Kidnapped
Part Four
By Lynne Facella
Mulderette@aol.com or Lynne1919@aol.com

Spoilers: Episodes through All in the Family
Archive: Sure, just ask so I know where it is going.
Disclaimer: All ER characters are the property of Warner Brothers, NBC, etc., etc. (The bad guys are mine).

Summary: Dr. Carter is held for ransom and an unwitting Dr. Benton gets dragged along for the ride.

Author's notes: Thanks to the following:  To Kristen for all the support you have given this series, to the members of the ERFFCC for your comments and editing help, and to all the people who have written feedback. It is very much appreciated.



"Hey man, how are you doing?" Benton asked as he knelt down next to Carter. Carter's face was very pale and soaked with sweat. Benton went back to putting pressure on the wound, hoping to get the bleeding to stop. He knew that he shouldn't have stopped the pressure in the first place, but he had just been so frantic when those jerks had left, that he hadn't been thinking clearly.

Carter silently watched Benton, trying not to think about the pain he was in, the blood gushing from his shoulder, and the fact that those men had left them here, most likely to die. He tried to think of something pleasant but found that he couldn't.  The only thoughts that came into his head were dark and dismal. 

"Great the bleeding has stopped." Benton's relieved voice interrupted Carter's morbid thoughts. At least something had gone right. He grabbed the remaining section of the T-shirt and tightly bandaged Carter's shoulder. "You still with me?"

"Yeah. I'm all right." Carter replied unconvincingly. He actually felt horrible. The pain in his shoulder was much worse than the pounding headache and sore throat, but they were still persistent reminders in the background. He longed for a drug-induced oblivion.

"Sure you are," Benton said as he gently patted Carter's good shoulder. He was really at a loss as to what he could say that could be of comfort at this point. Then he remembered the duffel bag and Bill's babbling about Carter's reward. "Hey, let's see if they gave us anything useful." He dragged the duffel bag across the floor so that Carter could see its contents also. 

"What if there's a bomb?" asked Carter warily. 

His words stopped Benton short. He looked at Carter uncertainly. "A bomb?" He never would have thought of a bomb, but then again, nothing would surprise him at this point. 

"Yeah, a bomb," said Carter as he started laughing hysterically. "You know, BOOM!"  He didn't know why he was laughing, but he couldn't seem to stop; maybe it was just to keep from crying.

"Carter, CARTER!" Benton said, clearly rattled by Carter's uncharacteristic behavior. "We're going to get out of this. Don't worry."

As fast as his laughter had started, it stopped. Carter looked at Benton with pain and fear in his eyes. "You really think that?"

"Yeah I do,"  Benton replied. "I don't know how, but I do believe we will be okay. You have to believe it, too." 

"Sure, yeah, okay," Carter said weakly shaking his head in the process. It was a characteristic that Benton had noticed in Carter in the past. He would verbally agree with whatever someone was saying to him but would unconsciously be shaking his head negatively. Not that Benton blamed him for being discouraged. He knew he was feeling like crap and there wasn't a heck of a lot that Benton could do to make him feel better. He did know that it was up to him to be the strong one. He would have to keep Carter's spirits up the best that he could. 

Benton cautiously unzipped the duffel bag and peered at its contents. "No ticking," he said with a grin, which was met with a stony look from Carter. Benton shrugged and started pulling the objects out one by one. Two blankets, a flashlight with batteries, a box of crackers, six beef jerky sticks, a small stack of Styrofoam cups, six Hershey bars, and a bottle of Advil. 

"That's an odd assortment of stuff," Carter commented eying the Advil yearningly. "Maybe they robbed a 7-11 before they went on to bigger things."

"Yeah well at least they left us something to live on," replied Benton, noting Carter's intense focus on the Advil. He took the Advil bottle, which was about half full and counted out 22 tablets. "Okay, Carter. You know better than I do just how bad you're feeling right now. We don't know how long we're going to be stuck here. Do you want to try to ration these, start with only two pills or do you want three or four?

Carter pondered for a few seconds before murmuring "I'll try two for now." At the moment he would be grateful for any relief he could get. 

Benton poured some water into one of the cups and helped support Carter's head to he could take the pills. Carter thirstily gulped down the water. "Come on man, slow down," Benton admonished gently  "You don't want to upset your stomach." 

Carter obediently drank the remainder of the water slowly. 

"More?" Benton asked when Carter had drained the cup.

"No thanks, I've had enough." He involuntarily shivered as a chill run through him. 

Benton studied Carter thoughtfully for a few moments. He took hold of one of the blankets and spread it out over the floor.  "Come on," he said as he carefully helped Carter onto the blanket. "Let's get you off of this cold floor."

He draped the other half of the blanket over Carter and put the other blanket over him too. Then he took the duffle bag and folded it up as best he could and put it under Carter's head. "Is that better?"

"Yes. Thank you," replied Carter but looked at Benton questioningly. "What about you? Aren't you cold?"

Benton shook his head. "No. I'm comfortable. It's probably hot as Hell outside."

"Yeah, probably…" Considerably warmer and more comfortable, Carter felt his eyelids becoming heavier. He struggled to keep them open. 

"Come on man, don't fight it," Benton said softly. "Just go to sleep for a little while. Maybe you'll feel better."

"I'm….not….really….sleepy….." Carter managed to get out before surrendering to sleep.

Benton sat silently watching Carter as he slept. He cursed that they didn't even have a watch. They had no idea how much time was passing by down here. He couldn't imagine being a prisoner in this place for a long period of time; he wouldn't be able to stand it. He paced around the cell for a bit and tried unsuccessfully to open the door. He didn't think there was any possibility of them getting out of here on their own. His stomach growled and Benton opened the box of crackers and munched on a couple. Not exactly gourmet dining, but it was certainly better than nothing. He thought about eating one of the beef jerky sticks but decided not to just yet. He looked over at Carter again and was thankful that he still seemed to be resting
easily. He decided he might as well try to catch a little shut eye also, and a short while later, he too was fast asleep.



August 25, 2000, 9 a.m. - The Carter Estate


Tony whistled softly in awe as he drove the van up the winding road towards the Carter mansion. "Wow, that kid really does come from a mega bucks family," he said.  

"No shit!" exclaimed Frank. "I'm surprised they don't have a gatekeeper to keep riff raff like us out."

Bill remained silent. His heart was beating in anticipation of closing in on his life's goal. He just hoped nothing else would go wrong.  Frank had acted very recklessly when he had shot young Carter. It was very regrettable but Bill had come too far to stop now. He had spent too much time planning this and it was a one shot deal. At least the kid was with a doctor. Although Benton's appearance had initially seemed like it could throw a hitch into their plans, it had actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Hopefully he would be able to keep him alive. Bill really wanted the money, but he did not condone murder and had had no intentions of anybody getting hurt. 

"Okay, you two wait here, I'm going to go in alone," Bill said as Tony pulled up in front of the house.

"Why can't we come too?" Frank asked belligerently. 

"Because we don't need any more screw ups like you shooting Carter," Bill replied angrily. "And I'm the one in charge here. You're getting paid to follow orders and keep your mouth shut."

Bill grabbed the tape recorder and slammed out of the van. 

"Touchy…" Frank murmured as he and Tony watched Bill walking up the stairs to the front door. 

"He's smart though," said Tony with clear admiration. "Billy's always thinking. If anybody can get us this payoff, he can."

Bill got to the front door, took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. He listened to the chimes from within but nobody came to the door. He rang it two more times. Finally, after an interminable wait a smartly dressed butler came to the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked looking at Bill with obvious distaste. 

"I'm hear to see Mr. Carter," Bill replied, meeting the butler's gaze head on. Who was he to be looking down on him? He was a butler for crying out loud. 

"Mr. Carter is out of the country on business," replied the butler who then started to close the door.

"Wait!" said Bill frantically. "Mrs. Carter then, is she here?"

"Madame does not see anybody without any appointment. You'll have to come back some other time."

"The Hell I will," Bill said, trying not to lose his temper. "This is important. I'm sure she will want to see me."

"I sincerely doubt that," the butler said making no attempt to disguise his contempt for the man in front of him, as he once again attempted to close the door.

"Goddamn, you!" Bill roared as he stuck his body halfway into the house. "I need to see Mrs. Carter."

The butler was a large formidable man who took his job very seriously. "You will leave the premises at once or I will have you removed." He stated firmly, his body blocking Bill from further entry into the house.

"Charles… Charles what on earth is going on?" came a female voice from inside the house. A moment later Millicent Carter appeared at the door. "Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded. 

Bill contemplated the woman in front of him. She had class written all over her. Although dressed very simply, she had that special look that only the very wealthy could achieve. "I'm sorry to bother you, Mrs. Carter, but trust me, you will want to hear what I have to say."

"I am a very busy woman whoever you are," she replied impatiently. "Just state your business and be on your way."

"What I have to tell you is private," Bill said looking meaningfully at the butler. "It involves your grandson."

"I am not accustomed to allowing strangers into my home." 

"I suggest you make an exception," Bill said allowing a slight threatening tone into his voice. 

Millicent contemplated the man and despite her better judgement allowed him to enter the front door. "Fine you have five minutes," she said. He followed her through the parlor into a den. 

"Charles, you will wait right here in case I need you," she instructed. The butler did as she asked casting a glare in Bill's direction. 

She closed the door behind her and gave Bill her attention. "Well?" she asked in an icy tone. 

"I think this is all you are going to need to hear," Bill said as he pressed the play button on the tape recorder. 

He watched as Millicent's expression changed from the initial shock of hearing John's voice to shock and fear by the time the message ended. 

"Why are you doing this?" she asked in a horrified whisper, her fingers playing with the strand of pearls fastened around her neck. She was terrified at the thought of what could be happening to John. 

"I thought your grandson made that plain," Bill replied coldly. "Fifteen million dollars and you get little Johnny back." 

Millicent's mind worked rapidly, trying to think of the best way to handle this. "That's a lot of money," she said slowly. "I'll need some time to get it together."

"I wouldn't take too much time if I were you," Bill said. "John wasn't in the best shape of his life when I last saw him." 

A shiver ran down Millicent's back at Bill's words. "What did you do to him?" she asked, her voice revealing a slight tremor.

"Nothing that can't be fixed if he is freed soon," Bill replied. "If not, well I'm afraid that Dr. Benton won't even be able to help him."

Millicent thought for a moment. She was having a hard time processing all this information so quickly. Yes, John had mentioned that Dr. Benton was with him in the message. She supposed that was good news for John although admittedly not for Dr. Benton. 

"And hey," Bill snapped his fingers in Millicent's face to get her attention. "Do not even think for a minute of calling the cops, the FBI or anybody in law enforcement. If you do….John and Benton are both dead. You will never see your precious grandson again."

"What guarantee do I have that you won't kill John even if I give you the money," Millicent asked, trying desperately to compose herself in front of this madman who was probably a killer. 

"I guess you will just have to trust me," Bill said with a frosty smile. "It is John's only chance."

"All right," Millicent replied hesitantly. "I will get you the money." Her husband would never agree with this. He would definitely call the FBI. She didn't know about John's parents but she didn't even know where they were at the moment; somewhere out on the South Seas. They hadn't even made an appearance when their son had been stabbed. She was going to have to deal with this her own way. She knew that her husband would be furious but it was just what she had to do. 

"How long will it take to get the money?" asked Bill. "In unmarked bills of
course."

"I am not exactly sure," Millicent said. "I will try to get it to you by tomorrow." She would have to contact Henry Wellington, her close friend and financial advisor. She could trust him. He could get access to some of their Swiss accounts or liquidate assets, whatever it took to get the money as quickly as possible.

"Okay then," Bill said, as he grabbed the recorder off the table. "I will contact you tomorrow afternoon. And please, no tricks and no cops. I don't think you want your grandson's blood on your hands." With that, quickly left the den, giving a mock bow to Charles on his way out. "Good day, old chap."

Charles went into the den and could not help but notice Millicent Carter's pale complexion and the almost haunted look in her eyes. "Is everything all right madam?" he asked. 

"Yes Charles," Millicent forced a smile, trying to compose herself. "I just need to take care of some business. I will call you if I need you." 

Charles nodded and left the room. He knew that something was most definitely wrong but it was not his place to interfere. 

Millicent watched Charles leave, closing the door behind him. She sank into an overstuffed chair, finally allowing herself the luxury of tears as she buried her face in her hands. She pulled herself together after only a few minutes though. She knew that she had to be strong for John. With a trembling hand she picked up the phone to dial Henry Wellington's number.



End of Chapter 4.