Mercedes jerked as the van came to a stop and the back door opened. The three guys got out and the boss looked at the ladies.
"Don't go anywhere."
He slammed the doors and the redhead began to cry.
"They are going to kill us I just know it."
Mercedes heard voices as Monica went to console her.
"Shh, I hear them, let me listen."
"Look the plan is solid once we get there we will be free men since they don't know what we look like they will be looking for a van or truck so you three take the SUV and we will take the car."
"But Dom there are only four girls and five of us."
"Monica and that dude's wife are going with us in the car. You three take the other two. Once we are safe we will meet up and divide the cash."
"Sounds like a plan."
"I know I made it, Maze you stay here guard the van we are going across the street to get the cars. Be back in five."
Mercedes looked at the women.
"They are splitting us up. You and me" she pointed to Monica. "And them two. What are your names?"
The redhead sobbed harder. "I'm Emma. I'm only 20 I don't want to die."
"Emma sweetie its ok It's nice to meet you I'm Mercedes but call me Mercy. And you two."
"Monica."
"Marley. You were really brave taking that woman's place like that."
Mercedes nodded as she pulled the bag onto her lap and reached inside her shirt and pulled out Sam's cell phone. Monica gasped.
"You have a phone?"
"Monica, do you trust me?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"No! Look, if I keep this phone, then, we risk Emma and Marley because whoever is running the show won't give up anything but the others might. Emma you need to keep this in your bra. Do not lose it or turn it off and they will find you."
"How do you know?
"Sam is tracking it as we speak and if he gets here before we split up great, but if he doesn't, then they need to find you guys first."
Mercedes opened the phone and swore.
"Dammit, it's locked."
"You don't have the code?"
"No. But it's still on and has a full battery life so…" Her voice trailed off as she remembered the emergency call feature all phones have. She hit 911 and glanced towards the door as the operator came over to the phone.
"911 operator what's your emergency?"
Mercy gripped the phone and began to whisper. "My name is Mercedes Jones I am one of the four hostages that were taken from Merit National bank. We are stopped somewhere after driving for about 30 minutes. There are five guys, they are planning on splitting us up and taking us in different directions. Marley and Emma will be with three armed guys, while myself and Monica will be with only two. We were travelling in a van, no windows except on the doors and they are painted so little light gets in. You have to find Sam Evans and tell him that no matter what, he has to keep tracking his phone."
Mercy heard commotion outside and panicked. "I gotta go as of right now we are not injured." She hung up and leaned forwards shoving the phone deep into Marley's chest.
"Do not let them know you have that, he will find you."
Emma wiped her eyes. "Why are you doing this? Why risk your life for strangers?"
Mercy looked towards her and smiled. "I trust Sam. I know he will find Monica and me; I just want to give him the best chance to do it. When he does find you guys can you tell him I'm waiting on him."
Before anyone could respond the doors opened and the men walked back into the van holding blindfolds. They placed the blindfolds over all four of the women's eyes. Two of them grabbed Marley and Emma and pulled them from the van. Both women screamed as they were being jerked off the van and tossed into an SUV. Mercedes braced herself and pulled the duffel bag attached to her closer to her chest. She closed her eyes, but then got an idea. Lifting her bound hands, she went to her hair smacking herself in the face with the bag in the process and pulled out her hair clip. Praying that no one saw her, she dropped it to the floor and kicked it under her seat. No one could say they hadn't been there now, and Sam would know she was leaving him clues.
Two more men entered the van and pulled Mercedes and Monica from it and shoved them into a backseat of a car. Refusing to scream, Mercy tried to take in as much as she could when the blindfold slipped, before it was replaced and tightened. The car was dark colored and the SUV went south. Mercy was pulled upright and they strapped her seat belt under her arms. She calmed her breathing not wanting to show any fear to these guys. She began to pray silently. Asking God to put his Angel's around both cars and protect the girls as they were being held. She asked him to Bless Sam and the rest of the officers looking for them. And prayed they would all be found safely.
Sam rubbed his temples ask he listened to the 911 call, every time he thought he couldn't be impressed by this woman, she showed him something else. She was calm and clear, she gave great information that would help, the one thing he couldn't understand was her telling him to keep tracking the phone, no matter what. He heard his name being called and looked up to see his younger brothers, Blaine and Stevie walking towards him with his Tech walked over to him and pulled him into a hug.
"Are you ok man?"
Sam nodded, "Yeah I am fine, but what are you doing here Stevie?
"Mom heard about the bank and called us and since you didn't pick up your phone, we decided to check it out for ourselves. Stacy is with mom."
Sam walked past them walking to his tech who was talking to Sebastian. "As you can see I am fine."
Blaine looked at him folding his arms. "Why are you still here you're not an officer on the case, and I know they had to have taken your statement already?"
Sam really didn't want to get into why he was still there, his concern at that moment was tracking his phone, and his brothers could wait. He walked over to Sebastian and Brendan with his brothers hot on his tail.
"Brendan what do you have?"
The 25 year old Assistant Manager of his store pushed up his black rimmed glasses and nodded. "As I was telling Sebastian, they were stopped at fifty five Bankhead for about ten minutes and now they are travelling south on I77."
Sam looked at Sebastian.
"That would make sense, the 911 call said that they were stopped about 30 minutes out, Bankhead is about 25 minutes from here. She said they changed cars and I bet one of those cars is the one we are tracking, just not the other."
Sebastian, nodded as he grabbed his radio.
"Inés, this is Smythe. I need you to get two squad cars headed south on I77 I will have a definite address in a few minutes and have another meet me at Fifty Five Bankhead."
He placed the radio down and looked at Sam.
"You coming with me?"
"Yes."
Blaine grabbed his arm standing in his way.
"Sam you need to tell me what you are doing here man? What is going on here?"
Sam pulled his arm away. "We don't have time for this!"
"You better make time because you are acting really strange right now. Stevie, take my car back to moms, I am riding with Sebastian and Sam and we will meet up back there, please."
Stevie nodded, taking Blaine's keys and walking away. Blaine followed Sam to Sebastian's car and got it. "Okay, you have 25 minutes to tell me what the hell is going on."
Sam closed his eyes and shook his head. "You are gonna think I am crazy."
"Try me."
"There is a woman, Mercy, she was taken from the bank, and well she volunteered to go in place of this mother who was going to be separated from her child. I promised her, I would protect and find her, and that is what I am going to do."
Blaine shrugged. "Ok, so this woman just volunteered to go with these guys? How do you know she's not in on it?"
Sam shook his head, "Trust me, she's not."
"I'm just saying."
Sam turned towards his brother angrily. "Well, say something else. I was in there with her and her sister man, I saw it in her eyes. I know her, and even if I didn't, why would she have kept my phone? Why would she have called 911? She is not in on this. And I am going to find her whether you are going to help me or not."
The rest of the ride was relatively quiet. Sam couldn't stop his mind from wandering and praying that Mercy would come out of this alright. They pulled up behind the parked van on Bankhead and all three got out of the car. Sebastian looked at the van and noticed the painted windows, like Mercy had said.
"It does look like what she described, let's check it out."
They walked over to the van and Sebastian opened the back with his gun drawn. Sam's sighed angrily at the sight before him.
"It's empty; dammit!" He slammed the door, causing it to swing back and forth a few times.
Blaine moved closer to him. "Look, we know it looks like the right van. We will have it towed and maybe we will get lucky."
Sam walked back to Sebastian's car and grabbed his flashlight, and gloves. He moved to the back of the van as Blaine looked around the front after pulling on his gloves. Sam saw a light flicker under the seat and glanced under it, pulling out Mercedes's hair clip. Sebastian looked at him.
"What's that?"
"Mercy's hair clip, I told you she was smart, she left it so I would know they were here. She knew I was coming."
Blaine walked to the back of the Van. "There is nothing up front, we may be able to get some prints, but that is about it." He glanced at the clip in Sam's hand, "Are you sure it's hers?"
He nodded with a smile. "Positive, I asked her about it, and she said it was her mother's."
Blaine took the gloves off his hands. "Okay, what's with you and this girl?"
Sam bagged the clip looking at his brother. "What do you mean?"
"Just what I said how do you know her?"
"I told you I met her in the bank."
"So why the concern I mean, don't get me wrong, I get being concerned about the hostages, but you seem to be overly protective of a woman you barely know."
Sam ran his hand through his hair. "Look for the last few months I would run into her, we would say hi, sometimes flirt, nothing big, but I grew accustom to seeing her and talking to her. Then today Blaine, I can't explain how she made me feel, other than to say that she just stirred something up in me that made my heart melt and ache for her at the same time."
Blaine folded his arms with a sigh. "What happened between you two in there today that was so different than before?"
"We talked and when she kissed me, I just…"
Blaine held up his hand cutting him off. "She kissed you?"
"I kind of asked her to. In an attempt to keep her safe, I asked to her pretend to be my wife. You and I both know that single women in these situations are more likely to be taken than married ones. She was there with her sister and they were unsure of the whole thing, but soon agreed. In that moment man, I felt something for her. Something real."
"So if you protected her why did you let her take someone else's place?"
"Because I didn't take into account that she cared about people."
"What do you mean?"
Sam walked back over to Sebastian's car and sat on the hood. "There was this young mother and her daughter in the bank and one of the guys was going to take that mother. Mercy stood and made the guy take her instead."
Blaine nodded as Sebastian's phone rang. "Hello, yes, okay send the address to Ines and text it to me, we will meet you there." He hung up. "Your phone is stopped at a rest stop off the highway about twenty miles south. There are already two cars on the way."
Sam stood off the car. "We have to go."
Blaine held up his hands. "Sam I think you should stay here."
"No! I am coming with you guys now let's go."
"Sam as my older brother, I respect the hell out of you, but as a detective I am telling you to stand down. I will call you when we get there, but you cannot come with us."
"I can't just sit here and wait."
"There is a car on its way here to process the scene. Have Stevie come and get you and go home. I promise as soon as she is safe you are the first person I will call, but I am so serious if you follow us I will have you arrested."
Sam moved closer to his brother. "Blaine, please."
"Sam let me do my job."
He stepped back and nodded. "I am gonna need your phone to call Stevie, as soon as you find her man please, call me at Mom's okay? Please."
Blaine hugged his brother. "I promise.
