Chapter 17

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"No, wait! I want to talk to my son!" Victor yelled as he gripped the cell phone so tight that his knuckles turned white. The line went dead and he muttered, "Damn it."

"What did he say Victor?" Beth met his eyes and looked at him pleadingly. "How is he, Victor? How did he sound?"

"He said he's fine. He sounded strong."

"What did the man who took him say?" Beth was trying to sound calm but Victor recognized the panicked tone underneath.

"He wants one million dollars by noon tomorrow and Martin won't get hurt." Any further... he omitted. Fortunately, Victor had anticipated that it might boil down to ransom so he had already started the process to liquidate assets.

Beth stared him down and asked, "Do you believe him?"

"Yes, I do." Victor sighed and pulled Beth close around him and hugged her tightly. He held her for a few brief seconds before pulling back and saying, "I have to go see if the tech can trace the call. I'll be right back."

She nodded her head that she understood and he walked out of the break room and hurried down the hall to the tech room. As soon as he turned the corner to head down the hall he saw a flurry of activity in the room and he realized that they knew he had gotten the phone call. Before he left Washington, he arranged to have all his calls traced and recorded when possible.

He entered the tech room and said, "Please tell me you got something."

Mac looked up and said, "Not exactly. It was from a cell phone but I am trying to locate which cell tower it was using. That will get us in the vicinity of the call."

Mac started typing away trying to trace the call, Victor walked to the other side of the room and picked up the phone and dialed.

"Malone." Jack answered.

"Jack, the kidnapper called. He wants one million dollars by noon tomorrow." Victor breathed out.

"Were you able to talk to Martin?" Jack asked.

"Yes, he said he's fine but I think he lied." Victor remembered how pained Martin's voice sounded even when he was trying to be brave.

"How do you know? What did he say exactly?"

"He said, 'I'm fine. Tell Bonnie not to worry. Just pay him and I'll come out smelling like a rose.' His aunt died last year so I'm sure there was so hidden message in there. I'm trying to figure out what it is."

"Okay, well keep working on it. We are on our way back to the city – we should be there in about twenty minutes."

The two men hung up and Victor turned back to Mac, "Anything yet?"

Mac looked at him defeated and said, "No. He is using an encrypted cell phone. It's bouncing off of several satellites and cell towers. It's impossible to trace."

"So there is no way to know from where that call was placed."

"I'm sorry, Sir." Mac gave him a feeble smile and added, "But I was able to record the call and we can see if we can get anything off of it that might indicate his whereabouts."

"Get to work on it. Thank you." Victor walked out and headed straight for the men's room. When he entered he walked to the stall at the farthest end and carefully closed the door to make sure it was locked. He placed the palms of his hands on the wall, closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cool tiled wall.

Victor entered the quiet house and made his way up the stairs. Martin's bedroom door was slightly ajar and he could see the lamp next to his bed was still lit. He walked slowly and peeked inside. Beth was sitting at the foot of Martin's bed as he slept. His right arm was in a cast and he had a big bruise on his cheek. He looked so tiny even though he was pretty tall for a seven year old.

"Good, you're finally home." Beth remarked as Victor moved inside the room.

"The case just wrapped up. How is he?" Victor leaned over Martin to study his face. There was a big gash on his hairline that was stitched up. His face was streaked with dried tears.

"The doctor said he is going to be fine. He had to have six stitches on his head but he doesn't have a concussion. He broke his arm and will have to wear a cast for six weeks. The doctor said it was a clean break and should heal fine." She looked at Martin and added, "He fell asleep about an hour ago. He wanted to wait up for you."

Victor looked down at his injured son. He and his friends were playing on the jungle gym and he fell off. Beth had called him to come to the hospital but he was in the middle of a big case and couldn't get away. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to the hospital…"

Beth sighed and angled her head so she could look directly at Victor. Her voice was soft but laced with bitterness as she said, "He fell onto pavement, Victor. He could have cracked open his skull and died."

"He's got a hard head like his dad." Victor commented trying to diffuse the situation.

"Don't. Don't try and be funny. I needed you today Victor. Martin needed you." Beth pursed her lips and added, "It's hard enough that you aren't around for all the good stuff. But if you can't even be there during a crisis…."

"I was in the middle of an investigation, besides you told me that you thought he was going to be okay." Victor argued.

"You have five agents on your team. Couldn't they handle things for a few hours so you could come and see your son?" Beth retaliated. She looked at Martin's sleeping form and added, "It might not hurt me so much if he didn't always ask for you, wonder when you are coming home, wanting to wait up late just to talk to you for a few minutes. God knows why but he idolizes you Victor considering how you never seem to be around."

"I'm sorry about that." Victor exhaled a breath and said, "You knew what the deal was when you married me Beth, you knew what I wanted for my career. Besides, I'm doing this for all of us. You have to think of it in the long term."

"I know." She looked up at him and said, "I just hope in the end you still think it was worth it."

Victor leaned back up and stepped out of the stall. He walked back to the tech room determined to not let his son down again.