A/N – I'm not all that happy with this chapter, it feels a bit rushed, but I couldn't find a way to make it sound better. And, as the end starts to approach, I feel as though I'm rushing it. Another thing, apologies for leaving this story and entering it with such a short chapter. I had to leave this story due to school, personal problems, and exams. Then I couldn't find the writing inspiration to continue the story until now since I've decided to take a break from "The Great Medic" which is a blessing in disguise. I plan on finishing the story in… maybe, less than five chapters. So, with that out of the way and without further ado, onto the chapter (again, sorry for the sad length, next chapter will be longer)!

Chapter 9: Number Kids

Ben, Diego, Vanya, and Five were happy to finally get some clues as to where their estranged brother might be. However, the actual act of cracking down on the specific location was a whole other story involving more than a few factors. Ben had tried pulling up a map of the local area, seeing if he could find any railroad crossings anywhere – that is if Alex and his goons stayed within the state. He tried not to think of that – Klaus had to be near home, he had to.

There were about sixteen railroad tracks entering and leaving Hamilton. The four siblings were frustrated; sixteen was too large of a number to truly locate Klaus. It didn't give them much to go off and it practically shot down their hopes for the time being. And, despite never wanting to hear Klaus' cries from the torture he was going through again for the second time in his life, the four Number children all crowded in the security room knew that they needed to watch the video again.

After all, there were no more clues to help them out and they knew they couldn't waste any more time or else Klaus might end up losing his life. So, for the very last time any of them could stomach, the four watched the video.

This time, there wasn't a shock factor to partner with the horror of finally seeing what had become of their brother. Instead, the four Number children let their eyes roam the screen in search of any blaring indicators that could help them locate Klaus. Other than a singular red and white sign in the back of the weird garage-type building that looked partially damaged from the elements – something about Motor was written on it. They had tried to get some more information from the sign but no one could differentiate what it said nor could they enhance the video footage at all, leaving them at a disadvantage of sorts. There wasn't much else from the video, nothing else standing out throughout it, well…

That's not entirely true. Without the shock factor, the siblings could clearly follow the line of conversation, hearing the words Alex had spouted: "Now you listen here, if you don't send five million dollars to the address we are sending with this video, we'll kill him."

Vanya startled from the words, head twisting in order to look at her brother, the short boy standing beside her, "Five?"

"Hm?"

"Was there anything else in the envelope?" She hastily asked, eyes desperate. The dark-haired boy turned the yellow envelope upside down before starting to violently shake it several times before sighing. No, there was no sheet of paper with an address. She peeked up at Numbers Two and Six, "You don't think that Klaus' kidnappers would… forget the paper, do you?"

"No, they wouldn't, not if they were holding someone for ransom." Diego responded easily, "As high school once taught me, glory, gold, and God – the three G's – motivate people more than anything else in the world. So, if they want money, that piece of paper would be the most important thing they send… besides the tape."

"That's true." Five stated, taking a step forward, standing in between the three of his siblings, a beacon of authority, "Which means that we are going to have to go talk to our father about this."

"What, why?" Ben hastily asked, not really wanting to deal with the man after they'd ransacked his study, "Why do we need to talk with him?" Honestly, he was the last person the boy ever wanted to see.

His brother waved a hand, motioning to the security tapes as his eyes moved to it before glancing back at Ben. "Dad threw away the tape – that's more than enough proof to suggest that he either, one, threw away the address as well or, two, still has the piece of paper and is trying to hide it." Five explained, "We need to speak with him."

Diego crossed his arms, leaning against the desk, "Are you sure he'd even give up that information? He's quite a stubborn asshole and… he's not quite fond of Klaus."

"He has to." Vanya tried, desperately looking between her brothers, "Klaus' life is on the line and if we don't get that address, he's going to die." The room fell silent at her words, eyes peering to each other for answers.

"I hate to say this, but we need Luther in on this." Diego finally piped up after a moment. All eyes darted to him, wide with shock. Out of everyone to suggest such a thing, Number Two should not have been the person to do it. "What?" He raised his hands in exasperation, "Luther is big ol' Number One and because of that, he has a soft spot in Dad's heart. He's the first one to be sent on any mission and he's been the only one of us kids to be allowed in his study for long periods of time. If anyone could get him to talk to that man, it would be Luther."

"That's… actually not a bad idea." Five found himself begrudgingly agreeing, running a hand down his face in exasperation.

"So," Ben started, his voice only a little bit bitter sounding, "are we all in an agreement that we should include Luther in this?" Three other hands raised slowly. The boy sighed, "Who wants to tell him?"

"I'll go." The time-traveler voiced quickly, "He'll take me more seriously than Vanya or Diego. You three should probably go get your suits on. I feel like once we get this address, we'll be heading in whatever direction it takes us as quickly as possible."

"Wait!" Vanya interrupted before the other boy teleported away, "What about Allison? Shouldn't she be in on this too if we're getting Luther?"

The boys glanced at each other for a moment, a silent conversation between them. "Her rumor ability might be needed in case a cop tries to pull us over since we're, you know, children again." Diego stated, "A group of kids driving around in a car would definitely cause some suspicion."

"Fine." Five nodded once before disappearing in a flash, intent on speaking to both of his siblings.

Ben stared at the spot where his brother was before moving to leave the room. He paused for a moment before looking at the two behind him, "I'll see you in the front room."

Vanya set her hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly, "We're going to get him, Ben." He only nodded before making his escape to his bedroom, intent on hastily putting on a suit, his brother on his mind.

"I'm going to find you, Klaus, I promise." Ben was determined, the words only pushing him to run faster, get their faster, "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again, I promise you that."