GREY CLOUDS

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"The best fathers leave a legacy for their children when they are long gone... they endure the hard times for their next generations."

It is a long day for Lance as he awaits the call of the kidnappers. He is uneasy and snaps at any little noise. Sheila asks the maid to bring him some tea to calm his nerves, but Lance refuses to take any tea.

The house is a silent courtyard awaiting the judgment of the jury. The phone rings and tension builds in the air. Lance scampers to his feet and picks up the phone.

The voice behind the phone speaks, "Sir, this is detective Ling."

Lance hisses between his teeth.

"What is it, detective?" Lance says.

"I have good news and sad news," he says.

"We found the CCTV camera for your daughter's kidnap. She was at the club when she got abducted, and we also found some marijuana wrappers in her apartment when we searched it."

"Sir, do you know if your daughter deals with drugs?"

"No," he replies

"Detective, what are you implying?" Lance asks.

"Sir, am only saying if you know if your daughter has any dealing with drugs. We found wrappers of marijuana in her room, and we thought they might be planted in her suite or she is into drugs."

Lance loses his stamina and drops to his knees, unsure of what to say.

The phone drops to the floor while the speaker awaits his response.

Sheila rises to her feet, her body in shock, and asks, "who is this?"

"Madam, this is detective Ling and I have a lot of questions to ask you?"

"We found some marijuana wrappers in your daughter's belongings while searching her apartment. I can't tell your husband this and we also found from the CCTV camera how she got abducted and it's not so friendly."

"This looks like a setup. She followed the kidnapper out of her will."

She came to the nightclub that night and we saw her leaving in the company of a certain young man.

Sheila stays frozen and shocked by the news; she could not believe Emily would be involved in such awkward habits that might deter their social status.

The detective says, "Madam, I need you to please stay with me."

"Are you there, ma'am?" he asks.

"Yes, detective," Sheila replies.

"Am on my way to your house. We already analysed the evidence and the fingerprints we found in her apartment, and they all belonged to your daughter. My team will be back with the report."

"I will give you further details of our investigation once I arrive at your house."

Sheila, in shock, nods and hangs up the call.

Fear and terror climb over Sheila's heart. She could not believe their beloved child could go so astray. She sits beside her estranged husband; Sheila asks everyone to please leave them alone.

The confused family members rise to their feet, bewildered by what could have happened.

Sheila turned toward her husband; she placed her head on his chest. His heart vibrates with so much that makes her hands shake.

She shakes him so hard, calling his name to bring him back to consciousness.

Lance looks like a statue; his body was numb from his pain. His frightened wife screams his name as she shakes him.

Lance wishes this were not true. The pain he feels soars to his heart, stabbing and killing every life that is left in him. It is a hard blow for Lance to know his daughter deals with drugs.

Sheila, desperate to make her husband talk, rises to her feet, takes a jug of water, and splashes it all on his face. Lance's heart jerks back to life and he cries out, "My baby… oh my princess."

Sheila rushes towards him and holds him in an embrace, both of them crying together, holding onto each other.

No one dares come close. Sheila gave the order to everyone to stay away from the study.

Lance sits in the pool of water beside his wife in his wet clothes. His heart was torn apart by his daughter's kidnap and her shameful attitude.

THE WAREHOUSE

Dickson Long drives into the old creaky warehouse by the woods. This is the perfect place for a kidnapping. Even if they tell the police, no one could find them.

He parks his car in the woods; he whistles as he walks into the creaky old warehouse used to store seafood and beef.

He hopes he gets a feel of this lass before they get rid of her and her father.

This has been on his mind ever since he started his assignment, and it has haunted his sleep most nights. The door is large and gives a creepy noise when it opens.

He walks into the warehouse, climbs the stairs, and sees the trio of goons playing a game of chess, the girl tied to the chair.

The three goons look at him, and the one-eyed man says, "What took you so long to get here?"

"We are so hungry; we cannot leave her alone to get food."

"Shut your mouth!" Dickson shouts.

"What do you mean, you are hungry?" Dickson asks.

"I pay you to watch her, so why don't you do your job?" Dickson yells.

"One of you should get the food while the two of you watch her."

"Is that too much to do or do you want me to teach you how to do your job?" he yells in anger.

"It is a lengthy drive from here boss…" the one-eyed goon says.

Dickson, so impatient, brings out his gun from his back and points it toward his head

"Do you want me to blow your head off?" he threatens

"I said one of you should get the food while the two of you watch her."

"Do I make myself clear, or do you want me to tell you with this?"

He places the gun at the side of his left ear.

"I will fucking blow your heads off the next time you talk to me about that," he says.

Tremor runs down the spine of the one-eyed goon., perspiring in between his pant, hands shaking, heart racing, unable to move. The two goons plead on his behalf, and Dickson drops his gun to his side.

"Do I make myself clear? Now get to it, you fool." He commands.

The one-eyed, tall lad runs down the stairs to get the food, while the two goons hide from Dickson.

Dickson moves towards Emily where she's tied. He strokes her hair.

"Hi cutie." he smiles at her, revealing his well-arranged white teeth. He moves close to her face and sticks out his tongue in her cheeks to lick her face.

Emily grunts loud with all her strength, her voice chokes in between her throat and she tries to push him away from her, but this only excites him more.

She grunts with so much fear, her chest panting as she struggles to break free from her chains.

He moves closer to her, using his hands to caress her lips upward, and says,

"Am going to have you. I will be glad to do so to you, babe." He laughs.

He runs his hands through her hair and draws her face towards him. He places his lips on her lips and kisses her as she struggles to break free from him.

She bit him in the tongue and Dickson yells, "you stupid tramp!" His hands flew and lands on her face with a loud bang. Emily's eyes darkened and her ears echoes from a loud sound that rings in her head.

She loses her stamina and falls to the floor with her tied hands, screaming for help. He takes his gun from his pocket and points it towards her head and says,

"I don't care if the boss wants you alive till your father comes here. If you do that again, girl, you are dead meat."

"Now where did I stop?" he says.

Emily closes her eyes, grinding her teeth together

Dickson moves closer to her and says, "Don't worry, princess, I will not hurt you. I just want to make you feel good."

He uses his gun to trace her navel up to her breast and whispers.

"Daddy's girl, your daddy gonna watch as I ravage you."

"After that, I am gonna shoot you before his very eyes." He laughs.

Emily's eyes widen in fear as he spoke

"And then am gonna shoot him too… after collecting his money…"

Emily stayed frozen with fright. She wishes to fight but her will is gone, and he has a gun. Her heart bleeds for her dad and what this despicable being might do to her.

Dickson kept talking on and on, caressing and kissing each part of her body, while Emily closes her eyes and cried profusely.

"The police will not find you." he mocks

The two goons, filled with disgust by his actions, could not stop him.

They turn away and pretend nothing is wrong.

Dickson told them they were to kidnap the girl, collect the ransom from her dad, and let her go. He never mentioned dead bodies or this despicable act of his.

Dickson's phone rings, and he stands up. He walks away from her, he picks up the call and says, "yes, boss"

"Is everything set for the plan?" The boss asks.

He replies, "yes, boss. We are waiting for your order to start." he says.

"Call him in 2 days to bring the money to the wild gate plaza opposite the central park by the chapel at 11 PM. He should stay at the entrance of the chapel till when we meet him there with his girl."

"Tell him to drop the money at the back of the car parked at the central park close to the chapel and wait for us to give him his daughter."

"You know what to do next," he says…

"Yes, boss, I understand."

"But boss, is this the new plan? Are we not abducting him as agreed?" he asks.

"You dummy, that's what the father needs to know. You know our initial agreement stands," he says.

"And please be discreet about this." He says.

"Call me once it is done," he says and hung up.

Dickson puts his phone in his pocket, walks toward Emily and takes the gun he placed next to her, and says, "I will be right back."

He yells at the goons, "let's get to work, you guys."

THE UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL.

At 6:30 PM, Natasha Agarwal and her family arrived in Houston, Texas city. She is worried about the dilemma of her niece and brother.

Although her brother will not be pleased to see her, she decides with her family that she should be with Lance in this period of chaos.

Natasha is frantic and cannot stand the pain she has to go through anymore. Her brother's outburst and his cries tear her to shreds. She cannot stand and watch them go through it alone.

Accompanied by her husband, Sanjay Agarwal, and children to give support, they hope Emily will come back safely.

A few minutes later, they left the airport and head to Lance's mansion. Her husband prefers they lodge in a hotel to avoid Lance's outburst, but she prefers to see her brother even though it will cost her pain.

Her husband and children can go to the hotel afterward, but she is staying close to her brother.

She is thankful to Sheila, who keeps her updated about the entire case. She believes Sheila has done the right thing in involving the police and she hopes the kidnappers get caught and put behind bars.

The drive to the mansion was a sullen one. Her children understand their mother's pain and they fear for their cousin, who is more like an older sister than a cousin. Her husband holds her gently by her shoulder. She's sad and broken by all that has occurred.

They leave the car after it arrives at the mansion. The chauffeur drives the car into the garage. The maid has been told by Sheila about Natasha's return and they act so discreetly as not to upset their boss.

Sheila's phone rings. She walks outside to receive her call, and afterward she gave the maid the order to see Natasha into the house.

Natasha and her family enter the house silently and get settled. Her husband is worried about the outcome of her decision to face her brother, but he believes in her.

An hour later, Sheila enters her apartment and knocks on the door.

Her first son, Manav, opens the door, and he hugs her so tight.

Natasha and her husband come outside from their room to greet her; their son's reaction moves them. They wait for Manav to let go of her and they all hug each other, exchanging pleasantries.

Natasha and her husband sit on the sofa while Sheila sit opposite them. They talk about the kidnap and the police investigations.

Sheila says it surprised her they found marijuana in Emily's apartment, and her father is distraught that his daughter had to engage in drugs and night parties

She hopes that the case doesn't get to the press. It will ruin her husband's political career.

She looks at Natasha and asks her, "Do you know if Emily is involved in drugs when she stayed with you?"

"Sister-in-law, I have never seen her take such, and she does not go to night parties.

"Emily is a responsible lady; I can say that any day, anytime. I am surprised that the police are saying this about our Emily. I believe this is a mistake." Natasha says.

"I hope so. This is going to kill Lance if it's true." Sheila says.

Sheila sighs, and Natasha asks her. "How is my brother doing?"

"Lance is not doing so well." She says.

"He snaps at any brief confrontation, and he is so bitter, weak, paranoid. Am so worried. I hope these storms pass soon. Be prepared for what will happen if you face him." Sheila says.

Natasha, face becomes sullen as she speaks; I will manage this. Her husband looks at her and says, "Honey, if you say we should go, then we will go irrespective of the outcome."

Sheila smiles weakly and says, "I will have one maid address you and your kids for anything you need, but please remember you have to stay here till when you see him at the house. It will be best for all of us at the moment."

"It is all right," Natasha says.

"I have to go now."

"I had to give Lance an excuse to see to the maid and I do not want him to ask questions if I do not appear on time. I hope you understand." Sheila says.

She rises to her feet; she hugs Natasha and her husband and walks towards the door. Natasha sees her to the door and the husband returns to their room.

A NERVOUS WRECK

Lance's heart pounds rapidly against his chest. His blood is boiling in his arteries, and he can feel the heat all over him. It has been 4 hrs. The kidnappers said they will call and all he does is wait in anxiety and fear.

Detective Ling comes into his study and drops some plastic polythene bags on the floor.

"We have some news sir," he says

Lance lifts his face and says, "what is this?" pointing toward the substance in the clear polythene bag.

"We checked the cameras of the hotel she stays in, and we found out that she left the hotel at about 11 PM on a bike. We have our team check for the CCTV camera in the area. She was seen driving at great speed along the road."

Lance asks, "what has that got to do with this?" pointing toward the plastic bag.

"These are the marijuana wrappers we found in her belonging."

"Sir, can you identify any of these men?" Stephen asks. He brings out the pictures of some men and places them in Lance's hands.

Lance glances through the pictures and says, "No, I don't know them."

"These men were at the front of the clubhouse discussing with each other in the video footage in the street, my team is working on the audio, but we do know from the camera on the street, that your daughter came out of the clubhouse with this young lad beside her and they both left the club together in his car. Her bike is at the clubhouse, so we had to return it to the hotel at the mangers request."

"We believe your daughter has a relationship with these men or they are drug dealers that supply youngsters with drugs."

Lance's blood boils harder. He cannot believe all he hears. This is quite unbelievable to him.

"We believe this is a setup by someone close to you or your daughter got herself missed up in a gang trap. We are running a scan on all the criminals involved, and we found three of them are wanted by the FBI. The man in dark glasses and the boy's identity are unknown at the moment. We are running a check on our database to find their identity."

"We will catch them, and I assure you, your daughter will come back unharmed."

Lance sighs with relief. Sheila walks into the room and greets the detective.

She sits beside Lance on the sofa, his two hands on his forehead. Sheila touches his neck and says, "you need to rest honey. your body is burning up. You have not slept for the past two days, nor have you eaten any food."

"Please honey, relax. The detective will handle this," she says.

Lance cries, "am so confused."

"Why have they not called?" He asks.

"I have the ransom ready; I will not forgive myself if anything happens to her."

"My Daughter does not deal with drugs. She's so innocent. This is a mix-up." He says.

Sheila hushes at him and says, "She will come back fine. Just wait, they will call soon."

"We know our Emily. She's a good girl. This is a mix-up."

Detective Ling rises to leave and says, "My team is working on the bug that we'll place in the money, so we will use this to track the kidnappers down."

He looks at Lance and he says, "Please be calm, sir."

"Ma'am, can I have a word with you?" He says.

Sheila rises to her feet while Lance sleeps on the sofa. The maid brings a towel immersed in icy water. She squeezes the towel dry and places it on Lance's head to calm the tension in his head.

The detective waits outside for Sheila, and he explains what transpired at the clubhouse through the testimony of the bartender and the bouncer of the clubhouse to Sheila.

"Am sorry madam, but your daughter smoked marijuana at the clubhouse at the testimony of some witnesses. We issued an arrest warrant on the club staff."

"And from our investigation, the drugs are not planted in her apartment as we think, and the hotel camera shows the same. We found marijuana and some other hard substance in her room."

"From the cameras in the hotel, we found her smoking marijuana in her apartment."

Sheila's heart runs wild as the detective speaks. His words rang like the vibrating sound of the alarm clock in her head.

"Madam, am so sorry if this hurts, but we are only doing our job."

Sheila's spirit broke. Her husband can't learn about this. She composed herself, fighting the urge to be calm even though she was falling. All her senses are shutting down with grief and she wants nothing more than this should be a dream.

The detective excuses himself and goes into the waiting room, expecting the call of the kidnappers.

3 hours later, Natasha faces the mirror, looking at her face and affirming to herself courage and strength. She leaves the mirror and joins her husband in the living room.

FACE TO FACE

Her husband had been waiting for her to leave the room. She steps into the living room and her husband says, "Ready." and she nods in affirmation. They leave the apartment holding hands, ready to face their worst nightmare.

UPROAR

Lance's head spins like a cycle wheel. He keeps hearing incoherent voices in the background as he tries to sleep. Sheila gave him some sleeping pills that made him so weak and drowsy. His daughters scream and cry for help, keep haunting his subconscious mind as he tries to sleep.

Feverish and hallucinating, his mind visualizes his daughter, tied in chains, lying on the floor in a pool of blood, her eyes socket empty, blood running from her eyes to the floor like a flowing stream, and her eyeball dancing on the floor. She's unconscious, not moving or speaking. Lance screams, delirious from his sleep, crying for help.

He watches the life snuffs out of her.

Lance's tears run from his cheeks, and he feels a big jerk that wakes him up. He sweats profusely, his head spinning, agitated from his vision.

His vision is blurry, and he hears a voice that says; "it is all right, it's ok…"

He knows that voice. His temples rage and he cries out, opening both eyes wide and screaming, "You brought this on me, Natasha!"

Agitated, he starts to speak incoherently, his sister perplexed by her brother's suffering. She holds him so close even though he kept revolting and screaming.

Her husband Sanjay is not liking the drama. He takes his wife and leads her to the door. Sheila and Josh heard his screams and rushed to the study. Sheila holds her husband and calms him down while it hurts Natasha to see her brother this paranoid, and she breaks into tears.

It is a horrid night for the entire house. The maids had to coil up in their room and pray for their boss and daughter. Josh stays by Lance's side, worried about his brother, niece, and sister.

This is a nightmare; he says, putting his hands on his face. It's 3:00 AM, the kidnappers have not called. This tension kills him slowly.

Lance had to be given more sedatives to make him sleep. Sheila is so worried about Lance's deteriorating mental and emotional health, Natasha's appearance, and all that happened afterward has gotten to Lance and this worries Sheila. Sheila leaves Lance sleeping on his study sofa and breaks down into tears.