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The two black vehicles pull up and park in the same lot Colt currently sits in. It's not a surprise. It is the closest and most accessible lot near the courthouse. A few of the spots empty out directly onto the street with a small curb to hop. Colt feels lucky that he got one of those few spots with a great visual on the building. The other two vehicles don’t get as great of parking. One ends up somewhere in the back of the lot out of view but the other is visible through his rearview mirror. He has the bluetooth hooked up in the car with a call to Tom. He wants to be as hands free as possible.
“Those two black cars just parked in this lot,” Colt informs Tom.
“Good to know,” Tom’s voice comes through the car speakers. “I’m feeling a bit anxious here, man.”
“It’s gonna be fine,” Colt tries to reassure him. It’s a bit hypocritical given his own unease. There’s just too much that could go wrong here. Colt can’t leave Tom hanging. The thought of letting him sit with his anxiety just feels wrong. “Just take a breather, you got time.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Tom sighs in a loud over the top way. Colt can hear him readjust through the speaker. Probably in a much more relaxed position. “Could be hours, gonna be real boring.”
“Don’t fall asleep on that bench,” Colt chuckles. “We could play 20 questions?”
“Let’s keep that an option for later,” Tom responds.
“Do you think Stratt is going to lose the lawsuit?” Colt really hopes she does. It would be a nice bit of punishment for the way she has handled things with Ryland. If Tom’s reaction to everything is any indication it was bad. Colt may not have heard from Ryland first hand, but he trusts that Tom wasn’t exaggerating.
“I doubt it,” Tom sounds as confident in that assumption as any. Colt knows he’s probably right. It doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.
The conversation lulls with a sigh from Tom. Colt leans on his fist propped on the car door, “So what, we just gonna keep this call going for eight hours?”
“I hope not, fuck,” Tom groans.
“I’m hanging up, call me if something happens,” Colt returns.
“Will do. Keep an eye on those cars,” Tom comments back.
Colt glances into his rearview mirror again to check, “Yeah, I got it.”
The call ends. If he had the tools to do so he might consider slashing a tire or letting air out. It would certainly help them make a clean getaway. On the other hand the risk of doing so doesn’t seem like it’d be worth it. If he gets caught it could ruin any opportunity they have at getting Ryland back. Colt can’t afford to have himself get taken out of the equation with a decision made on a whim. Colt plugs his phone in to charge and picks a playlist from his phone to play quietly. A little background noise to fill the space while he waits.
Colt startles when his phone goes off, barely 30 minutes later. He swipes to answer, Tom is already talking.
“They’re leaving the building,” It’s said in a hushed and hurried tone.
Colt checks behind him the car he can see is backing out of the spot.
“I need a distraction, Colt,” Tom urges.
Colt is already leaving the car, “I got it. Don’t hang up.” He can kill two birds with one stone if he does this right. Give Tom a distraction and slow down the drivers. He pockets his phone and pops a headphone in. “I can do this. It’ll be fine. Hips above the hood.”
The cars are approaching the exit of the lot. He doesn’t have much more time to mentally prepare. He shakes out his hands and jumps in place a couple times.
He just needs to time this right.
The first car pulls ahead, stops.
The driver checks both directions and goes to hit the gas.
This is very different from the controlled environment of a set. He has no way to know how the driver will react. Hopefully the driver stops and doesn’t accelerate. Colt steps out in front of it. He lands on the hood and rolls. He tries to control his fall to the best of his ability. He groans as he lands on the concrete. He purposely rolls onto his stomach and drapes his arm to hide his face. His earbud is still in thankfully. He won’t be able to talk back to Tom, but he can get updates if Tom decides to give any. The car stops, blocking the other one from exiting behind it. A pedestrian down the sidewalk yells and comes running over, as the driver of the car gets out to check on him. He’s probably going to have a pretty nice bruise where the car met his leg. At least he managed to keep his head from cracking on the pavement.
The security agent from the car comes to kneel down next to him. The pedestrian is freaking out, only stopped from calling an ambulance by the agent insisting. The agent tries to ask if he’s okay and check on him. Colt just groans non-commitally to the questions. The agent stays crouched by his side, but he can hear one side of the conversation he is having.
They are sending him back-up to help handle the situation. That’s good. It will certainly make things easier for Tom. He will still be outnumbered, but not as badly.
The new addition joins the agent next to him. His arrival assures the pedestrian enough to walk away.
“Did you call for emergency services yet?” The new guy asks.
“Not yet. He’s somewhat responsive, though,” the first agent responds.
In his ear Colt hears Tom, “Get ready to run. Count to five or something.”
Colt starts to untangle himself. He knows it's risky. They might put together who he is from his face, but by the time he does it and gets to standing he’ll probably need to book it. The first security agent tries to push him back to the ground, telling him that he shouldn’t move. Colt pushes back. As soon as he does the second guy sees his face.
“Carl. Colt Seavers is here,” the agent calls back.
Colt rises to full height and makes a run for it.
Colt’s distraction worked, whatever it was. It bought Tom time. Tom tells Colt to count to five. The group is returning to the building. Tom has one shot at this. One chance to grab Ryland and run for it. He can tell as he approaches that Ryland already recognizes him. Tom doesn’t have time to second guess this. The agent that had stopped Ryland from biffing it must receive another call. He drops his hand from his ear and goes to grab for Ryland.
Tom beats the security agent in intercepting Ryland.
He grabs Ryland’s wrist.
Ryland doesn’t resist, reacting instantly.
They run.
The stairs are a challenge, but Tom catches Ryland as he stumbles on the last couple and pushes him ahead. He can see Colt pull out onto the street hopping the curb to do so. He’s on the other side of the street, but Colt should be able to intercept them if they keep going. The two security agents are behind them, keeping up rather well.
Colt manages to whip the car around to their side of the street even amidst the traffic.
“Get in,” Colt calls through the passenger side window.
Tom pulls the back door open for Ryland letting him get in first. He slams the door shut as he is tackled to the ground. Ryland yells his name and goes to open the door to get to him, but Tom holds a hand firmly against it. He can taste blood in his mouth, he must’ve bit his tongue. His chin hurts from hitting the sidewalk.
“Colt! Go!” Tom yells as he struggles. The locks on the doors engage. This is fine. Ryland is okay. Ryland is safe. Colt shifts into drive and pulls away with screeching tires. Tom can deal with this. They can’t do anything to him. Not really. He hopes that he’s right. He doesn’t want to be the cause Ryland feels more distress by getting captured here.
Tom feels himself being hauled up and away, pushed back to a wall of some shop. The street isn’t empty, they’ve amassed a crowd that Tom hadn’t noticed til now. He thinks about running. He’s only got one guy on him right now. The same one that had been attached to Ryland’s hip. There are plenty of distractions. Their attention is divided as the other one tries to get the crowd to disperse. The two drivers have apparently abandoned their vehicles as they walk up. He’s nearly surrounded.
He tries anyway.
It ends up with him having his arm wrenched behind his back and his front pushed against the wall.
“Fuckin’ ow,” Tom growls. “Ok, ok. I get it. Bad idea.”
“Good, now let’s go,” another agent comes up on his other side as he is pulled away from the wall. One of the other guards makes a call on their phone.
“No, he got away, but we got Ryder,” he informs, tone flat and professional. “10-4 we’re inbound.”
They escort him back to the courthouse. Tom drags his feet a bit just to be an inconvenience. The guy who wrenched his arm back is clearly getting frustrated with him. Tom takes some pride in that. Stratt looks up at him from her phone with a neutral expression, when they reach the doors. No words are said as they walk inside and into a conference room that Stratt must’ve commandeered. The table is long with eight chairs around it. Tom is pushed down into one near the corner. Stratt takes the one opposite him. The door is guarded by two agents. A third, the one that had been his main escort stands outside. No escape.
“You know I think this counts as unlawful imprisonment,” Tom sends a nasty glare in her direction. “This can’t be legal.”
“Unfortunately for you I have full immunity,” Stratt responds. She folds her hands in front of her. It’d look like a typical villain if not for the soft knit turtle neck she’s wearing. “I prefer not to use it where possible, so let’s just resolve this quickly and we can both be on our way.”
“You want to trade me for Ryland?” Tom furrows his brows and brings a hand to his chest.
You’re of no use to me-” Stratt is exactly as scathing as Tom would expect. He doesn’t really care to listen to her tear away at his perceived worth.
He interrupts, “I know that. Yet somehow I- we pulled a fast one on you and your crew,” Tom gives her a smug look. She isn’t getting what she wants easily. Not with him. He can be stubborn and persistent when he needs to. Right now that need is great. If he hadn’t been captured maybe this wouldn’t be necessary, but he always planned to make himself a barrier for Ryland. To protect him. So if sitting here stalling her can do that, he’ll do it. How it ends doesn’t matter to him as long as Ryland is safe.
“I know this is going to be hard for you to understand, but this isn’t just about you,” Stratt remains neutral and steady. The condescension makes Tom bristle. His hackles raise.
“No this is about him,” he hits her with a glare. He isn’t trying to intimidate. He knows that won’t work. She is powerful enough that a glare, even one as fiery as his, won’t make her falter. All the same he hopes that she can see where he is coming from. This isn’t a selfish endeavour for him. Ryland is the only thing that matters here. He can take whatever Stratt throws at him. “The last time I heard from him he sounded like a wreck. And what? You expected me to just sit back and do nothing?”
“Clearly I read you wrong,” she considers him for a long moment. The hands in front of her relax, minutely. Her shoulders seem to sag just slightly. Then she shifts and all the rigidness of her being returns. “It still stands. This is bigger than anything you can possibly imagine.”
“Try me,” Tom leans back in his chair. “This is about those space dots. You wouldn’t be so forceful if there wasn’t cause for concern.”
“Correct,” her gaze turns icy. “We’re on a ticking clock. This isn’t just something that will slowly happen. Our best metrics show that in less than 30 years this planet will no longer be able to support humanity.” she pauses letting the words sink in. That hadn’t been information that had been released yet. Tom had no clue it was a world ending issue. He can understand the seriousness of it. That doesn’t change his mind. She went about this all wrong. “That’s why we need Dr. Grace back. He is our leading scientist. You can’t hide him from us. Eventually we will get him back. So let’s make this easy. Call them back here and we can put this all behind us.”
Tom doesn’t move. It’s not that he doesn’t understand the stakes. Especially now. He can understand the scales that Stratt is holding in delicate balance. The scales in this room are weighed in Stratt’s favor. She didn’t need to sit and talk with him or try to convince him of the importance of this situation. That was all optional. She has enough security to force him to do anything. She could probably make him disappear with a snap of her fingers. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be her goal. Just because she can doesn’t mean she will.
Tom knows what she wants him to do. She wants him to call Colt and get Ryland back here. Sue him if he just wants to make it a little more difficult and waste her time. He’s feeling petty. He refuses to move just because she said so.
She stares at him unflinchingly for a moment longer. A silent battle going on between them. Then with a roll of her eyes she flits her gaze behind him. The subtle change in her eyes communicating to the agents standing behind him.
An arm grasps him on each arm hauling him up out of the chair.
“What the fuck?” Tom tries to struggle. He manages to get one arm free, using it to push the agent away on that side. The partial freedom is short lived as he’s pushed forward into the table. His face meets the surface at the same time as his arm is reclaimed. A hand finds the back of his neck holding him in place. He continues to try to jostle himself free, knowing that it is unlikely to work, “Get off of me.”
He is outnumbered, even if he got away from these two guys he would just be walking into more. Still that petty side of him wants to make this difficult. Whatever this is.
He finds out soon enough as Stratt stands. She pulls his phone from his front pocket. As if she somehow knew exactly where he would keep it. She sets it on the table in front of them. The grip restraining him stays strong. Not at allowing him up from the table.
“Mr. Ryder, lets get-” she is abruptly cut off at the sound of voices at the door.
“Let me in, Carl,” it sounds like Ryland. Tom begs that it is not. He shouldn’t be here. Colt took off with him. Unless they came back?
Ryland steps into the room. At first looking puzzled before taking stock of the situation. His eyes on Tom for a long moment.
“Wha-what? Why?” Tom mutters as best he can from his position, stopping all struggle at the sight of his boyfriend. He had hoped he would be incorrect. That he misheard.
Ryland doesn’t answer him, he just turns his attention to Stratt, “What’s going on here?”