Chapter 18: Taken

"Wow, is this the place?"

Harvey asked as he looked up at the huge art museum. Alex and Manny stood next to him, smiling at his reaction. Today was Saturday, and Manny had invited him and Alex to an art museum. He tried asking Luke, but he declined—something about having literally anything better to do.

"Yeah, it's pretty great. Today will be a very enriching experience for us all." Manny spoke to them, and Alex nodded.

"Yeah, there's a few new exhibits I wanted to look at." Alex said. "What do you think, Harvey? Anything in particular you'd like to look at?"

"Hm. Looking at this pamphlet, there's this cool-looking exhibit I wouldn't mind stopping by." Harvey pointed at a small image in the pamphlet he was holding.

"Oh, let me take a look."

Alex then walked up to Harvey and peered down at the pamphlet. Their shoulders touched briefly, causing Alex to squeak and back up slightly. Manny looked at the interaction and raised an eyebrow.

"I-It's the Life on Fire exhibit. It's one of Gary Friedrich's artworks. His artworks have received much more recognition since he passed away a while back." Alex pushed her glasses up. "Sad the only way a struggling artist gets the recognition they deserve is to die."

"Yeah, it's pretty messed up." Manny nodded. "Well, let's head inside and take a look."

"Let's do it."

Harvey said as he held open the door to the main entrance, Allowing Manny and Alex to enter. Just as he was about to head inside, Harvey turned to look at a black truck in the distance. It felt like someone was watching them. Seeing nothing, he shrugs it off as just being paranoid. Closing the door, he walks up to his friends and sees Alex waiting with two headsets.

"So, where should we start?"

•••

"Damn, that was close."

Two men slowly peeked over the dash of the truck they were in. They saw the guy who looked over in their direction, no longer standing at the entrance. Sitting up fully, the man in the passenger seat pulled out his camera and cycled through the images.

"I got them. It's as Chris said."

The driver peeked over and nodded his head at the images. The images were of a young kid with short hair and tanned skin. The dark purple button-up shirt sat on his slightly round body.

"Manny Pritchett. Stepson of Jay Pritchett, owner of Pritchett's Closets." The man smiled. "Our next payday."

"Hey, Zack. Who are the other two kids?" The man in the passenger seat asked.

"Who knows? They don't matter. Focus on the target, Josh." Zack ordered.

"You got it." Josh leaned back in his chair.

Josh was a man in his early thirties with short blonde hair. He was skinny and dressed in dark clothing, consisting of dark blue jeans and a black jacket. His expensive shoes shifted as he got more comfortable.

Zack sat still and had a focused expression. The top of his head was shaved in a buzz cut; a full beard rested on his face. Well trimmed and shiny. His muscles were large and powerful, giving him an overall intimidating figure. He was dressed in a suit and tie.

"I think we got what we need. Let's head back and meet up with the crew. Wouldn't want Drake to chew us out for not being on time." Josh then pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Yeah, we got them Tray. Uh-huh. Yes, we're heading back now. ETA twelve minutes."

"Let's roll."

•••

"Wow, this painting really speaks to me." Manny said he gazed at a large painting. "It almost feels like a representation of the human experience."

"Really? All I'm seeing is a bunch of color smears." Harvey stood next to Manny, gazing at the painting. "Am I looking at it wrong?"

"Well, art is subjective. Different people will have different interpretations of art." Alex exclaimed as she, too, stared at the painting.

"…I think I see a moose."

"Okay! Let's move on. Next is a statue made back in the early 1600s. It's been called a triumph." Manny walked off excitedly.

"Lead the way."

Harvey spoke as he walked beside her; they followed behind Manny. Alex looked over to Harvey and took a deep breath; she steeled her resolve and asked the question she should have asked three nights ago at dinner.

"Harvey… are you okay? I'm here for you; you know… You can talk to me." Alex told him as they started to slow down in their stride.

Harvey smiled and looked at her. Nodding his head, he answered. "I'm fine. I'm… sorry about that night. I know I've been silent since then. I just needed some time to myself."

"Luke helped me realize that I've been holding it all in. Once I finally came to terms with it, I felt better, almost lighter." Harvey's stare was aimless but soon refocused. "I'm glad you invited me here today. I missed being around you. Sorry for ignoring you."

"No! No, don't apologize! It's okay; I'm just glad you're feeling better." Alex waved her arms as she tried to keep her voice down in the museum halls. "But… you can talk to me too. Okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be sure to talk your ear off then."

Harvey joked with a smile. Causing Alex's cheeks to tingle, she smiled back. Looking down at his hand, Alex's heart started to speed up. She wanted to hold his hand, to show him she meant what she said. Slowly, Alex raised her hand and made to grab his when Manny's voice caused her to stop inches away.

"I can't believe it! The statue is gone!" Manny had his hands on his hips. "On hold for remodeling? This is ridiculous!"

"Sorry about that, Manny. Maybe next time?" Harvey patted Manny's back. "Hey, how about we head upstairs? I heard someone talk about the exhibits being 'life-changing'."

"I guess... Alright, let's head up. My life better change after today, then. Otherwise, my Yelp review won't be pretty."

Alex never looked at Manny so angrily. She was so close! All her courage went down the drain! Huffing behind them, she crossed her arms and followed. There would be more opportunities today; she hoped there would be at least. Looking at Harvey, she saw him laughing with Manny. She must've missed whatever joke was made. Slowly smiling, she let go of her irritation. How couldn't she? Just seeing Harvey smiling and laughing instead of looking sad was enough for her, at least for now.

•••

"This will be the last time we go over the plan; make sure you play all your roles perfectly."

A dark-skinned man with an imposing figure spoke. He wore a black t-shirt and grey combat pants, and a holstered nine-millimeter gun rested in a holster on his hip.

"Drake. I think we got it. We've been over this already." Josh said from his chair. "It's in the bag."

A small group of men were occupying an oversized, empty garage. A table with a map in the middle and several documents and pictures rested in the middle of the room. To the right side of the room were four parked vehicles. A white 2010 Chevrolet Express, a black 2008 Ford F-150, a black 2007 Chevy Express Cargo, and a black 2005 Toyota Corolla. On the left was a wall with a table and a small collection of weapons and bulletproof vests.

"No. This operation will need to be executed without any mistakes." Drake spoke as he walked up to the table. "Our target is Manny Pritchett. Stepson of Jay Pritchett. Owner of Pritchett's closets."

Drake grabbed the pictures taken earlier of Manny, alongside a picture of an older man with grey hair and glasses. Throwing four other copies of the photos to the room's occupants, Drake points at the image of Jay.

"Jay Pritchett is a man who has accumulated a small amount of wealth due to his successful business. He isn't overly wealthy, meaning his resources will be limited. Perfect for our criteria of targets."

"This guy won't have any choice but to pay the ransom. I've been shadowing him these past two weeks. He's as strait-laced as they come."

A light-skinned man with his hair in a bun said from where he was leaning on the table. He was dressed as a janitor. The name tag with 'Carlos' written on it rested on his chest. He smiled proudly at himself.

"Calm your tits, Tray." A man eating an apple spoke. "All you did was watch porn in that car of yours."

"That'll be you, Brandon. Don't mistake us."

Brandon laughed as he threw an apple slice in the air, catching it in his mouth. He had tanned skin and curly hair, a mustache on his lip. The man was also dressed in a janitor's outfit.

"Enough, Focus. Now, once the target comes out of the art museum. Tray and Brandon will grab and place him inside the van. Zack will be the driver." Drake moved a small Hot Wheels car over the map. "Josh will be your lookout. He'll be parked a block away, radioing the target's movements and watching for any police."

"Once you three have the target, you'll drive down and take our planned laid-out path. You'll transfer to the black van parked behind these pillars when you reach the underpass." Drake pointed at a specific point in the map. "I'll be waiting there to drive us back here. From there, I'll record the message for our ransom and have it dropped off at Pritchett's Closets. We get paid, and we move on to the next target."

"Are we certain this guy won't call the police?" Tray questioned. "It could go wrong again."

"This time will be different. We'll only give Pritchett twelve hours to pay the ransom. Leaving no time for the police to work effectively. Otherwise, all they'll have is another dead body to recover." Drake voiced in a cold tone of voice. "We won't give them time to think or breathe."

Zack grimaced and tightened his fist from inside his suit pockets. Brandon laughed and pulled out a Glock from his janitor's pocket.

"HA! I love to make them sweat! It's always funny when they start crying! HAHAHA!"

"Enough, the art tour will be ending soon." Drake stated as he looked down at his watch. "Get in position. It's time to start the operation."

All the men nodded and stood up. They walked to their designated vehicles, ready to complete the job and receive their money.

•••

Alex walked outside and took a deep breath. Looking back, she saw Manny walk out the doors with a frown. A little behind him was Harvey; he was talking to the man in charge of the headsets that held the audio tour they had just taken. Harvey's headset fell out of his hands, causing it to break. He was apologizing to the man and trying to compensate the museum for the device. He told them he would catch up to them after he was done.

"I can't seem to get over that statue. It was something I was looking forward to today." Manny expressed as they walked next up to the sidewalk.

"The receptionist said the remodeling should be completed in two months. We can come back and look at it then." Alex comforted Manny; a ping from her pocket suddenly alerted them both.

"Is that Mitchell and Cam? Are they almost here?"

"Yeah, Mitchell says they're fifteen minutes away." Alex answered. "What's taking Harvey so long?"

"About that."

Alex turned to Manny as he stared at her with an odd expression. He had his fists by his sides and smiled at her coyly.

"You have a crush on him, don't you?" Manny declared in a playful tone of voice. "I've noticed the way you act around him."

"What! Don't be ridiculous, Manny, we're just friends!"

"It's okay, really. There's a lot to admire from Harvey. I honestly don't blame you." Manny then put his hands in his pockets and looked at Harvey's direction. He was handing some money to a defeated-looking man. "I'm still surprised when Luke told me he hasn't had a girlfriend before."

"Wait- he said that? Really?!"

"Yeah, who would've thought."

Alex was left in shock at the information. She couldn't believe it! Suddenly, she remembered his family situation and what his father did to the school. Realizing that was a strong reason he was still single. What kind of girl would like to go out with the school pariah?

'I would.'

Looking to her left, she saw a white van drive around the corner. Almost hitting someone on the crosswalk. What was their problem? They could have injured that person!

"Manny!"

The van jumped up on the sidewalk, causing some people to scream and jump back. The van's wheels screeched as it hit the brakes. The van's back doors slammed open, and two people in ski masks and janitor outfits hopped out and ran in their direction. Acting instantly, Alex grabbed her uncle's wrist and started running.

"What's going on!"

"I don't know! Just run!"

Alex and Manny didn't get far as one of the men grabbed Manny by his shirt and tugged him in his direction. Manny yelled and tried to escape; Alex was helping by dragging him. However, they were losing in the tug of war due to the grown man's more prominent strength.

"Alex! Help!"

The other man looked at her and reached for something in his shirt pocket. Alex froze in fear, accidentally letting Manny go. It seemed like the two men would escape with Manny, Only for one of the art museum's security guards to run in their direction.

"HEY!"

"Shit. Grab the kid! We have got to go!"

Alex heard the man yell at his partner. They then grabbed both of Manny's arms and started dragging him away. A memory of Harvey standing up for her flashed in her head. With her mind set, Alex rushed the men and grabbed one of their arms. She attempted to slow them down.

"ALEX! MANNY!"

Alex heard Harvey shout. Turning slightly, she saw him sprinting in their direction—a panicked and angry look on his face.

"Another one! Fuck, just throw them both in!"

"That's not part of the plan!"

"Fuck Drake's plan! Throw them in!"

Alex was starting to panic. Were they being abducted!? Suddenly, Manny bent over and bit one of the men's hands, causing him to yell and release him. Seeing the opportunity, Manny leans down and jerks his buddy. Escaping their grasp. Using what he's learned in football, Manny breaks out of their grip and sprints away but stops ten feet away. He turned around and looked at her. Eyes filled with realization.

"ALEX!"

"Fuck! Fuck! Throw the girl in the van!"

Alex was roughly thrown into the white van, closely followed by the disguised men. The van jerked and started driving at full speed. Feeling tears in her eyes, Alex looks out the still-open doors of the vehicle. She saw Harvey sprinting behind the van; he was slowly catching up. A look of intense focus was on his face.

"Shit man, who's that!" The driver yelled back. "This is not part of the plan!"

"Just drive! Whoever this guy is, he's catching up!"

Indeed, Harvey was only ten feet away now. He reached out his hand and looked at her in the eyes.

"ALEX!"

"HARVEY! HELP ME!"

Alex yelled as she saw Harvey somehow increase his speed. In the corner of her eyes, she saw the man to her right pull out a gun from his pocket. Her heart sank to her stomach.

"Fuck man, this kid is something else!"

BANG BANG BANG

"AGH!"

The first two bullets missed Harvey's frame, but the last one found its mark. It appeared to have hit Harvey's leg, causing him to trip and roll around violently on the asphalt. Alex felt her eyes grow moist.

"HARVEY!"

The men grabbed the van's doors and shut them closed. She heard Harvey yell out her name one last time. The van turned the corner and continued driving at fast speeds. She felt numb, completely ignoring everything. Even as the men tied her hands and feet and placed a bag over her head, Alex continued looking toward the van's closed doors. Despair and fear ruled her mind. The image of her friend being shot and rolling on the ground never left her mind.

"…Harvey."