Eighty-Three
The bastard smiled. “Lock that door behind you.” I did as I was told and then he said, “Nice to know you finally know my name. You drive by me every day and cut me a check once a month and I’ll bet when they figured out it was me that let Jason on the property you had no idea who I was. You’re way too important to worry about the little guy who protects your precious estate and your illegitimate family.” He was goading me. He wanted me to make a move. I wanted to, so badly. I wanted to feel my fist connect with his face and I haven’t been in a fistfight since high school. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction, however. If he wanted to shoot me, he’d have to do it from where I stood. I heard my father begin banging on the steel door. The little building is brick and the door is about two inches of steel. It’s made to withstand the high tide. It was also a fortress. Elliot knew what he was doing when he came in here.
“What do you want, Elliot?”
“Money, of course. I’m sick of watching you stinking rich people flaunt your wealth while the rest of us have nothing.”
I cocked an eyebrow and said, “That house in Redondo Beach is pretty nice.”
“It belongs to my girlfriend and she’s about to kick me out. The IRS and child support take most of my checks. I’m barely left with enough to pay rent much less pay for anything else. I borrowed a lot of money from a guy who is demanding payment. I’m not going to let him take it out of my hide while I watch you pigs live like royalty.”
“So you thought you’d just… steal a baby and solve all of your problems?”
“That was stupid Jason’s idea. I was going to snatch the maid who is suddenly the hoity-toity lady of the manor.”
“So what now, Elliot? They’re not just going to let you walk out of here. If you kill me, you’ll be up for murder, so far, you haven’t done anything. You might be better off calling this whole thing off now.”
“I’m not going to jail and I’m not going to get killed by some damned loan shark. What I am going to do is live out the rest of my life on a comfortable island somewhere at your expense.”
I felt my blood pressure rising. The thought of this man with his hands on Vicki… or Jason’s with his hands on Michael… I felt like my head would explode. I forced myself not to react. I could still hear Dad pounding. He sounded desperate. I opened my mouth… I wasn’t sure what I was going to say, but I was interrupted by the sound of a man’s voice over a megaphone.
“Elliot Hanson, this is Detective Salas of the L. A. P. D. My phone number is 555-6718. I need you to call me Elliot. Let’s work this out without anyone getting hurt, okay?” Elliot looked like he was thinking about it. He finally reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Before he could even dial, it was ringing. He pushed accept and put it on speaker. The detective waited for a beat and then he said, “Elliot? Are you there?”
“I’m here.”
“Is Mr. Reigns with you?”
I didn’t say anything; I looked at the sweaty man with the gun and waited for my cue. He finally said, “Yeah, he’s here. He’s here to help me.”
“Okay, can I talk to him, Elliot? Can I hear him say he’s okay?”
Elliot gave me a chin nod and I said, “This is Alexander Reigns. So far, I’m fine.”
“Good! Good! Thank you, Elliot. Now we need to work on getting you two out of there and somewhere safe, okay?”
“No. We’re not coming out until I hear a helicopter land out there.” He was staring at me, gauging my reaction as he said, “Mr. Reigns is going to arrange for a helicopter for me and some spending money. Once that’s where we’ll be on our way.” He was going to use me as a shield. That wasn’t my biggest worry though. I was worried that he was going to get away.
“Elliot, that’s not the best idea. You’re still in misdemeanor territory here…”
“Shut up!” Elliot hung up the phone and then looked at me and said, “Give me the number.”
“What number is that, Elliot?”
“The one that gets me a helicopter.”
I gave him the number of my private hangar. When the phone was answered he motioned at me with the gun and I said, “Hi Becky, this is Alex Reigns.”
“Hello, Mr. Reigns. How are you today?”
“I’m in a bit of a pickle here, Becky. I need to speak with Doug now.” She must have heard the urgency in my voice because I heard her yelling for Doug right away.
When Doug got on the phone he said, “Boss, what’s going on? I just heard a news brief about you being taken, hostage.”
“I need you to listen carefully Doug. I need you to bring the chopper out to the south end of Manhattan Beach and land it on the sand near the bathrooms.”
“What? Sir, I’ve never…”
“I know, Doug. I’m sorry to ask. I wouldn’t if I had any other choice.”
He hesitated and then he said, “Is this cleared with law enforcement?”
“It will be.”
“Okay sir, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thank you, Doug.” I hung up and told Elliot. “You need to let them know he’s coming.”
Elliot curled his lip and said, “You do it and then call whoever can get your money out of the bank. I want two million in cash.”This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
“Do you know how long it will take to get that much cash together?”
“They have an hour before I start shooting you in your limbs.”
I called my PA next. “Amanda, it’s Alex.”
“Alex? Oh my God, are you okay? I just saw on the news…”
“Amanda, I need you to listen to me, okay? First of all, I need you to call and make sure Vicki and Michael are okay. I don’t know if she’s seen or heard any of this. Call the house and tell them to make sure the television and radio are all off.”
“Okay…”
“Good. Next, I need you to call Brent and Harlan at the bank. I need two million in cash ASAP. Tell them to get it from wherever they need to take it. I need it quickly…”
“And unmarked,” Elliot said.
“And unmarked,” I told her.
“Okay boss. Are you okay?”
“I will be. Hurry now Amanda, please.”