Kidnapped - Part 1

By Nikki_Lynn

     Nikki Lynn yawned as she shut off her computer for the night, and glanced at the clock. She hadn't realized how late it really was.
     "No wonder I'm exhausted," she sighed, "Time for bed..."
     She made her way to her bedroom and crawled under the covers, not even bothering to change her clothes or even take off her glasses. She had not trouble falling asleep as she curled up underneath her blanket.

     Hours later, Nikki Lynn awoke only to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings.

*Locknestra has joined #wbradybunch
(whoser_mel) Hey Linz!
(Mon-Mon) Hi!
(Locknestra) Hi!
(Mon-Mon) What's up?
(Locknestra) Oh... The sky, the ceiling, some swallows... =)
(whoser_mel) LOL... very funny, Linz.
(Mon-Mon) I wonder where Nikki Lynn is
(Locknestra) I dunno... I thought she'd have been here by now
*Javawench has joined #wbradybunch
(Locknestra) Hi Holly!
(Mon-Mon) Hi Holly :)
(whoser-mel) Hi!!
(Javawench) Hi guys! Babs told me to say hi to you guys for her
(whoser_mel) How's she doing in boot camp?
(Javawench) Good. It's not easy, but I think she's enjoying it.
(Locknestra) Well, that's good
(whoser_mel) Where the heck is Nikki Lynn? It's not like her to forget about a chat :P
(Locknestra) Maybe her comp's acing up... I'm sure she'll email us later if she can't make it.
*Mon-Mon wonders if Wax is back...
(Javawench) I hope not.
(whoser_mel) Me too... Wax is the last thing we need.
(Mon-Mon) Guys, I was just kidding...
(Locknestra) I'm sure she's just late. Nothing to worry about.
(Javawench) Yeah, you're prolly right, Linz.

     Nikki Lynn looked around this new room. It was small, windowless, with a small bunk attached to one wall, a shower and toilet in an alcove off to one side, a chest of drawers bolted to the floor opposite the bed. The walls were paneled with a dark wood, and a simple light fixture was attached to the ceiling. She tried the door and found it to be locked... not to mention quite solid looking. No way out. It was then that she suddenly noticed the almost imperceptible rocking motion of the floor... no, of the entire room. A familiar rhythm... She was on a boat, she was almost certain. But who had brought her here? And why? Only one name came to mind... Wax.

     Linz checked her email once more before logging off... no message from Nikki Lynn. 'That's odd,' she thought, 'I thought for sure she'd have emailed by now...'
     She leaned back in the chair, stretching, closing her eyes for a moment. Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands grabbing her wrists, twisting her arms behind her back and dragging her to her feet.. then a stinging sensation in the side of her neck. She turned her head , seeing the needle, and the nothing as darkness engulf her mind.
     Linz awoke to the sound of melancholy violin music. She sat up, shaking her head to clear it, and looked around. The music came from a speaker set against the ceiling in a corner of the room. Glancing down, she found that she had been placed on a small folding cot. The room was about the size of a small bedroom. She tried the door, and somehow wasn't at all surprised to find it locked.
     "Dammit Wax!" she yelled to the air, "Not again!"
     She spotted heavy curtains on the far wall and quickly yanked them apart. There was a window alright... but it had been filled in with bricks.
     "Figures," Linz muttered as she sat down on the cot to figure out her next course of action.

     Meanwhile, Mel, Holly, and Mon went about their days as they normally would... But in the back of each girl's mind was the nagging feeling that they were being watched. It was a feeling that they should have paid more attention to.

     Mon walked toward home, the school day finally over, and was somewhat startled when a young woman in a car pulled up alongside her.
     "Excuse me," called the woman, "Can you tell me where the nearest gas station is?"
     "Sure," said Mon, "You just go straight down this street and make a left when you come to... OW!"
     Mon jumped back as she felt a sharp sting in her arm, and turned to her right. There stood a very large man, very unfriendly looking man. She turned to the car, and realized with horror that the woman was grinning wickedly at her. And then she felt herself falling as she passed out.

     Mel heard a knock at the door, and yelled at her brother to answer it. She heard the door open, and then muffled voices, followed by a loud thud. 'What the... ?' She quickly went to investigate.
     The door stood wide open, her brother lying in front of it, out cold. She was about to go to him when something stung the back of her neck. Mel heard a quiet giggle before collapsing to the floor and losing consciousness.

     Holly stretched as she unlocked her door and walked inside, not bothering the flip on the light. She'd worked a very long, very late shift, and now all she wanted to do was go to bed. Just then, the floor creaked, and from across the room, the sound of footsteps moving toward her.
     "Who's there?" she called nervously, trying to remember anything she'd left lying around that could be used as a weapon. The footsteps stopped, and Holly looked around the room. It wasn't pitch dark, but it was dark enough to conceal the intruder. She heard the footsteps again, but behind her this time. She spun around, ready for a fight, but the sudden prick of a needle jabbed in her thigh made her freeze. "What... did you... give... me?" she managed to say before she passed out.

     Each of the girls awoke alone in a room. Mel awoke to find herself in what seemed to be a basement. A single, small window near the ceiling was boarded up, and the door was locked. The room was sparsely furnished with a low ceiling.
     "Wonderful," Mel sighed.

     Mon woke up in even stranger surroundings. The walls of the room were metal... the door, too. There was a cot near the door and several shelves lined the walls at the far end, fluorescent lights hummed, and the distinct smell of raw meat hung in the air. The room was chilly, but not cold, though a large fan set behind heavy steel bars told her that the room could definitely get icy, were the fan running... And then it clicked... She was in a freezer... A huge walk-in freezer. And that thought disturbed her more than she cared to admit.

     Holly opened her eyes to find herself in what looked to be a motorhome. "What the hell is going on here?" she cried out as she pulled at the securely fastened door. She checked all of the windows... even the skylight... but all of the glass had been covered by sheets of metal, which looked like they had been welded down. On a whim, she tried starting the engine, but found the battery dead.

     Each girl was taken unaware, each locked in a room, seemingly with no escape... each was alone...

     As Wayne walked into his home, he found an envelope lying on the floor. "Strange," he said quietly as he set his keys down on an end table and bent down to pick up the envelope. It was addressed in typed letter simply: "To Wayne". Wayne quickly opened the envelope, pulling out the letter inside. It, too, had been typed. He began to read, his hands beginning to shake as he did so. Moments later, he reached for the phone...

     Ryan jumped as the phone rang, dropping the sheet of paper he'd been reading. The phone rang a second time, as he watched the paper flutter to the floor. A third ring jarred him back into reality, and he picked up the receiver.
     "Hello?" he answered, still somewhat shocked.
     "Ryan? It's me," Wayne's voice replied.
     "Wayne! God, I'm glad you called," Ryan said as he knelt down and retrieved the letter.
     "Let me guess," said Wayne, "You got a letter, too, right?"
     "Yeah," Ryan replied, a little surprised.
     "I think we better get together," said Wayne.
     "Colin's on his way here now," said Ryan, "We were supposed to have lunch together. I'll call Greg and tell him to get over here. You see if you can find Brad."
     "Alright," said Wayne, "We'll be there as soon as possible."
     Ryan hung up the phone and sat down, suddenly unsure of how reliable his legs were at the moment. He looked down at the letter, rereading it, not entirely able to acknowledge what it said...

     "Dear Wayne. You might be interested to know that I have some friends of yours. They're perfectly alright... for now... although Holly is becoming more and more irate, and Linz is thoroughly convinced that Wax is behind this. Mel, Nikki Lynn, and Mon aren't particularly happy either, so I suggest you comply with my demands. Otherwise, things could get a bit... shall we say, unpleasant? More instructions will follow once the five of you have had time for this all to sink in. Yours, N.C."
     "Yeah, mine said the same thing," said Ryan. Wayne set the letter down.
     "Mine, too, " Colin added. Greg and Brad said nothing. They didn't need to.
     "Who the hell is N.C.?" asked Greg. He wasn't really expecting an answer, but somehow just asking the question helped... made him feel more in control of the situation.
     "I can't think of anyone with those initials," said Wayne.
     "Could it be Wax?" Brad wondered aloud.
     "I suppose it's possible... but this doesn't seem like Wax to me," Ryan replied. Wayne nodded.
     "I agree... Wax wouldn't hide behind a letter like this. He'd want to gloat."
     "Alright, so if it's not Wax, then who?" Greg asked as he unfolded his own letter and began to reread it. Wayne sighed. He had no idea who it could be...
     "Ya know," said Colin, "This could just be someone's sick idea of a joke... Before we start looking for a kidnapper we should try and get in contact with the girls."
     Wayne seated himself at Ryan's computer and logged on, searching through Ryan's "Favorites" file and not finding what he'd been looking for.
     "Ryan, don't you keep any of the Whoser boards in your 'Favorites'?" asked Wayne.
     "'Favorites'? What's that?"
     "Nevermind," Wayne sighed, remembering his friend's lack of computer expertise. He typed in the URL for the Brady Bunch Page instead, and from there, easily found links to all of the boards. He clicked on the link to the Wayne Brady Messageboard and scanned through the most recent posts. The last post from Nikki Lynn was four days old, and the last from Linz was three days. There had been nothing posted today except for one message from Jessie asking where everyone was. Wayne checked the other boards and found no trace of the girls.
     "There's no way they'd *all* just disappear from the boards all at once like this, unless..." Wayne let the sentence trail off.
     "I'm calling the police," said Ryan. Wayne was about to log off of the internet when an IM popped up reading: "Check your email." The user promptly signed off, leaving Wayne no time to type a response. He looked at the screen-name on the IM.
     "Thief In The Night?" Greg read over Wayne's shoulder, "Oh, that sounds promising."
     "I was thinking the same thing," said Wayne as he obeyed the somewhat ominous message, and found that he had received a new email.
     "Now that I have you undivided attention," Wayne read, "I wish to set a few ground rules. First, no police. If the police are called, one of the girls will die. Second, if you don't meet my demands, they die. That being said, I want $1,000,000 in small, unmarked bills. You have 24 hours to get the money. If you don't have it by this time tomorrow, one of the girls will die, and I will kill another every three hours until you comply. You will receive farther instructions via email tomorrow at this time. N.C."
     "So much for calling the police," Ryan remarked.

     A few hours later, and the requested money had been assembled, and now sat in a small gym bag as Ryan, Colin, Greg, Brad, and Wayne anxiously awaited the email that would tell them what to do with it.
     "I hate not being able to do anything," Wayne finally cried, frustrated by the situation. Greg put a hand on Wayne's shoulder and Colin smiled sympathetically.
     "I know," said Greg, "We all do."
     Ryan and Brad sat on the couch, puzzling over the two messages they had received from the girls' kidnapper. Whoever this person was, they had definitely thought things through. There was no handwriting to recognize, no way to ask for outside help without endangering the girls, and no way to hurry the kidnapper's plan along. The only clue they had was the initials at the bottom of each message... N.C.
     "Who the hell is N.C.?" Ryan sighed, echoing Greg's earlier question.
     "I have no idea," Brad replied, "Maybe it's not someone we know..."
     "Then why bother with the initials?" said Ryan. Brad fell silent, trying to think, but came up empty-handed. He glanced at the clock... almost midnight.
     "I suppose we should all try and get some sleep," Brad said, raising his voice slightly so as to be heard by everyone in the room. After a bit of discussion, they all decided to spend the night right where they were.

     The next morning, and Wayne awoke to the sound of birds chirping loudly outside the window. One by one, the other men awoke, on thing on their collective minds.
     The day seemed to drag by with an excruciating slowness... Wayne spent most of the time pacing, or checking his email for the expected message. Ryan, Brad, and Colin read and reread the letters looking for some kind of clue. None of them expected to see anything new within the text of the letters, but at least it gave them something to do. Greg, meanwhile, sat silently watching the other four and wondered how in the world someone could just up and take the girls like that. He knew from experience that none of the girls were pushovers when it came to their safety... So how did this person manage it? Had they been lured away? Had they been injured? Had they been drugged? The list of possibilities frightened him.

     Late afternoon, and still no word... Wayne was on the verge of panic. 'What if he changed his mind and just decided to kill them?' he thought, and then chastised himself for being irrational. The day wore on and afternoon faded into evening. Wayne jumped as the computer chimed, indicating new email, and anxiously opened the message that had just arrived. Ryan, Colin, Greg, and Brad gathered around the computer, just as anxious as Wayne, to read their next set of instructions.
     "You will bring the money and meet me at the La Brea tar pits by 7:00 tonight. That is 20 minutes from now. If you're not there, and I mean all five of you, I will kill one of the girls. No police. If you want to see your friends alive, I suggest you comply. N.C." Wayne read aloud.

     6:55 pm, and they had arrived at the La Brea tar pits. Greg carried the bag with the money slung over one shoulder. Each of them kept and eye out for whomever it was they were supposed to meet. It was a quiet evening, except for the traffic that constantly drove by, the sun beginning to sink below the horizon. Several people milled around in the general area of the tar pits, though none of them looked particularly suspicious. None of them seemed to be waiting for anyone. Greg glanced at his watch... 7:00 pm.
     "So where is this guy?" he muttered impatiently. He scanned the faces of the people nearby, but no one caught his attention.
     "I don't know, but I get the feeling that he's in no hurry," replied Ryan. He studied the people as they walked by...
     "Hello gentlemen," a light, airy voice said from behind them. Al five men turned simultaneously to face a young woman with long, reddish-brown hair. She appeared to be in her mid to late 20's, with a trim figure and tanned skin.
     "Um... hello..." said Ryan.
     "You don't recognize me, do you?" she said, the innocent tone of her voice changing to a harsh, near-hiss. She narrowed her eyes and glared at them, almost pouting in a way, "Not that I expected you to..."
     There was an unmistakable bitterness in her words. She confidently approached Wayne and stood in front of him. The woman was at least a foot shorter than Wayne, but something in her demeanor gave her an air of menace.
     "You," she stated flatly, "You're the reason for all this, you know. And the worst part is, you probably have no idea why!"
     Wayne was speechless for a moment. Of all the things he had expected you to say, this was no one of them.
     "Who are you?" he finally managed. The woman turned to the others.
     "I can't *believe* you picked him over me!" she practically screamed. The others would have laughed at the immature statement had it not been said with such malice. Wayne looked to his friends nervously, a dozen questions awakening in his mind. Who was this woman? When had he ever met her? What the hell was she talking about? Why was she... His thoughts were suddenly cut off as he felt a hard slap sting his cheek.
     "... all because of you!" she hissed, finishing off a sentence Wayne had missed the beginning of. She made a move as if to strike him again, and Wayne took a step back, ready for her this time. But Greg and Ryan were quicker, seizing the woman by the arms and holding her back. Both men were surprised when she didn't struggle.
     "Ah, ah, ah," she mocked them, "You wouldn't want anything to happen to those little 'Brady Bunchers' of yours, now would you? They seem like such nice girls... It would be a *shame* if they got hurt..."
     Wayne felt an intense anger flare inside of him as the woman stood there, grinning maliciously.
     "Where are they?" he managed to say though clenched teeth. She glared at Ryan and Greg before answering. They grudgingly released her arms and stepped back.
     "You better not have hurt them," Brad added.
     "Of course not," the woman grinned, "But first, where's my money?"
     Greg handed over the bag he'd been carrying. She laughed and unzipped it, and once satisfied they hadn't tried anything sneaky, she closed the bag and slung it over her shoulder. She pulled a folded sheet of paper from her pocket and thrust it at Wayne.
     "That's where you'll find them," she said, "But you'd better hurry..."
     "What's that supposed to mean?" asked Colin. The woman just laughed and turned to go.
     "Wait! Aren't you even going to tell us why you're doing this?" Wayne called after her.
     "My name is Nancy Caliban... Figure it out yourself," she sneered. She walked away and was soon out of sight. Brad started to follow her, but Wayne held him back.
     "Forget her for now," said Wayne, "Let's just get the girls..."
     He unfolded the piece of paper Nancy had given him...

     Mel sat down on the floor and leaned back against the hard, concrete wall. She closed her eyes and tried to think of someone... anyone who could have wanted to kidnap her. The only names she came up with were Wax and Trudie... At first, she'd been thoroughly convinced that it was Wayne's evil twin, but as time wore on, she began to wonder. It was like Wax not to gloat... or at least make his presence known. Then she thought of Trudie... but this wasn't her style either...
     Mel sighed, letting her head rest against the wall, deep in thought. Her eyes suddenly shot open as something rubbed against her right leg... and then another something against her left hip. She looked down just as she heard the first tell-tale rattle, and froze. 'Rattlesnakes,' she thought, 'Big *poisonous* rattlesnakes...' She slowly lifted her head, and her heart sank... Snakes slithered through an open vent in the bottom of the room's only door. 'Oh God...' There were already a dozen of the snakes in the room, and still more poured through the vent. Mel surpressed a sob as one of the snakes coiled itself in her lap...

     "What's it say?" Ryan asked anxiously.
     "It's a list of addresses," Wayne replied, "It looks like she's got the girls hidden all over town."
     "Wonderful," said Colin, "Well, we'd better go and round them up."

     Mon jumped as the massive fan at the back of the room roared to life, sending a stream of icy air shooting around her prison.
     "No... No, no, no..."
     She shivered and ran to the door.
     "Let me out of here!" she screamed, as she pounded on the cold metal. The room grew rapidly colder, and Mon hugged her arms to her body, shivering uncontrollably.

     Ryan tore the list in two, giving two of the addresses to Greg and Colin, and keeping the other three for Brad, Wayne, and himself, suddenly glad that they had decided to take two cars when they'd left for the meeting.
     "Once we find them, we'll meet back here," said Ryan.
     "Be careful," Wayne called to Greg and Colin as they parted company...

     Holly didn't remember falling asleep, but the mechanical hum of machinery had startled her from her dreams.
     "What on earth..."
     She couldn't see out of the motorhome... All of the windows had been covered. She listened intently to the sound, trying to identify it. She finally resigned herself to the fact that she had no idea what was out there... But whatever it was, it sounded big...
     "This is not good..."

     "Nancy Caliban... Why does that name sound familiar?" Ryan mused as he drove toward the first address on the list. Brad shrugged.
     "Dunno... Personally, I don't recognize it at all," he commented.
     "That's the place we're looking for," Wayne cried, motioning towards an abandoned-looking, five-story apartment building. There was a "Condemned" sign nailed tot he front door.
     "Figures..." said Brad, "Heaven forbid she keep the girls someplace safe..."

     "Oh just wait, Wax," Linz swore to the wall, "If I ever get my hands on you..."
     Her rant was cut short as the music that had been playing over the speaker in the corner was cut off, and her nose picked up a familiar odor. She sniffed the air... Yes, definitely...
     "Smoke?!"

     "Shit!"
     Nikki Lynn shoved her jacket under the small crack at the base of the door as more water came flooding in. It was already up to her ankles. The room had been slowly flooding for the last ten minutes, but the rate of the water flowing in had suddenly increased drastically... which, she knew, probably meant that the entire lower deck was taking on water, rather than just the section she was in. She wished she knew just how fast she was sinking...

     Greg and Colin pulled up in front of a small house, It was quite a ways out of town... they hadn't passed another car in twenty minutes. Greg looked as the white picket fence that surrounded the house, and the purple catmint that grew under several large maple tree in the yard.
     "Oh how cozy," he remarked sarcastically, as he shut off the engine and got out. Colin followed Greg through the gate and up the stone walkway to the door.
     "Are you sure this is the place?" asked Colin, "It doesn't look like anyone's here."
     He peered though one of the window, noting the dust-covers that hung, shroud-like, over the sparse furniture in the front room. Greg tried the door, which easily swung open.
     "This is the address," he replied, stepping inside. Colin flipped the light switch on the wall, only to discover that either the bulb had burnt out or the electricity tot he house had been cut off. The two men looked around the ground floor and the second floor... even the attic... finding nothing.
     "I guess that just leaves the basement," said Colin. Greg nodded in agreement and the quickly found the door to the basement. Colin cautiously eased the door open and descended the stairs, at the bottom finding another door with a large wooden crate sitting in front of it.
     "What do you suppose is in there?" he asked. Greg was already moving the crate away from the door, revealing a sliver of light from the open vent behind it, when he jumped back, hearing the rattle both from within the crate, and from behind the door.
     "Well, that sounds promising..." said Greg. He glanced down at the vent in the door, and the snakes slithering through it.
     "How much ya wanna bet one of the girls is in there?" Greg sighed...

     Linz ran to the door, desperate to get out of the room. The smell of the smoke was getting stronger, making her cough. She suddenly looked down at the crack at the bottom of the door and saw the first faint wisp of smoke rising up. She grabbed a sheet off of the cot, and shoved it under the door, hoping it would keep the smoke at bay long enough for her to find a way out.

Read Part 2