*~*~*~*~*~*Chapter 6*~*~*~*~*~*

Nick fought an urge to turn around and look at the burning building which had been his home for the past weeks. He didn’t know exactly how long he had been there so he asked her.

"Twelve days" she answered. Twelve days. He couldn’t believe that it had been so long time.

"Why didn’t someone find me until now?" he asked, he needed to know.

"They couldn’t. They tried, but there were no traces of you. It was as you were dead" she said. "Like Sandra" he thought.

"But how did you find me?"

"I don’t wanna get into details, but I have some contacts that I used. There were some rumours in the underworld that an E.R.A.F was with their friends"

"What’s an E.R.A.F?"

"Extremely Rich And Famous. That’s you" she answered and glanced at him. Nick was confused. If persons who she knew was aware of where he had been all the time, why hadn’t she came earlier. She seemed to read his thoughts.

"I came here as fast as I could. It took some time to "convince" one of my contacts, if you know what I mean" she said, glancing at him. He understood.

Suddenly, she pulled over to the side of the road.

"Why are you stopping" he asked.

"I thought you might be hungry and thirsty. Do you want a pain-killer?"

"Shouldn’t you take one too?"

"No, I will go to a doctor later, and with a pain-killer, I won’t be able to drive, and I can’t let you drive. Now, do you want a sandwich and water?"

Nick nodded intensely and regretted it as soon as he felt the headache kick in. He grabbed his head and squeezed it, trying to get rid of the pain. He felt something cold touch his arm and looked up. She held a mineral-water and pain-killers in her hand and looked at him compassionately. He accepted thankfully.

"Sandwich?" she asked and gave him one and took one for herself. Nick consumed it so fast that he was afraid that he would threw it up again, but he managed to keep it down. It felt really good though. It felt kind of weird to eat sandwiches in the middle of nowhere. She started the car again and continued driving. They didn’t say anything while driving, but Nick wanted to know more about her.

"What’s your name?" he asked.

"Stacey" she answered shortly, not inviting to further conversation. He didn’t know what else to say, so he kept his eyes on the road.

Against his will, the memories came back. Sandra’s death, the long lonely hours alone in the dark, the hunger that after a while changed into a throbbing ache. The feeling of being abandoned, that no one cared for him or searched for him. It all came back to him and he tried hard to swallow the tears that welled up in his eyes. He turned away from her, not wanting her to see him cry. But she saw it and caressed his hair and handed him a handkerchief.

"It’s all right. You can cry, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s over, you will soon meet your friends and family again" she soothed. Nick reacted on the word "soon".

"Where are we?"

"We’re in Naples" she said. Nick’s first thought was "I’m in Italy. How did I get here". Then they passed a sign that said "Tampa 15". Nick didn’t get it. Then it dawned to him. They were in Naples in Florida! He had been in his own state all the time. Stacey looked at him and smiled. It was quite a shock for him to know how near his home had been all the time.

"I thought I would tell you what has happened during these days you have been gone, from the moment you were kidnapped. I know things that no one else knows about and I have to ask you to keep quiet about the details" she said. Nick nodded and she continued.