Little Boy Lost
 

Part Seven

Hobbs made sure that the kid was out and would be that way for a while. He had no plans to take the kid with him and he didn’t want him waking up and making noise. Even though he was sure there was no one around, he didn’t want to take a chance on the kid being discovered while he was gone. He looked at his watch and saw that he only had about half an hour to get to the drop. He picked the kid up and tossed him into the room, shutting the door. He didn’t see a point in locking it since the kid was unconscious. He walked over to the table where he kept his stuff and grabbed his keys on the way out the door. As he closed the warehouse door, the pressure change inside caused the door of the small room to come open just a little bit.
 

*****

Brian looked at the clock and sighed. Justin had fallen asleep while they waited. Brian was far too nervous and, yes he was willing to admit it, scared to even attempt sleep. He kissed Justin’s forehead gently before getting up to get ready. For some reason he had a feeling that he wouldn’t be seeing Justin again. As he picked up the briefcase that contained the money he only hoped that this wasn’t some kind of ruse. He made a vow right then that he wouldn’t come home without Gus. With one last look over his shoulder at Justin, he headed out the door.

It was a very short drive to the gas station Hobbs had chosen for the drop. Brian could have walked it but he wanted the chance to get away faster than his feet could carry him should the need arise. He parked near one of the abandoned gas pumps and turned the car off, then sat there for a minute. It had been a long time since he’d had to gather up his courage before going into a situation. He didn’t know what was waiting for him in that supposedly empty repair bay. After taking a couple of deep breaths, he got out of the car.

He walked slowly over to the bay that was standing wide open. It was a little difficult to see in the dark but Brian could make out the shape of something lying in the middle of the floor. He had the distinct feeling that he was being watched as he moved over to it and knelt down seeing that it was a duffel bag. He opened the briefcase and started to transfer the money into the bag. When that was done, he stood and looked around. Hobbs had to be there somewhere.

“You can leave now.” Hobbs’ voice said out of the darkness. Brian jumped and dropped his briefcase. He cleared his throat and got himself as calm as possible.

“Where’s my son?” Brian asked.

“I told you the procedure, Kinney. You’ll get a call with his location later.”

“How do I know he’s still okay?” Brian hated that his voice was trembling.

“So far, you’ve followed my instructions. You held up your end of the deal, I’ll hold up mine.” Hobbs answered.

“So I’m just supposed to trust you?” Brian was starting to get an idea of where Hobbs was.

“If you want your kid back, yes.” Hobbs answered. Brian sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Now, leave. And don’t try to follow me.” Hobbs demanded. Again Brian sighed, then turned to leave. He got in his car and waited a good ten minutes before starting the car and leaving. He came to a stop in front of the loft and just sat there. After a few moments, he leaned his head against the steering wheel and started to cry.
 

*****

Gus’ head hurt a lot. He was sore all over but his head hurt worst. He blinked a few times as he woke up. He knew that he was back in the little room but it wasn’t completely dark like before. He saw that the door was open a little. The mean man never left the door open before. Gus was really hungry and really thirsty and he needed a bath. He had to go to the bathroom, too. He got up and even though he was a little dizzy, he made his way to the door and out of the room. He looked around and couldn’t find the mean man anywhere.

“Hello?” He called. Maybe he just couldn’t see the man. He looked around some more when nobody said anything. The mean man was definitely gone. He started to look around for something to eat when he moved some papers and noticed a phone. He knew it was a phone because it looked just like the one his daddy had. He picked it up and flipped it open, smiling when he found that it was on. He didn’t know how to turn the phone on. He remembered what Justin had told him and dialed 911, then hit the picture of the green phone.

“911, what’s your emergency?” A woman asked.

“Hello? My name is Gus and I got tooked.” Gus told the woman.

“Gus, how old are you?” The woman asked. Gus could tell by her voice that she was really nice. He liked talking to nice people.

“I’m four.” He answered.

“You said you got taken?”

“Yeah. A mean man took me away from my daddy.” Gus was trying to not start crying but he missed his daddy and his mommy and his mama and his Justin.

“Do you know where you are?”

“It’s this really big building with dirty windows and a really high roof.” He answered. “The man brought me McDonald’s but that was a long time ago.” Gus’ stomach grumbled at the response.

“Are you hurt?” She asked.

“My head hurts a lot and I’m really hungry.” Gus was so distracted by the phone conversation that he didn’t really notice the warm, wet spot forming on the front of his pants.

“Alright, Gus. I’m going to send someone to come get you and take you back to your daddy. I need you to stay on the phone with me though, okay? Can you do that?”

“I think so.” Gus was feeling really sleepy all of a sudden.

“Where is the mean man, Gus?” the lady asked.

“I think he went to get the money.”

“What money?”

“The money from my daddy.” Gus answered.

“Did the mean man ask your daddy for money to get you back?” She questioned.

“Yeah, but it’s okay. My daddy’s rich and he’d pay anything to get me back. My daddy loves me lots.” He smiled a little as he thought about it. The operator had a hard time keeping her tears at bay.

“Gus, the police are going to come get you and take you back to your daddy, okay? They’re on their way right now.”

“Okay.” Gus said. He couldn’t wait to see his daddy again.
 

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