Seafoam (Klance)

Chapter 14 - Old Hospital

When Hunk checked his phone during his break he was greeted by a message from Pidge reading:

'Urgent call me'

Concerned he immediately complied.

"Hunk, have you seen Lance?"

"Lance? No, isn't he with Keith?"

The other end went quiet for a momentary pause before the girl asked her next question.

"If Lance was at home would he pick up the home phone?"

"Yes, why?"

Hunk's confusion was growing with each question. Pidge seemed to make a frustrated grunt.

"What's wrong, is something going on?"

"What time do you finish your shift?"

"Uh... Six."

"Make up some excuse for your parents and come to the school when you finish work."

Pidge hung up immediately as she delivered the last instructions.

oOoOo

"What do you mean Lance is missing?!" Hunk was understandably hysterical when he heard the news.

"They took him, that's the only explanation," Pidge declared, Keith remained silent. The rims of his eyes slightly redder than they should've been but it was so faint one wouldn't realise without close and careful observation.

"Then we've got to get him back," Hunk's expression was steely and determined.

"Already on it, I've tracked their location," the smaller snickered slightly, "Looks like we're infiltrating their base after all."

oOoOo

Perhaps they were in over their heads, three teens breaking into the temporary base of some 'research' group on the deep web. It didn't matter though, they were going to get Lance back and make his kidnappers pay. The building they found themselves in was an old hospital building. A relocation to a larger venue closer to the city left this building unused and set for demolition, so that the land could be used for other purposes, next year.

Pidge had managed to pull up the floor plan and allocated each of them a section to search. Each had a special earpiece that allows them to communicate with each other, Pidge's own design, so that if whoever found Lance could inform the others. The plan was to remain covert and if discovered attempt to escape as initiating combat would be disadvantageous. For cautions sake Pidge equipped herself with a taser, Hunk a bat, and Keith felt no need for a weapon as, thanks to Shiro, he was rather skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

As the three successfully infiltrated the building undetected each rushed off to their own sections. Keith couldn't help but note a small handful of red spider lilies growing scattered around the surrounding land. For some reason he'd always found red spider lilies disturbing ever since childhood, perhaps it was their symbolic meaning in Japanese culture. Death, just like the number four.

It wasn't too difficult evading guards at first there were hardly any, although he did notice that as he got close to certain areas the number of guards increased. What bothered him, however, was that there were proper guards to begin with. Their enemy seemed like a small group that most would overlook as less than mentally sane, that's how it should've been but for such a group they had way too many resources. Either the group had an eccentric, wealthy sponsor or this group was involved in much more than mermaid hunting which could very well mean they were much more dangerous than any of the three had anticipated. Keith was hoping it was the former.

The greatest shock came halfway through his section. He found Lance. In an empty room, down an empty corridor he found Lance. Unrestrained and not the least bit distressed, the lanky boy simply stood in the middle of what appeared to have formerly been a private room for a single patient, judging by the signs he'd passed in the hallway, gazing out the window.

"Lance?!" at hearing Keith's voice the chocolate haired teen immediately turned to meet him.

"Keith! What's up?"

The ravenette found himself at a complete loss to Lance's casual and cheerful tone. They'd all been so worried and scared and yet here Lance was acting like nothing had happened. Keith could feel some of his pent up rage bubbling.

"W-what do you mean 'what's up?'! You were kidnapped! I freaked out! We were all so worried about you!" he didn't want to take it out on Lance, he hated that he yelled at Lance, but he simply couldn't hold it back. Unsurprisingly the other boy was completely taken aback by Keith's outburst.

"I-I'm sorry, I... I wasn't kidnapped, I just..."

"Wait, what?!"

"I just... Something came over me, I..."

"Wait, Lance! You weren't kidnapped?!"

Lance paused and gazed at the ravenette quizzically.

"No, I... Why did you think I was kidnapped?"

"Lance, do you even know where we are right now?"

"About that..." the caramel skinned boy stared off into the distance dazed and slightly confused as if he were attempting to remember something he'd forgotten.

"Lance, this is the enemy base. If they didn't bring you here how did you get here? Did you tail them?"

"Woah man, I'm not that insane. Why would I follow the people who tried to kidnap me? Wait, did you say this is their base?!"

Keith stared at the boy in wide-eyed disbelief.

"You know what, let's just get out of here. As soon as we're somewhere safe you're explaining yourself," The ravenette concluded as he proceeded back into the corridor, dragging Lance behind him by the wrist.

"Pidge, Hunk? It's Keith, I found Lance," Keith spoke into his earpiece.

Pidge was the first to respond but her tone was hushed, "Uh, there might be a slight problem. My section was infested with guards. I had to taze one of them and I've been in the vents since."

As she finished Hunk's voice cut in, frantic and out of breath, "Uh, guys? I think they know we're here!"

"I figured as much..." Pidge muttered.

As if on cue heavy footsteps began echoing from one end of the corridor. Keith tightened his grip on Lance's wrist and began running down the opposite end of the hallway.