Apparently I have two readers in Switzerland now. Awesome! I'm still holding out for some Canadians. Or Polish. That would be cool.

Chapter 6: 207-A

I guess it was around 10:30 that I parked near the Vecchio house again. We could see that Ray's Riviera was parked in front of the house, and Francesca didn't want him to see that it was me dropping her off.

"I honestly didn't think I'd have such a good time," she admitted. "Thanks for getting me to go."

"Anytime," I said, giving her hand a little squeeze.

She smiled. "Good night... see you at work."

"Yup."

I watched her start toward the house and then I remembered I had wanted to ask her about Paul. I opened my door and stood up just as two dark figures ran at her out of the shadows.

"Franny!"

She barely had time to turn around before they got to her, and I had only made it around the car when one of the figures turned toward me. I could see a gun in his hand from the street lamp several yards behind him. It looked like a repeating handgun with a big mass on the muzzle that I recognized as a silencer. The other guy had a hand over Franny's mouth and a strong grip around her waist. He was dragging her toward a black car I hadn't noticed across the street.

"Let her go—we're police," I said, trying to sound forceful but doubting that the revelation would have any effect. I got out my badge.

The gunman deliberately pointed his gun at the ground near me and fired. The sound of the bullet biting the pavement was as loud as the muffled report had been.

I knew the next one wouldn't be a warning shot. I also knew it would take him about one second to refocus his aim on me. I dove forward.

My low attack knocked him off balance and he staggered back. From there, I put my attention on his gun hand, using both of mine to try to wrench the weapon away. I felt his knee hit my side, his left hand tearing at my neck, but I ignored the pain. One more good twist and the gun skittered across the pavement. I stomped in his direction and was lucky enough to connect with his ankle before I dove after the gun.

I felt him clawing at me, crawling up my body as I struggled to roll over, and finally I got there, gun in his face.

He sprang away from me like some kind of wild animal, hands up, palms toward me. He had a ski mask or something over his face.

"Let her go!" I shouted, getting to my feet.

The guy holding Franny grunted and suddenly her mouth was uncovered for a moment. "Take the shot!" she hollered at me, as if I was the stupid guy in the movie and she were throwing popcorn at me.

I took a couple of steps further from the gunman and closer to Franny. "Last chance!" I barked. "Drop her, or I put a cap in you right now!" I knew I couldn't make the shot. In the poor light and at this distance, to have a chance I would at least need my glasses. If I moved to put them on, they'd probably bundle her into the car in that second, and I'd be left shooting at the vehicle, wondering if I'd hit her by mistake. I had to bluff, and I was bluffing bigger than I ever had before.

The would-be kidnapper moved his hands to Franny's upper arms, and I fought to keep the hope off my face. Had to keep my eyes hard. The other guy was running to the car, and I had to fight harder. Then the first guy shoved Franny toward me and dove into the car, pulling the door shut as the tires squealed on the pavement. I thought about trying to shoot a tire, but it was just too dark, and by the time I got my glasses on, they were around the corner.

I put an arm around Franny and walked her back over to my car. "You hurt?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. Are you?"

"I'm okay. Call it in." I opened my door.

"Wait, I'm coming with you," she said.

"Don't be silly. It's you they were after."

"I know, and I wanna know why!"

"You're not a police officer."

"Well, I don't wanna stick around and explain what's going on to Ray!"

I glanced at the Vecchio house just in time to see the porch light come on. "Okay, one condition: you do what I tell you!"

"Done!"

We scrambled into the car and I pulled away from the curb fast.

"Dispatch," Franny said into the radio. "This is Francesca Vecchio calling from Detective Kowalski's vehicle. We're in the suit..."

"Pursuit," I corrected quickly, but without my usual critical tone.

"We're in pursuit of a black..."

"Four-door," I supplied.

"Four door... uh... sedan!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

"It's a two-oh-seven-A," I told her.

"Two-oh-seven-A..." She covered the mouthpiece unnecessarily and asked, "What's that mean?"

"Attempted kidnapping."

"Oh, we have a code for that? Cool."

"Do you have a plate?" the dispatcher asked. "Make or model?"

"No plate..."

"It has a square insignia... might be a Dodge," I said. I had barely glimpsed it before the vehicle pulled away. "They were going west on Brookford." I turned down the road before the one the thugs had taken.

"Maybe a Dodge, heading west on Brookford Drive... hey, this isn't the road they took."

"I know. They took Brookford. We never take Brookford."

"We?"

"Ray Vecchio and I. It's narrow and always has cars parked along it, blocking the side roads. It's a nightmare."

"So, they're kinda trapped in there?"

"Oh, there's a way out if you go far enough," I said, concentrating on the path ahead and grimly pressing down on the gas pedal. "I'm just trying to get there first. Put my flashing light up there and turn it on, will ya?"

"Okay... be careful."

It took her a minute or two, but she found the light, got it to stay on the dash and figured out how to turn it on. I resisted the urge to say, "Finally."

I punched the gas again and then coasted through a quiet intersection before accelerating again. Franny was watching the alleys to our right. We were running out of road before Brookford let out into wider, more traveled roads.

"There they are!" Franny exclaimed suddenly.

"Dammit..." We were too late. They ran a stop sign and swerved right. I made the same turn a few seconds behind them.

"They're on Spencer Avenue now," Franny reported.

"North," I said.

"Heading north."

A new voice came from the radio. "Francesca?"

"Yes?"

"This is Lieutenant Welsh. What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Someone tried to abduct me, Lieutenant! They probably would have if Ray hadn't been there."

"Why are you in a car in pursuit of the people who tried to kidnap you?" Welsh said slowly, with irritation coming through loud and clear.

"That's... kind of a long story."

"I doubt that. Put your brother on."

"Uh... I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because he's not in the car."

"What?!"

"It's Ray Kowalski driving, not Ray Vecchio."

"I'm starting to see why you say it's a long story."

Franny huffed. "As if!"

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, I gotta say, that stung a little. I took the transmitter from her. "Lieutenant, They're going west again; on Alexander now."

"Got 'em," said another voice.

"Okay, unies have them," said Welsh. "You bring miss Vecchio back to the station. You don't take a ride-along on a high-speed chase."

I didn't want to stop, but I knew he was right. "Yes, sir. We'll head back now."

When we got to the station I took my jacket off and offered it to Franny.

"I have a jacket," she said. "I'm okay."

"I know, but... when someone's in shock, you're supposed to keep them warm," I said.

"I'm not in shock. Am I? How do you tell?"

"Well... I'm not sure, but I think you're way too calm. The Franny I know would be having a fit over being manhandled."

"That's true." She went to sit at her desk. "Oh, god, I'm in shock..."

I got out the report forms and put one in front of her. "Just fill this out as best you can," I told her. "And make sure you sign the bottom. I can fill in this stuff up here later. Like the date and all that."

"Okay." She picked up a pen and stared at the paper for a minute.

"You okay?"

"Yeah... yeah. I'm okay." She started writing.

I went back to my desk and started on my own report. It was better to get as much paperwork out of the way as possible. Soon, Welsh came over to my desk.

"I didn't want to interrupt her," he said, glancing at Franny. "Can you tell me anything about these kidnappers?"

"There were at least two, but there could have been another guy waiting in the car," I said. "The two I saw were near my height... well, the one who grabbed Franny might have been a little taller. Dressed in black. Masks, gloves. Oh, I got this." I pulled the silenced handgun out of my pocket.

"And how did you come by that?"

"It's all going in the report... do we have to get into it now?"

"I guess not. I'm going to put my ear back to the radio."

"Okay. Keep me posted." I put the gun in an evidence bag and sealed it before going on with my report.

As I was finishing up, Welsh came back out of his office. "They lost them," he said.

"Seriously?" I groaned and put my head down on my desk. "I had 'em. I had 'em!"

"I know. But once they got outside town, they just vanished. You were right about the make, though. It's a Dodge."

"Lotta good that does us without a plate."

"It might, if we can find a connection to the gun."

"Maybe," I said, knowing it was a long shot.

"What time is it?" asked Franny.

"About eleven-thirty," said Welsh.

I jumped up. "Aw geez, Franny... we gotta get you home. Are you done there?"

She nodded.

"Okay." I took her form and quickly scribbled in the missing information. "If you need anything else from me," I told Welsh, "I'll get it to you tomorrow."

"I'll let you know," he answered. "For now, I want you and Miss Vecchio strictly ten-ten-A, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"What's ten-ten-A, again?" Franny asked me, sounding a little sleepy.

"Home and off duty," I answered. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"Should we have called?" I asked Franny as we neared her house.

"Oh, probably... but we're almost there now."

"Okay if I go up to the house?"

"If you want." She still sounded sleepy.

"Okay. I'll walk you to the door, then."

"Did all that really just happen?"

"Uh-huh."

"Why would a couple of guys team up to kidnap me?"

I didn't want to answer her. This wasn't some stalker or an opportunistic kidnapping. I had a hunch the men we encountered were hired specifically to kidnap Franny, and it might have something to do with Ray's undercover work. "I don't know. Don't worry about it tonight." I parked beside her house.

"But what if they come back?"

"They won't." I got out and walked around to open her door for her. "Not tonight, anyway. And you're safe here. Ray will make sure of that." I took her hand and walked up the steps with her.

"How come I'm more scared now?" she asked in a small, shaky voice.

"That's probably the shock wearing off. It's all catching up to you."

"Today was so stupid!" she blurted. "I was so mad at that guy, and then my brother for ditching me, and then we had so much fun and everything was nice, and then two strangers—" she was all but shrieking now "—come out of nowhere and try to carry me off god knows where..." She was shaking.

"Shh, Franny, it's okay." I put my arms around her and she collapsed against my shoulder, crying.

A moment later, the door opened, and we moved apart a little sheepishly before it opened all the way. Of course, it was Ray.

"There you are!" Ray exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" he asked me. He looked back at Franny. "Are you crying? Why are you crying?" Back at me. "She's crying, you jackass! What did you do?"

I put my hands up, trying to calm him down. "Take it easy. It's... it's kind of a long story."

Franny couldn't help me out because she was still choked up.

"Take it easy? I just bet it's a long story. Franny, get in the house."

"Oh, Ray, don't be a moron," Franny sobbed.

"Get in the house!" he repeated, louder.

She sniffled and pulled my jacket off. "Here," she said thickly. "Thanks."

"Good night, Franny," I said. "Get plenty of rest." I was pissed off at Ray for cutting our goodbye short, but I knew he didn't have the big picture yet, and there would be no reasoning with him until he did. I shrugged my jacket on as she went inside.

Ray closed the door behind her. "What did you do?" he demanded.

"Nothing. Nothing that justifies this kind of reaction," I said, letting my irritation through a little.

"She's my sister; I'll be the judge of what kind of reaction it justifies!"

"Fine, but I can't explain when you're like this." I turned and went down the steps.

"You stay away from her, Kowalski, you hear me!" He shouted after me.

"That'll be a little hard when we're working together... Ray," I grumbled, getting into my car. As I pulled away, in my mirror I saw him go to one of the porch support posts and give it a kick. I winced, both because I knew he probably hurt his foot, and because I knew the kick was intended for me. I remembered all too well how Franny had been convinced her brother might have murdered a man for pressing his advantage with her.

Thanks for reading this far. I hope you liked it and can take the time to let me know. ~Ray k.