"I have to find him," I said quietly, holding the letter in my hands as I paced the floor. We were back home now, but neither of us could sleep; it was almost five in the morning.

"Let me help," Kevin said earnestly.

I shook my head and shoved the letter into the drawer of my bedside table. "I don't want to drag you into this. It will only put you and your family in danger if you help."

"That doesn't matter right now. You can't and shouldn't have to do this by yourself," he said. he grabbed my shoulders. "You need help."

I studied him. "Are you absolutely sure?" I asked. When he gave me a firm nod, I sighed shakily. "Thanks. I don't know how I'll pay you back for this, but I appreciate you backing me. Most people would say I was crazy."

Kevin squeezed my shoulder. "You're my best friend. I'll back you no matter what," he said. Then he seemed conflicted. "The two of us still won't be enough, though. Wherever he is, there's bound to be high security. We can't just barge in, say 'let him go', and expect them to comply."

He was right, and I was way ahead of him. "I know some people who can help," I said.

We waited until Kevin's parents got up before we told them we were heading on an all day outing and wouldn't be back for a while. Kevin's mothing seemed suspicious, especially considering how tired we looked, but his father wished us a well trip and soon we were off. Forty-five minutes of biking later, I stood on a familiar doorstep, one that I dreaded so much more than any other. Though I contained my distress to the inside, I was sure some of it was evident from the reluctance I expressed at ringing the doorbell.

You can do this, I told myself. 

After a nudge from Kevin, who didn't know where we were, I reached out and pressed my thumb to the ringer. A small part of me prayed he wasn't home, but small blessings were not on my side. The resident of the house swung the door open and Rowen looked out at us. He seemed surprised at first, but a smirk soon crossed his face. "Well," he said, leaning on his door and crossing his arms, "I never thought I'd see you on my doorstep."

I took a deep breath, choosing to remain neutral to his taunting. "Can we talk?" I asked. "It's about Cliff."

He glanced at my friend, amusement falling, before motioning for us to come inside. Once the three of us stood in the living room, he sat down on the couch. "So, what did you come to see me for?" he asked. "Cliff wasn't satisfying enough? I know we had fun, but I can't imagine Cliff is that boring."

I pursed my lips, shoving back the onslaught of horribly vivid memories that rushed forth. "Cliff's in a mental hospital," I said bluntly. "It's a life sentence."

Again, remorse flickered across Rowen's face. "Yes... I did see something about that on the news," he said awkwardly. Clearing his throat, he tried to act nonchalant about it and shrugged. "It's what he gets for being attached."

He stood and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Kevin nudged me and I remembered the reason we had come here. "Are you free tonight?" I asked.

Rowen laughed over his shoulder as he pulled a glass from the cabinet. "Are you asking me out? I think Cliff would have one or two things to say about that," he joked.

"Can you please just answer the question?" I snapped. "This my be hard for you to believe, but this isn't a joke."

Rowen sighed and filled the cup with water. "Yeah, I'm free. Why?" he asked, walking back to the living room.

For the next half hour I told him about the note Kevin and I had found, and how we had decided that we were going to break Cliff out. We didn't know exactly how we were going to help Cliff, but we were hoping Rowen may have a better idea than what we had. While I spoke, Rowen leaned against the wall, listening quietly. When I finally finished, I asked, "Will you help?"

Delicately, Rowen set his glass on the coffee table and walked towards me. He leaned close and threatened to brush his fingers under my chin. "Do I get something in return?" he asked. He appeared to be teasing, but his eyes were serious.

I shivered and slapped his hand away. "How about I don't report you to the police?" I said, barely keeping my voice from cracking. I was hyper aware of the fact the Kevin was only a few feet away. He didn't know what had happened between Rowen and I, and I wasn't about to tell him.

With a chuckled, Rowen shook his head. "I think you're missing the main idea of a reward," he said. His eyes moved to Kevin and I saw my friend shift uncomfortably under his gaze. Moving away from me, Rowen looped an arm around Kevin's shoulders. "Or is this my reward?" He purred into Kevin's ear. "He's just my type."

I pulled Kevin away and stood in front of him protectively, knowing full well Rowen would have my friend right then and there if I didn't stop him. "Kevin is helping me, and if you lay a finger on him, I swear I'll kill you," I threatened.

Rowen grinned. "His name is Kevin? How attractively normal," he said, winking at my friend.

"Lay off," I growled.

Rowen laughed and returned to his place on the couch. "I supposed helping you on your little freedom mission wouldn't be too taxing. I've got nothing better to do, and as much as I regret raising Cliff, he is like a son to me," he said.

"Good," I said. "Be at Cliff's house at 6:00pm."

At hearing my demand, Rowen's eyes glinted with something feral. "Giving orders is a good look on you," he said. "You should try it on Cliff sometime."

We left Rowen's house and headed to the town. There was still one person I needed to talk to. The bell above the door rang as we enter the small antiques shop. A voice began to call out to us from the back, but stopped short. Aaron blinked at us. "Zane? What are you doing here?"

With Kevin following close behind, I made my way to the back where Aaron was standing with a box of old electronics. He glanced at us anxiously. "How did you get here? Why are you here anyway?"

"It's a long story," I admitted.

Aaron told us to follow him and we filed into the back room; he closed the door for privacy. "I saw what happened to Cliff," Aaron said. "Are you alright?"

I told him I was fine and introduced him to Kevin. After exchanging pleasantries, I got to the task at hand. "We need your help. We want to get him out of there, but we can't do it by ourselves," I said. "Rowen already agreed, but we hoped to get your expertise as well."

"Of course," Aaron said. "He's my best friend. Just tell me when and where, and I'll do it."

His eagerness to help was a relief and I told him that we were meeting at Cliff's place around 6:00pm. He said he'd be there and we decided to figure out the logistics of a plan once we were all together. As Kevin and I were departing, Aaron stopped me by the door of the shop.

"Are you ready to do something like this?" he asked. "This isn't going to be easy, and you can't know what will happen even if you do rescue Cliff. What if it does more harm than good?"

He had a point, but I wasn't about to let Cliff rot away on medication for the rest of his life. "Cliff can't stay in that place," I said. "Maybe the aftermath will be hard, but if I can do something about where he is now, I will."

Aaron smiled lightly. "I always knew you were a tough kid."

Kevin and I grabbed dinner on our way back to Cliff's house, but we didn't talk much. There wasn't much to say. If we got caught doing what we planned to do, it could mean the end for both of us. Without a doubt, we would be in a lot of trouble. But neither of us were going to back out now. We had come this far, we were going to take it all the way.

*******

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