Utopian Day (27 page)

Sasha sat up on the ground, trying to breathe and
stand up at the same time. Silas’ anger got the better of him and
he stepped forward and back-handed her hard across the face with
the same hand she had just bitten. Sasha went down like a sack of
potatoes, letting out a whimper as she hit the ground. Silas didn’t
wait for her to regain her footing or even sit up. He grabbed her
by the forearm and began dragging her back to the RV.

“
I told you that you would get
hurt if you tried to get away, didn’t I? Why did you have to go and
do that?! Huh?!”

By the time they had reached the door of the RV,
Sasha had still not regained her footing. Silas grabbed the top of
her pants from behind with one hand and the back of her shirt with
the other, lifting her up onto her feet and pushing her into the
RV. Sasha collapsed onto her hands and knees on the floor.

Silas stepped into the RV and shouted at her,
pointing to the captain’s chair, “Get in the chair!”

Sasha practically crawled up in the chair. She was
bleeding from her lip and her left eye had already started to swell
up. Tears were coming down her face as Silas busied himself taping
her hands and feet into position. When he was done taping her to
the chair, Silas grabbed another beer from the refrigerator and
stormed out of the RV.

Chapter Forty-Two

The airplane ride back to New York was filled with
activity. After an awkward first greeting between Nick, James, and
Laura, Nick began a briefing that covered everything he had told
J.T. Once James and Laura were up to speed, Nick began making phone
calls.

He first called Mia to make certain she had obtained
the required ten million in one hundred dollar notes, as the
kidnapper had specified. She confirmed that all was ready. The next
call he placed was to someone that J.T. knew from personal
experience – bad personal experience.

“
Victor, I need your assistance on
an important job…. Yes, we leave tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. This
is not the usual job. It is a rescue of sorts. It seems some
lunatic has decided to kidnap my daughter…. Yes, the usual fee,
plus a bonus when she is returned unharmed. A six man team would be
fine…. We don’t know yet where it will be. I suggest you have your
plane fueled up and ready to go anywhere. Oh, and Victor, you
remember that job a few years back in the Cayman Islands? Well,
those three will be joining us…. Yes, life is strange sometimes.
It’s a long story and I don’t have time to tell you now, but
suffice it to say that this time we are all working together….
O.k., I’ll call you at this number as soon as I have more
details.”

Nick disconnected the phone.

“
You’re still hiring that
mercenary to do work for you?” J.T. asked.

“
Yes, he’s the best. As you know
from personal experience, he gets the job done,” Nick replied
without his usual sly smile.

“
I thought you said the kidnapper
said no cops? How do you think he is going to react to a bunch of
commandos armed to the teeth showing up on the scene?” J.T.
queried.

“
Probably not very well if he ever
sees they are around, but I’m not prepared to depend solely on the
promises of an unscrupulous kidnapper for Sasha’s safe return. I’m
planning on being prepared.”

“
I can’t argue with that. Just
make sure these guys stay out of sight unless we need them. We
don’t need the kidnapper or kidnapp
ers
to be spooked and do
something crazy. By the way. Do we know anything more about
him/her/them?”

“
Nothing,” Nick replied. “I
received the message on Sasha’s phone and the battery was taken out
shortly thereafter, preventing us from tracing the
call.”

J.T. turned to James and Laura. “Thanks for coming,
you two. I needed to have some familiar faces backing me up on
this,” he said.

“
Don’t mention it,” James replied.
“Business down at the shop was getting a bit slow anyway,” he
continued with a smile.

“
Yeah, besides, it will be good to
see if these fake IDs are as good as Nick said they were,” Laura
quipped.

The plane landed at the airport and everyone filed
into an awaiting SUV once they had de-planed. James, Laura, and
J.T. were relieved that they were able to avoid any scrutiny of
their documents for the time being. They sped along the highway and
into the city, arriving at the Bartonovich residence in early
afternoon.

When they entered the house. Nick greeted Mia, who
was busy packing the ten million dollars into an oversized cooler.
with Marcus’ help. Nick skipped the awkward introductions and
instead offered everyone some lunch. Mia had ordered some gourmet
sandwiches, which were already laid out on the dining room
table.

J.T. noticed that both Nick and Mia checked their
phones frequently. He assumed they were checking to see if the
kidnapper had provided any additional instructions. Once the money
was packed, the cooler full of cash was rolled in to a closet until
it was needed.

After lunch, Nick showed J.T., Laura, and James to
the downstairs guest bedrooms where they would be spending the
night, and then everyone migrated up to the library. Drinks were
served to everyone as they prepared to pass the anxious hours until
the kidnapper sent further instructions.

“
Nick,” J.T. said, “I’d like to
see Sasha’s room, if that’s o.k.”

Nick looked up, as if he was caught off-guard by the
request. He turned to look at Mia in order to ascertain what she
felt about it.

“
I’ll take you up,” Mia said in
response.

J.T. walked slowly into the room, taking his time,
looking around at everything and soaking it all in. There were
traces left of the girl Sasha had been when she’d first moved in to
the room. A plastic pony, some softball trophies, a few books that
an eight-year-old girl might read intermixed with more recent
teenage selections. He walked over to the desk that now held a
laptop. He looked down at pictures of Sasha and her friends from
school. There were freshly opened presents piled high in one corner
of the room, remnants of the birthday party the day before she’d
been kidnapped. He picked up a picture of Sasha from the table. He
held it in both hands as he sat down on the bed and began to
cry.

Mia was watching the whole scene from the doorway.
When J.T. started to cry, she turned to walk away, intending to
give him some privacy.

“
No, wait,” J.T. said as Mia
turned to go. “I’d like you to stay. I want to know more about
her…about Sasha.”

Mia turned back around, taking a look around the
room herself as if to conjure up in her mind memories from the day
before, when Sasha had been in the room.

“
Sasha is a very strong person. A
free spirit. She loves to ride horses and take risks. She reminds
me of you, in many ways.”

J.T. looked up at Mia. “I wish you would have told
me about her sooner,” he said.

“
We did what we thought was best,”
Mia replied.

“
I guess my sins are catching up
to me,” J.T. continued. “All those years when I took from others
things that were important to them. Now the most important person
in the world to me has been temporarily taken away from me before I
even got a chance to meet her, and I’ll do anything to get her
back.”

Mia crossed the room and put a hand on J.T.’s
shoulder. She looked him straight in the eyes with that determined,
steely look that only Mia could deliver as she said, “We
will
get her back.”

The remainder of the evening was uneventful as
everyone stayed in the house in case the kidnapper contacted them.
No one was very hungry after the late lunch they had consumed, so
they ate a light dinner consisting of soup and crackers. After they
had finished eating, Nick turned on the sports channel as he, Mia,
and J.T. reclined in the game room. He and Mia continued to check
their phones alternately every few minutes. Finally, Mia went to
walk on the treadmill to burn off the nervous energy that was
building up as they waited for the next communication, leaving J.T.
and Nick to pretend to watch sports.

James and Laura wandered up to the library where
James retrieved a copy of
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
and picked up reading where he had left off a few days before.
Laura retrieved her Kindle from her backpack and pulled up a new
book she had just downloaded about stained glass. They curled up
next to each other on the couch in the library as they read, just
like they liked to do back home.

By 10 p.m., everyone was ready for bed. Nick
promised he would wake J.T. as soon as further instructions were
delivered, and everyone went off to their rooms for the night. J.T.
lay awake for about an hour, thinking of the amazing fact that he
had a daughter who was eighteen who he had never met. He prayed to
God that she would be returned unharmed tomorrow before he finally
drifted off to a fitful sleep.

Chapter Forty-Three

J.T., Nick, and Mia were all dressed for the day and
assembled in the kitchen by 5:00 a.m. Both Nick and Mia’s phones
lay on the kitchen table. Marcus hung back in the corner, trying
not to intrude. Nick made a pot of coffee for everyone while they
waited anxiously for the message they were all expecting. James and
Laura wandered groggily into the kitchen at 5:30 a.m., still in
their p.j.s. Laura began nursing a cup of coffee like it was a
spiritual experience. It was like a séance as they all took up
places around the kitchen table and stared at the phones, willing
the phones to communicate with them. No one was willing to speak
out loud and break the silence.

At 5:50 a.m., James whispered into Laura’s ear, “I’m
going to go get dressed; things are probably going to hit the fan
in a few minutes when the kidnappers call, and we should be ready
to go.” With that, he headed back downstairs as quietly as
possible. Laura took the remainder of her coffee and chugged it,
then made her exit as well.

A few minutes later, both phones buzzed almost
simultaneously, indicating a message had been delivered. Nick and
Mia both grabbed their respective phones and opened the text
message that had just been delivered. J.T. quickly came around
behind Nick as they all read the message simultaneously in
silence.

Toakama, WV. 12 pm noon EST. Bring the cash in the
cooler with wheels with the lid duct taped shut. Only j.t. crosses
the bridge into town alone with the cash. He will walk down the
main street to the end. Further instructions will be given to him
then. Give him one of these phones. No tricks or else.

The message was followed by another picture of
Sasha, with a copy of a Roanoke, West Virginia newspaper from the
day before featured prominently so that the date could be seen.

“
Mia, find the nearest airport to
Toakama and get the plane ready,” Nick said urgently.

“
I’m on it,” Mia replied. She went
over to the kitchen computer desk and sat down to search for the
airport.

Nick speed-dialed Victor.

“
Victor, the exchange is at 12
p.m. noon, Eastern Standard Time, in Toakama, West Virginia. We’ll
be flying in to the nearest airport at…” He looked over at
Mia.

“
Roanoke, West Virginia,” Mia
said.

“
Roanoke, West Virginia. I’ll call
you once we are in the air to coordinate where to meet. I’ll get us
three SUVs to use. I’m forwarding you the message we received from
the kidnapper right now. Don’t be late, Victor, I’m counting on
you.”

Nick hit the disconnect icon on his phone.

“
Meet at the car out front in five
minutes,” Nick said as he rose quickly from the table and left the
room.

J.T. went down the stairs to the recreation room and
repeated Nick’s announcement to James and Laura in a loud voice,
“Meet at the car out front in five minutes.”

The trip to the airport seemed to take an eternity.
Once they arrived, they quickly boarded the plane. Soon after, they
were up in the air on their way to Roanoke, West Virginia.

Silas had reviewed the message carefully before
hitting the send key. He waited to make certain the message was
delivered before he shut the phone off and removed the battery.
Cell coverage had come a long way since the early days. Still, he’d
had to climb to the roof of one of the abandoned buildings to get
even one bar in order to send the message.

He went back down to the RV and began to cut Sasha
loose so that she could go to the bathroom and eat some breakfast.
The swelling from where he had hit her on her face had mostly gone
down. There was a bump on her lip and the cut had scabbed over
during the night. Her eye had a bruise under it, too.

Silas stepped back from the chair and stood with his
back to the door, facing Sasha, and cutting off any hope of
escape.

“
Now, go to the bathroom and then
sit down over there for some breakfast,” he said.

Sasha dutifully complied, not seeing any opening to
try for another escape. When she came out of the bathroom, Silas
motioned to the seat at the table farthest away from the door,
where a bottle of water and a breakfast bar were placed on the
table top. Sasha sat down and began eating.

“
You know, you don’t have that
much longer to be here. Your dad will be bringing the money at
noon, and you’ll be going home. So don’t try anything else,
o.k.?”

Sasha continued to eat without saying anything. When
she was done, Silas stood, blocking the door again, and motioned
with his head to the captain’s chair. Sasha went over and sat down
for their now practiced routine as Silas secured her to the chair
with yet more duct tape. Once that was done, he exited the RV to
complete the preparations for the arrival of J.T. and the
money.