Switch: Part Two

                 As I'm driving down the highway, I desperately attempt to contact the one person I know I can trust with the situation. "Come on, Dad, pick up the phone..." All I get in response is Hi, you reached Walt. Leave a message and I'll get back to you.  I curse, hang up, and try again.

                Three rings and then, "Hey son, how's it going? It's been awhile since you've called."

                "Things aren't so good, Pop." I take a deep breath to calm my shaking hands. "Someone has Maggie. They're holding her hostage somewhere. I'm not sure what they want. They specifically said they don't want cash, so I'm not sure what else they could want. I don't know what to do, Pop."

                "Okay, settle down. Where are you right now?"

                "I'm on my way to your and mom's house. Pulling off your exit right now."

                "See you in a bit." I hang up the phone. If there is anyone I can trust, I know my father is a better candidate than any. He retired from the police department this past year and his life has been too quiet, as he would say. The best cop I have ever known wants to get back in the game and my daughter has been kidnapped. Perfect storm.

                I pull into my parent's driveway and get out. I barge through the front door, much to the surprise of my meek mother. "Paul, what's going on? Is everything all right?" I brush right past her.

                "Everything's fine, Mom. Where's Dad?"
                "He's in the  bedroom. He mentioned that Maggie was abducted. Are you sure everything is all right?" Her voice sounds almost as nervous as I'm sure mine does.

                I turn and look at my mother. "If I know my father like I think I do, it will be shortly." I walk down the hall and turn into my parent's bedroom. There's my dad, loading up the magazine for his 9mm. "Dad, you can't bring that. They told me not to bring any weapons. I'm pushing the limits already by bringing an ex-cop into the picture."

                "They may have told you not to bring a weapon, but they didn't tell me squat. Have you heard from them again?" Almost like my dad's words were a cue, my phone starts buzzing. Text message. 145 Main St., Montano, MI. No cops. No money. No weapons. Just you. You have until midnight. "That them?" my dad inquires.

                "Yeah. Says to go to 145 Main Street, Montano, MI. Any idea where that is?"

                "About fifteen minutes north of Cedar Springs. That makes it about a fifty-five minute drive from here. Did they give you a deadline?"

                "Midnight. I still don't know what they want. They don't want cash and I don't really have anything to offer them. They said they just want me. Do you know why that would be?"

                My father pauses as he puts his glock into its holster. "Wasn't a detective, son. Your guess is as good as mine." He grabs his jacket and walks through the door. "We're wasting time."

                We walk through the kitchen and out the front door. My mother is screaming for us. "You be careful. I don't want to lose two men on the same night!"

                "We'll be fine, Martha. Alert the police if we're not back by two," my father replies. We jump in the car and race down the street. We come to the northbound highway and I jam the pedal to the floor. The car creeps up to 50 mph. 70. 90. I'm swerving lane to lane, avoiding the other vehicles as best I can. The ride is silent except for my heavy breathing. I look at my father; his face is like stone, completely in a focused state. Fifty minutes later, we pull of the exit for Montano. We reach Main Street in a flash, given that my foot is still glued to the floor. The addresses grow larger until we reach 145. This house is eery. An abandoned looking farmhouse with a rundown barn in the back.

                My father and I get out of the vehicle simultaneously. "Alright," he says, "be very careful. We know little about these guys. We don't know what they want. We don't know what they have in there. One slip could cost your daughter her life and you yours. Do you understand me?" I nervously nod my head. "I'll be waiting in the shadows in case anything goes wrong." He grabs his glock and racks a bullet into the chamber. "Let's go get your daughter."