The Dumbest Kidnappers

 

Chapter 1

It was the end of a hot work day on the Benson ranch, and Billy Benson walked up to his 3 older brothers for a cold beer. At 18 he was a full worker on the ranch now, and his bare chest glistening with sweat proved it. One thing Billy knew, how close his brothers were to each other and how competitive they were. And the banter and "insults" were part of the end of the day ritual before they would hit supper with Tom and Sarah, their parents.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Jake called out, not even looking up from his beer. "Little Billy finally done playing in the dirt?"

"Shut it, Jake," Billy shot back, grabbing a cold one from the cooler. "At least I didn't spend half the day fixing that fence you 'repaired' last week."

Ray laughed, nearly spitting his beer. "Damn, Jake, even the baby brother's calling you out on your shoddy work."

"Baby brother?" Billy's voice rose. "I'm eighteen and doing the same work as all of you jackasses."

"Easy there, hotshot," Josh chimed in, the oldest and always playing peacekeeper. "You might be eighteen, but you still got that baby face. Rebecca keeps asking when you're gonna start shaving."

"Your wife needs to mind her own business," Billy grinned, taking a long drink.

"Speaking of minding business," Ray said, leaning back in his chair, "remember when we used to tie each other up as kids? See who could get loose first?"

"Hell yeah," Jake perked up. "I was always the best at getting out of knots."

"Bullshit," Josh laughed. "You cried for mama every time."

"Did not!"

Billy watched his brothers fall into their usual competitive rhythm. It is when he sat down that the conversation went to a competition of who could escape being tied up. Jake, 19, Ray 26 and Josh 29 were all bragging when Billy said he would bet $100 each he would get free of any ropes they put on him.

"BET!"

"BET!"

"BET!"

The four brothers headed to the barn. Josh found some old rope while Jake and Ray argued about the best knots. They bound Billy's hands behind his back, then his ankles, arguing the whole time about technique.

"Tighter," Ray insisted. "He's too skinny, he'll slip right out."

"It's fine," Josh said, stepping back to admire their work. "Now for the real test."

They blindfolded Billy with an old bandana and loaded him into the back of Jake's pickup. The truck bounced and rattled for what felt like twenty minutes before stopping.

"Alright, little brother," Jake's voice came through the darkness. "You're somewhere on the ranch. Find your way home when you get loose. We'll be waiting with your money ready to hand over."

Billy heard their footsteps retreating, then the truck starting up and driving away. He was alone, bound and blindfolded, somewhere in the thousands of acres of Benson land. The bet was on.

Chapter 2 - Dinner Time

The sun was setting over the ranch when Sarah Benson rang the dinner bell from the front porch. The sound carried across the property, calling her boys in from whatever mischief they'd gotten into.

Jake, Ray, and Josh exchanged glances as they walked up to the house, still chuckling about their prank.

"Think he's loose yet?" Jake whispered.

"Hell no," Ray grinned. "I tied those knots myself. Kid'll be out there till midnight."

Tom Benson was already seated at the head of the long wooden table when his three older sons filed in, Sarah bustling around the kitchen with platters of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Just then, the screen door creaked open and Pops shuffled in, his weathered hands still dirty from working on his old Ford.

"Where's Billy?" Tom asked, looking past his sons toward the door.

The brothers shared another look. Josh cleared his throat. "He's, uh... he's tied up right now, Dad."

Pops perked up, settling into his chair. "Tied up? What the hell kind of bet did you boys make now?"

"Just some ranch business," Jake said, trying not to grin.

Josh pulled out his phone. "Billy bet us a hundred bucks each he could escape from any ropes we put on him." He showed them the photo - Billy bound with rope, blindfolded, sitting in the dirt.

Pops let out a bark of laughter. "Well I'll be damned! That boy's got more balls than brains." He reached into his wallet and slapped a twenty on the table. "Put me down for Billy. Kid's tougher than you give him credit for."

Little Billy Jr., Rebecca's nine-year-old son, piped up from his chair. "Can I bet too? I got a dollar!" He dug into his pocket and produced a crumpled bill.

"Billy Jr.!" Rebecca scolded, but she was smiling. "You shouldn't encourage this nonsense."

Tom shook his head, chuckling. "Sarah, looks like we got ourselves a regular betting parlor here."

Sarah threw her hands up in defeat. "You Benson boys are all crazy. But I'm keeping a plate warm for him." She looked sternly at her older sons. "You promise me you'll check on him after dinner."

"Promise, Ma," Josh said, grinning.

"Just the Benson boys being boys again," Pops cackled, reaching for the chicken. "Pass the damn potatoes. This is better entertainment than anything on TV."

Chapter 3 - The Escape Attempt

Billy had been working at the ropes for over an hour when he finally felt the knots around his ankles give way. His brothers had done a thorough job with his wrists, but they'd gotten cocky with his feet.

"Amateurs," he muttered to himself, kicking his legs free.

The blindfold was next. Billy rubbed his face against his shoulder, working the bandana up and over his head until it finally slipped off. The moon was bright enough to see by, and he recognized where he was - about two miles from the house, near the old creek bed.

He twisted his wrists behind his back, feeling for any slack in the rope. Jake hadn't been kidding about those knots. But Billy was determined. Three hundred dollars was three hundred dollars, and more importantly, he wasn't about to let his brothers win this one.

Bare-chested and determined, he started walking home, working his wrists as he went. Every few steps he'd stop and try a different angle, stretching his shoulders, trying to find some give in the rope. The night air was cool against his sweaty skin, and he could hear the distant sounds of cattle settling in for the night.

He'd made it about half a mile when he heard the truck engine.

Headlights swept across the dirt road ahead of him, and Billy stepped to the side, still working at his bonds. Maybe it was his brothers coming to check on him early. But as the beat-up pickup got closer, he realized he didn't recognize the vehicle.

The truck slowed, then stopped. Two men got out - rough-looking, wearing dirty clothes and baseball caps pulled low.

"Well, well," the driver said, his voice carrying a mean edge. "What do we have here?"

Billy's stomach dropped. These weren't his brothers.

"Looks like one of them Benson boys," the passenger said, walking closer. "All tied up nice and neat."

"Wait," Billy started to say, but before he could get another word out, the driver had grabbed him and stuffed a rag in his mouth, tying it tight behind his head.

"Rich boy's coming with us," the man grinned, showing yellowed teeth.

They wrestled Billy into the back of the pickup, where the passenger produced more rope. Working quickly and roughly, they forced Billy's legs up behind him and tied them to his already bound wrists, pulling everything tight until his back was arched painfully. His arms were contorted at an unnatural angle, and every breath was a struggle.

The truck engine roared to life, and Billy found himself bouncing helplessly in the truck bed as they drove away from the ranch, away from his family, away from what had started as just another bet between brothers.

The moon disappeared behind clouds, and Billy Benson vanished into the Texas night.

Chapter 4 - The Search Party

After dinner, Jake, Ray, and Josh loaded up in the pickup with little Billy Jr. bouncing excitedly in the passenger seat, still clutching his crumpled dollar bill.

"Uncle Billy's gonna be so mad when he sees us coming," Billy Jr. giggled.

"Mad? He's gonna owe us three hundred bucks," Ray laughed, shining his flashlight out into the darkness.

They drove out to the old water tank where they'd left Billy, expecting to find him either still tied up and cursing, or maybe already free and hiking back home. But when Jake's headlights swept the area, there was nothing but empty dirt and scattered rope.

"Well I'll be damned," Josh said, hopping out of the truck. "Kid actually got loose."

They spent the next hour driving around the property, checking all of Billy's usual spots - the fishing hole, the old barn, even the tree house they'd built as kids. Nothing.

"Maybe he's already home," Jake suggested, but something in his gut said otherwise.

That's when his phone rang. Billy's name lit up the caller ID.

"There he is!" Jake grinned, answering the call. "Alright, little brother, you win. Where the hell are you?"

But instead of Billy's voice, a text message popped up. A photo.

Jake's smile died on his lips. Ray and Josh crowded around to look at the screen, and little Billy Jr. stretched up to see what had made his uncles go so quiet.

The photo showed Billy bound in a tight hogtie, his arms pulled back and tied at the elbows and biceps, a gag stuffed in his mouth. His eyes were wide with fear above the cloth. Below the image was a message: "More info following."

"What the fuck..." Ray whispered.

Jake's phone rang again, but this time it was Dad's number.

"Get your fuckin' asses back here NOW!" Tom's voice exploded through the speaker before Jake could even say hello. The line went dead.

The drive back to the house was the longest ten minutes of their lives. Little Billy Jr. had gone silent, sensing something was very wrong. When they pulled up, they could see extra vehicles in the driveway - Sheriff Wade Nelson's patrol car and his wife Mary's SUV.

They found everyone gathered in the living room. Tom's face was stone, Sarah was crying quietly, and Sheriff Wade stood by the fireplace, his jaw set in a hard line. Pops sat in his chair, the twenty-dollar bill still on the table beside him, but nobody was laughing anymore.

Wade looked up as the three brothers filed in with Billy Jr. "OK boys," he said, his voice carrying the weight of his badge now instead of just family ties. "Now it's not a game anymore, and we gotta fix this."

Chapter 5 - The Ransom and Rescue

Jake's phone buzzed again with another call from Billy, and at the exact same moment, Tom's phone started ringing - also showing Billy's caller ID.

Wade's radio crackled to life. "Sheriff, we got another text coming through."

The ransom demand was almost laughably simple: "500$ cash or the kid dies. No cops."

Wade looked around the room and shook his head. "Five hundred dollars? These boys are amateurs alright."

"We'll pay it," Tom said immediately. "Whatever they want."

"Dad, we got the money right here," Josh said, pulling out his wallet along with his brothers.

But Wade was already talking into his radio. "Horse, Ryan, I need you to run a trace on that cell signal. Billy's phone should be pinging towers."

Within minutes, his deputy sons were calling back. "Dad, we got a location. The phone's still on Benson property, about a quarter mile from where the boys left Billy."

"Son of a bitch," Wade muttered. "These idiots are practically next door."

The convoy of trucks moved quietly through the ranch roads - Wade's patrol car leading, followed by Tom and the older boys, with Horse and Ryan flanking in their own vehicles. They found the kidnappers' beat-up pickup parked behind an old abandoned line shack on the far edge of Benson land.

Wade coordinated the approach with hand signals. When they surrounded the shack, they could hear voices inside - rough, nervous voices arguing about what to do next.

"Sheriff's department! Come out with your hands up!"

The door burst open and two scruffy men stumbled out, hands raised, looking more terrified than dangerous.

Inside the shack, they found Billy still hogtied but very much alive. As Wade untied his legs and body, Billy couldn't raise his hands but demanded they leave his hands tied behind his back.

"Why the hell would you want that?" Wade asked.

"To win the fuckin' bet!" Billy grinned through his exhaustion.

The rednecks, the sheriff, the deputies, his father, little Billy, and his three brothers all stood there watching as Billy worked his shoulders and twisted his wrists behind his back. After about thirty seconds, he slipped his hands free and raised them high in the air.

"WHERE'S MY MONEY?" he screamed.

Jake, Ray, and Josh looked at each other and burst out laughing. Even Tom was shaking his head and chuckling as they handed over the cash.

Back at the ranch, Sarah had kept Billy's plate warm as promised. As he sat down to finally eat his supper, little Billy Jr. solemnly handed his uncle the crumpled dollar bill at the table. "You won fair and square, Uncle Billy."

Pops reached over and slapped the twenty on the table. "Told you that boy was tougher than you give him credit for," the old man cackled.

Billy took a big bite of chicken and grinned. Then little Billy Jr. piped up: "Tie me up! I want four hundred dollars! I can get out of any ropes!"

Rebecca immediately pointed at her brothers-in-law. "DON'T YOU DARE!"

Everybody burst out laughing, and Billy took another bite of his well-earned supper.