Chapter 4 - edited 6/3/18

Bois Notre-Dame (25 miles from Paris, France)

"When is papa going to be here?"

"He'll be here tomorrow, sweetie. He said he's getting you a big gift for your birthday and he wanted to surprise you. Why don't you go watch some cartoons and we can play some games later. Okay, Ashley?"

"Okay, mama." The little blonde girl walked over to the tv and pressed the play button on the dvd player.

They have been in the house since yesterday. When she woke up, she was terrified and confused. She found herself lying on the bed with Ashley sleeping next to her. Inside the 1200sqft house with 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, a small kitchen and a large play area, everything look normal except for the windows with steel bars outside and something was preventing the door from being opened. Multiple surveillance cameras could be found in every room, hidden from a child's view but not from hers. The refrigerator has food; enough for a week.

That was the day they came back from Italy. She was supposed to bring Ashley to the banquet for her surprise party after shopping. This is not the surprise that everyone had in mind. When she found the note in the kitchen cabinet, she understood why they were brought here.

'As soon as we get the money, you are free to go. For the little girl's sake, please don't do anything foolish.'

Her cell phone was taken. The house is surrounded by trees; not a person in sight. Being watched and trapped, there is nothing she can do except keep Ashley from knowing the truth and pray.


Lucy's office

Lucy was on her way to work when she received a call from Michel. No information was giving except that it's urgent. Finding Alexis with him confused her but she knew something is wrong by the way Alexis looked, not as cheerful as she was in the party. The look of worry and fatigue on both the father and daughter are apparent.

"What can I do for you?" Lucy was expecting Michel to speak without having her to ask since he said it was urgent. Why he asked Alexis to wait outside confused her. If he didn't want Alexis to know, then why bring her here?

"Papa, please…I want to be here."

No more explanation is needed. Lucy understood that it wasn't his choice to bring Alexis along so there is only one thing to do and that is to ask Alexis to wait outside. Alexis didn't want to but ultimately gave in. After all, this is her office.

"This is really difficult for me, but I need to ask you for another favor."

Another favor? Lucy could only wonder what he wants.

"Do you have €400,000 in cash. I can wire you the money immediately. I just need to have it in cash."

It's not the first time Lucy has been asked for money, just not from him. "I assume that you are in some kind of trouble and you cannot let anyone else know about this." She might not know him that well, but didn't think he would be that type of person who would take her money and leave. The little nod given by him showed that he has no choice. "May I ask what you need this for?"

"I rather you didn't…but I promise...I will tell you after this is over."

Hearing his promise, noticing his hesitation, Lucy became more curious but it's his tears brimming his eyes that stopped her from asking more questions. "When do you need it by?"

"12PM today."

"Scott?"

"That…is a problem. We don't have that much cash lying around."

It's the first time she has seen Michel this way, his look of worry is immediately plastered on his face, his focus landed on the floor as if thinking of what to do next, his hands then covering his face as if trying to hide his tears from falling down. Lucy has seen a grown man shed tears, but not from him.

"We'll see what we can do." She assured him with a smile and a pat on his shoulder which were enough to bring him some relief. After Scud and Michel left her office, her mind spontaneously thought back to many, many years ago when she was in the same situation, being asked to lend money, not this big amount, but more than what she could afford. Even if her friend couldn't pay her by the deadline, even though there was no deadline given, she expected her friend to pay by installments. But what happened instead shocked and confused her. When she asked her friend about the money, she was blamed for not having trust in her, she was blamed for asking over such a small amount of money that she didn't need. She might not need that money to live, but she needed that money back because it belonged to her mother. If her friend had given her a reason why she wouldn't be able to pay her back, she would've taken her reason into consideration. The incident taught her a lesson which she'd never forget because she found how deceptive, conniving, illogical and untrustworthy a person can be. She never got the money back. She could've if she wanted to. Her father would have made sure of that if he knew about it. It was her mother's decision to let it go and it took her a long time to understand why her mother made that decision. She had thought that her mother didn't want to make a big deal out of it since the amount wasn't that big. It could be but Lucy believed that her mother had a different reason. It was never about money. It was about trust and knowing who to trust.

"Is that really going to be a problem, Scud?" Lucy asked after Michel and Alexis left.

"No."

His confident response caused her to raise one eyebrow, looking at him with confusion and expecting him to explain even though she could guess why he gave a different response a moment ago.

"Well, we can't let anyone know how much we have lying around. Now, can we?" His lips lifted into into a bigger smile. "Should we look into it?"

"See what you can find out."

Scud expected that and was on his way to do some background check but was curious to know what Alexis wanted to talk to her about in private just a moment ago. "What were you two doing?"

"Nothing"

He was expecting a different response other than 'nothing' because 'nothing' usually means something happened other than talking. "You and Alexis...both of you..were acting a little...strange."

"Nothing...it's none of your business..." Lucy wasn't expecting Alexis after Michel left her office and was even more surprised when she jumped on her, wrapping her hands around her as soon as the door closed. The sudden impact caused her to almost lose her balance. With the soft, warm body against hers, she was instantly reminded of the last time she was this close to a woman. Amy. If Scud didn't knock, she wasn't sure what Alexis would have done next.

"Did she kiss you?"

"Scud!"

Scud quickly closed the door behind him, but not before giving her a wink.


~12 PM Afternoon - Michel's house

"They're here, sir."

Walking inside the main door for the first time in Michel's residence, Lucy and Scud were quickly led by Jehan to the office on the second floor where he wasted no time and began counting the money. While Lucy and Scud enjoyed the coffee and pastries that were served to them, they noticed how nervous Michel was, his hands were shaking, he was constantly moving, looking as though he was going to have an anxiety attack any minute. He may be young in his 40's but it's not impossible. After Jehan confirmed the amount, Lucy was hoping that she could get an explanation but didn't. What she got was gratitude and a promise that everything will be explained later which satisfied her for now. As they were about to leave the house, they heard Alexis calling.

"Keira, you're here...Papa, I want to talk to Keira."

After Michel went back up the stairs, Scud understood what he has to do even though no signal is given and left the house to wait outside.

"I just want to say thank you again."

"I'm glad I can help." Lucy feel a bit awkward not just from the young woman gazing wordlessly at her but also because her hand is being held onto which seems...inappropriate. "Where's the birthday girl?" Lucy asked, breaking the silence and the gaze.

"Who?"

"Your sister. I was wondering if she likes the present I got for her."

"Oh…she's taking a nap…and she hasn't opened her presents yet. uhhh…..I shouldn't keep your friend waiting. So, I guess I'll see you some other time."

It was a simple question and Lucy expected a simple answer. But that was not what she was expecting. It doesn't take years of experience dealing with different types of people, mostly criminals, to know that Alexis was lying. But it does take experiences in the Underground to know why Michel needed the money.

"The birthday girl got kidnapped." Lucy said as soon as she got into the passenger's side of her BMW.

A moment ago, as Scud was watching Lucy walking towards the car, all he could think about was to find out what Alexis said to her. Did she kiss her? He thought she did but now he doesn't think so. "How do you know?"

"I just asked her about her sister and she took too long to answer."

His silence and his face of confusion indicated that he needed more proof. Rolling her eyes and giving out a loud sigh, she continued.

"She said her sister didn't open any of her presents yet. Now I don't know about you, but when I was a little girl, the first thing I did when I got my presents was open them." She didn't get a response but could see that he is thinking about it but is disappointed that he still has doubts.

"Maybe she's still sick."

"she let go of my hands when I mentioned her sister. I didn't even have to make an excuse."

"Maybe she's not into you anymore." It was a joke. Scud realized later that he shouldn't have said that when Lucy suddenly punched his arm causing him to yelp. "OWWW!" Rubbing his left bruised arm, he took a moment to think about everything that happened yesterday. "She didn't show up last night and he left the party early. He asked us for help this morning." As he traced back to that moment when he found Michel to be acting strange, Scud became more convinced that Lucy could be right. "Should we follow him?"

"We can't do anything now...looks like he's ready to make the drop."

Lucy herself had once been in Michel's position, being threatened by her enemies. They didn't kidnap her relatives but the one they kidnapped is as important to her as her family. Her enemies knew that. That's why they kidnapped Scud.

"We don't know if we're being watched." Not knowing who puts them at a great disadvantage. "Let's go back for now."