Lucky Me

by Saba Kapur

I looked at him, confused. “I—I don’t understand.”

  Frank extended his arms by his side, a proud look on his face. “This,” he said. “This is all mine.”

  I looked around at the set, eyeing the lanterns and painted shops one more time. His? There was no way someone like Frank Parker could afford a set like this. The Dumpling Hospital was on the verge of going out of business, he’d been living out of his car for the past week and his apartment wasn’t exactly a Beverly Hills condo. None of this was adding up.

  “This is for your movie?” I asked, turning my attention back to Frank, who had resumed pacing in front of my chair.

  “Yes, Gia. This is my movie. And to answer your second question, those five million dollars aren’t going to change the past. But it’ll certainly help the future.”

  “No offense,” I said slowly, being extra careful not to say the wrong thing. “But five million is kind of a small budget for a movie. And this set is . . .” I trailed off, hoping he’d understand what I was saying.

  “I’m not a fool, Gia,” Frank replied. “Admittedly I’ve had some help on the money front. I did some work back in China for some men who offered to help me out a little.”

  My thoughts immediately shifted to Jack and his mysterious trust fund. There was no way Jack was involved, like Milo thought he was. Or else he’d be in Ao Jie Kai’s place instead of panicking on the phone. That, or he was an excellent actor.

  “Some men?” I repeated, raising an eyebrow.

  “Powerful men.”

  “What kind of work?”

  Frank stopped pacing and looked over at me thoughtfully. “You ask a lot of questions.”

  “I’m just trying to figure out how it came to this,” I told him.

  And I meant it too. Also I had managed to loosen one of the ropes off one of my wrists and was tugging on it gently so that it would give way. My skin underneath the ropes felt raw and ached every time I moved my hands, but if I could manage to get them off me then I had a chance to get away. That was only a possibility if I kept Frank distracted.

  “I think I’ve already made it pretty clear how it came to this, and I think you have your father to blame for that.”

  If this were a movie, I would have managed to get the ropes untied, picked up the chair and smashed it into Frank, managing to look sexy the whole time. But this was real life, and real life sucked. There was some revenge-driven psychopath who hated my dad and wouldn’t stop talking about it, and then there was me. Helpless little Gia, tied to a chair with a ripped gown and mascara probably running all down my face and ruining my perfect contour.

  “How did you manage to bug my house?” I asked. “I know you infiltrated that cleaning company, but h—”

  “Infiltrated?” Frank echoed with a genuine laugh. “You make it sound like a spy movie.”

  Really? At a time like this he was going to be iffy about my word choices?

  “Was it Ao Jie Kai?”

  “Yes, actually, it was” Frank said, beginning to sound impatient. I knew there was only so much more I could ask, but I pushed on.

  “How did he manage it?”

  I cast my mind back to the day the cleaning crew were in the house. I had been fighting with Dad that day about something or the other; I couldn’t even remember. Ao Jie Kai, however he managed to get into the cleaning company undercover, would have had plenty of opportunity to plant the bugs all over my house. He was an IT specialist after all, so it probably wouldn’t have been that hard to break apart my phone. Dad and I were so distracted yelling at each other I wouldn’t have noticed for one second if he had cracked my phone open in front of me. Now whatever we had been fighting about seemed so stupid and insignificant.

  “You know,” Frank said, narrowing his eyes at me. I turned my attention away from my daydream and back to the nightmare playing out in front of me. “It was bad enough that I had to listen to your nonsense all day long through the bugs. And now this interrogation? Do you ever just keep quiet?”

  Not going to lie, he had bruised my feelings a bit with that one. I mean, wasn’t it bad enough that he had tied me to a chair? It’s not like I had asked him to eavesdrop on me all day long! Now he was just getting personal.

  “That final bug . . .” I began, suddenly remembering that it was still somewhere in my house.

  “And it continues!” Frank exclaimed, an amused look on his face.

  I ignored him but tugged on the ropes a little harder, wincing as it dug further into my skin. I tried to be subtle, not moving my body too much to raise suspicion. Luckily I had loosened one to the point where I could almost release my hand.

  “Where’s that last one? The police never found it.”

  “That’s because you never bothered to check your dog’s collar.”

  “My dog?” My jaw dropped, and I momentarily forgot the ropes.

  “Clever, isn’t it? Although sometimes very inconvenient. That dog spends most of his time hiding in bushes, by the sounds of it.”

  Okay, messing with me was one thing. But touching my dog was a whole different game. If I ever got out of the ropes, I was going to kill him.

  “And I guess you were behind the paparazzi ambush too?” I asked, and Frank nodded.

  “Bad publicity is still good publicity, Gia,” he said simply.

  “You didn’t by any chance have a hand in the Meghan Adams prank did you?”

  Frank looked confused. “That one I can’t take credit for.”

  It was worth asking. Evil people run in the same crowds.

  “Tell me about the poisoned dumpling,” I demanded. “If you say my dad did all those things to you, then I deserve to know everything from the beginning. How else can I believe you?”

  Frank sighed and checked his watch. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but judging by his impatience, it hadn’t been long. He looked at me reluctantly, and gave another sigh as he launched into his explanation.

  Frank began his story about how he approached Brendan after school, a few days after Jack’s first day. He told me about offering him a discount on catering, telling Brendan a sob story about how he worked in the school cafeteria and heard about the party, and how he was a restaurateur, struggling to make ends meet. Brendan, being the nice guy he was, gave him a chance. That became the point where he roped Ao Jie Kai in as a “waiter” at the party, offering him a little extra cash for his troubles. He had all the technology experience necessary, and needed the money to pay for school.

  “But there was poison in that dumpling,” I cried, waiting for him to finish. “You could have killed me if your original plan had worked!”

  “Oh calm down, it was a tiny amount. It was just meant to send a message,” Frank said, waving a hand dismissively. “Such an over actor, just like your father.”

  Careful Frank, your jealousy is showing.

  “So how come you went after me, and not my brother?”

  Frank slapped a hand over his eyes and groaned in frustration. “You seriously never stop talking!”

  “I’m just curious!”

  “I swear, I’m going to shove that handkerchief back in your mouth.”

  “No! Okay, sorry! I’ll shut up.”

  I clasped my lips together, and looked down at my lap. Anything to stop that filthy cloth from being thrust between my lips again. After about a minute of silence, Frank rolled his eyes dramatically.

  “I called your brother first,” he said, and I looked up in surprise. “Tried to threaten him a little; scare him. But he kept laughing and calling me Brody. He must have thought I was his friend prank calling or something. It must have been the voice-altering app that AJ suggested I use on my phone. It didn’t always make me sound as threatening as I would have hoped.”

  Well there you have it folks. Mike was literally too dumb to stalk.

  “I still don’
t get why you went after us and not Dad. If he’s the one who betrayed you, then why didn’t you do anything to him?”

  “Gia,” Frank said. “Targeting your father would have done nothing. What could I have possibly taken from him that he truly cared about? A car? A watch? These material things come and go. But his kids, on the other hand, are irreplaceable. Possibly the only people he loves more than himself.”

  I hated to admit it, but he was right. Frank wanted Dad’s suffering to be long and extensive, just like his had been. It’s not like he could snatch Dad’s career away from him. The damage was already done in his eyes, and there was no turning back time. His only option was to make my dad feel so scared of losing everything he cared about, despite having it all.

  “Can I have one more question?”

  “You’re going to ask it either way, right?”

  “That depends. Not if you’re going to kill me for it.”

  “One!” he said, throwing his hands up in frustration. “You get one more question and that’s it.”

  It was as if we were playing celebrity heads and I couldn’t guess which celebrity he had appointed me. I racked my brain for a good question to ask him, something that would hopefully make a difference to my situation in some way.

  “Can I save it for later?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “Who’s going to be in your movie?”

  Nice one, Gia. You didn’t bother to ask him if he could pass you a bottle of water or maybe an apple or gee, I don’t know, something to help untie you. Instead you asked him who his fantasy cast would be. There was no way in hell Frank Parker was going to get away with what he did fast enough to round up a group of actors. Even if they were all unemployed and desperate for work, the chances of Frank having more than just himself and his pal AJ as the leads, was slim to none. And I didn’t think anyone would want to watch The Adventures of a Crazed Lunatic and His At Times Uncertain Sidekick.

  “I was thinking about asking your mother to play the lead role opposite me,” Frank said with a smile that made me want to knock him out. “Think she’ll agree?”

  I didn’t dignify his sick question with a response. Instead I carefully squeezed my hand through the loosened rope and began freeing my other hand as discreetly as I could. My legs were still firmly tied and hidden underneath my gown. But at least if I got my hands free I would have a better chance of fighting back if necessary.

  “Just over ten minutes to go,” Frank said, tapping on his watch. “I hope they’re close.”

  “They’ll never make it here on time,” I replied, trying to keep the defeat and panic out of my voice. “You’re setting them up for a loss.”

  Frank nodded sympathetically and said, “What a shame for you.”

  “I don’t suppose you want to untie me?”

  “I don’t suppose I do.”

  Okay, worth a shot.

  “Frank,” Ao Jie Kai’s voice came from somewhere behind me, his footsteps growing louder as he approached us.

  I quickly slipped my hand through the rope once more, wincing as it roughly grazed my skin. I sent a little prayer to Baby J, hoping that AJ hadn’t noticed, and that Jack and my dad were close by. With lots of backup.

  “What?” Frank asked AJ, who was still standing behind me and out of my sight.

  “The car won’t start.”

  “You’re kidding me, right?” Frank said, with an incredulous look on his face.

  “I don’t know what happened,” came Ao Jie Kai’s voice. “But it won’t start. I think something’s wrong with the engine.”

  “Well fix it!” Frank snapped.

  “I—I don’t know how,” Ao Jie Kai replied.

  Oh lordy. I actually felt bad for Ao Jie Kai then. Frank was not having a good day, or two decades, to be exact. And AJ was about to become minced meat if he didn’t get that car running. As much as he had it coming, I was scared enough of Frank for the both of us. I could lend him some of my terror.

  “You literally had one job!” Frank cried, clasping his eyes shut as if he was struggling to accept his current bad luck. “Forget it, I’ll do it!”

  Ao Jie Kai remained silent, but after a few seconds his footsteps began to fade until I couldn’t hear them anymore. One job seemed a little inaccurate. I mean the poor weirdo did have to do most of his dirty work for him.

  “Wait—” I began, as Frank gave a frustrated sigh and headed toward the exit.

  “I’ll be right back,” Frank said gruffly. “Don’t try anything smart! You’ll get yourself killed.”

  I opened my mouth to say something and then closed it again when I saw how scary Frank looked. I nodded to tell him I understood and sat there silently until I heard his footsteps disappear behind me just like AJ’s had. I counted to five in my head after I couldn’t hear anything except my own heart in my chest, and craned my neck to look behind my shoulder. No Frank hiding behind my chair, ready to scare me. Just more lanterns, shadows and pretend Chinese shops.

  I whipped my right hand out from rope and examined it carefully. The skin around my wrist was red, and the rope had cut in so far that it was almost bleeding. I blew gently on the raw skin, not knowing how that would help, but doing it anyway. Forcing myself to not burst into tears, I twisted my torso uncomfortably so I could see where my other hand was behind the chair.

  “Come on!” I hissed, as I pulled the rope wrapped around my left hand.

  It finally began to loosen and I sighed in relief. I yanked on it a little more, only enough so that I could slide my hand in and out of the loop like I could with my other one, but not enough that Frank would notice. Unfortunately there was no hope for my legs. Each one of my ankles had been tied to a separate chair leg and not together like my hands were. If I tried to untie them then I risked exposing the fact that my hands were free. There was no point even attempting to run for it. I’d never free myself in time, and there was no saying what Frank would do to me if he caught me trying to escape.

  I did some breathing exercises and carefully took in my surroundings, trying to figure out what could help me in my escape. Finally, by the large dragon in the corner of the room, my eye caught a door handle. I leaned to the left on my chair, squinting to get a better look in the light from the lanterns. Yes! Definitely a door handle. All I needed to do was get past Frank.

  I suddenly heard distant talking and I sat up straight in my chair, pushing my hands closer together.

  “They’re here!” Frank called from behind me in an almost singsong voice.

  My heart began to race as I clasped my eyes shut in a mixture of anxiety and relief. Finally, Frank would get his money and leave us alone forever. Hopefully. I heard footsteps walking from behind me, and my eyes fluttered open just in time to see Frank reappear in front of my chair.

  “Where are they?” I asked.

  “Timing, Gia. It’s all about the timing. You should know better,” Frank said, as if he were telling his child he was disappointed in them.

  I waited silently, holding my breath as Frank mouthed three, two, one. Sure enough, after only three seconds I heard the very same door I planned to escape from, open.

  “Oh, thank God,” I whispered, as my dad and Jack came into view, still in their tuxedos.

  I tried desperately to hold back my tears, but they sprung to my eyes anyway. I had never been so glad to see Jack in my life, and never as appreciative of my father until that moment. We watched in silence as they approached, Ao Jie Kai re-emerging like a ninja from the dark corners of the set. Dad’s face was painted with worry lines. He looked about twenty years older than he actually was, and was taking deep breaths as he walked over to us. Jack seemed a little calmer, but not at all relaxed. More than anything he looked ready to battle, which I hoped was something that would get us all out alive.

  “Welcome!” Frank said with a cheerful smile. “H
arry, old pal. Long time, no see.”

  “Jesus, Frank!” Dad practically exploded in reply. “That’s my daughter you’ve got tied up there! She’s just a kid!”

  “She’s close enough to how old you were when you—”

  “When I what?” Dad cried, clearly expressing all the frustration he had managed to keep bottled in until then. “I didn’t do anything to you! This whole vendetta you’ve got against me is ridiculous!”

  “Check them,” Frank said, and we all gave him a confused look.

  AJ seemed to understand that the instructions were directed toward him, because he stepped into view and began patting down Jack, checking his pockets for any weapons. Jack extended his arms in compliance, locking eyes with me as Ao Jie Kai searched him. He gave me a nod so subtle that I would have missed it if I had blinked, just as AJ moved onto my father to do the same. When he was satisfied that neither had brought in any weapons, he stepped back silently into the shadows.

  Fantastic. Jack had brought nothing along to defend us from a lunatic who had me tied to a chair. I know half an hour isn’t much time, but the planning on his part was seriously shoddy. I knew we should have hired John Cena instead.

  “Question,” Jack said. “What exactly am I doing here?”

  “Are you serious?” I said incredulously, still half-crying. Jack cut his eyes to me, expressionless.

  Typical. I was strapped to a chair in the middle of fake China and Jack wanted to know his role in the whole situation.

  “You’re here to make sure she cooperates,” Frank told him, cocking his head in my direction.

  “Which means?” Jack said.

  “So where’s the money, boys?” Frank asked, ignoring Jack.

  My gaze dropped to Dad’s hands. No briefcase, so plastic bag, no nothing. I looked at Jack. His hands were empty too.

  “I have a check in my pocket,” Dad told him, slowly pulling out a piece of paper from inside his tuxedo coat.

  Frank snatched the check from Dad the second it came into view and inspected it thoughtfully. I sniffled.

  “Did I not say five million cash?” he asked Dad.