Chapter 2
"Hey you! Come back with my purse!" an elderly lady shouted at a man dashing away with her black leather purse.
The man, whose head was enveloped with a black shroud, ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He dashed past cars that screeched to a halt when he abruptly ran in front of them. The criminal scurried around a corner, oblivious of all the people he was knocking down while fleeing. As soon as he ran into a deserted alley and could not hear the aged woman's cries any longer, the man revealed his face. It was Ian. He searched through the purse, fumbling around. Finally his face erupted in joy as he found what he was looking for: a wallet. In it lay about fifty dollars. "I can deal with that," he thought, glad to have something. Now Ian could buy necessities but not for long. He knew he needed more, but how? Ian slouched against the brick wall and slid down, sitting on the cold wet ground. He couldn't live life stealing from little old ladies. He needed a plan.
--
"Iced tea anyone?" Abigail asked as she came strolling out the kitchen door.
Ben and Riley were sitting comfortably on the couches, Riley's feet propped up on the wooden table nearby. They seemed content now despite the dreadful fear of Ian on their minds. Ben and Riley turned to face Abigail and each accepted a nice tall glass of the cool and refreshing iced tea.
Ben took a sip of the light brown liquid and faced Abigail and Riley.
"If Ian does come after us, we must be careful. He's most likely after me since I did turn him in. I just want you guys to know that you should always be on the lookout for him."
Abigail and Riley nodded, knowing the possible danger looming over them.
--
Ian thought and thought. Revenge was more important than hiding and scavenging for food. He knew the only way to settle the scores between him and Ben was to capture the people he cared about the most. Ian had his plan.
--
At night that very same day, Ian found his way to Ben and Abigail's home. Without his henchmen by his side, Ian had to be more careful. He wore a black cloak in order to blend in with the midnight sky and slowly tip-toed his way to the front door. Ian realized that the mansion would have an alarm system but it didn't matter; he just needed to go along with his tactic. With a gun tucked away in a pocket and a taser held in his hand, Ian approached the entrance of the house. Since the door was made of glass, Ian picked up a rather large stone and chucked it at the door, shattering it and sending shards of glass everywhere.
Like he predicted, an alarm buzzed throughout the mansion, startling Abigail, who woke up immediately. She grabbed her robe and ran downstairs to see what the problem was since Ben was over at Riley's for the night. Abigail came to a stop when she reached the bottom of the stairs. There stood Ian who had removed his cloak. She screamed but no one seemed to hear her. She tried to run back up the stairs but it was too late. Ian had grabbed her around her waist and cupped his hand over her mouth.
"How lovely it is to see you again. Miss me?" Ian murmured in her ear.
Ian then used his taser on her with his left hand; her body fell limp as she collapsed in his arms. Ian dropped Abigail on the ground and proceeded towards the alarm which was still blaring loudly. With one hard blow of his fist, he struck the alarm which caused the ringing to cease. He strode towards a desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. There he scribbled down a little note for Ben. When the letter was completed, Ian headed back towards Abigail. Her face was pale and her golden blonde hair was strewn all over her face. Ian lifted her up in his arms and ran out the door, making sure no one saw what had just occurred. Into the darkness, Ian escaped, now with Abigail, and for once in his life, he was happy.
--
The next morning, Ben invited Riley to come over to his house and Riley agreed. Ben drove his car back to the mansion but suddenly stepped on the brake when he saw that his house had been broken into.
"Why did you stop Ben?" Riley asked, his head looking down, oblivious to the damage of the house. He looked up and was taken aback, shocked.
Ben ran out of the car and sprinted towards the house.
"Abigail? Abigail!" he shouted, "Abigail!!"
There was no reply. Riley followed Ben as both men stepped through the shattered frame of what once used to be a door.
Riley called for Abigail, just like Ben had done, but it was to no avail. Abigail wasn't there. Ben looked around for clues, anything that would help him find Abigail. He wandered towards the desk and saw a letter, sloppily written, and read it silently to himself. It read:
Hello Ben,
How do you do? I'm guessing you want to know where your beloved Abigail is, right? Well, it's no use trying to look for her. Meet me by the Hudson River today at 2:00 sharp and come alone if you want your Abigail alive.
Ian
"He's got Abigail," Ben said, "Ian's got Abby."
"What?!" Riley exclaimed. "Give me the letter."
Ben handed the letter to Riley whose face had the same expression as Ben's when he was finished reading.
"I've got to go," Ben said. "I have to save Abigail."
"I'm coming with you Ben," Riley volunteered.
"No," Ben stated, "You read the letter. Ian wants me to come alone. Abigail's life depends on it! She --"
"That doesn't mean you can't have a backup plan," Riley interjected, "Here." Riley reached into his backpack, which he was carrying over his shoulder, and pulled out an ear piece.
"Do you carry those around everywhere you go?" Ben asked, concerned in a teasing way.
"Maybe I do," Riley said, "What 'cha going to do about it? Besides, it does come in handy. I've learned a lot from being around you—mostly how to commit crimes and start a riot but nonetheless..."
Ben took the device and placed in gently in his ear. Riley pulled out a tiny microphone and tucked in underneath Ben's shirt collar.
Riley added, "There, you're all set. Now, if you need anything, I can call the police, FBI, whatever. Just be careful alright?"
Ben nodded and drove away, heading towards the Hudson River to save his one true love: Abigail.