Tracy Island
Kyrano and Brains were sitting in Jeff's office; both agreeing that Kyrano should take the call from the kidnapper because of Brains' stutter. Both were watching the clock as it slowly ticked its way to five o'clock; the time for the call to come.
Brains was sitting on the couch drumming his fingers impatiently; his job of placing the last, and very high, bid done.
Kyrano was calmly, but tensely, sitting in Jeff's chair, hands folded on the desk.
When the phone rang at five o'clock, both men jumped. Brains nodded at Kyrano, who answered the phone and put it on speaker, "Tracy residence."
"You don't sound like the Tracy's I have spoken with," a snide voice responded.
"No, sir," Kyrano replied calmly, "The Tracy's are out at the moment. I have their permission to take this call."
"And how do I know that what you say is true?"
"All I have to say is, we live on an island and there would be no other way for me to answer this call," Kyrano supplied, "And I think of Alan as family in all but name."
"I guess it really doesn't matter," the voice said, "If they don't get the message, the item will eventually die. So, are you ready to pass along the message?"
"Yes, sir," Kyrano said, as Brains readied a pen and paper.
"Tell the Tracy's this message," the voice said blandly, "They are the winners of the bid. The money must be transferred to this Swedish bank account: A063-280C-9957. They will find their winnings in an old warehouse near the coordinates: 43.5184 North and 73.018355 West. They will not, however be able to get in until the money is received and confirmed. If they try to get in before confirmation, the building will collapse in on itself, effectively burying anything inside. Confirmation will allow entrance to the building and disable the failsafe. The code to get in the front door is: 7652. They will then find their winnings on the lower level and in the room at the end of the hall. Any keys they will need will be found on a table near the entrance to the building."
"Is there anything else they must know, sir?"
"Only that the sooner they send the money the sooner they can collect their winnings," with that the call ended with a click and the dial tone sounded.
Kyrano looked to Brains, "What should we do now?"
"W-we sh-should p-p-p-send th-the m-m-money, th-then c-c-call Scott," Brains stuttered, taking Kyrano's vacated seat. Brains made the transaction from the Tracy Family account to the Swedish bank account he was given. A minute after the money went through, the Swedish bank sent a confirmation; Brains and Kyrano sighed.
"Perhaps we should call Mister Scott, now," Kyrano suggested, "He will have been worrying these last fifteen minutes."
"Y-y-yes, w-we sh-sh-should," Brains nodded.
Scott's hotel
He had been pacing since the clock and turned to ten o'clock; that was ten minutes ago. He had figured that Brains and Kyrano would have had to talk to the guy that had his baby brother, but ten minutes was closing in on his breaking point. "Come on, Brains, call," he muttered, "Come on, come on!"
Scott almost jumped out of his skin when his phone went off. Quickly grabbing it he flipped it open, "Hello?"
"Mister Scott," Kyrano's voice greeted him, "We have received a call from the man who took Alan."
Scott ground his teeth, "Kyrano, I really don't want to sound rude or impatient, but could you please get to the point, where's Alan?"
"Of course, Mister Scott, I am sorry. We have made the payment and acquired confirmation on it, now it is safe for you to go get Alan," the retainer informed.
Scott interrupted before he could continue, "What do you mean it is now safe to get Alan?"
"I will explain later," Kyrano replied, "For now you must get to the coordinates 43.5184 North and 73.018355 West. Brains says that it is not near the search area, and cannot explain why."
Scott wrote the coordinates down and headed for the door, "I don't really care about that right now," Scott said getting into the elevator.
Kyrano told Scott what to do when he got to the warehouse and were to find the keys and Alan. Scott was in his car by now, and had inputted the coordinates into his GPS. Frowning, Scott told Kyrano, "My GPS says this warehouse is half an hour from my hotel!" Holding his phone awkwardly with his injured right hand and driving with his left, Scot pulled out into the empty street and gunned it.
After all the time in the police station, he had learned were the cops liked to sit, so he would speed everywhere they weren't.
"I am sorry to hear that," Kyrano said sadly, "Brains say that your father should be landing in ten minutes, perhaps you should wait for him."
"I have to respectfully ignore that suggestion, Kyrano," Scott said, glancing at the GPS and making a sudden turn, "I am going to cut as much time as I can, and get to Alan as quickly as possible. Waiting means Alan is in that place longer."
"I understand, Mister Scott," Kyrano sympathized.
"Now I hate to hang up, but Vermont roads are very curvy and I am breaking a lot of speed laws," Scott said as he wiped around a dark turn. Seeing headlights up the road, Scott slowed a little.
"Of course, I will call Mister Tracy and leave a message telling him you have gone to get Alan," Kyrano said before hanging up.
Throwing his phone on to the passenger chair, Scott sped up again.
Ten minutes into his drive, Scott had already covered half the distance, I'm coming Sprout, hang on…
Alan's room
Alan had no idea how long he had been lying in the chest; but it felt like a life time. He had tried kicking and punching at the lid; but stopped when his right hand hurt more.
He had also given up holding his tears in and openly cried into the gag and blindfold. He had tried to get the blindfold off, but he couldn't get his hands up to pull it off and couldn't move enough to loosen it.
Did you really have to leave me blindfolded and gagged? Alan thought angrily, this just tells me that Dad didn't win the bid and some guy is going to come and make my life hell…
Alan, he jumped hearing the feminine voice, you cannot give up. You have made it this far, why give up so near the end?
How can I not? Alan retorted then snorted, great, now I'm arguing with myself.
A gentle laugh filled his mind, you are not arguing with yourself, you are arguing with me; remember your guardian angel?
But you are in my head, Alan thought, so that makes it seem like I'm talking to myself…and now arguing again…I don't even know your name!
Oh Alan, the angel chuckled, my name is Marina.
Okay…Marina, Alan relaxed as much as he could into the padded chest, can you tell me why I shouldn't give up? To me it seems Billy set me up nice and pretty for someone not my family.
He could have only been doing what he always does, Marina countered, or trying to make you nervous about who opened this chest whilst you cannot see, talk, or fight back.
That isn't very comforting, Alan thought dryly.
Perhaps, Marina replied, but it means you can't give up. Giving up will lead to a terrible end no matter who comes. If you give up, you will lose yourself.
Billy wanted me to promise not to lose myself, my attitude, Alan thought, was he trying to tell me something?
Maybe he spoke from experience, Marina suggested, he did tell you some about his own time.
Yeah, Alan nodded to himself, but how can I hold on to hope when I don't even know how long I have been in here, or how long I will still be in here?
Your stay is almost through, Marina said kindly.
Do you know who is coming? Alan asked hopefully.
I could not tell you if I did know. I can only tell you the end is near for your time in this box, Marina answered.