Monday, November 23: Ransom

Dag wakes up in the hospital when his cell phone rings. Riley is on the phone. She is calm but stressed. She tells him that she is being held hostage and that they want Simon’s laptop. A voice comes on the phone and tells Dag to get the computer and wait for further instructions. There will be an exchange made at midnight tonight. They tell him they willl be watching him. Dag tries to tell the guy that he’s in the hospital, but the phone goes dead.

Dag explains to his doctor that he has to go. The doctor makes it very clear to him that if he leaves the hospital, he will very possibly lose his postion in line for a heart transplant. He is at or near the top right now. Dag makes the decision to leave anyway. Something the kidnappers said about watching him doesn’t quite seem right. If they were watching him now, they would know he was in the hospital. He takes an evasive action and leaves the hospital, then instead of going to his office he grabs a pair of binoculars at Washinski’s and then heads for Pier 56 (where they played video gtames). He goes to the arcade and takes the stair to the roof of Pier 56. From here Dag starts triangulating possible places where someone could see into his office window on Pier 61. He realizes at the last minute that the place he’s chosen to stake out could have been one of the possible places.

Ultimately, however, Dag sees a movement in a window above the viaduct and realizes there is a telescope trained on his office. He weighs his options and decides to move in on this one himself. He goes back to Warshinski’s and buys some rope and climbing supplies. Then waits for dark.

End Chapter Twenty-three