Andrew’s Dilemma

Part 23

By, Cain129

 

Special Thanks to Wren Phoenix for the editing.

Synopsis:   Things are moving along quite nicely for Jessica. Her first day at school had started a bit shaky and her nerves had gotten the best of her. She managed to push herself and was able to finish the day. Adrian is hot on the trail and had hired some goons to get the schools computer to find whatever information on the drive.   Little does he know the man that he took it to is working against him and Rocco has set a trap for him!, What will happened to Jessica? Will Rocco be able to save her, before Vincent’s men make the connection between Andrew and Jessica?

Chapter 55

 

Sitting in a chair in a dark room a man awakes to one hell of a headache. What the hell, he said trying to reach up to touch his aching head and discovers his hands are bound to each side of the chair.

“Relax Adrian, you aren’t going anywhere.” Rocco said, frowning.

“What’s this about Rocco?” Adrian asked, a little afraid.

“I’ll tell you what this is about, Adrian.” Rocco said, wishing that it hadn’t come down to this. He then took a seat across from Adrian.

“There was a child I found, he was living on the street half starving and begging for change. The reason for this was he had a father who was a drunk, that loved to beat him around.   One day the child says enough is enough, tries to stand up to his father, and receives one hell of a beating at the hands of his father. The child ends up being of forced out of the house and is forced to try to survive on his own.”, Rocco let the words sink in knowing Adrian knew this story as well as he did, if not better, because it was his story.

“Adrian looked at Rocco “What does this have to do with me?”

“I’ve done some terrible things in my life Adrian, but I have to draw the line somewhere. The bastard we work for has no moral compass, and refuses to listen to reason. The child we’ve been asked to find was abused by his father. Vincent expects us to find the child and bring him to his father. I have had the pleasure of spending time with the kid’s father and I’d love to put a bullet between his eyes. He’s nothing but an abusive drunk and will most likely end up killing the child if he gets anywhere near the child.   I can’t be part of something like that Adrian and because of it I’m forced to make a choice between the family and my own conscience.”

Adrian looked at Rocco, “Please tell me you are not seriously going to make a move on Vincent?”

“You need to think hard Adrian. Where do your loyalties lie, will you follow Vincent’s orders and become a monster like your father or follow me? It’s your choice, Adrian.” Rocco said, hoping he could get his friend to see reason.

“Rocco, if you try to go against the family, you’re going to end up a dead man.” Adrian said worried.

“Maybe, Adrian, but is this what you signed on for? Since Vincent took over the organization from his father look what has happened, do you really think that Dino would have allowed something like this to happen? Fuck, Adrian, we are pimping out children to the highest bidder. So if you are asking me if I’m planning a takeover, then the answer is yes, and you have a choice to make. Are you with me or against me?” Rocco said slamming his fist on the table in anger.

Adrian sat there thinking. Finally he decided what to do. “I’m likely going to end up dead if I follow you Rocco, but what the hell, you only live once. I’m with you.” Adrian said frowning. “Now, could you let me out of the handcuffs? They’re cutting off my circulation.”

 

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After un-cuffing Adrian, Rocco took a seat. Adrian turned to Rocco, “So what is the plan?”

“I have some of the family behind me, but if we’re going to move on Vincent we’re going to need help.” Rocco said.

“It’s not going to be easy Rocco, not with Vincent locked up in that compound. The only thing that I can think of is if we make it look like were carrying out Vincent’s orders. grab the kid and have the cops waiting.” Adrian said thoughtfully.

“That might work, but the child has been terrorized enough. I would hate to make things worse.” Rocco said worried.

“It’s the only way Rocco, if this is going to work we need to flush out Vincent, otherwise the police won’t be able to connect him to the crime.”

“If we can get Jake Roberts, I know that once he is in police custody, he will crack and tell the police everything.” Rocco said

“So we grab the kid, bring him to his father and have the police waiting. That works for me. It will likely be easiest to drug the kid. We need to make this look real. I can shoot the kid from a distance, you grab him and we’ll have the cops waiting at the drop off.” Adrian said with a smile.

“I’ve been dealing with someone that is working on bringing the RCMP in, so I’ll let him in on the plan, and that he can talk to the parents. We’re not going to make a move until I get the word back.” Rocco said firmly.

 

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After Rocco and Adrian went their own separate ways, Rocco gave Daniel a call and told him about the plan that Adrian and he had put together. Daniel felt it was their best option if they could get the parents on board and most importantly, Jessica. She’d be the one that had the most to loose if things fell apart.

Daniel agreed that he would arrange a meeting with Jessica and her parents to run the plan past them. And then arrange things with the RCMP. Before doing anything, they needed to make sure that they knew where Jessica was at all times after she was taken. To do that, they would have to place a tracer on the child.

 

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After getting off the phone, Daniel grabbed his coat and left his office, telling the secretary that he would be out for the rest of the afternoon. He took the elevator, headed down to the parking garage, got into his car, and started driving.

 

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Daniel knew that there were risks with this plan. There was too much that could go wrong. His main goal was to get Vincent behind bars, and from what Rocco had said, the child’s father was a drunk and a child abuser. There was a chance at getting Vincent and Jake Roberts.

Daniel knew Jake’s type well.   From his own experience people like Jake tended to be self centered and would gladly turn in there own mothers, if there was something in it for them. He would use that to his advantage but the whole plan relied on the cooperation of a scared child. This is what bothered him the most, would the child be willing to help?

 

  [-][+][-]

 

It was 4 pm, when Scotty dropped us off at home. Megan and Jennifer headed inside, and gave Scotty and me a few minutes to talk.

“Are you doing anything tonight Jessica?”

“Yeah, Dad’s been away for the last week on business, so we’re making him a special supper. I would imagine that Megan and I will likely end up hanging around the house tonight.

“When do you think that we can get together then?” asked Scotty.

“Maybe sometime on the weekend, there’s always lunchtime at school.” I said with a smile.

“I’ll give you a call later tonight.” Scotty said taking me into his arms and kissing me.

  “See you later, honey.” I smiled as I climbed out of his car and made my way into the house, when I reached the door, I turned around and waved goodbye.

After making my way inside, I found everyone was already in the kitchen and had started working on preparing supper. I made my way over to the fridge and grabbed a coke and joined everyone at the table.

“So how was your day, honey?” Mom asked

“It was alright Mom, I had a few rough patches but otherwise it went fine.”

“That’s good, I was a little worried about leaving you after what happened in the gym.” Mom said.

“What happened in the gym?” Megan asked.

“I guess you could say my past caught up with me.” I said, a little sadly.

“Damn, I never thought about what it would be like for you.” Megan said.

“To be honest, I never really gave it much thought either. I just wanted to get on with my life again, but it will get easier. At least nobody remembered me as Andrew.” I said with a smile.

“Jessica, I really don’t think that you have to worry about that happening. It’s like you said before, Andrew wasn’t really noticed by anyone other than the bullies. The people that know the truth about you aren’t going to say anything to put you at risk.” Jennifer said, smiling.

“Yeah, as much as I hate to admit this, Jennifer is actually right. You pretty much have a clean slate and it’s up to you what you choose to do with it Jessica.” Megan said as she continued peeling potatoes.

“I think the worse of it is over Jessica. Anyone that has gone through the things that you have is bound to have triggers that bring back painful memories.” Mom said. “The only way to get over them is to confront them, the same way that you did with your birth mother. I know it’s not easy, but you’re going to have to take this a day at a time. Just try not to be too hard on yourself and don’t hold what is bothering you inside. That’s what Sarah did, and look where it got her.”

 

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I thought about what Mom said, and she was right. As Andrew I held everything inside, and carrying all that pain is what led me to my suicide attempt.   I hated to accept it, but I took after my real mother in more then just my looks.

Who knows, when she was my age she might have felt some of the same things that I have. I wasn’t abused sexually, but we both came from abusive homes.

We both had our dirty little secrets that we hid away from the world and dared not speak aloud. I could never forget the things that she had done, but knowing the truth, she’d had a mental illness.

She had spent years holding everything inside. I hated to think about it, but had my life continued going the way that it was, I could have ended up just like her. Fortunately, I’d had the Tanners.

I was the lucky one, I could see that now. I could forgive my real mother, but I’d never be able forget and I would have carry those scars for the rest of my life.

“Is everything alright, Jessica?” asked Mom.

“Yeah Mom, I’m alright. I was just thinking about how lucky that I am to be part of your family. I guess I realized how easy it would have been for me to turn out just like my birth mother. I was thinking about what it must have been like for her, growing up abused the way she was. She held it all inside and tried to pretend that it wasn’t happening. I tried to do the same thing as she did, and I could have ended up just like her.”

“That’s true Jessica, but you’re not the same person that you were. You have grown emotionally and you’re seeing things from a whole new point of view. I would say that there is very little chance of you ended up like your mother did, because you’re able to admit that there is a problem, and you’re willing to do something about it. That is the first step to healing.” Mom said with a smile.

“Life was so much easier, when all I felt was hatred for her. It’s like I don’t know what to think about her at times. She says that she loves me, but how can someone love you, then let someone hurt you? I just don’t understand! Am I crazy for wanting to believe that she can change?”

“I really think she loves you Jessica, but sometimes love isn’t enough. She has a mental illness. It was sexual abuse of a minor by a family member, and this traumatic experience has never been treated until now. It was likely affecting more then just her relationship with you.   Look at your father for example: a woman that was mentally stable would have left a relationship like that, especially when their child was in danger. I am not her doctor, but if you were to ask me, had she been mentally stable she would never have been involved with your father.”

I looked at Mom. “Maybe it’s really not her fault, then?”

“It’s hard to place blame Jessica, you have to look at the whole picture. She likely knew on some level that what she was doing was wrong, and she should have taken you out of the home. For whatever reason, she didn’t. The only person that could answer that question is her.” Mom said frowning.

Something told me that someday, I would have all of the answers. Eventually, I would talk to my mother, but for now, though, I decided that I’d wait. She needed time to recover, to heal herself, provided that she continued to get help.

 

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Chapter 56

 

After we finished preparing supper and putting it on the stove to cook, we had some time to kill. I had a lot of catching up to do if I was going to graduate this year, so I headed off to my room to start studying and doing up my assignments.

The only good thing was that I’d been an A+ student, and tended to always be a bit ahead of my class. Some of the assignments I’d already read up on, so that stuff didn’t really take all that much thought, I just did the assignments. Soon, though, I reached the assignments that I hadn’t seen, and those were going to take much longer for me to do. I’d work at it everyday till I was caught up. The last thing that I wanted to do was spend my summer in school.

I worked till about 5pm, when Dad came through the front door carrying his suite cases. I left my school work on my desk and went out to meet him. As I entered the living room, I found Mom and Megan were already there. I could see that I was not the only one happy to see that Dad was home. As he was hugging Megan and Mom, he looked over at me and smiled.

“Get over here, kiddo.” He said, and I soon found myself in his arms, too.

Over supper, he told us all about his trip and the things that he had done and seen. He seemed really relieved to finally be home and have sometime off. After supper, all of us headed into the living room and Dad grabbed one of his suite cases. Opening it up. he took out some packages and started handing them out to everyone, he even had one for Jennifer. I couldn’t help but smile, seeing the look on her face. I knew that she didn’t really have a father, at least one that really cared about her. Daddy had kind of adopted her as one of his own.

Inside were t-shirts that he had bought in Seattle, that were mostly for tourists, there was also a flyer for Disney Land.

Dad smiled. “That’s where we’re all going, after school is out.”

I couldn’t believe it. I’d always wanted to go there, but pretty much accepted that it would never happen.

“Please tell me this isn’t a joke.” I said smiling.

Dad shook his head. “It’s not a joke, I have a full month off and that’s where we’re going. We’ll be driving there, so there will be a few other stops on the way.”

Dad turned to Jennifer, “You’ll have to ask your mother, but something tells me she won’t have a problem with you coming along.”

He turned to me, “I was talking to your mother on the phone earlier. She said that you went back to school today. How was your first day?”

“It was alright, Dad. A little hard at first, but the rest of the day went alright.” I said smiling, “I have a lot of catching up to do!”

“Try not to worry about it honey, we’ll get you caught up.” Dad said with a smile.

 

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It was around 6pm when the phone went off. I walked over and answered it. I was expecting a call from Scotty, but the man on the other end asked to talk to Mom or Dad, so I handed the phone to Dad.

“Hello, this is Anthony.” Dad said.

“Hi Anthony, my name is Daniel, I’m with the office of the District Attorney, I’m calling concerning Andrew Roberts, I understand that he is under your care.”

“Yes, what is this all about?” asked Anthony, sounding worried.

“I really don’t want to talk about this on the phone or even in my office. Would it be possible for me to drop over for a bit? I need to talk you in person about this.” Daniel said sounding urgent.  

“When do you want to drop over?” Anthony said.

“Now, if possible. What I need to talk to you about is time sensitive.” Daniel replied.

“Alright, do you have our address?” Dad asked.

“Yes, I will be there in about a half hour,” Daniel said ending the call.

 

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“What was that all about?” asked Janice.

“That was the District Attorney, and what it was about he wouldn’t say over the phone.”   Anthony said sounding worried.

I sat there thinking to myself; whatever was going on had to be about me.   If he wouldn’t talk over the phone it had to be something serious.

“Dad, if this about me, I’d like to stay and hear what he has to say.”

“Alright Jessica, but it’s likely nothing serious. It’s probably just about the court case.” Anthony said trying to make me feel better.

I had been waiting for something to happen, I knew that it would be only a matter of time before my Dad tried something. He must have really done something bad, to have someone like the district attorney visiting us at home. I tried staying calm, but I was shaking inside.

 

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Time seems to fly when you’re worrying about something, and before I knew it the doorbell started ringing.   Dad opened the door and a man came in. He looked to be in his late 40’s.   After making the introductions Mom and Dad went into the kitchen and talked to him first.

After everyone was seated Anthony, turned to Daniel. “So what’s this all about?”

Daniel looked at Anthony and then over to Janice. “There’s no easy way to say this so I’ll be up front with you. We’ve learned that Jake Roberts intends to kidnap his son and is getting help from the Mob.”

“How the hell did he manage to get the Mob involved?” Anthony said in anger

“I really don’t know the answer to that question. All I know is the man that was hired to find Andrew contacted me. He has no intension of hurting Andrew, but he’s concerned that if he doesn’t do it, someone else will.” Daniel said, frustrated.

“Why can’t you just have the guy arrested?” Janice asked.

“I wish it was that simple, Janice. The man behind this is protected, and we believe he’s paid off some of the police.   I am afraid that at this time, we can’t go to them for help.” Daniel said in frustration.

“So where do we go from here?” asked Anthony.

“I have a plan, but I’ll need Andrew’s help for it to work.”   Daniel said

“What do you need Andrew for?” He was almost afraid to hear the answer to his question.

Daniel looked at Anthony, then at Janice, and took a deep breath. “Bait.”

“What good is that going to do, considering the police are involved?” Anthony said angry that he would ask such a thing.

“The OPP are compromised, but not the RCMP and I’ve already made arrangements for them to take charge of the case, Anthony. Andrew shouldn’t be in any danger. I’ll have a tracer on him, so we’ll know where he is at all times. Once the exchange is made, the RCMP will make the arrest.   If I’m right, Jake will spill the beans on the people he’s working with.” Daniel said, and waited for it to sink in.

Janice turned to Anthony. “If we do nothing at all, they’ll eventually take Jessica.” She was no longer worried about Daniel knowing the truth.

Anthony nodded his head. “You’re right, Janice. We better bring her in.”

“Who is Jessica?” Daniel said, confused.

Anthony turned to Daniel, “Andrew and Jessica are both the same person, Jessica has a medical condition that the doctors missed. Because of that, she was raised as a boy. The doctors just found the problem and she had to be operated on in order to correct the problem, and save her life. Jessica has always known she was a girl and has had a hard life, her parents didn’t understand and were abusive towards her, so please go easy on her.” Anthony said.

 

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I was sitting in my room, trying to stay busy. Ever since we got the call, I’d been a little on edge, Mom and Dad agreed that I wouldn’t be kept in the dark about what the call was all about, but they wanted to talk to him first. I sat in my room, trying to do my homework, but I just couldn’t concentrate on studying. Finally Mom came to my door.

“Jessica, will you join us in the kitchen?” Mom said, not looking very happy. This confirmed that whatever was going on wasn’t a good thing.”

I followed her into the kitchen and took a seat.

“So what is my father up to?” I said, already knowing it had something to do with him.

“Jessica, my name is Daniel. I am the District Attorney. I received a call from a man concerning your safety. The man works for the mob, your father is working for them now. The man that contacted me was hired to kidnap you and take you to your father. I met with the man earlier today, and he has no intention of following though with his orders. He is afraid that if he doesn’t follow through, someone else will and I agree with him.”

I sat there in shock hardly able to believe that this was happening. I knew my dad was capable of doing many things, but going to the mob? It was just so hard for me to believe it, but it had to be true if Daniel was here.

“What are my options?” I asked Daniel

“I’m afraid there aren’t many options Jessica. We can’t go to the local police because some of the police force have been compromised. I’ve contacted the RCMP, and they are willing to step in. The real problem is that there is more going on here then just you Jessica. The people we’re dealing with are dangerous, and they won’t stop coming for you until they succeed. The only sure way to put an end to things is to arrest your father and a man named Vincent. He is the main man that is behind everything.”

I thought for a few moment and realized where this was all leading, “You want to use me as bait, don’t you?” I asked.

Daniel nodded, “I am sorry, Jessica, but I can see no other way.”

I’d never really be free to live my life, not while I had this threat hanging over my head.   I wasn’t naive enough to believe that they wouldn’t go after my family to get to me. This really left me one choice, I had to protect my family, and to do that there was only one course of action, I had to let them take me to my Dad and hope the police would step in before something bad happened.

I turned to Daniel. “I have no real choice here, do I?”

“This problem isn’t going to go away, Jessica. There really is only one course of action and that is to let the kidnapping take place. The man that will be taking you, his name is Rocco, is the one that contacted me because he didn’t want to follow though with the kidnapping.” Daniel told me.

“This Rocco, can we trust him?” I asked

“I believe that we can. If this plan fails, he’ll likely end up dead. If things go as planned he’ll most likely be the one taking Vincent’s place and running the organization. Most of what is going on is his plan.”

“If they take me how are you going to know where I am going to be?”

“The RCMP is going to place a tracer on you that way they will know you location at all times, and you will be wearing a bug. They will be able to hear everything. You shouldn’t be in any danger Jessica. The police will move in quickly after Rocco brings you to your father.” Daniel said.

I looked at Mom and Dad, “I have to do this it’s the only way to ever really be free of my father.”

“We know, baby.” Dad said, putting his arms around me.

I looked over at Daniel. “When do we start?”

“Tomorrow after school, we’ll need to make it look real. Rocco will shoot you with a dart and you need to pretend that it knocks you out. When he grabs you, put up a little fight and make it look real, then pretend to pass out. He will then put you in the car and drive away. The RCMP will already be at the school watching everything and they’ll follow closely behind using the tracer to follow you.”

“Alright, I’ll be ready.” I said, nervously.

“I’m sorry that you have to go through this, Jessica. If there was any other way . . .” Daniel apologized.

“It’s not your fault; I have a fruitcake for a father.” I said sadly.

 

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Chapter 57

 

Daniel left shortly after explaining the plan to me. He needed to call Rocco and discuss all the details. Everything needed to be perfect for this plan to work. When the OPP arrived, there would be plenty of witnesses and word would get back to Vincent that the kidnapping had taking place.

If you were to ask me how I slept that night, I would have to say that I really didn’t get much sleep at all. I was flooded with wave after wave of nightmares and they were all about things that could go wrong.

I eventually gave up on trying to sleep at all. I walked over, picked up dad’s guitar and brought it over to my bed. I started just playing randomly. Music has always been relaxing to me, and at the moment my mind was working in overdrive.

So as I played, my mind started to relax a little. I found that there was a song starting to form inside my mind as I played. I took a note pad and start writing down the chords. It took me awhile for the song to completely form, but I eventually managed to write it down.

It was one of those songs that just had to come out. It came from the heart, it was the born from the pain that I had suffered at the hands of my father, and the hatred that I harbored towards him. I called it “Done trying.”

“I used to dream that you would love me

But all I found was despair.

I tried so hard to please you

God I tried, tried, tried

How many times, have I tried for you to love me?

I’m so tired of trying. I just want to be me. But that’s not good enough for you

You say this hurt you more than me, then why am I wearing your scars?

Why am I the one crying, why can’t you just love me.

They say love is unconditional, yeah right, live my life!

I’m done lying.

I’m done crying

But most of all, I’m done trying

I don’t need your pain.

I’ll be who I want to be

I won’t let you hurt me anymore.”

I felt better after venting my anger through the song and headed back to bed and did manage to sleep though the rest of the night.   I was awakened at around 7am by Mom to get ready for school.

Breakfast was pretty quiet. Nobody really spoke much, but we were all thinking the same thing. I took a deep breath and broke the silence.

“Everything is going to be alright, I know you’re all scared, and I’m scared too. I can handle this. I have too much to live for to let them win. Whatever happens, I’m going to need you guys to be there when this is over with.” I said frowning.

Mom came over and took me in her arms. “We’re just worried honey. I know you can handle it, but you mean so much to us all.”

I couldn’t help it, and started crying as I hugged Mom, “I love you guys so much, please remember that.”

It wasn’t long before all of use where pretty much crying, even Dad. None of us wanted to be apart from one another and if there was another way, I’d have taken it, but there was no other way.

At 8am the door bell rang, and Dad went to answer it. When he came back, there were two plain clothes officers with him carrying a suitcase. They spent the next 15 minutes explaining everything. They gave me a necklace, and inside it was a mic that would allow them to hear everything, and a tracer so that they knew where I was at all times. There was also an area on it that opened that had a picture on it, the police officer said if I opened it, they would receive a panic alert. After everything was setup the both of them left and I went back to eating my breakfast, not wanting to think about what was going to happen later in the day.

After breakfast, Megan and I headed off to school, mom wanted to drive us but I couldn’t bear seeing her breakdown again and I needed to be strong if I was going to pull this off, Megan and I stopped and picked up Jennifer along the way and let her in on the plan, she was one of my closest friends and there was no way I wasn’t going to tell her. She took the news pretty hard and was definitely worried about something going wrong, and to be honest, so was I. I refused to talk about it, because it only made things worse.

I was also worried about if I should tell Scotty or not, he was pretty much my boyfriend but I was afraid that he would interfere. After talking it over with Megan and Jennifer they agreed that people sometimes do things without thinking when their emotions take control, so it was agreed that they would tell him afterwards.   It was the best way too, as much as I loved him, I couldn’t risk him getting in the way.

 

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After arriving at school I went to my home room for attendance and headed off to math class. I did my best to concentrate on my work, which wasn’t easy considering I had the awful nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong. It was likely just my mind playing tricks on me. but knowing that fact still didn’t help put my mind at ease.

The morning seemed to take forever to pass, but soon it was lunchtime and I found myself in the cafeteria waiting in line. I order a chicken salad sandwich and a diet coke. I made my way across the room and joined Megan and Jennifer at our normal table. Everyone else started pouring in and soon the table was full, Scotty arrived late as usual and met me with a hug and kiss.

“How’s my girl?” He said with a smile.

“I’m doing fine, but someone forgot to call me last night”. I said frowning.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Mom and Dad were on the phone most of the night, and by the time they finished, I figured it was a little late to call. I would have used my cell but the battery went dead on it.” Scotty said.

“Alright, I’ll forgive you this time, honey, but don’t let it happen again”, I said with a smile.

Britney and Natasha caught me up on the latest juicy bits of gossip, not that I’d really know who they were talking about. To be honest, I knew who they were talking about but being “new” to the area, I had to pretend that I didn’t. Every now and then they would point out who certain people were. I had no doubt that after today people would be talking about me as well.

After the bell rang telling students to return to class, Megan asked me how I was doing as we made our way back to home room.

“Alright I guess, I just wish it was over with, it’s the waiting that’s the worst part.”

“I know what you mean. I haven’t been able to think of anything else since mom talked to me last night.”

“Yeah I feel the same way” Jennifer said frowning.

“Another couple of hours to go.” I said. I hoped I didn’t sound as nervous as I felt.

 

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The rest of the afternoon went by the same way as the morning had . . . slowly. When the final bell for the day rang, I looked over at Megan and Jennifer and smiled. I felt like I was walking down death row as the three of us made our way through the hallway. After reaching the gym, I smiled.

“I guess this is your stop.” I knew the girls had cheerleading. I had decided not to attend last night because the plan was pretty time sensitive and every minute pretty much counted.

The three of us said our goodbye and I received a hug from Jennifer and Megan. Megan wiped a tear from her eyes, “Come home soon Little sister. I love you, Jessica, remember that.”

“I will,” I said fighting back my tears, walking away knowing I had to be strong.

As I made my way towards the sidewalk, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I wondered if something went wrong, but I kept walking towards home. Then out of nowhere I feel a jab in my back and two arms trying to grab hold of me. I try fighting him off, but he’s really strong. Then a car pulls up beside us and as I slowly allow my body to go limp, he forces me into the back seat of the car and climbs in beside me closing the door and the driver puts the car into drive and starts driving me to God know where.

 

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“Are you alright, Jessica?” asked the man that grabbed me.

“Yeah, just a little shaken up.” I said. “Are you Rocco?”

“Yeah I’m Rocco, and the guy driving us is Adrian.”

“What now?” I asked.

“We have to change cars, and then we’ll take you to your father. Don’t worry, you’re safe with us.” Rocco said.

“Rocco what is going on? We’re supposed to grab Andrew Roberts, not this girl.”

“Andrew and Jessica, they’re both the same person Adrian, that’s why it appeared that Andrew dropped off the face of the earth.” Rocco told him.

“What’s this all about? Why are you dressed like a girl?” Adrian asked, confused

“I’ve always been a girl. I have a rare medical condition that the doctors missed when I was younger.” I explained.

“Damn, that’s crazy.” Adrian said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, try seeing it from my point of view.” I said frowning.

Adrian pulled into an alley and parked the car. There was a van waiting for us, and after climbing out of the car, the three of us made our way over to the parked van. Once there, Rocco pulled opened the door and as he did there were two guys inside. That was when he felt the shaft of a gun pressing into his back and the two guys both had their guns drawn and pointed.

“Sorry old friend, but I’m a dead man if I cross Vincent.” Adrian said

The two men inside the van grabbed me, I tried fighting but they were just too strong and pulled me inside the van.

Adrian then took Rocco’s gun and made him step away from the van.

”It didn’t have to be this way Rocco, believe me. I take no pleasure in doing this but it’s Vincent’s orders.” He said as he fired two shots into Rocco’s chest.

Rocco hit the ground hard and wasn’t moving, Adrian turned to the guys in the van. “She has a tracker on her and a bug, find it fast.”

One of the guys pulled out a box that had a wand on it and ran it over me until it started beeping. He ripped off my necklace and threw it on the ground, next to where Rocco was laying.

  “Got it.” the man said, while the other used duct tape to secure my hands and feet, then placed a piece over my mouth making it impossible for me to call for help, I was finally blindfolded and then felt the van pull away. As I laid there I found myself crying out to God, Please help me.

 

[-][+][-]

 

End of Part 23

To be continued in part 24