Chapter 2.

Yamato awoke, groaning slightly as his senses registered all the pains of his body. His head was aching fiercely and his cheek was stinging. In addition to his injuries, Yamato found himself being tied up and squeezed into the limited piece of floor between the back sit and the driver sit of a moving car. The vibration from the working engine doubled his headache, driving the boy mad. Before he could try and stiffen it, Yamato groaned again, this time louder, trying to shift in a less uncomfortable position. Almost immediately a heavy-booted foot pressed on his back.

"Lay still, kid." A familiar voice of one of his attackers hissed.

Yamato decided to comply for the time being. He tried his best to keep the fear away from his mind, but in truth he was scared. He felt helpless, being help by this men, knowing not what they wanted. Speaking of which…

"What do you want?" The words left his mouth before he could stop them and the boy tensed, awaiting the consequences.

"I said keep your mouth shut!" Another voice spoke angrily, the man managing to deliver a rather painful kick to the helpless boy.

"You'll know It in time." The third voice chuckled, probably from the driver sit.

'Who this men are? What do they want?' Yamato's thoughts were streaming wildly inside his head. 'They seemed to came to our apartment specifically to take me? Why?'

All his questions were left unanswered. Feeling his head spinning slightly, Yamato closed his eyes tiredly, loosing his consciousness again.

XXX

Akahiko Nakamura was returning from a small coffee break which he aloud himself to make. They were trying to catch that particular gang for months, but each time the police drew near, they were being thrown few steps back and it all went on again. The newspaper's men were of much help, being able to gather information at places where the police wasn't welcomed. But he really felt bad about getting those civil men involved.

He felt his cell-phone vibrating insistently inside his jacket's pocket. Getting it out he saw Ishida's surname on the screen and pushed the answer button, slightly surprised, since he was to meet the said man in less then an hour.

"Nakamura." He answered the call in his usual calm reassuring voice. He frowned, as he heard the other man's frantic voice at the other side of the line. But the look of pure horror crossed his face as he started to understand what was said. "I'll come right now. Touch nothing. I'll bring the forensics with me."

He shut the phone and closed his eyes in frustration. So, it has finally happen. Another innocent life was being threatened while he was able to do nothing. Rushing his messy black hair, Akahiko sighed, motioning for a few patrol officers to follow.

XXX

The apartment seemed to be horribly empty. Hiroaki sited himself at the kitchen chair. From this position he could watch the front door but was out of touch with anything that might have been related to the case. It was so alien to his mind to realize that his flat was now a crime scene. He had been working hard not only to pay bills and provide his son with suitable accommodations, but also in that way he could serve others, gathering and promulgating the information about things, the majority of people wasn't even aware of. Like this latest case he worked on. He wished as more people as possible could be informed o such a terroristic organizations, realizing what danger could await them one step out of their homes. Not because he wanted to scare or shock them, but because he wanted them to know what to protect their families from.

But was it really so? He couldn't protect his own son, how could he hope to help others?

Hiroaki sighed, cradling his face in his arms, violently trying to keep the tears from spilling. After the divorce Yamato was the only thing for him to live for. His son and his job were all he had in his life. And it was time to decide what was more important. He wasn't a weak or sentimental man, which had probably had it's dark side for his family. But that by no means meant that he didn't care about his loved ones.

The ringing of the phone smashed his thoughts into billions of pieces, as the sharp sound sliced through the deathly silence of the apartment. Hiroaki jumped in his place, visibly paling. His heart dropped down in fear and then raced with the top speed. Could that be the men who took Yamato?

Hiroaki came to the phone slowly. A part of him wanted to grab it instantly and to find out who it was, impatient to know anything about his son. But the other part dreaded the moment and wanted to delay it as much as possible. Finally taking a deep steadying breath, the reporter picked up the phone and managed a slightly wavering "Hello".

The voice he heard was probably the last one he wanted to hear right now, the sound of it leaving him completely at a loss of what to say.

"Dad, it's Takeru. Do you know where Yamato might be?"

XXX

Taichi and Hikari were standing few steps away from the phone, watching with growing concern as Takeru's expression changed into the one of outer horror.

"What do you mean kidnapped?" He cried out in dismay, no longer concerned if someone would hear it. "I'm coming right now!"

He put the phone down, looking at his friends, tears threatening to spill out of his widely opened eyes. Hikari came near him, taking his hand into her, trying to pass the calming reassurance into him through the soft touch. Taichi, who had never been known for his patience, was the first to break the tensed silence.

"So, what had happen?"

"Someone broke into the house and took Yamato." Takeru's voice was just barely above the whisper, tight up with concern and fear. "I want to go there."

"Sure." Taichi looked scared himself. He was always the leader of their little team, the one who was granted a crest of courage. But they were in real world and facing a real danger without their faithful digital friends. But Taichi would be damned before he give up the fight, especially when his friend's life was in line. "Hikari, return to the rest and tell them what had happen." He instructed his sister. "I'll go with Takeru. Wait our news at our home. Guess our mom won't mind."

"Ok." Hikari was reluctant to leave her brother and friend, but she understood why she had to.

Giving Takeru's hand one final squeeze, the little girl run off to join the rest of the group, while two boys made their way to the bus station.

… TBC