The Kidnappers Private Limited - Chapter Two

Click here to read Chapter One

"Wait, I don't get it," Kevin said, as he took his seat opposite Philip at Cafe La Veranda. It had been a week since they last met, and there were several questions Kevin had wanted to ask.

"Hold on," Philip said, as he turned aside to the waitress. "Two cups of cappuccino.  A blueberry muffin for me. Two croissants for him. Right?" He looked at Kevin.

Over the course of half a dozen meetings, they had become cordial friends, to say the least. Meeting at the Cafe had turned into a small tradition, one which they kept without fail.

"Yah, as I was saying. I couldn't understand something. Why would these six men - what do they call themselves? -"

"The Kidnappers Private Limited," Philip replied.

"Ah, yes, the Kidnappers. Why did they set up such an elaborate plan to kidnap Herb Seigler? Why not just kidnap him?"

Philip knew this question was coming. It was the first thing anyone would ask when they heard about the KPL. After all, why deceive your victim into believing he wasn't being kidnapped?

"Do you know what's the toughest part in a kidnapping, Kevin?" Philip asked, leaning forward. The cafe was slowly filling up with early morning office goers.

"Er, I'm not sure. But I'm guessing...the kidnapping?"

"No," Philip said dismissively. "Most people will be scared to death if you wear a ski mask and point a gun at their faces. They'd join you wherever you were going. That's easy. The difficult part, is keeping your victim captive."

Kevin frowned, still not getting the picture. 

"Think about it," Philip said in a hushed tone, "Ever wondered how difficult it is to keep someone a prisoner? You'd need watch them 24/7, make sure they never escaped. The slightest mistake, and your done. Think of all the movies you've seen. A loose knot, a handy blade...that'd be enough for your victim to escape. And if the police were contacted?"

"It makes sense," Kevin said slowly, still thinking about it. "But then what's the alternative? What does the KPL do?"

"The KPL?" Philip asked. Then with a chuckle, he replied. "They make sure the victim's as comfortable as possible."

February 10th, 2009

The discreet staff of the Merovingian Resort had seen it all. Filthy rich Russian mobsters, spoilt English corporates, slightly unruly Arab oil tycoons. But for most, the sight of a pot bellied, bald man with a thick mustache floating around the private pool, with a drink in his hand, was still amusing.

But they'd been given strict instructions not to inquire or talk about the occupants of the resort. Which was why many paid top dollar to enjoy a quiet weekend there.

Leaving Herb Seigler to enjoy his swim, Michael Slater quickly went into his private suite. As soon as he entered and shut the door behind him, the fake blond hair wig, attached nose piece and mustache were removed.

"Christ, it's hot outside!" He exclaimed. "How's it going?"

Tim and Alex lay on the bed playing a game of Bluff. James was pacing around the suite, blowing rings of smoke. Richard sat on a comfortable sofa, trying to fix a ledger of accounts. Ben, meanwhile, was engrossed in setting up his laptop.

"Hey Mark!" Richard yelled, his head still craned downwards. "Tell me you put the Kid in a Deluxe suite."

"No. He's in a double," Mark said, moving towards the laptop.

 "Oh god dammit!" Richard cursed. "We're spending 4,000 more on the Kid now! C'mon Mark, I told you to put him only in the Deluxe. We're spending way too much on him."

Mark ignored him and turned towards Ben. "Ready to make the Call?" He asked.

Ben had just finished setting up an elaborate antennae next to his laptop, and was now plugging in his headset. "I'm almost ready. Shall we call?"

"Yup. The usual. Richard, we need a final figure," Mark said. 

Richard shook his head, his pen furiously making corrections. "I took a Minor in Accounting, I'm no bloody Chartered Accountant! And now the kid will be using an extra 4000 every day, for God knows how long."

"Ben, make the call," Mark said softly. Richard was always dramatic. He'd have a figure in time.

Seigler's Residence

Meanwhile, Mrs.Seigler had finished dehydrating herself from three hours of crying. She was a frail, innocent women, the kind who miraculously lived for 46 years without facing the slightest of problems. Inspector Jonathan Frey knew how to handle such cases.

"Excuse me, Ma'am," he said politely, "I have a few questions to ask you. I'm sure if you co-operate, we'll get back your husband within the shortest possible time. Now, if you'd please -"

He was interrupted by the sound of the land line phone ringing loudly. As expected, he thought. The ransom call.

"Hello?" Mrs. Seigler said, holding the receiver gingerly. Jonathan wondered if she'd make it till the end of the conversation.

"We have your husband. He's safe as of now. He wont be if our request is not met within the next 48 hours. Deposit a black duffel bag with unmarked 10 dollar bills, totaling 76,000 dollars, in the last row of St. Ignatius Church, on Monday. Your husband's safety hangs in the balance."

The line went dead. Less than 23 seconds, thought Jonathan. These guys weren't amateurs. 

Merovingian Resort

Ben ended the call, and pulled off his headset. "Good job," Mark said as he patted him on the back.

"Cant you come up with something original though, Ben? I mean, no offense," James said, sneering mischievously, "but your dialogues aren't exactly creative, know what I mean?"

"It gets the job done, James. That's all I care about," Ben said coolly, as he began packing up his laptop.

Cafe La Veranda

"Tell me more about these six men," Kevin said. Philip could see his friend was curious. The story of The Kidnappers Private Limited thrilled him. As a seasoned reporter, there were few things more dear to Philip than the look of excitement in the face of his audience. His cappuccino and blueberry tasted better already.

"The leader of KPL was Mark Hanson. He's known as the Primary."

"The Primary? Meaning?"

"Meaning, he's the main part of the entire plan. He's the one who would directly contact the kidnap victim. Then there was Alex Roth, the Secondary, or in most cases, the fake kidnap victim."

"Ben Harper was the Communications 'expert'. He mostly helped in faking calls, and conducting the ransom call."

"James Milner was the Dispatcher. He controlled the entire plan and coordinated everyone's actions."

"Tim Roth, Alex's brother, was the Transport. He organized cars, trucks, vans, limousines. And he was an excellent driver too."

"Richard Bremmer was the Accountant of KPL. His main job was to make sure whatever they spent on the entire kidnapping, including costumes, hotel rooms, transportation, was all lesser than what they got paid for through the ransom money."

"You mean they actually calculated their ransom money?" Kevin asked incredulously.

"Yup. Well, only Richard did. The others were too concerned. But Richard made sure they got enough money to last them for roughly four months."

"Four months?"

"The KPL carried out three kidnappings in an year. It's all really organized," Philip said, smiling smugly.

Kevin nodded his head. He had to agree.

Merovingian Resort

After spending a good two hours in the pool, Herb Seigler felt exhausted, and more importantly, hungry. Mr. Slater, thankful, seemed to feel the same way, though he'd done nothing to exhaust himself.

The two men, new found business partners, proceeded to the restaurant. Herb Seigler knew he'd have to break the ice about his business proposal, but he hoped a heavy main course and creamy dessert would help him.

Fifty minutes after the two men had begun their lunches, Alex and Tim were strolling through the front lobby, when they heard a loud cry. A woman was screaming.

"Quick, call the ambulance," a man yelled at them. Just as Tim was about to pull out his mobile, Alex caught his hand. "Wait, what if-"

His voice trailed off, but Tim knew what he meant. 

They'd taken great pains to make sure Herb Seigler's stay was a secret. If an ambulance was called to the Hotel, the police would follow. And if they found Herb Seigler swimming in a pool without a care in the world...

Nodding his head, Tim began walking away slowly, hoping to alert the rest. They'd need to remove Herb from the resort before things got complicated.

More people began yelling for help, but the two of them kept walking. Just as they were about to enter the elevator though, they heard a familiar voice.

"Call the bloody ambulance!This man's having a heart attack!"

Alex's face went pale as he recognized the voice. It was Mark. Without saying a word, Alex dashed forward, pushing through the crowd. He finally reached the center, where Mark, still dressed as Michael Slater, crouched over a body. 

As he looked up, Alex realized why Mark looked frightened. The man lying on the floor, was Herb Seigler...

Click here to read Chapter Three