Piper and Al

"This should be good," he said. "And all is on schedule. If your dad planned ahead and has the money, tomorrow should be good. If not, a few more days."

"I can almost guarantee that Dad will be ready. I bet he started getting it together about the second day. It's the way he does things and why he's where he is."

Al smiled. "Enjoy dinner. I'll be back later if you're okay."

"I'm good for now."

Al closed and bolted the door and headed back to the kitchen.

His plate was on the table and ready to be eaten. Jill sat down across from him and took her first bite.

"This is pretty good," she said, smiling at Al.

"Not surprised." Al took several quick bites.

"Sho, whut are --"

"Swallow your food before you talk."

Al did as he was told.

"So, what are you guys going to do when you get the money?"

"Not sure. We've talked about stuff, but no decisions yet. I'll go wherever Kit wants to go. I've never had anything, so having something will make me happy. What about you?"

"I'll have to figure it out when I'm ready."

"I hope Gordon Malik has done a better job than we have." Jill chuckled.

***

"Big moment, Niall. I hope to hell we've figured him right."

"I'm ready to get my money and head to Vegas."

"That's your plan, huh?"

"Yup. I'll be off tomorrow or the next day."

Kit wasn't sure how he felt about that. It had been three years ago that Kit was at a bar, much drunker than he thought. There'd been a fight, and Kit was on the floor, about to receive a good stomping when Niall stepped in and saved him. Although they had almost nothing in common, he and Kit had been good friends since that day. He wasn't surprised that Niall would be heading to Vegas. It fit.

They pulled into the huge parking lot of the discount store, about twenty-five miles from the house. Another of the supermarket phones was in Kit's hand. He also had the piece of paper they had used to copy the phone number Gordon had secreted to them on his TV interview. He dialed.

"Hello," said a cautious voice.

"Gordon Malik?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"The people you've been waiting to hear from."

"I'm ready."

"First of all, your daughter has been well-fed and well-cared-for. Second, are you ready with the million dollars, and third, are you doing this without the police being involved?"

"I'm tired of the police having no information. And yes, I have the money, ready to be delivered per your instructions."

"Why should I trust you?"

"No reason other than my word and the fact that I'd love to have Piper back with us."

"That could happen tomorrow."

"How may we get the money to you?"

"We? I want it to be just you."

"The money is in four cartons. Very heavy cartons. My CFO has helped with this, and the two of us can handle the cartons."

"Hadn't thought of that."

"I assumed you didn't want one thousand dollar bills."

"Do you know where Zimmer Road is?"

"Vaguely."

"Two miles past where Zimmer crosses Route 43, you'll come to Coon Path Road. Turn right, and about a half a mile along is an abandoned bridge over Paint Creek. Pull onto the old road, and the car will be hidden. Leave the money under the bridge."

"And Piper?"

"Once we have the money and are satisfied, we'll release her somewhere that she'll be safe and can call you."

"And why should I trust you?"

"Because you have no choice, and because, despite what you may think of me, I'm trustworthy."

"Pardon my skepticism, but you're right; I have no choice."

"What time is good for you?"

"I'm not sure how long it'll take to get there, but the money will be in place by nine o'clock."

"We'll be ready."

They disconnected.

"You trust him?" Niall asked.

"Like him, we don't have much choice. But, based on what Al has said Piper told him, and just listening to him, I guess I do. He has everything to gain and a whole lot to lose."

"I guess," Niall said. "I just want the money."

Kit nodded, realizing he wouldn't be too disappointed when Niall left for Vegas. And he knew it was the same for Jill.

"Let's head home," he said.

***

Carl Fisher rolled over and answered his phone.

"Yeah, Gordon."

"I got the call," Gordon said. "This morning is it, and they told me where to drop the money. I promised to have it done by nine o'clock. I'm suspicious of the police. They may be watching me just in case I do what I'm going to do. So, if you could be here about six forty-five and back up to my garage door; it's the second from the house. Oh, and wear a very distinctive coat and hat if you would, along with khaki slacks."

"That's only thirty-five minutes, but I'll be there. Have to figure which coat to wear. See you then."

Gordon opened the gate, and Carl's Pilot moved up the driveway, swung around, and backed into place. Gordon opened the garage door, greeted Carl, and the two went inside.

"In case the police are watching," Gordon said, "here's the plan. We're going to walk out by the cars and block the view on one side. Bart will slip into the back of the Pilot and hide, and we'll unload those other boxes into the Lexus. We'll go back inside, and I'll take your coat and hat, get in the pilot and take off, heading back the way you came in.

"After a short while, you take the Lexus and head in the opposite direction. Do something to kill some time, like going through a drive-through or something. Get your food and park to eat it, etc. I'd like to have the money dropped before you get to work."

"Wow, you've thought this out, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I checked 'Maps' last night, and the drop spot is about thirty-five minutes away," Gordon said, pacing the family room floor.

"It's almost that far to work from here, and if the drive-through is like it usually is, I can kill fifteen minutes there."

"I hate to put you through this, Carl, but I need for it to work."

"Gordon, if it was my daughter, I know you'd do the same." A couple of warm shoulder squeezes followed.

"We better get moving before Bart gets bored."

***

"I thought you said he drives a Lexus," Niall said, taking his turn with the binoculars. "There's some SUV on the road, and it's slowing down."

Kit grabbed the glasses. "But it's turning in the right place and parking."

He watched two men get out of the car, carry four foxes to the bridge and under it, then get back in the car and leave.

They waited five minutes.

"We either trust him, or we don't," Kit said. "Let's go."

They walked through the woods to the road where they had left the van, drove quickly to the small road, and loaded four very heavy boxes. Kit took the box cutter and opened one of the boxes. He smiled, seeing that it was stuffed full of ten and twenty-dollar bills.

They backed out of the secluded spot and headed to their house, checking carefully to make sure they weren't being followed.

Once the boxes were in the house, there was dancing and shouting and lots of hugs.

"Should we wait a while to let her go," Jill asked, "just in case?"

"What do you think, Al?"

Al looked from one to the other. "Based on what I've picked up from the girl, her dad would play by the book and contact the police. But when nothing was happening, he'd take charge and make things happen. That's the best I've got."

"My thought too." Kit looked at Al. You know where you're going to release her?"

"Pretty good idea."

"Get on it."

Al went to the bedroom, knocked, and unbolted the door.

"Lots of noise out there," she said, lifting her blindfold.

"Lots of money out there, too."

Piper's eyes widened.

"He's paid?" she said, both surprise and relief in her voice.

"You know what's next?" he said.

"When?" was her simple question.

"I'm ready if you are."

"Oh, God. I have to pee, and I'm ready."

"Take that underwear with you and put it on. Don't need it around here."

All unlocked her cuffs; she grabbed the bra and panties and headed to the bathroom for the last time.

Quickly back, she was cuffed and blindfolded, and they started toward the kitchen.

"Coming through," he yelled, warning the others to keep quiet.

They went carefully out the door and out of the garage to Al's car. He helped Piper climb in, fastened her seat belt, and then they were away.

"Keep the blindfold on for a while," he cautioned, making several "false turns" so that, hopefully, she wouldn't be able to find the house again.

After ten minutes, he handed her the key so she could unlock the handcuffs.

"Can I take it off now?"

"Sure."

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "Sunshine, and green trees, and animals, and look, even people." She was quiet for long moments. "There was a time I thought I'd never see those things again."

"I told you we weren't going to throw you in the river."

"I didn't believe you. Not a bit."

"I'm sorry for that. We wanted you to be afraid, so you'd do what we wanted you to do, but I didn't want that."

"I hated you. I still hate you some. When you put your arms out to me that time, it was like my skin was crawling at the thought of you touching me. You were supposed to be mean and nasty. But you were... never mind."

Al pulled over and stopped the car, pointing out the front window. "That's the West Allen shopping center, and we're on Barnett Road, just north of the center. Tell your dad that."

"Okay." She looked at Al. "So, am I free to go?"

"Sure are."

Piper opened the door and put one leg outside. She looked as if she was about to say something, but she simply shook her head and stepped out of the car, closing the door. She moved back, giving Al room to pull away as she dug in her bag for her phone.

***

Carl enjoyed driving the Lexus and wasn't at all anxious to park it as he pulled into the parking lot, remembering to head for Gordon's spot. As he climbed out, he watched a plain black car pull in and stop behind the Lexus.

Two men were quickly out of the car.

"Mr. Malik, we--" He stopped abruptly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Carl Fisher, the Chief financial officer here. Who are you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Mueller. What are you doing in Gordon Malik's car?"

"I borrowed it. And what are you doing blocking my egress?"

The Lieutenant stood on his tiptoes, looking into the Lexus.

"There are some boxes in there we're very curious about. May we take a look?"

"Boxes? How do you know there are boxes?"

"I see them in the back seat."

"There's a box in the back seat."

"Listen, Mr., um."

"Fisher."

"I'm through fooling around here. Open the car."

"I should ask you if I'm being charged with something, but I won't waste our time." Carl looked at the electronic key, then pushed one of the buttons. The trunk lid slowly lifted.

"Help yourselves," he said.

Lieutenant Mueller stepped forward and quickly tore open one of the boxes. He frowned and tore open a second one.

"What are these?"

"Financial forms and contracts. Want to check the other two?"

"Where's Gordon Malik?"

"No idea, but I expect him soon." Carl checked his watch. "If you gentlemen are through, I need to get to work. Shall I have Gordon call you when he gets in?"

"Please," Lieutenant Mueller said as the two officers climbed into their car and drove away.

***

"Piper, my God, is that you?" Gordon fairly screamed into his phone.

"Hi, Daddy, and yes, it's me, and I'm free and ready to be picked up."

"Do you know where you are?"

Piper described to her father where she was and sat down to wait, leaning against a tree.

"PIPER," Nina screamed.

"Yeah, it's me, Nina."

"Are you home?"

"Not yet. Dad's coming to get me. I'll call when we can get together. I've got stuff to tell."

"Oh my gosh, I can't wait."

"Love you, Nina."

"Love you too, Pip."

A puzzled Nina hung up.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a joyful reunion of father and daughter. Gordon had picked up the Lexus at work, and Piper climbed in beside him.

"I missed you guys," she said softly.

"You can't imagine how we worried about you."

She wanted to tell her dad she thought she was going to die, but she didn't want to upset him. Right now, she was just happy to be free and with him. The ride home was heavenly, something she couldn't imagine just a couple of days ago.

***

"How are we going to handle this?" Jill asked, looking at the now-opened four boxes of money.

Kit chuckled. "Maybe with some of those plastic gloves that are left over from my compulsive safety measures."

"Four of us -- four boxes. A quarter-million in each box," Al surmised. "Let's dump one box at a time, separate it by denomination, and then divide it up."

"Let's hurry," Niall chipped in. "I want to get started to Vegas."

The other three knew that Niall had visions of going to Vegas, gambling, and doubling or tripling his money. Kit anticipated he'd be broke in no time and heading back to mooch off Kit and Jill again. He planned to be long gone before that happened.

They dumped the first box and found it appeared to be bundles of nothing but twenty-dollar bills. The next box was all tens, and the other two were mixes of twenties, fifties, and a few hundreds.

They decided to each grab bundles of the same denomination and distribute their bundles evenly to all four foxes.

"Hey, turn on the TV and see if we're on the news."

Jill switched on the TV, but there was no news, only the regular programming, and, as it droned in the background, they walked in circles, tossing money into boxes.

It didn't take too long for Jill to recognize a problem.

"These boxes were packed full and stacked neatly, and if we just throw the bundles in, we're not going to be able to get them all in like they were before, so we'd better stack neatly... or get more boxes."

Each went to their box, dumped the contents, and stacked them neatly. This slowed the distribution process a bit, but the boxes were filling up.

"I never saw so much money before," Niall said, shaking his head, a dumbfounded smile on his face.

"Enough to last a long time, if you're careful with it," Kit cautioned, sure Niall hadn't even heard what he said.

The boxes were nearly full when the six o'clock news came on the TV.

Breaking news! The daughter of industrialist/developer Gordon Malik has been returned to the family unharmed, and Channel Eight News has an exclusive interview with the two of them. Here's Vanessa Calderon with the interview.

Thank you, Frank. I'm here with Gordon and Piper Malik. Gordon, what's it like to have your daughter back?

The past few days have been beyond belief, and we're just thrilled to have Piper back with us, safe and sound and unharmed.

It was reported that the kidnappers wanted a million dollars for Piper's return. Did you pay that ransom?

Listen, we're just thankful to have our daughter back with us, as I'm sure you can well imagine.

"A little evasive, isn't he?" Kit smiled.

Let's turn to Piper, then. Can you tell us what these past few days have been like? And how many kidnappers were there and what were they like? And, would you recognize any of them if you saw them again?

It would take far too long to tell you what these days have been like, but let me just say it was, of course, terrifying at first and horribly boring since I was locked in a closet all of the time that I was with them. I have no idea how many there were as there was only one who brought me meals and, well, took care of other things as well. I was never harmed in any way, and my hands and feet were handcuffed, and I was blindfolded all the time, so I didn't see anyone's face.

Al swallowed hard as he stared at the TV, at those blue eyes he had looked into so often the past several days, the eyes that were looking directly at him from the TV. Piper nodded and continued to stare, and he realized she was speaking directly to him.

"Good job, Al. I didn't think you could make her keep that blindfold on all the time. I guessed she'd be a little defiant and jerk it off." Kit was smiling at him.

Yes, I was blindfolded, and I did remove it when I was by myself, in the closet, in the dark, but put it back on when someone came. I knew that if I saw a face, it might well compromise my safety, so I kept it on.

Mr. Malik, I'm sure all of our viewers are curious about the ransom, how much was asked, and how much was paid.

As I said before, Vanessa, we're just thankful to have Piper back so she can return to school and get on with her life. And a thank you to all those out there who were praying for us and sending good wishes. We both appreciate it very much.

Yes, thank you all very much.

And thank you two very much for this exclusive interview. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this in the future. Back to you, Frank.

"Sounds like we're clean," Kit said, a big smile on his face.

"It was well-planned, but we were lucky too. Lots of things could have happened along the way to foul things up... but they didn't." Al was still thinking about what he had just heard on the TV. One of the last things she had said to him was that she "still hated him a little," but evidently not enough to out him to the police. She hadn't been at all what he'd expected... and still wasn't.

It was eleven o'clock before all the boxes were filled and closed.

"I'm setting my alarm for early tomorrow, and I'm off," Niall said, an anticipatory smile on his face. "Thanks for everything, guys," he added.

"Thanks for saving me, and stay in touch. You've got my cell number."

"Yeah, I'll do that." He hugged first Kit and then Jill., then turned and shook hands with Al. "Haven't known you as well as them, but good luck to you."

"Thanks," Al said, "and the same to you."

With big smiles, they all went to bed.

***

Two months later, Al received a call from Kit.

"Hey man, how are you guys doing, and where are you?"

"Well, we're doing great. We're in Mexico working a little and having a lot of fun. But," Kit continued, "I have some sad if not too surprising news."

.

"What's that?"

"I got a call from a guy who said he found my number on Niall's phone."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah. I guess he got very drunk and picked a fight with a guy who was carrying a gun."

"Oh, shit. No kidding. And... "

"Yeah, he's dead. Plus, the guy said he was living in his car."

"He thought he was gonna go out there and get richer quick."

"Poor guy. I hope he at least enjoyed blowing the money. But listen, Al. What are you up to?"

"Put a down payment on a house and took a job at a distribution center. Already been promoted to supervisor and, my boss says, another six months and I'll probably move up another step" Al was smiling as he relayed the news to Kit.

"That sounds great, buddy. And, by the way, Jill is pregnant."

"Congratulations, Kit. That's great."

"Thanks. We're trying to decide whether to come back to the US for the birth."

"Keep me posted, and if you do come back, I'd love to see you guys again."

"Either way," Kit said, "you need to come to Mexico and see us."

"Once I get well settled, I'll do that. And thanks for telling me about Niall."

"No problem. Take care, Al."

"You too."

Al stuck the phone in his pocket, lamenting Niall's death, but not surprised. He had dug into his "carton of bucks" to make the down payment on his house, but other than that, he had not touched it. Each time he saw a Porsche, it called to him, but so far, he had ignored the call.

***

Al's phone rang, and he glanced at it. It was Kit.

"Hey, man, how's it going?"

"Great, Al, great. We're in town for a short while. Jill's ready to deliver, and we decided to head back here for that. About to go nuts getting the insurance straightened out, but we'll get it eventually."

"Listen, why don't you guys come over for dinner tonight? I've got some steaks in the fridge, and we can grill, and you can see my new house."