I Joined My Own Kidnapping

I was sheltering from the rain beneath an awning when three strangers surrounded me. "Marty?" one of them asked cautiously. They had the wrong man. But they were covered up from head to toe, and they were holding knives. They looked dangerous enough that staying alive seemed more important than correcting them. "Yeah," I said. Someone immediately offered me a cigarette. "You still remember the plan, right?" "First, we stake out Sebastian Kessler's company. Then we follow him until he's alone, kidnap him, demand a fortune in ransom, kill him, and sneak out of the country!" I managed a stiff nod. "I remember." "But does anyone here actually know what Sebastian Kessler looks like?" They exchanged blank looks. They all wore the same look of pure, wide-eyed cluelessness. For God's sake. I was Sebastian Kessler. It was bad enough that they'd mistaken me for someone else. Now they wanted me to help kidnap myself? Chapter 1 There were three of them, and now that they'd taken off their masks, I could finally see their faces. A middle-aged man. A guy about my age. And a young woman. In my head, I assigned them labels: Big Guy, Skinny Guy, and Girl. Big Guy dragged hard on his cigarette when he heard my question. "That bastard Sebastian Kessler's got a guilty conscience. Never shows his face in public. We haven't actually seen him. "But the second he shows up, I'll know it's him!" I wasn't convinced. "You sure about that?" "Positive! A rotten bastard who's done nothing but evil his whole life? Just watch. Whoever comes and goes from his company in the fanciest car, looking like the biggest villain alive? That's him." Skinny Guy nodded. "Agreed." Girl chimed in. "Agreed. Now that everyone's here, can we eat?" Was it just me, or was this the most slapdash kidnapping operation in history? The four of us found a little diner nearby. Under the lights, I got a better look at my new associates. Big Guy had the weathered build of a construction laborer. Skinny Guy was all bones, like he hadn't eaten a proper meal in months. And Girl looked seriously ill. Her face was white, and she couldn't stop coughing. These were the violent criminals I'd been so afraid of? This was the kidnapping crew? I'd already dialed 911. My thumb hovered over the call button. Somehow, I never pressed it. Instead, I ordered a bottle and joined them for a drink. "Sounds like you all really hate Sebastian." "You bet I do," Big Guy growled. "My little brother, Danny, fell to his death on one of his construction sites. They kept putting off the compensation. Wouldn't pay a cent, no matter how much we begged. His wife, Rachel, was so devastated she died too." His jaw tightened. "You want to kidnap the man for money. Me? I want him dead. Someone has to answer for what happened to my brother and his family." I shrank back. "Is it possible Sebastian didn't even know about it?" "No way!" Girl snapped, breaking into another coughing fit. "He's a monster. I waited forever for a donor kidney, and he stole it from me!" Her fingers shook around her glass. "I need the ransom money to get treatment overseas. I'm still young. I don't want to die." That made even less sense. "But Sebastian doesn't have kidney disease, does he?" Skinny Guy gave a bitter laugh. "How could he not? Man sleeps with anything that moves. Even his kidneys would give out eventually." He drained a full glass of liquor and stormed off to the bathroom. Big Guy leaned toward me. "Sebastian's keeping his fiancée as a mistress. Poor kid hasn't been right since." He sighed. "I told him getting involved in a kidnapping over a woman wasn't worth it. But he's hopelessly in love. Wouldn't listen." I slammed a hand on the table. "Bullshit! Sebastian would never do that!" Big Guy stared at me, then bristled. "Marty, I've thought you were acting funny all night. Why do you keep defending Sebastian? "Have you forgotten? You buried yourself in debt buying an apartment that was never finished. Sebastian's people were behind the developer who took off with your money! "You tried to take your own life more than once because of him. The only reason you joined our revenge crew was that you couldn't bear to die without making him pay." He pointed at me. "So what's this? Cold feet? You're gonna leave us hanging?" Only then did I remember. I wasn't supposed to be Sebastian Kessler right now. To them, I was Marty Phelps. And judging by what they were saying, the real Marty hadn't shown up at all. Had he already given up and killed himself? God. What a nightmare. I let out a long sigh. "No, I'm not backing out." Then I added, "Actually, I've already done some scouting. Tomorrow, I'll show you how we can get our hands on him." Chapter 2 By the time dinner was over, the rain had stopped. Big Guy took us back to the basement he rented so we could iron out our kidnapping scheme. I had two obvious choices. One: call the police. Two: tell these people I was Sebastian Kessler, the man listed as the company's legal representative, and that none of the awful things they'd described were my doing. The truth was complicated. I had a younger half brother. My mother was dead, while his was very much alive, and he was the one who actually controlled the company. I'd long suspected there was something wrong with my mother's death, too. She'd supposedly been killed in a car accident while I was abroad. By the time I got home, her body had already been cremated. My father's mistress promptly became my stepmother. I was pushed out of every position that mattered. I'd been investigating for years without uncovering anything solid. Which meant... A third option suddenly occurred to me. What if I went along with their mistake? What if I helped them kidnap my half brother instead? "Marty!" Big Guy called. "You coming in or what?" I snapped out of it, pocketed my phone, and stepped into the basement without a word. Near the entrance sat a framed black-and-white photograph. The couple in it had to be Big Guy's dead brother and sister-in-law. Girl was coughing harder now. At one point, she coughed up blood. Big Guy and Skinny Guy barely reacted, as though they'd seen it a hundred times before. How desperate did someone have to be to risk everything on a crime like this? They weren't wrong. I took out a pen and paper and sketched the outline of a plan. "Every Monday and Wednesday around ten at night, Sebastian leaves the office and drives out to a villa outside town where he keeps his mistress," I said. "Eastwind Road and Archway Road are the quietest stretches along the way. There aren't any cameras. We'll need a used van. We stop him on Eastwind Road, tie him up, then take Archway Road onto the outer ring road and head to an abandoned factory about two miles out." "Once the money's in hand, I can arrange a way for you to leave the country," I finished. "I can contact a smuggler ahead of time." Nobody answered. When I looked up, all three were staring at me in astonishment. Then their faces lit up. "Damn, Marty," Big Guy said. "You've really thought this through." "Guess that's what an education does for you," Skinny Guy said admiringly. "You've got a brain on you." Girl blinked. "You only agreed to join us seven days ago. How did you find out all this already?" I gave them a strained smile. I didn't know what to say. We talked through a few more details. By dawn, the plan was settled. Everyone was excited, though there was something grim beneath it: the determination of people who had nothing left to lose. They still had no idea the Sebastian Kessler they intended to kidnap was sitting among them. And the person I was leading them toward was the man who had truly ruined their lives. I wasn't wrong either. I'd improved their plan. I was helping them. Two days later, on Monday, we set out in a battered secondhand van. Chapter 3 The moment our plan became real, everyone's excitement vanished. Big Guy drove, chain-smoking so fiercely the cab smelled like an ashtray. "Marty, how much should we ask for? Think he'll actually pay?" "He'll pay," I said. "A boss that big always keeps a safe. We find a way into it and take whatever's there. No online transfers." Skinny Guy twisted around. "And the people you contacted about getting us out of the country? They're reliable, right? If they don't show, we're all going to prison." "They're reliable. Do you think I'd gamble my future on someone I couldn't trust?" Girl coughed violently. "If the treatment doesn't work and I die, you can split my share. But will you promise me one thing?" I was about to answer when Big Guy slammed on the brakes. He got out without a word, walked over to a beggar sprawled on a wooden cart by the roadside, and sent him some money with his phone. I couldn't believe it. "We're supposed to be doing something dangerous today, and you're stopping near the place to send a stranger a traceable payment? Are you trying to leave evidence for the police?" Big Guy rubbed his nose. "Can't stand seeing someone suffer." I let out an incredulous laugh. "That guy's probably a scammer. He's got perfectly good legs. Bet if you kicked his cart, he'd chase you down the street. What genuine beggar comes prepared with a payment code?" Big Guy looked back at me. "Then I hope he's faking it," he said quietly. "But what if he isn't?" "What if..." My retort died on my tongue. Skinny Guy smiled, trying to defuse the tension. "Come on. As long as we get out quickly, we can be gone before anyone starts looking. "I'll leave with you, but I don't want a cut. Just enough to live on. You three can divide the rest. "We should be thinking about what we're going to do with the money, not fighting each other. We're on the same side." Big Guy scratched his head. "If you don't want the money, why are you doing this?" Skinny Guy let out a weary breath. "Two reasons. Revenge, and Sophie. "Sebastian's bad news. I'm afraid Sophie might cross him one day and have her whole life destroyed." All three of us stared at him. Dude. She'd already dumped you for another man. And he was still worrying about her? What an incurable romantic. This van was full of unbelievable people. Girl was the only one who hadn't managed to shock me yet. I turned to her. "What did you want us to promise earlier?" She hurriedly pulled out a crumpled photograph. A girl of about eleven stood outside a shabby group home. "That's Ivy," she said. "I gave her that name. "She was tiny when she first came to the home. I used to make her bottles and change her diapers." Her eyes shone as she studied the picture. "I promised that when I made something of myself, I'd come back for her. Give her a good life." Her smile trembled. "But I don't think I'm going to be able to keep my promise. "If I die, would you look after her? Put some of my money aside, if you can. When she's old enough to manage it safely, please give it to her." Silence settled over the van. Eventually, Big Guy took the photograph and studied it with solemn care. "I'll remember her face." He handed it to Skinny Guy, who said the same thing before passing it to me. I looked at Girl's hopeful expression. All at once, I felt unbearably restless. "Maybe we should call the whole thing off," I said. "No kidnapping. I'll figure out another way to help you." Big Guy lit yet another cigarette. "What have you got besides a mortgage you can't pay? How are you gonna help anyone?" There were knives on the floor by our feet. But after spending these days with them, I knew none of them would ever turn one on me. I struggled with myself for another moment, then finally told the truth. "I'm sorry, everyone. "I'm not Marty. "I'm Sebastian Kessler." Chapter 4 On paper, our scheme looked like it could work. But could I really get all three of them safely out of the country afterward? I couldn't promise that. For the first time, I had to admit what I'd been doing. I hadn't been helping them. I'd been using them to trap my stepmother's son, Tristan Kessler, so I could force him to tell me what really happened in the crash that killed my mother. If we gave up now, there was still time. I could help these people rebuild their lives by other means. If we kept going, I had no idea where we'd end up. Under their stunned gazes, I struggled to speak. "I'm sor—" Skinny Guy burst out laughing before I could finish. "That's a good one! If you're Sebastian Kessler, then I'm the Pope!" Big Guy clapped my shoulder. "Leave it to the college boy to come up with a joke like that." Only Girl seemed to have believed me for a second. Now she pressed a hand to her chest. "You scared me to death! I knew Sebastian couldn't be stupid enough to help people plan his own kidnapping." Seriously? I was finally telling the truth, and nobody believed me? I opened my mouth to explain again, but Big Guy turned back to the road and kept driving. "Enough messing around. Whatever happens, I'm killing Sebastian Kessler. My brother and his wife didn't die for nothing." Skinny Guy and Girl looked just as determined. The rest of my confession lodged in my throat. I could give them money. But could I bring Big Guy's family back to life? Could I make Skinny Guy's fiancée love him again? Could I somehow take back the transplanted kidney from Tristan and return it to Girl? No. All I seemed capable of doing was moving forward. That night, we lay in wait on Eastwind Road, the route Tristan always took. Everyone had a knife in hand. I tucked my own knife out of sight. "Stay here," I told them. "I'll approach him alone. Don't come out until he's stopped and gotten out of the car. If he senses a threat, he'll drive away." Big Guy and Skinny Guy nodded nervously. Girl frowned. "Can you really stop him by yourself?" "Don't worry. I know how." I was his older brother. And Tristan had never passed up an opportunity to humiliate me. Ten minutes later, I took my place at the roadside. As expected, Tristan's car approached and stopped beside me. He got out, plainly surprised. "Waiting for me?" I walked straight over and sat down on the hood of his car. "Tristan, you've been doing a lot of disgusting things in my name, haven't you?" He didn't even try to deny it. He looked at me as if I were the punch line of a joke. "You're only figuring that out now? "Why do you think I made you the company's legal representative and keep paying your salary? If you were useless, I wouldn't bother." He smirked. "But knowing something and running your mouth about it are two different things. I'd keep quiet if I were you. "Lily's three this year, right? Cute kid." His smile went cold. "You wouldn't want her to end up in some sudden accident like your mother, would you?" My fists clenched. "What did you say? "Are you threatening my daughter?" He was so focused on me that he didn't notice Big Guy and Skinny Guy approaching behind him. Then one of them raised a metal bar.