The kid was pushed hard enough that he stumbled. It was only by the grace of his captor grabbing one of his arms that he didn't fall down. His hands were bound behind his back and there was a gag in his mouth. But for all the discomfort, he was being given back to his family. The money had been given and left and it wasn't marked. It'd been checked over thoroughly before they got Glenn ready for his return.
He was being left in a warehouse on the other side of the city from where the money had been dropped. The older of the two that had been holding him got the cash and checked it. Then he'd called the younger and he'd gotten Glenn trussed up and moving. He'd be tied down to a metal pole and the cops called once the second man was out of the area. He'd go back home.
There was nothing on him to trace the men. They'd worn gloves every step of the way and did voice changers for the phone calls. It was going to be a clean getaway and Glenn knew it. The cops would, of course, ask him questions. About if he could see their faces or recognize their voices. And he'd be able to truthfully say no to the first.
But even if he said yes to the second, there was no real proof to tie the Dixon brothers to the kidnapping. Both had air-tight alibis. He knew, they'd told him the details. How they'd figured out how to pull that off. How they were going to walk because as much as they were trouble in the eyes of the law, it was that same trouble that would keep them safe. People saw them all the time, steered clear of them. Were used to them. Merle being loud and Daryl echoing him every so often. No one would want to vouch for them, but everyone would have to.
Glenn shut his eyes as he was left alone to wait. He took as deep a breath as he could through his nose while he tested the knots keeping him in place. They were more than secure. Daryl knew what he was doing.
When the police came, he was freed and shuffled off to a medical responder to check him over. The brothers hadn't been gentle with him, but they hadn't been rough, either. He was fine, physically. After that he was escorted to a holding room where he could reunite with his parents and sisters. They were all over him, hugging, weeping, apologizing for taking so long to get down to Atlanta after the demand was received.
His parents were most apologetic that his college fund had to be dipped into to make the payment. They could still put him through medical school, but it would be more demanding on them. Glenn protested that. His schooling didn't matter that much to him. Really. He could still do something in a related field without going the full doctorate in medicine. Something just as prestigious. Something that wouldn't bankrupt them.
There were arguments, but those had to be put aside after the police came back. They wanted to question him while details were still likely fresh in his mind. He left his parents with strong hugs and a murmured apology for having to leave. And for getting himself kidnapped in the first place. They denied him responsibility of course. He'd done nothing wrong.
Glenn had never been a good liar. People could tell when he was trying to hide something. The cop questioning him could tell he was holding something back about the kidnappers. This was taken as nervousness about outing someone that could find him and hurt him again. And he was assured that if he could identify the people that took him, that they wouldn't be able to get him. But Glenn knew they couldn't promise that.
"Look, I..." he laid his head against the metal table in frustration. "I think I know who it was, but I didn't see their faces. If I'm wrong, if it's just me picking the names of people who've tormented me in the past, and their lives are messed up because of me... I can't do that to them."
The cop, a kind man by the name of Grimes, rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh, "It's the only lead we have, Glenn. These people, they were professional about this. There's a strong chance they'll do it again, or have done it before. If we can catch them, then-"
"And if it's not them?" Glenn's head shot up, eyes wide and pleading. "If they're just two guys and I name them and point fingers and they aren't the ones that did it? Then what? I just apologize? For ruining their lives?"
"We won't make any accusations against them," Grimes assured him. "We'll check for alibis and suspicious behavior. And if, and only if, there's reasonable cause to arrest them and take them in for questioning, we will."
Glenn dropped his head again, biting his lip before nodding and murmuring very softly, "The Dixon brothers. They sounded like the Dixons. The two... they're these racist assholes. Well, the older one is racist. Merle. He's a jerk and he's always making trouble... the younger, he's not really racist, but he doesn't stop his brother. Mostly he just follows him around."
"You know them well?" Grimes asked, leaning in, interested.
"Yeah..." Glenn answered, taking a deep breath. "Look... can... what I'm about to say... I want it off the record."
The cop raised an eyebrow, but he reached over and stopped the tape recorder. Glenn waited a moment, gulping down his nerves before he stood up and moved around the table to whisper in Grimes' ear, "Daryl's in the closet. We've been hooking up for a couple months. So I know them, but... I don't want... My parents don't know I'm... and with a guy like him... please..."
Grimes met his eyes and stared at him for a long time before nodding slowly and pressing record. He waved at the chair, "Noted. Please take your seat again and tell us what happened to you."
...
From there, Glenn was made to move back to Michigan and finish his schooling there. The Dixons were looked into, but they were determined not to be suspects after a lengthy investigation. Nothing could be pinned on them and neither of them had come into any sudden money in the months or years that followed. Eventually the case was dropped entirely.
Glenn graduated with a different degree than he'd originally majored in, but psychology suited him better. Despite the investigation, Daryl actually kept in touch. He publicly pulled away from his brother and took regular visits north to see Glenn when he could. Tried his best to actually make things work. It was one of the reasons the case against the Dixons was dropped. Because while Glenn had said he thought the kidnappers sounded like the brothers, he hadn't actually accused them. And with Daryl showing a steady interest that Glenn still shared, it was felt he'd probably just latched onto the heavy accent both of them shared with his kidnappers.
His parents weren't happy to see him in a same-sex relationship. But by the time that came to light beyond just the cops watching the Dixon's, Glenn was out of school and on his way to a partnership in a respected firm. And Daryl had surprised his entire town by using what savings he had to actually start college at the age of 42 and try to make something respectable of himself. Coming out as gay wasn't much of a stretch after that. Besides, Merle would have beaten anyone that said anything against his baby brother half to death.
Officially, no one ever found out who the kidnappers were or what happened to the 50k his parents had fronted for their son.
Unofficially, Glenn and Daryl had themselves a nice stack of money to start their retirement fund with, even after splitting a third of it with Merle. And once they had both finished college, they had nothing standing in their way. Not Glenn's parents, not college debts, not Merle, not Daryl's father. Nothing.