Chapter 23

A Whole Bunch of Surprises

I think my internet is back on! Yay! So, I'll probably update more often. (:

Sammy let one of his eyes crack open. The sweet smell of bacon filled his nostrils and he smiled. The guy was in front of a stove, flipping pancakes with a few pieces of bacon by his side. Sammy wondered if he could stretch his arm out and take a piece without the guy knowing. "You hungry, kid?" No chance. He didn't even turn around. Sammy sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, I think I'm a bit hungry."

The man turned and handed Sammy a small plate. "Hey, what's your name?" Sammy asked.

"Call me Scar."

Sammy tilted his head to the side. "Is that a tough name? Because I know seven-year-olds who look tougher than you."

Scar slammed his spatula on the counter. Sammy jumped back, terrified. Scar turned and started striding over to Sammy. Sammy covered his face with his hands and started shaking and crying. "Sorry! Sorry, sorry! Please don't hurt me! I was just kidding."

"Keep you mouth closed then," Scar hissed. "Now get up!" He grasped Sammy's arm and yanked him up. Sammy whimpered under his unyielding grasp and let him drag him to a corner. Scar sat him down in a dog bed and stared Sammy straight in the eye. "Tell me where the girls are now."

"My sister and her friends went to LA to get them. I don't know if they're back here or not."

"You better not be lying, kid," Scar threatened.

"Sammy," Sammy said. Scar looked at him confused. "Huh?"

"My name is Sammy, not Kid."

"I know your damn name, kid. But I wanna call you Kid. Is that a problem?"

"No." Sammy fiddled with his hands as Scar took out a cell phone. He punched in a few numbers before pressing the phone to his ear and waiting. "Hey…Yeah, I got him…He doesn't know, but I'm gonna find out…Okay and you better have my money." Scar hung up and plopped down in a seat. Sammy looked at him. "Who was that?"

"You know, a smart kid would just shut up and not talk," Scar spat.

"Well, I have dyslexia," Sammy said. "It means I'm not as smart as some kids, but if I try hard enough I can be."

"Yeah? Well my brother has dyslexia too, but he's smart. So shut up."

"You don't have to be so mean."

"You don't have to be so annoying. And I swear to God if you say that I don't have to be annoying then I'll shoot you right now."

Sammy's mouth went ajar. "Y-you have a gun?"

"Yeah. Scared now?"

"I was scared before," Sammy admitted in a frightened whisper. Then he started crying. "I want to go home!"

"Not until I get my money," Scar said. He reached for a pistol from inside of the kitchen drawer. Sammy watched as he rubbed the butt of it and then placed it on the counter. He turned and looked at Sammy carefully. "Have you done this before?" Sammy asked.

Scar looked at him curiously. "Huh?"

"Have you ever took some kid and threatened to kill them?" Sammy pulled his legs up and rested his chin on his knees. Scar sighed and scratched the back of his neck. He seemed strained. Or scared. As if he didn't want to do this, but he had to do this. "Look, can I be honest with you, kid—uh, Sammy?"

"Sure." Sammy leaned back and sighed.

"My mom has breast cancer and my dad has lung cancer. My brother was shot five times and we have over two hundred thousand dollars in debt with the hospital. Your friends have the money that I need."

"But what if the cops find out what you did and you go into jail and your family has no money at all?"

Scar stood up. The chair scrapped against the hardwood floor and toppled over. Sammy looked up at Scar, his eyes wide. Scar took slow, steady steps towards Sammy and crouched down in front of him. Sammy stared into his green eyes fearfully. "You've been here for a day and I already want to strangle you."

"I'm gonna escape," Sammy said, looking back at him with firm eyes. "And then I'm gonna tell." Sammy gasped as Scar gripped the collar of his shirt and started shaking him. Sammy panicked and swiped at Scar's face. The hokey mask was yanked off and dropped to the floor. Scar looked up at Sammy, eyes wide.

"Hey…you're the mailman," Sammy whispered. "You…there was that shooting on that street on the news. You were shot, too."

"You just killed yourself," Scar spat. He threw Sammy to the floor and stood up straight. He started striding over to the kitchen counter and took the gun off of it, looking down at it with skeptically. He turned to Sammy and Sammy panicked. "You're nice," Sammy said, trying to reason with him. "You always said hi to me and my mom and my dad and Aunt Rosie and Maxine and the trio. So if you're so nice, please don't hurt me."

Sammy hid his face in his arms. Scar sighed and threw the gun back in the drawer. He picked the chair up and then plopped into it. "If they refuse to give me that money, I have no choice but to kill you"' Scar said. He brought out a laptop from the drawer and started typing away on it. Sammy tried to read from his distance, but he could hardly make anything out. "What are you doing?" Sammy decided to ask.

"Making a letter to the trio telling them to send me in fifty million or else I'll kill you. A cold-blooded murder, too."

"I don't know what cold-blooded is, but since it's in the same sentence as murder, then I think it's bad."

"Smart kid." Scar finished up a few more words before mailing it out to the trio. He closed his laptop and turned to Sammy. "Ready to move?"

"Huh?"

"We're going to the park soon. That's we're we'll meet and I'll get some money while they get you."

…

"Look," Selena said, sitting up. Everyone else looked at her, alarmed. "Some guy mailed some letter out to us. It says that he wants fifty million and then we can have Sammy back. We meet him at the park in an hour. If we bring any cops, he'll shoot Sammy."

"What?"Maxine shot out of her seat. "Fifty million? Who has that kind of money?"

"He means from us," Gabriella said quietly.

"But that's a lot of money to give," Reva said.

"But we have to do it," Gabriella said. "It's just fifty million. It won't do any damage to us."

"We should bring the cops," Leilani put in.

"He said if we bring the cops, he'll shoot Sammy." Maxine was in hysterics now. Leilani cradled her close and rubbed soothing circles on her back. Gabriella pulled out her phone and quickly dialed down Rosie's number.

"What are you doing?" Reva asked.

"Calling Rosie to tell her."

"You can't." Reva took the phone away form her and ended it before Rosie could pick it up. "If you do, they'll call the police and Sammy will get hurt. We have to do it alone."

"It's too dangerous," Selena put in. "We don't who this guy is. He could hurt anyone of us plus Sammy. We have to at least tell someone where we're going."

"I'll call Taylor," Leilani said. "If we're not back, she'll tell the police. Did this guy give any information like his name or address?"

Selena checked her laptop again and shook her head. "No. His email is and that's it." Selena sighed and shrugged wearily. She closed her laptop and pushed it aside. "We have to go. If not, he'll do something really bad to Sammy."

"What time do we have to leave?" Maxine asked as she wiped her eyes. Selena looked down at her watch. "Eight o'clock."

…

"They aren't going to do it," Sammy said. Scar sent him a deadly look and jerked the car to a stop. Sammy gasped as he was catapulted forward. His head banged against the dashboard violently. He started to shake and cry. "Shut up," Scar hissed at him. He grabbed Sammy and got out of his car. He moved stealthily to the huge oak tree in the back of the park and watched closely for any movement.

Leilani and Emil decided to stay at home just in case Rosie, Julie and Steve came back while the trio, Troy and Maxine went away to the park. The guy had sent them another e-mail telling them to meet him in the back of the park near the big oak tree with the money. "Sh," Reva hushed Selena. The leaves crinkled and the twigs cracked and moaned beneath their feet. The wet mud made squishy sounds and it only stopped when they saw the guy with Sammy held closely to him. Maxine willed herself not to take off and grab Sammy.

"Glad doing business with you ladies," he said. He walked forward with Sammy while Troy walked forward with the check. "Hand over Sammy first," he said.

"Give me my money first."

"We're not stupid. Look, we'll hand the things over at the same time." Scar thought for a moment before nodding. Sammy watched them with huge eyes. He couldn't let this guy take that much money. Sammy threw his arm up and yet again, the hokey mask flew off of Scar's face. "Sam!" Troy said. He grabbed Sammy and jerked him back to the others. Scar yanked out a gun and a shot eased its way through the night. Everyone fell to the ground, screaming and yelling. But the shot had made its way through a tree trunk instead of human flesh.

"That was a stupid, stupid mistake," Scar said. He raised the gun and pointed it at Sammy. "Wait, wait," Gabriella panted. He looked up into the eyes of Scar as realization dawned over her. "I've seen you before. You…you look like this guy I've met. Ketch."

"Don't get your hopes up," Scar whispered. He pointed the gun back at Sammy, but Gabriella spoke again. "I know you aren't Ketch. But you look so much like him." Maxine looked at Gabriella as her hand inched closer to Sammy. Maybe she could snatch Sammy and protect him. Gabriella shook her head. "You look so much like him."

Scar looked at her for a split second before sighing. He lowered his gun. Troy eyed the weapon. "Ketch is my brother," Scar admitted.

"Ketch got shot?" Sammy questioned. The truth about why Scar was doing this swarmed around Sammy's head.

"What?" Gabriella asked in surprise. She had spent a night with Ketch and it had been partially fun. In that short time, she had gained a liking to Ketch. Not in a romantic type of way, but in a brotherly way. And he got shot?

"Ketch got shot during that shooting a few weeks ago. My mom has breast cancer and my dad has lung cancer. We have a lot of money in debt with the hospital. Two hundred thousand dollars. And I don't have that kind of money," Scar said.

"So you kidnapped Sammy to get the money plus extra money," Gabriella finished. Scar nodded. "We'll give you the money." Selena, Reva, Maxine and Troy looked at Gabriella shocked. "But only two hundred thousand."

"He just kidnapped my brother and threatened to kill him numerous times and you're still letting him get the money?" Maxine asked in disbelief.

"I'm doing this for Ketch," Gabriella said. "Not for him."

"Oh, so you're doing it for a guy who you met for a night? You don't even know them, Gabriella. Why are you being so careless and stupid? There's probably nothing wrong with them."

"Don't call me careless and stupid," Gabriella demanded. "And there is something wrong. Why would he make something like this up?"

"Because he wants money."

"Well don't act like you don't, Maxine! Everyday you always ask for money from us. It's like you're only friends with us because you want our money."

Maxine's face dropped. "That's not true, Gabriella. I would never do that."

"Well, he wouldn't make this up about Ketch and his parents. So just let me do this." Maxine sighed and sat up. She ran a hand through her hair before nodding softly. "Yeah, do it."

"Thank you." Gabriella stood. She pulled out a checkbook and pen from her purse and quickly scribbled down the money amount before handing it over to Scar. Scar took it, looked down at it and smiled. But the smile vanished just as quick as it came.

Police sirens hung in their ears as the police cruisers swerved around the corner. Gabriella looked up at Scar with alarm. "Go!" she told him, pushing him forward. Scar quickly ran to his car and jumped in. He swerved down the street, leaving fumes and skit marks on his trail.

Sammy let out a breath and ran to Maxine, giving her a hug. Maxine hugged him tightly to her as tears trailed down her cheeks. "We have to go," Reva said, helping Selena up. "The police will want answers that we won't have." Maxine picked up Sammy and he rested on her hip as they ran to Gabriella and Selena's car. Gabriella fumbled with her keys, but they fell from her grip. She was about to pick them up when a big, meaty hand stopped her. Her heart stopped as her eyes traveled up his blue sleeve, over his badge and to his face. "Ma'am, may I have a word?" the officer asked.

Gabriella nodded and handed her keys over to Selena. "What's the problem, officer?"

"There was a disturbance in this area," he said. He eyed everyone and then elaborated. "A gunshot."

"We can explain that," Gabriella said timidly. She wasn't a great liar and she knew this wouldn't end well. And that's when Maxine stepped up. "Sir, we just found my little brother. He was kidnapped. His name is Sammy Williams. The guy that had him had a gun. We tried to get Sammy away from him and he pulled the trigger. After that, he ran away in his truck down Wilshire road." Maxine nodded her head to the opposite direction where Scar had gone. "After that, we went to the car, hoping to catch him and turn him into the police."

Gabriella looked at Maxine in surprise. Her face was creased into a frown and she looked absolutely serious. Gabriella found herself almost believe it. The officer nodded and looked at Sammy. "I'd like to bring you all to the station. Follow me and if you don't, you'll all be in serious trouble." And that's when Gabriella's face fell again. Didn't he believe it?

"Yes, officer," Maxine said. She tugged on Gabriella shirt and the two walked to the car. Gabriella took the keys from Selena and they all slipped into the car. The officer got into his police cruiser and rode off towards the station, Gabriella in tow.

When they arrived at the station, they walked in and waited for the officer. He came back in with a guy clad in a brown suit. "I want you kids to tell me the whole truth," the guy in the suit said. "I am Detective Latori. Is what you said true?" His dangerous eyes lowered on all of them, daring them to say it was. Gabriella sighed and shook her head. "No," she said softly.

"Do any of you have a gun?"

"Hold on now," Maxine said. "No, we aren't murderers so get that out of your heads. What we said was partially true. My little brother Sammy was kidnapped and his kidnapper did set off the shot."

"You see, his brother and his parents are in serious debt with the hospital," Gabriella put in. "And so he needed money. He kidnapped Sammy knowing that Sammy had a connecting with my sisters and me and knowing that we had a lot of money. So he e-mailed us telling us to bring in fifty million and meet him at the park. We did and I recognized him. He was my friend's brother and so I made him a deal. I told him I would give him two hundred thousand to pay his debt."

"You all know that this is serious, don't you?" They all nodded. "It's serious that he kidnapped a kid and it's serious that you all let him go."

"We just wanted to make my friend and his parents not in debt with the hospital," Gabriella said.

"But he's a criminal and you let him go," Detective Latori seethed. "That's dangerous and reckless."

"He's not a criminal. He's the mailman," Sammy said.

"Sammy, shush," Maxine said. But Sammy shook his head. "No. He's not a criminal. He's a nice guy. He was just scared that he couldn't make his family better. I guess I would do the same. Wouldn't you?"

"I wouldn't go to those standards," Detective Latori said.

"But what if you had no choice? Would you do it?"

Detective Latori sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. He looked at Sammy and nodded. "Then, yeah. I guess I would do it."

"See? Scar was just doing this because he was scared that something would happen to his family." Detective Latori opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it when someone entered the office. Sammy gasped. It was Scar.

"I can't take the money," Scar said. He handed the check to Gabriella and looked at Detective Latori. "I kidnapped Sammy Williams."

The two police officers standing behind Detective Latori quickly ran to Scar and handcuffed him. "Wait, what about your family?" Sammy asked.

Scar sighed and shrugged as the two police officers walked away with him. "This is how the business works, Sammy," Detective Latori said. "You all may leave now." He nodded his head before turning and leaving. Gabriella looked down at the check in her hands and she shook her head. "We have to give this money to them. We can't let them get in this much debt." Everyone agreed before they left the station.

I have half of chapter 24 ready. But before I get that one out, tell em what you think of this short chpater.