K. C. A

TWENTY-THREE

“How is that even possible?”

“Avril was able to hide her phone from the kidnappers when they were taken and she called the police.”

“So what happens when the kidnappers find out that the police have been contacted?”

“I don't know Jason and I do not want to find out.”

The taxi driver glanced at us through his rare view mirror but quickly looked away when we met his gaze. 

“Do we know what the ransom is?”

“Three point five million dollars.” 

“That is a lot of money.”

The taxi driver glanced at us again. 

“Could you drive a little bit faster, we need to get to the police station as fast as possible.” Alex said to him. 

“I don't want to drive above the speed limit sir.” the man replied. 

“And who cares about what you want?! Just hurry up!”

The taxi driver muttered a few inaudible words with a displeased look on his face, but the vehicle began to move faster afterwards. 

I looked at Alex, his eyes were red and wide, His right wrist was terribly bruised from all the scratching, but his left fingers obviously didn't care because they were still scratching. I reached for his right arm and pulled it away from the tortuous left fingers. 

“Everything will be fine.” I whispered. 

Alex only smiled in response. I knew that my words were not reassuring to him and neither did they make him feel better. Besides I didn't expect them to, I had been hearing those words since the previous evening and I was neither feeling better nor reassured that Kim would be safe. My only joy was that I had successfully rescued the innocent right wrist from its brutal slave masters; the left fingers. 

A few minutes later, the taxi came to a halt near the police station. Alex paid the driver and we hurried toward the entrance of the station. 

My Dad who was pacing in front of the entrance was evidently relieved to see Alex and I. 

“I was beginning to get worried.” He said when we got to where he stood. 

“How is Kim?” I asked.

“She seems alright. Well she is tied to a chair with a duck tape over her mouth and a few bruises on the side of her face, but she is alright.”

“Have the other families arrived yet?” Alex asked. 

“Yeah. Let's go inside.”

My Dad led the way into the police station and then into a room where the families of Kim's friends sat. Tyler's mother was also there, cradling my crying mother. As I walked further into the room, I noticed two police officers standing in front of the room, one of whom was speaking. 

“...so there is no need for any of you to be scared, your children will all be returned to you safely. We received the call during the very early hours of this morning when they were released to eat, so your children are not starving. They made a video call, so we asked them to place the phone in a hidden spot with a full view of the room so we can continue to observe them closely. Your girls are very smart and we believe that very soon we should be able to find them. Presently…”

I tapped Alex's arm to get his attention, “What if the kidnappers find the phone?” I asked him. 

“I  just hope they do not.” he replied without turning in my direction.