Chapter 1

 

     “Sarah Jayne McGee, you’re lying!”

     “I am not, Madison Louise!”

     “Yes, you are!”

     “I am not!  Jimmy Bergen has a big fat crush on you!”

     “He does not.”

     “He does too.”

     “He’s a big pain!  All he does is pick on me.”

     “That’s because he has a crush on you!”

 

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     “That’s her!” the woman said.  “The blonde kid just crossing the street.”

     “Which one?  They’re both blonde.  They look the same to me.”

     “The one on the left, you moron.  Look at her picture,” Laney told him as she held out her phone for him to see.

     “I don’t need to see.  I just need to know which one,” Gopher replied.

     “The one on the left!”

     “But what about her friend?” Leroy asked from the van seat behind them.

     “Yeah, that’s a problem,” Laney admitted.  “I didn’t expect her to be with a friend.”

     “So we tried,” Gopher said.  “Just give us the junk and let’s forget this.”

     “No, you shithead!” Laney replied, her irritation evident.  “We can’t!”  She quickly considered things as she watched the two girls walking home from school.  “Grab them both!” she decided.

     “Both?” Leroy asked.

     “Yes!”

     “But you said you just wanted the one!” Gopher complained.

     “Now I’m saying take them both.  We need her now, and that way the other one can’t tell anyone.”

     “Both?” Gopher exclaimed again, unhappily.

     “What’s the difference?” Laney asked.  “One or two?  They’re both right there together and I don’t see anyone else around.  Besides, if I can sell one, then I’ll get twice as much for two.”

     “If we grab them both, then I want more,” Leroy demanded.

     “More?  For you it’s no extra work at all.  I’m the one who found her.  All you have to do is grab them for me so I can get us out of here.”

     “Tough!  You want them both, then we want twice as much.”

     “How about I pay you both with a bullet in your heads instead?” she said as she purposely set her hand down on top of her purse where her gun was.

     “Shit!  I don’t like it,” Gopher exclaimed.

     “One hundred more on top of the drugs and money you’re already getting,” Laney offered.  “That’s it!  It’s either that or I kill you instead.”  Her hand reached into her purse and brought her gun into sight.

     “Damn it!” Gopher cursed, clearly not happy.

     “That much for each of us!” Leroy agreed.  “And just so long as we get what you promised.  Now are we going to do this, or just let them walk all the way home like they’re supposed to?”

     “Damn!” Gopher said as Laney put her gun away.  “You better have the junk.”

     “I already showed it to you!” Laney reminded him.  “You’ve both seen it.  Now let’s do this.”

     “Turn around,” Leroy told her.  “They’re on the other side of the street.  Let’s pull up right next to them and do it quick.”

     “At least one of you two morons can think,” Laney said as she started the van.

 

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     “Jimmy Bergen is the best-looking guy in the class!”

     “So what?  He doesn’t have a crush on me,” Madison argued.

     “Yes, he does!” Sarah insisted.  “Hey look,” your mom’s home,” she said as she spotted Madison’s mother pulling her car into the driveway at the other end of the block.

     “I’ve got eyes, Sarah.  I can see that.”

     “I’m just saying, that’s all.”

     “Are you coming in till your mother gets home?”

     “Of course, don’t I always?  Do you think I’d rather sit at home alone for the next few hours?”

     Their attention was caught by the van that slowed down and stopped next to them, making them both nervous.  The side door slid open quickly and two men jumped out, frightening the two girls.  They both backed up against the fence bordering the house they were passing.  The moment one of the men reached out to grab Madison, she screamed as loud as she could.  She was followed immediately by Sarah as the other man grabbed her.  Both screaming girls were grabbed, lifted, and carried straight into the van where they were thrown onto the empty floor of the cargo area behind the second seat.  Leroy closed the door as fast as he could and Laney stepped on the gas, hurrying away as fast as possible.

 

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     Further down the street, Elizabeth Ashton, Madison’s mother, had seen the two girls walking home together like they always did.  She was glad her daughter had such a good best friend.  Since she knew Sarah’s mother was working, she had no doubt that Sarah would be spending the next few hours at her house, which she really didn’t mind at all.  Sarah was such a polite girl that she hoped some of it would rub off on her daughter.

     Just after she got out of her car, she heard a loud frightened scream, followed immediately by another one.  She ran to the road to see her daughter, and just got a glimpse of the two girls being carried into a blue van.  “No!” she yelled as she ran for the van.  “Madison!  Madison!”  A moment later, she had to jump aside as the van swerved to hit her, trying to get away.  “Madison!” she yelled as the van hurried by.  From inside the van she heard more screaming.

     As fast as she could, her hand went into her purse and she pulled out her phone.  She took as many pictures of the van hurrying away as she could.  As soon as it turned the corner, she was on the phone calling 9-1-1.

 

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     “Shut them up!” Laney yelled as she drove the van.  She got no reply from anyone in the back except the continuous screaming from the two girls.

     In the back of the van, Leroy was wrestling with one while Gopher was trying to hold onto the desperate writhing of the other.  Gopher grabbed Sarah from behind and pressed his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming.  The sudden pain in his finger made him scream himself when she bit him.  The moment he pulled his hand away, the girl started screaming again.  “Shit!  The brat bit me!” he yelled.

     “What?” Laney yelled back.  “You can’t take care of a ten-year-old girl?  What the hell’s wrong with you?  Shut her up!”

     “I’m trying!”

     Leroy had shoved Madison’s squirming body to the floor and was holding her hands behind her back.  Her backpack was in the way, but he pulled her hands down below it.  He grabbed the roll of duct tape and used his teeth to get it started.  Then he bound her hands.  He ripped the tape leaving her hands firmly secured behind her back.  He grabbed her head.  A moment later, Madison’s crying and screams were muffled by the tape being wrapped several times around her head.  Only then did he let the girl go and try to help Gopher.  With the two of them working together, it only took a minute before they had Sarah’s hands taped behind her back and layers of tape wrapped over her mouth as well.  Sarah was still trying to yell, still trying to kick and fight, but all that could be heard now was a lot of muffled sound.  To stop her from kicking, they taped her ankles together before doing the same thing to Madison.

     “Oh shit!” Leroy exclaimed with a bit of a chuckle as he looked down at Madison.  “I think this one just wet her pants!”

     “So what?” Laney replied.

     “So, it’s gonna smell up the van.”

     “Tough shit!  You got them secured?”

     “Yeah.  They’re both good now,” Leroy said as he headed for the rear seat of the van where he had been sitting before.

     “Good!  See that they stay that way.”

     Madison was crying.  She was scared out of her wits.  She felt embarrassed that she had wet herself, but she couldn’t help it.  She was just so scared!  They had taped her hands behind her and no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t pull them free.  The tape was just too strong, too sticky.  Now her feet were taped together too.  But the worst was the tape wrapped around her head, keeping her from opening her mouth, keeping her from breathing through her mouth.  The tape stuck to her skin and hair horribly.  She struggled and struggled…and cried.

     Sarah cried too.  Like Madison, she struggled as hard as she could.  And like Madison, she wasn’t getting anywhere trying to get free.  And worse, one of them was sitting right on top of her.  She was lying face down on the floor and his stupid heavy body hurt and made it hard to breathe.  She was so scared she didn’t know what to do.  She had never imagined anything like this happening to her.  Why?  What did they want with her?  Whatever it was, she was sure it would be something horrible.  With her head turned to the side, she could see Madi lying on the floor of the van right next to her.  Like her, Madi was lying on her stomach, but her head was turned away so she couldn’t see her face.  They were both all taped up.

     The man who had been sitting on her finally got off and headed for one of the seats.  Sarah breathed in deeply, glad to have the weight of his body gone.  She struggled again with the tape holding her hands and feet.  She struggled, but she didn’t struggle long.  Like Madison, all Sarah could do was cry.

     Madison turned her tear stained face the other direction and saw Sarah’s crying face right next to her.  She was so scared she didn’t know what to do.  She was so scared she didn’t know what to think.  And she could see that Sarah was in the same state she was.  How often had her mother told her, don’t talk to strangers.  How often had her mother warned her that sometimes kids could get kidnapped.  Stolen!  It had been a long time now since her mother had warned her about those things.  But she hadn’t talked to strangers.  As far as she knew, she hadn’t done anything wrong at all.  Those strangers had just pulled up next to them and grabbed her and Sarah.  Now they were in trouble, and she had no idea what to do about it.

     Together, the two best friends looked at each other through teary, bleary eyes, and cried.

 

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     Rachel McGee was the head nurse and office manager for the Gilmore Pediatric Clinic in Gainesville, Florida.  Even though babies were her absolute passion, she loved all children with a fierceness that couldn’t be denied.  Especially her own daughter, Sarah.  But when her loud desperate scream suddenly pierced through the entire office, it brought everyone running.

     “What’s wrong?” one of the surrounding nurses asked as they saw Rachel grab her purse and jump up from her desk.  No one had ever seen Rachel in such an agitated state before.

     “Rachel!” one of the other nurses yelled.  “What happened?”

     But Rachel was in too much of a panic to pay any attention to her.  As she ran for the office door, she ran straight into Doctor Gilmore.  “Rachel.  What’s…”

     “Sarah has just been kidnapped!” Rachel yelled as she desperately pushed her way past him.

     In his shocked state, Doctor Gilmore could do nothing but turn and watch her run out the door.  What else could he do?  What else could he say?  What do you say to someone whose daughter has just been kidnapped?