Outside, I plopped down on the curb, attempting to make sense of
everything.
"I still don't get it." Taylor blurted. Ike looked up from his seat next to me on the
street curb.
"Get what?" he and I asked in unision.
"Why would Chaz want us to keep a close eye on Ezra? I mean, it doesn't make sense,"
Taylor whispered. I looked at him funny.
"Taylor, he's threatening to kidnap Ezra!" I said in a slow, mocking voice.
Was he serious?
"Zac! I know that! It's just...well, what would he want with Ezra?" Taylor looked at
the street, pacing back and forth.
"I've been asking myself that same thing about Caitlyn." Ike spoke up. Suddenly, a vision
of her face came clear into my mind. I imagined her laughing and singing, sitting on Ike's shoulders. Her face had been haunting
me ever since she'd been kidnapped. I could almost hear her, giggling, "Sack! Sack!!"
"Zac!" Taylor screamed. I shook my head, looking up.
"What?" I asked, giving him a strange look.
"Will you answer me?! How do you think we can get Caitlyn?" he said impatiently. I clicked
my tongue on the top of my mouth, thinking.
"Hell if I know," I told him. Ike reached out an arm and pat me on the back.
"Zac...you got a lot on your mind, I know. But this is my daughter we're talking
about here. We don't have any time to waste before Chaz -" Ike stopped, and made the familiar motion with his finger across
his neck. Shivers ran down my spine like wildfire as I pictured Caitlyn lying, limp, in a ditch somewhere.
"Well, now that we've got Kate...it's gonna be a lot easier to get Caitlyn. I mean, she
knows the whole plan, doesn't she?" Taylor looked at us expectantly. Usually it was Ike who was always changing the subject.
I sighed.
"I guess so. Maybe we should go back over there with them. We could get something to
eat, too. I'm starving." I suggested. And so, we picked ourselves up and trudged across the street and back into the station.
Kate was on the phone, standing over in the corner. I looked at her, smiling. Even after she had hurt me, I still had feelings
for her. I wished I didn't; I felt like I was betraying myself in a way. It was as if I had no control over how I felt. Actually,
in all honesty, I didn't. She glanced over, and saw me staring back at her. Smiling, she turned away, still talking away on
the phone. I wondered if she had another boyfriend yet. Ike motioned for me to sit next to him, and I did so. He sighed,
closing his eyes.
"I'd do anything to go to sleep right now," he said to no one in particular. I felt exactly the same.
I was starting to feel as if I'd been awake forever. It had been an incredibly long day. I looked over to see Ezra asleep
in the chair across from me.
"Looks like someone else is tired, too," I said, laughing. Ike smiled weakly. I let my
eyes wander back to Kate and caught a worried look on her face as she hung up her cell and walked on over to where Ike, Taylor,
Natalie, Ezra and I all sat.
"Guys," she whispered, "He saw you."
"What do you mean?" I asked, all of a sudden nearly out of breath.
"Chaz. He saw you guys leaving the hotel...that's who I was on the phone with. He's leaving
tomorrow night with Caitlyn to Missouri." Kate heaved.
"Missouri?!" Taylor shouted. I stared, not wanting to believe what I had just heard.
Ike put his hands over his face.
"We've gotta do something." he muttered.
