Kidnapped - Part 9
By Lynne Facella
Mulderette@aol.com or Lynne1919@aol.com

Rating: PG (violence, language)
Keywords: Angst
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 all the support I have gotten despite the long wait between chapters. It's appreciated more than you could know.

Note: The U.S. Treasury no longer circulates $10,000 bills, but for storyline purposes I assumed these are still in existence.



Millicent sat down heavily on the chair by the phone, paying strict attention
to the gruff voice at the other end of the line.

"I want you to put the money into an ordinary duffle bag. Then, at exactly 2
o'clock this afternoon, you're to arrive at Union Station. And you'd better
be alone. Go to the locker area and find locker number 219. It will be
unlocked. Put the money in the locker and head home. When I am sure that I
wasn't followed, I will call you at home and let you know where your grandson
and Dr. Benton are."

"How do I know I can believe you?" Millicent asked warily. "How do I even
know John is still alive? For all I know I'll give you the money and never
hear from you again."

"You're just going to have to trust me," Bill replied. "You don't really have
a choice. If you don't give me the money or if I'm followed...your grandson
and Dr. Benton are both going to die."

"I'll be there," Millicent said coolly and she heard a click on the other end
of the line. With a shaking hand she switched the phone off. Taking a deep
breath, she tried to compose herself, then picked up the card with Kerry
Weaver's number on it and began to dial.



"What did she say, Chief?" Dave asked as Kerry put the phone down. He, Mark and
Elizabeth all gave Kerry their undivided attention. It had been a very long
night and they were all anxious to finally hear some news.

"She is going to deliver the money this afternoon. After they make sure
they're not being followed, the men will call Mrs. Carter and let her know John
and Peter's whereabouts."

"What?!" Dave cast an appalled look in Kerry's direction. "That's crazy,
Chief! How do we even know that they'll tell her anything? They'll just take
the money and run."

Kerry met Dave's gaze, very much aware that what he said could be true. "We
have to go along with her wishes on this, Dave...I don't really know what else
to do."

Mark and Elizabeth exchanged silent glances, each mentally weighing the pros
and cons of how to deal with this situation.

"I'll tell you what to do, Chief." Dave stood up and started pacing back and
forth. The long hours he had gone without sleep had pushed him beyond the
point of exhaustion into a wired and nervous bundle of energy. "Where is she
bringing the money? I'll go there, wait to see who picks it up. Then I'll
follow them...I can do it without being spotted."

Kerry shook her head. "I appreciate you wanting to help, Dave...but Mrs.
Carter didn't tell me where she was going. She asked if I would meet her back
at her home at around 3...to wait with her for the call."

"I'm going to go with you," Mark said.

"Me too," Dave chimed in.

Kerry nodded. She doubted that Mrs. Carter would object and she thought it was
better to keep Dave under wraps. She knew he meant well but she didn't want
him to get any crazy ideas in his head and go off to do something reckless.

"You'll keep me informed?" Elizabeth bit on her lower lip, trying hard to keep
up her calm demeanor. "I need to go into work this afternoon...especially now
that Peter's not available."

"Of course I will." Mark squeezed her hand and offered her an encouraging
smile. "I have a good feeling about this, Elizabeth. They'll be okay...you'll
see."

"I'm going to go make a bit of breakfast." Kerry got to her feet and headed to
the kitchen. She wasn't the least bit hungry, but she felt like she needed to
do something and cooking would help to allay her shattered nerves at least a
little bit. She just hoped that Mark was right...that John and Peter really
were all right.



Benton sighed heavily as Carter went into another fit of coughing in his sleep.
 The cough was profoundly worsening and Benton could never remember feeling so
helpless. The day Carter had been stabbed had been horrible, but at least he
had the necessary tools at his disposal to help him...his training as a
surgeon, the proper medical equipment, medicines, and Dr. Anspaugh to reign him
in when he had started to panic. Here he had nothing...all the training in the
world wasn't doing Carter any good whatsoever.

"Dr. Benton?" Carter asked softly as he woke from his sleep.

"Yeah, Carter." Benton turned on the flashlight and scooted closer to Carter,
gently placing his hand on the younger man's forehead and closing his eyes in
dismay at the heat that was emanating from it.

"I'd like some water please." Carter looked up at Benton with pleading eyes.
Benton took the almost empty container of water and drained the last of it into
a cup, trying to ignore his own intense thirst. He was dismayed that this was
the last of their water. It made their hopes of survival seem even dimmer.
What made it more difficult was his total inability to judge time. He had no
idea how much time had passed since Frank and Tony's visit. It seemed to have
been a long time, but maybe that was only wishful thinking.

"Carter...Carter...I want you to take some more Advil." Benton shook the last
four pills into the palm of his hand and supported Carter's head as he
obediently swallowed them. Benton then breathed a sigh of relief as Carter
laid back down, his thirst momentarily quenched. He didn't relish the prospect
of telling Carter their water supply was exhausted.

Carter shivered a little, pulling the blanket tighter around him and was
immediately seized with a sharp shooting pain in his shoulder. He cringed and
took a deep breath causing another spasm of coughing. After the coughing had
finally abated, he squeezed his eyes shut trying to regain control over his
body.

"Carter...hey man...you okay?" Benton gently rubbed Carter's uninjured
shoulder, trying to comfort him if only a little bit.

Carter nodded. "Can I...Can I just have a little more water?" he gasped. His
throat felt raw and sore and at least water would serve to give him a little
relief, albeit temporary.

"Carter...why don't you just try to go to sleep?" Benton spoke soothingly as
he brushed the limp strands of hair off Carter's forehead with his hand.

"No...don't want to sleep," Carter moaned, shaking his head. "Thirsty...I need
a drink...please?"

Benton sat silently, hoping if he ignored the issue that Carter would just drop
off to sleep, however he had no such luck.

"What's going on? Why...why can't I have some water?" Carter looked at Benton
pleadingly and then suddenly he just knew. There was no way that Dr. Benton
would deny him water. He should have realized it sooner. "We...we don't have
any more water, Dr. Benton, do we?"

Benton shook his head. "I'm sorry man...I...I'm sorry." He looked down at
Carter helplessly. It seemed that their situation was just progressively
worsening and he knew that Carter's time was running out. Benton was powerless
to do anything and it was making him crazy.

"It isn't your fault, Dr. Benton. But you...you gave all the water to me,
didn't you? You didn't drink any of it yourself. You shouldn't have done
that, Dr. Benton," Carter said, his voice wavering. "You...you at least might
still stand a chance. I...I'm not going to make it very much longer..."

"Come on Carter..." Benton swallowed hard, fearing that his emotions were going
to overcome him. "I told you before...we're both going to get out of here
man. You're going to be okay. I promise you will be."

Carter nodded and closed his eyes, unable to keep them open any longer. He
heard Dr. Benton's voice as he started to drift off. "That's it man...you just
sleep. That's the best thing for you right now."

When he was sure that Carter was sleeping soundly, Benton clicked off the
flashlight. The way things were going for them, he was pretty sure the
batteries would be giving out sometime soon too. He then started to let his
thoughts go, exploring the most gruesome possibilities. What if Carter really
did die? What if he died and no one ever came. He wondered how long it would
take before he himself died too. He couldn't help thinking about Reese. What
would happen if he wasn't around? Would he even remember his father? Carter's
family would probably spend tons of money to find out what had happened to
their son...but maybe they'd never know. No one would ever discover what
happened to either of them. He wondered what the staff at County thought about
all of this. Was this spread all over the papers, front page news about two
doctors missing from County or was the whole thing being kept quiet? He wished
he knew. He wished he could figure out some way to get out of this mess. He
wished that someone would come to help them...



"All right, I'm leaving now," Bill said as he stood up and grabbed his set of
keys off the nightstand. "I'll get back here, we'll split the money and it's
over."

"What do you mean you're leaving?" Frank asked, his eyes narrowing. "If you
think that you're going alone to get the money...you've got another thing
coming. No fucking way are you getting that money by yourself."

Bill opened his mouth, about to deliver a particularly nasty retort when he
decided it just really wasn't worth it. "Fine. We'll all go, but keep a low
profile. We are too close now. I don't want any fuck ups."

Frank shook his head slowly, looking at Bill in disgust. "You really are a
piece of work. We haven't fucked anything up yet, have we?"

"You took an unnecessary risk going back there last night."

"It didn't hurt anything. Anyhow...those two needed to be shown who was boss.
I guess I showed em," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah...big man...Let's go." Bill threw down a few bills for the maid and then
strode towards the door and flung it open before he headed to the front desk to
check out. Frank and Tony walked out to the van and leaned against it,
waiting.

"God...this guy is something else," Frank mumbled. "I can't even believe the
two of you are friends."

"Come on Frankie," Tony said. "Bill's a good guy. We're going to get a lot of
money because of him. You've gotta admit, this was one smart caper. It really
looks like we're going to get away with it. Five million dollars each...and
tax free to boot!"

"Five million dollars is a decent cut..." Frank began musingly. "But you
know...this kid's family is worth a hell of a lot more than that. Bill wasn't
too bright when he only asked for 15 mil. He could have asked for a lot more
than that...twice as much even..."

"Awwww Frankie...Five million dollars is plenty. I mean how much money do you
really need?"

"Ten million would have been a lot better," Frank replied. The wheels in his
head were starting to spin. Was there any real reason why they shouldn't get
more money? He was going to have to think about that. He started as Bill came
out and unlocked the car door, sliding in behind the wheel. He followed Tony
over to the passenger side. He could hardly wait to get his hands on all that
money.



Millicent Carter sat in the taxi cab, nervously clutching the cloth duffel bag
filled with crisp green bills. She had decided to call a taxi rather than run
the risk of attracting any unwelcome attention by arriving in the family
limousine. She wondered how John was doing...how badly he had been hurt. She
would not allow herself to think any further than that. She didn't even want
to consider the possibility that he was no longer alive. He had to be all
right...he just had to be. She was brought out of her thoughts by the voice of
the taxi driver.

"Lady? Lady here we are."

"Oh...I'm sorry. Thank you." She handed the driver some bills and proceeded
to get out of the cab.

"No thank you lady," the driver said, highly impressed with the large tip she
had given him. "Have a nice day."

Millicent didn't even hear him as she closed the taxi door, her thoughts only
on what she was about to do. She couldn't begin to imagine how her husband
would react when he found out what she had done...especially if it turned out
badly. It was best not to think about that now though. One thing at a time.
She walked slowly into the station looking about in confusion until she finally
figured out where the lockers were that she was supposed to go to. She made
her way down the row of lockers until she found the one she was looking for,
219. She glanced quickly in all directions, making sure she wasn't being
observed, and shoved the duffel bag inside the locker, closing the door with a
bang. She then took a deep breath and quickly walked away. She saw no sign of
the man who had been at her house. Perhaps he had sent one of his hoodlum
buddies to retrieve the money. In any case, she didn't even turn around to see
what transpired after she left, but just rapidly made her way back out to flag
down a taxi. And as she walked, she prayed to God that these men were going to
keep their word and she would get her grandson back safely.



"She did it! She did it!" Tony whispered excitedly as the three men watched
Millicent Carter put the duffel bag into the locker from their carefully chosen
vantage point across the crowded room.

"Shhhhhhhh..." Bill said, shooting Tony a sharp look. The last thing they
needed was for Tony to be calling attention to them. "Tony go follow
her...make sure she's really leaving."

Tony looked at Bill incredulously. "No way man. I'm staying right here. And
anyhow...what's that old lady going to do to us?"

"All right...stay..." Upon reflection, Bill couldn't really blame Tony for not
wanting to leave. He knew that there was no way in hell he would ever trust
these two alone with the money either.

"Well what the hell are we waiting for?" Frank asked with a greedy gleam in his
eyes. "Let's get this show on the road."

Bill nodded as he slowly started towards the locker with Frank and Tony
following closely on his heels. His heart pounded more and more with each
step, a large part of him expecting police to come descending upon them at any
moment. Finally he reached the locker and opened the door, shakily pulling out
the duffel bag. He didn't even dare to open it but instead headed back towards
the lot where they had parked the van. Finally, safely inside the van, he
unzipped the bag and peeked inside. An indescribable feeling came over him as
he pulled a stack of ten thousand dollar bills out of the bag, 15 stacks in
all. For a few moments he just stared at it, unable to believe he was sitting
here with all this money.

"Wooo hooo!" shouted Tony. "We did it! We really fucking did it! We're rich!
 Rich!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Frank stated angrily, elbowing Tony sharply in his side.
"You want to let everyone in the fucking world hear you?"

"We're getting out of here." Bill said, as he put the key in the ignition and
started up the van. "I'm sick to death of both of you. I'm going to drive to
your apartment, Frank because it's close by, and then that'll be it. I'm
washing my hands of the two of you."

"Fine with me," Frank grumbled, staring out the window.

A short time later Bill pulled up in front of the dilapidated building where
Frank resided. "I'm not going to be living in this hovel any more," Frank
looking at it in distaste. "No more living in hellholes like this."

Bill paid him no mind. He was busily counting out the money which he soon had
arranged into three equal stacks. "All right...this is it. I'd like to say
it's been swell, but it hasn't been. Don't spend it all in one place." He
thrust one of the stacks at Frank and the other at Tony.

"What now?" Tony asked, looking at Bill curiously. "You calling that woman to
let her know where they are?"

"Not right away...we need a little headway to make ourselves scarce. Then I'll
call her. You two had best think about getting out of town. Now leave...both
of you. Have a nice life."

"Screw you," Frank said with a sneer as he opened the door and got out of the
van, Tony sliding out beside him. They stood and watched as Bill sped away the
moment the door was closed.

"Hey Frankie? You mind giving me a ride to my place?" Tony asked. "There's a
few things I gotta do, then I'm getting out of here too. I'm going to have me
a great time."

"Sure Tony...I'll give you a ride."

They walked over to Frank's old brown beat up Ford and after a few false starts
the engine finally roared to life. "I know one thing...This old shit box is
going to be put out of it's misery," Frank muttered as he started driving.

"Yeah Frankie? You buying a new car?" Tony asked. "What kind are you
getting?"

"I don't know yet...but it's going to be expensive...the kind of car someone
like me only dreams about. It's going to be one fucking fine piece of
machinery. And then...then I'm going to pick up some broads. All these
bitches who always thought they were too good for Frankie Ryan...they'll be
singing a different tune now. They'll be begging for a chance to be with me
and all my money."

"Yeah...." Tony settled back against the seat, chuckling. "Yeah...you'll show
those bitches who's boss, won't ya Frankie?"

"Oh yeah...you're right about that Tony..." A determined look settled over
Frank's face as he drove. This money was going to give him the power to buy
and sell people...but five million...it just wasn't enough. He wanted
more...and he was going to get it.

"Frankie? Hey Frankie. You were supposed to turn left back there at the
light."

"Don't worry Tony...You'll get home soon enough." Frank took his eyes off the
road long enough to shoot a grin in Tony's direction.

Tony's eyes widened as the meaning behind Frank's words sunk in. "No
Frankie...no way! Come on man. What are you going to do, kill them?! I won't
do it man. No way!"

"Who said anything about killing them, Tony?" Frank said in a soothing tone.
"I'm not going to kill anybody. I just think 15 million dollars was kind of a
bargain basement price for two prestigious doctors. I think that we need a bit
more money to make it really worth our while. After all...how many times are
we going to have a young man from such a wealthy family in such a precarious
position? I think we need to take full advantage of the situation."

"Bill's calling that old broad...She's going to call the police, Frankie. It's
too risky."

"You heard Bill. He's not going to call right away. I'm not settling for only
five mil. You shouldn't be so easily satisfied, Tony. I think we deserve
another ten. I think that biddy would pay 25 million to get her punk grandson
back, don't you?"

"Another ten? No way. You're crazy. I don't want anything to do with this.
Let me out."

Frank deliberately accelerated the car, grinning widely. "Sorry Tony...I need
help and you're going to help me. But don't worry...you'll be very well
paid..."



Kerry, Dave, Mark and Millicent sat silently in the den of the Carter Estate.
There was an obvious tension hanging over the room. The sudden ringing of the
telephone caused each of them to jump slightly.

"Hello?" Millicent said, picking up the phone. Her expression quickly changed
from one of hope to distaste. "No I do not wish to change my long distance
carrier. Do not call here again!" She slammed the phone down and smiled
shakily at her guests. "Obviously that wasn't him..."

"He'll call..." Kerry leaned forward and patted the elderly woman's hand
gently. They hadn't been here for very long, but each minute seemed like an
eternity. She just hoped he would call soon and that Peter and John would be
found.

Dave sat nervously, trying not to fidget. He wished the damn phone would ring
already. This was much worse than it had been when they were all waiting at
the Chief's house. At least there he had felt like he could breathe. This
place though...this was something else. He had always known Carter was rich,
but this...it was like living in a museum. He couldn't imagine living in a
place like this, truth be told he didn't think he'd want to. He thought back
to all the things he had broken as a child. His mom had used to affectionately
compare him to a tornado, saying that he destroyed everything in his path. God
knows what kind of damage he would have done in this place, probably thousands
of dollars worth.

"Huh?" Dave suddenly noticed that the gazes of the other three occupants of the
room were all directed at him. He looked at them blankly.

"Mrs. Carter asked if you would like a drink," Kerry said, fighting not to roll
her eyes.

"Um no thank you ma'am...I'm fine." Dave shifted awkwardly in his chair and
managed to smile at Mrs. Carter.

All attention quickly shifted away from Dave though as the ringing of the
telephone once again resounded through the room. Millicent quickly grabbed the
phone, clutching it with a death grip to her ear. "Hello...yes...yes..." She
closed her eyes and put her other hand up against her heart as she heard the
words she had been afraid to hope for. The man at the other end of the line
hung up and she clicked off the phone turning towards Kerry, Mark and Dave.

Tears began spilling from her eyes as she spoke. "They...they're at some old
prison, Thompsonville it's out on Route..."

"I know where it is," Dave interrupted, springing to his feet. "Call the
police. Mark, come on. Give me your keys. I'll drive."

Mark gave Dave a questioning look but did as he asked and the two them bolted
from the room. Millicent got on the telephone and had a long conversation with
the police chief, finally getting him to believe her story and to send somebody
out to the old prison. Then finally, the strain of trying to keep it together
throughout this whole ordeal became too much for her and the tears started to
flow.

"It's going to be all right," Kerry said softly. She wrapped her arm around
the older woman trying to comfort her. "They'll find them."



Bill hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully the two
doctors would be found safe. He slung the duffel over his shoulder and made
his way out to the rental car parked outside. His first thought had been to
get out of the country right away but he didn't want to run the risk of trying
to take such a large amount of money through Customs so had decided to drive
out to California. He would wear a disguise and he knew a couple of ex-cons
out there who would be able to help him out with a safe place to stay for a
while. He got in the car and started driving, hoping that Frank and Tony had
played it smart also and were on their way out of town.



"So Dave, how'd you know about this place anyhow?" Mark asked as Dave gunned
the van towards the old prison. "I've never even heard of it."

"When I first came out to Chicago, before I started at County, I used to like
to explore the back roads on my bike. Saw a lot of interesting places. That
was one of them. I never actually went into it though. The place kind of gave
me the willies."

"I can imagine..." Mark tried to keep a nonchalant expression on his face as
Dave drove. He was taking some of these curves a little too quickly for Mark's
liking. He hoped they didn't end up flying off the side of the road, smashing
themselves and his van into a million pieces. Then they wouldn't do Carter and
Benton any good at all.

"Relax..." Dave said, shooting a quick grin in Mark's direction. "I'm not
going to let anything happen to your van. Besides we'll be there soon..."

End Part 9