Rescued By An Alpha, Complete Set (11 page)

The team started to work on where the phone call came from. Joshua stuffed the three million dollars into a bag, his hands shaking as he laid each bunch of dollars in the canvas sack.

Maxi said, "Don't worry, Joshua, we'll back you up."

"Is that a good idea?"

"We'll be careful. We're professionals. My men will attach a little receiver inside your jacket so we can follow the conversation."

Joshua stood down by the river with the bag of money, waiting. A tall, well-built, muscular man approached him and said in a low voice, "You got the money?"

"Yes, but where is my son? I'm not prepared to give you the money before I know if Philippe is still alive."

"Give me the money and we will send Philippe to you," the man said brusquely.

"That's not the agreement."

Two policemen appeared out of the bushes, their guns trained on him. "Stand down!" one barked.

The man bolted, dodging through the officers' waiting grasp, and disappeared into the dark. They heard a speed boat racing down the river away from them. Maxi and one of the policemen jumped down to the speed boat they had parked in the river and raced after the pirate. The lights of the city glittered as they raced past the shore. They drew closer, and could see the man's muscular outline against the night. He ducked for a moment and turned around.

"He's got a machine gun!" yelled one of the officers. "Hit" They fell to the floor as bullets thudded into the fiberglass frame of the boat. The pirate tossed the gun into the river and yanked the throttle. He speed forward, into the night.

"We've got to pursue him!" snapped Maxi.

"No way. We're taking on water. We've got to get back to shore." There was already a heavy layer of water on the bottom, pouring through the sides. The boat limped to the riverbank.

They all went back to Joshua's office, disappointed. Joshua cursed and clutched the bag of cash absently and worried about what they were going to do to Philippe. Maybe they would indeed chop another one of his fingers off. He didn't understand how some people could be so money hungry. Joshua stopped right there.
Here I am worried about losing the money and not putting my son's welfare first. How uncaring of me!
The businessman in him had taken over, and he now realized how it affected his way of thinking in everything he did. Joshua buried his face in his hands, tears running down his face.

"Excuse me, I need to be alone with my feelings." He went into the little lounge next to his office.

Once in there, Joshua let all his emotions out and cried uncontrollably for some time. Not only about Philippe, but all the stress he had buried for a long time. It felt good to let it all hang out. He realized how the demand of running his business had taken its toll on him. He had not even taken an interest in Philippe's girlfriend.

"Damn it all to hell! I didn't even know he
had
a girlfriend, let alone they went away together on Philippe's yacht. I need to make some changes in my life," Joshua said to himself.

Joshua went back into the office and told everyone how sorry he was for not giving the bandit the money immediately, even though he might have lost it all.

"When they call again, tell them that all I care about is getting my son back. I don't want any interference from anyone. If you need to track them down, take what you can use out of the situation, but don't do anything before I have my son back safe."

They all agreed to that. Maxi said, "Fair enough, we'll make sure to hold back."

They all stayed in the office for the rest of the night and took turns sleeping in the lounge. Joshua had some collapsible beds and blankets brought in so they would be comfortable. He called a nearby pizzeria and got them to bring six big pizzas up. He got the coffee machine going so they could all help themselves to a cup of coffee whenever they wanted one. They were all touched by his concern for everyone's welfare.

CHAPTER THREE

The next morning when the Jean La Belle's fashion store opened up, a courier came in. He went to the information booth to deliver a parcel for Joshua La Belle. The assistant brought the parcel right up to his office.

"A courier left this parcel for Joshua La Belle," the assistant said. "Thank you," the receptionist said as he brought it into his office. He set it down on Joshua's desk and left respectfully. Joshua opened the parcel up and found another part of one of Philippe's fingers. He dropped it, shaking, and collapsed in his chair, weeping. Maxi stepped closer. "May I?" Joshua nodded silently. Maxi picked up the letter.

To Joshua La Belle

How many fingers do you want your son to lose before you stick to our agreement? We will give you one more chance to meet us at the same time tonight at the river. Come alone if you don't want any more harm done to your son.

"Bastard...son of a fucking bitch! Don't worry, Joshua, we'll get them," Maxi said. That same night, Joshua again stood with the bag containing three million dollars, waiting down by the river, in the dark. The same man from the night before approached him and asked for the money. Joshua quietly handed him the money, and before Joshua could say anything, he jumped down into the speed boat below and took off. Maxi and the other three men came out from behind the bushes.

"What next?" Maxi asked, lifting his hands in the air and letting them fall down in a hopeless gesture.

"I will just sit here and wait. Maybe they will bring Philippe back here."

"Okay, we'll wait with you in cover." Maxi was determined to get hold of those crooks. They waited all night, but no one contacted them or brought Philippe back to them. By morning, they were all ready to go back to the office for some hot coffee, and were quite desolate.

Stomping back in, none of them looked at each other, concerned that the whole thing had been futile. After a moment or two of silence, the phone clanged, and Joshua put it on speaker-phone.

"Hello, Joshua speaking." His voice trembled.

A man's deep voice spoke, "You had your bodyguards with you last night. We can't find your son; he has disappeared." There was a click, and nothing more.

"Oh my God, what did they do to him? I hope they haven't killed him." Joshua, who was standing, started to shake. Maxi rushed over to him and eased his old friend back into his seat.

Philippe waited in the dark, waiting for a chance to get out of there. He was doing his best to control the beast in him. Shifting would surely get him shot or stabbed. He crouched, his legs cramping, and waited in a dark hole in the deck where he was hiding. They had been anchored for a while when Philippe heard the men calling out to someone. It sounded like another boat had pulled up next to them. They were all laughing and in high spirits. Philippe thought he heard them talking about millions.

Have they gotten money out of my dad?
He wondered, seething.
I will wait to make my move until later. If they've gotten money from dad, they're probably going to celebrate. Pretty soon they'll be drunk, that will give me a better chance to deal with them one by one.

When it was dark, he crawled out from the hole in the deck over to the side of the ship and glanced over the side. To his surprise he saw, his own yacht down there chained behind the pirate boat, gleaming white in the darkness. Philippe shifted into his jaguar form, waiting. He had to get over to his yacht, but when he heard someone coming he slipped into the storeroom to wait. Sure enough, one of the men lazily strolled in there. As the pirate fumbled in the boxes next to him, Philippe seized his chance. He leapt, sinking his claws into the man's back and biting through his neck. The pirate fell to the floor with a sickly wet crunch. One down. Philippe padded through the darkness, ignoring the strong smell of the man's death and his blood dripping on the floor.

I wonder how many more there are?

He crouched in a corner, waiting. Belatedly, he realized that leaving bodies in the store room would just get the ship locked down and dragged the bodies out of the way. Picking them off one by one wasn't much of a strategy, but it was better than nothing.

"Pierre?" called a man. His voice was too loud, and he staggered drunkenly towards Philippe's corner. Philippe waited until he came a little closer, then jumped. This time, the pirate screamed. A couple of men came running into the store room and found the man on the floor bleeding.

They panicked, "We better get out of here something weird and creepy is going on here." The leader said. They all got busy, pulled the anchor, and sailed further out to sea. Philippe licked his chops hopefully and waited in his hiding spot, but they kept sailing. Defeated, he laid back down, waiting. They'd been sloppy enough to let him escape once, and sloppy enough for him to kill some of them. He'd have his chance, if he didn't get off the ship soon they would eventually catch him. They had to stop sailing eventually.

Early next morning, they arrived near a small island and dropped anchor. A few of the men jumped into a dingy and sailed ashore. When everything seemed quiet on the deck, Philippe crawled up from his hideout. Clambering up the stairs, he clung to the wall. Hiding behind the boxes of fishing supplies on the deck, he slowly crept towards the back end of the ship. Then, miraculously, it was clear. He glanced over the side of the ship and swallowed, but there was no time to lose. He jumped over the side, plunging into the cold ocean. Shifting into human form in the water, he took a deep breath and swam over to the yacht. His lungs burning, he reached the ladder near the back and slowly, painfully climbed up. He squinted up at the yacht and heaved his naked body over the edge.

"Oh, gosh that was hard."Philippe said as he let himself fall into the yacht. "I've got to crawl over to the door." He slowly crept across the deck, towards the door. The yacht, a weekender, was still chained to the back of the pirate ship "I could probably climb up the chain, back to the pirate ship, but it would be noisy. Philippe decided. "Then again, it wouldn't matter, all the pirates are probably in the cabins, sleeping off their hangovers from last night." Philippe snatched some extra clothes from the closet and put them on. He fumbled through his things as he talked to himself.

"Serena's phone! Is it charged. Yes it is, but it might not last for very long, but I could track its GPS." Hope surged through him. Tucking it into a pocket, he rubbed his hands together, "Now I got to crawl back over to the pirate ship on that chain. It is not going to be easy, but I have to get back over there with the phone so I can track the ship down again after I get some help."

The dingy pulled up, and he dove for cover, hiding below the line of sight. His heart pounded as they sailed past him. He thought for a while. They'd surely discover the men he'd killed and notice the strange injuries. The pirates had no idea where he was or that he spent half of his time in jaguar form. Maybe it would be better to wait until dark. Philippe stretched out and stared at the sky, waiting. When the sun finally set and the sounds of the party had died down. He stretched and slowly, painfully, worked his way up the rattling chain. Once he'd swung himself onto the deck and hid the phone, he seized the chain and rode it back down. The links rattled heavily, and his hands ached, but he landed safely on top of his yacht.

Disconnecting the chain from the tow, he watched as the yacht slowly drifted away. When the pirate ship was only a speck in the distance, Philippe pulled up the sails and let the wind carry the yacht away. He spoke aloud, enjoying the freedom of his own voice.

"I don't dare start the motor yet in case the pirates can hear the noise of the engine. It's so dark. I wonder where I am?"

The wind was strong, and in no time, he was far away. He chugged along, following the stream and watching for any sign of lights or other vessels. After a few hours, the wind died down and he decided to start the motor. If he was lucky, he should be able to get back to France with the fuel he had left. He couldn't risk turning on the lights or the radio, in case the pirates saw him or caught his signal, so he'd have to fumble his way back to the coast.

I just want to get home and find out what happen to Serena. I wanted to protect her, and I failed.

He kept sailing all night and hoped he could rely on the compass and his instruments. The sea was a bit choppy, but that was the least of his problems. When the sun finally rose, Philippe welcomed the dawn of a new day after sailing all night in the dark.
Is that land I see out in
the distance?
As he got closer and it got lighter, the land became more and more visible. Philippe's spirit started to lift and he felt sure he would make it ashore, wherever he was landing. Philippe pulled up next to the jetty and tied his yacht up on the dock. He walked up to the little village to find out where he had landed. As he entered the small town center, he noticed a sign, La Rosa Post Office, on a building. He went in and asked if they had a phone he could use. The man behind the counter answered him in French. What a relief. Philippe took a deep breath, he was on home ground.

"The phone booths are over by the wall, you pay here after." Philippe thanked him, walked over to one of the phone booths, and dial his father's number.

"Hi dad, it's me, Philippe."

"Philippe....oh, it's so good to hear your voice! Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Yes, I'm okay. I'm in a little village called La Rosa. I think it is south of Paris. Did Serena contact you?"

"Yes. She is okay, but worried about you."

"I'm so glad she's okay. I have been worried sick about her. You can tell her that I'm okay now and managed to slip away from the pirates. I need some help, dad. Can you get hold of some of your old buddies from when you were in the French Foreign Legion? We need to catch those crooks before they hurt any more innocent people."

"Yes, I'm already in touch with some of them. There is nothing more my old friend Maxi would like to do than get hold of those crooks. How is your hand? Are you still in pain?"