John Cole drove to the bank alone. He left Marsha at home on the couch, and told her not to phone anyone. He went into his office and switched on his computer. He sighed deeply. Two and a half million dollars. He had been working so hard these last few years, and now he has to pay his hard earned money to get his son back. He sat thinking back over his life, and remembered the day that he met Marsha. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and he wanted the world with her. He thought about the day that she told him she was pregnant and how excited they were, and then he remembered the day his son was born.
It was the happiest day of his life, and he wanted to give him the world. He thought about when he was a baby and how they played soccer on the grass outside when life was simpler. Then life became an obstacle. He started chasing money, and he started working more and more. Was it even worth it? He couldn't remember the last time that he had a proper discussion with his own son, and he sat and wept in his hands for a few minutes.
It was still early but some of the workers started entering the bank, and he quickly checked if they had enough money in the vault. He quickly did the transfer and wrote a cheque that he would cash later. First he had to get his son back.
He opened the vault and packed the exact amount into his duffel bag. He left a message on his secretary's table to tell her that he was not coming in today, and then walked out of there as if it was nothing.
He drove home and found Marsha still sitting on the couch. He could see that she was crying, and he took a seat next to her.
"We have a lot to make up to him Marsha."
Marsha nodded.
All they could do now was wait. The call came an hour later and they made arrangements for the drop off. Marsha refused to stay at home and a while later they drove down to the park. She went to sit on a bench and waited.
John left the bag in a nearby bin and sat in the car waiting.
A man with a mask came downstairs and blindfolded Peter. He tied his arms together and helped him up the stairs. Peter had no idea what was going on, but he didn't fight. He had done everything he could possibly do to cooperate and has been the model prisoner.
He was loaded in the back of the van, and he heard the van start. He felt quite comfortable. He was glad that they didn't try to hurt him and he wondered if this was now over.
He bumped his head a few time when the drove, but nothing major, but he was trying to listen what the kidnappers were saying. He couldn't make out much, but the one thing that he heard that really shocked him was the name of one of the kidnappers. He could clearly hear the one saying to the other one.
"Terminator....we're going to be rich my friend." He heard the one man say, and then he heard them both laughing.
"The boy was an easy target. He was hungry for communication. Took a while for him to trust me, but it wasn't too difficult. He doesn't have any other friends. Poor soul."
" Good thing you like video games."
Peter couldn't believe what he was listening to. One of the kidnappers was the person he trusted more than anyone. How could he have been so stupid?
The van stopped and he lay there thinking. Nobody makes a fool of him, and terminator243 was not going to get away with this. How could he be so stupid?
He thought about his parents, and blamed them for this. If they had been more present, he didn't have to revert to video games, and he would have been safe.
Peter felt hurt and betrayed, and for the first time in two days he was angry. He was angry as hell.
The kidnappers got out and Peter could hear them talking but he was prepared for when the door opened. He struggled to get his hands loose, but he succeeded. He pulled the mask off his face and looked around him. He peeked through the window and saw the two kidnappers standing smoking outside. They were waiting for someone.
He could see only the face of the one, but then the other one turned and the face was etched in his mind. They both put on their masks again, and Peter knew something was about to happen.
They were not going to get away with this. He looked around in the van, and saw several tools lying around. "Fools" he thought. "Absolute fools. They think I'm an easy target...I'll show them."
He grabbed the biggest tool he could find and prepared himself for when they opened the door.
Peter could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and then he heard another car. He heard the door close and then he heard a third voice.
It was his father.
Peter wondered if the police were coming, but he knew his father. He wouldn't want anyone else to handle the situation.
"I've got the money. Where is my son?" his father said sounding anxious.
"Your son is here. Let's do this the easy way. You give us the money, and then we will do the trade."
Peter wanted to shout out to his father not to hand over the money, but kept quiet. He didn't want them to know he was ready for them.
"How can I trust you?" his father said.
"You'll just have to. All we want is the money, we have no interest in hurting your son."
Peter could hear footsteps and peeked through the window. He could see his father walking away towards his car with the one kidnapper following him. The other one came around to the back of the van to let Peter out, and he didn't know what hit him when he opened the door. Peter took a swung at him with all the life in him, and the man fell on the floor bleeding on the side of his head.
Peter jumped out and sneaked around the other side of the van so that no one could see him. He could see his father hand over the money. The man checked the bag and smiled. He told his father to stay there and turned around to walk back to the van. Peter waited until he passed him and the quickly ran around the van to hit him from the back. He also didn't know what hit him. He fell to the ground, and the bag of money fell next to him.
Peter grabbed the bag and handed it back to his father. His father was dumbstruck. He took out his phone and phoned the detective to pinpoint their location, and then helped Peter to tie up both kidnappers and lock them in the van. They were still out cold.
The police arrived five minutes later. Terminator243 and his friend were arrested and taken into custody.
Peter phoned his mom and they met her in the park where she was waiting. She cried when she saw him. They all went to the police station together and afterwards they went home. His parents invited him to sit with them in the kitchen. For the first time in years they had a proper conversation, and for the first time in years, Peter felt as if he belonged somewhere. They apologized for neglecting him and he could see that they were sincere.
Perhaps this whole kidnapping was not such a bad thing. Even though he lost his only online friend, he knew that there would be plenty more to come, but for now he planned to spend a lot less time in front of the computer, and a lot more time with his parents.
Perhaps he will actually meet a real friend in the near future. Perhaps being a loner, in not such a good thing.
- The end-
