Manny recognized their captive’s voice with a start. It was his former classmate Reed Chancellor. Reed’s parents owned a large manufacturing company, worth tens of millions.
Reed was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. By the time he was eight, he’d already travelled to over twenty countries with his jet-setting parents, staying in five star hotels around the world. Unfortunately, Reed never got the motivation or brains of his father. The doctor diagnosed him with ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Even medicated Reed lacked the patience to apply himself to anything. Eventually, at seventeen, Reed asked if he could live on his own and attend community college to study marketing. Throwing their hands up, his parents gave in and set him up with an apartment and a weekly allowance.
Manny met Reed in one of his classes. They were never close friends, but he’d hooked Reed up with a bookie once. He knew Reed frequented his neighbourhood, for drugs, gambling, and once in a while, one of his many lady friends. However, it was hands off for local criminals, they all knew he dealt with Fat Frank. And you don’t mess with Fat Frank’s clients.
Fat Frank let Reed’s gambling debts ride for a while. Word on the street was that Reed owed over $100 G’s. Even though it was a drop in the bucket for him, Fat Frank had to do something — it was bad optics for his business.
He asked Eddie Loco to grab Reed while he contacted Reed’s parents to pay off the debt. So far, things had gone smoothly. Reed’s parents didn’t want any bad publicity. They also knew their son wasn’t the most reputable character. So they agreed quickly to Fat Franks demands. Their driver would drop off the money and Reed would get released. Simple.
Manny froze when he heard Reed’s voice in the silent apartment. He couldn’t let Reed know who he was. Despite Manny’s current status, he still had aspirations to get his life together. The last thing he needed was a kidnapping charge.
Lowering his voice, he muttered, “shut the fuck up,” to Reed. Dammit! This wasn’t good. He paced back and forth, waiting for the chirp from his phone. It was closing in on an hour now. Eddie should have called by now. Reed was mumbling to himself in the middle of the room.
Suddenly, Eddie burst through the door. “Grab him and let’s get out of here! Heat might be on the way!” They untied Reed from the chair and rushed him down the sidewalk into a dark alleyway. This was supposed to be easy money, what could have happened?
(read the exciting conclusion of always look on the bright side)
