Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2023 21:22:04 +1000
From: Gavin Hurst <gavin_hurst@icloud.com>
Subject: A Life Less Than Ordinary - Chapter 30-35

Thanks everyone for the feedback.
I try to take all comments and suggestions on board, and I will reply to
everyone when I can.

75 emails yesterday alone. I am glad you are loving the storyline, and I
hope this block keeps you entertained.

Chapter 30

I awoke later than usual and wandered downstairs to the kitchen. Jackson,
Maggie & Karl were sitting around the breakfast island, like we used to
back in Sydney, minus the hired help. It was a nicely feeling and a touch
that I know Jackson had purposely had installed here to make it feel more
homely. I appreciated the little things like this, to make sure as much
as we could we could remain a close knit family.  Karl poured me an
amazing coffee which blew me away, and I wanted more. It was so good to
be able to afford the finer things in life without having to worry about
it. I just dropped nearly $200m on a new plane, I had to remind myself.

After grabbing a shower, we took off to Columbia to meet with the Dean
and to viit the campus. Some days I struggled to see my little girl
attending University, having taken her to first day of prep 15 years ago,
but here we were. The school was amazing, and whilst I deliberately kept
cool, Jackson and Maggie were both like teenagers as they almost ran
about with excitement. Regardless of my views, I knew I would be out
voted when it came to the crunch.

The dean went through the protections in class that were available for a
girl like Maggie, and accommodating her needs. Protection was allowed in
the rear of the class, but were not to speak or disrupt proceedings. I
was ok with this. Maggie was ok with this, Jackson just kept squeezing
her hand. I had asked James to vet a female guard to be assigned
permanently to Maggie and be based in New York. He knew the importance of
this to me, I knew I could and would trust his Judgement. With 3 weeks
until semester started, I knew the time was right to start to let her be
herself.

I left Columbia and drove across town to our offices to catch up with
Steven. We had a late morning meeting with the Ambassador from Belize and
I wanted to be across the brief he had put together. Our offer was
simple. We would supply the training, the funding and facilities for our
small business development bank, but the government and forgo our taxes
for a period of 10 years in lieu of any funding. It allowed us to help
locals build and invest in themselves, whilst minimising our tax, and
losses that would potentially be had, should they fail. We had employed
20 people for the first office, mainly Americans of Latino heritage, to
assist in the program. Most had banking and or NGO background skills and
were all excited to be a part of it. Presenting our final pitch to the
Ambassador was a little nerve wracking, but his agreement in principle
meant we could start the same day as we launched in Puerto Rico. I was
really pleased with the outcome.

As I was sitting in the meeting, Michael entered the room and looked at
me. His face told a worrying story. I acknowledged him to approach me and
as he did, I had sinking feeling in my stomach.

"Jo & Jules have been in a major accident. Two people have been declared
deceased, we don't know if one or both are Jo or Jules."

I sat motionless. "Gentleman, I need to leave now. Steven wrap this up
for me"

As I stood in the hall way, I was gasping for breath. My big girl. No.
Was she alright? More importantly, was she alive.

We headed down to the car and I was trying to call Jackson. His phone
kept going to message bank. "No" I kept yelling to nobody in
particular. If he doesn't pick the phone up soon, I am going to lose my
shit. I tried Maggies number, nothing. Chris's phone, blank. At this
stage I was starting to lose control of my thoughts. I rang the house and
Karl answered. No, he hadn't seen or heard from anyone since we had
left. I asked Michael to get James on the line ASAP. Something's not
right and I need answers. NOW.

As we approached the Townhouse James was on the phone. He had been trying
to get a hold of Chris as well, and to no avail. It just wasn't right
that all 3, Chris especially were uncontactable. Pacing the reception
room in the Ton house, my phone finally rang, it was Jackson calling me
back at last.

"Von Garbner, we have your faggot husband & daughter. Your body guard
wasn't co-operating so we said goodbye to him. Unfortunately your other
daughters kidnapping didn't go as planned. We will be in touch soon."

The line went dead. Michael could tell it wasn't good news. I was trying
to explain to him what was said, but nothing was making sense as it
swirled around in my head at 100mph without stopping. He got James on the
line, and within about 15 mins we had NYPD and FBI on our doorstep,
trying to figure out what was going on.

Sam rang me that Jo had died, but Jules was in a critical condition in
hospital. I asked Sam to get his arse to the hospital and keep me updated
and to take Inga with him, and between the two I needed to be kept in the
loop. James pulled all available resources from Munich in to the hospital
and surrounded her room with a wall no one was getting through. Shit was
getting real, and we needed real protection.

After speaking with the police, which was interrupted by updates from the
hospital, most left us alone after about 4 hours. James had organised a
team of 20 guards to monitor the whole house, those inside it, and
checking those who entered. We were in tight lockdown.

I facetimed Sam who was still in the hospital. By this stage it was 3am,
but he had not left Jules side the whole day. I knew I would be
internally grateful for his commitment and care when I needed him most.
He showed me Jules laying there peacefully, tubes and wires everywhere
and her face partially bandaged and obscured. The father in me melted.
The tears I had held back all day, were now flowing freely, and I had no
idea what to do next. Where were Jackson and Maggie, was Chris still
alive? Who is doing this to my family? What have we done wrong.

As I hung up from Sam, I received a call from the kidnappers again. I put
it on speaker and followed the instructions that the police gave me. They
had my phone plugged into a tracking device, to try and get a trace on
the call.

"$100m and you can have the scum husband back. $200m and you can have
them both. Don't pay and I will send them back in pieces. Your decision
faggot. We will be in touch."

The line went dead before any tracing could be done, but the FBI managed
to record the call and were planning on using voice recognition
technology to see if they could come up with anything. For me, it was sit
and wait time.

In the past 25 years I had never been alone. I had Jackson, then the
girls. We were always in each others pockets as we rambled around a
quaint little Sydney house. Privacy was rare, and silence even rarer. I
was now alone. I dint know what to do. Karl approached me and looked at
me. I knew he was a little unsure what to do as well in such a
situation.

He grabbed me, and hugged me. Told me it would be alright. I burst in to
tears again, and just stood in this mans arms for what seemed an eternity
until we were interrupted my a knock on the door. It was Steven. Shit,
with everything that was happening, I had forgot to call him. I forgot to
even acknowledge the only type of family I had.

He had heard about it on the news and rushed straight over. Getting
through the front door was the biggest task we faced. We talked through a
lot of things, that evening, and by late that night,  I had asked him to
take over as President of Deutsch Volksbank, and I would take leave as of
now. I needed the markets to know that whilst we were undergoing personal
turmoil, we were still in a position to have a talented leader, a member
of my family, heading up the bank, and it was business as usual.  We had
our lawyers draft up a press release that was delivered before the
morning breakfast news hit the American airways.

" As you are aware by now, my husband & daughter have been kidnapped
here in New York, and my oldest daughter & close associate were involved
in what we believe to be an associated motor vehicle accident in Munich
at the same time. Whilst this is an extremely distressing time for me, I
continue to work with the FBI, NYPD, Polizeipräsidium München in Munich &
Interpol as we try to get an understanding of what is happening.

As a result, I have asked my adopted brother, Steven Morgan, Current CEO
& Deputy Chairman of Deutsch Volksbank (America's) to step up as global
Managing Director and Chairman as I concentrate on the welfare of my
family. We would like the global financial markets to recognise this step
is effective immediately, for an undefined period, and we want all our
customers, new and old, to understand Business as usual.  Kalus Sternberg
fill be filling Mr Grants role as CEO of our American division whilst Mr
Morgan is away from that role.

We ask that the media please respect our privacy during this very
distressing period, and I ask that you direct all media enquiries' to
the FBI, who are working hard on this matter.

Thank you"

The FBI had OK'd the release, noting that we had included very little
personal details, and mainly focused on our business needs which is what
the whole release was intended to do.

I had been up over 24hrs by this stage, and I needed sleep, even if for
just an hour. I was exhausted, and needing my strength.

Chapter 31

I laid in bed, restlessly for about 2hrs before getting up and showering.
Karl had made coffee and the main reception room had been turned in to a
battle room, with about 15 FBI & other police operating machines, phones
etc.

They had managed to obtain video footage of Jackson & Maggie leaving
Columbia around 30mis after me, with Chris and the driver. It appeared
about 3 blocks down, they turned in the opposite direction of home and
were last scene crossing the Brooklyn bridge. No visable footage was
available after then.

There was no reason as to why they turned in that direction, or why they
crossed the bridge, but the FBI would continue to use all available
resources in the interim to try and find them. I had not heard from the
Kidnappers in 5 hours, which generally isn't a good sign. But, it
wasn't as if I could call them. I was a sitting duck.

Around 11am James received word that Chris had been found. Barely alive,
in a disused warehouse in Nee Jersey. He was in bad shape, and had
multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and arms. As much as I wanted to go
there I had to remain at home, like a caged animal, waiting for the next
call. I was trapped.

Sam rang to tell me Jules was awake, but couldn't speak. He was going to
grab some sleep and Inga would keep me abreast whilst he was away. I was
so grateful for my team to have my back at moments like this, and it was
definitely beyond the usual work load I piled on them.

Our next breakthrough came when our car was found in Croydon, a town on
the outskirts of Philadelphia, by the banks of the Delaware River. The
FBI saw this as a sign of them heading south, and at least it was
something. Unfortunately, our driver was found dead in the trunk of the
car, which caused me pain. I had people who were going about doing their
jobs, being shot, being killed. My guilt was in over drive, and nothing
could take away the deep remorse I was feeling, as I waited on for
answers.

Somewhere in Europe

As morning broke over Europe, the chill in the air was about minus 12. It
was harsh & it was unrelenting. Jackson was sitting on a cot bed, huddled
up with Maggie cuddling him as he gave constant reassurances, they would
be ok. No one spoke English, nor did they try to communicating with them.
They had arrived in this shack midway through the night, as rain and
sleet feel around them. Jackson had a large gash on his face that had
stopped bleeding and was held together with dry blood. Maggie had a
suspected broken nose as the result of a rifle butt being shoved in her
face as she tried to run. They were tied, scared and feared for their
life. They had no idea what had happened to Jules and Jo back in Germany,
or that I had every available source working on tracking them down.

The guards bought them coffee and bread on a tray and whilst they
weren't restrained, they were having difficulties chewing for their
reasons and health. Jackson was concerned about Maggies injuries but all
he could do was hold her tight and tell her everything would be ok. He
tried to talk with some excitement about starting Columbia, but even he
knew it was falling on deaf ears. All they could do was sit, wait, and
hopefully be rescued soon.

New York City

The FBI had received reports of a private jet landing at Wilmington
Airport in Delaware from Florida around9pm the night before. It took off
with no flight plans lodged around 3pm yesterday afternoon. The Jet was
registered to a charter company in Ireland, which wasn't uncommon, but
it appeared we were slowly making head ways in to what was happening. The
crew in Delaware descended on the airport enmasse to try obtain any
footage or information they could. To my complete dismay, Jackson and
Maggie could be seen being bundled on to the Jet at 2:55pm. They were
alive still, but who knew where they were or how to find them.

By mid afternoon I managed to talk to Maggie via facetime. It wasn't the
time to tell her about Maggie or her Dada, so I just kept the
conversation about her looking after herself, and I was waiting for the
Jet to arrive so I could visit her very soon. I made it clear that she
was not to watch TV or listen to the radio until we had some news. As
yet, we had little to go by.

Not long after this, the kidnappers rang again. $200m transferred to a
certain bank account of which the number would be sent in a separate
call, to avoid being traced. They needed the money with in 72 hrs.

We now had a time line of where we were at. 72hrs and the clock seemed to
be moving fast.

Chapter 32

"We have a trace on the voice" was the words the lead investigator told
Grant as he sat in the study trying to figure out the reality of what was
going on.

"He's the boss of one of Europe's biggest crime gangs. He is on the
Interpol top 10 list, which whilst it is not something you want to hear,
it's the breakthrough we've been looking for. His last known
whereabouts was in Estonia and we are trying to get a trace on his
movements."

This made sense. In all likelihood it stemmed back to my second cousin's
involvement, my shooting and a few other things that had happened over
the past months since our arrival. I spoke at length with investigators
about this, leaving out the part of my involvement in his untimely death.
Police believed that his death was a result of gang involvement, and
nothing to do with us, so I was grateful for that.

I rang James to fill him in, as he had a team of investigators working on
the ground in Europe, and this would surely benefit his search, and
potentially narrow down the search for Jackson & Maggie. I also touched
base with Sam who was back at the hospital with Jules, who was sleeping
most of the time due to the amount of pain medication she was on. I was
glad she wasn't witnessing this play out, whilst I couldn't be there to
support her.

So whilst we now had motive, we had a suspect and we had a rough location
of their whereabouts, I was starting to feel more positive in my outlook.
Now if only we could find them.

Just outside a little town in Estonia, called Hindsa near the Russian
border a local farmer was going about his daily tasks checking his crops.
In the distance at a local disused farm house, he could see smoke rising
out of the chimney in a place that had been deserted for 20 years. Whilst
he thought this odd, he dismissed it as he knew the original owners still
had family that visited the property in summer, but strange they were
there in Winter. The house had no electricity and the only heating was
from the wood fire.

Returning to his own house for lunch, he mentioned this to his wife.
Again, whilst she thought this was odd, she dismissed it as trivial as it
would have to be the owners visiting. After lunch, the farmer couldn't
shake the feeling that local children were destroying the house, and he
drove his tractor over nearer to the house, and walked the last part on
foot so as to not create suspicion.

Looking inside one of the windows, he saw Jackson & Maggie huddled in the
corner, with visible injuries, and sitting in the corner was a burly lad
holding what appeared to be a rifle.

Backing away, he returned to his tractor, making his way back to his
homestead trying to reconcile in his own head what was happening.

Explaining to his wife what he saw, she immediately told him to ring the
local police, which he tried to do several times with no answer, which
was common in these outposts in countries like Estonia.

Not being overly educated in such matters, the farmer took it upon
himself to ring Interpol in Tallinn, as he wasn't sure what to do.
Eventually he got put through to someone who could understand a now
frustrated farmer from regional Estonia. The person who he was connected
to had proficient understanding of what the farmer was saying and asked
him to slow down, breath, and talk them through exactly what he had seen.
Again and again the farmer explained in detail what he saw, the same
detail time and time again. The person was fairly certain that the
farmers tale was legitimate and asked him to hang up the phone, do not
contact anyone else, and to await a call back shortly.

Within 10 minutes he received a call from a person from the Estonian
Police & Border Guard asking for his exact location. The farmer gave
details, and as he was now starting to worry about the welfare of the two
people being held at gunpoint, decided that he would try and rescue them
himself, before it was too late.

As he loaded his rifle and grabbed some extra ammunition, he made his way
out to his tractor again, with his wife pleading with him not to go there
alone and too wait for the police to arrive. "Ei, ma pean nad päästma"
was he response. Or roughly translated, I must save them. Having lived
through war's during his lifetime had him ruminating on past occurrences
he had seen in his lifetime and the need to help those in need.

Chapter 33

Back in New York, the call had just arrived that they had been hoping
for. A farmer in Estonia had spotted two people fitting the description
of Jackson and Maggie, being held against their will. The FBI, with
assistance of Interpol and NATO were now putting in action a plan to
follow up. Whilst it wouldn't happen as fast as they wanted, a
helicopter was being sent from a US Air Base in Volkel, Netherlands, with
a specialist team on board to help extract Jackson and Maggie if
required. This would take 2-3hrs for them to travel too, and they still
needed to be approved for mission before leaving. Estonian police were
about 45 mins away, who would be able to focus on making sure the area
was safe.

All we could now was wait. And if contacted again, try and stall the
kidnappers as long as we could.

As Estonian police arrived at the farmers cottage, the farmer just
preparing to leave with his rifle. The police spotted him by his shed,
and convinced him they would handle the situation. The farmers wife was
pleased with this outcome, but was surprised that it took only minutes
for police to arrive, when they said they'd be almost an hour.

As the police entered the farmers house, it was looking as if something
wasn't right. The wife knew it and was trying to tell her husband with
out raising suspicions of the officers in her home. It was at this stage
that the officers ordered the farmer and wife to go down in to their
cellar where they were tied and bound to a pole in the cold damn space.
The officers disappeared and were no longer out of site, when gunfire
broke out. Shot after shot was heard with yelling and screaming in the
house above. Neither the farmer or his wife had any idea what was
happening, but were shaking in fear as they felt trapped in the dark of
the cellar.

It had been a good 30 mins before police entered the cellar and found the
farmer and his wife, tied up. Whilst shaken, they were physically
unharmed, but feeling fooled by the intruders who try passing themselves
off as police. The police informed them that perhaps they had been
listening in on local radio channels and picked up some details. The
Police's biggest concern now was had they moved Jackson and Maggie.

Whist the farmhouse now had 4 dead bodies in it, the farmer and his wife
were taken away to be kept secured and have their welfare checked on. As
more actual police arrived at the farm with better surveillance equipment
to get an idea of what was happening in the abandoned house some 800
meters away.  A distance so close, yet so far for the antiquated
listening devises of the Estonian Police.

As time ticked by I continued to pace the town house and was now walking
the staircase to try and work off the nervous energy that was building up
in side of me. I'd had Sam organise for the plane to be ready to go, the
moment I was free to leave, and as it was on standby at LaGuardia
Airport, I was ready to run their if I had to to get to my family.

James had been in constant contact with both myself, and police agencies
during this time. Some 48hrs had passed since this saga had developed.
Whilst he was feeding back the required information he was directly
asked, he was also filling me in on the private team he had had assembled
to also track down the kidnappers. It was last group that seemed to be on
the case and closer than we thought.

As the sun was settling in Estonia, the team of 6 highly trained form
British Military Royal Marines, were laying in the long grass of the
field surrounding the abandoned house. The equipment they carried was far
superior to those used by general military, and they were trained to use
it effectively and without trace.

A dim light was appearing from the window as the night fall descended
quicker in the winter cold. It was at this time that a van arrived
dropping off two guards whilst collecting two. The whole change over took
about 10 mins. Once quiet had settled upon them, the crack team started
to survey the house. They could see Jackson & Maggie in one room,
although Jackson appeared to be asleep or unconscious. Maggie could be
seen holding his head in her hands as if to support him or comfort him.
In the only other room visible was a second guy watching Russian TV as he
ate food from his lap. Both seemed to have the same assault rifle, and
not the most powerful at that.

Using silent hand signals the team had planned on their attack. How they
would take both down at the same time, whilst saving Jackson and Maggie.
It was time to get them out, and they had my authority to do it. I
couldn't wait any longer for the US military to arrive, who still had
not left the Air Base in The Netherlands yet.

5.4.3.2.1 was the count via hand signal. As two guards smashed through
the front door surprising the guy watching TV, another two smashed the
side window with a single shot, hitting the standover man between the
eyes. Dead. As Maggie sat silently crying and scared, Jackson was
unresponsive as he had succumbed to a loss of blood from both his face,
but also a serious concussion as a result of several blows to the head
from his capturers.

As snow started to fall the team of 6 surveyed the area for any more
guards. Knowing that they only had a brief window to get out, they picked
up Maggie in their arms, giving reassurances she would be ok. Jackson's
limp frame was carried as well as they made their way to a van parked a
while down the dark country lane in the remote parts of Europe.

As they all settled in a call was made. "We have them both and are
proceeding to the airstrip." Was the call the lead made to James, who
was manning the phones back in Munich. Relief was the only expression
James felt. He picked up the phone and got me on the call. "We have them
boss. They are safe."

Those were the words I so desperately needed to hear. My husband and
daughter were safe. Whilst I knew they weren't out of woods so speak, I
knew they were in the safe hands of people that could protect them.

"Take them to Germany" I yelled down the phone, more forcibly than I
should have. I wanted them safe and in a place we could better protect
them.

Meanwhile back with the farmer and his wife, who I could think were the
real hero's in all of this, the Estonian Police force were still waiting
on further news before they could strike. I felt a sense of gratefulness
to them. They had saved my daughter and husband by calling out and
investigating something that wasn't right. My family could never repay
them enough, but I would try.

I spoke with my FBI lead investigator to bring him to speed. Whilst he
wasn't impressed we had a private militia go and grab them, he was
relived they were safe. His plan now was to set up the Crime boss and
trap him, resulting in his capture, but at this moment I was not
concerned. I had Karl grab some things together for me, as I was escorted
to the waiting plane. I would be back in Munich soon enough and I could
try and repair the hurt my family had suffered as a result of people who
had tried to take me down.

Some changes had to occur, and I was making notes for James to consider.

Chapter 34

The flight across the Atlantic was becoming all to familiar and afforded
myself the chance to close my eyes. As anxious as I was I needed to sleep
to regain some energy to what lie ahead. News of the capture had not been
announced, and we had given all assurances we would not be making a
statement. My arrival back in Munich was being covered over by us landing
on a private airstrip on the outskirts of town, rather than the major
airport, where we knew local media were waiting. The plane carrying
Jackson and Maggie would land as per normal, but considering there was no
reason to suspect their return, we were confident that they could be
transferred to the same hospital as Jules in a timely manner, with ample
security surrounding them.

The hospital was on standby, and being that my family were major
benefactors to the hospital, their silence was assured as well. Until the
European Authorities and the FBI gave us clearance that everything was
over, we were not to be seen or heard of in public. The goal was to catch
and preferably take down one of Europe's biggest criminals, and a man
that was interwound into the fabric of my family through association.

A rough touchdown on a private airfield was probably not the best way to
land a G8 carrying one of the worlds wealthiest persons, but I didn't
care. Michael was quick to his feet and at the door as we slowed down as
close to the waiting vehicle as possible.

"You walk down the stairs and you stand in the middle of us for guards
as we close in on you and walk to the car. No racing ahead Boss." Were
Michaels only words. I knew I still needed this protection, now more than
ever. As they formed a diamond shape aroundme we walked the 100m to the
awaiting car. Michael closed the door and walked around getting in
besides me. Another guard hopped in the front with the driver, both with
guns drawn. I was uncomfortable with the guns, but wasn't in the
position to question why, as I had a fair idea that they needed to be
prepared in case something went wrong.

Arriving at the hospital we went directly to the Ambulance entrance, and
were escorted in to a room where Maggie was. She looked so frail and
small curled up in a ball, her nose having been recently set. She had an
IV drip in her arm for a precaution and upon hearing my voice, her eyes
lit up. I reached down to hug her. To feel that she was alive. I could
not explain the emotion I was feeling. After a few minutes, and giving
her reassurances I would be back, I went in search of Jackson.

He had been examined by Dr's and had had an MRI &C-Scan on his brain.
Whilst there appeared to be no permanent damage, his brain was swollen
and the medical team were discussing time lines as to if they may have to
operate and release the pressure build up. He was not in a good way, and
was in an induced coma to give him some comfort more so than any other
reason. After one last squeeze of his hand, there was one other person I
needed to see. Jules. My big girl who had been alone through all of this,
and had not had any idea as to what had happened. Walking into her room,
both Sam and Inga were there by her side. I smiled as I walked in. Jules
was sleeping off and on, her leg was elevated and I could see, similar to
James, that she had had bolts placed in her knee. The bandages covering
the top of her head were clean and appeared recently changed. The
swelling of cheek and eye, still displaying the signs of trauma she had
experienced. I moved in closer and squeezed her had before kissing her
forehead softly. Opening her eyes, she started to cry. An outpouring of
emotion that had built up over the past few days thinking we had
forgotten her. Now wasn't the time for explanations, now was the time
for her to heal.

As I hid out in the hospital going from room to room checking on my
family, I could not help as to what was happening in Estonia. While still
feeling trapped and targeted there was a man wanting me, and obviously my
family, harmed until we were all dead. James had arrived at the hospital
and we had caught up on everything. He was now liaising directly with the
authorities so I could be with my family.

At around about 10:30pm local time, we were taken aback by a broadcast on
local news regarding the death of a European Crime boss. At whilst no
name was mentioned, I had James reach out to the FBI for confirmation.
Yes. It was him. He arrived at the abandoned farm house and was ambushed
by Estonian police. 4 confirmed dead, one a police officer.

Saddened by the death of the police officer, I could now, finally, feel a
little bit safer in the world. Simultaneous raids were being undertaken
in Germany, Hungary and Romania where it was believed he had bases and
hideouts. Several more arrests had been made, taken the total to 27 the
number of associates that were involved. Whilst I had no pressing urgency
to make a statement, I was waiting for the authorities to contact me, as
we all knew the media would be on our doorstep soon.

With the images released, the media would start to conclude I was in
Europe, and had probably figured out I was at the hospital, and it
wouldn't take long for them to figure it out.

My main concern now was Jackson. He was not making any great inroads, and
the drugs were not helping the swelling subside. Maggie was now joining
our bedside vigil, but Jules was not able to move yet. James requested
that they both be placed in the same room for security reasons, but I
knew that he had done this so we could all be together.

Sam had bought me a change of clothes to the hospital. I hadn't realised
that I was still unshowered and unchanged in 48hrs. I was showing the
signs of heavy beard growth and to be honest, I stank. I stripped off and
hopped into the warmth of the shower. As my tears flowed freely, mainly
from relief and exhaustion, I could feel my body start to rejuvenate and
refresh after what was the most difficult time of my life. Nothing could
have prepared me for this and whilst I knew we still had a way to go, I
knew we would get there soon. Sam entered the bathroom after 20 mins
concerned I had been in there an extraordinary amount of time. He found
me huddled on the floor sobbing. Uncontrollably. He stood there looking
at my naked frame, before shutting the water off and helping me to my
feet.

"This wasn't in my job description" he threw at me with a smile. "But
hey, you're worth it" he finished off.

I stood there embracing him and feeling the warmth of another human I so
desperately needed. James walked in at this exact moment. "Hey Boss, you
making a play for my man?" he chuckled. All I could was smile and make
light of what was happening. Two people who knew more about me, than
potentially I did, making sure I was cared and loved during a terrible
moment in my life.

"You're both smartarses!" I said with a grin. "I'd be lost without
either of you."

Chapter 35

They say time heals all wounds. For Jackson this was not the case. I just
wanted to see his eyes open and tell him how much I loved him, and that
he was my world. I would do anything to change places with him, but alas,
that wasn't the case.

The Dr's had decided that they had little option than to operate, and
that meant transferring him to a larger hospital in Frankfurt where the
delicate procedure could take place. They would be flying him up in a
helicopter, at a lower altitude to make sure he was placed under no extra
pressure. I made arrangements that I would fly with up there to be with
him. Whilst I couldn't be allowed to go with out Michael, and space was
at a premium, we flew up separately and before he arrived so we'd be
there for him. James was taking Maggie back to the Villa, and transport
was being arranged for Jules to transferred to the Villa where she would
still receive treatment, as we had hired a private nurse to look after
her.

Leaving the girls after so much trauma, for me, was not an easy decision
to make. Whilst I knew that James, Sam and Paul would make sure the girls
were OK, I was concerned about their mental health, especially Maggie who
had so far not mentioned the kidnapping, nor did she want to talk about
it yet. The Dr's assured me that in time she would, and to be patient
and not to push her. Taking their advice on noticed, I kissed both girls
good bye, and told them I would see them soon.

Arriving at the hospital in Frankfurt was daunting. The awaiting Media
were yelling questions, and questions I was not prepared to answer yet. I
just thanked them for their kind words, and would talk with them at a
later stage, as I had more pressing matters to attend to. They seemed
content with that. They could their screen grab for the nightly news.
They got their headline for the following papers.

Jackson arrived about 20mins after us, directly on to the roof of the
hospital. We were down in pre-op talking with the surgeon about the
procedure when he was wheeled in. His angel face laying there lifeless
was a heartbreaking site for me to behold. I just wanted to scream wake
up as they moved him to prep him for surgery. The nurse came out to me
not long after and gave me his wedding ring, as they didn't want to lose
it. This was all too much for me. I'd never seen him with out it in the
20 years we had been married. I was feel like he had died. The pain was
so intense. In one of his first signs of emotion I'd witnessed, Michael
placed his hand on my shoulder an simply said, "He's a fighter, he
heard every word you said, and felt every touch you gave." The feeling
of hope that gave me was immense. The feeling of support from everyone
around me was genuine and I was lucky through out all of this I had a
team that showed it was more than just a job. We were family.

8 Hours passed before we saw a doctor again. The surgeon came out to
greet me. His face was blank and I could not read the news he was about
to deliver. Fear? Joy? Who knew what was to come about.

"Surgery appears to have worked. Whilst he is not in the clear, we
believe that we have reduced the swelling and he will recover in time.
The next 24hrs will be critical, and he will remain in coma. His body
needs to start the healing process, so please, be patient and wait. These
trauma's take time to repair."

I sat there for a minute as Michael was trying to tell me something,
although I could not comprehend what he was saying. "You can go in and
see him now."  Whilst it took a moment to register, Michael assisted me
to my feet and led me in to the room where he was in intensive care.

"Only one visitor at a time" the nurse commented as we entered.

"It's ok, just stand at the door, I will be right."

Looking at Jackson lying flat on the bed, his head bandaged up, monitors
everywhere & tubes and bags coming out of him, I was actually in a better
position now than I had been all week. He was repairing. He was going to
be ok. I asked the nurse if I could place his wedding ring back on his
hand.

She looked at me and placed her hand on mine. "Of course you can. I'm
sure he will feel it slide on."

She delivered her comment with such empathy. It made a world of
difference. I also noticed she spoke what appeared to be an Australian
accent.

"Um, are you Australian?" I asked curiously

"Sure am. Born and raised in Sydney. Been here 18 months travelling.
Just doing this gig to earn some extra bucks so I continue on."

We talked about Sydney and a sense of home swept over me. Whilst I was
enjoying life's new challenges, I missed the easy going life style
afforded to us back home. We discovered that she lived a 5 min walk from
our old home, and had so many places in common. Cafes, restaurants,
hairdresser even our Dr was the same woman. She went off and made me a
coffee, the usual hideous hospital type, and we sat and chatted as she
monitored Jackson and I just held his hand.

"Give me your phone number, I want you to go and get some sleep. I am
here until 7am, and if anything changes I will ring you ASAP." She
offered. She could see the toll everything had taken on me.

Michael walked me out to the car. The Media had left, and it was nearing
2am by the time we got the 5 blocks to the hotel. I laid on the bed and
fell asleep, only to be woken by my phone. It was 10am. I had slept
solidly on top of the bed. Michael had been in 3 times and had kept an
eye on me, as I was a riser at 5am everyday. My body was telling me a
different story and that was that it needed rest.

James was on the phone, touching base. Everything back at the Villa was
good, no need to worry. Maggie was giving orders, Jules was complaining &
the staff were going insane.

"I'll see you when Maggie turns 22" I laughed down the phone at
James.

"Actually I am loving her keeping everyone on their toes. She certainly
come out of her shell!"

"Do me a favour" I asked casually.

"Anything Boss."

`If you get her alone at any stage, see if she will open to you at all
about the kidnapping. I am afraid she bottling to much up and I don't
want her to burst."

"Boss, I have done tour's of war, I have spent years talking to trauma
victims, let me have a crack at her and I will let you know."

`Thanks James, it means a lot to me."

A quick shower and change, grabbed a coffee from the café in the lobby
and dived out in to the car to head back to the hospital.

"A spring in the step I see Boss." Commented Michael as I passed him
his coffee.

"yep, today is a good day for everyone."