Entangled

chapter 12

Just when Jordan and Ivan don't think that Mark's a threat to him because he's too weak to do anything to retaliate against them, besides talking nonsense to make them lose their jobs, Mark devises something that will change everyone's life forever—to kidnap Little Aaron. Aaron went to school, five days after being admitted to the hospital for the second time, because the doctors wanted to check on him and make sure that the operation was still helping him, otherwise they would have to perform another one--and today was just like any other day. He started chatting with his friends and having a good time, as always. Suddenly, very close to where he and the boys were, a car pulled up. The car looked just like his father's car. It was bizarre how Mark and his men pulled that one out because there were many Kia Rio Cinco station wagons here in the state of Florida, but not in that peculiar blue-green color. The only reason why Ivan's car was that color was because he had had the people at the dealership paint it that color right after he paid it in full. The car was originally black, and Ivan didn't like black cars. He didn't mind riding one because he couldn't tell his friends or family members what color car they should have, but he didn't like driving a black car. The last time he did, at sixteen, he was parked in front of Wal-Mart and it was an old car that his father had just bought for him for six hundred dollars, a car that was valued at $3,500 in the Kelley Blue Book. It was only ten years old, a Toyota Camry, pretty and somewhat luxurious, but the air conditioner had just broken down, and Jake didn't know that. He had to wait for his friends to shop at Wal-Mart for three agonizing hours. They figured he wasn't a baby or a toddler, so he'd be all right. They were wrong. Dead wrong. Next thing they knew, 911 had to be called because Ivan was suffering from severe heatstroke, and doctors had to pour their hearts and souls out, and paramedics had to do the same, to save his life. Since then, Ivan's had a phobia for driving black cars, and when riding a black car, he would demand that the car's air conditioner be perfect. Otherwise, his friends would either have to take the car home and bring another car of a different color, or he wouldn't go out with them at all. The men didn't allow Aaron to see them for a few moments. They succeeded in making him think that this was his daddy picking him up. Aaron got in the car thinking that his father had come pick him up to take him to an emergency doctor's appointment or for a check-up, and he'd forgotten about that yesterday, and he just remembered, so he returned to pick him up and take him. The innocent, sweet little boy couldn't be more wrong. The two men were in the back seat, and once that Aaron sat in between them, they couldn't fool him anymore, and Mark was in the driver's seat. One of the men lifted Aaron, feeling awkward about having him in the middle of them, and moved him to be right by the window. Then, the other minion made Mark pull over and he took the passenger seat as soon as Mark complied. They didn't intend to hurt Aaron. They intended to hurt Ivan, by making him think that he'd never see his son again. The men didn't even want a ransom. They wanted to break Ivan's heart, teach him a lesson for disrespecting Mark the way he did. The men acted friendly with the little boy. He was nice and they didn't want to mistreat him. He was an innocent child who hadn't done anything to them, and he didn't deserve to get hurt.

"Who are you? Did my dad send you?"

"No, your dad didn't send us. It's time that we quit lying."

"What do you mean?"

"We're here to get revenge against your dad, and we're using you to get to him because your dad's a bad man."

"Why is he a bad man? My dad has never hurt anyone. Quite the contrary, he's helped people get back on their feet again, helped them rehabilitate. He's taken people who were in vegetative state and had them walking. He makes house calls for those people. He provides medical equipment to the handicapped. He's a very good man. He has lots of friends. If he were a bad man like you say he is, no one would want to be around him."