*unedited*

"I'm really not liking this," Jason commented after they'd finished their ship wide search, aside from knocking on doors. "You don't suppose they've been kidnapped, do you?"

Truth be told, Logan didn't know what to think. Not only had Tamara disappeared but so did Darla, and that unsettled his stomach. "I wonder if anyone else has disappeared."

"When I was searching the floors, I did over hear two waitresses talking about how one of their girls didn't show up for their shift. But apparently, she isn't the most reliable, always giving her shifts away."

"The plot thickens," Logan murmured.

"Do you think something's going on?"

"My gut says yes."

He didn't want to say that, but given the circumstances, it was the truth. Whatever was happening didn't just feel like two girls going off on their own. Tamara wasn't the type of person to just up and disappear. She would have been at one of the bars on the ship or by the pool lapping up a good book.

"What should we do now?" Jason asked.

That was a good question. He hadn't a clue. Using his badge didn't help while they were on a cruise ship in international waters. The only thing he could think of was to try and swipe a security access card then he'd be able to search the rooms. But that could land him in hot water. But if something was really going on, then he had a chance to stop it before it went any further.

"I want to make one last ditch effort to find her. I'm pretty certain that she only told customer service not to let me know. Can you go to their desk and inquire for me?"

"Sure."

"I will wait here, but if I'm gone, that means I've either found something or wanted to check something out."

"Why don't we just meet back at my room in an hour?"

"Works for me."

Sitting back, Logan called over a waiter and ordered a beer. It would be his final drink until she was found. He had to be clear headed for whatever was to come. He had a horrible feeling that something big was in the works.
Nursing his beer, he watched the people moving around him. Being a singles cruise, there was no shortage of scantily clad females, and the men who followed them who wished to get in their pants. In the corner, he saw an older man chatting it up with a girl half his age. She didn't look very eager to keep their conversation going. She was tapping her foot on the bar near the bottom of her chair.

Another girl at the bar was leaning towards the guy she was talking to, resting her chin in her palm; her eyes not leaving the man's face. She was totally enamored by him. That's what he wanted in their relationship. He wanted to get lost in Tamara's beauty, to love and protect her until the day he died. No one meant more to him than she did, with the exception of his baby girl back home.

Logan glanced down at his watch again, only five agonizing minutes have went by since Jason left. He didn't like sitting around. He was a man of action. It drove him nuts when he had nothing to really do.

In the corner sat two men, their heads closely huddled together, yet their bodies turned away. Almost like they wanted to run. Logan's eyes narrowed as he studied them. One looked like the security guard he had spoken with before. He passed the other guy something under the table, but Logan couldn't get a good look at what it was as the man's hand was wrapped around it. If he had to make an educated guess, based on the size, he'd say it was an access card.

His chest tightened just thinking about the possibilities. It's the price he paid for all the things he'd seen and done himself when on a mission. He knew when people were trying to be sneaky about something. Mind you, if it was him over there, he'd have had his back facing the room and his front facing the window that way people couldn't see what you were doing.

Soon the men got up and left, and the moment they disappeared around the corner, he got up to follow them. Something smelled a little fishy. The two men split when the guard disappeared behind an employee door. The other guy continued quickly down the hall. With how tall he was, the guy's stride was longer than Logan's, so he had to move fast to catch up; all the while trying to do it nonchalantly.

A few people watched them as they hurried by, but Logan didn't pay attention to them. Only saw them out of the corner of his eye. The man in front of him was the only one he cared about. He had a feeling that man could lead him to Tamara. The guy looked over his shoulder and jumped when he saw Logan looking straight at him.

"Stop following me," the guy yelled, pulling a swiss army knife out of his pocket.

Logan held his hands up. "Easy dude, I just wanna talk."

"I don't know you."

In an attempt to distract him, Logan asked. "I just wanna find out if you've seen someone I know. My friend is missing."
The guy swiped the knife in the air between them. "I don't know anything. Leave me alone."

Logan widened his stance, keeping his hands loose and ready to fight if he had to. He wanted to let the kid know he wasn't going to be intimidated. "Then why do you look so guilty?"

"I hate being followed."

"And if you don't get this knife out of my face, you're not going to like what I'm going to do either."

Instead of responding, the kid took off in a race down the hall with Logan hot on his tail. He wasn't going to let him get away, not after that. No one acted that way without a reason. He looked guilty as hell. That makes three suspicious people he's seen since coming on board; the guard, the kid with the gun, and this guy.

After rounding a corner, Logan skidded to a halt, smacking his hand against the wall. The kid was gone, disappeared into thin air. And the only things around them were cabins and an employee door. He wanted to growl and punch something, hard. Was he losing his touch?

Maybe he should see if he could get an audience with the captain. They had the daily tours which allowed you to meet with the captain. It was about the only thing he could think of if he wanted to get something done. He should at least take what Logan had to say more seriously than the others.

Wandering over to the customer service counter, he saw Logan still chatting with the girl trying to work his charm, but he didn't appear to have any better luck than he did. He gave Jason a pat on the back as he walked up to the till next to him.

"Can I help you?" the lady asked.

"I was wondering when the next ship tour would be?"

After typing a few keystrokes, the woman looked at him again with her forehead creasing. "It would appear that all the ship tours have been cancelled."

"Why would they be cancelled?"

"It doesn't say I'm afraid. But can I be of any other help?"

"Is there any way I can meet with the captain personally?"

"I'm afraid he doesn't do any one on one meetings. He's a very busy man."

"Can you make sure he gets a note from me?"

"That I can do, yes. I'm sure he'd love to find out how you are enjoying your stay with us."
Ya, it's been a barrel of laughs. Not!

"Can I borrow a notepad?" he asked. After taking a few minutes, he wrote down what he wanted to say and then sealed it in an envelope. "If you could make sure he gets this as soon as possible, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Will do. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Knowing that they wouldn't fulfill his other request, he shook his head. "Have a good day."

Stepping back to the railing, he waited for Jason to finish with the other attendant, but sadly it looked like he was striking out, too. It didn't take long before his friend joined him and leaned against the railing.

"They wouldn't tell me either, but they did say that Darla was still in my room. I mentioned that she seems to have gone MIA and they said that if I haven't heard from her in 24 hours that they'll put out an alert for her."

"That's something I guess. Maybe it will let everyone know that something is going on, and the crew will get their shit together."

"We can only hope," replied Jason.

***

Tamara cried out in pain as her wrist popped out of its socket, her scream muffled by the tape. It slipped out of the rope, but was now utterly useless. Swear words bounced around in her head unable to come out her mouth and tears filled her eyes. Pain shot up her arm and her wrist throbbed mercilessly.

Her cries finally roused Darla from her slumber, and her friend's eyes shot open and she tried to scream, but her mouth was taped as well. She wished she could send her a reassuring word, but that was impossible.

Staring down at her hand, Tamara winced as she saw it just hanging, like a limp noodle. She reached over a grabbed ahold of it with her other hand and attempted to pop it back into place, but it was impossible. The only thing she could try and do was untie the rope with her teeth, and hope she could do it quick enough to escape.

Excitement filled her as she pulled the first knot loose. My god, it was working. She had to get to the security detail and find Logan. They had to put a stop to whatever was going on. They never spoke much when they were in the room, but it sounded like they were going to round up everyone into different parts of the ship. She'd heard that when they were standing near the door, despite their voices being hushed.

Darla started frantically pulling at her ropes, trying to do what she was doing none too quietly. Tamara tapped the bed to get her attention, and then brought her finger up to her lips. She was almost certain they weren't too far away, probably in the next room.

She tried to stop and listen, but all she could hear was a ringing in her ear from all the blood rushing through her system as sharp pains wrapped around her wrist. Not hearing anything else, she returned her attention to the room. After a few minutes of work and her mouth taking on the taste of the waxy rope, she made a high pitch noise of success.

She was free.