Timothy Killinger, 15 years old and light of hand, ran through the streets
with his latest prize. 'Some dumb tourist, he thought, 'I wish that there
were more like her.' Timmy had lived on the streets most of his life. No
one paid much attention to him. He wasn't a French citizen. His family
had emigrated here five years ago and mostly they spent their time trying
not to be noticed by the local authorities. His father sold trinkets to
the tourists who waited in line at the base of the Eiffel tower while his
mother set up a stand at the flee market and sold traditional foods from
their homeland. 'Homeland, Ha.' Timmy had been known to say. Timmy
didn't have a clue where that so-called homeland was. He had spent his
entire life growing up in the streets. His parents barely brought in
enough to keep a roof over their heads. The furniture in their small
apartment was put together from pieces others had thrown out. For food,
they ate whatever was leftover from his mother's stand. It was Timmy's
quick fingers that supplied all the comforts of home. It was the ignorant
tourists that left their valuables in exposed pockets that supplied the
cash.
Timmy already had a use for his latest prize. He had been eyeing this stereo all month. If he moved quick enough, he might be able to buy it and get it out of the store before the lady noticed that her credit card was gone. He knew just the store to go to. It was large and extremely busy. So busy that people rarely took the time to ask for ID.
Timmy ran into Printemps, grabbed the stereo and a few CD's and made his way to the cash register. Ten minutes later, he left the building with his latest purchase and moved on to the next store. He would keep up this pattern of running into a store, grabbing what he wanted and then charging it to the card until they either cut up the card because it was reported stolen or he reached it's credit limit. Either way, the worst that had ever happened to him in the past was that he would have to run out of the store and leave the credit card behind.
--
"Sir, there has been a hit on the card."
Alcazar smiled like a cat with a bowl of cream. "I knew it. She lives on those credit cards. After all these years, she has never learned to live without them. We have her now. Where is she shopping at?"
"Printemps."
"Shit. That place is huge."
"Yes sir, four buildings eight stories high."
"With the size of that place, she probably thinks that she can hide in the crowds. Send al the men there. I want them to set up a perimeter to search the crowds. Don't let her get away."
"Yes sir."
--
Jasper Jacks had just finished taxing his airplane off the runway in Paris when his cell phone rang. Ned's advice to track Alcazar had paid off. His people had located Alcazar in Paris. Jax didn't believe that it was a coincidence that he just happened to be residing in the same apartment that Skye had been paying for before she disappeared. After reading that piece of intel, he immediately had his plane made ready for a flight to Paris.
"Jax speaking."
"Jax this is Chris."
Jax's expression became very serious as he listened to his PI. "What have you found out?"
"I've got good news and bad news."
"I'm listening."
"Well the good news is that there has been a hit on one of Skye's credit cards here in Paris."
"And the bad news?"
"Well I'm not so sure that it is really bad news. It's more like a mixed bag of nuts."
"Just spit it out Chris."
"Well the hit was at a major shopping center called Printemps. Ten minutes later just about every man that works for Alcazar in Paris descended upon the place looking for her. So I figure that there is both good and bad news in that move. The bad news is that you have reason to be worried about Skye. This guy really is after her. He seems almost desperate to find her. The good news is that if he is looking for her, then he doesn't have her."
"At least not yet. But if she continues to use that blasted credit card, it won't take to long to find her. It will practically act as a homing beacon."
"I know. But if she doesn't use it, what are the chances that we will locate her either. No offence, but you didn't exactly have a lot of information for us to work off of when you asked us to find your ex-wife. Considering the fact that you married her, I would have thought that you would have gotten to know the woman a little bit better."
"Chris, don't start. Besides, Skye kept a lot of things to herself."
"It might have been helpful to know who she knows in France. People generally run to known locations."
"Didn't your people learn anything when they talked to the Chandlers?"
"Jax, when it comes to your wife's history in France, then know less than you do. They couldn't even remember the name of the private school they sent her to. We need those credit card transactions to track her. We are practically working on a clean slate here."
"But if she uses that card, she will draw Alcazar's people to her."
"I've sent in a few of my men with orders to hide her if they spot her, but they haven't seen anything yet."
"Keep me informed. I'm headed there now."
--
'Oh bloody hell. There are those same guys. What the hell is going on? The first time that I saw them, I thought my goose was cooked. I thought this was it. Security had finally caught up with me. Man my Dad is going to be so pissed if we have to relocate in order to avoid getting thrown out of the country.' After they walked right by Timmy, he realized that he was holding his breath. He almost started laughing. 'Of course they aren't after me. It's just a stupid credit card. No one has ever run after me for a credit card before. Stop being so paranoid,' Timmy thought as he walked out of the store with his latest purchase.
"Hey kid."
Timmy froze. His first instinct was to run. But run where? These security type guys seemed to be all over the place. Timmy decided to play it cool with the I didn't know that I had done anything wrong approach. Timmy turned around and said, "Yes Sir?" Timmy felt like kicking himself when his voice came out a couple of pitches higher than normal. He gulped when the man reached his hand into his inside coat pocket. He could tell from the fit of this guy's coat that he was carrying a gun. 'Oh God. This is it. I'm dead.' Timmy thought as he closed his eyes.
"Have you seen this woman?"
Timmy opened his eyes and saw that the man was holding a picture in front of him. He felt like sitting down and crying in relief. Timmy looked at the picture. 'Oh Shit,' he thought, 'That's the tourist that I took the card off of.'
Timmy looked up that the man, took a big breath and said, "Sorry, I haven't seen her."
"Are you sure?"
"That is one gorgeous woman. I'm sure that there is no way that I would forget a woman like that."
"Thanks anyway kid."
Timmy blew out a sigh of relief as the man let him go and walked away. 'Man, this card is hot. I wonder who the hell this Skye Chandler Quartermaine woman is that she has so much muscle looking for her. Oh man, I've got to get rid of this card before anyone connects it to me.' As he walked out of the store, he took the card and threw it toward the gutter and walked away.
--
"What the hell do you mean that you can't find her? How the hell could you loose the woman? She purchased things at five registers. You guys were practically on top of her for the last two. How the hell could she have gotten away? Alcazar screamed at the men in front of him. All his plans, all of his hard work was going down the drain because these idiots couldn't keep track of one bloody woman.
"Sir when we couldn't find her, we showed her picture to everyone in the area. Since no one could recognize her, I think that it is safe to assume that she may have changed her appearance."
Another of the men nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time she has done that, sir. That time in the Bahamas, she bleached her hair to try to get by us. Then there was the time that she dyed it grey and put on that theatrical make up and rolled by us in a wheel chair."
"I'm not interested in your god damn excuses. People, we have a time limit here. From the time she stops taking her medication, she will have three to five days before she starts bleeding internally. We don't know if she took her medication with her or not. We need to find her sooner rather than later. Offer a reward. Do whatever it is that you have to do. Just get her back."
--
"Hey Jeff, look at this."
"Come on Tom. We got to go. That train to England isn't going to wait for us. We have already spent a fortune on the euro rail tickets. They're non- refundable. I don't know about you but I don't have another $200 laying around."
"Someone dropped their credit card."
"Forget the stupid card and let's get going."
"I wonder if it is any good."
"For god's sake Tom. Do you want to spend the week-end in London or not?"
Tom stuck the card in his back pocket. "I'm coming. Geese, stop panicking. We have plenty of time."
--
"At least she stopped using the credit card."
Jax looked over at Chris. "Are you sure this men didn't find her?"
"When we left yesterday, Alcazar's men were busy flashing her picture around. They didn't have a clue where she was."
"She bought things at five different registers at Printemps."
"She just kept moving between the buildings."
"Yet no one saw her. Chris do you have a list of what she bought?"
"Over there on the counter." Chris watched as Jax walked over and started reading through the list. "When we do find her, would you mind if I took a few moments to talk with her. I'm dying to know how she got away. I mean, those guys had to have been almost on top of her during those last two purchases."
"And these were the times that she was at these registers?"
"Yeah, the time, register number, and they even assigned a number to the sales clerks."
-Beep-
Chris turned back to the computer. "Damn. Jax we have another hit on that same credit card. And get this, she's in London, England. What the hell is she thinking using that bloody card? She has to know after Printemps that Alcazar's men are following it or they would have caught her yesterday." Chris looked back at Jax. "What the hell are you laughing at?"
"Have you looked at this list of purchases?"
"No."
"A stereo, CDs, a skateboard, roller blades, a casserole dish and a couple of pairs of jeans and shoes."
"I admit, the casserole dish is a little funny but."
"Men's jeans and men's running shoes."
"What?"
"Is there anyway we can get a look at the camera at these registers for these times. I want to see who the hell was making those purchases because I'm betting that it wasn't Skye."
"Sure. Printemps uses a digital system. Give me a moment to hack into their systems." Ten minutes later, Chris had the photo's up on the screen. "You're right. Here hi is at all five stations."
"He's just a kid."
"He probably picked it out of her pocket."
"Print up a picture of this kid. I want to talk to him."
"Why? He's probably just a pickpocket."
"He's a pickpocket who knew where Skye was at one point during that day. He took that card off of her somewhere. I'm hoping that he can give us a place to start looking."
"How the hell do we find a pickpocket?"
"We already know where he likes to shop. Put people at these departments. Chances are, he will be back."
Chris nodded his head. "And this hit in London?"
"Obviously it's not her."
"But shouldn't we cancel her card?"
"No, why spoil Alcazar's fun. Let him follow it to England."
--
"Sir, We have two hits on the card in London, England."
Alcazar looked at his guard and nodded. "Get the jet ready. We are going to London ourselves to bring her back. Distribute the picture with all of our people there. I want her found."
--
"We found him. The kid was picking himself up a new jacket and some guy named Walter Rulith was about to pick up the bill."
"Good job Chris. Have you found out anything?"
"Well after we gave him $50 and threatened to turn him over to the authorities he swore that he picked it off of our lady at les Puces de Saint-Ouen."
"Where?"
"It's a flea market in the north of Paris."
"What the hell was she doing in the poorer part of town?"
"The kid's just a pickpocket Jax. He can't tell us why she was there, just where she was when he took her credit card. He swears that she was at 93 Saint-Ouen."
"I'll meet you there."
--
"What do you think?"
"Jax, I think my feet are beginning to kill me. I've flashed this picture to so many people now that I've forgotten some of the people that I first talked to until after they informed me that I already showed it to them."
"Someone has to have seen her. She wouldn't have come here without a reason."
"Perhaps, but even is they did remember seeing her, would they tell us about it?"
"Did you notice that we have a tail?"
Chris nodded his head. "Alcazar is having us followed. They are doing a shitty job of it too. I haven't had any problem picking out his men."
"Shit. If we do find her, we would be leading them right to her."
"Jax, I don't think that you need to worry about that as long as we are in Paris. I doubt that the lady is still here."
"Why not? She was in Paris yesterday."
"We have been following Alcazar's movements for a few days. He didn't start panicking until yesterday."
"So you are assuming that he either knew where she was staying or he was holding her and she escaped."
"Either way, she knows that he is looking for her. My guess is that she found a way out of town."
"Stop."
"What?"
"Look over there, in the window."
"Which one?"
"The one with the jewellery."
"What am I looking for?"
"I've seen some of those necklaces before."
"Skye's?"
"It makes sense. She need money and she knew that she couldn't use the credit cards."
"Where are you going?"
"To buy back her jewellery. When this mess is over with, I want to be able to give her back everything that she lost."
--
London
"What the hell do you mean it was two college kids?"
"They claim to have found the credit card laying outside of a store in Paris called Printemps Mr Alcazar."
"Bloody Hell."
"And the men following Mr Jacks report that they are currently following him and his PI through a flea market."
"A flea market? What is he doing there?"
"Showing Miss Chandler's picture in the street."
"Get the jet ready. We are going back to Paris.
Timmy already had a use for his latest prize. He had been eyeing this stereo all month. If he moved quick enough, he might be able to buy it and get it out of the store before the lady noticed that her credit card was gone. He knew just the store to go to. It was large and extremely busy. So busy that people rarely took the time to ask for ID.
Timmy ran into Printemps, grabbed the stereo and a few CD's and made his way to the cash register. Ten minutes later, he left the building with his latest purchase and moved on to the next store. He would keep up this pattern of running into a store, grabbing what he wanted and then charging it to the card until they either cut up the card because it was reported stolen or he reached it's credit limit. Either way, the worst that had ever happened to him in the past was that he would have to run out of the store and leave the credit card behind.
--
"Sir, there has been a hit on the card."
Alcazar smiled like a cat with a bowl of cream. "I knew it. She lives on those credit cards. After all these years, she has never learned to live without them. We have her now. Where is she shopping at?"
"Printemps."
"Shit. That place is huge."
"Yes sir, four buildings eight stories high."
"With the size of that place, she probably thinks that she can hide in the crowds. Send al the men there. I want them to set up a perimeter to search the crowds. Don't let her get away."
"Yes sir."
--
Jasper Jacks had just finished taxing his airplane off the runway in Paris when his cell phone rang. Ned's advice to track Alcazar had paid off. His people had located Alcazar in Paris. Jax didn't believe that it was a coincidence that he just happened to be residing in the same apartment that Skye had been paying for before she disappeared. After reading that piece of intel, he immediately had his plane made ready for a flight to Paris.
"Jax speaking."
"Jax this is Chris."
Jax's expression became very serious as he listened to his PI. "What have you found out?"
"I've got good news and bad news."
"I'm listening."
"Well the good news is that there has been a hit on one of Skye's credit cards here in Paris."
"And the bad news?"
"Well I'm not so sure that it is really bad news. It's more like a mixed bag of nuts."
"Just spit it out Chris."
"Well the hit was at a major shopping center called Printemps. Ten minutes later just about every man that works for Alcazar in Paris descended upon the place looking for her. So I figure that there is both good and bad news in that move. The bad news is that you have reason to be worried about Skye. This guy really is after her. He seems almost desperate to find her. The good news is that if he is looking for her, then he doesn't have her."
"At least not yet. But if she continues to use that blasted credit card, it won't take to long to find her. It will practically act as a homing beacon."
"I know. But if she doesn't use it, what are the chances that we will locate her either. No offence, but you didn't exactly have a lot of information for us to work off of when you asked us to find your ex-wife. Considering the fact that you married her, I would have thought that you would have gotten to know the woman a little bit better."
"Chris, don't start. Besides, Skye kept a lot of things to herself."
"It might have been helpful to know who she knows in France. People generally run to known locations."
"Didn't your people learn anything when they talked to the Chandlers?"
"Jax, when it comes to your wife's history in France, then know less than you do. They couldn't even remember the name of the private school they sent her to. We need those credit card transactions to track her. We are practically working on a clean slate here."
"But if she uses that card, she will draw Alcazar's people to her."
"I've sent in a few of my men with orders to hide her if they spot her, but they haven't seen anything yet."
"Keep me informed. I'm headed there now."
--
'Oh bloody hell. There are those same guys. What the hell is going on? The first time that I saw them, I thought my goose was cooked. I thought this was it. Security had finally caught up with me. Man my Dad is going to be so pissed if we have to relocate in order to avoid getting thrown out of the country.' After they walked right by Timmy, he realized that he was holding his breath. He almost started laughing. 'Of course they aren't after me. It's just a stupid credit card. No one has ever run after me for a credit card before. Stop being so paranoid,' Timmy thought as he walked out of the store with his latest purchase.
"Hey kid."
Timmy froze. His first instinct was to run. But run where? These security type guys seemed to be all over the place. Timmy decided to play it cool with the I didn't know that I had done anything wrong approach. Timmy turned around and said, "Yes Sir?" Timmy felt like kicking himself when his voice came out a couple of pitches higher than normal. He gulped when the man reached his hand into his inside coat pocket. He could tell from the fit of this guy's coat that he was carrying a gun. 'Oh God. This is it. I'm dead.' Timmy thought as he closed his eyes.
"Have you seen this woman?"
Timmy opened his eyes and saw that the man was holding a picture in front of him. He felt like sitting down and crying in relief. Timmy looked at the picture. 'Oh Shit,' he thought, 'That's the tourist that I took the card off of.'
Timmy looked up that the man, took a big breath and said, "Sorry, I haven't seen her."
"Are you sure?"
"That is one gorgeous woman. I'm sure that there is no way that I would forget a woman like that."
"Thanks anyway kid."
Timmy blew out a sigh of relief as the man let him go and walked away. 'Man, this card is hot. I wonder who the hell this Skye Chandler Quartermaine woman is that she has so much muscle looking for her. Oh man, I've got to get rid of this card before anyone connects it to me.' As he walked out of the store, he took the card and threw it toward the gutter and walked away.
--
"What the hell do you mean that you can't find her? How the hell could you loose the woman? She purchased things at five registers. You guys were practically on top of her for the last two. How the hell could she have gotten away? Alcazar screamed at the men in front of him. All his plans, all of his hard work was going down the drain because these idiots couldn't keep track of one bloody woman.
"Sir when we couldn't find her, we showed her picture to everyone in the area. Since no one could recognize her, I think that it is safe to assume that she may have changed her appearance."
Another of the men nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time she has done that, sir. That time in the Bahamas, she bleached her hair to try to get by us. Then there was the time that she dyed it grey and put on that theatrical make up and rolled by us in a wheel chair."
"I'm not interested in your god damn excuses. People, we have a time limit here. From the time she stops taking her medication, she will have three to five days before she starts bleeding internally. We don't know if she took her medication with her or not. We need to find her sooner rather than later. Offer a reward. Do whatever it is that you have to do. Just get her back."
--
"Hey Jeff, look at this."
"Come on Tom. We got to go. That train to England isn't going to wait for us. We have already spent a fortune on the euro rail tickets. They're non- refundable. I don't know about you but I don't have another $200 laying around."
"Someone dropped their credit card."
"Forget the stupid card and let's get going."
"I wonder if it is any good."
"For god's sake Tom. Do you want to spend the week-end in London or not?"
Tom stuck the card in his back pocket. "I'm coming. Geese, stop panicking. We have plenty of time."
--
"At least she stopped using the credit card."
Jax looked over at Chris. "Are you sure this men didn't find her?"
"When we left yesterday, Alcazar's men were busy flashing her picture around. They didn't have a clue where she was."
"She bought things at five different registers at Printemps."
"She just kept moving between the buildings."
"Yet no one saw her. Chris do you have a list of what she bought?"
"Over there on the counter." Chris watched as Jax walked over and started reading through the list. "When we do find her, would you mind if I took a few moments to talk with her. I'm dying to know how she got away. I mean, those guys had to have been almost on top of her during those last two purchases."
"And these were the times that she was at these registers?"
"Yeah, the time, register number, and they even assigned a number to the sales clerks."
-Beep-
Chris turned back to the computer. "Damn. Jax we have another hit on that same credit card. And get this, she's in London, England. What the hell is she thinking using that bloody card? She has to know after Printemps that Alcazar's men are following it or they would have caught her yesterday." Chris looked back at Jax. "What the hell are you laughing at?"
"Have you looked at this list of purchases?"
"No."
"A stereo, CDs, a skateboard, roller blades, a casserole dish and a couple of pairs of jeans and shoes."
"I admit, the casserole dish is a little funny but."
"Men's jeans and men's running shoes."
"What?"
"Is there anyway we can get a look at the camera at these registers for these times. I want to see who the hell was making those purchases because I'm betting that it wasn't Skye."
"Sure. Printemps uses a digital system. Give me a moment to hack into their systems." Ten minutes later, Chris had the photo's up on the screen. "You're right. Here hi is at all five stations."
"He's just a kid."
"He probably picked it out of her pocket."
"Print up a picture of this kid. I want to talk to him."
"Why? He's probably just a pickpocket."
"He's a pickpocket who knew where Skye was at one point during that day. He took that card off of her somewhere. I'm hoping that he can give us a place to start looking."
"How the hell do we find a pickpocket?"
"We already know where he likes to shop. Put people at these departments. Chances are, he will be back."
Chris nodded his head. "And this hit in London?"
"Obviously it's not her."
"But shouldn't we cancel her card?"
"No, why spoil Alcazar's fun. Let him follow it to England."
--
"Sir, We have two hits on the card in London, England."
Alcazar looked at his guard and nodded. "Get the jet ready. We are going to London ourselves to bring her back. Distribute the picture with all of our people there. I want her found."
--
"We found him. The kid was picking himself up a new jacket and some guy named Walter Rulith was about to pick up the bill."
"Good job Chris. Have you found out anything?"
"Well after we gave him $50 and threatened to turn him over to the authorities he swore that he picked it off of our lady at les Puces de Saint-Ouen."
"Where?"
"It's a flea market in the north of Paris."
"What the hell was she doing in the poorer part of town?"
"The kid's just a pickpocket Jax. He can't tell us why she was there, just where she was when he took her credit card. He swears that she was at 93 Saint-Ouen."
"I'll meet you there."
--
"What do you think?"
"Jax, I think my feet are beginning to kill me. I've flashed this picture to so many people now that I've forgotten some of the people that I first talked to until after they informed me that I already showed it to them."
"Someone has to have seen her. She wouldn't have come here without a reason."
"Perhaps, but even is they did remember seeing her, would they tell us about it?"
"Did you notice that we have a tail?"
Chris nodded his head. "Alcazar is having us followed. They are doing a shitty job of it too. I haven't had any problem picking out his men."
"Shit. If we do find her, we would be leading them right to her."
"Jax, I don't think that you need to worry about that as long as we are in Paris. I doubt that the lady is still here."
"Why not? She was in Paris yesterday."
"We have been following Alcazar's movements for a few days. He didn't start panicking until yesterday."
"So you are assuming that he either knew where she was staying or he was holding her and she escaped."
"Either way, she knows that he is looking for her. My guess is that she found a way out of town."
"Stop."
"What?"
"Look over there, in the window."
"Which one?"
"The one with the jewellery."
"What am I looking for?"
"I've seen some of those necklaces before."
"Skye's?"
"It makes sense. She need money and she knew that she couldn't use the credit cards."
"Where are you going?"
"To buy back her jewellery. When this mess is over with, I want to be able to give her back everything that she lost."
--
London
"What the hell do you mean it was two college kids?"
"They claim to have found the credit card laying outside of a store in Paris called Printemps Mr Alcazar."
"Bloody Hell."
"And the men following Mr Jacks report that they are currently following him and his PI through a flea market."
"A flea market? What is he doing there?"
"Showing Miss Chandler's picture in the street."
"Get the jet ready. We are going back to Paris.