***Jonathan***
Jonathan and Jack were growing restless.
"We have got to get out of here."
They both climbed up and looked out the windows as much as they could.
"All I see is a field".
"Same over here".
"You see any cars, or any type of vehicle at all?"
"Nope".
Just then, the black van pulled back up. Jonathan quietly watched as the two guys got out.
"Ok, so they left the keys in the vehicle. That's good. We can work with that".
They sat down and waited for them to come in.
***Outside the room***
"Jesus Christ, wake up!"
"Sorry…I guess I fell asleep".
"How are the boys?"
"Haven't heard a peep out of them all night".
"That's cuz you haven't heard a peep from anyone all night".
"Trust me, I would have heard them if they had come out of there. They didn't".
"How long are we going to keep this up, Buck?"
"Just a few more days, Ace. That's all we need".
"And then we let them go?"
"Not exactly".
***Jennifer***
Jennifer and Rachel were lying in the bed, listening to Jessalynn's breathing machine. Somehow, the beep-beep-woosh, beep-beep-woosh was comforting.
Stephen came back in.
"Ok, sweetheart. I made some calls. Jack and Jonathan took off from Los Angeles, and landed like normal in Montana. But that's where the trail ends. I sent my private investigator to go to all the small and private airports from Montana to the coast, to see what he can find out. And I called a few air traffic control friends of mine and asked them to have a lookout as well. They are going to put the word out to see if any other controllers recognized any air traffic that didn't have a flight plan. We are going to find him, sweetheart. I promise you that".
Jennifer nodded.
Rachel and Jennifer were holding hands, just like they used to when one of them was upset.
"I should have just told him to take me to Vegas. He wanted an Elvis wedding. I should have just said yes. I would have at least accomplished that in my life".
"Mushy, this isn't your fault, and this isn't Jack's. He's the best pilot in the business. I should know-my husband doesn't employ less than perfect people. If in fact-their plane went down somewhere, I promise you the fault lies with the plane, and not the pilot".
"I can't bear to think about that".
"Me either. But maybe it's time for us to accept it as a possibility".
"No, Jennifer. Jack is coming back to me. He has to. I have to believe that Jack is coming back to me, and Jonathan is coming back to you".
They were all quiet for a bit, and Stephen turned up the tv volume to listen to the news.
In other news today, the President signed a bill into law requiring gun buyers to provide two forms of ID instead of just one. The law goes into effect July 1….Tara Bowman, the southern California woman who was caught up in the largest federal embezzlement scheme to date, was denied a retrial today. She is currently serving an 80-year sentence in federal prison in Kansas. Her lawyer said she still has a couple of appeals left.
"Sweetheart, could this have anything to do with Hunter McAlister?"
"I don't think so. I called the prison last night and asked them if he was there, and they told me that they had done a count 20 minutes prior and he had been present and accounted for, and then the guard stated that she was looking on the cameras and that he was asleep in his cell".
"What made you think to call and check on him?"
Jennifer sighed.
"Every now and then I get a little anxious, and the thought of 'what if he escapes, will he come after me' creeps into my head. So, I called to get some reassurance. I called and checked on her too-she was also present and accounted for".
Rachel squeezed her hand.
"And have you checked on Tucker Collins?"
"Jonathan did, a few days ago. He has followed every rule to the letter".
"Could there be anyone else?"
"There's someone Jonathan was supposed to meet with in Texas tomorrow, but as far as I know, he's never done a business deal with anyone that's known for being devious. Jonathan wouldn't do that".
"I suppose it's possible that he didn't know himself, but we have to look at all the possibilities".
The nurse came in and checked Jessalynn's vitals.
"No change. Dr. Kendall should be in soon".
They were quiet till Dr. Kendall came in.
She listened to her lungs and then ordered another chest x-ray.
"Ok, we are going to bring in the portable x-ray machine and do another chest x-ray. If you all can wait in the hall, it should just take a few minutes".
Jennifer leaned up over the side of the crib and kissed Jessalynn.
"Mommy will be right outside, princess".
A few minutes later, they were allowed back in.
She climbed up into the bed again, and then tried to focus on the situation with Jonathan.
"Pa, could your person see if he went to Texas? He is supposed to have a meeting there, tomorrow".
"Sure. Worth a shot".
Susan came in and visually examined Jessalynn.
"Ok, I'm going to get you gowned up, and let you hold her."
"Wonderful".
Everyone got gowns on, and then Jennifer sat the bed up so she could hold Jessalynn.
"Hi angel. It's time for you to start feeling better".
Jennifer gave her several kisses.
"Poppy is here. And Aunt Marnie is at the house, with your brother. They both miss you so, so much. And Aunt Mushy is here too. And Daddy will hopefully be here soon. We all love you and we can't wait for you to get better so we can go do the fun things, like go to the park, and go for a stroller ride, and play in Mommy and Daddy's bed".
Jessalynn just laid against her chest and barely moved.
Stephen's phone rang, so he stepped out of the room to answer it, and promised he'd be right back.
Jennifer kissed Jessalynn's forehead.
"Daddy will be here soon, princess. He might be mad at Mommy but he would never leave you like this".
***Jonathan***
Jonathan and Jack were starting to put a plan into motion. There were two cots, two blankets, two pillows and two small windows. Jack got one of the doors open to find a very small bathroom, with only a toilet and a sink.
"Do you recognize either of them?"
"No, I don't".
"I just don't understand why they are targeting you".
"Me either. But I'm incredibly sorry that you got caught up in it".
"Don't worry about that. I'm glad you aren't going through this alone".
Ace and Buck came back in the room.
"We picked up some sandwiches and some water".
"Can you please just tell me what it is you want? I'm willing to consider any reasonable offer".
"Does the name Grant Barlow mean anything to you?"
"Grant Barlow. I was in an orphanage as a kid with a kid named Grant Perkins. And I was in the navy with a guy named Patrick Barlow".
"You were in the orphanage with Grant Patrick Perkins, who, after a couple of failed adoptions, was later adopted and renamed as Grant Patrick Barlow. At the age of 18, his family kicked him out and he joined the Navy. 4 years later, he was honorably discharged, and he set out to find his birth family. To his surprise, he found that he had a twin brother that his birth family chose to keep. His twin brother was also done with the birth family and their lying, non-caring, judgmental ways. So, they both abandoned the family together and made their own way in the world. And they endured nothing but hardship after hardship after hardship. And finally, they decided to get revenge on those that wronged them".
"How exactly did I wrong you?"
"Well, you didn't, per se. You weren't the nicest to Grant in the orphanage, but you weren't exactly mean. You two just weren't friends. And in the Navy, you never once included him in any outings or asked him to join you for a drink".
"That's because my best friend Bill didn't like Grant".
"And Grant didn't like Bill. But Grant did like you".
"Ok, so because someone wasn't friends with someone, that means they should be kidnapped and kept away from their wife and sick child?"
"Not exactly. There's more to it. The twin brother was living his life, minding his own business, when your wife decided to get involved. She wrote an article about him that landed him in the pen for a few years. And he's never forgiven her. In fact, he told her in court what he was going to do to her, and that was a promise that he meant. He has thought about it every single day since he was led away in handcuffs and locked in a cage like a zoo animal".
"So, let me guess. You are Grant?"
"Nope. Try again".
"Well, you can't be Tucker, because I called and talked to his parole officer".
"Identical twins switch places all the time. And you would be amazed at how easy it is to slip off an ankle monitor with a just a dab of olive oil on the ankle joint".
"I see. So, what's your plan? You can't stay on the run forever".
"Well, you and I are going to go on a little trip, and you're going to withdraw $10 million dollars. And then I'm going to fly to Mexico, and live in a beach bungalow in a hammock sipping on some fruity drinks while you have to stay here and rebuild your company".
"It will never work. You will never get away with it."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, for starters, I don't have $10 million dollars. I would only be able to get my hands on $5 million, at the most, in cash."
"Why is that?"
"Because the sEC has rules about how much you can withdraw at a time, and the Banking Commission has that limit set at $5 million."
"Fine. $5 million it is".
"Here's what I'll do. I'll give you the $5 million, and I'll fly you to Mexico myself. But I want to visit my wife and daughter in the hospital first, and make sure that they are ok. I'll tell my wife I have a business meeting to get to, and then fly you to Mexico. And Jack comes with us, because he wasn't part of this and shouldn't have been held with me".
"Fine. But I will accompany you to the hospital and we will leave when I say".
"My wife will recognize you if you do".
"Fine. Buck will go. She won't recognize him".
"Fine. Let's go. Any tricks, and you'll never see your wife or daughter again".
***Jennifer***
Jennifer got to hold Jessalynn for about an hour. Susan came back in and gave her another dose of the medicine.
"How was her chest x-ray?"
"Unfortunately, the pneumonia spot has gotten bigger. I think I'm going to let her get one more night's of really good sleep on this medicine, and then in the morning we will start weaning her off, and if she tolerates it well, we can then take out the breathing tube".
"Is that going to hurt her?"
"Not horribly".
"I just want to do what's best for her".
"Believe me, you are".
"Can I sleep with her on my chest tonight?"
"Normally, I would say yes. But sweetie, she needs to sleep in the oxygen tent so she can get as much oxygen as possible. I know you want to, and I hate to tell you no, but it's what is best".
Jennifer nodded.
"I understand".
"How about 10 more minutes?"
"Thank you".
Jennifer held her and sang to her and gave her lots of kisses and smoothed her hair about a hundred times.
"I love you, princess. To the moon and back and a million laps in between. Aunt Mushy and I have a saying. We always say "I love you, bigger than the sky".
Rachel leaned over.
"And then the other person says "And I love you more than Miss Betty's Apple Pie".
Rachel gave her a kiss.
"And I promise as soon as you get out of here, you and I are going to go home and have a stroller ride, and Mommy's going to rock you and hold you and give you all the kisses and hugs".
She let Poppy hold her for a few minutes so she could run to the bathroom, and then before she knew it, Susan was back in.
"Ok, time to go back in the tent."
Jennifer, Stephen and Rachel all gave her a good night kiss and then they laid her back down in the crib.
"I'll be going off rounds in about 2 hours. But I'll be back in the morning, and the staff knows to page me if something happens".
"Hopefully, it will be a quiet night".
"Yes, I agree".
Stephen headed out then, and took a cab back to the house.
"Pa, you can stay wherever-our room, the other guest room, the guest room downstairs, the guest house. Wherever you're comfortable. And in the morning, you can drive the Bentley here if you want-keys are by the back door on the hook".
"I'll be fine, sweetheart. You get some rest too".
He kissed her goodnight and gave her a long hug.
"Speedy, I'll see you soon".
"Night, Mr. Edwards".
Rachel stayed a little bit and then left.
"Are you going to be ok?"
"I guess. I'll probably just head to my house, and then come by here in the morning before I go relieve your aunt".
Jennifer's stomach growled.
"I forgot to eat dinner".
"How about a pizza and a salad?"
"You're on".
"The usual?"
"Yes. I haven't had that in ages".
They ordered their usual college late-night order, a medium thin-crust cheese and mushroom pizza and two garden salads on the side, with two sweet teas.
They stayed up for about an hour, just talking and chatting.
Finally, Rachel decided to head home and Jennifer decided to get some sleep.
"As soon as I know something, I'll call you".
"Please. And if I hear from him, I'll call you".
They shared a long hug and then Jennifer was alone with her thoughts.
She pulled her phone off the charger and read his last text again.
She tried and tried but she still couldn't make sense of it. It just didn't sound like Jonathan. He was more of a "we'll talk when I see you" kind of person, not one to just opt out of life like that.
She pulled up a picture of them and stared at it for a long time.
Come home, darling, wherever you are. Just come home.