* * * * * Chapter 6
"It's been over an hour already," Taylor complained, "and we haven't found a thing."
"I know that," Isaac muttered unhappily.
The two brothers stood on a busy street corner, trying to decide on a course of action. They had been searching frantically for the past hour with absolutely no luck, and they were growing desperate. The image of that idiot waving a gun in Zac's direction was permantently etched into their minds. It gave them lent an air of urgency to the situation that made it difficult to think clearly.
"Okay, let's go over this again," Isaac said. "What do we know?"
"We know that we can't find it!" Taylor cried. "We know three places it's not. What we don't know, is where to look next."
"Calm down, Tay. We just have to think about it." Taylor opened his mouth to snap at Isaac, but quickly shut it again. Isaac was right. They were running out of time, and they couldn't afford to stand here arguing. He took a deep breath and looked at the map again. If only they knew more about the city! The last spot was a rough drawing of what looked like stones in a row. Behind the stones were several trees. That was the part that was throwing them. There just weren't a lot of trees in the middle of the city. They had checked out three different parks, with no luck. They hadn't been able to find a row of stones in any of them. So what did that leave?
"What about a cemetery?" Taylor asked suddenly. "The stones could be headstones. They would be in a row like that."
"And there would be trees," Isaac added excitedly. He turned the London street map over in his hands and began scanning it. "Got it! There's a cemetery not far from here. It's the only one in the area. That has to be it!"
They hurriedly refolded the maps even as they took off toward the cemetery. It took less than twenty minutes to get there. Both boys stopped, frozen by the enormity of the place. There was row after row of uniform headsones, interspersed with trees at regular intervals. It would be impossible to find the right area. Despair and frustration flooded them.
"We can't give up," Isaac said. "We'll just have to hurry." With that, he began moving through the rows, looking for anything unusual. Taylor hurried after him.
They had gone no more than a hundred feet, when both of them were stopped short by a low sound to their right. They turned as one, to see the girl standing a few yards away, watching them. It was the closest she had been to them, except for when she had given Taylor the map at the hotel, and he hadn't had time then to study her that much. Now, she was simply standing there as though waiting for something.
Her age was hard to pinpoint, though she had to be close to their own. She was tall for a girl, probably at least 5'8", with long brown hair and large, expressive eyes. A soft breeze caught at her hair, billowing it around her face and shoulders. She was very pretty, but there was an air about her that set the boys immediately on the alert. Maybe it had something to do with the circumstances of her appearance, or the desperation of the situation.
Suddenly, for the first time, the girl spoke.
"You've almost completed the task." Her voice was low in both tone and volume, her accent soft.
"We can't find the last piece," Isaac said. He had the feeling she was here to help them, and he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. "Do you know where it is?"
The girl nodded. "There is a large oak tree at the rear of the cemetery. It is the largest here, you can't miss it. The roots branch away from the tree like tenacles. The object you seek is nestled amongst the roots."
The boys turned to look in the direction the girl pointed, spotting the tree. Isaac turned back to ask the girl for more information and was surprised to see he and Taylor were alone. The girl was nowhere in sight.
"Hello?" he called, knowing there would be no answer.
"Where did she go?" Taylor asked in surprise.
Isaac shook his head. "I don't know, but we don't have time to worry about it right now. Let's go." He took off at a run for the tree, Taylor at his heels.
Just as the girl had predicted, they found the last item hidden amoung the huge roots of the massive oak. Taylor opened the bag and poured out the contents, no longer surprised at the treasure that spilled into his hand.
"Now that I know it's real," he said, "it looks a little different. Kind of dangerous, you know?"
"Yeah," Isaac agreed. "I know what you mean. There's a lot more to this than a simple robbery."
They hadn't had the chance to discuss the situation much. They had been too anxious to find the last piece of jewelry. Now, their minds were running with possibilities.
"If those two goons stole this stuff, then why are they trying to find it?" Taylor asked, putting the jewelry back into the pouch and securing the top.
"I don't know," Isaac admitted. "I've been asking myself the same question. How did it get scattered around the city like this? And what does that girl have to do with it?"
"Somebody owes us some answers," Taylor said emphatically. He sighed deeply. "Now what?"
"You have to take it to the police." The voice spoke from behind them, and the boys spun around to see the girl standing beside a headstone.
"We can't," Taylor protested. "There are two guys holding our brother. They want the stuff in exchange for him."
"I know," the girl said. "Their names are Ben and Neil. Ben is my step-brother. He's not a bad guy; he just got caught up in a bad crowd." Her expression changed to one of distaste. "Neil is evil. He has intimidated Ben into going along on wild schemes. They went too far this time."
"They stole this stuff didn't they?" Taylor asked.
The girl nodded. "A year ago last week."
"Why was it hidden around the city like that?"
The girl hesitated, and they thought she wasn't going to answer. Finally, she said, "I did that. I found out what Ben and Neil had done. I saw where they hid the jewelry. When they left, I took it. Not one of the smartest things I've ever done. I was going to take it to the police, but I got scared and hid it instead. I thought I could go back and gather it later, or at least tell the police about it."
"What happened?" Isaac asked. "Why did you give us the map? Why didn't you just collect the jewelry yourself?"
The girl looked decidedly uncomfortable. "We don't have time to answer all of your questions right now. You have to take the jewelry to the police."
"We can't," Taylor repeated. "We have to give it to those guys."
"Tay's right," Isaac added. "This is Zac's safety we're talking about here. We can't take chances."
The girl shook her head adamantly. "If it was just Ben, maybe...But you can't take on Neil by yourself. I told you, he's evil."
The brothers exchanged helpless looks. No matter what they did, they would be taking a chance. What should they do?
"Maybe I could help you," the girl said hesitantly.
Isaac raised his eyebrows in question. How could she help them? He was definitely open for suggestions.
"Neil has reason to be frightened of me. Perhaps we could use that to our advantage."
Isaac thought back to the cryptic conversation between Neil and Ben upon learning how they had acquired the map. Neil had been decidely nervous at the girl's description. Maybe there was something to her claims. Besides, what choice did they have?
"Okay," he decided. "What do you have in mind?"
* * * * * "How long has it been?" Ben asked anxiously.
Neil watched the man he called partner pace nervously across the width of the small room. It was times like this that Neil had a hard time remembering Ben was older, even if it was only a few years. Ben just had no stomach for this kind of work. It was a weakness that would be his downfall. Neil was determined that it wouldn't be his, as well. Once they retrieved the jewelry and delivered it to the buyer, it would be time for the two men to part company. Neil would be sorry to lose his longtime partner on the one hand. After all, Ben had been with him for four years now, and he was easily manipulated. But Neil had bigger asperations than dealing with small time robberies. Neil wanted the bigtime and was willing to take the risk involved to get there. Ben just didn't have it in him.
Neil suddenly remembered Ben had asked him a question. Before he could answer, the kid sitting on the bed turned from the television and spoke.
"It's been exactly six minutes since you last asked that question, Xena," Zac said with a smile. "Are you always this hyper, or just when you kidnap innocent children?"
Neil laughed, which earned him a dirty look from Ben. The kid had been calling the older man Xena every since Neil had returned forty-five minutes ago. Neil had no idea what the kid meant, but it seemed to irritate Ben incredibly. And Neil found this exremely funny.
"I told you not to call me that!" Ben snapped angrily at Zac. "Why don't you just shut up for a while and give us a break?"
"Leave him alone," Neil commanded. "I'd rather listen to him than to your whinning. If you don't have the guts for this, maybe you should leave now."
This stopped Ben's pacing. "Come on, Neil. We're in this together. You know that."
Neil smiled, but there was no mirth in the expression. "And you have no intentions of giving up your share, right?"
Ben ran his hand nervously through his short cropped blond hair. "I risked as much for that stuff as you did."
Neil almost laughed at the false bravado in Ben's voice. "But you forget, Ben, if it hadn't been for your brat of a sister, we would have sold that jewelry a year ago. We could have been out of the country by now. Don't you think you should take some of the responsibility for what your sister did?"
"Step-sister," Ben corrected automatically. "It's not my fault Nicole found the stuff. I'm not to blame for what she did."
"Or for what happened, I suppose?" Neil watched his partner closely for a reaction.
Ben swallowed compulsively a couple of times, then turned away, but not before Neil saw the flash of fear in the man's eyes.
"You don't think the girl those kids saw..." Ben left the question unfinished, but Neil knew what he meant.
"...was Nicole?" Neil finished for him. "Are you crazy?" He threw a quick glance toward the bed, suddenly remembering the kid. The boy was watching the exchange between them with interest. He was absorbing every word.
"What are you staring at?" Neil barked angrily.
"You," the kid stated calmly.
Did anything ruffle this kid's feathers? Neil found himself admiring Zac's ability to remain cool-headed despite the circumstances. He just wished Ben had half that much nerve.
"Well, don't!" Neil said a little softer.
Zac slowly turned back to the television and adjusted the volume a bit louder.
Neil turned his attention back to Ben. "We'll discuss this later."
Ben nodded, and resumed his pacing.
Neil watched him for a moment. Yes, it was definitely time to find a new partner.
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