Charles McBride was an everyday hard working man that never liked to leave his work half done. He was a perfectionist some even called him a workaholic at times. He was married and had a daughter who was only 8 years old. He was just an average Joe that worked 8 to 5pm, but at times would stay multiple hours of overtime just to get his job done.

On this day he stayed overtime to complete a transaction for his company when he received a phone call he would never forget. It was an anonymous phone number that he had never seen before, when he answered the phone the subject told him that he had abducted his wife and mother, and he only had the opportunity to save one of them. He thought it was a prank call and hung up the phone only to get a phone call once more.

"I do not know who this is, but if you call one more time threatening me and my family, I shall go to the authorities and have them trace this phone number."

"Oh Mr. Charles you think this is a game, well you just made your first mistake. I have your beautiful wife here with me, and I also have your poor precious mother here with me, you just have one choice to either save your mother or your wife. I hope you make the right choice."

"I don't know what type of sick joke you are playing with me and my family, but I will find you sooner or later, and I will have you arrested."

"Mr. Charles you just got strike 2, I'm sure you do not want to get strike 3 because my patience is running out. Listen to me carefully, there will be a phone in your mailbox when you get home, you will take the phone and wait for my call. You will do exactly as I say following my instructions step by step. At no point will you speak to anybody about me or the situation or I will mail you the heads of your mother and wife understood?"

"Please tell me what you want, I am not a wealthy man but I can get you a ransome."

"This isn't about money Charles, this is bigger than that, wait for my phone call and follow my instructions."

Charles rushed out of the office and ran toward his car trying to figure out he it could've been. As he starts driving home, he begins to think about his daughter and where she could've been. He pulled into his driveway leaving the keys in the ignition and runs toward the front door. As he is trying to unlock his door, the next door neighbor approached him and tells him that his daughter had gone to her friends house. As he thanks his neighbor for the good news, he hears a phone ring coming from the mailbox in front of his house. He ran towards the mailbox remembering that he was suppose to get a call with instruction.

"Hello are they okay, are they still alive?"

"Charles, Charles, Charles calm down they are still alive. I see you found the phone I have sent to you."

"Please let me just talk to them, I beg you let me just talk to them. I want to be assured that they are still alive and well before I start playing your game, that's all I'm asking you for, please let me just talk to one of them atleast."

"There will be a time and place for that Charles, but now it is time for your next task. You will drive to an address I'll give you with the precise coordinates. Once you arrive, it will be a impound lot, in the impound lot there will be a blue sedan with the keys in the center console, you'll drive that car from now on till further instructed."

"You want me to steal a car from the police impound lot? What if I am caught, what will happen then?"

"Well guess it would be game over Mr. Charles, now shut up and listen to me, once you get the key and start the car, in the glove department you will find a gun with and an address, I need you to go pay them a little visit, oh and Charles don't be surprised at the person that might open the door, do not screw up."

"Wait, hello? What am I going to do with this gun, who am I going to visit."

"You will soon find out Mr. Charles."

He enter the coordinates into the gps and started driving. As he got closer to the destination he quickly realized that he had been here before. The house belonged to his boss, and his task was to kill his boss at all cost or his mother and wife would be killed. He started walking towards the house hands shaking and palms sweaty knowing what he would have to do. He knocked on the door and waited for the target to approach.

"Who the hell is knocking on the door at this time for god sakes. What in the world are you doing here Charles, shouldn't you be home with your wife and daughter son."

"Sorry to disturb you sir but this is a bit of an emergency."

"Damn it Charles what know, well come on in we will talk about it."

As his boss turns around to walk into his house Charles just points the gun to the back of his head.

"I'm truly sorry about this sir but I must go through with this my mother's and my wife's life depend on this."

"What the hell are you talking about Charles, what is it that you must do in order to save your family."

As he turns back around to face Charles, he notices the gun aiming toward his head.

"What in the name of Saint Mary and Joseph do you think you are doing son?"

"Sorry sir I must do this in order to save them."

"If it is about your raise son, I will have it for you first thing Monday, please don't do this son put that thing away. Come inside we will talk about it, but don't do this son you have a daughter for God's sake."

"Do not talk about my family you son of a bitch! Where are they, are you the man who has them, where are they."

"I don't know what you are talking about Charles I don't have anybody. How much do you want just tell me I will take care of it."

As they argue back and forth he pulls the trigger shooting his boss point blank to the head. His phone rings with the anonymous phone number again. He reaches down to grab the phone out of his pocket when suddenly he hears a loud scream over the phone. It was the scream of agonizing pain, such pain that sounded so gruesome that it could only be inflicted by slow torturing injury.

"That is the sound of your wife losing her pinky."

"What are you doing to her, I am following your instructions, I am at the location now please do not hurt her, I killed him, I killed the son of a bitch."

"You're late. That is a mistake that I will not tolerate. Each time you make a mistake, they will lose a finger one by one till all ten are gone. Then I will start pulling out a tooth, and must I add that they also have ten toes. Beautiful manicured toes, beautiful pink nail polish with french tips."

"Stop it you crazy son of a..."

"Now now Charles, I don't like the tone you are using with me, I am sending you new coordinates, make sure you are not late, and make sure that you see it through or else..."

He received the new coordinates and started driving to the new location. As he was driving he received a text with an address and also a time of 2 hours. He realized that the travel time was an hour , so it would only give him another hour to complete the task. As he arrived to the new address, he noticed that it was a post office, just then he received a text with a postal code. As he entered the facility he noticed that there were about a thousand postal boxes in there that required a code to unlock for the next set of instructions, but no specifications of which box number it was. As he started trying the combinations on each box he received a call.

"What box number is it, how am I to unlock the correct box if I don't know the box number."

"Oh Charles, that would be too easy now, where is the fun in that. You have 45 minutes left, you better figure out quickly. Here is a hint for you 5 times 9 plus 21 divided by 19 times 20 minus 11 plus 30, I hope you are good at math Charles."

"That can't be correct? 88.45 is not an even number, all this boxes are exact number."

"I thought you were smarter than that Charles, now you have 40 minutes left, figure it out."

"Wait a second 88? That can't be a coincidence. I was born at 88, my wife as well. Our unit number is 8, and Hillary's age is 8. It has to be box 8 or 88."

"Good Charles, good. I knew you would figure it out, it's only a shame that it took you 40 minutes to figure it out, say bye to your wife's thumb."

"No please don't it won't happen again I swear."

His wife starts begging for the subject to stop and starts screaming with agonizing pain.

"You better make sure it does not happen again, cause she is losing a lot of blood."

"Just tell me what you want for God's sake tell me what you want."

"In the box you will find a key to what might just unlock the doors to a chest. In the chest you will find what might just save your precious family. The trunk is located in the trunk of the car you stole, make sure you don't screw up."

He ran to the car and opened the car's trunk and found a rather big chest in the back. He pulled out the key from his pocket and opened up the chest. What he found inside next just broke him down to tears. Inside of the chest was his 8 year old daughter Hillary half naked, and beaten so bad she was unrecognizable. As he brings her out of the chest and carries her to the car, he suddenly realized that his neighbor had told him that she was at a friends house. Why tell him this lie, how did he even know where she could of been. This is when it struck him that he had heard suspicious activities at his neighbor's house before, but he never paid much attention to other people's business, but the puzzle was coming together now. They had just moved in couple of months ago, and they never introduced themselves by their name. They had previous barbeques together, so they would be the only once knowing where they lived and where Charles was working at. As he was reaching a conclusion his phone rang.

"Did you like the gift I had arranged for you Charles. That is just a taste of what will happen if you follow my instructions."

"You son of a bitch how can you do this. We had barbecues together, you were my friend, for God's sake you are my neighbor."

"So you finally figured out the puzzle. You got me Charles, but I still have them, and there is nothing you can possibly do to make it here on time. You only have a hour."

"You son of a bitch, I am coming for you, and you better believe when I get there I will bestow upon you the wrath of a son, a husband and a father, and it will not look pretty once I am finished with you."

"Okay Charles, I will be waiting for you, you have one hour and the clock starts ticking now."

To Be Continued....................