Starting Over Ch. 04

"Mmmm. I like having sex with you." She purred this lightly into my ear and I had to grin.

I pulled back and looked down at her. "Yeah, and I guess you can tell I absolutely hated it."

She smiled and reached up to kiss me. "Yeah, you came so hard I thought you were going to bruise my pubic bone. You looked like you really hated that."

We got cleaned up and Maggie left. It was a Monday, but I needed a drink. I had no tasks from Craig, so I went to the bar at about 6pm. Mary was working. She grinned when she saw me and I rolled my eyes at her. She grinned even larger.

I sat down and she started the Guinness. She came over and leaned toward me. "My sister says that she was very satisfied when she left your place today."

I shook my head. "I guess there no secrets between you two, are there?"

"Nope. She also told me what you said about her when she was first got there and was feeling a little depressed. It was just what she needed to hear and you were amazing. Thanks for that."

"Well, she is a very beautiful woman, but I did have an ulterior motive." I gave Mary a big grin.

"Yes, and you achieved your objective."

"Achieved my objective? Have you been reading some of my military books, or what?"

Mary shrugged. "Just heard it on TV."

I shook my head and she went to finish off the Guinness. I had a couple of them and things got a little busy, so I left. There wasn't going to be much chance of talking to Mary that night and Juliet was not working. I went home and got some sleep.

Friday, 26 October 2012, John's apartment, Seattle, Washington.

It was about 3pm and I had just finished some work for Craig on researching some items for a client when there was a knock on the door. I peeked out and saw Maggie and Maddie. I had not seen Maggie since Monday, but we had talked every day. I opened the door and Maddie ran to my legs to hug them.

"Hello, Mr. Jackson."

"Hello, Maddie. How are you?"

She stepped back and Maggie gave me a side hug around her daughter. "I'm fine, Mr. Jackson. Can I go get Pooh?"

"Sure. He's been lonely lately."

"Goodie!" She rushed out.

Maggie gave me a kiss and grinned. "She's been talking about the big Pooh all week. I hope we're not interrupting anything."

"Not at all. Can I get you something to drink? What about Maddie?"

"Just water for us both will be fine."

We sat down and Maddie came back with the big Pooh and started playing like she was giving it drinks of her water and Maggie and I talked. She was doing well and was still doing some part time teaching. She had taught the third grade for three days and loved it. My phone rang and it was my daughter. I answered and told her that Maggie and Maddie were there. I had already told her about them and when I mentioned that they were there in a way that indicated my daughter knew about them, Maggie's eyebrows went up. I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders. I talked to my daughter for a couple of minutes and she updated me on her weekend plans and how things were in school. As soon as I hung up, Maggie grinned.

"So, you told your daughter about us."

"Sure. No secrets there."

She grinned. "None?"

I smiled. "Well, I don't provide details, but she does know that we've been intimate." I glanced over at Maddie and she didn't seem to understand that.

She looked a little shocked. "Your told your 18 year old daughter that?"

"Well, I talked about you and she asked. I'll never lie to my daughter."

She eyed me for a moment. "What did you say about us?"

"Well, I told her that this bartender friend of mine was playing matchmaker with her sister and I agreed to meet her. Then I said that she was nice looking and her daughter was adorable." I saw Maddie smile while she played. She really doesn't miss much, but she didn't say anything.

"Nice looking, huh? That's what you told her?"

"Not exactly."

"So you won't lie to her, but you'll lie to me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, do you really want to know what I said? Are you sure?"

She looked at me closely. There was some apprehension there. I could tell she was not sure about this and that her problems with men in the past meant that she didn't feel that confident about this. But then she steeled herself. "Sure."

"Okay, I said that I met this beautiful, but somewhat damaged soul, and I really liked her. I wanted to get to know her more and that my daughter should be prepared to meet her over Christmas."

She eyed me closely. "Hmmm. I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"You said you wanted to know. And I think it's an accurate description."

Maggie finally had to come into the conversation. "Mr. Jackson, what's that mean about the damaged soul?"

I grinned. "That means that your mother has not had as much fun in her life as she should have."

Maggie looked at her mother and, while still on her knees because she had been playing with Pooh on the coffee table, knee walked over to her mother's legs. "Mommy, aren't you having enough fun?"

Maggie patted her daughter on the shoulder and leaned forward to look at her. "I'm having plenty of fun now that I have you sweetheart."

Maddie looked over at me and then back at her mother. She wasn't quite sure about all this. "Okay." She went back to Pooh.

I looked at Maggie. "So maybe we should go have some of that fun now, right?"

She looked at me a little askance. "What, now? Where?"

"Let's take Maddie down to the Space Needle and then walk around the Market."

She thought about it for a second and then turned to Maddie. "Honey, do you want to go down to the Space Needle and then to the Market?"

She stood up. "Is the Market that place with all the fish and little shops?"

"Yes, honey, it is. A lot of folks call it the Pike Place Market."

She started hopping a little bit on her feet. "Yes, mommy, let's go. I want to go there."

We all stood up and I grabbed a jacket and we went out. We had a blast and Maddie was indeed a very well behaved little girl. I was really enjoying my time with them. We stayed out until about 9pm and then Maggie took Maddie home and I stayed in my apartment reading. It had been a good day.

Three weeks later....

Friday, 16 November 2012, John's apartment, Seattle, Washington.

It had only been a month since I met Maggie and Maddie and I definitely enjoyed being with them. Maggie and her daughter had come over several times and Maddie was a darling; well-behaved, interested in everything, and sharp as a tack. Maggie would sometimes be the strong-willed person I expected and sometimes would show her insecurities. I was hoping she'd get over that, but was also a little afraid that if we didn't work out, it might exacerbate the problem.

Also during this time, I was trying to keep my workouts going and my daughter told me she had a boyfriend. Okay, so I know she's 18 going on 19, but I'm still her father and I couldn't help but be a little worried for her. She had never really had a serious boyfriend and I wasn't sure how this was going to work out. I knew she was not a virgin either, but I still worried about that, too. I wanted her to be safe and protected, but I couldn't do anything about it from 3000 miles away other than ask her to be careful.

I was working full time for Craig now, doing private investigation work. It was enough to keep me busy and in money so that I was not going to drain my savings. I was just doing a little better than breaking even, which was all I needed.

Thanksgiving was a week away and I was caught up in the invitation I had received from Maggie to join them at her parents' house for the holiday. I had forgotten about my earlier run-in with the drug dealing dirt bags. I would regret this before the end of the day.

It was about 3:30 and this was the time that Maggie and Maddie would stop by after they both got out of school. Maggie was substitute teaching this week and enjoying the kids. When they arrived Maggie gave me a quick hug and then let Maddie run and jump into my arms. This was a ritual with which she could not do without. She squealed when I lifted her high and then I put her down so she could go get the big Pooh. Maggie gave me a more serious kiss.

I pulled back. "Mmmm. You taste good."

Maggie grinned. "Cherry lip balm."

Maddie ran back in with the Pooh. "Mommy, I forgot baby Pooh out in the car. Can I go get him, please?" She was trying to prove that she was a big girl and was always coming up with ways to show she could do things without an adult.

"Okay, honey. Be careful and hurry back." Maggie handed the car keys to Maddie. She raced away.

I pulled Maggie into a hug. "So, how's my favorite sex toy?"

She grinned. "You mean your only sex toy, right?"

I gave her my standard smart ass response with plenty of sarcasm. "Yes, dear."

Maggie started to say something to me when we heard a scream. It was a small child's scream; a little girl. It was Maddie.

The time from the end of the scream to reaction could have been measured in milliseconds. A mother instinctively knows her children's voices and reacts immediately to something like this. Maggie was out the door in a flash. I followed immediately behind her. On the way down we heard squealing tires as a car sped away. Those few moments were heart-stopping. When we got to the street, where Maggie's car was parked right in front of my apartment building, there was no sign of anyone. The car that had pulled away with squealing tires seemed to be an SUV heading west from my apartment building, but I couldn't be sure. Maggie's care keys were on the ground and it was obvious that Maddie had never reached the car. We frantically looked around her car and the immediate area. Maggie was frantic. I noticed the brown envelope on her windshield before she did. She was yelling Maddie's name and rushing back and forth. I did the same for a few seconds and then came back to the envelope. She looked at me.

"What are you doing? Where's my daughter! We have to call the police! I think that SUV took her!"

I picked up the envelope. It had my name on it and I knew what it was immediately. I took a deep breath and steeled myself. I didn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce who did this. Maggie stared at me as I opened it. There was a short note inside and a cell phone.

Dear asshole,

Bring $25,000 and a personal apology to me to get the girl back. I'll call you at 9pm today. No cops.

The Offended Party

Maggie ripped the note from my hand and read it. "What's going on? What does this mean? John, what the fuck is going on? Who has my daughter?"

I closed my eyes and took another deep breath. This was going to be bad. I tried to calmly explain to Maggie about the situation with the drug dealers with whom I had had a run in. I told her that I thought it was over, but that they obviously didn't believe so. I must have wounded their pride. Maggie was pretty good through most of it, but by the end she was sitting on the steps in front of my apartment sobbing and rocking back and forth. I called Craig and told him what was happening. He said he'd be here momentarily.

While waiting for Craig, Maggie called her father and he also said he'd be right here. I tried to hold Maggie, but she shrugged my attempt off and glared at me, while tears continued to roll down her face. This is what I was afraid of. She was going to blame me for this. Hell, she was probably right. It was my fault. I was an idiot for thinking that these drug dealing assholes would just go away. They were just waiting for things to cool down and then come after me -- only Maggie and Maddie got in the way.

After everyone arrived at almost the same time, there was no way to calm down a mother whose child had been kidnapped and that just ramped up the emotions of everyone else. Nothing substantive came out of the yelling, screaming, and crying that was going on. We had moved upstairs into my apartment and now there were all kinds of discussions, none of which appeared to be productive. Finally, Mr. Bradford came over, glaring at me.

"So, what do you intend to do about this?"

I stared at him. I hated him in that moment, but he was right, it was my fault and it was my decision about what to do. I looked at my watch. It was now 7:30. "I'm going to tell them that I'll get the $25,000 on Monday and bring it to them." There really wasn't any other choice.

"I can't bear the thought of Maddie being with them for the weekend." He was actually appearing more human now.

I thought about it. Maybe he would like to help. "If you have $25,000 cash laying around that you can get your hands on this weekend, then I can do it tomorrow. You loan me the money and I'll pay it back next week."

He looked at me a little askance. "You think you will be around next week?"

I took a deep breath. He knew exactly what was going on here. "That remains to be seen."

He stared at me and then pulled out his phone. He called someone named Frank and asked him to meet him in the office in 20 minutes. He turned to me. "I'll be back in an hour with the money." Then he turned and left.

I was a little shocked at this turn of events. He was actually helping. Of course he was. It was his granddaughter that was in trouble. I wondered if he would have reacted that way if it was Mary, the black sheep.

The ladies were all together and commiserating with each other so Craig came over. He pulled me into the next room. "I have three buddies from Ft. Lewis who will be here in 30 minutes. They left just after I headed over here. They are young, single Rangers. I served with them before and they said they would do anything they could when I told them about Maddie. They're idealists with a strong sense of reality."

I stared at him. "They reacted that fast?"

"They are all experts, they are bored, and they hate drug dealers. They owe me and they'll do whatever we want. They also have excellent private weapons since they are all hunters. We'll have two excellent shooters here in a short time and the other is not bad."

I thought about it. "Okay, but we will have to work out how to employ them very carefully."

"Right." Obviously, while I was working with distraught people, Craig had been thinking about this. "Okay, look, we can't finalize anything until he names a place. But if we come up with one that he considers neutral, maybe we can control a few things. For instance, we can get good vantage points for a couple of shooters and some clear fields of fire for them on anyone he brings along. In any case, two can be shooters and the third can take out anyone they try to put into position like we are doing. I think we need to see if we can name the place, but if we can't, then we have to work on how to do it on his turf, which could be bad. Do you think you can get him to go do a neutral place?"

"Maybe." I thought it over. "I think I can get him to do that by appealing to his machismo. I'll call him out and see how it works."

"Okay, but if you can't we'll need some time to reconnoiter his location. So if you want to do a location that we pick, let's check out some things on the net." I was glad he was there so that I could focus with him on a logical approach to things and keep out of the emotions flowing on the other side of the room.

Craig and I went over to my computer and he brought up several locations and we discussed the advantages and disadvantages they gave us. We used both regular mapping and Google maps. We both felt that first priority went to protecting Maddie. After that, it was protecting me. Then finally, the last priority, but certainly not the least, was taking out at least the leader and letting the drug trade find another one the hard way.

It was 8:30 by the time we finished and Mr. Bradford came back in. The ladies all rushed to him and he pushed them away and came towards me. He handed me a leather satchel and nodded. I didn't open it. He went over and consoled his wife and daughter and Maggie wouldn't look at me. Craig noticed and he grabbed me by the arm and turned me away from her.

"Don't worry about that right now. Nothing can be done about that until we get the girl back. Focus on that for now."

I understood what he was saying, but it was hard. I was falling in love with this slightly broken woman. I was hoping it wasn't my desire to 'fix' her or make her better. I didn't think so. She was just a highly attractive, intelligent, smart woman; a good mother; a great sex partner. Damn! Falling for her was not the best thing in the world for me, was it?

Craig's phone rang and he answered, walking away. He came back to me and told me the Rangers were here. I looked over at the Bradfords. Oh, well. They were going to find out anyway. I told him to have them come up.

When the Rangers entered the room, the atmosphere changed instantly. They were all about 6' tall and lean; hair cropped very close, and carrying what had to be rifle cases. Two were white, one black, and all three were wearing their serious, here-to-kick-some-ass faces. Craig met them at the door and shook their hands, then came over to introduce them to me. The Bradford family was watching closely. Each of them walked up to me and shook my hand, calling me 'Colonel Jackson' and then stood back and waited for me to say something. I motioned them all into my bedroom and told them I had to talk to the family of the missing girl. They all nodded and I could see the anger in their eyes. They had been raised and trained to protect those that could not protect themselves and were always pissed when someone took advantage of a child. Child molesters and kidnappers were the lowest of the scum in their eyes. I shared that view.

I went back into the living room and the air seemed to have chilled like an air conditioner was on high. I walked up to Mr. Bradford and Maggie, who still wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Mr. Bradford, Maggie, my support team has arrived and we will be putting together a plan to make sure that we get your daughter back safe. I want you to know that our first priority is to get Maddie back safe. If you want to stay here, Maggie can show you the adjoining apartment, which is also mine. Do you need anything?"

Mr. Bradford seemed to be warming to me. "Maddie is the first priority, what's second?"

I looked directly at him. "Me."

He nodded and the others looked at me like I was crazy, except Maggie who looked like she would agree with anything to get her daughter back. "Look folks, this is the way things have to be. I will get Maddie back. Do not doubt it. Also, do not doubt that those young soldiers in there share my position. We abhor people who hurt, abuse, or use children. Please try to get some rest. We should be getting the phone call," I looked at my watch, "in about 5 minutes."

I turned to walk away and as I did I saw Mr. Bradford hold the women back, who obviously had plenty to say to me. Maybe he wasn't so bad. I also hoped my rah-rah speech had convinced them that things were really going to be all right. I certainly hoped so, but drug dealers are not easy to deal with and don't follow the rules of any convention.

I stood in the kitchen and stared at the throw away phone they had provided. It was on the counter. At precisely 9:02 it rang. I picked it up.

"Yes?"

"Hey, asshole, what's shaking?" He was such a smartass I couldn't see any way around killing him.

"Let me speak to Maddie."

"Now hold on..."

I cut him off. "We have nothing to discuss unless I can speak to her every time we contact each other."

I could hear the wheels turning in his head. He knew this would happen. Nobody negotiates for a person without knowing they were okay. Anyone who watched movies knew the phrase 'Proof of Life'.

"Just a second."

Suddenly, I heard Maddie's voice. She sounded pretty good. "Mr. Jackson?"

"Hey, Maddie." She sounded good enough that I put the phone on speaker. "We're all here and we are going to get you back tomorrow, okay?"