12:45pm.
Jax glanced at his watch and gritted his teeth.
He and his accountant were an hour into their meeting and Carly had promised to be there, but so far there was no sign of her.
She’d promised him when she’d muscled her way into his hotel that she would be responsible, no repeats of Club 101 and she would show up at all the appropriate meetings and weigh in on everything he needed her to, but so far he wasn’t impressed.
While it was certainly true that business was up, she hadn’t been the most reliable person he’d ever worked with and he’d really needed her at this meeting.
“Mr Jacks, I really don’t think there’s anything more with can accomplish without your partner here.”
“I agree. I apologise for inconveniencing you, I’ll phone your office to book an appointment after I’ve spoken with Mrs Corinthos.”
“That will be fine.”
They both rose from the table and walked towards the exit, they shook hands and Jax watched him leave. He waited for a moment to make certain that he was gone before he dug his cell phone out of his pocket and snapped it open.
Punching in her number with force he held it to his ear and waited.
When he got hold of her he was going to have to lay down the law and sort this out, if she was going to be part of his business then he needed her to be reliable. She’d probably run off on an errand for Sonny, he thought with a grimace.
The call went through to voicemail and he almost slammed it down before deciding that leaving a message would probably be best. “Carly we had a meeting today that you were meant to be at. Call me so we can sort out another date.”
He snapped the phone shut when he was finished and stalked through the lobby to the bar, to carry on with his work while he waited for her call.
***
3:02pm
Michael waved to his friends and sat down on the bench outside of his school.
It was Leticia’s day off and his mom was meant to be picking him up. Wednesday was the only day in the week which they had the afternoon to themselves and they always did something cool.
Morgan stayed with his dad and they went for ice cream or to the park and just spent time together.
That morning she’d promised him they’d go to the park so that he could practice flying his new remote control aeroplane and he couldn’t wait!
The seconds ticked past and he shrugged them of, assuming a meeting had run long. When he looked at his watch and realised it was almost 4pm, he began to worry. His mom would never be this late.
Pulling his knapsack to him, he unzipped the front pocket and pulled out the small phone that his parents had given him to use in emergencies. He selected Max’s name and waited for him to answer.
“Hello Michael.”
“Max, mom was meant to pick me up from school an hour ago and she’s not here yet.”
There was silence on the end of the line for a moment before Max replied. “Go back inside and wait for me. I’ll be ten minutes.”
“Okay.”
He walked back up the path to the front doors which open automatically. He stood inside the foyer and stood still, waiting for a sign of either Max or his mom.
Maybe she was just running late and would beat Max to him…
***
4:00pm
The first thought that floated through Carly’s mind as she began to stir was that something didn’t smell good. She wrinkled her nose and let out a moan.
Carefully, she tried to roll over and her eyes flew open when she realised that she couldn’t.
The room was dark and trickles of water ran down the walls, creating small puddles on the floor.
She was on a filthy bed, her arms were free but both her ankles had been handcuffed to the footboard, making it impossible to move.
Her eyes began to adjust to the dark and she looked around the room, taking in its size and the door tucked into the corner. A table was set up next to the bed with a bottle of water placed on it. Other than that the room was bare and there was no hint as to why she was there or who had her.
Forcing herself to remain calm she tried to think back to the last thing she remembered.
She was in a rush. Sonny had been late arriving to pick up Morgan and she was furious with him as she walked swiftly towards the Metro Court.
She pulled her coat tighter and shivered. There was nothing good about Port Charles in January. The weather was cold, the streets were icy and half the time it was impossible to get anything done.
She didn’t think much of the figure behind her until a hand reached around her and covered her mouth. She tried to fight but they were so strong and she was so shocked she hardly made a sound.
Carly’s eyes snapped open and she gasped. She couldn’t remember anything after that and had no idea how she’d ended up in this room.
So far the only good thing she could think of was at least she still had her own clothes, including her coat on, as the room was certainly chilly.
Cautiously, she reached for the bottle of water and sniffed it. She was so thirsty that her throat felt like it was burning, but she had not intention of taking anything that might have drugs in which would knock her out again.
Unable to smell anything, she took a small sip and waited a few moments before drinking again, as satisfied as she could be that there was nothing in it.
Sighing she sat up against the headboard, pleased that the handcuffs around her ankles had enough give for to accomplish that small task.
She wondered if anyone had realised she was gone yet and if they were looking for her. She had no idea how much time had passed and could only hope that help was on its way.
All she could do for the moment was sit back and wait for her kidnapper to be revealed.
***
Story Bemerkung:
I’ve no idea where this came from. I don’t usually post WIP’s but decided to make an exception in this case. Huge thanks go to LadySarahJane! I hope you enjoy it!