by Lucas Flint
Dad rubbed his forehead, his veins popping out of his temple, but when he spoke again, it was in a slightly more polite voice, “Right, right, I see. Thanks for telling me. Jack and I will be there as quickly as possible. Bye.”
Dad hung up the phone and turned to face me with a deadly grim expression on his face. “Grab your backpack, Jack. As soon as I get my shoes on, we’re going for a drive.”
“A drive?” I repeated. “Where?”
“To downtown Rumsfeld,” said Dad. He walked past me to the kitchen exit, forcing me to turn in my chair to follow him. “And we have to get there as soon as possible.”
“Why?” I said. “What happened in downtown Rumsfeld that is so bad that we need to head there ASAP?”
Dad stopped in the kitchen archway and turned to face me, his expression even grimmer than it had been a few seconds ago. “Your mom was kidnapped. And Holes is the kidnapper.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Less than half an hour later, Dad and I pulled up in his truck into the parking lot of Clothes & Colors, a somewhat higher end clothes store in downtown Rumsfeld that Mom loved shopping in. I had been to the store a few times myself, usually with Mom whenever we needed to buy new clothes for me. While Clothes & Colors sold men’s clothing, I never liked going to it because it seemed like mostly a women’s clothing store. It didn’t help that they sold far more women’s clothing than men’s, though I had to admit that their men’s clothing section was pretty good despite that.
But today, I wanted to be there both more and less than I ever wanted. Less because I dreaded finding out what happened to Mom. More because I wanted to find out where Mom was and how to save her from Holes.
The police were already there when Dad and I arrived. Yellow crime scene tape had been put around the entrances to Clothes & Colors, while a handful of police cruisers were parked near the entrance. A couple of police officers stood outside the store, talking to each other while occasionally glancing around the area as if to make sure no one tried to slip past them into the store. I didn’t see any other cars in the parking lot aside from theirs and a couple of others I assumed belonged to the workers at the store.
“Hey, Dad,” I said, glancing at Dad as he parked the truck. “How did Mom get to Clothes & Colors if she didn’t take the car?”
“Took a ride with one of her friends,” said Dad in a tone that clearly said ‘We are not going to talk about this right now.’
I nodded and undid my seat belt and hopped out of the truck with Dad. We walked up to the entrance of the store. As we approached it, I looked through the windows, but saw nothing except for rows of clothing and mannequins standing in the windows showing off the newest styles of the season. The store itself looked pretty empty, although I saw a couple of officers standing at the checkout counter talking to what looked like a very nervous girl not much older than myself who must have been the cashier.
“Hi,” said Dad as we approached the officers at the entrance. “I’m Walter McDonald and this is my son, Jack. We’re here because we got a call about my wife’s kidnapping from you.”
One of the officers—a fresh-faced Hispanic guy who looked like he must have just started the job—looked at us and said, “Oh, yes. Officer Henry was the one who called you. Here, let me take you to him. He was one of the first officers to answer the nine one one call about the kidnapping, so he knows the details of the situation better than any of us.”
The officer took us inside the store. Clothes & Colors smelled as fresh and pleasant as it always did, but the air was tense and thick. I kept glancing at the clothing racks on either side of us we walked down the aisle toward the checkout counter. These clothing racks would have made excellent hiding spots for Holes, though that was mostly my paranoia talking. If Holes had indeed kidnapped Mom, then he was probably long gone by now and certainly wouldn’t be hiding among women’s dresses, no matter how pretty or stylish they might be.
“Officer Henry,” said the officer as we approached the checkout counter. “The kidnapping victim’s husband and son are here.”
Officer Henry—who I recognized from the time the Injectors attacked and nearly hijacked my school bus a couple months back—turned to look at us. He wasn’t smiling, which was unusual for him, because in my experience Officer Henry was usually an upbeat guy. The girl cashier, who had short brunette hair and fingernails painted red, was nervously playing with a strand of her hair, which I had to admit made her look kind of cute.
“Thank you, Officer Garcia,” said Officer Henry, nodding at him. “You can go back and protect the entrance. I’ll fill in Mr. McDonald and his son here on what happened.”
Officer Garcia nodded in return and turned and walked away. I was under the impression that Officer Garcia was actually glad that he didn’t have to stick around and explain anything to us. Maybe he also sensed the same tension in the air that I did.
“Officer Henry,” said Dad, looking at him urgently. “What happened to Mary? Where is she? You said on the phone that she was kidnapped by Holes.”
Officer Henry sighed, removed his glasses, and polished them on the fabric of his shirt briefly before putting them back on. “Yes, I did tell you that, but unfortunately I’m not sure there is much we can do to save her at the moment, mostly because we don’t know where Holes is.”
“Tell us what happened anyway,” Dad said. “She’s my wife. I want to know all the details and I want to know them now.”
I was almost taken aback by how vehemently Dad insisted on knowing the details of Mom’s kidnapping. Then again, it made sense, given how Mom was his wife. And I felt pretty much the same way, because she was my mother and I couldn’t bear the thought of her being in the clutches of a supervillain who hated me and wanted me dead.
“All right,” said Officer Henry. “I’m not sure what good it will do you, but I’ll tell you, starting from the beginning, by which I mean about forty-five minutes ago.”
Officer Henry gestured at the nervous cashier. “About forty-five minutes ago, Mary McDonald and three of her friends entered Clothes & Colors with the intention of buying clothes. Miss Rachel Shane here confirmed seeing all four of the women enter together at the same time.”
“What happened to Mom’s friends?” I said. “Are they still here or—”
“They were taken to the hospital,” Officer Henry said. “They were incredibly shaken by Mrs. McDonald’s kidnapping, to the point where one of them even fainted. I don’t think they were injured, but we had to rush them to the hospital anyway to help them deal with their nerves.”
“And what happened after Mom entered?” I said. “Did Holes attack?”
Officer Henry glanced at the woman he called Miss Rachel Shane. “According to Miss Shane, Mary had to go to the bathroom, so she went to the ladies’ room on the other side of the store, but before she could enter, Holes emerged from a hole in the ceiling and grabbed her.”
I glanced at the ceiling, which was perfectly solid and lacked even a single hole. “He came from the ceiling and grabbed her? Did Mom fight back?”
“She did,” said Rachel suddenly. She spoke softly and timidly, sort of like she had just gotten off a really big roller coaster. “She tried to fight Holes off with her purse, but he just knocked it out of her hands and grabbed her like she hadn’t done anything. It was really scary.”
I could not help but find the way Rachel spoke really cute. Not that I thought terror was a cute emotion or whatever, but there was something about Rachel I liked even though I had never seen her before.
“What happened after that?” said Dad, wringing his hands.
“Holes took Mary into another hole and the two of them vanished,” said Officer Henry. “All in all, the entire event happened in less than five minutes. Right, Miss Shane?”
Rachel nodded. “Yeah. M-Maybe less. But it sure seemed to take longer when it was actually happening. Scariest day of my life.”
“Is that all that he did?” said Dad in disbelief. “Just
popped in, kidnapped Mary, and left? He didn’t say anything or even explain why he kidnapped her?”
“Actually, he did leave something,” said Officer Henry. He pulled a folded up piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Dad. “A note he addressed to you, regarding why he kidnapped your wife. I already read it myself, but it’s disturbing nonetheless.”
Dad took the note wordlessly and unfolded it so fast that he nearly ripped it. As for myself, I moved closer to Dad so I could read the note, too, which read thus:
To Walter McDonald,
If you are reading this note, then I already have your wife, Mary, in my possession. I imagine that the actual kidnapping was pretty easy, though it would have taken days, maybe even weeks, of preparation time on my part, because even the simplest kidnapping requires a lot of planning in order to pull off. Luckily, I specialize in kidnapping and was quite good at it in my day, which your own father, the original Trickshot, could tell you about if he was still around.
But enough of my own brilliance. You are likely worried about the well-being of your wife and where she is. I cannot tell you that now, because I don’t want the police, who will inevitably read this note before you do, to find out where I am.
But I can tell you that Mary is likely safe and will remain so for the foreseeable future. I say ‘the foreseeable future’ because I am perfectly willing to give you back your wife, Mary, safe and sound, if you give me what I want.
And what do I want? That’s easy to answer. The Trickshot Watch. I know that you have it, because you are the son of Gregory McDonald, the original Trickshot. I have theorized that he passed it down to you and that you must have it even if you are not currently using it yourself.
Furthermore, you must give me the Trickshot Watch in person at a time and location I will determine. And you must come alone, without any police, superheroes, or other allies. You can’t even bring your own son.
If you agree to the above conditions, then call me at the below number and we can arrange the meeting. I am giving you a day to call me so we can arrange the meeting.
If, at the end of the next 24 hours, you have not decided or even have outright refused to give me the Watch, I will kill Mary in cold blood and send her corpse to your house.
Sincerely yours, Holes.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dad held the ransom note so tightly that his knuckles turned pure white. His hands shook and he stared at the note so hard that he seemed to be trying to set it on fire through sheer force of will alone.
“What do you think?” said Officer Henry, who rested his hands on his belt.
Dad suddenly looked up at Officer Henry, a dazed look on his face. “What do I think? I think I’m going to go home, grab my shotgun, find out where this Holes guy is, and shoot him until he stops moving, and then shoot him some more. And if he lays even one finger on Mary’s head, why, I’ll—”
“I know,” Officer Henry interrupted. “But as I already said, we don’t know where he is. We could try calling that number and setting up a fake meeting, but—”
“But Holes isn’t going to listen to anyone who isn’t Dad,” I said. “I bet if anyone other than Dad called that number, Holes would probably kill Mom outright. You shouldn’t risk it.”
“But Mary is in danger,” said Dad. “I have to save her. And I only have twenty-four hours to find her, if this letter is accurate. If I don’t call Holes before the twenty-four hours are up, he’ll kill her.”
“We know,” said Officer Henry, “but Holes is a supervillain and an incredibly dangerous one at that. It would be beyond foolish for you to confront Holes on your own. You have to let us find him while you—”
“While I what?” Dad interrupted. He waved the note in Officer Henry’s face. “Sit around and wait while Holes does God-knows-what to Mary? Hope and pray that maybe you guys will be able to find him in twenty-four hours? Just twiddle my thumbs and hope that maniac decides out of the goodness of his heart to let Mary go?”
Officer Henry actually leaned back slightly at Dad’s shouting, which was impressive, given how Officer Henry was younger and fitter than Dad. “Mr. McDonald, we’ll do whatever we can to find your wife, starting right away, but we need you to remain calm and not do anything impulsive. The last thing we need is for you to go after Holes and get yourself killed.”
“You mean you think Holes is going to murder Mary anyway?” said Dad. “That’s not very reassuring.”
“I didn’t mean that,” said Officer Henry quickly. “I—”
“I don’t care what you meant,” said Dad. He poked Officer Henry in the chest. “If you don’t save Mary right away, I’ll—”
I grabbed Dad’s forearm, causing Dad to look at me in surprise. “Dad, please don’t threaten Officer Henry. I know how you feel about Mom, but getting angry at Officer Henry won’t solve anything.”
Dad continued to stare at me in surprise, which made sense, because I rarely challenged his authority or contradicted him on anything. But I knew that getting angry at Officer Henry wouldn’t solve anything, especially because the police were in no position to find and save Mom at the moment. Besides, I was worried that Dad might let his anger get the best of him and he might outright assault Officer Henry. That might have seemed a bit of a stretch, but Dad was incredibly protective of Mom and had a short temper. I knew for a fact that Dad could get violent when he lost control of his temper, having once seen Dad get into a fistfight with a cashier at a grocery store because the cashier treated Mom really disrespectfully.
To my relief, Dad lowered his arm, but he didn’t look very happy. He just looked at Officer Henry and said, “My apologies, officer. I lost control of my temper.”
“I understand,” said Officer Henry, who sounded quite relieved that I had managed to deescalate the situation. “If my wife was kidnapped, I’d probably feel the same way you do.”
“Right,” said Dad. But then he leaned toward Officer Henry, a harsh expression on his face. “But I expect you to find and rescue Mary as soon as possible. Understood?”
Officer Henry nodded quickly. “Completely, Mr. McDonald. We’ll find and bring your wife back to you as soon as possible.”
Dad leaned back, though he still didn’t look quite satisfied. “Thank you, officer. I wish you the best of luck.”
Then Dad nodded at me. “Come on, Jack. Let’s go home. No point in sticking around here if Mary isn’t here.”
“We’ll call you if we have any luck finding your wife,” said Officer Henry. “Just to let you know.”
“All right,” said Dad.
Dad turned and walked toward the exit. I followed silently, hoping that Dad wasn’t too angry at me for stopping him from picking a fight with Officer Henry. But perhaps I was getting worried for no reason, because Dad seemed more depressed and frustrated than anything.
-
The car ride home was very silent. Neither Dad nor I said anything. I figured Dad was probably lost in worry over Mom’s well-being and safety. So was I, but I had other things on my mind as well, things I wasn’t sure I could share with Dad just yet.
For one, Holes’ ransom note was still on my mind. Holes wanted my Watch. Dad, of course, didn’t have it, but I did. Even if Dad had agreed to Holes’ demands, it would have become obvious that Dad did not have the Watch. Therefore, even if Dad had gone to meet with Holes, the situation probably would have ended with Mom’s death anyway, and likely Dad’s, too, given how Holes hated Grandfather and wanted to kill everyone related to him.
But I hesitated to tell Dad that. For the past three months, I’d kept my secret identity as Trickshot a secret from my parents. They were just as ignorant as everyone else about the true identity of the new Trickshot running around Rumsfeld. It had been tricky to do, of course, because I lived in the same house as my parents, but through a combination of skill and luck, I’d managed to avoid drawing their suspicion onto me.
But I wasn’t sure I could do that any longer. With Mom kidnapped and
about to be killed in 24 hours, events seemed to be trying to force me to reveal my secret identity to Dad. If I did that, we might be able to put together a plan to save Mom, but I resisted the idea anyway because I was worried about how Dad might react.
It was no secret that Dad did not like Grandfather being a superhero. He had even explicitly told me and my late brother Thomas that he did not want us to become superheroes when we grew up. He didn’t think much of the lifestyle because of how dangerous it was. If I told him that I had been doing superhero work behind his back illegally, he might very well disown me and kick me out of the house. Hell, he might even blame me for Mom’s kidnapping. After all, if I hadn’t started using the Watch, Holes would never have come back to Rumsfeld seeking revenge.
Yet I hated seeing Dad so sad, even depressed. ‘Depressed’ was a word I had never used to describe Dad before, but it fit his current mood to a T right now. If I told him I was Trickshot, he might not be depressed anymore, though he’d probably get angry instead. And trust me, Dad’s anger was NOT something you wanted to be on the receiving end of, as Officer Henry learned earlier.
“TW,” I said in my mind. “What do you think I should do?”
“I can’t tell you what to do,” said TW. “Ultimately, whether you reveal your secret identity to your father is your choice, not mine.”
“You sure are helpful.”
“Sometimes, I can be more helpful when I don’t tell you what to do.”
That seemed like a cop out to me, but at the same time, I knew that I couldn’t make TW do anything. This decision really did fall on my shoulders, even though I wished it didn’t. That meant I and I alone was responsible for making this decision, regardless of the consequences. I mean, I always knew that, but now it was starting to seem far more real than it did before.
When we got home, we still didn’t say much. Dad went into the kitchen and turned on the sink and started washing dishes and putting the spaghetti away. My own bowl of half-eaten spaghetti was still on the table, but I wasn’t in the mood to finish it, given everything that had just happened. Besides, I was too nervous trying to figure out whether to tell Dad I was Trickshot to eat. I covered my spaghetti with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge, intending to finish it later, though at the moment I didn’t give much thought as to what ‘later’ even meant at this point.