Chapter Seven
Pulling the car into a parking spot Dotty took a moment to check her hair before getting out of the car. Looping her jacket over her arm, the day beautiful and sunny, she headed toward the hospital, a smile in her heart. Something good was going to happen today, she could feel it in her bones. With a spring in her step she entered the hospital and rode the elevator up to the second floor. Nearing her daughter's room she frowned when she saw the two guards sitting on either side of the door. Moving past them she stopped in shock at the sight before her.
Where her daughter had once been now lay Lee, sleeping. Billy was on one side of the bed while Jaime was on the other side, both of them looking over pictures. "What is going on here? Did Amanda wake up? Why is Lee in the hospital bed? Jaime king why aren't you in school young man?"
Both men looked up in surprise at the rapid-fire questions being thrown at them. Seeing his grandmother Jaime glanced quickly at Billy. Had she heard anything?
"Mrs. West," Billy said, holding out his free hand to try and get her to stop. "Please, have a seat and I can explain."
"No I will not, tell me where my daughter is!" Dotty demanded. Her hands on her hip she glared at Billy, her full attention was on him to the point that she didn't see her grandson approaching.
"Grandma, please." Ignoring him Dotty fired her questions at Billy again, demanding to know where her daughter was and why Lee was in the bed. "Grandma!" Jaime suddenly cried, his voice as stern as hers was when they left the toilet seat up.
Stopping she stared at him, shocked that he had raised his voice to her. Seeing him she noticed that something was different about her grandson. Jaime was the quiet one, the serene one. It was rare that he ever let anyone see how he was really feeling, not because he wasn't feeling it but because he did such a good job at hiding it. But now, looking up at him, she saw a face that was filled with anger and her own face blanched.
"What's going on?" she asked, her voice soft and filled with a sudden and terrifying fear.
"Sit down, Grandma," Jaime said. His voice was softer this time. "Mr. Melrose was just giving me an update on what's happening."
Catching the young mans drift, smiling on the inside at his ability to control his grandmother while still keeping it a secret that he worked for the agency, Billy looked down at them sitting in the hallway.
"Mrs. West I'm afraid it's not good news."
"Oh dear God, she's dead isn't she? She didn't make it!" Dotty started, tears filling her eyes.
"Grandma," Jaime warned, squeezing her shoulders gently. "Let Mr. Melrose finish."
Apologizing she motioned for him to keep going.
"Amanda was kidnapped. We're doing everything we can to try and locate her and get her back safely but for now we're going to have to ask that you and your two grandsons go with some of our agents to a safehouse on the other side of town. We'll keep you updated as often as we can but it will help us to work faster if we don't have to worry about your safety as well as Amanda's."
"What happened to Lee?" she asked, her voice thick with tears, pointing toward the room.
"We have to assume that Lee was in the room with Amanda when she was taken. From the bloodwork that came back it appears that he was given a heavy sedative. It's going to take him several hours to wake up from it. Until then we're going to leave him here under the doctors care. There will be guards posted at his door at all times."
Dotty nodded, trying desperately to control the fear and sadness that was filling her heart. "Will he be okay?"
"It was just a drug to make him sleep. As soon as he wakes up he'll have a headache but he'll be fine."
"Phillip is still at school."
"We have a team watching him, once school lets out he'll be picked up and brought to the safehouse."
Nodding Dotty was escorted out to a car, Jaime staying behind to question Billy. "I saw them, sir, I should be out here helping!"
"Listen to me son, I know you want to find your mom, we all do. But the best place for you right now is with your family. They're going to be scared and I'll need to you help keep them in line and make sure no one tries to do anything crazy."
Jaime nodded, remembering the time when Lee had gone missing a year ago. Phillip had hit the roof and had managed to escape from the safehouse. It had taken them three hours to find him again. "Keep me updated, sir. Please," he asked.
"I will, I promise."
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Pain.
It was the first thing to creep past the blackness. His head pounded with pain. Every pulse seemed to make the pain worse. Groaning he tried to raise his hand to his head but he had trouble moving it. Focusing his efforts he managed to move it, his arm as heavy as a tree trunk.
"Mr. Stetson?"
The voice called to him from faraway but it screeched like nails on a chalkboard.
"Get me something for this damn headache," he ordered them, unsure of who it was.
"Yes sir," came the reply.
Some time later he felt a warm hand on his forehead and he relaxed. "Amanda."
"Can you open your eyes, Mr. Stetson?"
That wasn't Amanda's voice he realized suddenly. Forcing his eyes open he cringed at the brightness of the light. "What's going on?" he muttered, closing his eyes again.
"You tell me," he heard. Finally a voice he recognized. Billy.
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you remember, son?" he asked.
"I was sitting here with Amanda and fell asleep. How did I end up in a bed?"
"Do you remember anything from just before you fell asleep?"
Closing his eyes again Lee tried to think. "There was a nurse. She brought me some food."
"Is this her?"
Lee forced his eyes open again and looked at the picture. "Yeah, that's her. Billy what's..." Then he saw it. Just beyond the nurse who was closing the ambulance doors he saw Amanda's sleeping face. Looking around the room quickly he realized he was in the same room, Amanda's room, but Amanda was nowhere to be seen. "What's going on Billy? Where's Amanda?" he demanded.
"She was taken," Billy answered, not bothering to sugar coat the truth.
Lee stared at his boss with incredulous eyes. "Excuse me?" The pain in his head stopped him from fully comprehending what Billy was saying even as he said it again. "What do you mean taken?"
"I mean taken, gone, kidnapped."
Lee's eyes rolled backwards as his head lay back down on the pillow. "How?"
Billy frowned. This was not the reaction he was expecting. "They drugged you and took her away in an ambulance. If it hadn't been for Jaime and his camera we never would have known anything about it."
"Jaime?"
"Don't worry he's fine. We've put Dotty, Phillip and Jaime in a safe house, though none of them are too happy about it. It might be a good idea for you to give them a call, they're pretty worried about you."
"What have you got on the nurse or the ambulance?"
"Nothing yet. We tried to get a tail on them but they lost them. We've got two teams searching the nurses apartment and four more looking for the ambulance. According to the hospital surveillance camera there was an orderly that drove the ambulance out of here. We're looking for him as well."
"How long ago?"
"They took her about fourteen hours ago."
"Fourteen...!" Lee started. "She could be halfway across the world by now Billy!"
"I know that Lee. We've already contacted our people abroad to keep an eye out for any sign of her. There is nothing more we can do than what we're already doing. Now just lie there and..."
Interrupted by the ringing of the phone Billy knew Lee was in pain by the scowl and flinch that filled his face at the jingle of the bell. Quickly he picked up the receiver and put it to his ear. "Melrose." Listening to the report his grim face lightened a shade, it wasn't much but it was enough to keep Lee's spirit from sinking any farther. "All right, keep me updated."
"Well?" Lee asked before Billy had taken the phone away from his ear. "What was the report?"
"They managed to find the ambulance. The driver got away but they're searching for some fingerprints now to try and find out who he is."
Lee scowled. "I'm getting out of here," he said, swinging his legs off the bed.
"Lee," Billy started.
"Don't even try and tell me to stay where I am, Billy. I just got her back. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let someone take her away from me now."
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Sitting at a table working on the computer Jaime kept a word document running in the background, just in case someone wandered by the monitor, but his main project took all his focus. Using everything he could recall from his classes, both school and agency, he hacked his way into the agency computers, looking for an update on the search for his mother. Almost there he suddenly hit a brick wall and was kicked off. Muttering under his breath he was trying log back in when the phone rang. Being nearest to it he picked it up.
"Hello?"
"How many times do I have to warn you?"
Jaime sighed. "Sorry Lee."
"I know you're anxious but the instant we have even the slightest clue we'll call you, I promise."
"Fine," he muttered. Jaime could hear Lee sigh on the other end of the phone.
"Just hang in there, okay?"
"We're trying to."
"I know," Lee said softly, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "I know." Saying goodbye he hung up the phone and turned back to his screen. Before he could do anything the door to his office flew open.
"We've got him!" Francine announced with a brilliant smile on her face. "The fingerprints came back with a match."
"Who is it?" Lee demanded as he took the file from Francine.
"His name is Jinsen, he's a hired gun for anyone who can afford him," she said as he read over the file. "A few weeks ago we saw him meeting with a known terrorist. It gets better. I pulled everything from his file and went as far back as I could go. Take a look at what he was doing three years ago."
Lee flipped through the pages until he found what Francine was talking about. His blood froze in his veins for a moment. "Renetti," he whispered in shock.
"I'll bet you a lobster dinner for two that he's the one who's got Amanda."
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Sitting behind his desk Renetti watched the comatose woman on the monitors. When she'd arrived he'd had a doctor examine her to confirm what he'd been told. She was in a coma, no foreseeable awakening. Drawing on his cigar he watched her a cloud of smoke filtered up in front of the screen. She was a beautiful woman; it was shame he was going to have to kill her.
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Pulling the car into a parking spot Dotty took a moment to check her hair before getting out of the car. Looping her jacket over her arm, the day beautiful and sunny, she headed toward the hospital, a smile in her heart. Something good was going to happen today, she could feel it in her bones. With a spring in her step she entered the hospital and rode the elevator up to the second floor. Nearing her daughter's room she frowned when she saw the two guards sitting on either side of the door. Moving past them she stopped in shock at the sight before her.
Where her daughter had once been now lay Lee, sleeping. Billy was on one side of the bed while Jaime was on the other side, both of them looking over pictures. "What is going on here? Did Amanda wake up? Why is Lee in the hospital bed? Jaime king why aren't you in school young man?"
Both men looked up in surprise at the rapid-fire questions being thrown at them. Seeing his grandmother Jaime glanced quickly at Billy. Had she heard anything?
"Mrs. West," Billy said, holding out his free hand to try and get her to stop. "Please, have a seat and I can explain."
"No I will not, tell me where my daughter is!" Dotty demanded. Her hands on her hip she glared at Billy, her full attention was on him to the point that she didn't see her grandson approaching.
"Grandma, please." Ignoring him Dotty fired her questions at Billy again, demanding to know where her daughter was and why Lee was in the bed. "Grandma!" Jaime suddenly cried, his voice as stern as hers was when they left the toilet seat up.
Stopping she stared at him, shocked that he had raised his voice to her. Seeing him she noticed that something was different about her grandson. Jaime was the quiet one, the serene one. It was rare that he ever let anyone see how he was really feeling, not because he wasn't feeling it but because he did such a good job at hiding it. But now, looking up at him, she saw a face that was filled with anger and her own face blanched.
"What's going on?" she asked, her voice soft and filled with a sudden and terrifying fear.
"Sit down, Grandma," Jaime said. His voice was softer this time. "Mr. Melrose was just giving me an update on what's happening."
Catching the young mans drift, smiling on the inside at his ability to control his grandmother while still keeping it a secret that he worked for the agency, Billy looked down at them sitting in the hallway.
"Mrs. West I'm afraid it's not good news."
"Oh dear God, she's dead isn't she? She didn't make it!" Dotty started, tears filling her eyes.
"Grandma," Jaime warned, squeezing her shoulders gently. "Let Mr. Melrose finish."
Apologizing she motioned for him to keep going.
"Amanda was kidnapped. We're doing everything we can to try and locate her and get her back safely but for now we're going to have to ask that you and your two grandsons go with some of our agents to a safehouse on the other side of town. We'll keep you updated as often as we can but it will help us to work faster if we don't have to worry about your safety as well as Amanda's."
"What happened to Lee?" she asked, her voice thick with tears, pointing toward the room.
"We have to assume that Lee was in the room with Amanda when she was taken. From the bloodwork that came back it appears that he was given a heavy sedative. It's going to take him several hours to wake up from it. Until then we're going to leave him here under the doctors care. There will be guards posted at his door at all times."
Dotty nodded, trying desperately to control the fear and sadness that was filling her heart. "Will he be okay?"
"It was just a drug to make him sleep. As soon as he wakes up he'll have a headache but he'll be fine."
"Phillip is still at school."
"We have a team watching him, once school lets out he'll be picked up and brought to the safehouse."
Nodding Dotty was escorted out to a car, Jaime staying behind to question Billy. "I saw them, sir, I should be out here helping!"
"Listen to me son, I know you want to find your mom, we all do. But the best place for you right now is with your family. They're going to be scared and I'll need to you help keep them in line and make sure no one tries to do anything crazy."
Jaime nodded, remembering the time when Lee had gone missing a year ago. Phillip had hit the roof and had managed to escape from the safehouse. It had taken them three hours to find him again. "Keep me updated, sir. Please," he asked.
"I will, I promise."
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Pain.
It was the first thing to creep past the blackness. His head pounded with pain. Every pulse seemed to make the pain worse. Groaning he tried to raise his hand to his head but he had trouble moving it. Focusing his efforts he managed to move it, his arm as heavy as a tree trunk.
"Mr. Stetson?"
The voice called to him from faraway but it screeched like nails on a chalkboard.
"Get me something for this damn headache," he ordered them, unsure of who it was.
"Yes sir," came the reply.
Some time later he felt a warm hand on his forehead and he relaxed. "Amanda."
"Can you open your eyes, Mr. Stetson?"
That wasn't Amanda's voice he realized suddenly. Forcing his eyes open he cringed at the brightness of the light. "What's going on?" he muttered, closing his eyes again.
"You tell me," he heard. Finally a voice he recognized. Billy.
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you remember, son?" he asked.
"I was sitting here with Amanda and fell asleep. How did I end up in a bed?"
"Do you remember anything from just before you fell asleep?"
Closing his eyes again Lee tried to think. "There was a nurse. She brought me some food."
"Is this her?"
Lee forced his eyes open again and looked at the picture. "Yeah, that's her. Billy what's..." Then he saw it. Just beyond the nurse who was closing the ambulance doors he saw Amanda's sleeping face. Looking around the room quickly he realized he was in the same room, Amanda's room, but Amanda was nowhere to be seen. "What's going on Billy? Where's Amanda?" he demanded.
"She was taken," Billy answered, not bothering to sugar coat the truth.
Lee stared at his boss with incredulous eyes. "Excuse me?" The pain in his head stopped him from fully comprehending what Billy was saying even as he said it again. "What do you mean taken?"
"I mean taken, gone, kidnapped."
Lee's eyes rolled backwards as his head lay back down on the pillow. "How?"
Billy frowned. This was not the reaction he was expecting. "They drugged you and took her away in an ambulance. If it hadn't been for Jaime and his camera we never would have known anything about it."
"Jaime?"
"Don't worry he's fine. We've put Dotty, Phillip and Jaime in a safe house, though none of them are too happy about it. It might be a good idea for you to give them a call, they're pretty worried about you."
"What have you got on the nurse or the ambulance?"
"Nothing yet. We tried to get a tail on them but they lost them. We've got two teams searching the nurses apartment and four more looking for the ambulance. According to the hospital surveillance camera there was an orderly that drove the ambulance out of here. We're looking for him as well."
"How long ago?"
"They took her about fourteen hours ago."
"Fourteen...!" Lee started. "She could be halfway across the world by now Billy!"
"I know that Lee. We've already contacted our people abroad to keep an eye out for any sign of her. There is nothing more we can do than what we're already doing. Now just lie there and..."
Interrupted by the ringing of the phone Billy knew Lee was in pain by the scowl and flinch that filled his face at the jingle of the bell. Quickly he picked up the receiver and put it to his ear. "Melrose." Listening to the report his grim face lightened a shade, it wasn't much but it was enough to keep Lee's spirit from sinking any farther. "All right, keep me updated."
"Well?" Lee asked before Billy had taken the phone away from his ear. "What was the report?"
"They managed to find the ambulance. The driver got away but they're searching for some fingerprints now to try and find out who he is."
Lee scowled. "I'm getting out of here," he said, swinging his legs off the bed.
"Lee," Billy started.
"Don't even try and tell me to stay where I am, Billy. I just got her back. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let someone take her away from me now."
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
Sitting at a table working on the computer Jaime kept a word document running in the background, just in case someone wandered by the monitor, but his main project took all his focus. Using everything he could recall from his classes, both school and agency, he hacked his way into the agency computers, looking for an update on the search for his mother. Almost there he suddenly hit a brick wall and was kicked off. Muttering under his breath he was trying log back in when the phone rang. Being nearest to it he picked it up.
"Hello?"
"How many times do I have to warn you?"
Jaime sighed. "Sorry Lee."
"I know you're anxious but the instant we have even the slightest clue we'll call you, I promise."
"Fine," he muttered. Jaime could hear Lee sigh on the other end of the phone.
"Just hang in there, okay?"
"We're trying to."
"I know," Lee said softly, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "I know." Saying goodbye he hung up the phone and turned back to his screen. Before he could do anything the door to his office flew open.
"We've got him!" Francine announced with a brilliant smile on her face. "The fingerprints came back with a match."
"Who is it?" Lee demanded as he took the file from Francine.
"His name is Jinsen, he's a hired gun for anyone who can afford him," she said as he read over the file. "A few weeks ago we saw him meeting with a known terrorist. It gets better. I pulled everything from his file and went as far back as I could go. Take a look at what he was doing three years ago."
Lee flipped through the pages until he found what Francine was talking about. His blood froze in his veins for a moment. "Renetti," he whispered in shock.
"I'll bet you a lobster dinner for two that he's the one who's got Amanda."
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
Sitting behind his desk Renetti watched the comatose woman on the monitors. When she'd arrived he'd had a doctor examine her to confirm what he'd been told. She was in a coma, no foreseeable awakening. Drawing on his cigar he watched her a cloud of smoke filtered up in front of the screen. She was a beautiful woman; it was shame he was going to have to kill her.
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