Chereads / We Met at the Cornerstone / Chapter 15 - Chapter 15: An Unexpected Visitor

Chapter 15 - Chapter 15: An Unexpected Visitor

I woke up the next morning feeling tired and hollow. Next to me, Angela is halfway under the covers, halfway on top in a tangled mess, her top about to fall off. I quite literally roll out of bed, pull up my sagging sweatpants, and shuffle to take care of James and the twins. I call in Gio to help me carry them downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast while I start a pot for coffee. Just another normal, boring day. About ten minutes later my parents, looking spritely as ever walk toward me down the hallway. "What has the both of you looking so happy?" "Just enjoying the morning." "Eh, good for you. As for me, it's kinda hard to do that right now." "Is it Angela?" "How'd you guess." I reply sarcastically. "Ever since those guys broke in you've been reclusive. It's not like you." "I just want to get all of this figured out and over with so we can live normal lives." At that moment, Angela walks down the stairs, kisses me on the cheek, and starts the toaster, all in one fluid motion. "Morning honey. Feeling any better?" "I will if this plan works." "Plan?" "Last night I concocted a plan to solve this whole ordeal once and for all." This time Maddox pipes up. "Well, as your partners, and I think I can speak for all of us, we want to know this 'plan' of yours." "Alright. Angela, you got the kids under control?" "Yup. Fire away captain." "Alright. We know that the trackers found in Angela are all from a company by the name of the Greenway Council. I have a 3d model of one of the trackers. I plan to try and hack the internal systems of the company to gain access to the customer list. From there, I can track the serial number back to the customer and shut them down." Joeliene chimes in. "And how do you plan to, quote on quote, shut them down?" "Remote hitmen. Easier to take out targets cause I can send them from the main computer here. Keeps us out of unnecessary danger." Maddox speaks again. "Well, sounds like a pretty solid plan Stanly. What do you need from us?" "Just follow what I tell you to do. Most of the computer stuff shouldn't be too hard, I just need to make sure I get into the right mainframe." Out of nowhere, the doorbell rings. We all look at each other, confused. "Are any of you expecting someone or something?" They all shake their heads. "Hmm, odd. Must just be another salesman." Angela speaks up. "I'll go take care of it." "You sure?" "Yea, I'll be fine." She walks over to the door while continuing to talk about the plan with my parents. All of a sudden, I hear a muffed shout come from the door way and look over to see the front door open and no one standing there, no Angela either. I jump out of my seat and fly over to the door to see two weasels carrying a wooden crate to a delivery van sitting in the driveway. Joeliene stops me as I rush to the garage. "What's going on?" "Angela has been kidnapped. Now get in one of my trucks and follow me. NOW!" She recoils a bit at my sudden snap before nodding her head and grabbing Maddox. I call for Gio. "Gio, it's time. Get in the Mercedes." He nods his head in understanding. Together, we sprint into the garage. I jump into the Mercedes 6x6 with Gio and my parents get into the Suburban. I fly out of the garage with my parents right behind me down the driveway. We find the van later down the road and follow it onto the freeway. I hear my mother's voice over the C/B radio. "Do you want us to take him out?" Gio responds with my orders. "No, just follow the van for now. There are too many people around to try and take him out. But don't lose sight of them. Do whatever it takes to follow them. That Suburban can handle quite the beating." "Got it." I turn to Gio. "Call Devin and ask him if he can watch the kids please." "Yes sir." Gio picks up the phone and dials a number. A minute later he hangs up. "Devin is on his way." "Thank you. Now, I need you to trace this van. License plate scan it and try to obtain as much info as you can. VIN number, registration, make and model, everything." "Got it." He pulls up a computer from the dashboards and begins typing away. About five minutes later, the van pulls off the highway and sprints down a tight mountain road. I speed up and stay as close as possible. "Got the data. The van is registered to Mr. Steve Macanoski." "Run a background check." Gio types some more on the computer system. "Says here he's an accountant from Kentucky. But…" "But what?" "All of his info starts on April 23rd, 2016. There is no data for him before then. Nothing. It's as if he just popped into existence." All of a sudden, the van turns off the road and into the trees. I swerve to follow it. My parents are no longer following me. I trace it through a series of winding roads and intersections. When I've almost got him, a moose jumps out into the road, forcing me to slam the brakes. "HEY, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!!!" He flips me off and meanders across the road. Once across, I slam the accelerator in an attempt to catch up with the van, but after six intersections, I give up the chase. We lost the van. I slam my fist into the steering wheel. "Damn it! We had them!" "Well, if it makes you feel any better sir with the data I've collected, we should be able to trace this van to its owner, and find out who kidnapped your wife." "You're right Gio. Let's get home so we can trace these guys from the main computer.