CHAPTER 138: A BOUNTY

Today is our scheduled time to proceed at the broadcasting network as agreed upon the day before. Lewis and I, together with some of General Lombard’s men, rode our way now to the TV station after setting up an emergency appointment with the station manager. As Lewis told me, he would be the one who will face the camera and be aired publicly. He doesn’t want me to further stress myself and go through additional mental fatigueness by appearing in front of everyone and answering a series of questionnaires from the broadcaster. 

I trusted Lewis that he would pull this through. He said that he will, so I put my faith in him and his words. He gave me an assurance that everything would turn out according to our expectation, just like how it turned out during my father’s case in the past. 

As we drew near the broadcasting network, I could literally hear how my heart pounded radically and unsteadily. Both my hands and feet were sweating uncontrollably as I sat right next to Lewis in the backseat of my car. I was silent from the time we left the mansion, clouded by numbers of bombarding thoughts, and I am most certain that Lewis noticed my stillness. Proof of it was evident as he unwaveringly glanced at me from time to time. 

“Calm down, Baby, there’s nothing that you should be thinking about. I got this in the bag, Penelope, worry not.” He held my hand and gently put pressure on it before smiling reassuringly at me. 

I tried my very best to smile back regardless if I felt idle inside of me. I don’t think I would ever be in ethereal peace and divine solitude for as long as this incident with Michelle and her abductors’ ends. This will be my forever nightmare and I will never be at ease until this humongous problem is solved. 

As we stepped inside the broadcasting room, the station manager greeted us with pleasantries. All the staff’s eyes were on us, as if their world temporarily ceased to revolve. Perhaps most of them were wondering why on earth we are here. Maybe some of them recognize us from our previous visit here when we were solving my father’s murder case. 

“We are all set, Miss Hunt. You can sit over there, Doctor, whenever you are ready.” The station manager stated and signalled his hand, which caused the staff and crews to move their asses and get in position. 

Lewis gazed first at me and as if on queue, both our heads nodded in unison. General Lombard’s men bring the money bags at the center of the room, where the built-in stage was situated. As expected, and just like everyone’s reaction was during our first time here, the room got filled with gasps and jaw-dropping curses the minute the soldiers took out money from the bags. Almost half of it fell on the floor as the countertop’s size wasn’t enough to accommodate every piece of bundle. 

“How many are we talking here this time, Doctor White?” The newscaster asked, she was also the same lady who interviewed me in the past. 

“A thousand million.” 

“Jesus Christ!” Her eyes sparkled like crystals as she lingered at them. I watched everyone, all were stunned and in awe. I just hope that their reactions would be just as the same as the abductors’ reaction once they see this telecast. 

“We can begin the live broadcast, if you are ready, Miss,” Lewis uttered that snapped the newscaster’s dreamy state and started to swiftly arrange her tailored suit. Lewis sat at the center seat, besides the newscaster, where I on the other hand, remained standing close to them, but not visible to the camera. 

“In three! Two! One!” Someone at the back shouted before the female newscaster commenced. 

“Good day, people of New York! We are temporarily cutting our ongoing show as we gave way to one citizen, who diligently sought for the station’s help and assistance. Without further ado, people of New York City, I give you Doctor Lewis White. The floor is yours, Doctor.” Lewis' face appeared on the wide screen seconds after. 

“Thank you! Good day, people of New York City. You may not know me, but I was here before together with Miss Penelope Hunt, who had been aired here at the station with regards to the search for her late father’s murderer. I come before you today to ask once again humanity’s help. As much as my fiance and I wished to keep this detail to ourselves and handle our matters privately, the situation led us no choice but to appear publicly.” Lewis paused and glanced at me. I immediately plastered an acknowledging smile and a thumb up sign before he continued. “To everyone’s knowledge, Penelope Hunt’s daughter had been abducted weeks ago. The abductors demanded a ransom money amounting to a thousand million dollars in exchange for her daughter’s freedom. Everything should have been over by now. We should have retrieved her daughter, but these criminals intended to outsmart Penelope by just getting the ransom from her without freeing and handing back her daughter. Here in front of you was the ransom money these criminals asked from Penelope Hunt.” The money became visible on the screen. “A thousand million dollars. I am speaking to the mastermind, who abducted Michelle, Penelope’s daughter. You only got until today to deliver and hand over to us the child, or you will never have this money, not a cent of it. After today, come dawn tomorrow morning, this thousand million dollars will no longer be a ransom, but a bounty that will serve as a mark over your head. So if I were you and you want this money so badly, hand back the child and we will forget everything. But if not, say goodbye to your money, because whoever can lead us to you and give us your exact whereabouts, he will have this all to himself. Thank you so much!” Lewis swiftly rose from his seat and left, walking straight towards me. He hastily caged me in his embrace the minute we were a foot apart and I could feel his body trembling. 

“You’re trembling, Lewis.” 

“I’m trembling because of extreme anger, Penelope. I want to see these criminals behind bars and pay for their crimes. I hope this will be their breakpoint and will finally come to their senses, because no gods can save them after today. The mastermind will be like a raw carcass amidst packs of hungry wolves in the wilderness. I bet most New Yorkers would pray that these criminals never hand over Michelle today, in that way, they would have a chance for that thousand million dollar bounty.” 

“I hope and pray this ends today, Lewis. I really hope it will.” I felt him tightening his embrace as I hugged him back. 

“I do hope too, Baby. Let’s pray everything ends today. Because if not, tomorrow would be the start of the mastermind’s worst nightmare, where he would wish he never tricked you during the first attempt and grab this opportunity while he still had a chance.”