Fourty One

Chapter 41

“Jon is missing!” Jemima declared as she crumpled to the ground, her heart racing fast.

“What do you mean Jon is missing?” Alan demanded, walking up to her. Jemima abruptly stood up, grabbed her car keys from the table, and exited the house.

“Where are you going Jem? I need clarity!” Alan screamed, confusion lacing his tone as he rushed after her.

“To the hospital. That was a call from the hospital. They said Jon was missing. I don’t know what’s going on!” Jemima rambled as she fidgeted with the keys in her hand, causing the metallic keys to jingle in her hands.

“What’s going on?” Jay questioned, coming into the scene with Vanessa and Dimitri following suit.

“Hop in, I’ll fill you all in on the way there,” Alan muttered, causing everyone to stare in confusion.

Jemima revved up the engine of the car as soon as everyone got in. She didn’t even mind her disheveled hair or that she was still wearing her pajamas. All she wanted to do was to get to the hospital to know what was going on.

Jemima sped to the hospital and listened as Alan filled the rest of the crew on what was going on.
In a matter of minutes, Jemima reached the hospital. They all alighted from the vehicle and rushed to the hospital. L

“Relax Jem,” Vanessa called out to her as she matched her pace. Jemima was too focused on getting to Jon’s ward.

“Where is he?” Jemima queried, grabbing the collar of the nurse she met in the ward. The nurse opened her mouth to speak but no words came out of her mouth.

“Take it easy Jem!” Vanessa warned, rushing towards Jemima to release her grasp from the nurse who had tears brimming from the corners of her eyes.

“Talk!” Jemima barked at the nurse, causing her to shrivel beneath Jemima’s fury gaze. Alan raked his hand through his hair, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

“I came in this morning to give him his regular dose of medicine and I didn’t see him. I informed the doctor in charge and he said to inform you immediately,” the nurse explained as Jemima stared at her incredulously.

“Go, I’ll handle it from here,” Vanessa instructed the nurse who scurried away from the ward.

“Where is the doctor in charge now? Did nobody see anything?” Alan asked, his voice quivering at the possibility of his father missing.

“Could this be Vance?” Dimitri inquired, glancing at everyone. The air was tense and everyone’s mind reeled to what could have happened.

“This is usually not his MO but I wouldn’t put it past him,” Jay replied, cracking his knuckles in an attempt to quell the apprehension that had gripped him.

Just then Jemima, Jay, Dimitri, and Alan’s phones began ringing at the same time. They all glanced at each other and pulled out their phones from their respective pockets. It was different Mafia leaders from all over the world, calling to get first-hand information on what was going on.

“What do we do now?” Vanessa quizzed, her face scrunched up with worry as she stared at the four of them.

“Alan, get the CCTV footage from the hospital. Every last one of it. Vanessa, question everyone in this fucking hospital. Dimitri, gather an update on Vance and find out if this is from him. Jay, make sure no one involves the police and take note of everyone who leaves. I will call and inform Godfather of what has happened. This is most likely a kidnap case and we have to be very calm,” Jemima instructed with finality, causing the rest of the crew to gawk in awe at her calmness in handling the situation.

Jemima was also shocked at her calmness but wasn’t in the right frame of mind to entertain any frivolous act. She was appalled by their dilatory act and urged them, Move!” She demanded, snapping them into action.

The rest of the crew moved to do Jemima’s bidding while Jemima remained rooted in the ward. She pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to quell the migraine she was feeling before proceeding to call Godfather.

“I think Jon has been kidnapped,” Jemima stated without preamble as soon as Godfather answered.

“You think or you know?” He replied, eliciting an eye roll from Jemima.

“He has been kidnapped,” Jemima muttered, placing her palm against her forehead.

“Is this Vance?” Godfather inquired, waiting for a response from Jemima.

“I don’t know,” Jemima replied truthfully, her voice quivering as she sat down on the empty hospital bed and closed her eyes momentarily.

“This is going to send an uproar in the Mafia world. If it was indeed Vance then you know it’s personal. If it’s not, get the facts straight and report to me while I restore balance to the rest of the leaders across the globe. And SK, if you do find out it’s Vance, do not hesitate to report to me, he has drawn the battle line,” Godfather instructed, abruptly hanging up the phone.

Jemima sighed deeply, pacing across the floor of the ward when suddenly a piece of paper lying in the corner of the ward caught her attention. She walked towards it and picked it up gently. It was a crumpled piece of paper and as she opened it to read, Alan burst into the room with a laptop in his hand.

“Jem, this is what I’ve gotten from the CCTV footage. It is blurred just like the other footage we saw but look, you can make out two people dressed in a surgical uniform carrying a patient out in a wheelchair. I asked around to see if anybody saw a patient being dragged out of the hospital at the same time but it was negative,” Alan explained in a rush as he played the footage for Jemima.

Just then, Dimitri and Jay entered the ward, causing their attention to drift towards them.

“Update?” Jemima asked, her heart racing in anticipation as she awaited their response.

“Jem!” Vanessa burst into the room, panting heavily like she had been running.

“Someone saw two men leaving through the garage exit of the hospital around three am. But she was too scared to say anything because she didn’t want any harm,” Vanessa muttered, out of breath. She inhaled deeply, trying to control her breathing.

Jemima closed her eyes, attempting to assimilate the information she got. The feet of people shuffling in the background enhanced the trepidation that she felt.

They all stared at Jemima, waiting to know what she had to say but Jemima sat still. Neither moving nor saying anything and when she eventually opened her eyes, she glared at the crumpled piece of paper in her hand.

She opened it and written in it was an address, signed; V.W.

Noticing her change in expression, Jay questioned, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s from Vance!” Jemima exclaimed, handing him the piece of paper. He glared at it momentarily before handing it to Jemima.

“I should have known this was him all along!” Dimitri exclaimed, folding his hands across his chest.

“Let’s go!” Jemima urged, exiting the ward. The rest of the crew followed closely behind her as they made their way into the car.

“Let’s stop and think for a moment guys. We can’t just show up at his location. For him to ask to meet there means that he is expecting Jemima,” Vanessa reasoned.

“Of course darling, we are not going there straight away. We are going back to the house so I can suit up and these men can plebe heavily equipped,” Jemima enlightened, causing Vanessa to widen her eyes in comprehension.

“We are coming with you?” Jay inquired, causing Jemima to laugh uncontrollably as she drove back to the house. Everyone exchanged confused glances as she laughed hysterically, wondering what was funny.

Jemima laughed so hard till she could feel her sides hurt and tears blurred her vision, then she parked the car in the middle of the road. She hit the steering a couple of times in frustration as tears streamed down her face.

Alan immediately alighted from the vehicle, rushing to her side. He dragged her out of the car and held her close, allowing her to sob into his chest. She shoved him aside vehemently, not wanting to be comforted and she let out a loud primal scream, causing the birds in the trees to fly away.

“It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!” Jemima bellowed into the air, falling to the ground and looking up at the sky as she clutched her chest. She could feel her chest constricting as she breathed, making the pain of Jon’s kidnap more prominent.

“He’s just a sick old man! He should be in the hospital! I should never have gone on that mission! I should have listened to Jay! If I had I wouldn’t have been kidnapped by Dennis fucking Saunders! Jon wouldn’t have received any bad news, he wouldn’t have gotten a heart attack, he wouldn’t have had to be admitted to the hospital, and he wouldn’t have been kidnapped. And now his life is at risk because of me!” Jemima bawled as she broke down. Her wails filled the empty, crisp, late-morning air.

“None of this is your fault!” Alan stated but he didn’t sound convinced by his words. Jay had gotten out of the car now and watched as the drama unfolded.

“Crying won’t solve anything. Let’s just try and see how we can salvage the rest of the situation.”