All Is Fair

Brooks needed to stay detached. He had to keep busy. If he let his mind focus on the fact that his world was crumbling for even a second he was wasting time that could be spent finding Helena. He stood in the middle of the bar, a group of Betas were tearing the place apart searching for the phone Helena had been using.

"What if Helena still has the phone on her?" Daphne asked.

"I hope she does," Brooks said. "Then maybe she can figure out a way to contact me."

"Here," a Beta said.

He handed Brooks Rebecca's phone, or a new phone reprogrammed to show Rebecca's screen. Brooks found the number she had stored for Helena and hit send. As he predicted it went straight to the message indicating voicemail was not set up. He opened up the text message log. There were no messages sent to or from either of Helena's phones.

"There are deleted messages," Brooks said. "Can you recover them?"

"Maybe. That is going to take some time," the Beta said. "I will have to take it back to the lodge."

"Go now," Brooks said. "Find whoever is working on Helena's computer. Work with them."

The Beta nodded and left with Rebecca's phone. Brooks hadn't expected to find anything right away. Helena's disappearance was planned and carefully executed. His gut told him her sister had something to do with it. He didn't expect to find the smoking gun though, she was too clever for that.

"What do you think happened?" Hugh asked.

Brooks' father looked at him. Brooks shook his head.

"It's too early to tell," Brooks said. "I don't want to get side tracked with one idea. Mom you spent the day with Helena. Did you notice anything off about her? Did something upset her?"

Daphne looked at the ground. Brooks could tell she was replaying the day in her mind.

"She was talking about Rebecca and Andrew's ceremony," Daphne said. "I mentioned how quick it was for the two of them. She looked a little surprised. I assumed she was just upset because you two have to wait so long."

"Last night she asked me to tell her how Rebecca and Andrew met," Brooks said. "I didn't think anything of it. She asked about the weather that day and I made fun of her. I thought that was why she looked a little angry. Can you think of anything else she said?"

Daphne bit her lip. Brooks hoped she could remember something.

"It might have seemed like no big deal at the time," Brooks said. "Anything could help us."

Daphne looked up, her eyes were wide as if a light bulb went off in her head.

"There was a question about Michigan," Daphne said.

"What exactly did she ask?"

"I can't remember," Daphne said. "I was distracted and I thought I must have heard her wrong. Something about going to Michigan..."

"Did it have anything to do with Rebecca?"

"It was around the same time we're having that conversation," Daphne said.

"Call back at the lodge," Brooks said. "Have them find out anything they can about a Helena and Rebecca Long. Tell them to look in Michigan and start five years ago, then work backwards. Have them check every youth home, foster system, everything they can find."

"Did Helena tell you anything about her childhood?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing specific," Brooks said. "She didn't like talking about it and I didn't want to push her."

Brooks cringed because he had pushed her. He encouraged her to make amends with Rebecca. There were too many coincidences going on.

"I thought Helena was from North Carolina," Daphne said.

"So did I," Brooks said. "But that's only because that is how Rebecca explained it."

"Do you think she has something to do with this?" Hugh asked.

Brooks knew why his father was weary of implicating a pack member. If Brooks was wrong it could jeopardize his position and respect. It was unheard of for a pack member to be disloyal, whether you were an alpha or an omega.

"Sir," a Beta said.

Brooks spun around. The area behind the bar was a disaster now, but a young man walked towards Brooks with his hand extended. Tucked in his fist was the plain black phone Helena had carried. Brooks took the device. He was scared what he would find when he turned it on.

"If she's not involved then I don't know how this ended up behind her bar," Brooks said.

He powered on the phone and held his breath, hoping it would lead him to his mate.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was nothing for Brooks left to do at the bar. He headed back to the lodge, hoping the Betas with Helena's computer were able to use the information Brooks had found in her text messages.

Brooks' phone went off. It made him jump and he wished it was Helena calling, but he saw the name of one of his Betas. Brooks hoped they had some information.

"What have you found," Brooks said.

"I am with Rebecca and Andrew," he said. "They want to be alone and I am having a hard time staying with them."

"Put Andrew on the phone," Brooks said.

The phone was handed off.

"What is this about?" Andrew said. "Rebecca is very upset. She wants to help, but we feel like we're on house arrest."

"I have reason to believe the vampire who took Helena is after Rebecca too," Brooks said. "I won't leave anything to chance. Please let William stay with you."

"I can protect my mate," Andrew said.

"I thought the same thing," Brooks said. "Don't be cocky, especially in a situation like this."

There was silence for a moment.

"I understand," Andrew said.

"I will be by as soon as I'm ready and let you two know what is happening," Brooks said.

"Rebecca swears she doesn't know anything," Andrew said.

"I know," Brooks said. "Try and calm her down. This is scary for all of us."

"Thank you," Andrew said.

Brooks hung up the phone. He was sitting in the car with his mother and father who both looked at him.

"You don't really believe that do you?" Daphne asked.

Brooks pulled out Helena's black phone again. He went to the text messages and pulled up the picture of Rebecca, taped down and crying. This was a far look from the one she wore this evening, but the picture was only a few hours old. The photo made Brooks shudder. He could only imagine what Helena felt when she saw it. His mate must have been terrified. It pained him that she took this on all by herself. He would have helped her.

"Any ideas on who the second person is yet?" Brooks asked. "The messages refer to two people. Come alone or I will kill both of them."

"Someone else from Helena's past?" Daphne asked.

"Everyone she ever loved is dead," Brooks said. "Or in this car, or scheming against her.."

"Would she sacrifice herself for a stranger?" Hugh asked.

"Probably," Brooks said. "But that would be risky. I think she would have come to me. This had to be personal, but I can't think of a single person she's met who isn't accounted for..."

As soon as the sentence rolled off of Brooks' tongue he knew it wasn't true.

"Have either of you heard from Zachary?" Brooks asked.

Hugh pulled out his phone. Daphne shook her head.

"Straight to voicemail," Hugh said. "I'm going to check with his Alpha."

The car stopped and they were back at the lodge. Brooks didn't wait to hear his father's phone call. He went straight inside and made it to the team handling the electronics. When Brooks opened the dark room three Betas were staring at the screen. Their mouths hung open. One of them noticed Brooks and they closed out whatever they were watching.

"Alpha," Brad said.

"What did you find?" Brooks asked.

"Nothing," Brad said. "At first, but we were able to uncover something. The website Helena went to was a basic email account, it had a link to a live video feed. We couldn't find what she actually saw, but we were able to recover the link. It is still live. We've recorded everything since we turned it on."

"Let me see," Brooks said.

His Betas gave each other looks.

"Now," Brooks said.

"The recording starts a few minutes ago," Brad said.

He pulled up the video. It was the same blond vampire Brooks rescued Helena from. He was in a room, grey ceilings and walls. There was an average sized bed, Brooks guessed the camera was on a desk. It was hard to focus on the surroundings though because the vampire was dancing around like a crazy person.

"There's no audio," Brad said. "We don't think he knows this is being broadcast. He probably thought he destroyed the e-mail link and this stopped the recording. Rookie mistake."

"Can you trace this?" Brooks asked.

"According to the trace it's coming from somewhere in Africa," Brad said. "Which means no. He has it scrambled, probably in case Helena tried to trace whatever his initial video was."

Brooks couldn't figure out what the vampire was doing. He kept swinging his arms around and kicking his feet out. He stopped moving suddenly and left the room.

"This is when it gets bad," Brad said. "I would brace yourself."

When Victor came back into view of the video camera he was carrying Helena. Her head and arms were hanging. She looked dead, but Brooks saw her chest move. She was just unconscious. The vampire started to swing her body around, dancing with her. Brooks couldn't believe this was happening. Victor went to dip her unconscious form and just dropped her on the floor. He didn't bother to pick her up and instead started dancing around the room by himself again.

"I've seen enough," Brooks said. "I want you to study every bit of this. Watch it until he cuts the stream or the camera dies. Look around the room. Try to find anything that will tell us where they are. I don't care how minute it is."

"Yes sir," Brad said.

Brooks handed Helena's phone to him.

"There is a picture on here," Brooks said. "I want you to tell me if it was photoshopped. I think it is best you keep this confidential."

The Beta nodded his head and took the black phone. Brooks started to walk out of the room. He stopped, without turning around.

"If he does...anything else to her, please let me know," Brooks said.

Brooks promised himself once he got Helena back she would never know about any of that. If there was any comfort at all it was the Helena was unconscious. Brooks didn't know for how long, but if it was anything like the first time that meant he had at least five days. Brooks did not plan to waste them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The conference room at the lodge was packed with tired Betas. Brooks knew they needed rest, most if not all had been awake all night, but the time was too precious to waste.

"Thank you for coming," Brooks said. "I wish we knew more, but this is all we have at the moment."

A photograph of Victor came up.

"This is the vampire who took Helena," Brooks said. "He drew her out after kidnapping this man."

The picture changed to Zachary.

"He is a vampire expert who is a member of the Kashuba pack," Brooks said. "Their Alpha is on his way here with reinforcements. They should arrive before nightfall."

Zachary disappeared and a picture of a car showed up.

"This is the car Zachary was driving when he vanished," Brooks said. "Nobody has seen it since. He was on his way to our airport, which is only a few miles away. It had to be a quick grab."

The screen switched again. It was a picture of a map of the area, with a portion highlighted.

"We believe the vampires initial contact with Helena was via cellphone yesterday at 7:54 pm," Brooks said. "She was taken from the bar at approximately 11:25 pm. We have proof he had her in a secure location no later than 3:42 am. That means he is hiding within an approximate three hour radius of the bar."

A Beta raised his hand. Brooks pointed at him.

"What if he just flew away from here?" He asked.

"Vampires can't fly," another Beta said.

"Well it would be stupid to keep her so close," the first Beta replied. "I would get farther away. How do you know they can't fly?"

"I know you're all tired, but please pay attention," Brooks said. "Helena's blood makes her attractive to vampires. It would be difficult for him to move her too far of a distance without eating her. I have made several mistakes, including keeping this information from you all."

Brooks looked around the room at the shocked faces of his Betas. It was unlike an Alpha to make a mistake on this level. He had to keep going with their charge.

"I want you to divide into groups and cover as much of this area and possible," Brooks said. "A lot of it is woods. I want you to work in teams with the Omegas who have volunteered. Try and use your scenes of smell, hearing, anything that can help us find her. We have reason to believe they are in some sort of basement. Try to look for abandoned houses, or houses where nobody looks home. Also keep a look out for Zachary's vehicle or anything that appears out of the ordinary. Please, help me find my mate. Are there any questions?"

"What do we do if we do find her?" A Beta asked.

"Report to me immediately," Brooks said. "Vampires are very strong and very difficult to kill. Do not engage yourself against him. Thank you. I know you're tired, if you need to get some sleep please do. Everyone will understand."

All of the Betas stood up and started to exit the room. Hugh walked over to Brooks.

"I know it's under dire circumstances but you did an excellent job leading them," Hugh said.

Brooks knew his father meant well, but leading the pack was one of the worst of his concerns. He turned to look at the map projection.

"Even if us and the Kashuba pack searched this area non-stop it will take days if not weeks to cover it all," Brooks said.

"Is there a way to narrow it down?" Hugh asked.

"Maybe," Brooks said.

He handed his father the file generated on Helena and Rebecca's childhood.

"Do you want to help me talk to her?" Brooks asked.

Hugh flipped through the file. Brooks was surprised he managed to keep a straight face. There were lots of holes in Rebecca's story and questions that needed answers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The sun was already up. Rebecca wanted to get this over with. She had an explanation for everything. She expected some suspicion, but had already worked out her lies. As long as they didn't stumble upon the phone she was in good shape. This was all Helena's fault. If she had just brought the phone into the bar with her none of this would be an issue.

"Are you doing alright?" Andrew asked.

"My sister is missing," Rebecca said. "I wish there was something I could do. We should be out there helping. Not sitting in here being babysat."

"Brooks thinks you may be a target," Andrew said.

"Open your eyes," Rebecca said. "If that were the case we would be able to leave the room. A vampire can't penetrate the lodge."

Rebecca knew she shouldn't have snapped at Andrew, but he was so dense it got a bit annoying.

"You didn't have anything to do with your sister's disappearance," Andrew said. "Did you?"

Rebecca stopped pacing and looked down at him. She took a breath and tried to force the tears. They weren't coming so instead she let out a sob. Andrew stood up and wrapped his arms around her. She made her body shake.

"I'm sorry," Andrew said. "I didn't mean that."

The door to their apartment opened. Rebecca didn't pull away from Andrew, she knew who it was though. The Alpha squad, more than ready to question her. Rebecca was ready fool them yet again. As long as they didn't have that phone she would be fine.

"Thank you for staying here William," Brooks said. "I think we good use some privacy. Why don't you take Andrew and get something to eat?"

Rebecca felt Andrew's arms tighten around her. He let out a low growl. Rebecca lifted her head.

"It's alright," Rebecca said. "It might be easier for me to talk without you here."

"I don't like leaving you when you're in this state," Andrew said.

"This quicker we get this over with the sooner we can find Helena," Rebecca said.

Andrew nodded his head and gave Rebecca a kiss on her forehead. She turned to see her guests. It wasn't just Brooks and Hugh, Daphne also joined them. Rebecca had even less respect for the woman than the men. She was surprised when the blond came over and hugged her. This whole group was just as stupid as Rebecca thought, they didn't suspect a thing.

Rebecca let Daphne guide her to the couch. They sat down and the blond woman continued to hold her hand. Rebecca gave her a squeeze of false gratitude. The men sat in the two chairs. Andrew and William walked out. Nobody spoke. Rebecca tried hard to make her eyes water.

"Have you found anything?" Rebecca asked. "Do you know where my sister is?"

"Walk us through your night," Hugh said.

"I already told you..."

"Go slower," Brooks said. "Don't leave out any details."

"Any little detail can help," Daphne said.

She put her other hand on Rebecca's back and started to rub up and down. Rebecca took a breath.

"Helena asked me if I wanted to get together around noon. I told her that I had to work until at least midnight, maybe ten if we were slow and I would text her when I got back to the lodge," Rebecca said. "I wanted to spend time with her. I hadn't seen her in over a week and we were just starting to get on good terms again."

Rebecca paused and took a deep breath, acting like she was trying to steady herself.

"Could you tell us your story again," Brooks said. "About how you ended up leaving Helena all those years ago?"

Shit. That meant they knew. There was no other way Brooks would be asking her these questions.

"I may have lied," Rebecca said. "I made so many mistakes when I was younger. I did leave Helena in a motel room, but it wasn't a few towns over. It was a few states over. She wanted to come with me when I left the youth home so bad, but I knew I couldn't take care of her. I thought that she would head back or someone would find her and return her. Helena would have been better off with them than me."

That part wasn't a lie. Rebecca almost laughed. Helena was better off with anyone other than her.

"I made my way across the country, traveling, taking in the freedom," Rebecca said. "The rest is true. I got lost, met Andrew and it was a love I'd never felt before."

"Why didn't you tell me this when you asked for my help locating Helena?" Brooks asked.

"I didn't want to look any worse than I already did," Rebecca said. "Andrew and I tried to search by ourselves for a little while. I knew she wasn't in North Carolina so I didn't think it mattered."

Helena looked around the room. She knew her story was solid. They couldn't poke holes in it.

"I never even got the chance to tell Helena the truth," Rebecca said. "I was going to, but I thought that would just upset her more. I didn't want to give her another reason to hate me."

"Go back to last night," Brooks said.

"It was slow. Sundays normally are," Rebecca said. "But I thought it was a good night to do inventory. I talked to Andrew around seven and said I would be home late. There were still a few customers in the bar. Nobody unusual. The last customer left a little before ten. I took out the garbage and then noticed my phone was smashed next to the dumpster. I didn't even realize it was missing. I thought I must have dropped it."

All of the eyes in the room were glued to her.

"I went down into the basement for the rest of the night," Rebecca said. "When I came back upstairs it was a little after eleven, I think. My screen was smashed and that's how I normally check the time. I noticed the headlights in the parking lot. I went outside and saw a pack car. It was running with the door open. At first I thought it was Andrew, maybe he was trying to contact me through my busted cellphone. I stuck my head in and tried to see if someone dropped a wallet, or if I could figure out who was in the car."

"You didn't smell your sister?" Brooks asked.