Chapter Text
It had been pretty normal day, all things considered.
Grace had stepped off of the plane, internally thanking Stratt that it hadn’t been a jet - they did not need a repeat of his arrival at the vat - taking a moment to relish the watery sunlight filtering through the sheet of grey clouds, before he was promptly knocked out cold
Yikes.
The room which he woke up in was dark. Well, that was what Grace had initially assumed, before realising that he actually had what he could only assume was a blindfold wrapped around his head, obscuring his vision.
His hands were bound, and some thing hard dug into his wrists. The back of the chair He was sitting on - plastic, from what he could tell.
“He’s awake”
The voice wasn’t familiar, though Grace wasn’t expecting it to be. No one he knew had any reason to kidnap him and tie him to a chair. (Unless it was some scenario DuBois and Shapiro had concocted, and in that case, No Thank You! He already knew more about their… personal life than he had ever wanted to.)
“Doctor Ryland Grace.”
Ah, right. The mysterious voice. Although, mysterious voices might be more accurate, as Grace was pretty sure the second speaker was someone new.
“Uh..yeah. That..me.”
There was the distinct sound of footsteps, and Grace flinched as a sudden hand was placed on his shoulder.
“You’re pretty important, huh, science guy?
…what?
“…me? Uh, not really? I mean, I teach middle school science..”
The hand on his shoulder dug in its fingers, making him wince.
“You’re Stratt’s number two, fucker. And, by my reckoning, you’re pretty valuable. Be interesting to see how far those bottomless funds stretch, when it comes to you, Mr Astrophage.”
That was…a lot. Holy moly. Grace swallowed, feeling panic start to worm its way into his lungs.
“I..I’m really not that important. I don’t know where you got the idea that I’m Stratt’s..second in command, or something. I just do the science. I doubt you'd get more than two cents for me.”
He laughed nervously, and it sounded wrong.
“Bullshit”
Grace could hear the scathing in their voice.
“I don’t know - or care - about whatever pathetic ego issues you have, Dr Grace, but you’d better hope that your boss pays up.”
He could feel their breath on his neck, now, his heart racing.
“Or maybe you can get your fucked up alien goop to come rescue you, hm?”
They scoffed, the thudding of their retreating footsteps echoing through the room. There was a clicking sound, like a lock turning, and the silence.
Well, fudge.
This was..not good. At all.
He’d have to try and figure out how to escape on his own. There was no chance that Stratt would waste funding on his ransom, and he doubted that anyone else would even realise he was gone.
The bindings in his wrists chafed uncomfortably, and Grace felt tears welling in his eyes. Come on, not now. He didn’t need his captors to think he was any more pathetic than they already did.
He sniffed, blinking his eyes rapidly.
…
He’d think of something.
________________________
Eva Stratt had turned her back in Grace for two fucking seconds, only for him to be gone when she turned around.
She blinked, scanning the area briefly. A couple of people in high-vis, the security staff that she had hired, but no Grace.
Shit.
Her first thought was that he was sick. He had slept through most of the flight, but the unfortunate incident with the jet made her think that it wasn’t completely out of the question.
She circled around the plane, wondering if he had just ducked out for a minute to go throw up in private, but there was still no sign of him
“Carl.”
Stratt tried not to let her voice betray the panic that was welling up in her stomach. It would be fine, surely.
“Yes?”
He frowned, his expression sobering up instantly. Clearly she hadn’t been as surreptitious as she’d hoped.
“Where’s Dr Grace?”
They searched for two hours before they called in a search party. Another three before Stratt got the call.
She stood next to Carl, scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, hands trembling slightly as she held her phone.
Unknown number.
It could be a spam call.
It was probably a spam call.
She put the call on speaker.
“Am I speaking to Eva Stratt?”
Carl looked over at the sudden noise, raising an eyebrow.
“You are. What is the purpose of this call?”
She couldn’t explain it, the vague sense of gnawing dread that was growing inside her chest.
“We have your scientist. Dr Ryland Grace.”
Shit.
Stratt was catastrophising. They were probably a part of the search team, calling to inform her that he’d been found.
“In order for his return, we request the sum of three million US dollars.”
Or not.
Carl was already speaking into his walkie-talkie, eyes wide.
Stratt shoved her free hand into her coat pocket, her grip on the phone shaky.
“This is ridiculous. You will return Dr Grace immediately, or face severe legal repercussions. I am backed by the military forces of several countries. I would advise listening to me.”
The person on the end of the phone laughed, a harsh, grating sound that made Stratt’s hand in her pocket clench into a fist.
“I’m afraid we won’t be doing that. Unless, of course, you decide to hand over the money. And I’d make the decision quickly, if I were you. We can’t guarantee the condition your scientist will be in, when you get him back.”
The line went dead.
Stratt felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. More people had arrived, now, the slack around her a blur of solemn faces and black coats. Someone was speaking to her, but she clouding make out the words.
They had Grace.
They had Grace, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Unless she paid the ransom.
Stratt snapped out of her haze, looking up with a fierce expression.
“We pay the money.”
Someone handed her a phone, one of the world leaders on the other end. That was fast.
“Ms Stratt..I understand your concern about Dr Grace’s welfare. Please trust us when we say that his safety is our priority, but we can’t give them the money. There are too many complications. The continued support of the public, and other leading political figures is what is keeping this task force running. Paying the ransom could cause public views to shift drastically, not to mention an outcry about the way that the various governing bodies funds are being spent-“
She didn’t listen to the rest.
He was right.
They couldn’t pay the money, meaning that their only way of getting Grace back was to rescue him with the aid of one of the militaries. Which would take time. Possibly more time than Grace had.
Shit.