Taken?

"I'm not like that," Blair said. "When Erin agrees to marry me then maybe..." It seemed that he was honestly trying to convince Rob that he hadn't touched Erin or Katy. "I only brought Katy here because Erin was so upset and unhappy. Every night she was crying, and she always said Katy's name, and your name too. I thought bringing Katy to her would make her happy, but now she's even worse." He seemed a bit upset as he said that.

Rob was confused now. "You mean you brought my daughter here to try and make Erin happy? How did you think that kidnapping her daughter was going to make her happy?"

"I don't know. I've got to think now, so be quiet so I can think."

Rob watched as Angus Blair turned and stared out of the window. He decided not to interrupt him as he could use this time himself, to think of a way out of this situation. Several minutes passed before his captor turned back to him and said, "I'm going to have to get you out of here; get rid of you; make sure that Erin and Katy never know you were here. It's getting too dark to look after that now. In the morning I'm going to have to take care of that."

Angus Blair got up and went to the kitchen counter where he picked up a coal oil lamp and brought it in to set on the table, where he lit it. The light made a big difference in the room, and Rob realized then just how dark it had gotten. Angus left and went through the door that apparently led to the bedrooms. He returned in about two minutes with a pillow and blanket as well as a box that contained some thin, shiny cable and some other items Rob couldn't quite make out. After tossing the pillow and blanket on the sofa, he brought the box over to the table.

"Put your right leg up on the chair beside you." Rob did as he was asked, a questioning look on his face.

Angus pulled the cable out of the box, and Rob could see that it had a loop and a padlock on one end, and a couple of metal objects attached to the other end. His shoe was quickly removed from his right foot and the two curved metal plates put around his ankle. Next a lock was removed from the box and quickly snapped into holes in the two metal plates, effectively locking it to his ankle. Rob could tell it was very tight and complained to Angus, to no avail. Angus then uncoiled the metal cable attached to the plates and ran it across the floor to a point beside the sofa. Rob hadn't noticed it before, but now saw there was a round metal ring sticking up from the floor, and he watched as the cable was attached to the ring with the other padlock.

The cable that attached Rob to the floor ring was stretched pretty tight, and he realized it would give him room to move in about a 10 foot radius from the ring. It appeared that he was going to be spending the night on the sofa with his foot locked to the cable.

"How do you like my security system? It has worked extremely well on Erin and Katy. Just don't try to pull too hard, or it might cut your skin. Don't even bother to think of breaking the cable. It's aircraft cable, made from stainless steel. The locks are steel as well. The cable clamps have been welded and the eye bolt is double nutted under the floor. You aren't going anywhere."

"I wondered how you were keeping them here. You've got them penned up like animals. You're treating your dogs better than you treating them." Rob was indignant now, angry with Blair for his treatment of Erin and Katy.

"Most of the time they don't need these. I have a lock on their door. They don't have the cables on them right now. It's only when I'm going away that I have to put the foot restraints on." He reached over suddenly to Rob's right hand and with a quick flick of the small key that he held, the hand cuff released from Rob's wrist. The movement had been so quick that Rob was unable to grab him as he quickly jumped back.

The cable was keeping Rob stretched out and unable to turn himself in his chair. Angus was able to approach him from behind and he could not turn to grab him. In a moment his chair was pushed about 2 feet, and he was now able to put his right foot back on the floor.

"You won't be able to reach the bathroom from there, so I'm going to leave you a pail and a flashlight. There won't be any excuse for a mess in here tomorrow morning. I'm going to bed now. The dogs won't bother you." He moved his shotgun to a far corner, well out of Rob's reach. He then took a look around, and when he was satisfied there were no objects that could be used as a weapon within Rob's 10 foot circle, he left the room with the coal oil lamp. Rob was left in the deepening darkness, wondering what he could do to help his family now.

Rob got up from the chair and walked over to the sofa. The clamp was very uncomfortable on his ankle, and he wasn't sure how he could stand it all night. He picked up the flashlight and turned it on, discovering that it seemed to have reasonably good batteries, and cast a very bright light. He hoped it would last, as he was going to need it to have any hope of getting loose to free his family. He sat on the sofa and brought his right ankle up to rest on his left knee. He took a close look up the assembly that was attached to him and saw that Angus had been telling the truth about the construction of the restraints. It appeared that the only hope he had would be to somehow pick the lock holding it to his ankle.

He decided to wait for at least 15 minutes to make sure that Angus wouldn't be likely to walk in on him as he tried to get free. He would need something to use to work on the lock so he began searching his pockets and the room within his 10 foot limit. There wasn't much in the area he had access to, and there really wasn't all that much in his own pockets. He wished he had brought his pocket knife with him, but unfortunately it was at home in Duluth. If he had any hope of picking the lock he would need something to use as a tension wrench. He would also need a pick, and right at the moment he had neither item.

At the opposite end of the sofa from where the floor ring was attached to the cable, there was a magazine rack with a collection of papers, magazines and miscellaneous reading material. He decided to check through it to see whether he could find a large staple he could use as a pick but was overjoyed when he found a small sheaf of papers held together with a normal paper clip. Half of his problem had been solved but he still needed something to turn the barrel of the lock with. After having searched his entire circle of movement twice, he realized there was nothing obvious to choose for that purpose. He checked his watch and it was already approaching midnight. There wouldn't be any sleeping tonight as he needed to get free by morning.

Even though he still had probably at least six hours to work at removing his restraint he was beginning to feel anxious. There didn't seem to be any solution for his problem. Without a tension wrench of some sort he wouldn't be able to pick the lock successfully. As he thought about his problem he shifted his weight on the sofa and heard the springs squeak. This gave him a thought that perhaps he could break off a piece of spring or find a piece of metal in the sofa construction that he could use. He was able to lay down at the edge of the sofa and rip away a piece of the cloth that covered the bottom. He could see that the springs were much too large to be of use. His anxiety increased and he could feel his heart rate begin to increase as well.

Realizing that he needed to put his thought processes to good use, he sat back down on the sofa and leaned back so he could rest his head on the cushion. He went back over the inventory of items from his pockets but couldn't think of anything that would be of use. He considered the tab on his jacket zipper but when he inspected it he realized there wasn't enough there to grip, even if he could somehow taper the end so that it would fit in the keyway of the lock. He took off his one remaining shoe, and looked it over with the light, trying to find anything made of metal, but there was nothing.

In desperation he pulled the cushions from the sofa and with the flashlight in one hand checked beneath them, hoping someone had dropped an item that could be of use to him. Pocket change was not what he was looking for, but it was all that he found. It was when he started to think that there was not going to be a thing that he could use, that he finally thought of his belt. Maybe he would be able to use the metal finger that engages the holes in his belt. He quickly pulled his belt off and took a close look at the size and shape of the buckle's prong. It seemed to be too thick, and possibly a bit too wide. He would have to modify it to use it.

As he thought desperately about how he might be able to modify the buckle he saw the fireplace on the opposite wall and realized the hearth was made of stone. If it was the right kind of stone he might be able to use it to file his buckle into shape. He knew he couldn't reach it while he was standing, but it looked like he might be able to if he were to lie on the floor and crawl towards it. In seconds he was on his stomach and found he could definitely reach the fireplace, and at least one of the stones seemed to have a texture that would work to file away the metal. He began to rub the metal prong against the stone.  

--Day 17--

It took over an hour of repeated strokes against the stone to finally grind the metal to the desired shape. When he was finished it looked very much like the end of a small screwdriver, less than 16th of an inch thick and not quite an eighth of an inch wide. He hoped it would work. The constant motion against the stone had taken the skin off of two fingers, and his elbows were raw from rubbing against the floor. Now that he was finished he took a look at his watch, and saw that it was already 1:15 a.m.

He put the cushions back on the sofa and sat down to begin working on the lock. It didn't take long for him to realize that the lock was free to flop around as he worked on it, making it very difficult to feel the movement of the pins in the lock. After tearing several strips from the pillow case he tied them around the lock to hold it firmly in place. Now that it was not moving around constantly, he was able to insert his homemade tension wrench and use it to put constant clockwise pressure on the lock, while he used the straightened paper clip to rake at the pins.

It had been years since he had used this technique to try to open a lock. A coworker had shown him how it was done, when they needed to get into a locked file cabinet. That lock had succumbed in just a few seconds. He had his doubts that this one would be that easy. It appeared to have 5 pins which would make the job difficult unless he could pick them individually. He would try raking first, and then the more delicate picking operation.

Rob continued to work at the lock, having to restart time after time when he realized it wasn't working. He was afraid to put too much tension on the belt buckle in case the end was to break, but desperation finally drove him to turn it much harder. Finally, as he was beginning to think that he would never succeed in picking the lock, he felt it give, and heard the snap of the lock releasing. He was almost afraid to see if it was actually open, as it had been so long since he had begun the job. He untied the strips of fabric, pulled the lock away and felt the clamp around his ankle come loose.

His right leg had gone almost completely numb by this time, and after he removed the restraint from his ankle he had to use both hands to lower his leg to the floor. After a couple of minutes of well deserved rest he checked his watch and saw that it was 3:45. By constantly flexing his ankle, and rubbing his knee and the muscles in his calf, he was finally able to restore near normal sensation to his right leg. When it felt capable he slowly stood to make sure that it would bear his weight. It seemed to be fine now, so he began to think about what he would do now that he was free.

During the entire time he had been alone in the room he had heard nothing from the two dogs, and he realized that they would have to be his top priority. Until they were effectively locked away he would be in real danger. They could easily kill him if they attacked, and he was more afraid of them than Angus Blair. He had to decide how to lock their door without them hearing him as he was sure they would investigate if he were to approach their room. He had been very lucky that the grinding operation he had performed on his belt buckle was almost noise free. Probably the only thing that might have attracted their attention was the snap of the lock as it released.

With his fear of the dogs foremost in his mind, he slowly made his way to the shotgun left leaning against the wall at the far end of the living room. Knowing that it could be the difference between life and death for him, he very quietly released the lever holding the breech closed, and verified that the gun was indeed loaded. Once the gun was closed again, he cocked one of the hammers and very quietly crept across the room to the door separating him from the dogs. He kept the gun trained on the door, hoping he wouldn't have to shoot the animals. He had no idea what Angus Blair would do if he heard him fire the gun. He was very scared for his family behind the closed door of the hallway.

It took him almost 15 minutes to cross the living room, and approach the swinging door behind which the two dogs were sleeping. He didn't want them to hear his footsteps or the creaking of any floor boards. When he was finally within reach of the door he knew that he had succeeded as even if they tried to push against the door he was close enough to block it. He carefully reached up and closed the hasp, then quietly hung the lock on it, being careful not to snap the lock shut. He was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief once he had completed that task, as it now meant he only had to worry about the dogs' master. As he pulled back from the door he heard low growling that told him he was lucky to have gotten the lock on the door.

Now that he no longer had the two dogs to be fearful of, Rob decided to unload the shotgun. A weapon like that was pretty indiscriminate and he realized that with his family in the building he didn't really want it to be fired. He very quietly removed the two shells from the chambers and put the gun back where it had been, leaning against the wall. He stuck the two shells under the lining beneath the sofa where they would never be found easily. Angus probably had more of them, but it didn't seem they were in this room anyway.

He knew it wouldn't be a good idea to get the dogs excited, so he was very quiet as he looked around the kitchen for either a weapon, or any item that would help him in his need to overcome Angus Blair. He quietly opened the cutlery drawer and was surprised to see there were no large, sharp knives. A check of all of the drawers proved that the knives were obviously kept somewhere secure. He decided it was likely that Angus was keeping them away from Erin and Katy. The only thing that he found that could be considered a weapon was the wooden rolling pin. He took it with him along with one of the spoons. After he set the rolling pin on the sofa, he quietly approached the dogs' room and slid the spoon through the hasp and removed the lock. By bending the bowl of the spoon down and the handle up he was able to create a lock that would not be quickly removed. Again, he was warned by their low growls that the two dogs knew he was outside their door.

With his main priorities taken care of, Rob now quietly approached the door to the hallway and used the flashlight momentarily to prove to himself that the deadbolt lock on the door was definitely closed. He didn't see any way he could get into that part of the house until Angus Blair unlocked the door from his side. Rob had to make sure that he didn't give him any cause to be suspicious; any reason to stay locked in with Erin and Katy. He carefully looked around the kitchen and living room areas to see whether anything was out of place besides himself. As far as he could tell everything looked the way it had been the last time Angus had been in the room. He returned and sat on the sofa and placed the clamp loosely around his ankle. He hoped that a cursory glance would not reveal that the lock was missing should his captor appear suddenly.

What he needed now was a plan for what he should do when Angus reappeared. He really didn't want to involve the shotgun, in case Erin or Katy came out with him. He hadn't seen or heard either of them, but was confident that they were there and alive; if they were not there would have been no reason for Angus to have kept him overnight. The more Rob thought about it, the more convinced he became that Angus planned to do away with him. It seemed he didn't want Erin or Katy to know Rob was here; combined with his words of the night before it seemed fairly obvious to Rob what his intentions were.

When he checked his watch he saw that it was already just after 5 a.m., so he probably wouldn't have long to wait before things would come to a head. Even though he hadn't slept all night he felt very alert. It was probably the adrenaline keeping him on the edge, but whatever the case he had to be prepared. Not knowing when he would have the confrontation was the biggest problem he faced now. It would be difficult to maintain his present level of readiness if Angus didn't appear for another three or four hours. He had to be ready to react immediately if the hallway door opened.

Rob finally decided that his best chance would be to surprise him as he stepped into the kitchen from the hallway. As far as he could tell, anything else could take the advantage away from him. If Angus stepped first to his left he would see the improvised lock on the door to the dogs' room, and if Rob was too far away, he'd be able to escape back behind the dead bolted hallway door. Even if he turned another direction, he may have a weapon that would give him back the advantage. It seemed to Rob that his only choice would be to surprise him just as he walked into the kitchen from the hallway. He would have to wait in ambush there for him.

The only weapon besides the shotgun that Rob had access to was the rolling pin he'd taken from the kitchen drawer, so he took it with him as he went to stand around the corner from the hallway door. Within 15 minutes of taking up his position he realized his legs and feet were going to become very tired. He could only hope that when he needed to move quickly he would be able to. He continued to stand there, flexing his feet and legs periodically, as he tried to maintain the ability to move quickly.

After a truly interminable wait, Rob heard the faint sound of the key entering the lock on the hallway door. He tensed and raised the rolling pin in his right hand, ready to strike. He heard the door open, and as he turned to round the corner saw Angus Blair emerge from the hallway and begin to turn towards the room that housed his two dogs. Rob brought the rolling pin down on his head and struck him a glancing blow somewhere above his right ear. He hit the floor without uttering a sound. Rob couldn't believe it had been this easy. He had been prepared for a protracted fight or struggle, not something that seemed this anticlimactic.

Rob quickly grabbed him by the back of his shirt collar, and began dragging him towards the sofa. When he was close enough that the cable would reach, he stripped the shoe from Angus' left foot and quickly locked the clamp in place around his ankle. Only then did Rob check him for a pulse. It seemed strong and regular, so he then checked his head for any cuts, but found only a lump above his ear. Apparently it had done him no obviously serious damage, and he didn't require first aid. When Rob realized he wouldn't have to perform any lifesaving procedures on the man, he wondered if he really could have assisted him if it appeared that he needed it. Fortunately he hadn't had to make that decision.