Kidnapped!

" 9 "

A few more weeks went by. One day almost seven months after Gus had disappeared Brian received a call at work. It was Chester Blackburn asking Brian to come to his office.

Brian made his way to the man's office as quickly as he could. This was the first time Chester had ever called him in like this. Usually it was Brian who requested a meeting to get an update. He knew something big had to be happening. He just hoped it was a positive report that awaited him when he arrived.

Seated in front of Chester's desk Brian picked at an unseen thread on his pant leg. He glanced up nervously as Chester sat down behind his desk and opened the thick file he had retrieved from a cabinet.

"Christ, Chester, say something!" Brian ordered. They had long ago come to a first name basis in their relationship.

Chester frowned. "It's good and bad."

"Don't play cute. Tell me."

"I know where Gus is and that's the good news."

"He's alive?" Brian asked holding his breath.

Chester nodded. "Alive and seemingly doing fine."

"How … how do you know this?" Brian asked trying to clear the lump from his throat.

"The bad news is he's in Sicily. I know where he is because I've had someone on a boat off the coast of the Garoni property. Here's some pictures that my man took."

Brian took the small pile of photos. There in the first one was a little boy playing in the sand on the beach. It was hard to tell if it was Gus or not. Brian moved on to the next one which was a closer view. The boy certainly looked like Gus. The next one was closer still. Brian's heart began to pound violently in his chest. That was definitely Gus He was alive. And he looked well, a little older maybe, but he seemed healthy and didn't appear to be suffering. Brian ran his finger over the little face in the photo. He longed to touch the face of his son. Reluctantly he moved on to the last picture. It showed Gus with his arms around a middle aged woman who was hugging him. Gus was laughing and she was smiling gently at him.

"Who the fuck is this?" Brian asked holding up the last photo.

"That's Mamma Garoni."

"Mamma Garoni, as in Gianni's mother?"

"That's her."

"And Gus is hugging her?" Brian asked in bewilderment.

"I always figured she was behind the kidnapping. She has quite the reputation in some circles, even worse than her husband."

"But why is Gus hugging her?"

"If she has been the primary caregiver all this time, he probably thinks she is his grandmother. Who knows what Gus was told? They could have said all of you died in an accident. Gus wouldn't know anything different. If they're looking after him, treating him like a grandson, then he would treat them as grandparents."

"Holy fucking Christ!"

"It's not going to be easy getting Gus away from them," Chester said.

"Do you think you can?"

"I've got some ideas in the works, but I'm going to need your help."

"Anything," Brian said staring at the picture of Gus.

"Those were taken with a telephoto lens off a boat along the coast. They were told to keep their distance. We didn't want to alert the Garonis that we're studying what's going on in the compound."

"So how do we get Gus out of this … compound?"

"The only way I can see it happening is by boat. We drive right up to the shore, a couple of my guys grab the kid and we hightail it out of there. And it has to be a total surprise or somebody could die."

"Die! Fuck!"

"I'm not going to sugar coat this, Brian. We could try the legal route but I don't see that working for years if at all. I say we grab Gus just like they did. And … it will be dangerous."

Brian studied the detective. He was effectively putting the life of his son in the hands of this man. He hoped he was doing the right thing. "So what can I do to help?"

"When we get Gus away from them we need to fly him here to the United States immediately. We will need a passport for him and his parents if we are going to get him out of Europe."

Brian hesitated. He wanted to help, but he knew he was going to have to admit something. "I'm not Gus' legal parent."

"What?"

"I agreed to father a baby for his mother, a friend of mine named Lindsay Peterson. She's a lesbian and was in a relationship with Melanie Marcus."

"The lawyer who won the custody case against Gianni Garoni."

"That's right. The one who's responsible for Gus being kidnapped in the first place because of that custody case. I signed over my parental rights to her after Gus was born."

"Shit!"

"My sentiments exactly," Brian said shaking his head.

"So the legal parents are Lindsay and Melanie?"

"Correct. They're the ones who will have to have the passport and be present when Gus is brought back to the States."

"Can you arrange that?" Chester asked.

"I think so. Gus may even have a passport. They went to Canada last year."

"Check that out. Otherwise we'll have to wait until we have one for him. He could also be on one of his mothers' passports."

"I'll find out. Isn't there anything concrete that I can do?" Brian wanted to know.

"We're going to use professionals for this job. I don't want you involved in the actual grab, but you can certainly be there afterwards. Who knows what condition Gus will be in? The more friendly and familiar faces the better."

"Condition? What do you mean about what condition he might be in? He looks fine in the pictures," Brian said with a frown.

"Physically he's fine, but we don't know what they've told him. He may not even recognize you, and he certainly won't know the guys who grab him. He'll be scared and upset."

"Fuck!" Brian replied running his hand through his hair. "Are you sure this is the only way?"

"If you want your son back, this is the only way that I see."

"Then we'll do it."

"Brian, I don't have to tell you that you need to play this close to the vest. The Garonis are powerful in Pittsburgh. If they get wind of what we're planning we don't have a hope in hell."

"I understand," Brian replied. He stood up and extended his hand. "Chester, I'm counting on you. Make sure you hire the best people. This has to work."

"If we all do our best, we can pull it off."

Brian stood outside the door to Melanie's house. He had called both women and told them that they needed to meet. He had refused to say why, wanting to tell them face to face that Gus had been found. Melanie wanted the meeting at her house where Jenny Rebecca could sleep through it, and Melanie wouldn't have to find a babysitter.

Brian took a breath and pressed the buzzer. Lindsay answered the door. He could see a little glimmer of hope in her eyes and he was tempted to tell her immediately. Then he remembered Melanie and decided to tell them both at the same time.

"What's this all about?" Lindsay asked as Brian stepped in.

"Where's Melanie? I'll tell you both at the same time."

"I'm right here," Melanie called from the living room. "Make this quick. I have things to do."

"More important things than your son obviously," Brian retorted. Melanie scowled at him.

"You have news about Gus?" Lindsay asked hopefully. "Oh Brian, please tell me you've found him," Lindsay begged, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I've found him."

Brian found his arms full of a very happy blonde. He hugged Lindsay back and kissed her cheek.

"Where is he? Is he all right? When can I see him? How did you find him?" Lindsay asked without pausing for a breath.

"Sit down and I'll explain," Brian said glancing at Melanie who scowled back at him. She never approved of anything he did.

"I'm sitting. Tell me," Lindsay said leaning forward like she might miss a word if she relaxed back into the sofa.

"A few months ago I hired a private detective."

"I thought you fired that asshole because he cost too much," Melanie interrupted.

"I fired that asshole because he wasn't getting any results at all."

"So you hired another detective after that?" Lindsay asked.

"Yes, he's been working on finding Gus for months."

"Why is that any better than the first guy?" Melanie asked.

"Because he is very systematic in his approach and he has found our son."

"Our son," Melanie corrected.

Melanie always knew how to drive the knife home. Brian winced and said, "He's my son too even though I turned over my parental rights to you. I love Gus and we may have a chance to get him back, but we have to work together."

"Why can't the police get him back?" Lindsay asked with a frown. "Where is he?"

"He's in Sicily with the Garoni family." Brian watched Melanie cringe at his words. He could drive his own knife home when he wanted to.

"Sicily?" Lindsay gasped. "That … that's so far away."

"We all know where the fuck Sicily is," Melanie declared. "So how are we getting him back?"

"We're going to kidnap him," Brian said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It was far from how he felt about the whole kidnapping thing, but he didn't want to freak the women out.

"Kidnap?" Melanie demanded. "I'm not taking part in a kidnapping."

"Are you fucking insane?" Brian almost screamed. "This is your son. You're not committing a crime. You're righting a crime done against you … against all of us."

"But surely the legal system…"

"Fuck the legal system!" Brian cut her off. "My investigator says that we have little hope of getting Gus out of Sicily legally. The Garonis are just too powerful there. Even if we could do this through legal channels, it could take years."

"No," Lindsay whimpered. "We have to get him back now."

"That's why I'm here. We need you two to come with us to Italy. Does Gus have a passport, or is he on one of yours?"

"He's on mine. I did that when we went to Canada," Lindsay said.

"Good! We'll need it when we bring him back to the States."

"Oh Brian, do you think we can really do this? Will I really get Gus back?"

"We're getting him back," Brian said in his most definite voice.

"I … I can't go to Sicily," Melanie said slowly. "I have Jenny Rebecca to think of."

"You also have your son to think of," Brian stated with a Kinney glare.

"I can't go," Melanie repeated.

"You could leave the baby with her father … or with Deb," Lindsay suggested.

"They have to work … and Jenny needs me."

"And I suppose Gus doesn't," Brian said sarcastically.

"I can't go."

"Fine, then stay the fuck here. Come on, Lindsay, I'll take you home and explain what my investigator wants done." Brian stood and waited for Lindsay to do the same. He couldn't bear to look at Melanie, the woman who held the rights to his son, but wouldn't do anything for Gus if meant the least little problem for her other child. He didn't think he had ever hated Melanie more.