An Excerpt from: Hope Makes Us Live! Hope Makes Us Die!
In the middle of the night-shadows she made out two others, taller, on either side of the bed, each holding what appeared to be a gun. All three had their faces covered, incongruously by ski-masks. In seconds, they pulled the duct tape off her mouth, yanked her yellow cotton nightshirt over her head, and stuffed its hemmed end into her mouth. Her hands and feet were quickly bound by duct tape and a sheet pulled from her bed to hold her body like an arm in a sling. She wanted to scream, and the cloth in her mouth would not have prevented it, but she stifled the impulse, fearing her brothers might be killed, as the hauntingly familiar voice had threatened. The light sting of the sedative needle in her shoulder lasted just a few seconds. As quickly as she was awakened, against her will, she was asleep again.
Wilson, the knife wielder, led the bundled girl and Auguste softly down the darkened stairs and out the kitchen door. He stopped to scoop two of the three cell phones from their charging cradles on the kitchen counter and placed them into the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt, not bothering to re-lock the double-locked door or re-set the alarm he had disabled a few minutes earlier. He also lifted the keys to the family car. Clearly, Wilson had been here before - the swiftness of the whole raid depended on his familiarity with the house and its security. Next, he led Ogou to Agnes’ parents’ bedroom. They burst through the door, leaned on the backs of the sleeping couple, Jacques and Rose, and prepared to bind their hands and feet. “We’re taking your daughter,” Ogou whispered. “If you say anything or call the police, we’ll kill her. We’ll call you tomorrow. If you want her to live, you’ll need to give us $200,000.”
“This does it!” Ogou growled. “If you tell me you can’t get the money, I’ll just kill you all now!”
Rose started sobbing. “You better control yourself, lady,” whispered Wilson. “This guy is serious. We’re professionals! If your boys wake up, we’ll have to kill them!”
Ogou had prepared some double nooses which he slipped over Jacques crossed hands and feet. He yanked the line tight and tied the tail end of the hand-noose around the foot-noose, flexing Jacques knees and making it impossible for him to move. He then did the same to Rose.
“Remember, not a sound!” he reminded them. Wilson darted to the door - he 21 couldn’t leave fast enough, although he did snatch Jacque's wallet off his dresser and a pair of sneakers on the way out! Ogou, on the other hand, strode arrogantly around the bed so that Jacques and Rose could see his physique and know he was serious.
