
“You think you’ll stop me from getting what I deserve!” Mr Oil Slick who wanted to breed them like cattle shouted.
Two gun shots followed, “Where the fuck is my family!”
“Kim,” Kenta nearly tripped at hearing his mate’s voice that if it wasn’t for Way’s reflexes he’d face plant in a very un-Kenta move.
“I invested in Tony’s business and I will get my money back! Even if I have to strap them down to do it!” Silence rang out, “But I don’t need to do that.”
“Appa!”
Kenta went rigid, Way following suit when he heard his mate’s cry “Martin!”
Anger coursed through him as he slammed open the door they’d been hiding behind. The scene made him feel his feral instincts scream against his control. Oil Slick was holding Buddy with a gun held to his head, Martin being restrained by a guard. He barely noticed the pile of bodies, the missing guards, that scattered the ground. No, he was completely focused on his pup.
“Way.” Pete breathed out upon seeing him, shifting the room's focus onto them.
A primal growl ripped out of Kenta’s throat, more alpha than omega, “Let go of my son.”
“Take another step and I’ll blast the kid’s head off.”
Kim trains his gun on the man, “Like hell.”
Way didn’t even care what this man did to him, but if he thought he was going to be allowed to touch his son, he had another thing coming. His whole life had been dedicated by other people, this man was not going to be another one who thought Way would allow himself to be pushed around.
For a second Oil Slick’s eyes stuttered and Kenta leaped forward, knocking the gun away from Buddy’s head. Way moved a second after, launching himself at the terrified guard still holding Martin. There was a bang behind him as Way knocked the guard down, screams following. A loud crack, Way had snapped the man’s neck.
“Martin?” He dropped to his knees when the guard didn’t get back up, pulling his pup into his arms, “Are you okay?”
Martin was sobbing as he gripped onto Way’s shirt, like Way would disappear in a moment’s notice, “Mama.”
“Shh,” he nuzzled his pup close, “I’m right here, I got you.”
“Way.” The relief was palpable as strong arms came around him and Martin, his mate’s woodsy smoke scent filling his senses in a way that made his ache for home. All their scents were mixed with the acid and burning notes of fear, but it didn’t bother Way as long as they were all together.
Over Pete’s shoulder he sees Kim wrapped around Buddy and Kenta, Oil Slick a bloody mess on the floor. “Taro’s with P’Alan, he’s safe I promise.” Kim muttered, pressing kisses to Kenta’s head.
“Way?” Pete caught his attention, “are you okay?”
He swallowed back the desire to burst into tears, his mate was here, his pup was fine, he was fine.
“Yeah,” he nodded, “I just want to go home.”
Pete nodded, pressing a kiss to his temple, “Let’s do that.”