This story is set somewhere right after 'educating Fran'.

Kidnapped

by

Anakin
(anakin.david@free.fr)

The audience applauded in a standing ovation as the actors saluted. Up in his box, Maxwell Sheffield was beaming proudly. One of the actors called for him to come down on the scene, so he excused himself towards his family, and went backstage to join his interprets on stage.

The audience once again stood up and they all saluted, bending. After four or five more calls, the curtain closed for the last time of the evening.

Maxwell went backstage to celebrate their success, with the staff of the play, the actors, and his family, but soon the kids were yawning. Niles suggested to bring them back home with the limo and send it back for them, so C.C., Maxwell, and Miss Fine were able to stay a little longer.

Maxwell gave several interviews with C.C. by his side, while Fran was animatedly talking with a few actors, much to Maxwell’s dismay. From time to time, he looked in her direction, and got nervous when he saw his young lead being a little too friendly towards her, so he quickly finished his last interview, and went seeking his favorite Nanny.

He found her having a juice with several actors, the lead once again tried to wrap his arm around her shoulder, but she gently pushed him back. Maxwell felt a twinge of jealousy but was relieved when he saw her gesture. He stepped forward and encircled her waist with one arm. She was startled at first, and was about to push him back, thinking it was another actor, but when she saw who it was, she beamed gracefully at him, and slightly stroked his tuxedo covered forearm.

"I think we should go home now, Miss Fine…" He said softly with a gentle smile.

"Yes, I’m feeling a little tired." She replied.

They excused themselves towards the actors, and went to find C.C. who was in a heated discussion with the director of the play.

"Well C.C., we’re going home, would you like us to drive you back?"

"Oh no, Maxwell, I’ll take a cab, I’ve got several things to discuss here if you don’t mind."

"All right C.C., have a nice evening."

They went to pick their coats, and exited the theater to enter the awaiting limo.

Once inside, Fran snuggled in Maxwell’s arms, sighing, like a little girl seeking shelter into her father’s arms.

He gladly accepted her in his embrace, and kissed her head through her hair. Although he was not used to being so familiar with her in public, there, they were all alone and enjoying a privacy they seldom had.

"René, please, drive us home." Maxwell said.

"At your service, Sir…" came his voice laced with a slight British accent through the intercom. It was deeper than usual but tiredness helping, Maxwell just assumed his chauffeur had a sore throat.

They remained like this until Maxwell realized the chauffeur had been driving the limo longer than usual.

"René? Why is it taking so long?"

"Because, Sir, I am NOT René, and you are our hostages…"

Maxwell felt as if he had been hit. Luckily, Fran had fallen asleep on his knees.

"What?!"

"Nothing personal, Sir… You’re just too wealthy, and we need money, that’s all…"

"What the bloody hell is going on?! Where’s René? Did you hurt him?!"

With Maxwell stirring, and shouting, Fran had awakened, and was slowly coming to her senses.

"Don’t worry about your chauffeur, Sir. When your butler wakes up tomorrow morning, he’ll find him tied up behind your house."

"… The chauffeur? Tied up?… What’s happening Mr. Sheffield?!" Fran said in a rather panicked tone."

"Shhh Miss Fine, we’ll try to get out of…"

"… And if I were you, I wouldn’t try using the handles of the doors. They’re locked, and there’s no chance for you to escape that car. If you do what we tell you, when we tell you to do it, you should get out of this unharmed, although maybe a little less rich. So stay calm, sit back and relax, we shouldn’t be long now."

"Relax?! How the bloody hell can we relax when you’re…" he roared, but realized the guy in the front seat had cut the intercom off.

Then he realized that Fran said nothing. He turned to her and found her with a terrified look, like paralyzed.

"Miss Fine?… Miss Fine?!… Fran?!" he shook her.

Fran seemed pulled out from a bad dream, she looked at him with fear in her eyes.

"Mr. Sheffield…"

He folded her in his arms.

"Oh Fran… Don’t worry, we’ll get out of this."

They remained tightly embraced until the moment the car came to a stop. Maxwell released Fran a little, just when the door opened. Two masked men entered the limo, one was holding scarves, and the other one ropes.

"I’m afraid we have to put blindfolds on your eyes, and tie up your wrists, but that won’t be long." Said the one who had obviously been driving them.

"I wonder why you are being so polite!" Maxwell shot back.

"We have no intention to harm you if we can avoid it Mr. Sheffield, and although you are our hostages, simple rules of politeness may be respected. Now that doesn’t mean we won’t take the appropriate decisions should you choose not to listen to our advice and try to escape… Do you understand?" the man tying up their wrists said, his voice threatening.

"You’re not going to get away with that so easily, you know that? The police will seek us out!"

"Oh we don’t fear the police… Now", he said, pushing him out of the car while his colleague was doing the same with Fran, "Get out of the car and follow our indications…"

Maxwell stumbled out of the limo, and his keeper pushed him in front of him. They led the two unfortunate friends through corridors, confusing them by changing directions and going back where they came from, until the moment they reached a darkened room, where the gangsters took their blindfolds off and freed their wrists.

They locked the door behind them, and Fran and Maxwell were left alone.

A small light was illuminating the room poorly, Maxwell quickly scanned it. There were two mattresses with blankets in a corner, a small sink with two towels and a small dividing wall that probably hid the toilets in another one, and a table with two chairs in the center.

How considerate… Maxwell thought with a smirk.

He turned to Fran, and what he saw tore his insides. She was shivering with a blank look on her face. He rushed to encircle her shoulders with his arms, and pulled her trembling body against his.

She started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh Mr. Sheffield, they’re gonna kill us!!!"

"Shhh no Miss Fine, they’re not going to kill us, they said they wouldn’t…"

"And you believe them?!" She said with rage, pushing him back.

He took a deep breath and pulled her back against him.

"No I don’t Fran, but right now, I’ve got no other choice… Now come on, we should rest a little…"

***

The next morning, Niles woke up at 6:00 as usual, and went down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the family before cleaning and dressing up.

Upon going up to his room, his eyes caught the glimpse of a large moving form as he passed before the back door. He stopped, and opened the door at once, realizing horrified that it was their chauffeur…

The lounge looked like a military camp, Jeff supervising everything. Niles shook his head in disbelief then turned as he heard footsteps in the stairs. Three very worried children looked down at him, seeking for comfort, but all he could do was opening his arms for them to rush into his embrace. They remained silent for a few seconds, then Maggie looked at Niles.

"Do you think they’re OK?"

Niles shook his head.

"I have no idea Miss Margaret, but according to how they treated René, I can only hope they’re OK…"

C.C. arrived this instant. Upon seeing the huge mess the F.B.I. had created in the lounge, she looked quizzically at Niles.

"Niles, what’s…"

"Mr. Sheffield and Miss Fine have been kidnapped…" he interrupted her.

C.C. looked at him in disbelief.

"What?! By whom?! When?!"

"That’s what they’re here to determine Miss Babcock… Apparently yesterday at the theatre… I found René all tied up and gagged in the backyard this morning".

The information finally crept up to C.C.’s understanding. She looked at her surroundings saw the children… My god! Both their father AND nanny! She had never really paid attention to them, but now she felt a surge of sympathy for them.

"Niles?" Jeff called.

Niles left the children and went to see the agent.

"Niles, we’re ready. They are probably going to call soon… I’m not sure this will help, but try to keep them talking as long as possible."

"I will do my best…"

As if on cue, the telephone just rang. Niles went to take the call.

"Sheffield residence?"

"Wait! Can I…"

"They hung up…" Niles dejectedly said, putting the receiver back in its place.

Jeff sighed.

"That was predictable…Now Niles, is there anything in this man’s voice/manners that shocked/marked you?"

"Well, I’m sure you unnoticed it came through a voice-distorter…" He smirked.

Jeff coked his eyes brows while Niles looked aside frowning, then muttered:

"Something’s troubling me though …"

"What was that Niles?"

"Well something IS tickling my mind, but I don’t know what."

"OK… If you remember something, tell me. In the meantime, we’ll try to go through his activities these past few days, weeks, months… and see if we can sort something out of this. Miss Babcock?"

"Yes?"

"You might be of some help there. You know where he kept his diary?"

"In his office…"

"OK, agent Carter, go with her. Kids…?"

They stepped forward shyly.

"I know it’s hard for you, but please, try to remember, is there anything Fran did these past few days that could help us there?"

Maggie shook her head negatively.

"I don’t see anything wrong for the moment, but we’ll try to think about it… Maybe rehashing some of the things we did with my siblings will help us find something…"

"There was that date of hers recently, who kind of hacked our phone because she didn’t want to see him again…" Brighton started.

"OK, we might have a clue there. Remember his name?"

"Unfortunately no, but she must have it written somewhere in her diary too… I’ll show you to her room…"

The young man started up the stairs with Jeff on his heels, his sisters looked at one another, and hugged, seeking comfort in each other’s arms.

Niles watched the scene, deep in his thoughts… What was it about that man’s voice that was bothering him so much? Something just wasn’t normal, but what? He sensed that he had to find out soon, but that it would do no good to try to right now: he was too troubled to think straight. He had three children to take care of for the next days – at least he dearly hoped so – and two very dear missing friends. He wondered if they were safe and sound, and could only hope they were treated well by their keepers…

He was interrupted in his thoughts by Jeff was coming down the stairs, Miss Fine’s diary in hand, making calls on his cell phone.

"Well Niles, it seems that, we’ve got enough material here to start seeking some wackos Fran dated recently. God is she active in that department!" he mused.

"Well that’s mostly to get back at Mr. Sheffield for something he said to her." Niles chuckled, remembering ‘the thing’.

Sergeant Carter just returned from the office then.

"I’ve got his diary lieutenant, but Miss Babcock here doesn’t think there’s much to dig from it: their latest meetings were with people they know rather well. Nothing really out of the ordinary."

"There must be something…" Niles started.

"I guess Fran’s diary will give us more clues than his, but we’ll keep them both." Jeff interrupted, talking to Carter.

"May I interrupt?"

"Sure, Niles, what is it?"

"Might I remind you that it’s Mr. Sheffield who was kidnapped…?"

"Who said that?"

"Err… Actually I just assumed since they asked for $ 10 million and Miss Fine sure doesn’t have that much…"

"Assumptions don’t lead to conclusions Niles… Most of the time. It’s kind of you to help, but let us do our job… Fran works for Maxwell Sheffield, and people who came to pick her up on dates surely saw she was living in a wealthy family. I guess your boss just came as the topping on the cake, and he probably helped raising the amount of the ransom." He patted Niles’s shoulder. "We’ll follow the Fran track…"

Niles was about to retort something nasty, but he felt a hand firmly grip his forearm and turned to see Miss Babcock slightly shaking her head ‘no’ with a look that prevented him from talking further.

Almost the whole troop of police officers left the house. Only two remained to survey the house and be there in case Niles got another phone call from the kidnappers.

Niles went to the kitchen, Miss Babcock in tow.

He turned to her and snapped:

"Why did you prevent me from telling John Wayne he was probably wrong?!"

"Because I think like you Niles, but remember what the kidnappers said? No police…"

Niles calmed down.

"Yes… What do you suggest we do?"

"You said something troubled you after the man called, what was it?"

"Thinking about it, I find that his manners are excellent…"

"Well that won’t lead us anywhere if no clue is added to that, but it’s some starting point…"

"Yes… Miss Babcock, we’ve got to stick together around the children… They show brave faces, and no emotion, but I’ve known them long enough and seen them go through enough ordeals to know that they are really shaken…"

"Of course Niles… would you mind if I set my quarters here for a while? Maxwell’s business need to be taken care of a little, and I could be of some help too…"

"Yes… in the meantime, I don’t want the children to be over anxious, but they will remain home. No school or college until their parents are released. No need to tell Morty and Sylvia either, at least yet. They’re in Boca, and I really don’t need an over anxious Sylvia running around the house. We’ll tell them if it lasts longer than expected. I’ll brief the kids but officially if they call, everything is OK."

C.C. snorted at Niles’s slip, but she kept the nasty retort she was about to make for herself: come to think of it, Nanny Fine was more of a mother than a nanny…

***

Maxwell woke up suddenly, not used to having a body next to him while sleeping: Fran had snuggled up into his embrace to find comfort and heat against his body.

He smiled and allowed himself to watch her sleep, secretly hoping that he would have the privilege to watch her like that in other circumstances. Despite the circumstances, she had a relaxed face, and looked like a little girl.

She stirred in her sleep, smiling, and enjoying his contact, then remembered the precariousness of their situation and her eyes snapped open.

"Mr. Sheff…"

"Shhh…" He said, hugging her from behind. "I’m here, everything’s going to be fine…"

She turned to face him.

"Oh Mr. Sheffield, how can you be so sure, we’re their hostages, they’re going to kill us once they get the money."

"They haven’t killed us yet, and we have to rely on our friends to try and find us, which I’m sure they will. In the meantime, I haven’t said my last word, don’t worry."

She snuggled up against him, breathing in the last drops of his cologne.

He chuckled.

"You like horses?"

"Why?"

"Because I must smell like that right now… That makes me think we could try to freshen up a little…" He stood up.

A flash of the Fran he loved appeared then:

"You and me, freshen up? Oooooh Mr. Sheffield!" She winked.

He blushed a little.

"Still that ability to embarrass me Miss Fine, even in the worse situations…" he chuckled.

She got up too, taking his offered hand. When she reached his level, they faced each other intensely for a few seconds. Maxwell tentatively brushed his lips against hers, then slowly, as if he had forgotten all about their current situation, he opened her mouth with his lips, and they shared a deep and demanding kiss.

He pushed her back slightly and rubbed his nose against hers.

"What about that cleaning session?" he said. "You know what? While you refresh a little, I’ll go behind that dividing wall so you can have a little privacy."

"Always the gentleman Mr. Sheffield." She smiled a little sadly.

"When we are finished, I’ll scan the room more thoroughly and see what we can do, all right?"

She nodded her ascent.

Maxwell finished his inspection of the room and went to sit next to her.

"Well Miss Fine, I’m sorry to say I don’t think they left us with many options unfortunately. The only thing that might be of some help is that small window up there, but I’m afraid it’s double glazing."

She looked at him sadly. He sat next to her and encircled her shoulders.

"Now don’t you worry Miss Fine, they’re going to find us."

She snuggled against him and enjoyed their closeness. There was one good thing to this abduction: it had improved their ‘intimacy’.

***

Niles couldn’t sleep. Miss Babcock had asked to stay with them as long as Mr. Sheffield and Miss Fine were held hostages, but that was not what was bothering him. He put on a robe and went down to the kitchen. He switched on a light, put a mug full of water inside the microwave, and prepared tea, then he sat at the kitchen table to think.

Deep in his thoughts, he didn’t notice C.C. coming down the stairs. He felt more than saw someone sit down next to him and was surprised to find her there.

"May I help you Miss Babcock?"

"Well, since you’re offering, I guess I’d pretty much appreciate a cup of tea too."

Niles stood up and prepared another cup of tea, then came back to sit next to her.

"You couldn’t sleep either?"

"No, I was trying to find out what’s so special about that voice."

"And?"

"Still nothing."

"Don’t worry Niles, I’m sure it’ll come back in time." She said, stroking his forearm. "How about the children?"

"They’re coping so far… life taught them to."

"Yes." C.C. said sympathetically, remembering through which ordeals those children had gone through.

Niles sighed.

"Well Miss Babcock, I guess we’d better go to bed: I don’t think staying up all night will help us solve the problem, unfortunately."

C.C. patted Niles’s shoulder gently.

"It’s good to work with you as a team." She smiled.

He smiled back and they ascended the back stairs at the same pace.

In the morning, Niles went to prepare breakfast and was surprised to find all three children seated around the table with serious faces, talking animatedly about what they remembered.

"Niles, we were wondering, what did René say to the Police?" Grace started.

Niles looked like he had been hit and looked blankly at her.

"To tell you the truth Miss Grace, I haven’t got the faintest idea! With all the commotion yesterday, I totally forgot to ask him about the details! I’m going to call him right away." Niles reached for the telephone.

"I don’t think Fran was the target." Grace went on.

"I don’t think so either. Most of her recent dates were made up to make Dad jealous." Maggie added.

"… But that guy who called her incessantly was real." Brighton concluded.

"Yeah, but $10 million is huge." Maggie said.

"Still, you’ve got to admit Jeff might be right." Brighton went on.

"Right about what?" C.C. added, coming down the back stairs.

"Right about the fact that a dumped date might have planned all this seeing that Fran worked for a wealthy family."

C.C. sat down at the kitchen table and helped herself a cup of tea.

"I know how you feel kids, but let’s not eliminate any scenario."

Niles came back with René, and made him sit with the rest of the gang.

"René, would you tell us what exactly happened?"

"Well after driving you home…" he started with his strong French accent.

Niles shook his head as if to wipe away a fly: something still annoyed him strongly…

"I went back to the theater to pick up Mr. Sheffield and Miss Fine. I parked the limousine, and started reading my book. A man knocked at the glass and asked me to light his cigarette, then before I had time to realize, I was gagged, tied up, and carried to a van where they gave me a shot that made me sleep."

"Was there anything particular about one or several of t the aggressors?" C.C. inquired.

"You know Miss Babcock, I didn’t see much of them. I just noticed that the man who asked me to light his cigarette had one phalanx missing at his small finger."

"Aha! And that’s a clue!" Brighton said triumphantly.

"Yes Master Brighton, I thought so too, but when I told the police about it, they said it was not of prime importance since a lot of gangsters had that kind of problem because of a mistake or something like this. It was the usual punishment in the mob at some point they said."

"Funny, I once knew butler who…" Niles started. He opened his eyes wide, stopping in mid sentence. "Oh my God!"

"What?!" they all said in unison.

"I know what’s been bugging me since that phone call!!! The accent… The man has a British accent!"

"So?" C.C. asked, trying to make sense of what Niles was saying.

"Well there was a heated discussion at my club once: don’t you remember that interview Mr. Sheffield and I gave some time ago to ‘Butler magazine’ about the staff of some wealthy/famous people in New York?"

"Yes, I was furious because Maxwell had sent me to deal with a strike the actors had gone on while he was giving that interview.

"Yes!"

"So what?"

"Don’t you see?… The British accent, the missing phalanx, the magazine… I know who might have abducted Mr. Sheffield and Miss Fine!… The Williamsons’ ex-butler!" He said triumphantly.

"Niles, I don’t want to appear like I’m always being negative about you, but could you elaborate a little?"

"Well, you know that most of the butlers in New York are British. Peter Dole was Mr. Williamson’s – the stockbroker – butler, and he got his little finger caught in a door once, leaving him with one phalanx less. Stock broking might bring good or bad fortune. One bad deal and you’re bankrupt. That’s what happened to Mr. Williamson, so he had to dismiss all his staff. Peter was a gambler and he had contracted a few debts… I’ll leave you finish assembling the puzzle."

"Of course! That makes sense now! We have to tell Jeff!"

"No!" C.C. said. "Let them follow the Miss Fine track. Niles and I will go investigate first and if we find something worth it, then we’ll tell the police."

"I agree Miss Babcock, but I have to remain here: they are going to call me back."

"We’ve got to find their hideout…" Brighton started.

"Maybe their phone call will give us a clue as to where to start from?" Maggie suggested.

"Miss Babcock, since Niles has to remain with us, maybe you could take Brighton with you?" Grace said.

C.C. looked at Niles, not knowing what to reply.

Niles nodded.

"Yes, that could be nice, provided Laurel & Hardy out there let you go out with me." C.C. said, thinking of the two police officers that were sleeping in the lounge.

"We don’t have to tell them." Maggie said matter-of-factly.

***

Fran & Maxwell were quietly talking, trying to kill time. One of their keepers opened the door of their cell carrying a tray with a jar of water, two hamburger and two apples. He was masked.

"Here’s your lunch. When you’re finished, we’ll call your butler and give him instructions as to where to bring the ransom. We’ll probably ask you to tell him a few words."

He left the tray on the table and locked the door behind him. Maxwell stood up from the mattress and helped Fran too.

"Although the menu has been pretty much the same for two days, they give us a rather decent meal." He said, pulling out a chair for her to sit.

"How thoughtful." She said ironically.

He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

"We’re going to be all right Miss Fine. I promise we’re going to be all right."

She sighed.

"I hope you’re right Mr. Sheffield."

He sat down opposite her and they ate their meal silently.

***

The phone rang. One of the police officers clicked his machine on and signaled for Niles to take the receiver.

"Sheffield residence?"

"Here are the instructions for you to leave the ransom…" started the same electronically distorted voice.

"Wait!" Niles interrupted. "I want to be sure they’re all right!"

"Of course."

The man signaled for his accomplice to push a blinded and tied up Maxwell forward. He then held the receiver to his ear.

"Speak!" he ordered.

"Niles?"

"Sir!… How are you? Do they treat you well?"

"Yes Niles, I…"

"All right, you heard him." The same man cut.

"I want to hear Miss Fine!"

The man stuck the receiver to Fran’s ear.

"Oh Niles!" came the unmistakable nasal voice.

"All right, you heard them both. Now, tomorrow, go to Penn station with the bag where you put the ransom. Take the 9.35 am train to Long Island, leave the bag underneath your seat and go up to Oyster Bay. Leave the bag in the train and return to New York. When you reach Penn station, if we are satisfied, your employer and his nanny will await you."

"Wait! I don’t have the money right now, it’s a big amount and I can’t have it yet, I…"

"Maxwell Sheffield went bankrupt?" he cut ironically. "Don’t try to earn time with me."

"I will probably have it by…"

"Tomorrow." He cut and hung up.

Niles looked at the policemen dejectedly.

"You managed to track him down?"

"No. They’re probably using a jamming device. Well organized these fellows. Definitely not amateurs."

"So, what do we do? I can actually have the money right away."

"Well officers Jeff Swanson and Allan Carter will be here soon. We’ll see what they decide."

***

Maxwell & Fran were brought back to their cell.

"It shouldn’t be long now." Their usual interlocutor told them.

Fran collapsed on the mattress and started crying. Maxwell sat down next to her and encircled her shoulders with his arms, trying to comfort her.

"Oh Mr. Sheffield, I can’t stand it anymore!"

"Shhh Miss Fine, they said tomorrow. Tomorrow, this will be over and we’ll be back to our family and our friends."

"What if something goes wrong? What if they change their minds about us?"

"I’ll protect you Fran." He said, rocking her gently. Then he kissed her softly.

When the kiss ended, she snuggled up into his embrace.

"I have to wait until we’re kidnapped for you to kiss me without any reason." She mumbled.

He chuckled.

"Oh believe me Fran, I didn’t need any reason to kiss you before."

"Mr. Sheffield…?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, go ahead."

"Why didn’t you tell me the real reason you didn’t want me to go out with Steve?"

He sighed, tightening his embrace.

"We both know what it is, right?" She went on.

"Then why did you go out with him if you knew? We both know the same reason should have prevented you from doing so."

"Mr. Sheffield, as long as you don’t say it, I can’t be sure, and although I pretend I am 29, we both know it’s not true. I can’t spend the best years of my life waiting for you."

"All right, all right." He took in a deep breath. "I love you. Is that what you want to hear? I love you and have loved you since the day you stepped over our threshold 5 years ago. There, I’ve said it."

She smiled as a wave of pure happiness crushed her insides, despite their situation.

"See?… It wasn’t so difficult?"

"No, you’re right. What about you?" He murmured tenderly, brushing his lips against hers.

"You doubt it?"

"I need to hear it from you as much as you needed to hear it from me, Fran."

"I love you."

He lifted her chin and kissed her then, both to express their feelings and to release the tension due to their situation.

***

Niles was appalled at Jeff’s stubbornness when obviously the track he was following led nowhere.

Brighton pulled down his sleeve. Niles turned towards him and followed him to a more secluded place.

"Niles, I think I can find where they’re calling from."

"Master Brighton, although they have shown a remarkable inefficiency, the police does have good tracking down methods and I doubt…"

"I have a friend who made computer hacking his hobby. He’s a genius, and you wouldn’t believe what he did. He does that for the fun. I called him and he should be here any minute. I didn’t say anything to him in case our line was spied."

Niles gave it a thought.

"All right Master Brighton, I suppose it’s worth giving it a try anyway. The problem is how you are going to do that since they call."

"Are you going to give them the ransom?"

"I don’t know."

"We could earn some time there."

"I’ll see what ‘Jeff Wayne’ wants to do. Frankly, aside from trapping people for illegal parties, the man is not the brightest fellow I’ve met!" He said sourly.

Niles went back to the lounge where Jeff was talking with his colleagues.

"Ah Niles! Come here a minute would you?"

Niles sighed and stepped forward.

"Yes Sir?"

"Niles, I think that guy who was harassing Fran is a good track. We’ve got several clues that make him a valid potential abductor. Of course, he must have one or several accomplices. What did they say exactly?"

Niles proceeded to tell him for the third time what he had been told to do.

"All right, now here’s what you’re going to do: we’ll fill a bag with newspaper clippings, and you will do what you were told to. Officers will follow you, but they will change randomly when the train stops, so that if the gangsters are in the train, they don’t suspect you are not alone. When they try to snatch the bag from the train, we’ll catch them."

"Clever." Niles smirked. "I’ll leave you prepare that bag."

C.C. came out of the office right then.

"Niles!" she discreetly called.

"Yes?"

"Burton’s friend is here. We’ve set up his laptop and other things in Maxwell’s office. I don’t understand a thing, but we are ready in case they call. Burton’s friend will stay until they do."

"It’s ‘Brighton’, Miss Babcock. The cow-boy out there still thinks it’s Miss Fine who was the target of the abduction. Anyway, in case I’m not here and they call, you are in charge Miss Babcock."

"Sure Niles. Let them follow whatever track they want to follow, we might still need them if we find their real hideout and require their assistance to liberate Maxwell and Nanny Fine."

"Thank you Miss Babcock."

"What for?"

"For being here."

She smiled.

"You know what’s best about it?"

"No, what?"

"We haven’t been mean to each other even once in two days!" She said smiling.

He chuckled.

"You’re right, but wait till they’re back!" He winked.

***

The door of the cell suddenly opened.

A masked man stepped in.

"Your butler should give us the ransom today, so you should be free by tonight."

He then exited, locking the door behind him.

Maxwell hugged Fran comfortingly.

"Hold on Fran, hold on."

***

Niles stepped inside the wagon. He hadn’t noticed anything special. Even the police officers were very discreet since he hadn’t noticed any of them.

He sat heavily, putting the bag underneath his seat, and crossed his hands on his thighs. The ride to Oyster Bay was rather long. He tried to focus his attention on the people entering and exiting the wagon every time the train stopped, but no one particularly held up his attention. Only when he reached Oyster Bay did he realize that the bag was no longer underneath his seat. He was totally baffled: how on Earth had they managed to slip it out from there without him noticing? He hoped the police at least had.

Two hours later he was back. Jeff and all the police officers who were there looked sheepishly at him. He shrugged contemptuously, understanding at once that they hadn’t noticed the snatching of the bag either. He was not home two minutes that the telephone rang.

"Sheffield residence?"

Brighton and his friend Malcolm feverishly launched their tracking software in the office.

"So you think you’re a smartass and that we’re going to be afraid by your police friends?…" Came the same distorted voice in a tone way too cold for Niles to like. "If we don’t have the money tomorrow same hour, same procedure, I’m afraid Miss Fine will have some problems. Is that clear? We’ve been patient until now, but we will not hesitate a single second. After that I don’t think you will qualify her ‘pretty’ anymore." And he hung up.

"That was a brilliant idea, now what?" Niles said coldly looking at Jeff.

"I have a team that is about to catch that guy Fran was dating…"

"When are you going to get in your thick brain that Fran is NOT the target!" Niles interrupted with rage.

"Hey Niles, I understand you are tense, but calm down and let us do our jobs."

Right then Jeff’s cell phone rang. He listened to what his colleague had to tell him with a serious face, then he clicked his phone off and sighed.

"OK Niles, you were right. They caught the guy, he was so afraid he peed in his pants. It’s not him."

Niles felt his anger burn his ears, but before he could say anything, Brighton and C.C. came rushing in from the office.

"We’ve got them!" they shouted triumphantly.

Niles turned towards them.

"We got’em!" Brighton repeated excitedly. "It’s right in the middle of Brooklyn!"

Niles took the piece of paper Brighton gave him and looked at Jeff frowning.

"While your cow-boys were having their little fun, we stupid ones made our little inquiry. We’re almost sure that a former butler did the trick…" Niles then proceeded to summarize what they had discovered, and how they had come to the conclusion the Williamsons’ ex-butler might have planned all this.

Jeff listened the whole time, going from incredulousness to intense curiosity.

***

The door of their cell opened suddenly startling them. The same masked man stepped in while another held the door opened. The first one was obviously very nervous.

"Your butler and his police friends thought it wise to give us newspaper clippings instead of those green banknotes of yours." He started. "I’m afraid we’ll have to make an example that we are serious." He went on. "Miss Fine, you might be a beautiful lady, you’re no use to us. If your butler is still unreasonable, we might have to do nasty things to you."

Maxwell stepped protectively before Fran shouting.

"No! Take me, not her!"

"Sorry Mr. Sheffield, you are still very precious to us." With that, both men exited the room.

Maxwell turned to Fran and hugged her deeply.

"Oh Mr. Sheffield, they’re going to kill me!"

"I’ll protect you Fran, I won’t let them hurt you!"

"I’m scared, I don’t want to die!"

"Shhh, I won’t let them Fran."

They remained hugging for a few seconds, then he stood up and went to examine the small window for the hundredth time.

"Miss Fine, give me a chair. I can try to lift you up to that bloody window, and with your high heels you can try to break it. I’m sure you can slip through it once it’s broken."

Fran stepped forward bringing the chair. Maxwell stood up on the chair, held his hand and lifted her to sit on his shoulders. While he tried to regain his precarious balance, Fran took her shoe off and started hitting the glass with all her strength. Aside from producing a loud ‘knock’, the glass remained intact. She tried and tried again until the heel of her shoe broke. She bent her head discouraged.

"It’s no use Mr. Sheffield, it’s double grazing."

"We’ve got to try again Miss Fine."

"With what?!" She said with rage, slipping down his shoulders. "Even bullets can’t break trough double grazing! You don’t happen to have a bazooka with you, do you?!"

They both stepped down the chair and he encircled her shoulders with his arms.

"I’ll think of something else Fran. I won’t let them hurt you." He murmured reassuringly, kissing the top of her head.

She remained silent in his embrace for a few minutes, then she looked him in the eyes.

"Make love to me Mr. Sheffield. I don’t want to die not knowing what it feels like to be in your arms."

"You’re not going to die Fran, I…"

"Please." She interrupted.

He looked her in the eyes for a few seconds, and lowered his head to kiss her softly. The kiss became more demanding, Maxwell exploring her mouth, adrenaline coursing through his veins, making all his inhibitions fall down. He swept her in his arms and carried her to the mattress. He put one knee down and laid her on the blankets, still kissing her. His hands started roaming.

A big commotion above their heads startled them, making them stop what they were doing. People were running, shouting, doors were slamming…

They held each other, trying to make something out of what they were hearing.

Suddenly they heard nothing but silence, then footsteps in the corridor. They looked at each other, fearing that the kidnappers had finally changed their minds and were coming to kill them both.

The door slammed open, and five policemen holding guns stepped in, scanning the area. Maxwell had placed Fran behind him, wanting to protect her with his body, when Jeff appeared inside the room, and he understood instantly.

They stood up relieved. Jeff stepped towards Fran protectively.

"Fran, you’re all right?"

"Oh Jeff!"

"Yes, she’s fine, Maxwell said encircling her waist possessively. Thank you for your help, now I’d be glad if you left my future wife alone."

Jeff looked at Fran quizzically, but she had her eyes on Maxwell, beaming from ear to ear.

He took her hand in his both and gently said:

"Would you?"

"Yes!" she replied, her heart leaping in her chest.

All was forgotten, the abduction, their life in that cell for three days, and the recent threat over Fran’s life. She dropped Jeff’s hand and rushed into his embrace, hugging him. He hugged her back, witnessing Jeff’s disappointment with pleasure, and kissed the top of her head. Then they were given fresh blankets and escorted outside. Their abductors, three of them, awaited their fate in a police van, two policemen watching over them.

Maxwell looked at them briefly, then his eyes caught sight of his children, Niles and C.C. waiting for them. After a lot of hugs, they were all brought back to the mansion.

Niles prepared hot cocoa for everyone, while Fran & Maxwell, their hands tightly entwined, proceeded to tell everyone, including a few police officers, about their adventure. Then the police left, Jeff asked Fran & Maxwell to come make their deposition the next day, and help them identify their abductors with Niles.

The kids remained a little while with their father and nanny then bade everyone goodnight and went to bed.

Maxwell looked at Niles.

"From what the police told us, we owe it all to you old man?"

"Well it would have taken much more time without the help of the children and Miss Babcock, Sir. A friend of Master Brighton’s managed to locate the call, and Miss Babcock’s persuasive ways convinced the police to follow our track in the end, which allowed us to find you and release you." He replied modestly.

"Thank you both then." Fran said warmly.

Maxwell looked at her and their eyes locked.

"I guess we’ll leave you now. Miss Fine and I have been wearing these clothes for three days and I believe a long bath would do us good."

He helped her stand up and they headed towards the stairs while Niles and C.C. went to the kitchen.

"It was indeed nice teaming up with you Miss Babcock" Niles said quietly.

"And more important, it worked!" she smiled.

Niles looked at her mischievously.

"But we’re back to normal tomorrow!" He winked.

C.C. laughed wholeheartedly, and they high-fived grinning.

***

Maxwell and Fran reached the landing hand in hand. Maxwell attracted her into his room and locked the door behind them. He delicately lifted her face with both his hands and kissed her lips softly.

"Now where were we?" he asked softly.

She pushed him back gently.

"You know, first I’d really love to take a hot bath…"

He looked at her a little disappointed.

"… Are you game?" she winked.

He grinned broadly.

"A bath first?… You like adventure Miss Fine!" he winked back, scooping her up into his arms and heading to the bathroom.

Later, they were lying in bed tightly embraced, Maxwell caressing her bare arm.

"Do you realize what we’ve just been through?" He asked.

"Yes."

"It looks so surreal."

She sighed.

"Yes, in a sense I believe it does, but you know what that means?"

"Tell me?"

"That by your side, I can go through anything, Max."

He grinned and pulled her on top of him. He looked her in the eyes, gently caressing her face with the back of his hand, then he kissed her lips softly.

"I love you, Fran."

She smiled tenderly and kissed him too.

"I love you."

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