"Mikey Conrade give me back my book bag!" squealed a six- year old Stephanie as she chased the boy the schoolyard. She tried with all she could to chase her older, bigger bully in hopes to retrieve her book bag, but in reality she knew that she would have never caught him. Then all of the sudden, Mikey came to a screeching halt. He froze in terror when he came face to face with the three guys he knew never to mess with.
"Hummm…bulling little kids, are we?" The first boy questioned.
"And a six-year old girl mind you." replied the second voice who was staring down at the frightened bully.
"Who happens to be my sister!" hollered the third voice, who pushed his way through the other two guys to come face to face with his sister's attacker.
"C..C..Come on Shane I did not know she was your sister man." trembled Mikey Conrade, "Here she can have her silly bag back, just don't wale on me!" He promptly handed Stephanie back her bag and tried to leave, but Shane stopped him. Though both boys were twelve and could have easily gotten into a fight, it was obvious that Shane had the upper hand; he was in control.
"Wale on you, wale on you! What makes me think I would wale on you? That is where the two of us are different. You bully little kids, I bully you to protect the little kids. You try to be cool and popular by getting everyone to fear you. I, on the other hand, know I am popular for the simple reason that I only have to make you fear me. I am a hero in the eyes of your victims. Now get out of here before I do change my mind and beat you up!"
"Y..Y..Yes Shane." Mikey called as he was running away from the group.
"I could have got him Shane" Stephanie alleged to her big brother.
"Mikey Conrade is the fastest runner in the school you would have never caught him" Shane laughed taking his little sister by the hand.
"What are you doing, we have to wait for mom!" Stephanie said trying to jerk her hand away from Shane.
"Mom had a meeting at work, and Dad is still out of town, so mom is actually trusting us to walk home by ourselves." Shane answer backed to his sister while waving goodbye to Rodney and Pete, his partners in crime, who were staying after school to play some touch football. Shane and Stephanie immediately began walking towards their house, which was only four blocks away. While walking home, Shane tried to make conversation with his sister by asking her about her day at school.
"Well…" Stephanie began, "today we learned how to add double numbers. Did you know that 12 and 13 makes 25? And in art class, I drew a picture of the family. And……." Stephanie went on and on about her day in the first grade. Shane listened and smiled at his sister as she talked. After about two blocks Stephanie was done talking about her day and was about to ask Shane about his day when a black car with tinted windows drove up to them and stopped the window then proceeded to roll down.
"Excuse me, are you Shane and Stephanie McMahon?" The driver of the car asked
"Yes." responded Shane keeping his distance from the car and especially keeping Stephanie away. "Who are you?"
"I work for your mother Linda at Titan Tower and she asked me to pick you two up and take you there."
"Okay" Stephanie beamed as she began toward the car. Shane held her back.
"No that's okay we will just walk home." Shane called to the car.
"No she asked me to bring you there she has to work late and does not want you home by yourselves." The man hollered back without hesitation in his voice.
"Come on Shane he knows mommy and where she works, he must really work for her." Stephanie said urging her brother to go to the car.
"Okay then." Shane informed Stephanie letting his guard down. They both walked toward the car and got inside the backseat. After about ten minutes of driving, Shane looked out the window and got worried. This was not the way to Titan Tower.
"Excuse me," Shane began "This is not the way to Titan Tower."
"Sit back and shut up!" the driver of the car bellowed to Shane "I know this is not the way to Titan Tower. You're a fuckin' idiot if you believe I actually work for your mother!"
Shane finally realized that him and Stephanie were just kidnapped he started to bang on the door and open it he also tried to roll down the window to scream for help. It did no good as and the man reached behind him and smacked Shane up side the head. Stephanie started to scream and cry.
"Shut up, sit still, and shut that little girl up too." The kidnapper bellowed at Shane
Shane shushing his little sister thought to himself, how could he be so stupid. His parents constantly reminded him and Stephanie not to take any rides from people they did not know. However, for some reason Shane trusted the guy and truly believed he worked for Linda.
"Where are you taking us and what do you want with us?" Shane blurted rubbing is hit head.
"To answer your first question it is for me to know and for you to find out. To answer your second question your dad is becoming on of the most richest man in the US, and I am after some money, what better way then to kidnap his kids."
"You bastard" Shane retorted to the kidnapper.
"Oh like I'm really scared of a twelve year old" the kidnapper replied sarcastically
Shane sat back and tried to think of a way to get him and Stephanie away from this deranged lunatic.
"Shane, I want mommy and daddy," Stephanie whispered to him as he was trying to think. Shane put his arm around Stephanie and told her everything would be fine but she would need to stay quiet. After about another half hour of driving they finally reached their destination where ever that was, Shane did not know. The kidnapper parked the car in the driveway and opened the back door of the car grabbing Shane and Stephanie out. Shane then tried kicking the assailant in hopes to break he and Stephanie free, but instead the kidnapper punched Shane in the eye causing his eye to start to swell and Stephanie to start to scream and cry again. The kidnapper dragged Shane and the crying Stephanie through the house they were in and took them down into the basement.
"You two, get in there!" snarled the angry kidnapper as he tried to push a frightened Stephanie and a banged up Shane into a room in the basement. "I do not want to hear a fuckin' peep out of either one of you!"
"Or what?" Shane retorted finally finding his second wind of courage.
"Or," the fouled mouth kidnapper shot back grabbing a screaming Stephanie by the hair, "little bastard, you, will become an only child." The kidnapper then laughed and pushed Stephanie on to the floor and walked out of the room locking the door on his way out.
"Stephanie," gasped Shane.
Shane rushed over to Stephanie and checked her for injuries. When he found none, he sat on the cold floor. He was scared and wanted to cry himself but he had to be strong, as always for the sake, of Stephanie. Stephanie on the other hand was still balling and screaming for her mommy and daddy, it turned Shane's attention to her to try to calm her so the kidnapper would not come back and harm her. Shane motioned Stephanie over to sit next to Shane. Once she sat down, Shane embraced her and started rocking her back and forth telling her it will all be okay, it will all be okay. He told her how much he loved her and how much mom and dad cared. He told her how she needed to be quiet so the bad man would not come for her. He needed her to be brave and strong he told her.
Finally, after none of his words of comfort worked he did the only logical thing he started softly singing her favorite song in hopes to calm her down and maybe getting her to fall asleep.
*****Beneath the trees where nobody sees, they'll hide and seek as long as they please 'Cause that's the way the Teddy Bears have their picnic If you go down to the woods today You'd better not go alone It's lovely down in the woods today But safer to stay at home For ev'ry bear that ever there was Will gather there for certain, because Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic….******
Shane kept singing a rocking his baby sister in hopes to calm her down while trying to fight back the onslaught of his own tears. He was scared out of his mind and did not know what to do. For once in his twelve-year existence, he could not talk or bully his way out of a situation. He was doing his best to protect Stephanie but he did not know how long he could last. He did not know what the kidnapper was capable of doing. For once in his life, he wished someone were there to protect him. After what seemed forever, Stephanie finally cried herself to sleep in Shane's arm. He hugged her tighter and kissed her forehead softly.
Without waking his sister Shane whispered, "Daddy", broke down, and started to cry.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Shane, Stephanie I'm home." called out Linda as she walked in the door carrying her briefcase and the mail. Linda usually left the office in time to pick up her children from school but today she had a meeting that she could not reschedule. She left the office immediately following the meeting. This was the first time that she let Shane and Stephanie walk home from school and stay home by themselves.
"Shane? Stephanie?" Linda kept calling their names, but she received no response. She kept calling their name as she wandered the house looking for her children. They were not in their rooms, or the family room, the den was empty, they were not out back playing. She started to get worried.
"Shane, Stephanie if you two are playing a game it is not funny, come out now," Linda hollered in her stern mean mother voice. Still she got no response.
Then it hit Linda, Tuesdays Shane likes to play touch football with his friends, and maybe him and Stephanie are still at school playing. She grabbed her car keys and drove to the school. When she got there and found the playground to be empty, she became very worried and Linda then raced home to call the police.
When she raced in the door to get to the phone she noticed that there was a message on the machine that was not there when she got home from work. In hopes, that it was one of her kids, Linda quickly pressed the play button and what the message had to say took Linda aback.
****Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, they're mine!! The ill-tempered bastard and the sniveling little brat. If you ever want to see them alive again, I suggest you stay near the phone!!****
"NOOOOOO!!!!" screamed Linda as she quickly saved the message and picked up the phone to call the police.
"Hello…. 911?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane tried his best to stop crying, but he just could not. It was his fault that they were in this situation. If only he had not let his guard down, Stephanie and he would be at home right now playing, instead of sitting in a dark room, god knows where. He was tired, exhausted, and wanted to sleep but this time Shane knew not to let his guard down.
"Shane you got to be strong, for Stephanie's sake,"
Shane thought to himself trying to dry his tears with his shirt sleeve, "You can not let Stephanie see you like this, it will just scare her more."
"Mommy…Daddy… where are you?" Stephanie cried out in her sleep "Keep the bad man away from me!"
By now, Stephanie was getting louder and she started to thrash in her sleep at the onslaught of her nightmare.
"Shhh…Steph, it will be okay," Shane whispered as he once again began to rock his baby sister back and forth.
"Shane?" Stephanie called out as she began to awake.
Shane reassured her that it would all be fine as Stephanie slowly started to open her eyes. Shane once again told her she needed to be quiet or the bad man would come for her. He still hugged and rocked her as she lay in his arms looking up in wide eyes, being as silent as she could but with tears still rolling down her cheeks.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"…Shane… he was wearing jeans… a Greenwich junior football league tee-shirt… and sneakers…" Linda replied to one of the many cops that now surrounded her home as she was frantically searching for a recent photograph of her two children, "… Stephanie… was wearing… wearing… oh god I can not even remember what my own daughter wore to school…"
"It's okay Mrs. McMahon," the officer said in a professional but yet comforting voice. "Take your time."
"I believe Stephanie was wearing her purple sundress with the pink flowers on them and white sneakers," was Linda's final response as she found a picture of her two kids taken last summer on a vacation to the Grand Canyon.
Just then, Vince comes frantically running in. He decided to come home early from his business trip to surprise his family and the minute that he saw all of the police cars he began to think the worst; someone in his family must be dead.
"Linda…Shane…Stephanie…" Vince called out with a worried tone in his voice as he shoved his way through the group of cops mingling in his living room.
"Linda?" Vince questioned as he came face to face with his wife. Linda turned and embraced Vince as she broke down and began to ball even harder. Vince hugged Linda tighter, with fear in his eyes, questioning what was wrong, trying to get her to calm down so he could get some answers from her all the while scanning the room for his children.
"Mr. McMahon, I assume?" asked the officer who was interviewing Linda when Vince came charging in.
"Yes, what the HELL is going on! Where are my children?" Vince replied, his voice changing from a worried tone to a pissed off tone.
"Sir, if you would calm down…" the officer began, "we have reason to believe that Shane and Stephanie were kidnapped."
"Reason to believe…REASON TO BELIEVE!" Linda called in a stern, shaking voice as she lifted herself from Vince's embrace. "You heard the message yourself, he…that bastard…who ever he is…he has my precious babies… and it's all my fault!"
"What do you mean it's all your fault? How…how did this happen?" Vince asked Linda as he tried to comfort her again, this time Linda pulled away not going near her husband.
"I had a meeting a work…I told Shane to walk home with Stephanie…It's all my fault…It's all my fault!!" Linda screamed falling to the floor crying again. This time she did not fight when Vince got on his knees and wrapped his arms around his grieving wife. He told her it would all be okay, that Shane and Stephanie must be okay, and that he and the police would do everything in their power to bring their children home safe and sound.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Shane, how are we going to get out of here?" Stephanie quietly whispered to her older brother. There was no obvious way out seeing as there was no window in the room and that the door remained locked.
"Steph, I honestly don't know, but do not worry I am here to protect you." Shane whispered back. Just then, unexpectedly the door burst open and in walked the kidnapper apparently intoxicated, drunk off his ass. Both Shane and Stephanie looked up to see their captor and both embraced each other tight.
"Give her to me NOW!" he screamed as he looked down to Shane and Stephanie trying to grab for Stephanie.
"NO! You can't have her!!!" Shane responded grabbing a tighter hold of his sister.
"BOY, don't you back talk me!" the kidnapper growled bending down grabbing Shane by the neck and bringing him up to the kidnapper's level, leaving a frightened Stephanie curled up in a ball on the floor.
"Bastard, when are you going to learn you can not defeat me." the kidnapper snapped in a drunken voice as he tossed Shane across the room.
Shane hit the concrete floor with a THUD. Stephanie then began to scream, as Shane lay lifeless on the floor. The kidnapper then lunged for Stephanie grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the room protesting the entire way.
"Shane!!!" was the last words out of Stephanie's mouth before the kidnapper shut the door leaving Shane alone and unconscious in the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Mr…Mrs. McMahon…" the officer began cautiously as not to infuriate Vince and Linda further, "I think it is time that I go over the best course of action in this situation."
The officer's cautious speak did not go over well with Vince as he berated the officer and told him that the best course of action was to find his children. Soon though after getting the one final yell of his chest, Vince and Linda listened whole-heartedly as the officer told them what he had planned.
"First and for most, I need the two of you to stay here by the phone, in case the kidnapper calls again, I will be right here with the two of you. We have also tapped your phone with a tracking device. When the kidnapper does call; we will be able to track the location of the phone call and in all hope find your kids. In the mean time, I have my men searching the town and the surrounding areas, just to be on the safe side. Please don't worry, I am a father myself and I will not rest until you are reunited with your children."
With that last sentence said, it some how calmed the out right showing fears in Linda and the deep hidden emotions in Vince. Some how knowing that this officer was a parent as well, made them realize that he cares and is not just doing his job. With nothing else to do, Vince and Linda sat in silence by the phone and waited.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Let me go…LET ME GO!!!!" Stephanie screamed still protesting, trying to get out of the kidnapper's grasp. She did every thing her little six-year-old mind could come up with, she screamed, squirmed, bit, and hit. Stephanie's attempts were unsuccessful, as the kidnapper was more powerful even in his drunken stupor.
"Shut up you waste for a human life," the kidnapper roared back as he slapped Stephanie across the face. Stephanie immediately started to scream louder but it was nothing more than a dull roar seeing as her voice was starting to get hoarse.
"Shut up, be a good girl, and do what I say or you will end up worse than your bastard brother."
"Shane." Stephanie replied in a monotone voice. She immediately shut up. She did not know if he was dead or alive. She did not want to end up like him so she decided to do what the kidnapper asked. It was her turn to be strong for both Shane and herself, so in a instant, Stephanie went from the capacity of a six year old to the mentality of Shane.
"Shane this is for you" Stephanie thought to herself as she willing quit protesting and followed her captor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane slowly started to come to. He awoke but found himself disoriented and not remembering where he was and his left arm hurt. It is probably broken Shane thought to himself. After about five minutes of lying on the cold concrete floor, the day's events came flooding back to him Mikey Conrade, the kidnapping, being tossed across the room, and most important protecting Stephanie.
"Stephanie," Shane called out as he was trying to get up off the floor, unsuccessfully. The minute Shane started to get up, using his good arm to pull himself up he fell back down, and dizziness taking over and the room becoming black again as Shane found himself starting to pass out.
"No! This cannot be happening to me. I have to find a way to stay awake, for Stephanie's sake. Daddy where are you, I need your help." Shane cried to himself as again tried to stand, again unsuccessful.
Not knowing what else to do, Shane began to crawl towards the door in hopes that the kidnapper left it unlock.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Now that is better" soothed the kidnapper as he released his grip on Stephanie. Fear told Stephanie not to run; besides, if Shane were in this position he would not run. "Are you going to continue to be a good girl?"
"Y…Y…Yes." replied Stephanie.
"Good. Now you listen to me and listen to me good, when I hand you the phone all I want you to say is Shane and I are fine, do not worry and I love you. If you say anything else I will kill you."
The kidnapper picked up the phone and began to dial.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Ring Ring Ring"
Linda, Vince, and the officer all sprang to life as Vince lunged for the phone. The officer quickly switched on the tracking device and motioned Vince to answer.
"Hello"
"Ahh…Mr. McMahon… the genius millionaire himself."
"Who is this?" Vince demanded
"Now is that the way to talk to the man who holds your precious children." was the only response that the kidnapper gave Vince.
"What do you want from me, why did you take my children?" Vince asked.
"It is simple, you are rich, and I am poor."
"Money is that all you want? You can have it, as much as you want, just please do not harm my children." Vince pleaded. Linda and the officer looked on with Linda being near Vince so she could catch a glimpse of what the kidnapper was saying.
"I knew you would give in. I shall call you back soon with my demands." Right before the kidnapper hung up Vince stopped him and told him that he needed proof that his children were all right. The kidnapper agreed and then whispered to Stephanie "Don't fuck this up little girl" and promptly handed the phone to Stephanie.
"Daddy?" Stephanie said in a scared hoarse tone.
"Oh my god, Stephanie." Vince beamed with tears starting to fall down his cheeks, his first sign of emotion during this whole ordeal. Linda brightened up as well as she leaned closer to the phone to hear her only daughter.
"Daddy, I love you, Shane and me are fine.." Stephanie replied looking over towards the kidnapper to make sure what she said next would not upset him. On the other end of the phone, Vince got an unsettling pain in his stomach. Just from the way, Stephanie said she was fine, the tone in her voice sent the message that her and Shane were not allright and something was gravely wrong. "Please hurry, come, and get me daddy"
"I love you too Stephanie, do not worry, sweetie, daddy is working on bringing you and Shane home safe and sound."
The kidnapper grabbed the phone before Stephanie could here the rest of what her daddy had to say. The kidnapper quickly screamed some obscenities into the telephone and hung up.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Well did you get the location?" Vince asked the officer as he was drying his tears, bringing back his tough man protector persona. The officer paid no mind to Vince as he was already on the phone making calls.
"Yes the number traced is KL5-7211. The address is 8255 West Cambridge in Stamford Yes get the men out there NOW! I am on my way." the officer reported to the person on the other end of the phone.
"Mr. and Mrs. McMahon, I think we got it. I am sending some men to the location now and some officers from Stamford. I am on my way now."
"We are going with you." Linda responded.
"No, I am sorry, you two cannot. The kidnapper is set to call again with his demands and we cannot let on that we know were he is. It is better that you two stay here and intercept that call. I will let you know when we have your kids."
"I cannot just sit there. Those are my children. They are in trouble…" Vince went on to tell the officer what Stephanie and the kidnapper told him. He went on to say how there was something unsettling in Stephanie's voice that clued him in to know that not all was okay.
"I am sorry Mr. McMahon the best thing you can do is to stay put. If after you receive the call and want to come then, please do so. But until you get that call stay put, for the sake of you children." With that said the officer walked out of the room and out of the house and hopped in his car towards the whereabouts of Shane and Stephanie.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane crawled his way to the door and reached over to open it. Much to his surprise he found it to be unlocked. He figured that the kidnapper either thought Shane was dead or was too drunk to remember to lock the door. Shane crawled his way out of the room and into the rest of the basement and slowly made his way to the staircase. He once again attempted to stand this time actually being able too. The room started to spin but, Shane focused on getting up those stairs to find the Stephanie and her captor.
"Come on Shane, you can do this. You have to do this." Shane keep chanting to himself over and over again as he plodded his way up the stairs slowly, one by one. Finally reaching his goal of the top stair he slowly opened the door and peeked through. He found the kidnapper seated at the kitchen table next to the phone, beer in hand, with Stephanie curled up in a ball on a chair next to the kidnapper.
"Stephanie…"Shane whispered in hopes to get her attention. Stephanie heard her name being called and looked towards the basement door and brightened up when she saw, that her big brother was indeed alive. Unfortunately the kidnapper to heard the call and looked up to see Shane standing there.
"Well, well, well look at what we got here." the kidnapper beamed.
"Let us go, you fuckin' asshole." Shane hollered in the loudest voice possible which really was not very loud, nothing more than a loud whisper.
"Humph…I am not through with you yet. I have one more call to make and then I am going to be RICH RICH RICH!" the kidnapper laughed. "And you are not going to get in the way of that." the kidnapper once again lunged for Shane and picked him up.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Shane protested.
Instead of tossing him across the room, the kidnapper threw him down the basement stairs and slammed the door. Stephanie then proceeded to start screaming and crying again, she got up off the chair and began to run. She did not get very far before the kidnapper grabbed her.
"No you don't little brat. You are staying right here with me." the kidnapper quipped as he plopped back down on the chair with Stephanie squirming the entire time. He then proceeded to dial the McMahon's once more.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hello, Hello" Vince screamed into the phone promptly picking it up on the first ring.
"A million dollars. I want a million dollars in unmarked bills. I will call tomorrow with the location." and the kidnapper hung up the phone, but not before Vince could hear Stephanie in the back ground crying.
"Come on Linda, let's go!" as Vince hung up the phone and grabbed his car keys.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Let me go….let me go… once my daddy finds us you are going to be in serious trouble."
"No, once your daddy finds you, you will be dead and I will be a rich SOB in the Cayman Islands. Now how many times do I have to tell you to SHUT UP!" the kidnapper then proceeded to slap Stephanie again.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Vince, do you blame me for all of this." Linda asked in a hushed voice.
"Linda, honey, I don't blame you. Honest, I don't. We only live a few blocks away from the school. You could not foresee this happening. Please don't blame yourself." Vince replied to his distraught wife, not taking his eyes off the road.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"We have the house in view." replied the officer who has been aiding the McMahon's the entire time, as Vince and Linda arrived upon the scene, which happened to be a block from where Shane and Stephanie were being held.
"What do you plan to do to get my children?" Vince asked concerned that the police had not already retrieved his kids.
"Why the ambulances?" Linda queried.
"Just a precautionary measure. Don't worry, it will all be over soon." the officer replied and walked away from Vince and Linda.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Ding Dong……." ringed the doorbell.
"I am going to answer that door don't you do anything stupid or you know what I will do to you."
"Hurt me real bad." Stephanie quivered.
The kidnapper then grabbed Stephanie by the arm and dragged her to the door with him. He peered out the peephole and found a man standing at the door.
"What can I do you for?" the kidnapper asked the stranger at the door.
"I am sorry to be a bother, but my car broke down and I need to borrow you phone to call a tow truck."
"Sure come in." the kidnapper responded rolling his eyes.
The stranger, who was really a cop in disguise, stepped in the door and commented on the beauty of the kidnapper's daughter, in which the kidnapper mumbled thanks. The kidnapper then proceeded to turn around and lead the stranger into the kitchen to the phone. The moment that the kidnapper turned around, the stranger pulled a police club out from under his shirt and smacked the kidnapper upside the head. Stephanie began to scream and run as the kidnapper hit the floor. Before the kidnapper had the chance to get up to retaliate, the cop was on top of him handcuffing him.
"You have the right to remain silent…" and so on the police officer read the kidnapper's Miranda rights. The cop then yelled outside to the other cops and to Vince and Linda that he has the kidnapper in custody.
"Shane…Stephanie…" Linda called out looking for her children
Stephanie stopped dead in her tracks as she was running through the house trying to find a way out of the house. "Mommy…."
"Stephanie!"
"Mommy…Daddy…." Stephanie screamed, even though most would not call it a scream, as she raced back to the front of the house. When she finally saw her parents standing in the middle of the room she ran into there open arms. It was all over. Finally, it was all over.
"Stephanie, it's going to all right," Linda said between sobs.
"Mommy I was so scared."
"I know baby. Where is your brother?"
"The bad man hurt Shane." Stephanie replied to her parents, starting to get scared again. "He picked him up and threw him twice, and plus hit him on the head."
"Shane…where is Shane?" the officer asked the kidnapper as he was escorting him out of the house.
"Bottom of the basement" the kidnapper replied in a monotone voice not caring anymore.
One of the other cops proceeded to the basement and was shocked at his grave discovery. Shane lay lifeless at the bottom of the stairs unconscious. From some miracle of god, Shane was still breathing.
"Get the EMT's in here NOW!" he screamed
"Shane!" Linda yelled. Vince quickly ran towards the basement. He looked down, saw his son at the bottom of the stairs, and quickly responded with an "OH my GOD SHANE!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After about an hour in surgery to put metal plates in his broken arm, Shane was in his private room in the ICU. Besides the broken arm, Shane had a punctured lung, bruised ribs, a concussion, and a mild skull fracture. The doctors let Vince, Linda, and Stephanie into his room, but told them that the ICU only allows one bedside visitor per patient. They will bend the rules for a few minutes, but they would have to make it quick.
"Shane I love you.." Linda began, "please…please…be alright."
"Shane you protected me and comforted me, rest now." Stephanie whispered leaning over and kissing Shane on the forehead.
At the request of Vince, Linda took Stephanie home so they could both get some rest. Vince promised that he would call Linda if something major happened with Shane. He kissed both his wife and daughter and told him how much he loved them and the officer who had been with the McMahon's the entire time escorted Linda and Stephanie out of the room and to their car.
It had been over a day since Vince last saw sleep, but he did not care. His main concern was the welfare of his son, who was lying unconscious in the hospital bed. Vince leaned over, kissed Shane slowly on the forehead and took hold of his one unbroken hand.
"My son…" Vince began to sob with stream after stream of hot sweaty tears running down his face.
After about three hours off sitting in silence holding his son's hand, Vince found himself starting to dose off. Just as Vince was about to close his eyes, something happened. Shane started to thrash in his unconscious slumber with a pain stricken look on his face. Vince looked up, startled, at his son and was about to call the doctor when Shane started mumbling.
"Stephanie…Stephanie….leave her….leave me alone….stay away from me…daddy….where are you…daddy I need you…."
Vince immediately sat on the edge of the bed and enveloped Shane into an embrace as much as Shane's injuries would permit. Vince started to comfort his son in his time of need. Tears of pain started to swell up in Vince's eyes but he did not let them fall.
Vince wanted nothing more to trade places with Shane, to be the one suffering and hurting. Shane eyes slowly opened and Shane started to get scared at the face he was now looking at, thinking it was still the kidnapper. Shane tried to move, but Vince held on tighter.
"Shh…Shane…it's all right. Everything is going to be fine." Vince soothed. Shane looking up realizing who was holding him and slowly started to calm down.
"Dad? Daddy?" Shane questioned in a dull whisper.
"Yes Shane it is me. It is all over, don't worry anymore, everything's fine." Vince soothed rocking his son back and forth.
Shane came to the realization that everything was fine and that he and Stephanie were going to be okay he started to break down and cry in his father's arm. These were not tears of sadness, but rather tears of joy and protection. He was safe and sound and his dad was finally giving the protection that Shane so longed for since this whole ordeal began.
"My…my…hero…" Shane tried to whisper between sobs.
"No son, you're my hero." Vince replied letting the swelled up tears in his eyes start to fall, as he was slowly, gently rocking Shane back and forth "I love you!"
