The Devil's Sister
Two weeks later, after Tim and Samantha come back from a brief private honeymoon, Tim and Dick go shopping for Christmas when both are kidnapped and taken to Chicago to be part of Victoria Devlin's sex ring. And this time Nathan Devlin has other plans for Tim.
Part 4: Hot Water
The brothers walked the streets, peering into shop windows and discussing their changing lives.
"I don't know how Jason does it," Tim stated. "Do you think I'll make a good father?"
"You're asking me that now?" Dick teased. "Of course you will. You've helped Jason out with his twins."
"Yeah, that's being an Uncle," Tim replied. "I mean, I don't want to pass on what my parents were teaching me, you know what my mother did, or my Dad."
"They were pretty bad."
"To be honest, my Dad tried to be a good father. He was just wrapped up in my Mom. She would pull him away, just when I thought things were going great. Then there were the fights. I guess my Dad got fed up with the way my Mom was acting. She tried to be nice to me, more in public than anywhere else. Made for a lot of confusing feelings."
"And you don't want to end up behaving the way they did with your children," Dick pointed out.
"Yeah," Tim agreed.
"Tim, your parents can play an influence, but I think the one saving grace for you who gave you the best example was your housekeeper. She took good care of you, shielding you from all of that."
"Yeah," Tim remembered. "Mrs. Mac was pretty nice, but she wasn't there all the time. She took Sundays and Mondays off to be with her own family. And those were the times my parents would travel. They would take me with them when I was small, so I had a lot of distraction, but when I started school at five years old, that stopped, and then Mrs. Mac had to change her schedule. I always felt bad for her, because she was missing out on things herself. You could see the anger on her face. She finally got fed up with everything and left when I was ten, only coming back for a short time when my Dad was in a wheelchair."
"You did not have much of a childhood that was happy," Dick said.
"Oh I wouldn't say that," Tim countered. "I made friends at school, and I guess that was also my saving grace. I got involved with clubs at my school, like photography, gymnastics; that was because of you know who. And then seeing you at charity events, and how happy you seemed to be. I wanted to be like you."
Dick pulled Tim into a hug. "So, I guess I played an influence, too?"
"Yeah," Tim said. "But I'm still scared about being a father. I don't have any good examples, other than seeing you and Bruce, and how he treated you."
"Well, it wasn't all roses, but he did his best. And I'm sure you'll do your best as well. You and Sammie, love each other, and that's what matters, showing that love to your kids."
"What about you and Barbara?" Tim asked.
"I don't know. Something's going on, but she won't talk to me."
As Dick and Tim talked neither noticed the black van that was following them down the street. As Dick and Tim approached the corner of the street, the van suddenly sped up. Tires came to a screeching halt in front of them, just before they crossed the street. Four men leapt out of the van and grabbed Dick and Tim. The two brothers tried to fight back, but two of the men covered their mouth and noses with a smelly cloth and both succumbed. Spectators standing by watched as the two brothers were thrown into the back of the van, the four men climbing in after them. Once the van sped off, someone had the good sense to pull out their phone and try to get a picture of the license plate, but it was too late. The van sped down a darkened ally then turned a corner and disappeared into the traffic.
Continues with Part 5: Kidnapped!