~A Lesson In Love~ cont'd.


Chapter 4

The phone woke me up at noon. Once we had gotten home, I collapsed on the bed and cried myself to sleep. Darren was downstairs, sleeping on the couch, making sure that I didn't do anything crazy like try and kill myself. Yeah, like I would. I reached over and picked up the phone. "Daniel." I said, without thinking. Normally I answered hello, just in case some psycho fan had somehow gotten my number. "Ah, Mr.Jones." a computer enhanced voice, came over the other line. I bolted to my feet, my heart pounding against my ribs. "What have you done with my wife!" I screamed into the phone. "So, you do know who, or should I say, what this is." came the same steely voice. I began to whimper. "Please, just let her be ok." I sniffed. "Well, I do not know, you did do something pretty stupid, that almost cost her her life..." the voice trailed off, taunting me, playing with my mind. "You leave her alone you damned devil from hell!" I screamed, sinking back onto the bed and crying. "Touchy, touchy."commented the voice. Darren was in the doorway now, looking alarmed. I nodded to him and he came and sat down beside me. "Just tell me, is she ok?" I asked quietly. A woman screamed my name in the backround. "DANIEL! DANIEL HELP ME!" "MEG!" I screamed back, half relieved that she was alive, and half worried for how long she would remain that way. "Shut that bitch up!" the person snapped. A loud *thump* came over the line. "Don't you touch her you blimey bastard!" I shouted. Darren's hand was on my shoulder, trying to calm me down. "Say one more word Mr.Jones and I'll end her life right here right now!" the voice on the other end screamed back. "NO! NO!" Meg sobbed in the backround. "Alright, what do you want me to do?" I choked through tears. "I want you to go to the old abandoned church outside of town at precisly 5 o'clock. Come alone and bring the money. If anyone if with you, I'll kill her. This is your last chance, I warn you Mr.Jones. Do anything stupid, and bang! She's history. Besides...you might want her back before we beat her for fun. After all...she is in a fragile stage..." the person hung up before I could respond, leaving me baffeled. "What did he say? What did he say?" Darren asked urgently. I told him the plan. "I coming with you." he said immediatly. I shook my head. "No Darren, I love her, I can't risk anymore than I already have." I whispered. I didn't mention the 'fragile stage' part to him. I didn't even get it myself. It was almost 12:30. "I better get crackin." I said and began to get dressed and shower.

Chapter 5

It was nearly 5:00 when I pulled my car up in front of the church. I got out and unlocked the trunk, glancing nervously over my shoulder, trying to figure out if I were being watched or not. There was only 3 million dollars in the duffels. They were actually stuffed with a little bit of cotton to make them look fuller. It was risky, but I was sure that this would work. Just as long as whoever came to pick up the bags didn't look in them. I stepped inside the church and looked around. Sun floated through the broken glass of the few small windows. Cobwebs occupied with spiders, covered the broken benches. Dust floated around in the musty air. "Sit down!" a voice commanded from the far edge of the church. I did as I was told, placing the bags under the bench I sat on. Somebody moved across the room. My breath began to come out rapid and thick, almost choking me as I inhaled. From the shadows stepped Meg, looking thin and pale, trembling violently. She had bruises on her eyes, neck, and forehead. Her nylon jeans were torn up one side and her overlarge sweater was caked in dried blood.

"Daniel!" she cried, holding out her arms. "Meg! Love!" I screamed back and ran into her arms, wrapping my arms around her shaking body and hugging her with all my strength. She smelled faintly like mildew, mixed in with a sort of motherly scent. Her shork dark hair was tangeled and had dust in it. None the less she was beautiful to me. She cried into my shoulder and grabbed at my shirt, squeezing it in her hand. We cried in each other's arms. "Oh Daniel, I was so, so scared." she cried. "Shhh. It's ok sweety. I'm here now. They won't hurt you." I comforted her, rubbing her back. I looked into her big green eyes and she looked back at me. She was smiling almost, her face brighter than I had ever seen it. I bent forward to kiss her. To my left someone else stepped out from the shadows. "Alright, fun's over, where's the money?" the person demanded. They had a ski mask over their face, yet I could tell from the tallness and broad shoulders that it was a man. The voice seemed funny to me, disoriented by something. But I didn't care. I nodded towards the bench I was sitting at earlier, praying silently that he didn't open the bags. But he did, he walked over to them and unzipped them. Cotton mixed with green bills spilled out of the bag. He stood up quickly and spun around to face me. I gasped and drew back, bringing Meg with me. She began trembeling and sobbing again, clutching to my shirt.

The man began to walk towards me, drawing a gun out of his coat and pointing it at my forehead. "I told you! Now you're going to die!" he shouted. "Meg run!" I screamed and pushed her behind an old preachers stand. She fell, but quickly scrambeled to her feet and tried to run through the door, but another person appeared, dressed the same as the other man, and also holding a gun. They grabbed Meg by the waist and picked her up. She screamed and flailed in their grip and bit at them. " Ow! You little witch!" they screamed and hit her with the bottom of their gun. Meg instantly stopped and fell limp in their arms. "No!" I screamed and lunged for the person. Just before I had reached them, something hard hit me in the right side of the head and I sprawled onto the floor, taking one last glance at my unconcious wife, before I too, fell unconcious.

Kidnapper View:

"To hell wth that Jones man boss! Let's just kill her now!" one of my companions screamed. I was cooling off from wearing all those black cloths. "NO! I need the money!" I shouted back, pushing her against the wall. Mrs. Jones was lying on the couch. She moaned and turned on her side. She was still unconcious. "Why the hell did you knock her out?" I screamed, turning to face my other assistant. "She bit me!" he screamed back. "I swear to God I am working with the dumbest fucking criminal minds in history!" I cursed and slammed my foot down. The room was silent. "Christ!" I yelled again and stormed to the back room and laid down for a quick nap.

I awoke hours later, in my own bed. Darren was asleep on the round chair across the room. My hand instinctively went to my head and I felt a big gauze there. At the mention of gauze, my head began to hurt tremendously, so that I had to shut my eyes to help calm the pain. At the far end of the room, Darren sat up and sleepily rubbed his eyes. He looked at me and sighed with relief. "Dammit Jonesy you gave me a real scare!" he cried, getting up and walking over to me. "What happened?" I asked. Just talking made my head hurt all the worse. "Well, a few hours after you left, I got worried and came after you. And that's when I found you, and the bags of money, lying on the church floor. I hauled you and the money into my car and took you back here, and you've been asleep ever since." he finshed, sitting down on the bed. "What time is it?" I asked. "Ten thirty." he replied, feeling my head for temperature. His hand was cold and clammy and made me wince. My whole body began to hurt. "Damn." I moaned, rubbing my sore arm. "Daniel? What happened?" Darren asked. I poured out the whole story, all that I could remember anyways. When I finished I was in tears. "She was right there Daz, right there! And I let her slip away!" I wailed, covering my face so he wouldn't see how red it was. "Shhh, there there Daniel, she'll be alright." Darren soothed. "Did anyone call?" I asked, thinking of the kidnapper. Darren shook his head. "Ummm Daniel, there is something I have been meaning to talk to you about." Darren said quietly. I looked at him curiously. "What?" I asked. He rubbed his chin and took a picture of Meg off the bedside table and examined it. "Well, you know how, before you and Meg got married, how I used to totally be in love with her? Well that is, before I met Lindsay, but do you remember?" I nodded, my curiosity growing. "Well, I just have to confess, that I think there is still an old flame for her, somewhere deep inside of me." he whispered, setting the picture aside and folding his hands. I was confused. "Darren, why are you bringing this up now?" I asked. He shrugged. "Just thought you'd like to know." he whispered. "Well, um thanks, I guess. But are you trying to warn me?" I asked. His answer was interuppted by a knock on the downstairs door. I tried to get up to answer it but he pushed me gently back down onto the bed and went to answer it himself. Minutes later he returned with Nicole at his side. She was wearing a black hooded cape. I smiled when she walked in. "Don't laugh!" she warned playfully, shaking her finger at me. "I just came by to check and see how my favorite little green man was doing." she said, coming to sit by me. I smiled. "I'm just dandy, aside from the fact that I miss my wife terribly and I'm scared to death for her." I added. My smile turned upside down and I felt a burning in my eyes again. "Oh Dan, it's ok, we'll find her!" Nicole perked, rubbing my sore shoulder. I winced. "I hope you're right." I whispered, wiping my nose. "I am right." she replied. I nodded and looked to Daz. "Now what?" I asked, playing with the edge of Nicole's cape. He walked to the floor length windows and looked out, the moon falling upon his pale face in a rather handsome manner. "Now," he breathed into the window, "We wait."

Chapter 6

"For what?" Nicole and I asked at the same time. "Well, last time the kidnapper called and instructed us on what to do next." he said simply, tracing imaginary things on the window. "But Darren, we've screwed up majorly this time!" I everything but shouted. He shrugged. "But what else can we do?" he asked, turning to face me. "Darren, you're acting really weird." Nicole said. He shrugged again. "Aren't I often weird?" he asked flattly. She shrugged and turned to me. "I have to go back now, call me if you need anything?" I nodded. "Thanks Nick." I said and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled at me and then left. "Darren, I totally agree with her, you are acting strange, even for you." He walked over to my bed and sat down again. Instead of answering me, he picked up a magazine and began to read it, acting as if I wasn't even there. "Dude, I gotta piss." I said finally. I slowly got up and stretched, scratched myself, and walked to the bathroom and shut the door. When I came back, Darren had put the magazine down and was stretched across Meg's side of the bed. His face was buried in her pillow and he was crying. I walked to the bed and sat down in my spot. "Darren? Are you ok?" I asked, touching his shoulder. He only nodded and continued crying. His sobs were deep, and kind of strange to me, I had never heard him cry like that before. I patted his back and rubbed his shoulders. "It's ok Daz, everything will we ok." He drew back abruptly from me. I was hurt, but tried to ignore it and fall back asleep.

Soon, sleep began to drown out his sobs and in mear minutes he was fast asleep. It took me much longer to fall asleep. Why? Well, one, there was a snoring pig beside me, and two, I kept thinking of Meg. I mean, I can barely stand to sleep in a hotel bed when she's not at my side, let alone my own bed, when she's been wifenapped! And I kept thinking about the words the kidnapper had said to me: 'After all, she is in a fragile stage' What kind of fragile stage? She didn't look fragile to me. Meg was always the fighter, nothing fragile about her...The phone rang. Who could be calling at this time of bloody night? I picked it up. "Hello?" I asked. Nobody on the other end answered. "Hello?" I asked again, this time more loudly, annoyed at the distubance. Noise on the other end. A shuffleing, kind of crackling. "Daniel?" came the soft, almost inaudible whisper. "Meg? Oh my God!" I replied, trying not to wake up Darren. "Daniel help me. The other guys that kidnapped me are asleep. Come and save me please!" her voice was urgent and tired. "Meg, sweetheart, where are you?" I asked, my voice trembling as I fumbled for a pen and paper. "Ok, you ready? I'm at...*WHACK*" The other line went dead. "Meg? Meg? MEG?!" my voice was shrill."NO!" I screamed slammed down the phone and buried my head in the pillow. Darren stirred in his sleep, but amazingly didn't wake up. "God, be with her." I prayed silently into the pillow. Somehow I fell asleep before my mind could run over all the possibilities of what had happened to my beloved.

Knp. View:

"And exactly what the hell did you think you were doing?" I asked Mrs.Jones. "I wasn't doing anything now let me go!" She screamed and thrashed in my grip. I held on with no problem. "Well it looks to me that you were calling someone." I said calmly. "I wasn't!" she shouted, trying to bite me. "We'll just see about that! What exactly would happen if I pressed a little button called redial?" I asked, getting fed up with her game. She began to sob. "You push it and you find out!" she choked. I threw her up against the wall. One of my assistants rushed to silence her. Meanwhile I picked up the phone and clicked redial. The buttons beeped and the phone rang. "Daniel." A groggy, yet anxious voice answered. I smiled and hung up. "Nice try Mrs. Jones, but I'm afraid that's going to cost you." I taunted her. Walking up to her I kicked her hard in the side. She managed a weak scream and then fell to the ground, writhering in her restraintes. Blood trickled down the right corner of her mouth. My assistants and I laughed. "Don't ever let it happen again." I growled and spit on her.


march on