CONGRATULATIONS phyl7375! Great memory!
TRIVIA: I did a reverse twist here. One of the actors did just the reverse of what the character is doing in this chapter. I know it's cryptic, but can you guess who/what it is?
?-?
"What's going on?" Bobby asked as soon as he and Sarah entered the Melton home.
"The kidnapper just called." Jack summarized.
"Do you know who or where?" Sarah worriedly asked.
"They're just finishing up now." Mya replied.
"I really hope it's something useful." Bobby said.
"Us too." Jack replied.
"Got something." One of the techs announced, walking near the agents, then leading them to the computers.
"What is it?" Jack anticipatedly asked.
"Well," the tech started. "We couldn't connect the call to a specific person or place, but we did connect it to a service."
"You mean like Verizon, AT&T, and so on?" Bobby asked.
"Yes and no." She replied.
"That doesn't make sense." Mya said, squinting.
The tech smiled at her. "He used an internet phone. One where you pay per call."
"And you can track who paid for it?" Sarah asked.
"Yes, but it will take a while. He used a prepaid card." The tech replied with a regrettable smile.
Jack sighed. "Nothing is easy, is it?"
The tech chuckled. "This guy is good, but not that great."
"Does that mean you have something?" Bobby asked.
She shook her head. "Not yet at least. Because he didn't modulate his voice, we're running him through vocal recognition. Hopefully something will pop."
"Well, let us know when it finishes." Jack replied, turning to walk away.
"Will do." She replied.
"What do we do now?" Sarah asked.
He shrugged. "Wait. Let's see if he calls again, tells them where to leave the money. Maybe that will help."
All the agents silently looked at each other. They knew it was a long shot, but it was the only shot they had.
?-?
"Why isn't he calling!" Moria complained. "It's almost the time he said."
"He probably wants to make sure no one has time to prepare, and you come alone." Sarah assured.
"But we won't, right?" She worriedly asked, looking at her husband.
"Of course not. In fact, one of us could portray one of you, if you'd like." Jack suggested.
Moria violently shook her head. "No. I have to look into the eyes of the man that took my little girl." She determinedly said, then sheepishly looked at the agents. "But a little backup is always appreciated."
"Of course." Jack replied. "I have to stay here, but Bobby? Could you pretend to be Melvin?"
"Of course." Bobby replied.
"Uh," Melvin hesitantly started. "Isn't that a bit of a problem?"
"I'm sorry?" Jack asked, not knowing what he was eluding to.
"Well, uh, Bobby has an uh, accent that I don't have? Won't that make the kidnapper suspicious?"
"Not a problem." Bobby said in a perfect American accent. "I can sound American, mate."
Jack chuckled. "But your 'mate' gives it away, mate."
He laughed as well. "I guess. But hopefully I won't have to talk much." He then turned towards Moria. "I promise you, I will be there supporting you every step of the way, accent or not."
She smiled. "Thank you."
Just then, the phone rang. Everyone looked at each other with wide eyes.
"And here we go." Mya announced.
?-?
"Hey!" Sue happily said when she answered Tara's FaceTime call.
"Hey." She replied. "Did you hear about Jack and the team's case they caught today?"
She shook her head. "No, we haven't talked. What is it?"
"Kidnapping. And rumor is they're having a ransom meeting any minute."
"Wow!" Sue replied, looking at her friend with wide eyes. "How do you know that?"
Tara smiled. "I have a friend that works in the money distribution area. He was shocked by the amount ordered, and wanted to know more than what was on the form. Unfortunately, I didn't know any more than he."
"Well, I hope all goes well!"
"You wanna make sure it does?"
"What do you mean?" She asked, frowning.
"You wanna help them read the lips of the perp?" She asked, mischievously smiling.
Sue smiled as well. "Is this an official invitation, or are you crashing their case?"
Tara shrugged. "More like the latter. But you know they'd welcome it!"
"You're right about that!" She replied, chuckling. "It would be nice, but I have no idea where they're at."
"Don't we?" Her friend cryptically asked.
Sue suspiciously looked at her though the phone. "What did you do?"
She nonchalantly shrugged. "I just might happen to know where they're at."
Light shining in her eyes, Sue smiled. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's crash!"
"Yay!" Tara exclaimed. "Pick you up in 15 minutes!"
"Perfect!" She happily replied, then hung up the phone. They were going to crash the case to help their friends!