Many times in training sessions and obstacle courses, Jaejoong had always thought climbing was difficult; not unmanageable but also not to be taken lightly.  This however, was sheer torture…  Each shallow breath exhaled shakily from burning lungs as he climbed hand over hand up the coarse rope, anchoring himself as best he could with his feet at each pause.  It wouldn’t be half as hard if he wasn’t fighting pain every second, but there was no way around it and so long as he kept his breaths shallow, it was manageable.

                “Just a little further,” he encouraged himself, staring at the edge of the boat several feet above him.  Oh god it was a mile… and he was cold.  Still soaking wet, the breeze coming off the water chilled him to the bone, even though it wasn’t a cold wind, and his teeth were already chattering.  Clamping his jaws shut tight stopped the noise but he could do very little about shivering which further impeded his ability to function.

                The last few feet seemed to take an eternity but he figured only a few moments had gone by.  Clinging to the edge of the boat with one hand while the other remained anchored around the rope, Jaejoong peered over the corner to get a better lay of the land.  It was quiet on the surface and though he could see the occasional flashlight from the docks, there was no obvious movement on the deck.

                Gathering the meager shreds of his courage and one last oomph, Jaejoong took a breath and painfully hauled his exhausted body over the side, collapsing onto the hard metal surface like so much useless baggage.  “Ugh…” he groaned, trying to force his unresponsive body into much needed action.  He didn’t doubt a camera would have seen him at some point so his time was limited; like it hadn’t been before…  “Move pabo,” he growled, turning onto his stomach so he could crawl to his feet and stumble behind the main cabin.

                With his back pressed hard against the cold metal, Jaejoong took several shallow, gasping breaths and listened intently, pulling his waterlogged gun out from the back of his pants.  Damn…  So much for having a working weapon.  Maybe he could still bluff with it though…?  Inching along the wall, he paused at the first entranceway, placing his ear against the door to listen in.  It was quiet too.  At least he didn’t hear anything on the other side.  That wasn’t to say it was all clear but he really had nothing else to go on…  He hated going in blind.

                Stifling a groan, Jaejoong slipped to the other side of the door and turned the handle, peeking into the opening as soon as he could see.  Soft hallway lights illuminated the empty passageway, revealing additional open portals on his left and his right.  “Right,” he whispered, swallowing and holding still when a debilitating shiver ran up his spine.  The question was what was he looking for?  Did he want to try to find the cargo manifest or might he have more luck in the bridge?  Or rather, where was he least likely to run into anybody?

                He didn’t see any sort of a map nearby to give him even a glimmer of knowledge to help him.  If nothing else, he was still going to have to get out of the open because good luck or not, someone was bound to notice him if he just stayed here.  Steeling himself, he slipped into the narrow opening and carefully closed the door behind him, all his senses strained to the extreme as he tried to see if anyone was nearby.

                Yes the Ferrier was a large ship but they weren’t set to depart just yet so she should only have a skeleton crew right now.  Most of the workers were likely enjoying their landfall time so shouldn’t be present and at least no one was expecting him.  Or at least they shouldn’t be, all things considered.  Exhaling softly, he glanced to his left and noticed stairs leading down.  Obviously it would take him in the vicinity of the engine room, internal cargo holds and crew quarters likely.  Up ahead and to the left and right were additional passageways.  And directly to his right were stairs leading up, likely to the navigation room.

                Think, think!  Where was he most likely to find something useful?  Wherever the important records and documents would be kept…  Not helpful.  His gaze slid to the right and he grimaced as he looked up the stairs.  Maybe he’d find a map or something to point him in the right direction if he headed to the navigation room.  They had maps of all kinds there, right?

                Any direction was better than just standing there and his nerves continued to deteriorate the longer he held still anyway.  His pale, cold hand gripped the railing tight enough to make his knuckles white as he carefully ascended the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible.  The occasional drip of water from his clothes or hair made him cringe every time but he kept pressing forward, feeling like a mouse sniffing at the edges of a trap.

                Leading with his gun in his left hand, Jaejoong made the top of the stairs and inspected the area, taking note of powered down control panels and the majority of the screens, though one was still active in black and white, sectioned into various smaller screens.  Squinting harder when he didn’t see anybody in the immediate vicinity, he leaned forward so that the tip of his gun cleared the door and then gasped as a large hand grabbed his and yanked the weapon up before a considerably larger figure stepped into view, catching his throat with his other hand.

                “Who the hell are you and what the are you doing on my ship?” the apparent captain growled, expression angry and menacing in the dim overhead lights.

                Desperately trying to react, Jaejoong attempted to pry the fingers loose from his neck as he let his knees buckle but while the captain grunted at the sudden change in weight, he was stronger than he’s anticipated.  “Ack!” Jaejoong choked as the fingers remained locked around his already sore throat.  His left hand was wrenched painfully so that he was forced to drop the already useless gun so he kicked out in a panicked attempt to make the larger male let him go.

                The captain grunted when he managed to hit him but growled in response, “You little .”  As soon as he disarmed Jaejoong, he released the weaponless hand and rammed his free fist into the open ribs.  Jaejoong fell like a stone, becoming dead weight in the captain’s hands when agony rendered him breathless and unable to think.

                “Wa-” Jaejoong choked, his head crashing into the ground painfully when he slipped from the captain’s grip.

                “I didn’t even hit ya that hard,” the other male muttered in disgust, eyeing him dubiously while he knelt beside him.  He pushed Jaejoong’s shoulder roughly to get him to roll over so he could better see his face.  “I know you,” he grumbled, shaking a thick finger in the downed man’s face.

                “Young… woon,” Jaejoong exhaled painfully.  He had to do something to keep him from calling the police… or worse.

                “How do you know my name?” Youngwoon growled, grabbing the front of Jaejoong’s shirt to pull him closer to his face, glaring at him with angry eyes.  The action jarred Jaejoong’s body further and his vision swam dangerously as he wrapped one arm about his ribs for a semblance of support.  Snorting in irritation, the captain let him fall back to the hard floor with narrowed eyes.  “Are you hurt?” he asked, prying the clinging shirt away from his intruder’s torso.  “Holy…” he trailed off, giving the injured man an incredulous look.

                Clearly uncomfortable with the situation, Youngwoon cast about and eventually nodded to himself.  He got up and dug through one of the nearby drawers, returning with a zip tie which he promptly tightened around Jaejoong’s wrists.  “Don’t!” the injured man gasped as the plastic pressed into his flesh firmly, but not intentionally painfully.  It wasn’t like he knew his wrists were already bruised from his last stint of being tied up.

                “I don’t know what you did or what the hell is going on but the police can figure it out,” Youngwoon muttered, shaking his head with a wave towards the downed prisoner.

                “Captain, wait,” Jaejoong whispered, staring at him from the floor with his head resting on the hard metal surface.  He flinched when he heard the sound of someone moving quickly up the stairs, making no effort to hide their presence as the vibrations pounded through the solid conducting material.  That couldn’t be good.  Nope.  Not good at all…

                “Captain!” a fairly soft-spoken voice floated into the room, halting Youngwoon in his steps as Ryeowook walked onto the scene.  “I was just…” he trailed off, blinking in confusion when he noticed a man tied up on the ground nearby.  Recognition flickered and he gasped slightly.

                “Ah.  Wookie.  Good timing,” Youngwoon waved, turning to face the Cargo Master with a familiar nod.  “I’m gonna phone in the cops on this one and take a run around the deck.  Make sure there isn’t anyone else creeping about,” he grumbled, already heading for his cellphone on the desktop near the camera screen.

                “Oh!  Umm…” Ryeowook trailed off, looking slightly panicky as Youngwoon turned away.  He frowned at Jaejoong who just watched him intently, shifting with slow movements to gather his limbs under him.  “Of course,” he murmured, obviously looking around for something as he moved towards the captain instead.

                Jaejoong shifted as best he could to watch, a sick sensation in the pit of his stomach about what the smaller male intended.  His other concern was getting out of here, which he wasn’t going to be able to do if Youngwoon was able bodied…  He gasped quietly when Ryeowook picked up the heavy microphone from a nearby desk and approached the captain quietly.  Ah …  “Captain!” he called out in warning.

                “Huh?” Youngwoon grunted, the phone in his hand.  His eyes widened in his face and he gasped, trying to back step out of the way before he reeled when the heavy metal stand connected with the side of his head.  “Wookie…?” he asked with a dazed expression as he tried to remain standing, his vision obviously unsteady as his eyes struggled to focus, a trail of blood already oozing from the gash in his scalp.

                “Dammit!  Go down!” Ryeowook yelled, swinging once more in obvious panic as he hit the captain again with another painful sound of metal meeting bone.  Even when Youngwoon fell backwards, collapsing to the floor, Ryeowook followed him and gave him one more whack across the head, breathing hard before he stepped back and dropped the improvised weapon with shaking hands.  “!” he gasped, patting himself down for his phone as he looked back at the captive.

                Taking what chance he was given, Jaejoong heaved himself to his feet awkwardly and threw himself at the wall, smashing the fire alarm trigger with his fists desperately.  “Tch!” he groaned when his momentum crashed him into the surface as the on ship sirens wailed to life.  Disoriented from hitting the wall and the ear piercing howl around him, he staggered unevenly before he heard Ryeowook call out behind him.  The stairs!

                “Hey!” Ryeowook shouted shrilly, footsteps pounding on the floor.

                Descending as fast as he dared, Jaejoong kept both hands hovering near the rail which was the only thing that saved him when his tired body slipped up on one of the wet patches he’d left while heading up and his feet slid out from under him.  Desperately, he grabbed for the railing, catching himself on the solid bar as the rest of his body continued down the steep stairs.  Skin tore free from his fingers when they caught on the supports that attached the rail to the wall and then even that didn’t matter as gravity pulled his upper body to collide with the sharp edges of the steps.  For one brief moment, Jaejoong’s awareness centered on nothing but excruciating pain blossoming from his side before everything went dark.

                Continuous vibrations and a weird, almost purring sound were the first things Jaejoong became aware of when consciousness reluctantly decided to return to him.  He was lying on the side he’d banged earlier and he was pretty sure a rib was broken this time.  By feel, he knew his wrists were still bound and when he gathered enough capacity to open his gluey eyelids, it was still dark wherever he was at.  Mostly anyway.

                Squinting through the headache that accompanied his awakening, Jaejoong noticed what looked like lines in the darkness and strange orbs directly ahead of him.  “Ugh…” he groaned, wincing when whatever he was inside opted to slow down, heaving his body back.  Was that a horn?  When his body was shifted involuntarily the opposite direction with additional momentum, Jaejoong pieced together he was in the trunk of a car…  “Really?” he breathed, swallowing with a throat that was desperately parched and lips already cracked and bleeding.

                Chances were high he wasn’t in a police car as he half hoped.  Ultimately, they were the lesser of the evils if he had to choose between being apprehended by them or whoever else was after him.  It looked like it was the latter this time…  Damn.  “Think, Jae,” he told himself, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers as if it might help him focus.  At least that didn’t hurt.

                Youngwoon had acted like any typical person would when faced with a possible fugitive.  He’d apprehended him and had opted to call the police.  Ryeowook on the other hand obviously had other plans.  He was employed by Daryl Benson but he also had ties to Jongwoon Kim…  With what he had deduced with Kyuhyun before this had all gone to hell, they’d pretty much been in agreement he was firmly aligned with the Ddangkoma Foundation.  So had Ryeowook managed to get him out somehow or had he called in some sort of backup?  It was hard to say.  Either way, there was no chance he was going to be sticking around after he’d taken down Youngwoon like that.

                As engaging as the train of thought was though, it wasn’t his primary concern.  Right now, he needed to figure out how to get out of his current predicament.  He shifted his wrists experimentally, wincing when the raw flesh yelled at him for the motion, skin sliding together slickly.  Was he bleeding?  It was likely.  That fall had been pretty bad.  Stupid water.  At least he was finally warm in the heated space of the trunk.

                Since moving his upper body proved altogether problematic, he tested the interior with his feet.  There was nothing immediately useful but he found with a little persuasion, he was able to kick at least one of the rear tail lights out, giving him the barest glimpse of the fairly quiet streets of New York.  It must be late if he didn’t really see anybody else around.  Of course!  If it wasn’t one thing it was another.  Well, he had to try.

                Wriggling around painfully, Jaejoong tried to position himself at an angle where he might be able to stick his hand through.  “Dammit…” he hissed when it proved harder than expected due to the zip tie still binding his wrists together.  He tried a couple more times anyway, biting his lip fiercely when the attempts dug the plastic further into his flesh, pressing painfully against his bones.  Gasping for breath, he finally gave up and rested his head against the warm surface, cradling his ruined wrists and hands close.  The thought occurred to him that maybe… just maybe… he should have listened to Changmin this time.

                No sooner had the thought occurred to him than he heard gunshots fired and curled in on himself reflexively.  Almost immediately, the vehicle lurched haphazardly and Jaejoong cried out when he was jostled against the side.  “Yah!” he screamed as horns blared, tires screeched and metal crumpled when the car hit something, throwing him bodily further into the trunk.

                Unable to tell the difference between up and down, Jaejoong’s vision blurred and crossed as his ears rang incessantly, drowning out most of the other sounds.  His head lolled against the carpeted surface and his eyelids fluttered while he remained conscious by the barest of threads, taking one shallow breath after the next.

                Light assaulted his already confused vision when the trunk was pried open, intensifying his worsening headache tenfold.  Unable to focus, he was aware of a figure leaning in to grab his arms, pulling him closer and out of the trunk while his head fell back.

                “Come on, Jae.  Time to go,” the speaker told him, his voice sounding as if he was shouting from the other end of a long tunnel.

                Jaejoong groaned and tried to focus on the other person.  A rescuer?  Or just another goon come to haul him somewhere else?  Dark hair… dark eyes…  He knew the distorted voice but he couldn’t place any of it together to make sense.  A weak cry escaped his lips when he was hefted up on the figure’s shoulder, the bony protuberance digging into his mangled torso, making him nauseous and further disoriented.  “Who…?” he croaked, letting his fingers cling to the fabric of the other male’s shirt, desperate for something to hold on to.

                His world tilted violently when he was shifted again and hastily settled on something relatively soft.  Jaejoong fell onto his side again, too numb to care as his face pressed against what he figured was the back seat of another car.  The ringing in his ears finally subsided enough to hear a door shut, the vibration making him flinch, before another door was opened and closed nearby.  An indiscernible male leaned into the space between the front seats, face blurry in his sight as the light behind him made him even harder to distinguish.  A hand lingered on his shoulder tentatively.

                “Hold on, Jae.  Hold on.”

(a/n: Forgive the title.  lol  I had no idea with this one but the end sort of ties into it since he doesn't know where he is or who he's with exactly.  >.>  But we should have a couple more updates to go and I do believe we're getting ready to wrap things up.  I hope you've enjoyed the update though!  As always, I love hearing from you guys but if not, happy reading and I'll do my best to get another post out before fall break.  lol  Thank you!)