Hope Granger On The Case
Three Wishes Chapter 35
Hope tells Carisha that she charges $200 a day plus expenses but she doesn't figure this job should take more than three days since she practically gave her all the information she needs. Carisha readily agrees and Hope is off on the next plane to Newark, NJ where she rents a car for the ride down to Atlantic City. She arrives at about dinner time and is able to catch the act at the club. Before the show starts she gets a chance to stake the place out and start to formulate a plan. She watches the show and thinks to herself that Alexandra looks pretty clever but if she keeps this simple this should be too complicated.

By the end of the night, she has the place figured out including where the dressing room is. The only detail she doesn't know is when Alexandria leaves the little guy alone. She figures her best bet is a distraction that will force Alexandria to be separated from him for a few moments and then she'll make her move.

The next day she calls Alexandra at the club a little while before the show is set to begin and tells her that she is a reporter from the New York Times Entertainment section doing another story and her about her act. She has to leave late tonight but whats to set up an interview with her before she leaves. "How about at the bar across the street from the club few minutes after the show", she asks. Alexandra who is eager to believe she could be featured in a story in a big newspaper grabs at the bait and agrees. After the show that night, Hope watches her hurry off to her dressing room for a few minutes before rushing out for her interview. "This is almost too easy", Hope thinks to herself as she ses the magician leave the club, "I just hope I have enough time to find the little guy."

She slips back to the dressing room which is locked but Hope is an expert at picking locks and is ready for this situation. In less than a minute she's gained access to the dressing room. She know she doesn't have much time until Alexandra realizes something is up and rushes back. She checks the dressing table and quickly finds a small wooden box with a screened opening on both sides. It has an simple latch which is flips open and lifts the lid. Her eye grow wide as saucers as she looks inside and sees the little man lying inside. "I'm here to rescue you and get you back to your girlfriend.", she tells him but he looks back at her with a dazed look. He must be drugged she thinks to her as she carefully removes him from the box and slips him in her jacket pocket and zips it shut. She puts everything back how she found it and quickly leaves the room.

She goes back to her room to gather her things and check out of the hotel. This worked out perfect she thinks as she drives back to Newark. Her return flight was booked for the next morning and she'll make it without having to change her ticket. She gets to the airport and it is after midnight and she finds an airport hotel that she can check into for the night before the 8 AM flight back.

When she gets settled in the room, she checks on the little guy still stashed in her jacket pocket for the first time. She lays him on the bed and looks him over, "Are you OK? Sorry for the trip but we had to get away fast before Alexandra found out you were gone."

Joe looks back at her still a bit out of it from the cycles of brainwashing, physical exhaustion and hypnosis that Alexandra used on him to break him down and make him her willing assistant. "Who are you? Why did you take me from my mistress?", he asks her.

"Must be Stockholm Syndrome, poor little guy", she thinks to herself. "It's OK, Joe. Your girlfriend, Carisha, hired me to find you and bring you back to her.", she tells him.

"She's not my girlfriend. She just used me to get her job back with my mistress. Alexandra owns me now.", he tells her still brainwashed.

"Look little guy, I have a job to do and I'm doing it. You can all figure this out when I get you back to Carisha.", she tells him as she picks him back up and slips him back in her jacket pocket zipping it back up, "Now get some rest. We3 only have a few hours until we have to leave for the flight.

The next morning Hope gets up and dressed and leaves for the airport. When she gets there she stops for a quick breakfast and gives her little passenger a bit of her muffin and a drink. She them realizes a small problem: Airport Security. She can't risk running him through the security x-ray so he'll have to go through the metal detector with her. She goes into a stall in a nearby women's room and takes him out of her pocket. "Sorry, but I can't take a risk of you being found so we're going to have to get a little personal for a little while.", she tells him as she pulls her briefs out and stuffs him in nestled next to her crotch. "Hmmm", she thinks, "No wonder Carisha wants him back. This feels pretty good." She makes it through security without a problem and then heads to a women's room near the gate to retrieve him. She thinks twice about leaving him in there for the whole trip but then remembers she is a professional on the job and quickly goes in to get him out and put him back in her jacket pocket. She looks him over as she removes him and thinks, "He's no worse for wear. I bet he enjoyed that."

The flight goes fine and Hope drives back to Carisha's apartment. "Success", she announces as Carisha lets her in. She removes you from her pocket and shows you to Carisha who reaches for you for Hope pulls back. "First is the matter of my payment.", She says as she uses her free hand to pull out and envelope with a hand written invoice she wrote out in the plane and hands it to Carisha.

Carisha opens it and yells, "$2250, I though you said $200 a day. I can't affords this."

Hope stuffs Joe back in her pocket and zips it up. "Plus expenses, sweetie. I had to fly there get a car, hotels, food and so on. $2250 for a kidnapping retrieval cross country is a bargain."

Carisha tells her, "Look, I only have $900. Can't you take that"

Hope looks a bit miffed, "That doesn't even cover my expenses. Tell you what, I'll hold on to the little guy for you and I'll give you 30 days to come up wih the money. That's the best I can do." Hope turns to leave with Joe securely stashed in her pocket.

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August 17, 2023