Chapter 1

Present (six years after the last terrorist) – Ben – Back at the cabin

Hell, we’ve had the best six years of my life (up until this happened)! We settled into the sort of life I had always dreamed of having with Jens but unfortunately I fucked it up seriously by becoming complacent and relaxed. After years of having to watch our backs, it was nice to finally enjoy life. I loved spending time with my kids; hell they were the best kids any father could hope for - respectful and a little bit crazy too. I was looking forward to growing old with Jens and dying, but...

Hell, we received no flak from our missions against the Muslim sites so we began to relax about it but I should have fucking known better. Shit! We had even shut down most of the security: Thom, Inga, Gretchen and the security teams were all gone. How fucking foolish was I?

I took out my mobile phone to call Thom because I wanted to see if he had heard any chatter from terrorists groups. Destiny walks up and interrupts, “ ... Ben, I don’t think it’s the terrorists.”

I look at her and ask, “Why the hell not?”

She replies, “Ben, according to Glen the men wore masks. Therefore they didn’t want Jennifer to see their faces...”

I continue with a logical conclusion, “ ... So then it’s something to do with her being a witch, because if she saw their faces she could put a spell on them.”

Destiny affirms my assumption, “Yes Ben, I feel you are correct.”

I swear, “Then it has to be Stacy Fucking Summers.”

I head over to Jim who’s still questioning Glen and interrupt, “ ... Jim, I think this is Stacy Summer’s work.”

Jim looks at me and counters, “Ben, after the last mess that Ms. Summers created, she has been a model citizen and thanks to her, Leadville is doing great. What makes you feel it was her?”

I blurt out, “Because the bastards wore masks!”

Jim counters, “Ben, that’s the best thing that could happen in a situation like this. It means that since neither Jennifer nor the children will be able to identify the kidnappers, it gives us some hope that they will eventually be released.”

I argue, “Jim, I still question whether or not Stacy is behind this.”

Jim replies, “Okay Ben, I will look into this but don’t hold your breath.”

Jim finishes his interview with Glen and takes a crapload of pictures of the crime scene.

I continue my disrupted train of thought and make my call to Thom...

Present – Thom – Phone call from Ben

My mobile phone rings, I look at it and I can’t believe it. I answer, “Hell I haven’t heard from you in a coon’s age!” Then I practically drop the phone when Ben says, “Thom, we have an emergency. Jens and the children have been kidnapped.”

The Amber Alert flashes up on my computer screen and I reply, “Tell Jim he did a good job getting the Amber Alert out so quickly. I’m going to talk to my friends at the FBI and get their asses moving on this. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Ben pauses and says, “Yeah, I really fucked up when I let the security lapse on this place, I want to get everyone back to the way it was before I became stupid.”

I did my best to calm Ben down, “Let me see if I can come back and get things setup for you. I will also contact Inga and get her over there ASAP.”

Ben asks, “Thom, do you think it could be Stacy again?”

I reply, “Hell Ben I doubt it. She’s been a model citizen after her last big fuck up. But I will check into that too. Now I need to get going.”

I end the call and shake my head as I can’t fucking believe it...

Present – Inga – Phone call from Thom

I look at my phone and answer, “Hello honey how are you?”

Yes, Thom and I are still together after all these years. He finally saw things my way and now we even lived together. I know, I had said that once we did the deed I was going to leave him. Well ... When we finally started our life together I knew I could never leave him.

In typical Thom fashion, he cut to the chase and asks, “Inga, how fast can you get to the Blaine’s in Leadville?”

I complain, “Thom, you know better than to just ask a question like that without more detail.”

Thom apologizes and I practically drop the phone when he says, “Sorry about that Inga. Jennifer and the children have been kidnapped. Ben wants to reinitiate all the security around the cabin. I’m not sure when I can get away from work so if you could head up there and get the ball rolling it would be a big help.”

I ask, “Do you have any more details?”

Thom says, “Not right now, so move your ass up to Leadville and get cracking.”

If I didn’t love him so much I would give Thom hell about that comment! Instead I smile and say, “Okay, I’m going to pack some clothes and get going.”

I pack clothes enough for a week, hop into the van, roll out of the garage, flip on the light bar and fly to Leadville. On the way I decide to make another call...

Present (still six years in the future) – Gretchen – Phone call from Inga

When I stopped working for the Blaine’s, it was both a sad and a happy day. Sad because I loved my job and happy because the Blaine’s helped me to setup my own computer store. It was something I always wanted to do but never dreamed I would have the money to make it happen.