"What exactly am I looking for, nephew?" Uncle Chip asked as he ushered the six men into his small communications tower. It was the same place Jasper had been multiple times since he found out Sydney was on her way back. Now, it would help him find her. At least, that's what he hoped.

"Sydney's been taken by the mercenaries. I need you to trace her tracker, see if we can locate them," Jasper answered.

With knowing eyes, Chip nodded and quickly got to typing. Jasper had gotten used to this process, which only took seconds to be completed, so he kept his piercing blue eyes on the screen. So far, it was nothing more than a digital map of the regions, including the dark mountain range separating the two.

"Got it," Chip declared, standing up straight as he brought his hands together, sending a single clap into the air. The sound echoed right as something inside Jasper snapped. His hope.

"Oh...I thought you said the mercenaries took her," Chip mumbled, confused. It was all because of where the tracker pinged. The blinking red light shined over a very familiar section of Galdon University.

The dormitories.

With a disappointed sigh, Jasper tore his gaze from the screen, decidedly settling on the dark blue tiled floors. "They did."

"Then why-"

"She didn't have the tracker on her," Casey scoffed, shaking his head and causing his brown curls to whip around as he stormed out. "Unbelievable!"

Watching the hot-headed westerner leave, Jasper made eye contact with the man's friend, Reid. The guy seemed devastated, and Jasper hadn't forgotten that his woman was captured, too. Looking at the other westerners in the room, he realized all of them were on edge, worried about their loved ones, and he may have just cost them a chance at reunion with his failed plan.

"I'll go...check on him," Charlie, the oldest of the group, volunteered. His voice was a gruff mumble as he stepped out of the small room.

"I'll be in the truck. Let's not waste any more time," the young blonde haired man, Evan, nearly snarled at Jasper before going as well.

Spirits were low, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for Jasper to keep his head above water. It felt like he was always fighting against drowning ever since the bombing in Centre Park. The past months he spent clearing Sydney's name were the hardest of his entire life, and even now, there was no relief. All he got was a glimpse of her, it seemed, before she was gone again and he was pulled even further into the deep end. 

He was growing tired.

But, she needs you. They can't find her without you.

His mind spoke the truth, and naturally he listened to it. It made no difference whether Sydney reciprocated his romantic feelings toward her. She was still his best friend, his family, and he would always love her. He knew she wouldn't hesitate to do the same for him if their roles were reversed. For everything he'd done, she owed him nothing in return but to simply stay alive. If she found a way to love him back in the process, he'd consider it a blessing from above.

Keep surviving, Syd.

With just Baron, Reid, and Chip left, Jasper gathered his thoughts, trying to piece together a new plan. How would they find the girls now? Eying the map, he studied the labels of towns and villages all throughout the east. Some names were familiar, places he'd heard of before, while some were foreign to him. Yet, nothing screamed out that this was the place the mercenaries would go.

They were searching blind and the clock was always ticking. Jasper always bracing for impact.

"So, what do we do now?" Reid asked, his tone respectively more put together than the easterners would have expectedly, based on the crestfallen demeanor he had preciously. "We can't just sit here."

"No, but we also can't just go," Baron responded. "Not without some sort of plan."

"We have one. Go back to where the took them and head in the same direction they went. It would bring us closer to them than we are now and..."

Tuning their voices out, Jasper kept his focus stilled on the map, knowing Reid's plan was an empty one. If they went back without a sense of direction, they'd be forced to guess where to go next, and the women didn't deserve that. They deserved certainty. Or at least a promising hunch.

With one hand covering his mouth, his eyes scanned over every town again, determined to be thorough. There had to be something there, he reasoned. There has to be. It was while doing this that he noticed something—or, rather, he noticed nothing.

Scratching his chin, he called out for Chip's attention while pointing at the screen. "Uncle Chip, what's over here?" he asked, singling out a spot on the map left completely blank. Nothing. There were no terrain markings or geographical details. Nothing but what looked to be plain acres of grass and untouched land.

The area wasn't too far off from Galdon, which made him even more curious, while also leaving an insettling knot in his stomach. Could they really be this close? The distance would only take an hour or two to cross, which meant they could be there soon, if it were the right place.

"Not sure," Chip shrugged. It's one of the only places I don't make deliveries. I've never gone that direction before. Had no reason to."

"So...it's uncharted territory, then?" Jasper concluded, the cogs in his brain turning with more steam.

"Pretty much. No one ever goes past the old castle. It's illegal," Chip pointed out, which marked the halfway pointed between Galdon, and their target location.

Illegal?

Considering Jasper's trust in the actual lawfulness of the laws in Galdon had ceased to exist, he found this news to be most promising of all.

"Then that's where we start."

"You think that's where their camp is?" Baron asked, his golden eyes burning that spot on the map. "It would explain why it's illegal to go anywhere near the castle."

A part of Jasper, the larger part of him, still was coming to terms with Baron's sudden presence and aid. It was no secret that he and Sydney did not like the man, but despite their childhood banter and differences, he was here, trying to help. He had chosen to be on the right side of history, and while Jasper fully intended to ask him about that choice, he would refrain for now.

Answering Baron, he shrugged, "It's all we've got. And considering how jacked up our governement is, I'm not really concerned about being a 'law-abiding citizen'."

That comment made the dark-skinned male chuckle in amusement.

"I'll tell Casey and the others the plan. Have them waiting in the car while you get whatever else you need," Reid spoke up before jogging out the door to carry out just what he'd said. "Try not to take too long, though."

Nodding his head, Jasper turned to his uncle. "I'm going to need a print out of this, and fast."

"Already on it, nephew."

With silent prayers, Jasper hoped he wasn't leading them even further away from Sydney. It had been almost two hours since her abduction. They had a lot of ground to make up, and not a lot of time to do it.