Jaeh- -frown- poor Riles. I wonder if it gets worse... oh wait, it does.
Lori- Thanks for the reviews guys! It makes us happy to know we creeped you out :P
Ben groaned and rolled over in bed, glancing at the clock. 5:30 am. Who the hell is calling at this hour… It wasn't unheard of for reporters or treasure hunting fanatics to call at untimely hours. If it was one of those, Ben would have to give them a piece of his mind. Doesn't anyone know what time it is?
Abigail blearily opened her eyes next to him, the shrill ringing also awaking her from her slumber.
He blindly reached for the phone and held it to his ear. "Hello?" he asked, his muzzy with sleep.
"Hello, Ben," came a smooth British, and seemingly familiar voice.
"Uh-hmm?" He yawned, and rubbed his cheek, still half-asleep. "Do you know what time it is in the States?" Bet this guy didn't even check.
The man on the other end sighed impatiently. "Of course I do, Ben. Time is always important."
Ben rolled over to his other side, eyes falling closed from grogginess. "Don'tcha – don't you oughta call me Mr. Gates or something if you want an interview this early?"
The man laughed and then scoffed."Ben, we haven't spoken in a while but do you really not recognize my voice?"
"Who is this?"Ben asked, more alert now. His slow churning mind began to shake off sleep and alarm bells were ringing loudly in his head.
"Oh come on, Ben. You wouldn't forget your dear ol' friend that you put in prison, would you?"
Immediately, all the tiredness fled from his system. He shot straight up in bed, eyes wide, heart pounding. "Ian?" Ben asked in disbelief.
Abigail gasped and nearly fell off the bed. "Honey, what – " Ben raised a hand, and Abigail hushed.
"It's good to hear from you too Ben," Ian commented snidely. "It's been so long."
"What do you want Ian?" Ben asked sharply, the initial shock wearing off and being replaced with anxiousness. Nothing but trouble could come from this. He certainly didn't expect a call from Ian. Not this early in the morning, nor ever. This better be important, or else I'm hanging up now.
Ian laughed deridingly. "Oh Ben. You always got right down to the point, didn't you? I can respect that. I'm a man of business myself…. And I have a little transaction you might be interested in." Ben gritted his teeth and waited, tapping his finger impatiently on the pillow. "You have something I want… and by the same token, I have something you want." Ben's jaw clenched.
"What do you want," he repeated harshly.
"Oh just the money, I rightfully deserve," Ian said coolly. "In exchange…I'll give you back your little geek friend."
Ben jumped out bed, and exploded into the phone. "RILEY!? YOU HAVE RILEY?!" he roared.
Abigail paled. "What's going on, Ben?"
"Ian's kidnapped Riley!" Ben hissed, covering the phone's mouthpiece.
"Oh my god," Abigail gasped, catapulting herself out of the bed.
"Ah, is that Ms. Chase? Tell your girlfriend I say hello," Ian commented flatly.
"Ian you…" Ben was so furious he could barely speak. "Let me talk to him…"
"No need for that, Ben. He won't shut up."
Ben strained his ear into the phone heard someone speaking in the background. "Wow, I heard him all the way over here." Riley's voice. Ben let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His relief was short-lived when he heard a second cold and malicious voice address his friend. "I didn't say you could talk, Mr. Poole." There was a sharp sound of flesh hitting flesh and Riley's cry of pain.
Ben was pacing now, the helplessness he felt was paralyzing "IF YOU HARM ANOTHER HAIR ON HIS HEAD-"
"Relax, Ben. We don't want to wake up your neighbors." Ian said in an easy tone. "Meet me at the abandoned carnival, tomorrow night. 10:00 sharp. Bring the money. Everything you have left. Believe me, I'll know if it's everything or not." Ben had no intention of keeping anything for himself if Riley's safety was on the line, but he said nothing. "And if I catch a whiff of police or FBI… well, then it won't be so lucky for your little friend."
Ben stood there for a long moment, breathing hard. "Okay," Ben said softly. "Just… just don't hurt him."
"Ben, if you bring the money, I'll give him back completely unscathed."
Before Ben could say anything else there was a click, then silence.
"It's 5:30 am. Do you know where your geek is?"
Smack. Riley groaned, and glanced at Devin. "What did I do that time?"
"You talked. I told you to shut up." He glared down at Riley. Devin still hadn't removed his black mask so all Riley could see was his gray eyes and the snide expression on his lips.
"When they were on the phone. Geez man, lighten up will you? For a person who's into amusement-"
Devin waved his knife, towards Riley's face, and Riley clamped his mouth closed, eyeing the weapon. Devin traced the blade along Riley's jaw line, making him gulp and pale. "Come on, Mr. Poole. What happened to your quips? You afraid of my little bladey here?"
Riley kept his mouth shut. A bead of sweat slid down his forehead. He twisted his bound hands behind him, wishing for a way to escape. The handcuffs were now biting uncomfortably into his wrists. Devin grinned evilly, and with a flash of light glinting on the blade, he drew away the knife and let it slip lightly onto Riley's shoulder. It drew blood, and Riley yelped.
Devin laughed, but his glee was cut off when Ian finally turned from the phone. "Didn't you hear what I just said to Ben? Riley remains unharmed until I get the money!"
"I'm just having a little fun, boss." Devin smirked, placing an emphasis on the word "boss" to show his sarcasm.
Riley glanced at Ian, who appeared to be swiftly losing his patience. Ian approached them both, and looked at Riley's wounds, the older one with caked blood on his neck and the newer blood oozing from his shoulder. Ian's mouth moved, as if he wanted to say something to Riley, but thought better of it. Instead, he turned to glare at Devin. "I told you not to harm him. You're still working for me. I'm still paying you at the end of all this."
Devin laughed. "Do you really think you control me, Ian?"
Ian leaned dangerously close to Devin. "As long as you're working for me, I do control you."
Devin matched Ian's expression, and glared back. "Whatever you say, sir."
I would never want to get between these two. "Guys, guys. No need to fight over me." Riley laughed nervously. Although, I am definitely rooting for Ian for the once and only time in my life. He could sense the tension between these two, and didn't want to be around when it finally exploded.
Ian glowered at Riley. "One more word from you, Riley, and I might have to deliver the goods even more damaged than they are now."
Riley returned the same look, as if he was challenging Ian. "Then do it. I dare you. Ben wouldn't give you a penny if you do. I'm your bargaining chip, and without me, your whole scheme would be for nothing."
Ian raised a hand, as if to slug Riley, and Riley shut his eyes. He thought Ian would take up on his dare, but he just turned on his heel and stalked away. Riley sighed. That was close. But then his eyes widened and he realized that Ian going away may not have been such a good thing. Oh no, now I'm alone with Devin.
"Run along, sir, and grab some tea or something," Devin called after Ian mockingly, but not loud enough for Ian to hear. Then he turned to Riley, and said in a low voice. "I'll take care of this, don't you worry."
Ben slammed down the phone so hard, it toppled off the nightstand. He sank down on the bed and was joined by Abigail, who put her arms around him.
"What are we going to do?" she asked softly.
"We give him the money and get Riley back," Ben mumbled. "That's our first priority… then we can worry about getting Ian back in jail after."
Abigail sighed, and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "I just can't believe he'd do this!"
Ben leaned forward and kissed his girlfriend's forehead. "Don't worry…we'll get Riley back, safe and sound."
Devin approached Riley, and grinned evilly. Riley shrank back in his seat, wishing he could get run as far away from this insane lunatic as possible.
"Don't think for a moment that I won't hurt you if he won't. Riley, Riley, Riley." He slowly circled around Riley until he was directly behind him. "We're still playing those games, remember? It's always more fun when we have to hide it from dad."
Devin grabbed Riley's left pinky and quickly wrenched it, fast enough to dislocate the delicate finger. Riley screamed, but he was quickly muffled when Devin slipped a piece of cloth between Riley's teeth to keep Ian from hearing. Devin popped the finger back in its socket, and Riley closed his eyes, biting into the cloth, trying to keep himself from screaming again from the pain. He wasn't going to give the freak the satisfaction.
"Attaboy, Riley. Let's keep it from daddy over there, so we can have more fun together." Riley pried his streaming eyes open, glaring at the maniac, breathing hard through his nose. Devin simply gave him an eerie smile and patted his head condescendingly.
"That's enough for now, Mr. Poole. We'll continue this later." He pulled the fabric out of Riley's mouth and walked away to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what. Riley let out a shuddering breath, his chest eased up and he could breathe easily again.
Riley shivered. He looked at Ian, who was again on the phone, probably calling someone, and shook his head. He glanced at the direction to which Devin has headed off. He shuddered again, and imagined Devin still grinning and staring at him in the distance.
I hope Ian knows who he's dealing with.
His only solace was this would be over by tomorrow night. Ben and Abigail would come and save him. He hung his head, blinking back tears. Get here soon guys… please…
Jaeh - The thing with the finger, now that I read it again, that really gives me the creeps.
Lori- And that's not even scratching the surface….