Chapter 46
“Seven million dollars in 100's, 50's, 20's, 10's,” the
bank manager counted the money into the small box as Nick watched nervously, he
checked his watch ever so often. He licked his pale lips and tapped his shaky
fingers on the light wood desk. Two FBI
agents stood behind him, two bodyguards stood to the side of him. BJ, Pollyanna, and Jerald stood outside the
room.
“Is that it?” Nick looked from face to face, “I don’t
have to sign anything else?”
“No, Mr. Carter, you can take it now,” the banker
smiled.
Nick gave him a watery smile and took the box. His arms shook as he held the money box by
its handles. Hands took the box from
him. Nick looked at David’s concerned
face and smiled at him gently, “Thank you.”
Nick was escorted out of the room surrounded on both
sides. Outside the room Pollyanna and
Jerald looked at him with big hopeful eyes, and Nick nodded and David held up
the small case for them to see.
“That’s it?”
“Yes, this is it,” Nick said softly, he glanced at his
watch again, “We have to hurry.”
“Yeah, lets get out of here,” Pollyanna agreed. The
body guards ventured ahead of them, and the FBI followed them closely from
behind as they left the bank and headed for the cars.
“Hurry, they need to hurry,” Denise McLean was shaking
as she kept glancing at the clock telling her that her son only had 5 minutes
and 35 seconds to live... 5:34 seconds...
“I still can’t believe they just went without informing
anyone,” Jane was saying.
“I can,” John Dorough said roughly. He got a glare from his parents, “What? We
planned this behind your backs to keep you all from arguing with one another!
You guys can’t get anything done without finding something to yell at one
another about!”
“John...”
“No, what he says is true,” Paula said interrupting her
husband, “All we have done is fight, when we should have been trying to work
together. We’ve all been pointing
fingers at the Carters, when we really should have been pointing them at
ourselves! We could have solved this problem, fixed this whole mess if we had
just put our pride aside and accepted help when it was being offered.” She glanced meaningfully at Harold Littrell,
then at Bob and Jane Carter. “It’s too late now for that, and we’re the only
ones to blame for it.”
“Are you trying to say that if my son dies it’s my own
fault?!” Harold was raging, “It’s not my fault! It’s those devils that took
him’s fault! It’s the idiots they call security’s fault for not checking the
bus properly! Those demons didn’t just pull over the bus and hijack it, they
were already on there, hiding!”
“SHUT UP! SHUT UP!” Denise McLean screamed, “We’ve got
less than 5 minutes before one of our sons are dead! Stop yelling, stop
everything!”
The phone rang in the FBI van, and everyone crowded the
van to hear the conversation.
“Do you have the money?” the voice on the other end
asked.
“No...no we don’t have the money just yet. Give us
another hour! Just one, please. The money is on its way.”
“I’m afraid that’s not good enough... I don’t believe
you know who you are dealing with. You think we’re bluffing?”
“No...”
“Well I think you do. And in a minute or so, we’re
going to prove you wrong, and hopefully persuade you to do the next thing we
ask on time. Now how about the helicopter?”
“It’s here,” the agent said. True to his word, one helicopter was stationed behind the motel
complex taped off by a police barrier.
“Very good, but still not good enough. You have 2 minutes,” the voice said with a
slight laugh, “Does anyone out there have any goodbyes they need to say?”
“Oh no...” Jackie Littrell was crying, “Who is it? Who
are they going to kill? Dear Lord, our
God, please protect my son, our sons... Jesus please...”
“NO! NO!” Denise McLean was hysterical, the FBI
signaled for the paramedics to take her aside where she was probably
administered a sedative.
“You have one minute... the line is still open for
goodbyes...”
“May I have the phone please?” Paula Dorough was
stepping to the phone. Her exterior looked calm, but her eyes showed her terror.
The phone was given to her, “Hello?”
“Hi there. Who might this be so I can tell the boys
that you wished them farewell?”
“This is Paula Dorough. Tell my son that I love him, and his Papa loves him, and his
brother and sisters love him very much. We don’t have much to give, but what we
have we will give it, if you just spare our son’s life, all their lives. I have
200 dollars on me, and my husband maybe has more. Please....”
“200 dollars, oh lady you break my heart with such a
sweet gesture.... but I’m afraid 200 dollars would barely buy you a small
snippet of your son’s precious locks! Oh...oh 30 seconds. Say goodbye my dear...”
“No not yet!!!”
“20 seconds...”
There was a commotion from the crowd. A lot of yells
and cameras flashing. Two people came
barreling through the crowd of agents and police, one had a person tucked under
his arm. He set the person down gently
and he straightened up, “I HAVE IT! I’VE GOT THE MONEY, TELL THEM I HAVE IT!”
“Nick? NICK! Oh God, he has the money, tell them, tell
them now!” Ann Richardson was jumping up and down. Nick was being brought forward flanked with bodyguards. He pushed the money into the arms of the FBI
and sagged against the bodyguard behind him breathing hard and looking sallow.
“We have the money,” Agent Cole had taken the phone
from Paula and was smiling as he spoke the words into the phone, “We have
the....”
The shot rang out like an explosion of a nuclear
warhead. The crowd was silent. For once the cameras stopped flashing, no one
spoke.
Paula fainted into her husband’s weak arms. Jackie Littrell put her hand over her mouth.
Harold fell to his knees with his arms up in prayer. Ann buried her head in Tim’s shoulder. Jane Carter gasped and squeezed her husband’s hand. Denise McLean had been sedated, yet she
still screamed. And her screams cut through the silence like knives. A second shot was fired inside the building,
then a third. It was like a chain of
fireworks being lit one at a time.
Dead.... someone was dead....