Chapter 19

The hours passed quickly as Tom and Diana lay in bed together. It was a sanctuary. There wasn't an outside world today; there was just this bed and nothing else. As Diana rolled on top of Tom for another kiss their sanctuary was disturbed as the phone rang.

"Ignore that," Diana said as the phone continued ringing. They continued to lay in bed as the machine picked up the phone and a little voice came through the speakers.

"Diana! Diana! Help me!"

Diana recognized the voice instantly. It was Maia, "Oh crap!" She reached over to the nightstand and picked up the phone. "Maia? Are you okay?" Silence. "Maia, talk to me."

"Well, well, Agent Skouris," another voice. A male voice said to her.

"What do you want?" Diana said.

"We've been watching you," the voice said.

"What do they want?" Tom whispered.

"What do you mean you've been watching me?" Diana questioned.

"We've just been watching you," the voice said.

"Who the hell are you?" Diana asked. "I want to speak to Maia."

"You'll see her in time. Bring fifteen million to Bradley Park by seven tonight. Come alone. If I see one NTAC agent there, at all, Maia dies," the voice said.

Diana was speechless, "Where do expect me to get that kind of money?"

"You have resources," the voice said.

"I want to talk to Maia, federal regulations, I can't negotiate with you unless I know that Maia is alive."

"You have one minute," the voice said before the phone was handed to Maia.

"Diana?" Maia questioned.

"It's me Maia," Diana said.

"I want to come home," Maia said.

"I know, I know honey. You just have to hang on for a little while. Okay?" Diana was about to cry. "We'll come get you. I promise. And when we're together again we'll celebrate your birthday."

"Just don't make cookies."

"That's it," the voice said. "Now you have about ten hours, I suggest you get to work."

The line went dead and Diana hung the phone back up.

"What did they want?" Tom asked.

"Fifteen million by seven tonight. At Bradley Park."

"Did you speak to Maia?" Tom asked.

"Yeah," Diana said as she started crying. "She's scared, she wants to come home."

"And we'll make sure that she gets home," Tom said. "You don't have to cry."

"They if they saw an NTAC agent while I was making the drop they would kill her."

"She'll be okay, we'll get her out. You're making a horrible situation worse by crying."

"I can't help it," Diana said. "I just can't help it."

"Well, let's get dressed, and we'll run to work and tell Ryland what's going on. He'll have a better idea of how to handle it."

"Okay," Diana said as she took a sheet and shifted of the bed. She made her way over to her closet where she removed on her neatly displayed suits. Tom gathered his clothes from the floor and through them on as Diana began searching for a pair of shoes. She found them and placed them on completing the outfit. "Let's go. I want Maia back."

"Everything will be okay. We'll get her back." Tom said as they left the apartment.