Disclaimer
: I do not own NSYNC, they own themselves. I do own Adrian, and any other characters that are mentioned other than *NSYNC.Author's
Note: I knew the end of this story before I knew the beginning, but I just had to write it. I hope you enjoy. (Oh, and reviews are ALWAYS a plus.) Also, I'd like to dedicate this one to a very special girl I am lucky to know. You rock, Penn, and I hope you and I can stay good friends.Shout
outs:Penn
- I miss you sooo much! I hope you write more of your stories soon.Big_Dreamer:
I'm so proud! Your first fic is up! Go girl! Oh, and I can't wait to read the rest of your newest story!Blaze 2000
- I'm soooo glad you started up "Always Second Best" again. I love that story!J Chasez
: Your stories are totally amazing. I can't wait for more of your stuff!All my reviewers
: Thanks a bunch for all your comments!OK, on with the show!
Everything Right Here
"Uncle Chris, Uncle Chris!"
"Hey, there Adrian," Chris smiled as he scooped up his six year old niece in a big hug and flew her in a circle. Giggling happily, the girl exclaimed, "Put me down, Uncle Chris!"
Placing her gently on the floor, Adrian seriously brushed her self off. She was not very tall, maybe just to Chris's waist, and had long black hair in messy pigtail braids, with deep brown eyes very much like Chris's. She was a total stick with skinny arms and face, and she was wearing jeans and a purple T-shirt, with sneakers that looked too big for her. "Momma said not to get my clothes dirty," she explained matter of factly, making a final check to see if she had anything on her.
"Well, what your momma don't know won't hurt her," Chris grinned.
"Christopher!" Adrian's mother, Kate hissed. "Don't tell her things like that!"
Chris laughed. "Sorry, sis, but you know that I can't help but spoil my favorite niece," he grinned.
"But I'm your only niece," Adrian interrupted.
"All the more reason to love you the best."
"Now, Chris," Kate began, "I want you to keep a good eye on her while you have her. She takes her allergy pills in the morning and her asthma pills at night. If she misses them once, it won't be that serious, but you have to make sure she gets them continuously. She had her inhaler for any emergencies. She knows what to do. Bedtime is eight thirty weeknights and nine thirty weekends. And-"
"Whoa, relax, Kates, I've got it covered. I've taken care of Adrian before," Chris interrupted.
"He's the best baby sitter in the whole world! Plus, I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself, Momma!" Adrian exclaimed, holding her arms out wide to prove her point.
"See? She'll be fine. Plus, you know she's got four other boys to take care of her."
"Uncle Joey, Uncle Lance, Uncle Justin, and Uncle JC are gonna be there too?!" Adrian asked, eyes wide. "Wow!"
"Oh, Lord," Kate muttered, eyes rolling. "Well, at least JC seems to have some sense about him. Lance too. But that Justin boy…"
Chris laughed. If she only knew what JC was really like…
"Well, our plane is leaving now, Kate. We really do have to go…" Chris finally said.
"I know." Kate got on her knees and put her hands on Adrian's shoulders. "Now, honey, remember all the things that I told you. Stick with Uncle Chris and you'll be all right, OK? I love you." She gathered Adrian in a hug and squeezed her tight. Adrian squirmed.
"I love you too, Momma, but you have to let me go now. I can't breathe!" Laughing, Kate let her beloved daughter go. "Take good care of her," she whispered to Chris as she gave him a hug, too.
"Don't worry, Kate, it's just two weeks, and it's the summer. She doesn't have any school work to do, even though kindergartners don't have much to do, I'm sure."
"I'm going into first grade this year, Uncle Chris," Adrian corrected with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Well, I knew that… Come on, grab your bag, slow mo."
"I have it on my back already. You're the slow poke!"
"Me?"
Kate smiled. "Hurry up, Chris, you'll miss the plane. Bye! Have fun!" she waved as Chris grabbed Adrian's hand and they walked into the tunnel.
"Bye Mommy!" Adrian called, smiling a crooked tooth smile. When they finally found their seats in the first class area, Adrian was excited to have a window seat.
"I hardly ever get to go on planes. Where are we going again, Uncle Chris?"
Chris smiled. "We're going to Orlando to meet up with the other guys, and then we're going to go to a few different places."
"Neat," Adrian smiled, gazing out the window. After a few seconds of looking outside, she pulled her backpack out from under her seat and dragged a ratty old brown teddy bear out. "Timmy hasn't ever been on a plane, either, have you Timmy?" Adrian asked the stuffed animal. Timmy stared silently back.
Adrian looked back at her uncle. "He says he's scared," she explained.
"Well, he doesn't have anything to be scared of," Chris explained, realizing that the girl was probably scared, not the teddy.
"OK," Adrian smiled. She leaned her head onto Chris's shoulder and closed her eyes. "I'm tired."
"Well, you can sleep if you want. I don't mind," Chris smiled, stroking her hair.
"OK," she whispered, snuggling deeper in Chris's jacket. She was asleep in a few minutes, her deep breathing a sign that she was out. Chris smiled. She was such an angel, black rumpled hair and all.
Chris was tired, too. He had just finished up his tour with *Nsync in early December, and then had taken a two week vacation to visit his mother and father. Then, he had flown to Michigan to meet up with his sister, Kate, in the airport to pick up Adrian, who was spending the week with him while Kate and her husband, Alan, were going on a business trip.
Closing his eyes, he smiled. He would soon be back in Orlando, where he and his fellow band mates were going to start recording their next CD, which was Chris's favorite part. He knew that Adrian would be fascinated with all the equipment. She had always been into mechanics and technology, even though she was only six years old. She was one of those children that spent hours on the computers, knowing more than her parents did.
Chris was shaken awake later by a small hand. "Uncle Chriiiis, I have to go to the bathroom!" Adrian whined eyes wide.
"All right, hold on," he mumbled, wiping his mouth to make sure he hadn't drooled. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he got up and pushed Adrian in front of him towards the back of the first class area, where the bathrooms were. "I'll wait here, Adrian," Chris smiled.
"OK." She quickly went, then came out, smiling. "Uncle Chris," she asked as they walked back to their seats.
"Yeah, hon?"
"Will you read me a story?"
"Sure, honey, do you have any?" he asked, smiling. He loved reading to his niece.
"Yeah, in my bag. Let me get it." She sat back down and began riffling through her bag. She quickly pulled one out.
"Go Dog Go! I love that book!" Chris smiled wide as Adrian pulled it out. He took it in his hands and opened it up and started to read to her.
When they finished Go Dog Go, they moved on to The Cat and the Hat. Chris made funny voices for all the characters, and Adrian giggled in all of the right places. Soon, they heard the captain tell them they were going to land.
"Jeez, I must have slept longer than I thought," Chris mumbled, looking at his watch.
"You snore, Uncle Chris," Adrian said with a grin.
"I do not!" Chris protested indignantly.
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
Adrian finally just smiled and grabbed Timmy. "Timmy knows the truth, and that's all that matters," she whispered. Chris couldn't help but grin back at her.
Soon, after awhile more of talking, the plane landed. Chris grabbed his bag, made sure Adrian had hers, and they made their way off the plane.
As they stepped out of the tunnel, Adrian ran ahead to four young men standing in glasses and hats. "Uncle Lance, Uncle Justin, Uncle Joey, Uncle JC!" Adrian squealed as she leaped into the nearest one's arms.
"Hiya, Adrian!" JC smiled, giving her a big hug. "Let's hurry up and get our luggage so we can hang out for awhile, OK, sweetie?" He gave a quick glance over his shoulder, and Chris knew that he was making sure no fans were going to mob them. Chris also spotted Lonnie and Greg, the group's regular bodyguards, hanging behind them.
Grabbing Adrian's little hand, Chris followed the others to the luggage area. As they waited for the carousel thing to bring Chris's luggage, they got caught up.
"So how were your parents, Chris?" Lance asked his friend.
"Pretty good. It was nice to see them again. Kate was doing well, too."
"That's good," Joey put in, looking at his watch impatiently. Finally, the luggage began to slide down from the cargo area. After a few more minutes of waiting, their suitcases were grabbed and everyone piled into a big Suburban outside.
With Greg and Lonnie in the front, JC, Adrian, and Chris in the middle, and Justin, Joey, and Lance in the back, it was pretty snug. But they didn't mind too much.
"So how is school, Adrian?" JC asked the little girl. Freckles lighting up with her smile, she started an animated description of kindergarten.
"Mrs. Clara is really mean. She's old and smelly and she doesn't like when I talk to Chrissy and Kasey. They're my best friends. Kasey is funny, and she owns horses," she explained with a pride of a small child with big friends.
"Are there any cute guys in your class?" Joey asked from the back.
"Joey!" Lance scolded.
Adrian tilted her head in thought, and then answered, "Well, Robby is really nice. But the others boys all tease me, 'cause I'm so skinny," she explained sadly.
"Well, that just means they like you a lot, honey," Justin smiled. He knew what those boys were thinking.
"Why would they tease me and hurt my feelings if they didn't like me?" she asked.
"Uh…" Chris couldn't really answer that one. "I don't know. It's just the way boys are."
"If all boys are like that, then I'm never getting married," Adrian announced, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Well, then you're going to be lonely," Joey smiled.
"I'll have lots of friends and a big house with a ranch and two horses named Sugar and Stormy and a dog named Fly and a cow named Bessie and lots of trees."
"Oh, really?" JC asked. "And what are you going to be when you grow up?"
"I want to be…a…" she thought hard, brow wrinkled in her deep concentration. "I want to be a person who helps the astronauts with the computers," she explained.
"I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger…" Lance smiled.
"You did, Uncle Lance? Why didn't you?" she asked.
"Well, I met these guys and decided I wanted to sing, instead."
"So I might change my mind, too?"
"Yeah, you might," Lance answered.
"We're here, guys," Greg called to the back as they pulled up into the driveway of a huge building.
"Wow, where are we, Uncle Chris?" Adrian asked, mouth hanging open as she looked up at the tall building.
"This is our recording studio, where we record our CDs," Chris explained.
"Wow! Can I see it?" she asked, staring at Chris with wide eyes.
"Of course, honey."
"Yeah! I get to go to the recording studio! I get to go to the recording studio!"
"Hey, JC, she's acting a lot like you," Justin smiled. JC swatted him on the shoulder, and the group made their way into the studio.
*
"OK, let's take it from the top…" JC was saying.
"Wait, JC, I need a break!" Justin whined, taking a gulp of water. The others agreed.
"Fine, fine, but only for a few minutes," JC sighed.
"But, Josh, we're ahead of schedule, and we would have stopped in an hour anyway. Let's go home. We can go out to eat or something," Joey suggested.
"But I want to finish this up," JC argued.
"I want to eat, Uncle JC!" Adrian exclaimed, leaping into his lap. Surprised, JC jumped a little.
"Adrian, you scared me. Well…" he stared off into empty space. "I guess so."
"Yes!"
"I love you, Uncle JC!" Adrian smiled, giving him a big hug.
"I love you too, Uncle JC," Justin smiled, giving him a playful hug.
"Let me go, you nut. If you want to go to dinner, we have to find Greg and Lonnie and close up the studio we're using."
After running around cleaning and closing up, they were on their way to dinner. "Do you guys really want to go to a restaurant, or do you want to take takeout?" Lance asked. "I don't feel like getting mobbed right now…"
"Plus, Chris, with Adrian around, you never know what the tabloids will say if they get a photo of you with a small girl," Joey advised.
"Tabloids? You mean those newspapers with the alien stories?" Adrian asked. "What does that have to do with me?" she asked, confused.
"Nothing, Hun, don't worry about it," Justin suggested, putting an arm around her shoulder. "So tell me more about Chrissy and Kasey, was it?"
She smiled, then after a second frowned. "I really miss them. Chrissy likes to write… she's a better speller then me. And Kasey is tall and loves horses and dancing to music."
"Kasey likes to dance, huh? Is she good?"
"The best!" Adrian exclaimed.
"Better then me?" Justin asked.
Adrian was silent for a moment, then said, "You're both good dancers."
Justin smiled. "Thanks, Adrian."
While Justin and Adrian were talking, the others had decided to have Greg to call a Ruby's and have them get a take out ready. After everyone gave their orders to Greg, he called and made the order.
After a few more minutes of driving, they made it to the restaurant. Greg went inside to pick up the hamburgers, and Lonnie stayed in the suburban. Lance and JC were discussing Lance's newest find for FreeLance, and Joey was teasing Justin about something or other. Chris watched out the window, waiting impatiently for Greg to get the food. Finally, he came out with two bags of food and some drinks.
"Thanks a lot, Greg," Lance said. The rest chimed in their thanks, and Greg gave a big smile and a "You're welcome" back.
The Orlando "compound" as they called it, which was really their managers home and headquarters for his business, was just a few more minutes away. After piling out of the car, Adrian stopped and stared at the huge place, dumbfounded. It was a massive property, with a basketball court, tennis court, pond, and other things.
"Woooow!" she breathed quietly, taking it all in with wide eyes.
"Come on, Adrian, let's get going so we can get inside and eat," Chris suggested.
"What a piggy back ride, Girly?" Joey asked.
"Yeah!" Hopping on his back, she smiled brightly as he took off towards the house.
"Careful!" Chris called after him. He smiled as Adrian's braids flew behind her as she squealed with happiness. He was really glad Kate had decided to let him have her in Orlando for awhile.
Once inside the house, they sat down at a huge table and greeted Johnny, who was on a phone. Waving at them silently as he listened to the person on the other line, they waved back.
Digging into their food, they had a good time, including a small French fry fight between Joey and Justin, to which Adrian put a stop to because she was afraid her clothes would get dirty.
Soon, Chris saw Adrian's head droop more and more, as her eyes were struggling to stay open.
"It's been a long day, Adrian, why don't we get you to bed?" Chris asked her.
Yawning, she complained, "But I'm not tired yet and I never get to see all my uncles at the same time!"
"You'll see them in the morning. Come on, I'll take your suitcase up stairs and show you where your room is, OK? Say goodnight to everyone."
"Good night, Uncle JC, Uncle Lance, Uncle Joey, and Uncle Justin!" she exclaimed, giving each a big hug.
"Good night, honey."
Following Chris upstairs, she grabbed his hand and whispered, "I love you, Uncle Chris."
"I love you too, Adrian."
Showing her room, he reminded her, "Don't forget to brush your teeth, all right? If you need anything, my room is right there down the hall, OK?"
"Good night, Uncle Chris," she said, hugging him one last time.
"Good night, sweet heart. Sweet dreams."
Closing the door but leaving it slightly ajar, he went back downstairs to talk with his friends.
"She's so adorable," JC smiled when he got back down there.
"I know," Chris smiled.
"So how long does she get to stay?" Lance asked.
"Just for two weeks, unfortunately. I wish she could hang out with us all the time."
"She's such a good kid. We didn't even have to ask her to quiet down during recording or anything, and then she was so excited when I showed her how all the soundboards work," JC commented.
"Who's up for poker?" Justin suddenly asked, pulling a deck of cards out of a drawer.
"As long as it's not strip poker… Joey sucks so much at poker and I definitely don't want to see him lose," Chris grinned.
"Shut up, Chris, or Superman will have to kill you!" Joey snapped.
Laughing, they began their game. About an hour later, Chris suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, shoot! I forgot to remind Adrian to take her asthma and allergy pills! Maybe she's still awake and I can give them to her… I'll be right back." Getting up from his seat, he quickly made his way up the stairs.
Opening the door quietly, he whispered, "Adrian? You awake?" There was no answer, so he crept up to the bed. The covers were up over her head tightly. Pulling them back, he gasped.
She wasn't there.
Turning on a light, his worst fears were confirmed… Adrian was not there. A pile of clothes had been left under the covers as a dummy, and her teddy bear named Timmy was lying one the bed as well. "Guys!" he screamed, heart thudding like a jackhammer in his chest. "Guys!" he yelled again, racing down the stairs.
"Chris, what's wrong?" JC exclaimed, getting up out of his chair.
"Adrian's gone."
"What?"
"I went to wake her up and all that was there was a pile of clothes and Timmy," he whispered as Justin ran past him and up the stairs.
"Well, let's not panic, she might just be in the house playing a trick," Joey suggested. But he didn't look very calm.
"Adrian's not like that, she wouldn't pull a prank like this. Plus, she looked like she was going to fall asleep standing up, and I don't think she would want to pull something this late at night," Chris said, shaking his head.
A thumping down the stairs revealed a shaken Justin. "There's nobody in there, and no note or anything," he explained.
"Note? Like, a note a kidnapper would write?" Lance asked.
"Lance, what does this look like to you? It looks to me like a kidnapping and or a ransom," Justin stated, eyes narrowing. "We have to find her."
"Get Johnny… this place should be crawling with security. Maybe the guy hasn't left yet," Chris ordered. Joey raced out of the room.
"Wait a second, guys," Lance interrupted. "We should check the house first. What if she left the clothes she changed out of on the bed and then went somewhere else to sleep, instead? Or something along those lines? I seriously doubt some kidnapper would already know that Chris had his niece here and could just waltz right into the compound undetected."
"Well, that's what it looks like to me," Justin snarled. "And, her bear was lying on the bed… if a kid's going to run away, they'll bring their favorite toy. I don't think Adrian would have just left Timmy on the bed if she was going to hide."
"Guys, let's not get into a fight right now. Justin, why don't you and Lance take a look upstairs to see if maybe she's in some other room… she wouldn't have come downstairs because we would have seen her start coming down the stairs," Chris advised.
Justin and Lance quickly made their way back upstairs, and Joey went to find Johnny. JC put a comforting hand on Chris's shoulder. "Chris, I'm sure we'll find her. If someone did take her, which isn't very likely, there is no way they'll get out of the compound without being caught by security."
Chris looked at the ground and nodded. "I feel like such an idiot. I should have watched her closer. And I should have given her the pills… she might have an attack while she's with that guy and he won't know what to do. She could die, JC."
"Look, don't blame yourself. And the guy who took her doesn't want her dead… she's no value to him if she's dead, because he probably wants a ransom. So if she does have an asthma attack, he might end up taking her to a hospital and we'll find her."
A pounding down the stairs revealed a worried looking Justin and a frowning Lance. "She's not up there. Did Joey find Johnny yet?"
"Yeah," a voice replied. It was Joey, with Johnny right behind him. "I told him everything, and he's contacted head of security. They'll find her."
*
~The next day~
"Well," Officer Daniels was saying, "it looks very much like an inside job. Of course, there's always the possibility that she ran away. Even if it doesn't seem likely to you, we can't just rule it out."
Chris sighed. Johnny had called the police after he had gotten a hold of his head of security, and they'd been happy to send over an officer. But, they were told upon arrival that although they'd listen to what had happened, they couldn't officially start the search for Adrian for twenty four hours after the disappearance.
"But she might already be dead by then!" Chris had protested. That hadn't changed the officer's mind.
JC sighed. He was really tired, after spending a whole night with Justin searching the compound in hopes of finding Chris's little niece. They had not been successful.
"If it was an inside job, do you know of anyone that might have had the motive to kidnap the girl? Or anyone who knew about it?" the officer asked.
"There are a bunch of people who knew. I told a couple of the staff members who work at the sound studio so that they would know in advance that Chris was bringing Adrian along. Security knew, off course, and then the housekeepers knew, too, since they needed to make up the bed for her in the spare room," Johnny explained.
"Then, I guess I'm done here. I'll take the report to the station and if there is any news, any at all, call me right away. Here's my card." He handed it to Johnny. "If there is still no news by later this evening, then we'll start a full fledged search. Have a nice day," Officer Daniels finished, tipping his hat and leaving.
"Have a nice day? Yeah, right," Chris mumbled, leaving the others in the kitchen. He flopped on the coach, and just as he was about to fall asleep, the phone rang shrilly. "Damn it," he muttered, staggering over to the phone. The others were no where around.
"Hello?" he asked into the phone as he picked it up.
"I have your niece, Adrian."
"What?! Who is this?" Chris exclaimed, hand shaking as he gripped the phone.
The computerized voice answered back, "I want ten million dollars for her, unmarked bills, to be taken to the St. Mary train station tonight at twelve... The south door will be open. Leave it at terminal 13, and then get out of there. Adrian will get to you." "What? How do I know you have her? Where is she? If you hurt her…!" Chris growled into the phone.
"You would like to speak to her?"
"Yes."
There was a shuffling, and then a small whimper. "Un… uncle Chris?" he heard his niece whisper.
"Adrian! Adrian, are you all right?"
"I'm sca, scared Uncle Chris. Please help me!" Suddenly, she screamed. "Help me, Uncle Chris!" Then there was a thump, followed by muffled crying.
"Adrian!" Chris screamed, tears welling in his throat. "You asshole!" he swore at the man.
"Temper, temper, Mr. Kirkpatrick. Bring the money, or she dies. Tell the police, or she dies. Oh, and come alone. Take care." Click.
Chris threw the phone against the wall and he fell to the floor, in a sitting position. Pulling his knees up to his chin he finally broke down and cried for the first time since Adrian had gone missing.
That was how Chris was sitting when Lance walked in, coming to see what the crash was. "Chris? Chris, are you all right?" he asked, kneeling down beside his friend. All that he heard were sobs in reply.
"Look, Adrian will be all right. I promise. We're just going to have to find her."
Chris silently nodded. The man had said to come alone, and he knew that if he told the guys about the phone call, they'd come with him, no matter what he would tell them. He couldn't risk his niece's life.
Lance rubbed the older man's back in an effort to calm him. Finally, Chris relaxed and his breathing grew heavy. He had fallen asleep. Sighing, Lance ruffled his hair softly and left him to sleep there.
About an hour later, Chris awoke from his sleep. "Whoa… it's ten o'clock at night. I can't believe I slept that late." Groaning as he stretched, he was suddenly hit with the memory of the phone call.
"I guess I'll have to go to the bank and get that money," he mumbled. But he knew that he first had to call his sister and tell her the bad news.
Picking up the phone from where it had been thrown, he dialed slowly, and then hit send. On the third ring, his sister's cheerful voice picked up. "Hello?"
"Kate? I've got some bad news…" Chris whispered.
There was a silence, and then she asked, "Is it Adrian?"
"Kate, Adrian was… kidnapped. But I just got a call, and they want ten million dollars for her. I've got the money, and I'm taking it to him tonight. I'm going to get her back, I promise."
There was a gasp, and then a sob. "Adrian? They have Adrian? Oh, God, I've got to get down there."
"No, Kate, stay at your meeting, I've got it taken care of."
"Are you crazy? Of course I'm going down there. This is my daughter we're talking about!"
"Fine. But I'm going to get her back, I promise. The guy called and he wants me to bring the money to the train station. I'll get her back. And Kate? I'm sorry…"
"Oh, Chris," she whispered. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault. Don't worry. I'm coming down as soon as I can, all right?"
"All right, Kate. Love you."
"I love you too. Bye."
Chris shakily hung up the phone. Running his hand through his hair, he sighed. Next stop, the bank, he thought to himself. Finding his keys on the counter, he debated weather he should leave a note for the guys or not. "Nah," he mumbled, walking out the door.
Getting into his car, he drove down to the city bank. He figured ten million dollars wasn't something to just take out from the ATM, so he walked inside Luckily, there was no line, since the bank was just about to close up. When the teller asked, "How may I help you?" he answered, "I'd like to withdraw ten million dollars from my account."
Her eyes bulged. "Excuse me? Did you say ten million dollars?"
"Yes."
She frowned, then asked for his card. After punching it in and looking at her screen, she shook her head and pulled out some money.
"Would you like a security officer to escort you to your vehicle, sir?" she asked, after counting out all the money.
"Yeah, sure," Chris shrugged as he placed the money in a briefcase. She motioned to an officer behind her, and he quickly walked towards Chris. "Ready, sir?" he asked. "Yeah."
As they made their way across the parking lot, the officer asked, "I hate to be rude, but where are you going with that much money? And where did you get it?"
"I'm in a band called *Nsync… We make a lot of money. And I'm going to buy a house," he fibbed.
"A house? Couldn't you pay with a check?"
"The people buying the house want cash. Don't ask, they were weird."
"Oh," the officer answered confused.
"Well, here's my car, thanks," Chris said, unlocking the door. "Have a nice day."
"You too, Mr…"
"Kirkpatrick. Good bye." Chris slammed the door shut and drove off. The stars blinked in the cold night sky as Chris slowly cruised around for a little while. All he could think about was his little niece and how scared she had to be. His eyes welled up, and he wished that his friends were with him. But he couldn't tell them. They'd want to come along, and poor Adrian would die. Slamming his fist on the wheel in frustration, he yelled "Damn it!" and closed his eyes for a second. A loud honking made his eyes snap open and he swerved to avoid an oncoming car.
His heart was beating a hundred miles an hour as he slowed down. Looking at the clock in his car, he found that it was ten forty five. He still had an hour and fifteen minutes until he was supposed to be at the train station.
Chris pulled the car over and turned the car off. He closed his eyes and sighed. He knew he shouldn't fall asleep… but he did anyway.
The next thing he knew, a loud clap of thunder awakened Chris. Jumping, he looked at the clock. Eleven fifty.
"Shit," he mumbled, turning the car on. Driving as fast as he could, he got to the station at eleven fifty eight. Grabbing the black briefcase with the money in it, he took off at a quick pace to the south door. Just as the man had said, the door was unlocked.
Opening the door slowly, he let his eyes slowly adjust to the darkness that awaited him. Walking down the steel steps to where the trains were (all the terminals were underground), he quickly found terminal thirteen. Looking around nervously, he put the briefcase down on the cold cement floor. Now what? Was the guy going to pick it up? Where was Adrian? Searching the darkness for a sign of the little girl, his heart fell to his stomach when he saw a small figure laying motionless on the train track. From what he could see, she looked dead.
"Oh God oh God oh God," he whispered to himself, racing toward the tracks. Falling next to the figure on his knees, he noticed that there was something strange about her. Turning the body over, he gasped. It was a doll, made to look like Adrian, and on each of it's eyes, it had a word. "Got" and "Ya." It's mouth was open in a wide, evil, sharp toothed grin.
"Got 'cha!" an evil voice hissed. Spinning around, still on his knees, Chris was kicked harshly by a booted foot. "I told you to get out of here when you put the money down. Obviously, you can not follow instructions."
Chris looked up to see who the kidnapper, and his attacker, was. Surprised, his mouth fell open. It was Johnny's housekeeper, Maria. "Maria?"
"Shut your trap, Kirkpatrik. You and your spoiled little niece are going to pay my way back to Spain, where I belong. But first, I think you might want to see your little Adrian."
"Uncle Chris!"
Spinning around to where the voice had called, he saw his little niece being dragged by a huge, bald man that he seemed to remember was one of the security people at Johnny's place. He also noticed that Adrian was wheezing almost uncontrollably.
"Honey, where's your inhaler?" he asked, frightened.
"Shut up!" Maria hissed, kicking him again. Chris sucked in air as the pain shot up his ribs. "Charlie, did he bring the money?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Let the brat go." He released her, and Adrian ran as fast as her small legs could carry her to Uncle Chris. She leapt on top him, gasping for breath.
"Shhh, put your hands over your head, honey," he said, trying to calm her down. She did as she was told, trying to catch her breath.
"Well, since you know who we are, I think we're going to have to do something about it," Maria suddenly said.
Looking over to where she stood, Chris realized she had a gun… and she was going to use it. He quickly pulled Adrian behind him, hoping to block his niece from the mad women in front of him.
A sudden yell made Maria turn around. She found herself staring face to face with a police officer, gun pointed right at her head. "Drop your weapon!" he ordered. She did not move. "I said, drop your weapon!" Scowling, she finally obeyed. The gun hit the floor with a click. Chris looked behind him to see Charlie on the ground, hands in front of him, gun being picked up by another officer.
Sighing in relief, Chris grabbed Adrian in a tight hug and wouldn't let her go. The next thing he knew, four pairs of arms had wrapped around him. Looking up, he found the owners of the arms were Joey, JC, Justin, and Lance. Crying, he asked through his tears, "What happened?"
"First, let's get Adrian some help," Justin said, picking her up. He carried her to a waiting paramedic to have something done about her asthma. Jogging back, he sat down next to Chris.
"Well, Chris," Lance began. "When you left the house, we had no idea where you had gone, and thought maybe you had gone to drive around a little or something. When you didn't come back home, we started getting worried. That's when Kate called. She wanted us to know that she got a flight in, and she had just landed in Orlando, and she was driving to the train station. When we asked why, she explained that you had called her earlier this afternoon and explained what was going on. We called the police, and that's how we found you. Why didn't you tell us?" Lance asked.
"I thought… I thought you'd insist on coming with me, and they told me to come alone…"
JC nodded. "Well, I think everything's going to be OK. They've got Maria and Charlie, and Adrian will be all right…"
"Adrian!" Chris said, jumping up. He ran to the paramedic, who was giving her some oxygen. "Is she all right?"
"Yes, sir, she'll be fine. She just needed some medicine and air. She looks all right, although there are a few rashes on her wrists were she might have been tied up."
"Adrian! Chris!" Chris turned to see his sister in her business skirt suit, running in her high heels with her brief case flying behind her towards him. "Oh, Adrian!" she cried, running to her daughter, crying, mascara running.
"Mama," Adrian whispered, crying. They hugged and hugged, and Kate rocked the girl back and forth. "Are you all right honey? Are you all right?"
"Nooooo, I was so scared, Mama! So scared," she trailed off, wailing.
"Oh, Honey," Kate whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Mr. Kirkpatrick? Are you all right?" the paramedic asked.
"Yeah, just some bruised ribs," he mumbled as he hugged his sister and her daughter.
"I've got everything I need right here…"
So, did you like? Please, drop me a review… I'd really appreciate it. Please, no flames. I'm such a weakling when it comes to mean people… Also, I have no idea if you can just withdraw ten million dollars from a bank, but in this story, you can, OK?
Take care!
~Skye
PS If anyone needs someone to read over their stuff to check for errors before they post, I'd be happy to help out. My e-mail's
WingGrl4@aol.com