18 year old Bobby Fisher had been playing hooky from school for the past two days. He would go back to school whenever it was over. Whatever " it" was he didn't know but " it" was coming for him just like it always did in the movies. Besides, he was an adult now so what could they say about him staying home?
Bobby hung out in his bedroom sitting at the edge of the waterbed watching Leave it to Beaver on his 13 inch color television while eating soup. Not the good creamy soup in a can but the 12 cent Raman noodle soup with the flavor packets that the poor often ate. Bobby Fisher's family wasn't poor but his hoodlum friends were and they got him addicted to this so called " Crackhead Soup" they used to call it. Bobby's friends also got him into some illegal drugs he hoped his parents would never find out about.
A shiver crept down his spine as he wondered what dire things might have happened to his friend. Was he next? He almost fell off the edge of his bed and spilled his soup when he heard his cell phone ring. Maybe everything was just a prank. It had to be Steve calling to say that he was alright and everything back at the races was just a big mistake. Bobby answered on the fourth ring and stuttered into the phone.
" Heh-hello?"
The other person hung up and the line went dead. Bobby squeezed the cell phone and bit on the antenna. This was all a big nightmare. Who had called him? Was it the mysterious man at the races wearing a dark hoodie and looking like the UNAbomber? Was the UNAbomber look-a- like coming for him next?
Bobby heard the vacuum shut off in the outside hallway and there was a knock at his bedroom door. Was he here already? Were these his final moments? He braced himself and turned the volume down on his television.
"Bobby, there's a man here to see you." Said his mother.
"Who is it?" He asked with his voice still quivering. " There's a man here with the F.B.I. He just wants to talk to you."
Bobby remembered what happened when he and his friends went to the police after Steve's disappearance at the races. First the cops laughed at them and then threatened false report charges if they didn't straighten up.
"I don't want to talk if he's just going to ridicule me." Replied Bobby.
"Honey, he's just here to help. Open the door." Said Mrs.Fisher
Bobby reluctantly unlocked his bedroom door and stared at the short burly agent with short dirty blond hair. The agent looked beat like he had maybe lost a loved one in the family.
Carter extended his arm out and shook Bobby's hand. “Special agent Carter. I'm with the F.B.I." He said precariously as if he wasn't even sure he was still with the bureau. Bobby gave a weak handshake and then walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Carter surmised that maybe Bobby was a skater because of his Airwalk shoes and JNCO pants. The boy looked awfully tenuous with acne covering his face and medium length greasy unkempt hair.
Carter loosened his silk tie and gazed into the boy's imploring eyes. The boy looked terrified like he still couldn't believe what happened.
"So where do you think your friend Steve is?" Asked Carter trying to absorb every last little odd detail in the bedroom.
"We don't know. That's why we went to the police." replied Bobby.
"Who's we?" Asked Carter pulling out a pen and legal pad.
"Me, Scott, Billy, and Steve. We all went to the races together." Mumbled Bobby. Carter did his best to read the boy's body language. Bobby looked him in the eyes when he talked and he seemed shaken up. The theory that Steve was behind the kidnapping of Tina was slowly starting to fade away.
"So how did Steve disappear?" Asked Carter still scrutinizing the room with his eyes. The boy picked up his crackhead soup and gulped down the remaining juice.
"The last we saw him was when he went to the bathroom." He replied slowly.
"Which was where?" Asked Carter.
"There were port-a-potties out in the parking lot about 150 yards from where we were parked. Steve went to the bathroom and never came back." Said Bobby putting the empty soup bowl on top of the television. Carter kept glancing around the room as if the boy had a hidden camera. Off in the corner was a book shelf with the whole series of Harry Potter. Harry Potter, How weak Carter thought to himself. Carter cleared his throat and glanced at the dirty keyboard at the computer.
"So did Steve go to the bathroom before or after the race?" He asked.
"He went after the race when there wasn't too many people around and it was dark."
"What were you guys still doing there?" Asked Carter jotting notes.
"I'll tell you but can you close the door? I don't want my mother to listen in."
"Sure." Said Carter. He got up and gently closed the bedroom door. On the door was a poster of Albert Einstein with his hair all over the place. Carter loosened up and sat down next to the boy on the bed. " I'm all ears." He said.
"Okay, we tried to have a tailgate party before the race but there were too many cops around and we're all under age. After the race we realized we still had a cooler full of beer and the parking lot was vacating so we figured why not?"
Carter did his best to analyze the story in his head." So did you see anything happen to Steve?"
Bobby leaned over to stare at his Airwalks allowing his greasy hair to drape over his eyes." I didn't see anything happen to Steve but something weird happened earlier."
Carter circled something on his legal pad and tilted his head a little to peer at the boy's pocked face." What happened?"
The boy shook his head knocking some hair out of his face." Well, earlier in the day our driver Billy thought someone was following us to the races. After we parked a guy in a white van pulled along front of us and kept staring at us all creepy like."
"So what did he look like?"
"He looked just like the UNAbomber. He wore really big sunglasses and an either black or blue hoody and he had lots of facial hair."
Carter wrote on the pad as fast as he could." Anything else unusual about the subject?"
Bobby rubbed his forehead while he closed his eyes trying to recollect." Oh yeah, he kept smiling at us and his teeth looked like shark teeth."
"What about the van? Was it just a plain white van?" " No,no. I think it was a work van of some plumbing company."
"Jake's Plumbing?" Asked Carter. " Yes that's it! How did you know?"
"Don't worry about it." Said Carter circling more words on the pad.
"Oh, there was just one other thing." Said Bobby sounding more vigil.
"I'm listening." Carter said softly like a doctor talking to his patient.
"Well, when the UNAbomber was gawking at us, I saw him what looked like write something down on a piece of paper smaller than the size of his hand."
Carter stopped writing and bit the tip of his pen while musing over Bobby's previous statement." He wrote on something small you say, like maybe a business card maybe?"
"I couldn't see too well that's why I'm not even positive he had long hair but I suppose he may have been writing on a business card."
Carter felt a tingle of exhilaration rush down his spine." What exact location were you guys parked?"
"I...think...I..,um... G-33? Yes, I remember now. We parked at G-33."
Carter picked up his cellphone and called Max Trowell his boss." Max, I've just learned new information. We're dealing with a double kidnapping." It was time to play things by the book. There was no more room for screw ups. He was going to catch this monster and he was going to do it for Travis.