AN: A 'thank you' to LifeIsTooQuick. I couldn't figure out where Hannah would take Penny, and I wanted to make it that room above Carnegie Hall (the place Kevin and the Pigeon Lady go in Home Alone 2) but I couldn't figure out the name for that room. LifeIsTooQuick, however suggested somewhere in Central Park, which ended up leading me to the Bandshell. So, thanks again, LifeIsTooQuick. And welcome back once again.
In less then an hour, the light atmosphere within the Condo had dissolved, and everyone was now feeling completely miserable and helpless. On the couch, Mark and Emily were holding each other, in an attempt to find comfort over what had happened. In the seat by the window, Zack was busy with trying to console Lucia, slipping into his role as a big brother, while Rodolfo stood nearby, looking at a complete loss of what to do or say. James sat alone at the metal table, with his face in his hands. The police had left a short time ago after questioning the family if there was anyone who would have wanted Penny harmed, and they were now scouring the city for any sign of the car that had been used in the abduction. This left the six of them to just sit around and wait for news.
"It's all my fault," James mumbled to himself, breaking the silence.
"No, James," Mark shook his head. "It's not your…"
"Yes, it is!" James insisted, his head snapping up. "I should have been there to protect her. I knew Hannah was the type to go through Penny to get to me. But I didn't do what I could to protect Penny. I let her down again." Once again, James placed his face in his hands. The silence continued for a while longer, until the phone rang.
"Maybe the police found something," Rodolfo thought out loud, picking it up. "Hello?"
"Put James on," Hannah's voice ordered. Rodolfo's eyes widened, realizing who he was speaking to.
"James," Rodolfo turned to him slowly. "It's her." James frowned, realizing who 'her' was. Once he'd taken the phone from Rodolfo, he began to talk to Hannah in a low, dangerous voice.
"Hannah, where's Penny?" James demanded.
"Oh, come on now, James," Hannah's smirk could clearly be heard over the phone. "You're what? Twenty-five? Almost twenty-six? Haven't you learned the value of being patient?"
"Spare me the pleasant talk," James growled, gripping the phone tighter. "Where are you keeping Penny? You had no right to drag her into this. This is about you and me."
"Exactly," Hannah replied. "But you clearly weren't about to agree to a meeting, so I needed some persuasion. Since I can't get Sammy, your little girlfriend was the next best thing to draw you out."
"She's not a bargaining chip!" James cried, enraged.
"No need to get upset," Hannah trilled. "If you want her back, you know where you need to go. Don't pretend you don't."
"Hannah, I swear," James spoke through gritted teeth. "If you hurt Penny, if you touch so much as a hair on her head, I will kill you."
"Oh, don't you be giving me that old threat," Hannah let out a laugh. "Like you'd be able…"
"Don't test my will, Hannah!" James shouted into the phone. "You don't know what I'm capable of anymore!" The Bohemian family all stared at James in shock. The look on his face was proof that he hadn't just given an empty threat. Even Hannah was silent, hearing the cold honesty in James' words. "I won't ask you again, Hannah!" James continued. "Where's Penny?"
"You know where to find her, James," Hannah replied bitterly. "I know you know, because you know me. Don't keep me waiting." Before James could say anything else, Hannah hung up. For a time, James simply listened to the dial tone, but then he too put the phone down.
"James, what happened?" Emily asked urgently.
"I know," James announced after a pregnant pause. "I know where she took Penny." Once again, James allowed a silence to fall in the Condo before turning to face the others. "Mark, I need your help. You need to try and contact the police. You need to tell them where to go to find the three of us, because I might need help if something goes wrong."
"The three of you?" Mark's eyes widened, understanding the implications of James' statement.
"Yeah. I'm heading down there myself," James announced. "And if any of you are thinking about trying to stop me, it won't work."
"James, no offense," Zack stepped into the conversation, "but aren't the police trained to handle…?"
"I can't wait for them, Zack," James insisted. "I know where they are, remember? And I know I can get there a lot faster then the cops can. If Penny has a hope of getting out of this, then the sooner I get down there, the better. It's my fault Penny got involved in this. I let her down once, but I'm not doing it again."
After getting off the phone, Hannah managed to quickly regain her confident air. With her smug grin, she strolled nonchalantly over to Penny. The two women were in the backstage room of the Central Park Bandshell, which Hannah had somehow managed to break into. Before Penny had regained consciousness, Hannah had tied her tightly to a stray chair that had been left in the room, also using an old bandanna as a gag. Now, Penny was awake, and Hannah took her chance to mock the strawberry blonde haired girl.
"Well, then, it looks like James is planning to play the white knight, and come dashing in to save you." Hannah smirked at the angry glare Penny was giving her. "Oh, do stop giving me that look. This isn't about you at all. You should be back with your precious family in no time at all, once James gets here. Because I know he'll come."
"You understand why I'm doing this, don't you?" Hannah crouched down so her face was level with Penny's. "I know you want to return to your family, and you will. Just as soon as I can return home with my family. You have no idea how much it hurt me when the man I loved walked out with our son, without even saying goodbye. I was left with nothing, and no way to know where they went. Until now. Now, the three of us, can return home. Me, James and Sammy. We can be a family again. Because I know James still loves me. And once James arrives, that'll be the proof. It'll prove he remembers the bond we made in this very room, such a long time ago. It was here where we promised to always be together, no matter what, and you don't just forget about a vow like that." Penny strained at the ropes that were holding her, but Hannah paid no attention to her feeble attempt.
"I suppose you'll want to know how I managed to find James and Sammy again after all these years, wouldn't you?" Hannah asked. With a cruel grin, she reached out and started to finger the heart pendant Penny was wearing around her neck. It was the same pendant that James had given to her as a birthday present. "It's all thanks to this, you know. When James bought that for you, the sales clerk who sold it to him was the husband of my college roommate. It really is a small world, isn't it? You see, Penny, it really is all because of you that I found the family that I lost all those years ago. I suppose I should thank you for that." Once again, Penny glared at Hannah. This time however, she tried to say something through the gag that was muffling her voice.
"Oh, you want to say something now?" Hannah laughed cruelly, removing the gag. "Well then, go right ahead."
"You've wasted your time, Hannah," Penny growled. "If you think James will actually go away with you…"
"I don't think, I know he will," Hannah interrupted.
"Wake up, will you?" Penny snapped. "You're the reason your daughter's dead! James left you, Hannah, and he never wanted you to find him again. Does that sound like a guy who still loves you? If he did still love you, you wouldn't need to hold me prisoner like this. He would have just came to you in the first place."
"Oh, James has always been that way," Hannah waved away Penny's comment. "He's never been the one who'd just drop someone who he's held an obvious infatuation with."
"Infatuation? It's not just an…"
"Is that right? So then, why would he be staying away from you like this? If he wasn't simply infatuated with you, if he really loved you, would he have put so much distance between the two of you, the way he's been doing lately, breaking your heart the way he did?" The anger in Penny's face disappeared, and was replaced by hurt and confusion.
"Tell me, Penny," Hannah's voice dropped to a whisper. "Has he gone and made love to you without any hesitation, the way he's done with me so many times in the past." Hannah's visually gloated, seeing in Penny's expression that the answer was 'no.' "Do you still think James actually, genuinely loved you?" Without waiting for a reply, Hannah redid the gag over Penny's mouth and stepped back into the shadows to wait for James to arrive, leaving Penny alone with her conflicting thoughts, a single tear slipping down her cheek.