The situation, as Frank Doyle saw it, was not good. In fact it was very, very bad. When his friend, John O'Connor, had asked and then almost pleaded for help, Doyle knew that he shouldn't have got involved. He certainly shouldn't have got his wife, Tricia involved. But John was in trouble - big trouble. Maggie, his wife, and the Doyles' friend, had gone missing. Frank and Tricia had obviously volunteered their help in finding her.
For three full days Frank and Tricia joined their friend and searched the city from top to bottom without success. John was becoming frantic as the days passed and the search produced nothing - until the note arrived. There was no mystery to the note, it simply reminded John of his gambling debts and enclosed a snapshot of John and Maggie that had been taken on holiday. There was nothing overtly sinister in the words, but reading between the lines, the three friends were not able to miss the point: John must pay what he owed or risk not seeing his wife again. Doyle knew that he and his wife should have backed off at that point - The Franco family, who John gambled with, were well known and their methods of recouping owed money notorious - but it was Tricia that immediately suggested that they should lend their friend the money. All six thousand of it. They were involved now for sure.
Ray Franco watched from a street corner as the three friends arrived at the bank the following day. His brother, Al, the brains of the family, had been right. O'Connor's friends would bail him out. All Ray had to do was collect the money as they came out of the bank and bring it back home with him. Al had said that they would release the girl, but Ray hoped that he might have the opportunity of an hour or so with her first! I wouldn't be long now; all three were walking out of the bank and Ray could see a package under O'Connor's arm.
Franco smiled as John O'Connor noticed him and started to walk towards him with the package. Al would be pleased, he thought, this was all going according to plan. The two men's eyes locked on to each other as O'Connor crossed the road. Then O'Connor's stride suddenly became quicker and Franco began to become agitated as the other man then broke into a run and was now sprinting towards him, a wild look on his face. This was not how it was supposed to be. Franco turned on his heels and tried to flee. But he was too late. O'Connor was faster. There was a quick scuffle and the last thing Ray Franco remembered was the thud of a heavy object on the back of his head and then darkness.
Now the situation was bad, Frank Doyle t hought. Very, very bad. John could always be relied upon to act without thinking first, but this time he had surpassed himself. The three friends were talking in muted whispers in the Doyle's kitchen - The tied and trussed Ray Franco currently occupying a chair in the main lounge.
"What the fuck were you thinking, John?" Doyle asked his friend incredulously. "You had the money, why not just hand it over?"
"Shit! Sorry, Frank. I know I should have, but just seeing that fucker standing there and smirking at me, I had to do something. I just lost it, you know? But it's not all bad, surely? We got Franco's brother. Maybe we can trade him for Maggie."
"This is a bad situation," interrupted Tricia. "We all know what the Franco's are like. They'll stop at nothing if one of their family is in trouble. You shouldn't have done this, John."
O'Connor turned away. He knew his friends were right.
"Okay, lets just untie him, give him the cash and get him out of here." He said, defeatedly. "I just pray that Maggie's still alright." His voice trailed off.
Ray Franco, unperturbed by his recent assault, was now fully awake and sat up in the hard backed chair as the friends entered the lounge.
"You guys are dead!" he spat. "You're all dead!"
"Just shut up Franco." shouted Doyle, "we're letting you go. Take the money back to your brother and release John's wife, okay?"
Franco smiled - a sickly, broad grin. "You gotta be kidding me!" he said "You're gonna have to do better than that if you ever want to see that redhead again!"
Frank Doyle had been expecting something like this, but O'Connor still seemed confused.
"What do you mean? We're letting you go and paying you, now just let me have my Maggie back! If you touch one -"
"What is it you want, Mr. Franco?" Tricia interrupted. Like her husband, she too had been expecting some sort of retribution for O'Connor's reckless actions.
"That's better!" replied Franco, the sickly smile never leaving his dark face. "First, untie me, bitch! Then you can pour me a shot of that Jack Daniels over on the table there."
Doyle and O'Connor stood shocked by Franco's verbal abuse of Tricia. Doyle moved forward to defend his wife, but Tricia shushed him calmly - there was no point in aggravating the situation further.
Franco rubbed his released wrists and snatched the offered drink. The liquid burned his stomach as he emptied the contents of the glass in one hit.
"You guys are in a whole bunch of trouble - you know that, don't you? But, just maybe, there's a way out of this so you three and the pretty redhead can all see another day!"
Tricia stood in front of him, watching him calmly. "What do you have in mind, Mr. Franco?"
"Well, I was quite looking forward to an hour or so alone with the redhead. You do exactly what I say and I might persuade my brother to let you all live!"