Milk Money

by Jude E. McNamara

  “Nicholas my boy,” the senator said. “It appears somebody’s got their hands on my baby girl.”

  The senator handed me an envelope with the same photos in it that Lucia had pulled off my email.

  “The note inside is written in Russian. I’m instructed to come to your home immediately and to wait for further instructions. If anyone lays a single hand on my baby girl, I swear I’m going to bring the weight of the entire country down on them,” he said in the iciest tone I had ever heard him speak.

  Now I better understood how the senator had gotten so far politically. The politicos were on his heels for him to run for president and it was clear why. Like them, I saw his ruthless side with my own eyes. It was a quality that most politicians possessed and why I despised politics.

  “Your baby girl and your grandchild. Harper is pregnant with my child.”

  Malcom looked at me as if he had seen a ghost. His expression towards me changed immediately as he looked at me with narrowed eyes. Oh, if looks could kill. I didn’t want to make myself think any further about why Malcom was reacting that way or I was going to lose it entirely and tear him a new asshole. I pushed the thoughts that were being driven by my intuitions down.

  “So I hear,” the senator responded. “Elizabeth has read me in fully. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone until Harper had a chance to speak with you, but of course these are exigent circumstances that call for full disclosure. Elizabeth is beside herself right now. If anything happens to our daughter and grandchild, Elizabeth will personally cut my balls off and serve them up to my political enemies. So you see this matter has to be resolved quickly and quietly.”

  “What do we know so far?” Malcom interrupted. “I need to be brought up to speed.”

  Lucia put her hand on my arm and quickly began speaking so as to silence me.

  “Stephen was just updating us right before you arrived. Go ahead, Stephen. Tell us what you have so far,” she said.

  I began running my fingers through my hair, heading for my bar to get a drink.

  “What we knew for sure is that neither Scott nor Harper made it to their plane. They were separated. The photos you received confirmed Harper getting into a vehicle alone,” Stephen said.

  That was the worse news of all. My Kitten and my baby were out there somewhere without Scott’s protection. “Apparently, before Harper left the Carnegie Center where the Joduku Plastics Presentation was being held, she was delayed getting into her SUV,” Stephen continued. “Scott and Harper had agreed to both use the restrooms first and to meet out in front of the Carnegie Center. Scott radioed for Winston to bring the car up to the lobby door. Before Scott could exit the men’s room, Harper was gone.”

  “You mean Scott lost her,” Malcom said, staring at Stephen with an evil eye.

  “No, Scott has not lost Harper,” Stephen said with emphasis. “He’s just not with her.”

  “Scott’s first instinct was that Brooks Fitzgerald McKenna had made off with Harper. When he didn’t see Harper, Scott called Charlotte, who was on board the plane in pre-flight mode and asked if she had heard from Harper.”

  Malcom stepped closer to Stephen so as to invade his space. I moved to pour myself and Lucia each a vodka, nodding at the senator to see if he wanted something.

  “I’ll have a Macallen neat,” the senator said, walking over to the window to take in the view of Central Park, but still listening attentively. The senator seemed not to notice the snit Malcom and Stephen were in throughout the discussion. Maybe he didn’t care. We both knew we had bigger fish to fry.

  “Charlotte was alarmed that Scott wasn’t with Harper but said she had received a puzzling text message from Brooks. It was at that moment that Scott got a visual on Brooks, who was exiting the Carnegie Center alone. Brooks was distracted with texting,” Stephen continued.

  Lucia gulped her drink down looking at Stephen and then at Malcom, both of whom were eyeball to eyeball now and practically nose to nose in each other’s space.

  “One of Brook’s security men grabbed Scott from behind, still angry about the fight on the tarmac earlier and they tussled,” Stephen continued.

  “Fight on the tarmac?” Malcom asked.

  “Another time,” Lucia said pouring herself a second drink and topping off my highball glass.

  “Scott knocked the man out and grabbed Brooks, binding his wrists with plastic ties and quietly tucking him in Harper’s SUV that was being driven by Winston. Before the rest of Brooks’s entourage could catch up to him, Scott took off with a tied-up Brooks.”

  “Elizabeth spoke with both Mackenzie and Reese today. Harper left a voicemail for Mackenzie,” the senator interjected. “Reese had a missed call, but no voicemail.”

  “I listened to Mackenzie’s,” Malcom said. “The voicemail revealed nothing of interest. Harper sounded collected and fine. Girl stuff,” Malcom said.

  Stephen flinched upon hearing Mackenzie’s name.

  That felt weird, I thought.

  “What time was that?” Stephen growled.

  “Before she left Carnegie Center,” Malcom hissed back.

  I wondered what that crazy ass Mackenzie was up to with both these guys. I was certain Malcom had a thing for Harper, but now I wasn’t so sure. Was his interest in Mackenzie? I wondered if Mackenzie had anything to do with these pictures of me and Kitten. She was the only photographer I saw at the wedding and the only photographer I saw at the fundraiser for that matter. But she wasn’t at the Joduku Plastics Headquarters so this just didn’t make any sense to me at all. When, how, and by whom were these pictures taken?

  “Scott and I both wear GPS sensors in our belts,” Stephen said. “My team says he’s positioned outside a secluded mansion north of Nassau Street in Princeton, New Jersey.”

  “So we know where she is?” I asked.

  “Scott hasn’t moved for the last hour. Our satellite view of the area reveals an old manor located about two miles north of the governor’s mansion. Because he hasn’t moved from that location for the last forty minutes, I suspect that is where Harper is being held,” he said.

  “I can call the governor,” the senator said, “and have the State Highway Patrol raid the place.”

  “No. No. No,” both Stephen, Malcom, and I all said at the exact same time, sounding like a chorus.

  “This is my daughter you’re talking about Nicholas!” the senator yelled at me.

  “This is my woman and my baby!” I yelled back at him.

  “I’m going to get her!” Malcom yelled.

  “Over my dead body,” Stephen said.

  “I guess you’ll be dead then,” Malcom retorted.

  “No, I will kill you both if you don’t shut up and focus on getting my woman and my baby back.”

  “Stop it,” Lucia demanded. “We need to work together if we’re going to get her back. Knock it the fuck off, all of you.”

  “We need to come up with a plan.”

  “Who do we think has her and what do they want?” Lucia said, staring at the senator, Stephen, Malcom, and myself.

  None of us could answer that question.

  All of a sudden, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony began playing on my cellphone. We all knew what that meant.

  Stephen raised his hand for me to pause as he walked near the computers he had set up. Stephen docked my cellphone. Then he turned on several kinds of recording applications. He put the phone on speaker than nodded for me to answer.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Nicky. Help me.”

  “Harper? Baby?”

  A new voice came on the phone. A woman with a Russian accent. “Mister Becker. I’ve been looking forward to speaking with you. I understand you’re the man that has the ability to, eh . . . how do you say it in your country? . . . part the Red Sea.” She laughed with all evilness.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” I asked, trying to control my temper.

  “I shall keep this short. You see, Mr. Brooks Fitzgerald McKenna owe
s my organization a great deal of money. Twenty million to be exact. Bring the money he owes us to me, and you can have your beautiful prized possession back,” she said. “I trust you and the senator have the photos by now.”

  “We do. Who is us?”

  “Us is . . . let’s just say I represent the interests of some members of a corporation.”

  Lucia and I shrugged our shoulders. We were clueless about who we were dealing with at this point.

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Just know that I’m extremely serious and don’t wish to play games. I’ll get back to you with where to find her. Just come with the money when you do.”

  She paused. I held my tongue, not giving anything away.

  “Do not involve the authorities. Abide by my demands and you’ll get your beauty back safely. Otherwise perhaps I’ll keep her for myself.” That evil laugh coming out of her mouth made my brows furrow.

  It was starting to be a toss-up who to kill first. Brooks or this bitch. I was starting to see red.

  Stephen was signaling his hand moving it in circles letting me know to me to keep her talking.

  “How shall I address you? What’s your name?”

  “Tatiana to you, Mr. Becker. You have twenty-four hours to get here with the money. Otherwise, I leave for Russia. I’ll take her to a place you shall never find. I suggest you and your people get a move on,” she gloated.

  “If you harm a single hair on her head I swear I’ll—”

  Click.

  The call disconnected.

  “Lucia!” I barked. “How fast can we convert our assets and chattel paper to cash?”

  “We can pull cash out of our accounts in Asia,” she said. “The banks are still open there and we can convert from yen to dollars if we hurry,” she said.

  “Let me help you with this Nicholas,” the senator said. “I can have twelve million here within the hour.”

  “That won’t be necessary senator. This is my woman and my baby,” I insisted.

  “This is my daughter we’re talking about. She was mine long before you ever contemplated that she was yours,” he squawked.

  “Fine. We don’t have time to argue over this,” I said.

  “Convert twelve million, Lucia,” I said. “The senator will come up with the rest.”

  Senator Montgomery was already on his phone talking to Elizabeth and barking out orders.

  Malcom was engrossed in replays of the recording of my phone call with the Russian woman and running her voice patterns through some kind of identification system to see if they could get a handle on who we were dealing with at this point. Stephen was working tirelessly to communicate with Scott, especially since he knew he had possession of Brooks. Lucia was going back over the photos at the Lincoln Center looking for any clues she could find. She was running facial recognition software.

  That Tatiana bitch wanted us to pay McKenna’s tab. How was I not going to kill McKenna first for dragging my woman and my baby into this madness? I didn’t mind giving up a mere twenty-two million for Harper. She was worth so much more to me than that, but turning over money for Brooks was another matter. I would give up everything I owned for Harper, but that piece of shit Brooks . . . I just wanted to take him out.

  “The transaction is already underway, Nicholas,” Lucia said, letting me know the wheels were turning on raising the twelve million dollars. “The money is on its way.”

  I thought about the fact that I had two million in cash in my home safe, but I kept that little tidbit to myself. I wasn’t sure what might come up down the road that we wouldn’t be able to foresee. Lucia walked over to Stephen and touched him lightly on his shoulder.

  “Scott?” she asked.

  “He’ll be fine Lucia. He’s trained all of his life for experiences like this. He’s the best,” Stephen assured her.

  Lucia nodded and headed back to the computer to check on the bank transfers. I knew she was worried about me, about Harper, and Scott. She was tough as nails, but moments like these tested the mettle of all of us.

  I sat down for a moment and put my head in my hands, running my fingers through my head. I needed Harper and my baby to be safe. I couldn’t sit here any longer. I couldn’t take it. I needed to get to my Kitten.

  “Lucia, call Cameron and see if we can fly back to Princeton,” I said.

  “We can’t. I’ve already checked. All the airports are closed, Nicky. There’s a freaking storm.”

  It was two a.m. now. The clock was ticking. I shook my head and paced the floor. The good news was if we couldn’t fly, then neither could that Tatiana bitch. But as soon as the airports opened again, it would be a new game plan. We had to move quickly.

  Ring . . . Ring . . .

  We each paused again and looked up. It was my concierge again. Lucia put the call on speaker. The silence was deafening.

  “Mr. Becker, Ms. Montgomery and your father are here sir.”

  I exhaled. Damn. The rescue entourage was growing and maybe going to be a bit harder to control. Big Daddy and Elizabeth were here, both accompanied by their own security. Now we had four more security outside my penthouse doors. It was starting to look like a special ops team was outside my door, the presence of which was sure to draw unnecessary attention with the neighbors in my building.

  “Let them through please.”

  Lucia opened the doors. Things were really starting to get crazy.

  “Oh Nicholas dear,” Elizabeth said. “Don’t worry baby, things are going to work out,” she said, putting her arms around me and hugging me tightly. “Harper’s a strong woman.”

  “I know.”

  I hugged her back tightly. Elizabeth was my best ally. She had always wanted Harper and me together. We both knew it, even though we never discussed it.

  Elizabeth handed the senator a titanium briefcase with his ten million inside. Cold hard cash. The one thing I loved about Elizabeth. She was a no-nonsense, get-to-the-point kind of woman. I suppose that was why I loved Harper. She was a chip off the old block.

  Big Daddy walked over and acknowledged the senator.

  “We’ll get your gal back, Clayton,” Big Daddy said in a loud husky voice. “Don’t worry. I will see to it that Nicky sees to it,” he said.

  Big Daddy turned to me to give me a bear hug. I made myself ignore his crack. I knew he couldn’t help himself. It was important to him to always feel he was the one in control. Managing his ego was not on my to-do list tonight.

  “Listen, son. I know how much you love Harper.”

  I looked at my father with an element of surprise. I didn’t realize my father had any clue or knew how much I loved Harper. I always figured his interests were of a business nature.

  “Really?” I said.

  “Yes Nicholas. It’s all over your face and hers so much that I need to share something with you, son.”

  “What, father?”

  Big Daddy pulled me over off into the balcony area of my penthouse where our conversation was not in earshot of the others in the room. It was fucking rainy and windy outside, but Big Daddy was acting like it was summertime and that we were in Florida somewhere exchanging barbs. It was fucking storming. Did this man not realize there was damn near a hurricane outside? Surely I had my mother’s DNA because Big Daddy was certifiably crazy.

  “You see, Elizabeth and I set up this arrangement for you and Harper to compete for the Joduku Plastics acquisition. We knew that we needed to figure out a way for the two of you to get back in each other’s space so that you could recognize how much you really cared for each other. You two people are the stubbornest mules that I know, and I’ve been in business a long time.”

  “You mean you’ve been behind this acquisition all the time?” I asked.

  “Of course son. You and Harper just needed a nudge. You two have spent the last decade cutting each other off at the knees. It’s pretty obvious that you love each other.”

  “Of course we love each other!” I shouted. “But don’t you
think pitting us against each other is going a bit far, Dad?”

  Whoa. That had to be real for him. I rarely called my father “Dad.” I either referred to him as Big Daddy, father, or asshole, but never “Dad.” It felt too loose to use on a man with such dignified formality.

  “Our plan worked too, Nicky. Once we figured out that the two of you were “with child,” we called the whole thing off. Elizabeth and I don’t care about some Japanese plastics company,” he said, looking at his watch and checking out Elizabeth through the glass patio doors. I could see Elizabeth was across the room talking to the senator.

  “How could you set us up like this?” I said questioning him.

  “Well goddamn, boy. You should be thanking us. I hear you’re going to be a father with the woman that’s been the love of your life for a fucking decade. Wake up and smell the roses, boy,” Big Daddy grumbled, slapping me on my back and practically knocking the wind out of me.

  He had that same look on his face that he had when I was twelve when he tried to set me down and explain the facts of life, specifically the birds and the bees. I acted like I was clueless not understanding a word he was saying. It was that look that said, “Boy, don’t toy with me because I’m serious.”

  Back then I didn’t want to play my hand and give away the fact that my brother Three had already educated me on every fact that was seemingly important to a young man that age because I knew it would burst his bubble. Big Daddy never like to be undermined. He always wanted to be the one to get there first, so to speak, so that when time went by, and you had to reflect on what you knew and how you knew it, Big Daddy would be the only person to come to mind.