A/N: Nette, E, Carbyfan, and all you other worried souls, don't give up on me yet! I promise that, despite the current angst, this story will have a happy ending. You just gotta believe.

One thing to keep in mind as you read the following chapters: it's not necessarily written in chronological order. I just put things in the order that I thought would best tell the story, and though it may seem confusing for a bit, be assured that all will be explained in the end. With that in mind, read on.

Chapter 27

"I still say it's too dangerous."

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Joey growled, silencing him with a scowl. Why had he ever thought that it would be a good idea to bring his whiny cousin in on the deal? But now, it was too late. Scott had helped create the plan and delivered one of the notes, so now he expected his fair share of the money.

"Is that stupid brat crying again?"

Scott peered down the hall. "Sounds like it. You want me to go and check on her?"

"No, I want you to go and shut her up."

Scott nodded. "Of course. I'll be right back." He headed down the hall.

"Mommy!" Jill cried out, waking from her dream. She looked around the room. Where was Mommy?

Then she remembered when she was. She was with the bad men, and now Riley was gone. She had had another bad dream, but Mommy wasn't there to make her feel better.

The door opened, and Scott walked in. "Hi, Jill," he said, sitting down by the fold-out bed that Jill slept on.

"I want Mommy," Jill said, tears beginning to trickle down her face. She didn't want to be here anymore. She wanted to go back to Daddy's house, back to the room she shared with Riley.

"Don't worry, you're gonna get to see your Mommy soon," Scott reassured her. "Just as soon as your mommy gives us our money."

"Mommy has your money?" Jill asked, confused.

"Yep, a lot of our money. As soon as she gives it back to us, we'll take you home."

"But Mommy doesn't have any money," she told him.

"Well, maybe she can borrow some from her friends. But I'm sure she'll get it somehow, if she wants you to come home."

Daddy has money, Jill thought. Maybe he could give Mommy some. She was about to tell Scott this, but decided to keep her mouth shut. Scott was a bad man; she wasn't going to tell him anything.

Jill looked out the small, dirty window. She wanted to go outside and play. She wished Uncle Eric had gotten to take them to the park. She was tired of spending all this time in this little room.

Scott patted Jill on the head. "No more crying, okay. You don't want to make Joey mad."

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Riley looked out the large, clear window. He wanted to go outside and play. He wished Jill were here, so he would have someone to play with.

"What's the mater, Riley?" Carter sat down next to him in the window seat.

Riley sighed. "I miss Jill. I want her to be home again," he said softly.

She'll be home soon," Carter reassured him, though he himself wasn't sure of that.

Riley shook his head. "But that man didn't like her. He wasn't nice to her."

Carter's heart quickened. "What did he do to her?"

"He was mean to her. He yelled at her, and he locked her in the room."

Carter slowly took a deep breath, trying to control himself. The thought of some full-grown man attacking his three-year-old daughter was enough to make he want to slam his fist into a wall. But that wouldn't help the situation, so he remained calm.

How much longer would Jill have to suffer? The police had said that the kidnappers would probably call again and ask for money, but so far, they hadn't heard anything. He was starting to worry; was Jill okay? Why hadn't the kidnapper called yet?

"But you can get Jill back, right Daddy?" Riley looked up at his father, and the hope in his eyes was almost enough to make Carter cry. Riley has so much faith in Carter's ability to save Jill; for that matter, so did Abby. It was only Carter who doubted himself.

What if he couldn't get Jill back? Carter felt like the only thing he could contribute to the search was his money, but what if that wasn't enough? What if the kidnappers were just after revenge, and no amount of money in the world could buy Jill's safety?

"I'll get her back," Carter promised him.

And he would. He would do whatever it took to bring Jill back home safely.

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Joey was livid.

"You IDIOT! How could you have let this happen?"

"It was a mistake," Scott stammered. "I didn't mean to-"

"WE CAN'T AFFORD TO MAKE MISTAKES!" Joey screeched into his cousin face.

"I'm sorry, Joey, I didn't-"

"Shut up!" Joey's fist slammed into Scott's face, but his rage still wasn't satisfied. He wanted to kill Scott; stupid Scott, who had ruined his perfect plan. They didn't have the girl; they weren't safe anymore. They had to rush now, and when you rushed, you made mistakes. He knew he never should have brought Scott in on the plan.

"Because of you, I have to call her now, instead of waiting like I wanted to. You've ruined EVERYTHING!" Joey picked up the phone and stabbed the numbers.

"But Joey, what if she doesn't have the money..." Scott whispered, fearful of him cousin's wrath.

"Shut. Up." Joey said the words with cold precision, pointing a finger at Scott's face. "She'll find it. She's gotta know that we want more now."

Scott nodded. "You're probably right," he agreed, trying to pacify Joey's wrath.

"I said shut up. Don't think you're off the hook. You ruined my perfect plan; you're gonna pay for it, make no mistake about that. But for now, I just wanna get the money and run."

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Susan closed her eyes as she worked the lather into her hair. Ah, that was nice. She knew it was worth it to buy the expensive shampoo. Her hair felt better already.

As she rinsed the rich, sweet smelling lather out of her hair, she thought she heard the phone ringing. Poking her head out from behind the curtain, she held her breath as she listened for a ring. After several seconds, she realized that it must have just been her imagination. With a sigh, she stuck her head back into the shower and readjusted the curtain.

She wondered how Carter and Abby were doing. They were probably frantic with worry; she couldn't imagine how she would feel if her child was kidnapped.

It had been three days now, and still, no word from the kidnapper. Last time she had seen Abby, she looked awful. Bags under her eyes, face creased with worry, Susan could tell she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since her children were taken. And she probably wouldn't until Jill was safe at home.

Susan wished there was more she could do to help. She knew how awful Carter and Abby must be feeing right now.

Susan's reverie was interrupted by a knock at the door. Normally, she would ignore someone at the door if she was in the shower. But since the twins' disappearance, she had felt like she should answer the door ever time someone knocked. She knew it was unlikely, but what if someone showed up at her door with news of the twins? That was more important than finishing her shower. So she wrapped herself in a bathrobe and walked towards the living room.

"I'm coming!" she yelled in response to the rapid knocking at the door. Whoever it was, it must be something important. She quickened her pace, and flung open the door as soon as she got to it.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight that awaited her there.

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Abby answered the phone on the first ring.

"Hello?" she said quickly.

"Hello, Abby." She felt a chill go down her spine at the sound of the voice she had come to recognize.

"Where's Jill? Is she okay?" Abby forced herself to keep her voice calm. Breaking down would just make things worse.

"She's fine. And you'll see her by the end of today if you follow my instructions."

Carter frowned as he listened in on the other extension. Was is just him, or did the man's voice seem to waver uncertainly at the last sentence? Carter's stomach clenched. Was Jill really alright?

"What do you want?"

"Go to the corner of Eight and Main. You'll find instructions there." Click.

As Carter hung up the phone, he had an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something wasn't right; he knew it. The kidnapper's voice had lost its usual confidence when he mentioned them seeing Jill again. Was it because they wouldn't?

Abby ran into the kitchen, already hustling into her coat. "C'mon, Carter, let's go," she said.

As Carter watched her racing around the kitchen looking for her keys, he felt unexplainably sad. Abby had so much hope. She really believed that if she did whatever the kidnapper wanted, she would get Jill back. Carter had seen enough movies to know that it didn't always work that way. Especially when the kidnappers got the money first.

Should he mention his suspicions to Abby? He looked at her racing around the kitchen in search of her keys. Why should he destroy her hope? If the kidnappers weren't going to come through on their end of the bargain, she would know soon enough.

As Carter shrugged on his coat, he prayed that his vague suspicions were incorrect.