A DESPERATE PLEA

CHAPTER 04

A Desperate Plea

The family of the twins arrived in the city late at night, and obviously, they could not file a report at the police station that night, so they waited for dawn. The next morning, Mr. Jamie went to the Starnet City Police Headquarters to report his missing son. He brought along Peter's picture.

He got to the station, and a big, fat man stopped him. "Who are you, and what are you here for?" asked the fat policeman.

"I'm here to report a missing person," replied Mr. Jamie.

The policeman directed him to the D.P.O.'s office.

"I'm looking for my missing son. He went missing the day before yesterday," Mr. Jamie told the D.P.O.

"Do you have his description with you?" the D.P.O. asked.

"Oh yes. I have his picture with me. Here." He handed over the picture to the police officer.

The D.P.O. looked at the picture and was suprised. "Isn't this...?" The policeman hesitated.

"You know him? You've seen him before?" asked Mr. Jamie.

"Come with me," the D.P.O. urged.

The policeman led him to the small cell in the corner of the D.P.O.'s office. Behold, his son, Peterson Anderson, was there.

"Sonny?" Mr. Jamie called.

"D-dad?" replied Peter.

Mr. Jamie turned to the policeman. "What's he doing here?" he asked.

The D.P.O. was silent. Mr. Jamie then turned to Peter. "Son, what the hell is going on? Why are you in police custody?" Mr. Jamie asked angrily.

Peter, still confused, said: "Actually, I don't really know, Dad. I left the camp for the Starnet City Stadium to play this match, which was really important to me. After the match, it was too late for each and every one of us to go home, so the coach decided we should spend the night at the stadium. On my way back to the camp the next morning, I got hijacked by these morons for no reason. The next thing I knew, I found myself here, locked up."

"What's going on here, officer? Why is my son being arrested?" asked Mr. Jamie.

"Sir, can we have a private conversation in my office?" replied the D.P.O.

Mr. Jamie, at this point, was totally confused, so he accompanied the D.P.O. to his office, where Mr. Jamie sat down at a table in front of the D.P.O.

"Talk to me, sir. What's going on?" Mr. Jamie asked.

"Sir, your son has been accused of a count charge of rape," said the D.P.O.

"Rape!" shouted Mr. Jamie in surprise.

"Yes, sir, rape, and in two weeks' time, he will be charged in court," said the D.P.O.

"Court? Has it gotten to that extent?" asked Mr. Jamie in fear.

"Obviously. Can't you see? It's rape we're talking about," replied the D.P.O.

"Wait. How are you sure this is not a case of mistaken identity? How... how are you sure he did this?" stammered Mr. Jamie.

"Evidence was brought to us—a video clip from two young men—and they have promised to bring the girl along to court, and you know, seeing is believing," narrated the D.P.O.

At this point, Mr. Jamie was shocked and in disbelief; he wondered if Peter really committed such a crime.

"Aren't there any options for us?" asked Mr. Jamie. "No way out?"

"Actually, there is a way out. I can find a way of covering this case up that no one will ever know it happened, only if you agree to pay a ransom," replied the D.P.O.

"What certain amount of money are we talking about here?" inquired Mr. Jamie.

"If only you agree to pay the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000)," said the D.P.O.

"What the—? Five million what? Where am I going to get that kind of amount from? I just literally got fired from my job!" exclaimed Mr. Jamie.

"Well, take it or leave it, that's my conclusion. You only have a week and a half to get the money ready; if not, your son is going to jail," concluded the D.P.O.

Mr. Jamie was very sad, and his face was downcast. It was obvious that he had no idea what to do next, especially considering that he was asked to pay a huge amount of money to bail his son. He went home to the rest of his family and narrated everything to them. Mrs. Lydia was in tears as Mr. Jamie shared the sob story.

"So what are we going to do now, Dad?" Paul asked.

"Actually, I have no idea what to do now. Where the hell am I gonna get that kind of money from, not for investments, but to bail a young man for what he might have been framed for?" Mr. Jamie replied.

"Actually, there is this money I have saved up; not enough, but we can sell some of our property, like the car, just to add up, because I can't bear to see my son go to jail," Mrs. Lydia said.

"Now how much are we talking about here?" asked Mr. Jamie.

"I have saved up to $1.3 million," replied Mrs. Lydia, fully knowing that the money wasn't enough.

"Not even close, but we can sell some of our properties to see if we can meet the required amount," answered Mr. Jamie.

The family of Peter tried all they could to gather this certain amount of money, but they could not meet the requirement. Despite selling his car and some other properties, all they could afford was $2.2 million in total. Mr. Jamie went with his wife to the Starnet City Police Headquarters to plead with the D.P.O. with the little they had.

Mr. Jamie and his wife sat in the D.P.O.'s office, having a conversation with him: "With the way the situation is right now, I don't really have that amount of money you requested," started Mr. Jamie.

The D.P.O. was curious. "How much do you have with you?" the D.P.O. asked.

"All I have with me now is just $2.2 million, sir," replied Mr. Jamie, trembling.

"Not even half of what I requested. I'm sorry, but I can't accept this amount," said the D.P.O. in a conclusive manner.

Mrs. Lydia went to her knees pleading with the D.P.O. "Sir, please have mercy on us. This is all we could raise, despite selling all our properties. I can't bear to see my son go to jail," Mrs. Lydia cried out.

"I'm sorry, but I can't take that. That's all I can say. Leave my office if you don't have anything else to tell me," commanded the D.P.O.

At this point, the Anderson family was in deep distress, not knowing what to do next. Then Mrs. Lydia asked to see her son in jail. He was brought out by an officer. She then saw her son.

"Mom, do you really think that I raped someone? You trust me, don't you? I swear, I have no idea what's going on," exclaimed Peter.

"I know, Pete, I do trust you, but we are going to get to the root of this," said Mr. Jamie, while Mrs. Lydia sobbed.

Peter was locked back in the cell, and the rest of his family went back home in distress. At home, while the family was thinking of what to do, Paul came up with an idea: "Mom, Dad, why don't we just use some of the money to hire one of the best lawyers in Starnet City, explain all this to him, and gather some evidence that could help us get Peter free?" suggested Paul.

Mr. Jamie then turned to his wife, looking surprised. "Actually, this is a good idea. Why haven't I thought of this sooner?" said Mr. Jamie.

Mr. Jamie and his wife set out to look for one of the best lawyers in Starnet City who could help them with the court case.