Episode 7506

Extended Summary

The van pulls up outside a shipping crate and the kidnappers (at least one of whom is unmasked) pull the four youngsters out. Chloe shoves one away and tries to make a break for it but trips over and is quickly grabbed and pushed into the crate with the others, being locked in. Bella yells at the kidnappers to let them out and Nikau tries to calm her, while Ryder checks on Chloe, who has sprained her ankle. Bella wonders where they are. Back at the Parata house, Mia asks Ari if he broke up with Mackenzie to be with her. Ari indicates that what he had with Mackenzie wasn’t the same as what they had. Mia says he ruined what they had but Ari insists he’s different now. As he is giving a speech about second chances, Tane comes home and says not to mind him, grabbing a beer from the fridge and heading out the back. Mia says she could go but Ari convinces her to stay and finish her drink.

Tori continues to criticise Leah and Justin’s house viewing, despite Christian trying to get her to rein it in. Leah agrees that it needs work doing but Tori argues that they couldn’t live in it and renovations can go wrong. To Leah’s frustration, Justin ends up agreeing that they shouldn’t just buy the first property they see and should keep looking. Meanwhile, Alf and Roo are sitting down to dinner together and Alf notes Martha is at art class. He wonders where Ryder is and Roo says he went out with Nikau, Bella and Chloe. They both note that, even though he complains a lot about Chloe, he seems very focused on her.

Bella tries to force the entrance open without luck. Chloe asks Ryder why he isn’t helping and he reminds her she was the one that decided to run towards a van full of kidnappers instead of calling the police. Nikau thinks someone will notice they’re gone but Ryder replies that he left a note saying he’d be out all night, while Bella recalls Nikau told Ari not to wait up and there’s no-one at her place. Ryder has managed to bite through his bonds and frees the others, getting an awkward thank you from Chloe. They wonder who took them and if they’ve just been left for dead. Back at the Parata house, Mia notices the photo of the Parata brothers and recalls taking it at Mikaere’s birthday party; Gemma tried to organise a surprise but for the first time ever he turned up an hour early. She notes it was the last party they were all at together. Ari asks her about leaving Gemma and Nikau and she says she couldn’t move on living with his family. She decides she should go and Ari shows her to the door but then kisses her. They go to his bedroom where they kiss again, undress and lie down on the bed.

Tori insists that Leah and Justin have made the right decision over the house. An unimpressed Leah goes off to bed and Justin goes with her. In the bedroom, Leah makes it clear she doesn’t like Tori having such a say in their decisions. Tori insists to Christian that she knows Justin better than anyone. Christian replies that adult couples need to live their own lives and asks if he was meant to ask Justin’s permission before asking her to marry him. Meanwhile, Alf comes back into the house alone and tells Roo that Martha decided to go to her van to paint. He isn’t sure about her isolating herself out there but Roo thinks it’s doing her good getting back into art.

Ari and Mia are in bed together. They softly kiss and Mia admits she’s missed him. Later, Ari leaves Mia asleep and runs into Tane in the living area. Tane wonders what all this means and Ari admits he doesn’t know. Tane says it looks as though he made the right choice breaking up with Mac and if it works out for Ari then he’s happy for him.

Ryder argues that the kidnappers wouldn’t have taken them just to let them die and there must be a reason for it. He suggests they get some sleep so they’re fresh to do something in the morning. Nikau agrees and sits down with Bella. Ryder rests Chloe’s ankle on his jacket and she lays her head on his shoulder, mirroring Nikau doing the same with Bella. Next morning, Ari and Mia wake up together and she notes she wasn’t expecting to be there that morning. Tane knocks on the door and, despite them saying they’re not decent, comes in and tells them that Nikau and Chloe didn’t come home. Ari reminds the others that’s happened before and suggests he and Mia go for breakfast at the Diner and check on Bella’s flat.

Leah and Justin have gotten up. Tori apologises to them and Leah says they value her opinion but she needs to know where to draw the line. Tori says they should do what they want with the house, so long as she and Christian can visit. Tori and Christian leave and Leah and Justin decide to buy the house. Meanwhile, Ari and Mia come down from the Diner flat, having found no-one there. They asks Alf and Roo if they’ve seen Nikau or Ryder, and Roo notes they thought Ryder might have been at the Paratas’. She and Mia go to check Salt while Alf observes that this isn’t like Ryder.

The four friends are awake when the door is yanked open to reveal the kidnappers are now led by Paul and Leon. Chloe asks if the others know them and Ryder confirms they do. The crooks tell Nikau to come out, and he ends up being dragged out, with Ryder restraining Bella from intervening. He is led away, with the other three shut inside again. Meanwhile, Ari returns home and gives Tane an update. Tane gets a call from Paul and puts it on speaker. Nikau is allowed to speak to them and confirms the others are with him. Paul says he wants the two brothers to turn themselves over in exchange for the four, and they’ll suffer if any cops or River Boys show up. He says he’ll send them the details, before signing off.