Taken

Chapter 17

BAILEY

September 10, 2013 8:10 a.m.

"Guys!" yelled Taylor as he ran towards the rest of the gang. "Guys, did you hear about Kade?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Lance, sounding confused.

"Kade's gone too. He got kidnapped," replied Taylor breathlessly.

"What! You've got to be kidding me. First Rikki and now Kade? What's going on here?" said a distressed Lacey.

"I don't know. This is getting crazy. Plus, I heard that they're going to have an assembly today talking about the kidnappings," said Taylor.

"Did you hear anything about the kidnapping?" asked Bailey curiously.

"Well, I didn't hear much. All that I heard was that Kade and his sister got kidnapped at Subway last night. Supposedly, the kidnappers were driving a green Kia Soul," said Taylor with a shrug.

Wait a minute, Bailey thought to herself. A green Kia Soul?

"Guys," Bailey said out loud. "Mr. Roberts said that Mason said that a lady said..."

"Get to the point!" exclaimed Zayn, Lance, Tanya, Lacey, and Taylor.

"Oh, sorry. Anyway, supposedly Adam and Rikki's kidnappers were driving a green Kia Soul, too. I know for a fact that not many people around here drive green Souls. I'm willing to bet that Rikki, Adam, Kelsi, and Kade got kidnapped by the same people," finished Bailey.

"Wait a minute, this could just be a coincidence, but Rikki, Bailey's best friend, gets kidnapped. Three days later, Kade, my best friend, gets kidnapped. Does this mean that Bailey or I is next?" asked Taylor suddenly sounding scared.

"No, I don't think so," said Tanya. "Rikki and Kade's dads are both rich and famous. I think the fact that both of them are your best friends is just a creepy coincidence."

"I hope you're right, because I'm starting to get really scared," said Bailey, starting to turn pale.

"I'm positive that the kidnappings were just a coincidence. The kidnappers were probably in the area, so they decided to go in for round two. It's not like they'll try kidnapping anyone from this area a third time," said Zayn.

"Thank you, Zayn, I feel so much better," said Bailey with an eye roll.

"Oh, that sounded better in my head. Sorry, Bailey," said Zayn sheepishly.

"It's okay. I feel better now. Besides, if the kidnappers try kidnapping in Edina, they'll probably get caught, right? Third time's the charm, isn't it?" said Bailey.

"I hope the police find Kade before Friday. I don't know if the football team will do very well without him," said Lance.

"Lance!" exclaimed Lacey. "Bailey and Taylor's best friends are missing, and all you can think about is a stupid game? That's really selfish of you."

"You're right, sorry," sighed Lance. "I guess I'm just so worried about Kade and Rikki that my brain is subconsciously making football a priority to calm me down."

"That makes sense," said Tanya. "I completely understand. Lately, I've been really focused on shopping and getting good sales. I've probably been focusing on that subconsciously to take my mind off of Rikki."

"Well, I guess all we can do now is sit and wait for any news. Oh, and we should probably head down to the auditorium for the assembly. I really want to hear what Principal Lee has to say about the kidnappings," said Bailey.

With that, the group headed in the direction of the school auditorium.

***

"Testing, 1, 2, 3, testing," said Principal Lee into the microphone in the auditorium.

Despite being seating in the comfortable, velvet-covered theater chairs, Bailey and her friends were feeling extremely uncomfortable as the assembly began.

"As you may have already heard, our school has suffered a great tragedy. Two of our elementary school students, Kelsi Coleman and Adam Roberts, and two of our high school students, Kade Coleman and Rikki Roberts, have been kidnapped by an unknown person or persons. The police are working very hard on this case already. I can't share all the information the police have been given, but I will be able to spill a few details," said Principal Lee.

"This is starting to sound more like a meeting of the gossip club rather than a school assembly about two kidnappings," Taylor whispered to Bailey.

Bailey smiled and had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Taylor always knew the perfect thing to say to make her laugh.

"The police have informed me that a green Kia Soul was used in both kidnappings. Now, I know that you all are thinking that green Souls aren't too common in the Edina area and that finding the kidnapper should be easy, but it really isn't as easy as it sounds," continued Principal Lee.

"Oh my gosh, she's acting like she knows all about being a cop," Bailey whispered to Taylor.

This made Taylor just about lose his cool, so to keep himself from laughing out loud, he had to bend over for a few seconds.

"Anyway," Principal Lee continued. "Someone came to the police and gave a description of a possible suspect. The suspect had fake-looking crazy white hair and big glasses. The suspect is believed to be about six feet, two inches tall and looked to be on the larger side. The suspect was also pale and in his early sixties. Now, please give a warm welcome to the officer on the case, Officer Smith."

As Officer Smith walked onto the stage, the auditorium filled with polite applause.

Officer Smith said, "Thank you, Principal Lee."

"Oh please, call me Jan," said Principal Lee with a huge smile.

"Oh my gosh, is she actually flirting with a police officer at an assembly about student kidnappings in front of the whole school?" whispered Bailey to Taylor.

"Are you actually surprised?" Taylor asked pointedly.

"Okay, you got me there. I guess I'm not too surprised. I mean, Principal Lee flirts with any living thing. Seriously, when I was in the secretary's office the other day, I swear Lee was flirting with a cactus," whispered Taylor all too seriously.

"You did not," said Bailey a little too loudly. She glanced up at the stage to make sure no one heard her before continuing. Then Bailey burst out laughing and had to cover her mouth with her hand so she wouldn't make too much noise.

"Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little bit..." said Taylor with a smile.

By the time Bailey and Taylor turned their attention back to Officer Smith, he was almost done with his speech.

"Anyway, if anyone has any information on the kidnappings of Kelsi, Adam, Rikki, and Kade, please come down to the police station. Please, anything you know would be a big help to us and to these kids. All we want is for these guys to return home safe and sound. Thank you," finished Officer Smith, and he left the stage to thunderous applause. Everyone started to file out of the auditorium and to their second-hour classes.

"Hey, are you okay?" Bailey asked Taylor.

"As okay as I can be. And you?"

"Same. Now I've got to get to class. I'll see you at lunch," said Bailey as she turned towards the art room.

"Later," replied Taylor as he headed toward the shop room.