LOST AND FOUND - PART 1

ROUNDUP

CHAPTER 7

When Ben, Joe, and Hoss came down for breakfast the next morning, Adam was ready to leave for the day, dressed in another immaculate, expensive suit, this one dark blue. He stayed for a few minutes to say good morning and to ask his father how he was feeling. Ben shifted in his chair and just gave his son a look.

Adam laughed and told them he would be in meetings away from the office most of the day, but would see them around four o'clock. Then he left.

The three men took their time over breakfast and discussed their plans for the day. They would be leaving in a few minutes to attend a cattle auction, one of the reasons they had come to San Francisco to begin with.

They were at the front door when Thea came bustling into the hall. She rushed up to them and kissed each one on the cheek saying, "I'm so sorry I wasn't there this morning, we're still cleaning up from the party." Opening the front door for them she said, "and when may I look forward to seeing you gentlemen again today?"

"Probably about the same time you'll see Adam again today," her father-in- law said as he and his sons went out the door.

"I'll be there, I mean here," Thea said distractedly as she followed them outside and watched them go down the front steps. When they looked back, she waved and kept watching until they were out of sight.

She went slowly back inside, shut the door, then picked up her skirts and bounded up the stairs two at a time. In a few minutes she hurried back down, dressed in male clothing with her hair tucked up under a hat. She picked up her bag and slipped outside, shutting the door quietly behind her.

The three Cartwright men arrived early, but the auction yard was already packed with people. Ben took the lead and Hoss brought up the rear with Joe in the middle as they worked their way through the crowd. Hoss stopped for a second when he thought he heard someone calling his name.

He looked around then spotted Marie, Adam's secretary, beckoning to him from a door near the entrance. He turned back the way he had been going, hoping to see Ben and Joe still within hailing distance, but saw no sign of them. Shrugging his huge shoulders he hurried up to Marie.

"Hoss," she said and stepped through the open door, "Adam sent me to get you; he needs your help."

"What happened?" Hoss said as he came through the door.

Marie turned around and gave him a strange look as the door closed behind him. Four men who had been lined up behind the door threw themselves on Hoss and wrestled him to the floor. Before he could even start to fight back an acrid-sweet smelling cloth was slapped over his mouth and nose. In a moment he was unconscious.

The four kidnappers began tying up the limp man and Marie slipped back into the arena.

She didn't have to go far to spot Joe, it was obvious he was looking for Hoss.

"Joe," she called and waved at him. The young man immediately hurried over.

Before he had a chance to ask any questions she turned and led him to the room where Hoss lay. She opened the door and he went in. This time she stayed outside and listened to the thuds and grunts as Joe was subdued. Marie just continued to wait by the door; she knew Ben would be showing up soon.

Sure enough, about ten minutes later she saw him coming in her direction. She waited until he spotted her, waved to him, and went through the door, leaving it open halfway. He followed her in.

A few minutes later she came back out accompanied by the tall man with iron gray hair. They went out of the arena and up to a boxed-in wagon waiting next to the outer door to the room where the three Cartwright men were lying unconscious.

The man opened the back door to the wagon and the outside door to the room opened. All four men carried out something very large wrapped in a tarp. Marie cautioned them to be careful. The four men nodded and finally managed to get the bundle into the wagon. They had less trouble with the other two. Marie waited until the wagon pulled away before heading home.

Three hours later Adam returned from a meeting. He had just taken his seat behind the desk when a knock came at the door. "Come in," he called.

The door opened and Wes appeared in the doorway looking somber, "Adam, this note just came for you," he said as he walked forward and handed it over.

His employer unfolded the paper quickly; it read:

Go home NOW!

Adam handed the note to Wes saying, "Send the police to my house!" and he bolted from his office, running for the end of the hallway where the secret entrance was, praying he wouldn't be too late.

The stranger carefully opened the door that led from the basement to the first floor and looked around. He didn't see a soul, so he carefully consulted the map of the house he was carrying. He knew the boy would be in his room because he was confined to the house as a punishment for running away, so he traced the route with a bloodstained finger three times before he started to move again.

He quietly climbed the back stairs to the second floor, not encountering anyone. His heart was pounding in his chest, knowing what would happen to him if he were caught. He counted the doors as he went down the hall and stopped in front of the fifth one.

Glancing around he put a hand on the doorknob, silently turned it then pushed on the door. It slowly opened a crack without a sound and he poked his head into the room. The boy was sitting at a child-size desk drawing. He never heard the man come in and didn't see him until a big hand covered his mouth and he was plucked from the chair.

The man stopped for a moment as he headed out of the bedroom to shift his hold on the child when he heard a low growl behind him. He turned around and saw a shaggy, black head with yellow eyes rise over the boy's bed; he took a step back. The head seemed to float down to the end of the bed and as the hound turned toward him the thug nearly shrieked in fright. The dog's head had been just large - the rest of him wasn't.

The animal's massive, black body rippled with muscle as he slowly began to stalk the stranger while he backed away. He went through the doorway, down the hall, and then down the front stairs carefully, not wanting to make any move that might make the animal attack.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the dog padded toward the door and stood in between it and the man holding the boy. Then when the kidnapper tried to go through one of the archways, the hound cut him off there too.

Eventually he was pressed up against the right-hand wall of the hall. Sitting in front of them, the animal continued to growl, his lips rippling over long, white fangs. The thug pulled his knife out, just in case, and shivered when the dog looked at him with contempt.

The animal did not attack, he just would not let the stranger leave with the boy. Any movement on the man's part caused the dog to snap at him, but when he stood still the hound just sat there watching them and growling. He didn't even move a muscle when his master crashed through the front door.

Adam skidded to a halt then stood in the raised entranceway for a moment to catch his breath and assess the situation. To his mind he was holding all the cards. He walked across the hall to stand behind the dog opposite the man holding his son. "Balor, down," he told the dog who lay down. He then pinned the man who was up against the wall with an icy stare. "Put the knife down, let my son go, and I swear I will not kill you," he said through clenched teeth.

The thug was distracted then by Alexander when the boy began squirm in his arms. "BE STILL!" his father ordered and the child did as he was told.

Adam then slowly repeated himself, "Put the knife down . . . let my son go . . . and I swear I will not kill you."

The desperate man put the knife to Alex's throat. The boy's eyes were huge in his small face and he began to cry. Adam steeled himself, he couldn't let anything distract him from getting Alexander back unharmed. "If you so much as prick his skin I will make you wish you had never been born, right before you die."

The kidnapper looked the other man in the eye and what he saw there must have made the decision for him. He slowly moved the knife away from the child's throat and dropped it to the floor.

"Now kick it over here," Adam ordered, and the man did. Adam picked the knife up, looked at it then snapped the blade off the handle. The kidnapper's eyes went wide and Adam said, "That's what I will do to your neck if you don't let him go this second."

Trying to keep his eyes on Adam as well as the dog, the man slowly bent over and carefully put Alexander down on his feet. As soon as he let go the child ran for his father, wrapped his arms around his leg and began to sob with his face buried in his thigh.

Adam picked Alexander up, and then kicked the pieces of the knife out of the way. "It's alright son, you're safe now."

Holding the sobbing child as close as possible he let the full extent of his fury show on his face. "You have no idea how close I am to telling Balor to attack."

"But you said I wouldn't be killed!"

"No, I said I wouldn't kill you. I didn't say anything about HIM." He looked down at the dog. "Balor", he said and saw the thug's face turn completely white. "Guard," he said, looking at the man with contempt as the hound sat up and began growling again.

When Adam turned around, Thea holding Annalise, ran through the front door with Charlie right behind her. Her eyes immediately went to Alexander in Adam's arms and she put a hand to her mouth to cover a sob. He walked up to her and put his free arm around her and his daughter, while she put her free arm around his waist. The two of them stood there in the hall, holding on to each other as tightly as they could. Adam raised his head when he heard men coming up the front steps. He bent and kissed each one; wife, daughter, and son then told Thea to take the children into his office.

As she left, Adam glanced at the kidnapper and saw that Charlie had decided to guard him too, and he almost smiled at the picture of the large dog and huge man, both growling and staring intently, but his own rage had not cooled at all.

He called, "Balor, come." The dog immediately stood and came up to him. He said, "heel," and went to the office door, the dog close by his side. Adam opened the door and told Balor to go to Thea. The huge dog bounded into the room and jumped up on the sofa. All three threw their arms around him as Adam shut the door and went back to the hall.

The first policeman through the front door went right to Adam and held out his hand. "I see you've been having a bit of trouble today, Mr. Eden, I mean Cartwright," he said as they shook hands.

"Yes, as you can see Lieutenant Tolson."

"What happened?"

"Well, all I can tell you is I came in and found this man trying to kidnap my son. Then he held a knife to Alexander's throat." Adam was still having a little trouble tamping down his anger. "Balor had him pinned right where he stands now." He refused to look again, knowing if he did he might do something violent.

As if he knew what Adam was thinking the policeman said, "Why don't we get this piece of human trash out of here and down to the station? Then we can get a statement from everybody and take it from there."

Adam nodded, "I just don't know how he got in, I've had guards around the house twenty-four hours a day."

"You have?" the policeman said then turned looking for the nearest underling. "Brennerman," he called and a young, freckle-faced man came running. "Search the house and grounds and instruct anyone guarding the house to come here."

The young man just nodded, then hurried off to organize the search.

"My wife and children are in my office. Why don't we go in there and you can take our statements."

"Just what I was going to suggest myself," the Lieutenant said then Charlie interrupted them. "Adam? I think you need to take a look at your missus - someone tried almost the same thing with her and Annalise at the gardens today."

"Damn it!" Adam ran for the office. Lieutenant Tolson followed walking.

Thea looked up startled as her husband burst through the door. He went directly to her then went down on one knee in front of the sofa. When he looked at her face he could see her bottom lip was split and what would turn out to be a huge bruise beginning to darken one side of her face.

"What happened?" he said and turned to look at Annalise. The little girl's lips began to tremble as she held her arms out to her father. Adam sat down on the floor and pulled her into his lap. She clutched at him and began to shudder. He held his daughter with a fierce grip, and then looked up at Thea, but her eyes had gone to the door as Tolson came in.

He sat down in a chair opposite the family, "Please, go ahead Mrs. Cartwright."

Thea and Annalise had come to their favorite part of the public gardens, the section reserved for roses. They were walking along, hand-in-hand and thoroughly enjoying themselves when a man stepped up beside them, grabbed the child and tried to take her from her mother. Thea refused to let go so the man smashed his elbow into her mouth, knocking her down then ran away clutching the squirming child. Thea pawed at her skirt, finally reached the knife in the sheath inside her boot, got to her feet and raced after them.

She stopped at an intersection in the path and looked frantically around, not knowing which way to go. Then her sharp ears heard a faint cry and she turned to her right and ran, following the sound she knew was her daughter. When she rounded the next bend she saw the man holding her child looking for some way out of the cul-de-sac in the boxwood hedges that were as dense and thick as a wall.

He turned, saw her, and put a hand on Annalise's chin. "Come any closer and I'll snap her neck," he warned. Thea stood there, eyes wide and shining with hatred.

"I mean it lady! Back up.'

Thea stared at him for a few seconds more then hung her head, shoulders sagging with defeat. She began to turn away and saw the man relax out of the corner of her eye. She turned back and threw the knife so quickly he didn't even see it coming; the knife sang through the air and buried itself to the hilt in his left shoulder. His arm instantly went numb and he dropped the child. The little girl landed on her feet and ran to her mother who snatched her up and ran away as fast as she could.

Thea did not stop until they were on the sidewalk next to the street and she looked around for a policeman, but couldn't see any. Then she remembered the club was only two blocks away. "Charlie," she said under her breath and quickly walked the two blocks, clutching her daughter.

She looked through the glass in the front door but couldn't see anyone inside, so she began to pound on the door and call for Charlie. He came running and threw the door open. "Mrs. Cartwright, what's wrong?" he asked as she stepped right up and leaned into him.

He awkwardly put an arm around the two and pushed the door shut. Both the mother and child were shaking violently as he guided her to the nearest chair. He had to push on her shoulder to get her to sit down then he bent over in front of her. "What happened?"

She tightened her arms around her child and tried to pull herself together. "Charlie, someone tried to take Annalise away from me in the gardens," she said then a horrifying thought occurred to her. "Oh my God, if they sent someone after Annalise, they'll be sending someone after Alexander too! I've got to get home right now." She started to stand up.

"Hold on Thea, I'll get you home as fast as I can, but first I'm sendin' someone to the station to get the police out to your house."

She nodded, still shaking.

He went to a door at the back of the room, opened it, and spoke to someone. He was back in a moment and said, "Let's go!"

Standing on the sidewalk out front, Thea couldn't see any empty cabs; they were all occupied. Charlie walked out into the street and stepped in front of one holding his hands up. When the cab stopped he went to the door, opened it, reached in and pulled the passenger out. The smaller man was sputtering with indignation until Charlie gave him a dark look and simply said, "Emergency."

The little man stopped complaining and backed away as the huge man picked up Thea, who was still holding her child, and handed them into the cab. After shutting the door, he climbed up to the seat, pushed the driver to the side and took the lines into his own hands. He slapped the reins on the horses' backs and bellowed, "Hyah!" The horses took off at top speed.

While telling the story, Thea had reached out for her son and now had him in her lap, holding him as close as she could; he had fallen asleep. Annalise was still in her father's lap as he sat on the floor, but she had stopped shaking and her eyes were closing too. The children were recovering more quickly than the adults.

Brennerman came into the room then and said something low to Tolson. The Lieutenant's face went grim. "Could we see you out in the hall for a moment, Mr. Cartwright?"

Adam stood then handed his daughter to her mother. Somehow Thea managed to get both children into her lap. Balor lay watching them intently from the other end of the sofa.

After they stepped out into the hall the Lieutenant led the way out to the gardens and into the gazebo. A man lay on the floor in a huge pool of blood. Adam stood as close to the body as he could, staring at the face. He turned his head to look at the Lieutenant, "This is one of my guards, Brian Kestler," he said sickened. The young man's throat had been slashed.

"We thought as much," the Lieutenant replied.

"He was supposed to be watching my son."

"I see," Tolson said and was silent for a moment, deep in thought, then shook his head, "Well, I believe that is all we will need you for; I've got both your statements and I don't believe we will ever need to ask anything of the children since you and your wife can identify the assailants."

Adam nodded, looked at Brian one more time then turned and left the gazebo, already having made up his mind to have it destroyed.

When he returned to the office not only were his children asleep, their mother was also. He sat down in the chair opposite them and just watched them sleep for a while, knowing how close he had come to losing all of them. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Balor jumped down off the sofa and came to sit next to his master. Adam absently stroked the dog's shaggy head. White-hot rage burned in his intense stare and when he looked up at Wes who came to stand over him, the larger man took a step back.

"We have to stick with this afternoon, this can't go on any longer," Adam said. Wes nodded. "We're ready, what time have you decided on?"

"Four o'clock," Adam answered, "After you deliver the message, I want you back here to guard my children. You're the only one I can trust to do it right."

"Yes sir, with my life," Wes headed for the door.

"Thank you," Adam said and the guard just smiled as he left his employer watching over his sleeping family.