{ W h o } Benjamin Kelly, Stanley Churchill, and Sebastion Winchcombe { W h a t } Ben to the rescue! (finally) { W h e r e } A warehouse in Portland { W h e n } Late morning Wednesday { R a t i n g } PG-13 for violence
When Ben had gotten back to his trailer the night before after talking (among other things) with Jimmie, he'd been shocked to find that Stanley wasn't there. But Ben shook it off. Maybe he'd gone into town or something or was off being social with Audrey. That would make sense. So Ben had gone to sleep with a lamp still burning low so that when Stanley got back he wouldn't need to wander around in the dark. Then morning came, and there was still no sign of Stanley. It was just weird - Stanley just didn't seem the type to disappear. So Ben did some poking around and apparently, he wasn't the only one missing. The magician, Seb, was gone too. Anywhere else and it would have been strange, but Ben had heard his fair share of rumors about Portland. Hopefully his fears would be unfounded, but... He couldn't risk it.
But he didn't even know where to look! For all he knew, Stanley and Seb were already long gone on some boat and he'd never see his friend again. A tight knot formed in his gut at the thought. Stanley... Obviously just saw him as a friend, but Ben could be okay with that. After all, Stanley seemed interested in Audrey, and Ben couldn't begrudge him for liking her, considering his own attraction to her. Just so long as Stanley was around to be his friend he could be okay with it. And anyway, Audrey was the one who'd ended up helping him find Stanley (and Sebastion, he kept having to remind himself. He was gone too).
He'd run into while he'd been debating asking Beth to do a reading to see if she could learn anything, only for Audrey to confess that she could help. That she could find things out about people just by touching something they owned. After making a mental note to never let her touch his knives, Ben had dragged her back to his trailer so she could use one of Stanley's books to find out where he was. But as soon as she starting trying to find out, Ben regretted ever asking her at all. The expression on her face, the way she hunched her body... It had hurt her to do it, and Ben didn't for a second buy her insistence that she was fine.
It wasn't pretty, but better then it could have been. He was in a warehouse near the docks, but there was no telling how much longer he'd be there. She was still in the middle of giving him more detail about it when he'd started grabbing things to take with him: a couple of his knives, a bag of small metal beads, every last bit of cash he could find in just a few seconds, and after a bit of debate a metal frying pan as well. Thankfully, Audrey didn't try and force Ben take her with him despite her wanting to. It was going to be hard enough trying to find Sebastion and Stanley, and he didn't want to have to make sure that Audrey was okay. So with one last thank you and a brief kiss to her forehead, he'd ran off.
The drive there was a blur, and it was really a miracle Ben hadn't crashed into anything. He hadn't the slightest inkling as to if he'd properly locked the car he'd borrowed or not. All he knew was that this was the place Audrey had told him about. Any weird look he was getting for carrying a frying pan was ignored (the beads were in his pocket and the knives hidden up his sleeves). He'd already been in two warehouses that were complete busts, and Ben was starting to get antsy. What if he couldn't find them in time?
Third time was bound to be the charm, though. As soon as he unlocked the doors and slipped inside, he'd had to duck behind some crates to avoid being spotted by a large burly looking man. As Ben peered around the corner of the crates, he realized that there were only a few piles of things in the whole warehouse, no need for anyone to guard any of it, really. But there wasn't any sign of anyone else really. And then he caught sight of the two doors in the back - offices probably. Perfect for hiding kidnapped people. He hefted the frying pan in his hand, glad now that he'd brought it.
"Okay. Here goes..." Floating it through the air was easy for him, though trying to keep the man from seeing it was not. He couldn't risk him seeing it and raising an alarm or being able to grab onto it. Ben sent it high in the air quickly when the guard was glancing the other way and then pushed it right above the man's head, lowering it slowly, slowly, till it was just a foot above his head and-
CRACK
He swung it down, the sick clang of metal hitting bone echoing through the whole warehouse. Sassafrass! He hasn't thought of that. If anyone was outside (he hadn't even thought to check - just snuck in a side door) they'd come in within seconds. Ben jumped over the crates and dashed across the warehouse, his long limbs and adrenaline going a long way to help things along. He slammed his palm against the lock of one door, felt it unlock under his twitching fingers, and swung the door open wide.