Taken

Chapter 18

TYLER

September 10, 2013 4:28 p.m.

Tyler was nervous. He knew that there were plenty of police officers backing him up, but that wasn't what he was worried about. No, Tyler was worried that the kidnappers would find out that the police officers were here, and they would in turn do something to hurt Adam or Rikki. Maybe they had already hurt Adam or Rikki. Tyler didn't really want to think about that, though. He wanted himself to believe that Adam and Rikki were fine.

Adam and Rikki are fine. As long as I pay the ransom, they'll be fine, Tyler thought to himself.

Tyler glanced at his diamond-encrusted Rolex. It was now 4:30. It would be less than a minute until the kidnapper came. Tyler took the brown paper bag that he was holding and set it on the edge of the fountain. The bag held the ransom money and a cheeseburger.

Why would the kidnappers want a cheeseburger? Tyler thought to himself. With a million bucks, they could buy a million cheeseburgers.

Tyler went and hid behind a bush with an officer. Now they would keep watch until the kidnapper, maybe kidnappers, arrived.

Tyler glanced at his watch again. It was now 4:31.

All of a sudden, a dog walked up to the fountain. Not just any dog, either. This dog was huge! It had to be at least three and a half feet tall! The dog was a Great Dane that was brown with black patches and a teal collar.

"That dog kind of looks like Scooby-Doo," Tyler thought to himself.

The dog walked up to the paper bag, grabbed it with its mouth, and set it on the ground. Then the dog opened the bag with its nose and paws and dug out the cheeseburger. The dog began to eat the cheeseburger. After it was done, the Great Dane picked up the bag with its mouth and began to walk away, but before it could escape, the police officers started chasing the dog.

Tyler didn't want to miss any of the "fun", so he decided to join in the chase, too. When the dog realized that it was being followed, it started to sprint. That dog had a huge stride, so it was fast! The officers and Tyler could barely keep up.

Finally, after chasing the dog block after block, the dog evaded the police officers by slipping into an alley. By the time the officers and Tyler made it to the alley, a green Kia Soul was already driving away. It drove away too quickly for anyone to even glance at the license plate.

"Dang it, that dog was fast," one officer said while panting.

"Yeah, and it was smart too. Did you see that thing dig that cheeseburger out of the bag? Genius," another officer said in awe.

"Officers," said Officer Smith. "Would you stop worrying about the stupid dog and worry more about the fact that you let it get away? When the media hears about this, we'll be the laughing stock of the nation! Now, I want you guys researching every green Kia Soul owned in this country and every dog that looks like that! I'm sure that not many people own a dog that looks like frickin' Scooby-Doo. Now get your butts back to the station!"

"Okay, Officer Smith."

"Sorry, Officer Smith."

"I'll get right on it, Officer."

"Tyler," said Officer Smith. "I'm sorry we couldn't catch the dog. Hopefully we'll get him next time."

"It's all right. Hey, even I couldn't even catch that dog, and I was a track star in high school," Tyler said with a smile.

Officer Smith laughed, then said, "No, I really am sorry. Do you need a ride to your car or anything?"

"No, I'll be good," replied Tyler as he started to walk back to the fountain. "Thanks for the offer, though."

"No problem. And by the way, I'll be having all the officers searching for any possible matches for the dog and the Soul."

"Thanks, Officer Smith."

"I'm just doing my job," the officer replied.