Chapter 5 – A Bitter Reunion Between Old Partners

Not long after his phone calls to his now worried family members, Frank's phone started ringing. His first thought was of course if this was a ransom call, so he quickly went to his desk to answer it. "Hello?" he said right when he put it to his ear.

A distorted voice came through the other end. "Hello Mr. Commissioner. I'm sure you know what this is about."

"Yes I do," came the reply. "Where are my sons?" Frank asked, hoping that he would maybe get to hear from both, or even just one, of them.

"Now, now Commissioner, all in due time. You're going to do what I tell you or you'll sons will get a bullet to the back of the head. Do I make myself clear?" the voice told him.

Frank took a deep breath before answering him. "Yes, loud and clear. What do you want?"

The person on the other end smiled. "Good. I'm going to give you an address…I want you to go there, alone and unarmed, in the next 10 minutes. If you don't and fail to do these simple tasks, you'll never see your boys again. And I mean it too, Mr. Commissioner…believe me when I say that I'm not afraid to kill two cops; to kill your sons," the voice said threateningly.

Something about this person made Frank believe that what he said was true. "I understand…I'll do whatever you want, just please don't hurt my boys," he pleaded to the man.

"Just do what I told you and you won't have to worry about that."

"I will, I promise. Can I please talk to one of them, let me know they're okay?" Frank asked.

"Sorry Commissioner, but I give the instructions around here. 1152 16th St. is where you need to be. Your 10 minutes starts now," the voice told him before hanging up.

Frank memorized the address in his head and then called for Baker to come in. When she did, he asked her to get the car ready. "Where are we going, sir?" she asked him, a bit puzzled.

"Nowhere, I'm going by myself. I need to clear my head," he told her, thinking up of the excuse on a whim.

Baker immediately knew he wasn't telling the truth. "Sir, are you sure? We can follow behind…they won't even know we're there," she said gently.

Frank gave her a small smile. "I appreciate it Baker, but I have to…if he spots anybody else…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence.

Baker nodded, understanding what he was talking about. "I'll make the call," she said before walking out of the office and back to her desk.

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Within a couple of minutes, Frank was on the road on his way to the address that was specified. He had arrived not long after, with minutes to spare. He didn't recognize the worn down house that sat unoccupied; but he did recognize the neighborhood and the spot that the building stood on. The house that he knew that used to be there had been long gone and now the current home stood in its place. He had a feeling of who could have done this; it couldn't have been a coincidence that he was told to meet here. Frank took a deep breath and got out of his car when the time was nearing the 10 minute mark. He cautiously went to the front steps and walked up, then opened the unlocked door and peered inside. He couldn't see much except for some old furniture that had been left behind. He went further into the house, peering around corners and down hallways, waiting for something to happen. Instead, his suspicions became a reality when he was greeted by a not so surprising sight in the living room. Sitting in a rickety chair was someone he didn't think he'd ever see again.

"Hello, Reagan. It's been a while," he said.

Frank did his best to remain his calm and stoic self. "William Todd…you have my boys?"

William smiled. "I do…they're not here, obviously. Have a seat," he told his old partner, indicating towards another chair that was nearby. "Also, if anything happens to me while we're here, then your boys are as good as dead because I'll never tell you where they are."

Frank slowly did what he was told, not wanting to put his sons' lives in jeopardy. "You're mad at me Todd, the boys have nothing to do with this. Please just let them go and take me instead," he said to his former friend.

"As tempting as that is, I'm going to have to decline," William said, shaking his head. "My revenge isn't to hurt you physically…it's to hurt you through your loved ones. So you'd know how I felt…how I still feel, even all these years later. I want you to suffer Reagan, like you made me suffer," he told him through gritted teeth.

"What happened wasn't my fault…it was a terrible accident and I'm sorry it happened William, I really am. But my boys are innocent in all—" Frank started to say.

"So were my boys!" William yelled out. "At least yours have lived a life…mine were barely in school! I should have been there, I could have helped, or at least prevented it! But I wasn't, and it's all your fault!"

Frank released the breath he didn't know he was holding, trying to calm himself. "You're actions and yours alone are what landed you in prison…I was just doing my job," Frank calmly told him.

"You know as well as anybody that a cop's salary can't cut it anymore…not now and certainly not then. I had a wife and two young boys to support; what else was I supposed to do?!" William seethed.

"I had a wife and young kids too, but I didn't break the law when I was supposed to enforce it," Frank told him. "I did a lot of overtime, even when I didn't want to. And there were weeks where we barely got by, but we did and we made it to the other side…I did all of that while still doing my job and working my way up. You figure out what you have to do; you don't do whatever the hell you want just because you wear a badge!" Frank nearly spit out, getting frustrated. He couldn't believe he was being blamed for this…for doing his job and for a tragedy that he had nothing to do with! Now his sons' lives were in this psycho's hands.

William just shook his head, getting frustrated himself. "It doesn't matter anymore! This is happening and there's nothing you can do about it, Commissioner," he said, sneering at the last part. "I was only behind bars for 2 weeks when the accident happened, so that's how long I'll hold your precious boys…2 long weeks of you wondering if they're okay, if they're alive, if they're hurt. Unless you think you can find them before then, Mr. PC," he said tauntingly.

Frank took another breath and let it out slowly. "I will…and I'll make sure you go down for all of this," he said, trying to sound confidant.

William just laughed and stood up. "We'll see about that Reagan. Now, don't even think about following me 'cause I'm sure you'll know what will happen if you do," he told him as he backed away from his old coworker and towards the front door, closing it as he left.

Frank watched him leave, not moving from the chair. After a few minutes, he got up himself and walked out of the home and towards his car. Once he drove away, he called Baker and let her know to expect his family to come because he was on his way back. After that, he then called his family and asked them to meet him at his office; he had an update that he had to tell them.

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By the time he arrived back to 1PP, his daughter Erin, was waiting for him. Before she could say anything, he held his hand up, wanting everyone else to arrive before he spoke. Not long later, his father and his daughter-in-law Linda had arrived. They all picked a chair and sat around Frank's desk, waiting for the update that he said he had. He gave them a small smile before he began. "I just came back from a little…meeting with Danny and Jamie's kidnapper," he started, receiving small gasps. "It's an old partner of mine, William Todd. He took them as revenge over something that he blames me for."

"William Todd? Now that's a name I haven't heard in years," replied Henry.

"You've never told us about him before," Erin said with a puzzled look on his face.

"That's because I reported him to my CO when I found out what he was doing and he got fired and arrested," Frank explained. "Stuff like that, you don't really tell your kids about."

"What'd he do?" asked Linda.

"He was my partner back when I was a detective with the 21st Precinct. I found out a few months into our partnership that he would steal valuables from people who he thought wouldn't miss them because according to him they were already well off. We would respond to their houses when they were robbed or broken into and he would go on a shopping spree while he was supposed to be working. I also found out that when we did any big drug busts, he would help himself to some of the merchandise and sell it on the street himself. He said it was to support his family; he had a wife and two young boys," he told them, looking down at his hands. "So I reported him and he got punished for it…got sentenced to around 20 years for everything he'd done. Then two weeks into his sentence, his wife, who had filed for divorce, had gone out to different bars and gone drinking. When she came home, apparently she lit a cigarette and eventually fell asleep with it in her hand…it got the curtains on fire and pretty soon the whole house was engulfed in flames. None of them made it…" he finished quietly.

His family looked at him, all of them had shocked expressions on their faces. "They were only 8 and 6…" he continued. "He says it's my fault because if I hadn't had reported him, then he wouldn't have been in prison and he could have been there to save them, to prevent it…his boys would still be alive."

"Oh my God," Erin said quietly.

"I never did like that guy," grumbled Henry.

"What'd he say about Danny and Jamie? Are they okay?" Linda asked, worried about her husband and brother-in-law.

Frank looked up at her. "He said they were," he told them. "He told me he wanted me to feel the pain and the suffering that he's felt. So he's going to have them for 2 weeks, unless I can find them before then…"

Linda put her hand to her mouth while Erin put her arm over her shoulders. Henry just shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. He never would have thought that all of these years later, William Todd would be causing his family so many problems…so much worry.

"What's going to happen now?" Linda managed to say after a few silent minutes.

Frank sighed. "I'm going to get the best detectives on the case…they'll look into what Todd has been doing since he got out, see if they can find anything," he told her. "We'll find them…I won't rest until we do." If anything, he was sure about that. He's already lost one son and he'll be damn well sure that he doesn't lose the other two.

"I know you will Frank," Linda reassured, giving him a small smile.

After a few minutes, the Reagans, minus Frank, all stood up and walked out, with him promising them he'll keep them updated as often as possible. When they had left, Frank had called Baker and asked her to call Detective Baez and a few others so that they could get started working on the missing persons case.