KILTED DESIRE 2 - Russian Roulette (18 page)

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“They are paying it. But, we need tae make sure Kyle is safe
afore we send any money.”

“Have you called the police?”

“Nae, they did nae want tae. The message said if they found
oot the police were involved then it would nae be guid fer Kyle.”

“So do you want me to meet them to make sure Kyle is okay
before they send any money?”

“Aye maybe.
But, we need tae try tae
find oot more aboot who has him. I have a computer expert coming tomorrow.
He’ll trace the email and hopefully we can learn more. And if need be, then
I’ll come over too. Yer probably should nae tangle with these people on yer
own.”

“Okay, well my phone seems to be working again now, so you
should be able to reach me from now on. I’m on the hotel phone at the moment. I
have a couple of contacts around here, so I will see what I can find out. I’ll
talk to you later Scott. Please tell the Robinson’s that I’m very sorry, and
that I’ll do my best to find him.”

“Aye, I will do Tom. I’ll call yer a wee bit later tae keep
yer updated.”

Scott let the others know that Tom had called. He passed on Tom’s
information about the chain of events on Saturday, as well as that he would be
trying to help find Kyle. Later that morning, Tiffany got her call through to
Alexei. He said he planned to be traveling back down to L.A. on Wednesday
morning, so he would stop in then. Scott needed to make a call back to Ohio, to
tell his employer that because of a personal emergency, he wouldn’t be able to
teach his classes that week. There wasn’t much more that any of them could do
for the rest of the day, apart from wait, and hope.

Everyone was up early the following morning. None of them
had gotten much sleep. Chris’ plane was due to arrive at LAX early in the
afternoon. He managed to get a direct flight from Manchester, England. Tiffany
had arranged for a driver to pick him up from the airport. Everything had been
taken care of.

There was no further contact from the kidnappers through the
night, so once again, they waited. Later that morning, Scott received another
call from Tom, he said he was still trying to find out information but so far, without
any success. Everyone in the house suffered from a lack of sleep and stress,
especially Linda. She was close to breaking point. Jim tried to spend most of
the day comforting her. Tiffany was doing her best to hold herself together
too. And she was doing what she could to help Scott. She was not used to
dealing with situations like this, so she too began to feel the strain. Soon
after lunch, they received a call from the driver to say that Chris was already
in the car and they were on their way to the house.

An hour and a half later the car arrived. Scott greeted his
friend on the driveway. He thanked him for coming and took him inside. After
quick introductions, Chris sat down on the couch. He was tired. He’d traveled
for nearly sixteen hours. But, he insisted on getting straight to work. Scott
told him about everything that had transpired over the past few days and Chris
was eager to help.

After a quick rest and a cup of coffee to help keep him
awake, Chris looked at Kyle’s computer. He told them he thought he could get
information from it but it may take a while. He asked if there was a printer he
could use, so he could print off information as he found it. Tiffany showed him
to her Dad’s office, which was upstairs. It was a small room but it contained
everything Chris wanted. Soon, Chris was hard at work. About two hours later he
emerged from the office and came down the stairs. Scott and Tiffany were
sitting on the couch. They both sat forward in anticipation as Chris approached
them.

“Where are yer Mom and Dad?” Chris asked.

“Mom is trying to sleep and Dad is up there with her. Did
you find anything?” she replied.

“Aye, lots of things. Look at this Scott,” he said, as he
sat down and handed Scott some papers.

“Yer dealing with the Russian Mafia!”

“Aye, I suspected as much. So are these all emails?” Scott
asked, as he looked through the pages.

“Aye, the first email came through tae Kyle aboot a month
ago. From a girl called Tatiana. She told him she got his details from his
online profile but she never said which one. I checked and Kyle has profiles on
all the popular social media sites, so he probably thought she was genuine. She
sent him a photo too, she’s a gorgeous blonde. That probably had something tae
do with him replying. They exchanged a lot of emails, and he sent her a photo
too. He told her he was coming to Russia on a business trip but did nae ever
mention a Casino. He did tell her he was visiting Sochi. And they talked aboot
her coming
doon
there tae see him when he was there.
There is even an email that mentioned her coming back tae visit California with
him.”

“Tatiana does nae really exist, does she?” Scott asked,
already knowing the answer.

“What do you mean she doesn’t exist?” Tiffany asked.

“Aye, he’s reet
Tiffany,
it’s just
a mob trick. Obviously the lass in the photo is real but
it’s
nae the person who was sending the emails.”

“Why would they do that?” she asked.

“Tae try and lure him in, so they could take him,” Scott
answered.

“Aye, pretty much. Last Wednesday she emailed him tae say
she would nae be able tae come
doon
and see him in Sochi.
And, that she was getting harassed by her ex-boyfriend. She asked if Kyle would
go tae Moscow tae help her.”

“So, where did the messages originate from Chris?” Scott
asked, hoping he had an answer.

“All of these emails come from different locations around Moscow;
most of the IP addresses show up more than once. But, one is more popular than
the others. It shows a location just west of Moscow. Believe it or nae, it’s the
same location yer ransom note came from. They did try tae encrypt the
information on that email, but it was fairly easy tae uncover.”

“Do yer think this is unusual, Chris? I thought groups like
these usually focused on money laundering, drug trafficking, counterfeiting,
that kind of thing.”

“Aye, I suppose it is a bit unusual. But, I guess yer just
never know with people like this. Any chance they see tae make easy money,
they’re going tae take it.”

“What I don’t understand is how did they know about Kyle in
the first place?” Tiffany said, as she stood up.

“We dinnae know fer sure. But it has tae be something tae do
with Alexei. Either he or someone in his family knows something,” Scott replied,
standing up next to her and reaching for her hand.

“And this is the kid who’s coming here tomorrow, reet?”
Chris asked.

“Aye, we need tae talk tae him again. The lad could be
innocent but someone connected tae him knows something.”

“So what is going to happen now? And, how are we going to
get my brother back?”

“I’m going tae go tae Russia and personally get him. And, hopefully
I can take Alexei with me. If he’s with me, we’ll have someone they want, he
could be very useful.”

“That’s a guid idea, Scott. I’m in if yer want me tae come
with yer.”

“I was hoping
yer’d
say that. We’re
going tae have tae keep an eye on him.”

“Hang on you two! I don’t want you going over there, Scott?
You’re still recovering from your head injury.” Tiffany said, as she hugged
Scott.

“Dinnae worry aboot me Tiff, I’ll be fine. And we dinnae
have much choice if we want tae get him back. I
cannae
let Tom meet these people on his own. And like I said, if Chris comes with me,
and we have Alexei, we’ll be fine.”

“Damn Scott, I don’t’ like this. We better get Dad and let
him know what’s happening.” Tiffany said, as she left the room and went
upstairs to talk to her parent’s.

Scott looked at Chris.

“Thanks fer offering tae
come
tae
Russia with me, mate.”

“Yer welcome, I could do with some excitement.”

“That’s nae really why I think we should go. I just dinnae
see that we have much choice.”

Just as he finished talking, he saw Tiffany coming back down
the stairs with Jim.

Linda had fallen asleep, so they left
her to rest for a while. Tiffany told her Dad what Chris discovered on Kyle’s computer,
and that the two men were planned on traveling to Russia to bring Kyle home.
Jim was concerned, but liked the idea of Alexei accompanying them. He never
trusted his son’s Russian friend.

Scott further explained to Jim, it was imperative that they not
let Alexei know that they suspected him. It was important to make him feel they
trusted him and needed his help, if he was going to agree to accompany them on
the journey to Moscow.

Just over an hour later, Jim checked his email and
discovered another message from the kidnappers. It gave details of a bank
account where the money was to be paid. Chris checked deeper into the message
and once again it had come from the same IP location. Scott told Jim to send an
email back, and told him exactly what to write:

‘WE AGREE TO YOUR DEMANDS AND WILL HAVE THE MONEY FOR YOU BY
THE END OF THE WEEK. HOWEVER, WE WILL NOT WIRE THE MONEY WITHOUT SEEING THAT
OUR SON IS ALIVE. WE HAVE A FAMILY FRIEND WHO WILL TRAVEL TO RUSSIA TO MEET YOU.
HE WILL HAVE A CODE THAT WILL ENABLE HIM TO COMPLETE THE TRANSFER, AND AS SOON
AS HE SEES KYLE IS UNHARMED, THEN YOU WILL GET YOUR MONEY. WE WILL SUPPLY YOU
WITH A CONTACT PHONE NUMBER TO REACH HIM AND YOU CAN CHOOSE A PLACE WHERE THE
EXCHANGE WILL TAKE PLACE.’

Scott wanted the message to sound confident, but didn’t want
it to sound like they were making demands. He talked it over with Chris first,
before asking Jim to send the email.

Within half an hour, there was a reply.

‘VERY WELL.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO
MEETING YOUR ‘FRIEND’. REMEMBER ANY TRICKS OR POLICE AND YOU NEVER SEE YOUR SON
AGAIN.’

Scott was happy that they managed to get the kidnappers
attention. And that they seemed not to have a problem in a face-to-face meeting
to complete the exchange. He believed it meant
,
Kyle
was still alive and unharmed. He explained to Jim that he would need to set up an
offshore account. He needed to make sure the exact amount was in there. Then,
to arrange with the bank for a special code or password that allowed the money
to be transferred. Jim made a few calls and said that his friend would help him
do it the following morning.

After Jim returned from his call, Scott also told him that
they would need to purchase a cell phone. Something without a contract, that
would work overseas. More importantly, something that could not be traced back
to them.

Details seemed to be falling into place. Just one major
thing remained to be done. Persuade Alexei that they needed him to come along
on the journey. They all hoped he would agree.

It wasn’t late, but everyone was tired, especially Chris.
Tiffany showed him to one of the guest rooms, he needed to try and get some
sleep. A few minutes later Jim walked back upstairs too, leaving Scott and
Tiffany in the living room.

“I need tae call Tom tae let him know what we’re planning.”

“Okay, do you need me to leave?”

“Nae, it’s fine,” he said, as they sat down together on the
couch. Scott reached for his phone and called Tom. It rang out for a while.

“Hello.”

“Hi Tom, I know it’s early over there. Did I wake yer?”

“Not really, I was just resting.”

“Have yer found oot any information yet?”

“No, nothing.
I’ve asked around,
but this is a huge city.”

“Tom, I’m coming over there. We contacted the kidnappers by
email and I’m going tae meet them tae make sure Kyle is okay afore we give them
the money.”

“You’re not bringing cash are you?”

“Nae, we’ll have an account set up and I’ll have a code fer
it. We’ll have a laptop and I’ll transfer the money when I see Kyle is alive
and well.”

“Okay, I’ll go with you. Where are you meeting them? And,
what day are you planning on coming in?”

“I’m nae sure yet Tom. But, I’ll call yer as-soon-as I know.
It will be sometime in the next few days though.”

“Right, that will be good.”

“Do yer have a car there Tom? Will yer be able tae come tae
the airport?”

“Yes, let me know when and I’ll come and get you.”

“How about weapons?
Do yer have any,
and can yer get anymore?”

“Yeah, I can arrange that, don’t worry.”

“Okay, Thanks Tom. I’ll call yer when I have more details.
Bye.”

“Yup bye.”

Scott wrapped his arms around Tiffany and held her tightly.

“How are yer holding up, Tiff?”

“I’m doing okay. I’m just tired.”

“I know this is nae easy fer yer.”

“It’s not. But I am glad you’re here.”

“I’ll do everything I can. I hope yer know that. Do yer know
if yer parent’s told yer sister what’s happening?”

“No they didn’t, or they haven’t yet. They couldn’t decide
whether to or not.”

“I just wondered.”

“Please be careful over there, Scott.”

“I’ll be fine, dinnae worry,” he said, as he placed his
hands on the sides of her face and kissed her gently.

“Do that again,” she whispered.

He kissed her again, this time more passionately, caressing
the side of her neck as their lips came together.

“I know! I have nae done this fer a couple of days. It’s nae
that I did nae want tae. It’s just with everything going on, I’ve been a wee
bit distracted. I’ll make up fer it when all of this is over.”