Chapter 8

I felt a pair of rough hands hold my wrists together as a scratchy length of rope was wound tightly around them. I tried kicking and punching and flailing, but it was no use. The man was too strong. "AAAAAHHHHH! GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!"

"Shut up! Goddamn it, shut up you stupid wench! I SAID SHUT UP!"

I stopped screaming long enough to take a good look at my attacker, but that length of silence was enough. I felt a hard thump against the side of my head and immediately afterwards, passed out.

"Hello?"

"Mia was kidnapped."

Pause. Then, "WHAT?"

"Mia was kidnapped."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN MIA WAS KIDNAPPED? WHO KIDNAPPED HER? WHAT HAPPENED? DAMN IT, MICHAEL WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"

"I know, I know," I said repeated over and over again. There was no excuse for my idiocy. I should have made sure that she got out on the same side of the limo as I did. I should have been especially careful. I shouldn't have let my guard down.

I shouldn't have let the stupid SUV get away.

After Philippe took a few calming breaths. "Where are you right now?"

"We're trying to catch up to that SUV."

"Have you, yet?"

"No."

"Then I suggest you come back to the Plaza right now. I doubt you'll be able to find it again. I need you back here so we can work out a plan to get her back."

I paused for a little while, then asked tentatively, "Does this mean I'm not fired?"

"We'll discuss your terms of employment after my daughter is safely back in her home." And he hung up.

"Hans," I called to the driver in the front. "We need to get back to the Plaza."

"But what about Princess Mia?"

"We're going to work on it." I said shortly.

On the way back, I couldn't stop thinking about Mia. What was happening to her? What were they doing to her? And how was I going to get her back?

I woke up later and found myself bound to a chair by rope around my torso and my wrists and ankles were tied by another length of rope.

"Finally, you're awake," I heard the same harsh voice call out at me from earlier in the car.

I was too exhausted to scream, so I rasped, "What do you want from me?"

He punched me in the face and I whimpered softly. "None of that lip." He muttered angrily. "Talk only when you're spoken to."

I was too terrified and too exhausted to reply.

The man smirked at me. "No one's going to pamper you here, Princess. So get used to the five star treatment here."

I listened carefully to his words. It sounded like a Monacoan accent.

"Now, I'm going to ask you this question once. What is the number of your father's cell phone."

I took a deep breath and said shakily, "What are you going to do to him?"

He punched my face again. "You didn't answer my question."

I kept my mouth shut. I didn't know what he was going to do with dad's cell number. I didn't want to risk the chance that he would be harmed. I didn't want anyone to get hurt.

He hit me round the head several more times till I passed out.

When I got back the Plaza, Philippe and I called Ms. Thermopolis, then the police. They had sent out an Amber Alert after two hours.

Three hours later, FBI and forensic scientists came over to look over the letters.

"We're hooking the telephone to the tracking device," Deputy Maloney explained to a distressed Helen Thermopolis. After she had heard the news, she rushed straight over. "If the attacker calls, we'll be able to track him after the first ring."

After a few minutes, the phone rang. Immediately the FBI agents got into position and Maloney slipped the headphones soundly over his ears. After the second ring, Philippe picked up the phone and said shakily, "Hello?"

"Prince Philippe," I heard a scratchy voice rasp over the recorder. "It certainly is an honor to be talking to such a…strong, and handsome political figure."

His tone was condescending and patronizing. It made me sick.

"What do you want?" Philippe demanded.

There was a short pause. "I don't like that tone, Your Majesty," He said in a soft, dangerous voice. "So I suggest…" There was a rustling noise in the background and sharp, loud cry of pain. I jolted, realizing that that was Mia. "…that you treat my demands with respect. Didn't pay off when you ignored the first ones, did it?"

I watched as Philippe's grip on his cell phone tightened. "What do you want?" He asked, softer this time.

"It was in the letter, wasn't it? I want seven million dollars in small, unmarked bills. To be dropped off with one of your agents, unless you want to be involved. In that case, if you do, I suggest you wear a bullet proof vest."

He blanched as switched the phone to his other ear. "Where?"

"In the alley between the Rosas Apartments and Joe's Deli on forty-seventh tonight at one o'clock eastern standard time. And, by the way, Your Majesty…" He paused for a little while.

"Yes?"

"Tell the FBI agents listening in on this phone call that whoever is bringing the money better arrive alone. Princess Mia's too young to die. Don't you think?" And with that he hung up.

Ms. Thermopolis looked at Deputy Maloney in horror. "What are you going to do?"

"We're going to follow whoever's going to drop off the money."

"You can't do that! He might harm my baby!"

"Ms. Thermopolis, I assure you, we know what we're doing—"

"YOU CAN'T SEND AGENTS AFTER HER, HE'LL KILL HER!"

"Ms. Thermopolis, Mia will be fine, I need you to calm down—"

"SOMEONE JUST KIDNAPPED MY DAUGHTER AND YOU'RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?"

"Ms. Thermopolis!" I yelled. "I'll drop the money."

She glared at me coldly. "That's okay, Michael, I think you've done enough for one day."

That stung. "Please, let me make this up to you. I promise you, she won't be harmed."

"Actually, Helen, he is the best person to send." Philippe said gently. "He's undergone lots of training and emergency simulations. He knows what to do."

She looked me up and down. I knew that I had lost her trust, and what's more, I knew I deserved it. I took a deep breath and said in a voice quivering from emotion, "I know that I've lost your trust. I know that it was my fault that Mia was kidnapped. But we can't keep thinking about how we could have prevented it. Right now, all our time and energy needs to be spent on plans of getting Mia back, and that's what I'm going to do. Let me make the drop, Ms. Thermopolis. If this guy brings her with him, I'll make sure she gets back safely."

Fresh tears welled in her eyes and she nodded. "Just please, don't hurt her, alright?"

I nodded. After receiving wishes of good luck and instructions from Deputy Maloney, Philippe and I made a trip to the bank.

"Guess what Princess? We're going on a field trip!" He said with a twisted smile. He untied the rope around my torso. "And if you're a good girl, then I might buy you an ice cream cone on the way home."

My eye had already swollen four times its size so I could barely see. He roughly lifted me out of my chair and dragged me out of the room. We were about to walk out the door, when he stopped. "Wait." He went into the kitchen area of the small room and brought out a syringe. "Sorry, Princess. Can't risk you recognizing your surroundings."

I stood next to the light post with ten suitcases surrounding me. I shivered as I pulled the black trench coat I was wearing closer around me. I looked up and down the street waiting for anyone or anything.

After waiting for ten minutes, the same black SUV stopped a few yards away. A tall, burly man with bushy brows and ape-like arms got out of the car and locked it. He strode over nonchalantly and leaned against the lamppost. "Got the money?" He asked in a raspy voice.

I nodded and gestured to the suitcases.

He nodded back and jerked his thumb towards his car. "Help me load 'em."

I grabbed two as he unlocked the trunk of his car and stuck them in there. When they were all in, he gave me an envelope and said, "Give this to Prince Philippe. Tell him if he wants to see Princess Mia alive, he'd better do as it says."

"Where is she?" I blurted out.

He gave me a malicious smile and opened the passenger side door. Inside was an unconscious Mia with nasty cuts and bruises and a black eye.

It felt like my stomach had been drenched in ice cold water. Before I had a chance to lunge at the door, it was quickly shut. "Ain't looking too good now, is she?" He cackled.

Trying desperately to restrain myself from launching myself at him, I angrily replied, "Didn't your mother ever tell you that hitting girls is bad?"

His smile widened and he replied, "Remember, make sure Prince Philippe does what that note says. If he does not, I'll know. And the consequences won't be pretty." And he got into his car and drove off.

I called the limo back and when I was safely inside, I called the Plaza. "He's got it."

"Good," Maloney replied. "Won't be long now."

A/N- Wow...this chapter is waaay different than the others.

I know what some of you are thinking: why didn't Michael just jump the guy? He could have taken him! That will be explained next chapter.

Please review!