Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: In first chapter.
Chapter 8
Wayne sat in the back seat of the black Lincoln Towne Car, looking out the window. As the car got closer to the lake, he couldn’t shake the uneasiness that was making its way through his body. The ride over was mostly made in silence. The only noise one could hear was the crying coming from the young girl sitting next to him.
He knew she was scared and tired. Having that blindfold on only frightened her more. Wayne wanted to make sure the girl would get out of this unscathed, but it was probably too late for that. He could only imagine what kind of psychological trauma this will cause her in the future.
The crying seemed to get louder with each passing mile. His boss was sitting in the front passenger seat, rubbing his forehead. Wayne had to do something before his boss would take out his anger on the girl. He leaned over and whispered gently in her ear, “Debbie, I know you’re scared, but you have to calm down. In a couple of more hours this will all be over soon, then you’ll be back with your father.”
Debbie heard the soft, southern voice in her ear. She was glad that Wayne was in the car with her. All the other kidnappers just ignored her and didn’t care about how she was feeling, but Wayne was different. He always made sure that she had something to eat, was warm, and tried to give her some kind of comfort when she started crying or got scared. Turning to the direction of his voice, she meekly nodded to him.
She tried to keep the tears away, but they seemed to have a mind of their own. All she wanted to do was to go home and see her Dad. She could feel her tears running down her cheeks. Trying to stifle the waterworks, she bit down on her lip. But it was no use; the tears kept coming as her thoughts went back to her father.
She missed him so much. Debbie could only imagine what he was going through right now. She still didn’t know why she was kidnapped, but she could count on her father to rescue her from this. He wouldn’t let her down because he was her father, her hero.
XXXXXX
Twenty minutes later, they were at the lake. There was an entourage of three cars that pulled up to Kevin’s car. Looking in the rearview mirror, Kevin winked and smiled to himself and got out of the car. Walking with a confident stride, he went to the car holding his boss.
Shaking his boss’ hand he said, “Sir, I’m sorry about the recent turn of events. I know my apologies aren’t enough, hopefully I will be able to make this up to you somehow.” His boss seemed to ignore him as he walked over to Kevin’s car.
Taking the keys out of Kevin’s hands, his boss opened the trunk. Kevin took out his flashlight, illuminating the trunk as his boss looked at the bag. His boss turned his face back towards him. Kevin took a step back and looked over at Wayne.
Wayne could feel the air escape him as he looked at the body bag. This has to be some trick that little shit, Kevin, was playing. Wayne never liked Kevin from the start. He always felt the kid was to young and stupid for his own good. Kevin was too cocky, and Wayne knew that kind of attitude would get you killed in the end, taking other people with you.
Wayne put on his stone face and looked at his boss. “Sir, we did our tests to make sure she was dead.” He turned his gaze towards Kevin, boring a hole through him. “Kevin did the tests and said that she was dead. I took his word for it because I believed him.”
Kevin stepped up to him. Their faces only separated by three inches. “You son of a bitch! Don’t blame your mistake on me. If you were any leader, you would have double-checked my work. The only person to blame here is you,” he hissed out.
Wayne stood his ground and stared him in the eyes. “Son, you have no idea who you’re dealing with. I suggest you back down before you make a bigger fool of yourself.”
The two men continued to glare at each other, until their boss interrupted their little pissing match. “You both are to blame for this, but only one will pay for their mistake.” Their boss waved his hand at the driver standing by his car. The driver nodded and walked to the back door. Opening the door, he grabbed Debbie by the arm and brought her over.
Kevin and Wayne exchanged confused looks. What was their boss going to do?
Their boss took in the girl’s appearance, and slowly walked around her. When he was facing her again, he took off the blindfold. Their boss grabbed Kevin’s flashlight and shun it in her eyes, making the girl squint.
Wayne took a step forward an asked, “Sir, what are you doing?”
His boss waved his free hand in the air, signaling the other men standing around. Wayne didn’t like this one bit. He felt like a defenseless rabbit, ready to be pounced on by wolves.
His boss continued to play with the flashlight, making the girl cry even more. Reaching his hand towards his back, he pulled out a gun. Throwing the flashlight down, his boss stood behind the girl and pushed her down to her knees. Wayne could feel the panic rising in him. He had to do something. “Sir, killing her is not the solution. She’s our trump card. You can’t kill our trump card.”
“Oh, but Wayne, you forgot one thing. I’m in charge of this. Not you two imbeciles. Figures I would have to clean up your mess.”
Wayne could see the anger and disgust on his boss’ face. Wayne looked down at Debbie and could see her sobbing. He could hear the anguish in her muffled cries as she croaked out, “Please, please don’t kill me.”
He watched as his boss smirked at the young girl before him. “Sorry kid, but it has to be done. Your father betrayed me, now you must atone for your father’s mistake.”
Debbie felt the muzzle being pressed into the back of her head, as the safety was clicked off. “No! I don’t want to die!” she screamed out.
“Sorry kid. I know its unfortunate, but you only have your father to blame.” He paused. “Face it, every child must pay for the sins of their father. I can attest to that.”
Debbie felt all the hopes within her vanish as his words sunk in. She bent her head down and waited for the bullet to end her young life. Closing her eyes tightly, she held her breath. She heard the trigger being pulled, but nothing happened. What was going on? She heard the kidnapper laughing manically behind her. “Relax kid, it was a joke. You know, ha ha.” He patted her on the shoulder and walked away. Debbie laid her head down on the ground, and cried even harder.
Wayne came walking up to his boss. His anger overpowering him, he punched his boss in the face, knocking him into a muddy puddle. “You bastard! How could you do that to her? She’s just a kid for crying out a loud.” Wayne went over to Debbie. He knelt down beside her and held her, trying to comfort the girl.
His boss slowly got up and spitted some blood out. Rubbing his jaw, he walked over to Wayne. His boss had a blank look on his face as he looked down at him. “Wayne, I’m really surprised by your actions tonight. It seems you’ve gone soft on me. Taking up for this little brat is so unlike you.” Kneeling down in front of Debbie and Wayne he continued, “Wayne, that little incident you just pulled a few seconds ago is going to cost you dearly.”
Debbie’s head shot up at the kidnapper’s words. She couldn’t see the kidnapper’s face due to the darkness, and her eyes were still trying to adjust from their recent prison. “What do you mean cost him dearly? What are you going to do?”
Wayne knew his fate. He let go of Debbie and stood back up. Turning back to his boss he said with a defeated voice, “Just don’t do it in front of the kid.”
His boss flashed him an evil grin. “I’m sorry Wayne, but this will be a learning experience for her. It will teach her,” he paused and looked over at Debbie. “Never to cross me.”
Wayne felt two sweepers grab him by the arms. He didn’t fight them as they dragged him a little farther away, but not to far, so he was still in eye shot of Debbie. They pushed him down to his knees. He kept his head down, so he wouldn’t have to look at Debbie when he was shot. For some reason he didn’t feel scared.
Kevin watched all that unfolded before him. He would of never pegged Wayne as the child crusader type. Wayne had a shady past that no one could ever top, yet here he was, ready to die for this girl. Kevin looked to his right and saw his boss walking towards him.
“Kevin, its time to prove yourself to me to see how loyal you are to my plans,” said his boss.
Kevin was all to eager to please. “What do I need to do?”
His boss gave him his gun. “I know you are not to blame for the most recent predicament when it comes to Miss Parker. But, let this be a lesson to you when it comes to future problems. Now, I want you to go over and kill Wayne. One shot, in the back of the head, execution style.”
“I would be much oblige, sir.” Kevin slowly walked over. He’s never killed anyone before, but there’s always a first for something. He took deep breaths as he made his way over. He didn’t like blood, but he needed to get over this childish fear if he wanted to be the new leader. He stepped behind Wayne and pointed the gun to the back of his head. He could feel his hand becoming slick with sweat. Every heartbeat within his body reverberated in his temples. His heartbeat became so loud that it was the only noise he could focus on.
Still bent over, Wayne commented, “It’s not as easy as it looks kid, is it?”
Kevin clenched his jaw at the comment and then fired the shot. He watched as Wayne’s body fell to the ground. Kevin looked up. He saw his boss smile triumphantly at him. Looking behind his boss, he saw the girl screaming and covering her face as she cried into her hands. He looked down at Wayne and saw his head in a pool of his own blood. Bending down, he checked Wayne’s pulse. There was none. Standing back up with more confidence, he went over to his boss.
“Very good Kevin.” Turning to the sweepers his boss yelled out, “Get rid of the body.” Looking back at Kevin he said, “You’ve proven yourself to be a valuable asset. I see a bright future for you.”
Kevin was grinning from ear to ear. Looking over at Debbie he asked, “What about her? And what about Mr. Broots and Miss Parker? We need to make them pay for what they did. We need to kill the girl to prove our point.”
“No, I won’t kill the girl, at least not yet. As for Miss Parker and Broots, I want them to believe they have the upper hand on us. Just when they feel like they’re in control, we’ll take them down with everything we have.”
“Well, what do we do now?”
His boss looked at his watch, then back at him. “We’re leaving, but your coming with us. We need to set our plans in place for later on, when we meet Broots.”
The two men got in the black Lincoln Towne car with Debbie and the driver, driving back to their hideout.
XXXXXX
Jarod's Lair
When Broots came out of the bathroom he found Miss Parker sleeping on the couch. Instead of waking her, he decided to let her get some sleep. He walked about the house and found Jarod’s laptop. Taking the item with him, he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Once the laptop was booted up, he typed rapidly, trying to find any information about Debbie.
After twenty minutes of searching the Centre mainframe, he still couldn’t find anything. Feeling frustrated, he slammed his fist down on the table. Afraid that he woke Miss Parker, he looked back into the living room. He was surprised to still find her sleeping on the couch. Rubbing his eyes, he got up to get himself a glass of water.
He knew Miss Parker was right. He needed sleep, but he couldn’t. Not until Debbie was safe and sound, sleeping in her own bed. This was the ultimate torture for him. Debbie’s life was now in the hands of a madman. What scared him the most was that he couldn’t guarantee that she would come out of this alive. The thought made him shiver. If Debbie died he would never forgive himself.
When he walked back to the table he saw the living room light up. Walking across the floor, he went up to the window, pushing the curtains aside. A smile came to his face as he seen Jarod get out of the car, carrying some bags with him. Going to the door, he opened it to let Jarod inside.
“Here, let me help you with those,” Broots offered. Jarod was grateful and handed him some of the bags.
Walking to the kitchen, Jarod glanced at the sleeping form on the couch. “How’s she doing?”
Broots set the bags of groceries on the counter. “She was asleep when I got out of the shower. I guess, she’s doing as well as can be expected.”
Jarod looked over at Broots with concern. “How about you? How are you holding up?”
Broots leaned against the counter, looking at Jarod. “I’ve have so many emotions running through me right now. I just hate feeling so...so useless.”
“Mr. Broots, one thing you’re not is useless. I know you would do anything for your daughter. I’m sure she knows your doing everything you can to rescue her.” Jarod walked over to Broots and patted him on the shoulder. “She’s lucky to have a father like you.” Jarod walked back to the counter and started unloading the groceries.
Broots followed his lead and unloaded the bags that were near him. His face lit up when he saw the yellow plastic bag. “Jarod, how did you know I like these?”
“Let’s just say a little birdie told me. Besides, I thought you could use some comfort food.”
“Angelo,” Broots said to himself, putting the bag of Funyons down on the table. “Thank you...for everything.” He turned back around rummaging through the bag.
Looking through the bags Broots pulled out some Pez, Oreos, Twinkies, and Cracker Jacks. “I didn’t know you liked Cracker Jacks,” Broots commented.
Jarod turned around and looked at him. “They are a very tasty treat, but they’re not for me, they’re for Miss Parker.”
Broots gave him an astounded look. “I would never of pegged Miss Parker as the Cracker Jack type.”
Jarod turned back around and looked at Miss Parker. “One thing I’ve learned about her is to never assume nothing about her. Once you do, she’ll surprise you.”
Broots noticed the longing in Jarod’s gaze as he looked at Miss Parker. He walked over to him and stood beside him, following Jarod’s gaze. “You care for her, don’t you?”
Broots tried not to laugh as Jarod tried to distract himself, trying to ignore the question. Broots continued, “You don’t need to answer. I can tell by the way you’re trying to avoid the question.”
“Is it that obvious,” Jarod replied jokingly.
Broots just smiled and nodded yes. “Don’t worry though, I won’t say anything.” He went back to putting up the groceries.
Jarod let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Mr. Broots.” He hated to do this, but he needed to wake up Miss Parker, so he could fix up the cut on her hand. Walking up to her, he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by her beauty. The way the crackling fire glowed over her face was breathtaking. He didn’t realize he stopped breathing while watching her. Taking a deep breath he knelt down in front of her. He pushed a lock of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Whispering softly he said, “Miss Parker, wake up.” No response. He gently shook her shoulders, repeating his previous command. After a couple of seconds she slowly opened her eyes.
“What?” she asked sleepily.
Jarod flashed her his infamous grin. “I need to fix your hand.” He backed away and sat down on the coffee table opposite of her. She sat up and held out her hand. He took off the soiled bandage and cleaned the cut. He poured some peroxide on a washcloth and held it over the cut. “This might sting a bit.”
“I’ll be okay. I’ve handled worse.” She gave him a weak smile and bit her bottom lip.
Jarod dabbed her hand with the washcloth. He stopped when he heard her wince. “Sorry.” Once the cut was cleaned, he wrapped her hand in a freshly made bandage. Holding up her hand he said, “All done.” Without thinking, he quickly pressed his lips to the palm of her hand. Once he realized what he did he apologized profusely.
Miss Parker couldn’t help but chuckle at his rambling and nervousness. “Jarod, it’s okay. I’m not going to kill you or anything. You keep acting like this I might have to start calling you Broots.” She got up and rested her hand on his shoulder. Bending down, she whispered in his ear. “Thank you.” Then walked away into the kitchen.
Jarod gave her a bewildered look. Miss Parker never stopped amazing him. Getting up, he followed her and sat down at the table with Broots, who was still searching for any information.
“Broots, what did I tell you about getting some sleep?” she scolded lightly to the technician.
“Sorry Miss Parker, but I can’t. There’s no way I’m going to get any sleep until I know Debbie is safe.” Broots then turned back to the computer, snacking on his bag of Funyons.
Instead of arguing with Broots she sat down. “Well, have you found anything?”
“No, I haven’t, but I won’t give up.” Broots took a swig of Coke. “Miss Parker, did you tell Jarod about my theory as to why Raines wants you dead.”
“No, not yet.” She looked over at Jarod and started telling him Broots’ theory about whom the real target may be.
When Miss Parker was finished, Jarod stayed silent. After awhile he said through clenched teeth, “How could they do this?”
“Jarod, this is the Centre. They can do whatever they want, no matter who they hurt,” Miss Parker replied back.
“They’re not taking any chances when it comes to me, are they? Even if I didn’t take the bait with the hit put out on you, they knew I wouldn’t stand by when Debbie was kidnapped. Damnit!” In one sweep, Jarod knocked his drink onto the floor, spilling the liquid everywhere.
Miss Parker placed her hand on top of Jarod’s. “Jarod, you need to calm down. I know you’re angry, but you need to start taking your own advice. Remember what you told me earlier, when I wanted to go back to the Centre and find Raines. You told me cooler heads would prevail. And we will.”
Broots also chimed in. “She’s right you know. We all need clear heads if we’re going to get Debbie back.” Broots turned back to his computer and started typing frantically again. Coming to his last resort, he checked his email account at the Centre. He checked his email, finding only one message. There was a video attachment with it. Opening up the email, he gasped at what he saw.
Miss Parker looked over at Broots. “What is it? Did you find something?”
“It’s a video of Debbie.”
Miss Parker and Jarod both got up at the same time, and hovered over Broots’ shoulders. Broots played the video again. Debbie was sitting on a cot crying to herself. After a few minutes, the room became illuminated when the door underneath the mounted video camera opened up. With his back to the camera, Raines came in wheeling his oxygen tank behind him, followed by the younger man that Broots met with earlier at the lake
“Broots, turn up the volume,” Miss Parker said urgently.
“I can’t, Miss Parker. There’s no audio attached with it,” he replied back.
Raines stood in front of Debbie, flanked by his associate. He talked to the girl, but she wouldn’t cooperate with whatever he was saying. They watched as Debbie sat up a little straighter and then spat into Raines face. Raines took out his handkerchief and wiped the phlegm off. Then, out of nowhere, he backhanded Debbie.
“That son of a bitch!” Broots screamed out in anger.
Debbie held her face in her hands, trying not to cry in front of him. Broots could see her bottom lip trembling. They watched as Raines dug into his pocket and took out a vial and syringe. After a few more words, he then plunged the needle into Debbie’s arm. Within minutes the girl was asleep. Raines was just about to turn around when the video went dead.
“When I find him I’m going to kill him,” said Broots. This was the most angriest he’s ever been in his life.
Miss Parker was somewhat surprised by what Broots said. “Broots, killing someone is easier said than done.”
Broots turned to Miss Parker, rage blazing in his eyes. “No one is going to hurt my daughter and get away with it.” He got up and looked out the back window.
Miss Parker turned to Jarod. “Do you have any idea where they may be keeping her?”
Jarod shook his head no. Sitting in Broots’ chair he kept playing the video over an over again.
“What are you looking for?” Asked Miss Parker.
“Something about this video doesn’t seem right. It seems...to orchestrated.” Jarod continued to stare at the screen intently, finally he seen it. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Broots turned around and looked over his shoulder. “What? What is it?” he asked anxiously.
“Look here.” Jarod zoomed in on Raines’ left hand. A black leather glove covered his hand. Now they knew why they couldn’t see his face.
“It’s...It’s,” Miss Parker mumbled out.
Jarod finished for her. “It’s Mr. Lyle.”
To Be Continued...
Chapter 8
Wayne sat in the back seat of the black Lincoln Towne Car, looking out the window. As the car got closer to the lake, he couldn’t shake the uneasiness that was making its way through his body. The ride over was mostly made in silence. The only noise one could hear was the crying coming from the young girl sitting next to him.
He knew she was scared and tired. Having that blindfold on only frightened her more. Wayne wanted to make sure the girl would get out of this unscathed, but it was probably too late for that. He could only imagine what kind of psychological trauma this will cause her in the future.
The crying seemed to get louder with each passing mile. His boss was sitting in the front passenger seat, rubbing his forehead. Wayne had to do something before his boss would take out his anger on the girl. He leaned over and whispered gently in her ear, “Debbie, I know you’re scared, but you have to calm down. In a couple of more hours this will all be over soon, then you’ll be back with your father.”
Debbie heard the soft, southern voice in her ear. She was glad that Wayne was in the car with her. All the other kidnappers just ignored her and didn’t care about how she was feeling, but Wayne was different. He always made sure that she had something to eat, was warm, and tried to give her some kind of comfort when she started crying or got scared. Turning to the direction of his voice, she meekly nodded to him.
She tried to keep the tears away, but they seemed to have a mind of their own. All she wanted to do was to go home and see her Dad. She could feel her tears running down her cheeks. Trying to stifle the waterworks, she bit down on her lip. But it was no use; the tears kept coming as her thoughts went back to her father.
She missed him so much. Debbie could only imagine what he was going through right now. She still didn’t know why she was kidnapped, but she could count on her father to rescue her from this. He wouldn’t let her down because he was her father, her hero.
XXXXXX
Twenty minutes later, they were at the lake. There was an entourage of three cars that pulled up to Kevin’s car. Looking in the rearview mirror, Kevin winked and smiled to himself and got out of the car. Walking with a confident stride, he went to the car holding his boss.
Shaking his boss’ hand he said, “Sir, I’m sorry about the recent turn of events. I know my apologies aren’t enough, hopefully I will be able to make this up to you somehow.” His boss seemed to ignore him as he walked over to Kevin’s car.
Taking the keys out of Kevin’s hands, his boss opened the trunk. Kevin took out his flashlight, illuminating the trunk as his boss looked at the bag. His boss turned his face back towards him. Kevin took a step back and looked over at Wayne.
Wayne could feel the air escape him as he looked at the body bag. This has to be some trick that little shit, Kevin, was playing. Wayne never liked Kevin from the start. He always felt the kid was to young and stupid for his own good. Kevin was too cocky, and Wayne knew that kind of attitude would get you killed in the end, taking other people with you.
Wayne put on his stone face and looked at his boss. “Sir, we did our tests to make sure she was dead.” He turned his gaze towards Kevin, boring a hole through him. “Kevin did the tests and said that she was dead. I took his word for it because I believed him.”
Kevin stepped up to him. Their faces only separated by three inches. “You son of a bitch! Don’t blame your mistake on me. If you were any leader, you would have double-checked my work. The only person to blame here is you,” he hissed out.
Wayne stood his ground and stared him in the eyes. “Son, you have no idea who you’re dealing with. I suggest you back down before you make a bigger fool of yourself.”
The two men continued to glare at each other, until their boss interrupted their little pissing match. “You both are to blame for this, but only one will pay for their mistake.” Their boss waved his hand at the driver standing by his car. The driver nodded and walked to the back door. Opening the door, he grabbed Debbie by the arm and brought her over.
Kevin and Wayne exchanged confused looks. What was their boss going to do?
Their boss took in the girl’s appearance, and slowly walked around her. When he was facing her again, he took off the blindfold. Their boss grabbed Kevin’s flashlight and shun it in her eyes, making the girl squint.
Wayne took a step forward an asked, “Sir, what are you doing?”
His boss waved his free hand in the air, signaling the other men standing around. Wayne didn’t like this one bit. He felt like a defenseless rabbit, ready to be pounced on by wolves.
His boss continued to play with the flashlight, making the girl cry even more. Reaching his hand towards his back, he pulled out a gun. Throwing the flashlight down, his boss stood behind the girl and pushed her down to her knees. Wayne could feel the panic rising in him. He had to do something. “Sir, killing her is not the solution. She’s our trump card. You can’t kill our trump card.”
“Oh, but Wayne, you forgot one thing. I’m in charge of this. Not you two imbeciles. Figures I would have to clean up your mess.”
Wayne could see the anger and disgust on his boss’ face. Wayne looked down at Debbie and could see her sobbing. He could hear the anguish in her muffled cries as she croaked out, “Please, please don’t kill me.”
He watched as his boss smirked at the young girl before him. “Sorry kid, but it has to be done. Your father betrayed me, now you must atone for your father’s mistake.”
Debbie felt the muzzle being pressed into the back of her head, as the safety was clicked off. “No! I don’t want to die!” she screamed out.
“Sorry kid. I know its unfortunate, but you only have your father to blame.” He paused. “Face it, every child must pay for the sins of their father. I can attest to that.”
Debbie felt all the hopes within her vanish as his words sunk in. She bent her head down and waited for the bullet to end her young life. Closing her eyes tightly, she held her breath. She heard the trigger being pulled, but nothing happened. What was going on? She heard the kidnapper laughing manically behind her. “Relax kid, it was a joke. You know, ha ha.” He patted her on the shoulder and walked away. Debbie laid her head down on the ground, and cried even harder.
Wayne came walking up to his boss. His anger overpowering him, he punched his boss in the face, knocking him into a muddy puddle. “You bastard! How could you do that to her? She’s just a kid for crying out a loud.” Wayne went over to Debbie. He knelt down beside her and held her, trying to comfort the girl.
His boss slowly got up and spitted some blood out. Rubbing his jaw, he walked over to Wayne. His boss had a blank look on his face as he looked down at him. “Wayne, I’m really surprised by your actions tonight. It seems you’ve gone soft on me. Taking up for this little brat is so unlike you.” Kneeling down in front of Debbie and Wayne he continued, “Wayne, that little incident you just pulled a few seconds ago is going to cost you dearly.”
Debbie’s head shot up at the kidnapper’s words. She couldn’t see the kidnapper’s face due to the darkness, and her eyes were still trying to adjust from their recent prison. “What do you mean cost him dearly? What are you going to do?”
Wayne knew his fate. He let go of Debbie and stood back up. Turning back to his boss he said with a defeated voice, “Just don’t do it in front of the kid.”
His boss flashed him an evil grin. “I’m sorry Wayne, but this will be a learning experience for her. It will teach her,” he paused and looked over at Debbie. “Never to cross me.”
Wayne felt two sweepers grab him by the arms. He didn’t fight them as they dragged him a little farther away, but not to far, so he was still in eye shot of Debbie. They pushed him down to his knees. He kept his head down, so he wouldn’t have to look at Debbie when he was shot. For some reason he didn’t feel scared.
Kevin watched all that unfolded before him. He would of never pegged Wayne as the child crusader type. Wayne had a shady past that no one could ever top, yet here he was, ready to die for this girl. Kevin looked to his right and saw his boss walking towards him.
“Kevin, its time to prove yourself to me to see how loyal you are to my plans,” said his boss.
Kevin was all to eager to please. “What do I need to do?”
His boss gave him his gun. “I know you are not to blame for the most recent predicament when it comes to Miss Parker. But, let this be a lesson to you when it comes to future problems. Now, I want you to go over and kill Wayne. One shot, in the back of the head, execution style.”
“I would be much oblige, sir.” Kevin slowly walked over. He’s never killed anyone before, but there’s always a first for something. He took deep breaths as he made his way over. He didn’t like blood, but he needed to get over this childish fear if he wanted to be the new leader. He stepped behind Wayne and pointed the gun to the back of his head. He could feel his hand becoming slick with sweat. Every heartbeat within his body reverberated in his temples. His heartbeat became so loud that it was the only noise he could focus on.
Still bent over, Wayne commented, “It’s not as easy as it looks kid, is it?”
Kevin clenched his jaw at the comment and then fired the shot. He watched as Wayne’s body fell to the ground. Kevin looked up. He saw his boss smile triumphantly at him. Looking behind his boss, he saw the girl screaming and covering her face as she cried into her hands. He looked down at Wayne and saw his head in a pool of his own blood. Bending down, he checked Wayne’s pulse. There was none. Standing back up with more confidence, he went over to his boss.
“Very good Kevin.” Turning to the sweepers his boss yelled out, “Get rid of the body.” Looking back at Kevin he said, “You’ve proven yourself to be a valuable asset. I see a bright future for you.”
Kevin was grinning from ear to ear. Looking over at Debbie he asked, “What about her? And what about Mr. Broots and Miss Parker? We need to make them pay for what they did. We need to kill the girl to prove our point.”
“No, I won’t kill the girl, at least not yet. As for Miss Parker and Broots, I want them to believe they have the upper hand on us. Just when they feel like they’re in control, we’ll take them down with everything we have.”
“Well, what do we do now?”
His boss looked at his watch, then back at him. “We’re leaving, but your coming with us. We need to set our plans in place for later on, when we meet Broots.”
The two men got in the black Lincoln Towne car with Debbie and the driver, driving back to their hideout.
XXXXXX
Jarod's Lair
When Broots came out of the bathroom he found Miss Parker sleeping on the couch. Instead of waking her, he decided to let her get some sleep. He walked about the house and found Jarod’s laptop. Taking the item with him, he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Once the laptop was booted up, he typed rapidly, trying to find any information about Debbie.
After twenty minutes of searching the Centre mainframe, he still couldn’t find anything. Feeling frustrated, he slammed his fist down on the table. Afraid that he woke Miss Parker, he looked back into the living room. He was surprised to still find her sleeping on the couch. Rubbing his eyes, he got up to get himself a glass of water.
He knew Miss Parker was right. He needed sleep, but he couldn’t. Not until Debbie was safe and sound, sleeping in her own bed. This was the ultimate torture for him. Debbie’s life was now in the hands of a madman. What scared him the most was that he couldn’t guarantee that she would come out of this alive. The thought made him shiver. If Debbie died he would never forgive himself.
When he walked back to the table he saw the living room light up. Walking across the floor, he went up to the window, pushing the curtains aside. A smile came to his face as he seen Jarod get out of the car, carrying some bags with him. Going to the door, he opened it to let Jarod inside.
“Here, let me help you with those,” Broots offered. Jarod was grateful and handed him some of the bags.
Walking to the kitchen, Jarod glanced at the sleeping form on the couch. “How’s she doing?”
Broots set the bags of groceries on the counter. “She was asleep when I got out of the shower. I guess, she’s doing as well as can be expected.”
Jarod looked over at Broots with concern. “How about you? How are you holding up?”
Broots leaned against the counter, looking at Jarod. “I’ve have so many emotions running through me right now. I just hate feeling so...so useless.”
“Mr. Broots, one thing you’re not is useless. I know you would do anything for your daughter. I’m sure she knows your doing everything you can to rescue her.” Jarod walked over to Broots and patted him on the shoulder. “She’s lucky to have a father like you.” Jarod walked back to the counter and started unloading the groceries.
Broots followed his lead and unloaded the bags that were near him. His face lit up when he saw the yellow plastic bag. “Jarod, how did you know I like these?”
“Let’s just say a little birdie told me. Besides, I thought you could use some comfort food.”
“Angelo,” Broots said to himself, putting the bag of Funyons down on the table. “Thank you...for everything.” He turned back around rummaging through the bag.
Looking through the bags Broots pulled out some Pez, Oreos, Twinkies, and Cracker Jacks. “I didn’t know you liked Cracker Jacks,” Broots commented.
Jarod turned around and looked at him. “They are a very tasty treat, but they’re not for me, they’re for Miss Parker.”
Broots gave him an astounded look. “I would never of pegged Miss Parker as the Cracker Jack type.”
Jarod turned back around and looked at Miss Parker. “One thing I’ve learned about her is to never assume nothing about her. Once you do, she’ll surprise you.”
Broots noticed the longing in Jarod’s gaze as he looked at Miss Parker. He walked over to him and stood beside him, following Jarod’s gaze. “You care for her, don’t you?”
Broots tried not to laugh as Jarod tried to distract himself, trying to ignore the question. Broots continued, “You don’t need to answer. I can tell by the way you’re trying to avoid the question.”
“Is it that obvious,” Jarod replied jokingly.
Broots just smiled and nodded yes. “Don’t worry though, I won’t say anything.” He went back to putting up the groceries.
Jarod let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Mr. Broots.” He hated to do this, but he needed to wake up Miss Parker, so he could fix up the cut on her hand. Walking up to her, he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by her beauty. The way the crackling fire glowed over her face was breathtaking. He didn’t realize he stopped breathing while watching her. Taking a deep breath he knelt down in front of her. He pushed a lock of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Whispering softly he said, “Miss Parker, wake up.” No response. He gently shook her shoulders, repeating his previous command. After a couple of seconds she slowly opened her eyes.
“What?” she asked sleepily.
Jarod flashed her his infamous grin. “I need to fix your hand.” He backed away and sat down on the coffee table opposite of her. She sat up and held out her hand. He took off the soiled bandage and cleaned the cut. He poured some peroxide on a washcloth and held it over the cut. “This might sting a bit.”
“I’ll be okay. I’ve handled worse.” She gave him a weak smile and bit her bottom lip.
Jarod dabbed her hand with the washcloth. He stopped when he heard her wince. “Sorry.” Once the cut was cleaned, he wrapped her hand in a freshly made bandage. Holding up her hand he said, “All done.” Without thinking, he quickly pressed his lips to the palm of her hand. Once he realized what he did he apologized profusely.
Miss Parker couldn’t help but chuckle at his rambling and nervousness. “Jarod, it’s okay. I’m not going to kill you or anything. You keep acting like this I might have to start calling you Broots.” She got up and rested her hand on his shoulder. Bending down, she whispered in his ear. “Thank you.” Then walked away into the kitchen.
Jarod gave her a bewildered look. Miss Parker never stopped amazing him. Getting up, he followed her and sat down at the table with Broots, who was still searching for any information.
“Broots, what did I tell you about getting some sleep?” she scolded lightly to the technician.
“Sorry Miss Parker, but I can’t. There’s no way I’m going to get any sleep until I know Debbie is safe.” Broots then turned back to the computer, snacking on his bag of Funyons.
Instead of arguing with Broots she sat down. “Well, have you found anything?”
“No, I haven’t, but I won’t give up.” Broots took a swig of Coke. “Miss Parker, did you tell Jarod about my theory as to why Raines wants you dead.”
“No, not yet.” She looked over at Jarod and started telling him Broots’ theory about whom the real target may be.
When Miss Parker was finished, Jarod stayed silent. After awhile he said through clenched teeth, “How could they do this?”
“Jarod, this is the Centre. They can do whatever they want, no matter who they hurt,” Miss Parker replied back.
“They’re not taking any chances when it comes to me, are they? Even if I didn’t take the bait with the hit put out on you, they knew I wouldn’t stand by when Debbie was kidnapped. Damnit!” In one sweep, Jarod knocked his drink onto the floor, spilling the liquid everywhere.
Miss Parker placed her hand on top of Jarod’s. “Jarod, you need to calm down. I know you’re angry, but you need to start taking your own advice. Remember what you told me earlier, when I wanted to go back to the Centre and find Raines. You told me cooler heads would prevail. And we will.”
Broots also chimed in. “She’s right you know. We all need clear heads if we’re going to get Debbie back.” Broots turned back to his computer and started typing frantically again. Coming to his last resort, he checked his email account at the Centre. He checked his email, finding only one message. There was a video attachment with it. Opening up the email, he gasped at what he saw.
Miss Parker looked over at Broots. “What is it? Did you find something?”
“It’s a video of Debbie.”
Miss Parker and Jarod both got up at the same time, and hovered over Broots’ shoulders. Broots played the video again. Debbie was sitting on a cot crying to herself. After a few minutes, the room became illuminated when the door underneath the mounted video camera opened up. With his back to the camera, Raines came in wheeling his oxygen tank behind him, followed by the younger man that Broots met with earlier at the lake
“Broots, turn up the volume,” Miss Parker said urgently.
“I can’t, Miss Parker. There’s no audio attached with it,” he replied back.
Raines stood in front of Debbie, flanked by his associate. He talked to the girl, but she wouldn’t cooperate with whatever he was saying. They watched as Debbie sat up a little straighter and then spat into Raines face. Raines took out his handkerchief and wiped the phlegm off. Then, out of nowhere, he backhanded Debbie.
“That son of a bitch!” Broots screamed out in anger.
Debbie held her face in her hands, trying not to cry in front of him. Broots could see her bottom lip trembling. They watched as Raines dug into his pocket and took out a vial and syringe. After a few more words, he then plunged the needle into Debbie’s arm. Within minutes the girl was asleep. Raines was just about to turn around when the video went dead.
“When I find him I’m going to kill him,” said Broots. This was the most angriest he’s ever been in his life.
Miss Parker was somewhat surprised by what Broots said. “Broots, killing someone is easier said than done.”
Broots turned to Miss Parker, rage blazing in his eyes. “No one is going to hurt my daughter and get away with it.” He got up and looked out the back window.
Miss Parker turned to Jarod. “Do you have any idea where they may be keeping her?”
Jarod shook his head no. Sitting in Broots’ chair he kept playing the video over an over again.
“What are you looking for?” Asked Miss Parker.
“Something about this video doesn’t seem right. It seems...to orchestrated.” Jarod continued to stare at the screen intently, finally he seen it. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Broots turned around and looked over his shoulder. “What? What is it?” he asked anxiously.
“Look here.” Jarod zoomed in on Raines’ left hand. A black leather glove covered his hand. Now they knew why they couldn’t see his face.
“It’s...It’s,” Miss Parker mumbled out.
Jarod finished for her. “It’s Mr. Lyle.”
To Be Continued...
