She immediately knew she had misspoken when Bryce slammed his fist down on the thick, wooden conference table.
“Just who the hell do you think you are?” he said, standing up. Ian stood next to him, putting his hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to relax.
“I apologize for my client,” he said. “He’s obviously under a great deal of stress.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Olivia conceded. “That didn’t come out right.”
“You said something about her memory being wiped? She doesn’t even know who I am anymore? What exactly did you do to her? You erased her memory?”
“I’m sure one of our tech guys could explain it better than I could, but nothing was erased. It is just hidden, temporarily.”
Bryce was confused, but very curious. “So, it’s some sort of a hypnosis trick or something?”
Olivia couldn’t believe he didn’t know about this. Even if his wife wasn’t on the show, they had been using the technology for ten years, and it was pretty big news at the time the show was announced. “No, it isn’t hypnosis. It is a chip implant that allows us to map the brain and memories, like files on a computer. Also, like a computer, we can hide certain files, as well. In the case of the contestants, we hide their memories retroactive to before the show was announced. This way, they have no knowledge of what the show is or what they are participating in.”
“You guys attached a chip to my wife’s brain?”
“Again, I’m not any sort of tech guru, but as I understand it, it’s a bio-digital implant. It’s part-living tissue, part-silicon. It isn’t exactly microscopic, but it’s not much bigger than a flea. It was originally developed for the military to allow the user to interface directly with computer systems. We have adapted it for this particular use. There have been tons of studies; there is absolutely no long-term harm.”
Ian commented, “Well, at least that’s good to know.”
“But, she signed off on this,” Mike assured them. “She was fully aware this was going to happen. It was completely her choice. Nothing was done without her knowledge and consent.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” Bryce was still boiling under his skin.
“I’m just saying, she entered the drawing, she won the chance to compete, she got through the training, and signed off on the memory wipe. We didn’t just pluck her off the street to do this. This was entirely intentional on her part. Trust me; it’s a hell of a lot of work to actually make it through all the steps and onto the show. She didn’t do this on a whim.”
Ian spoke up again. “So, this drawing she won—I’m not entirely familiar with the process. She won money?”
“No,” Olivia answered. “She didn’t win any money. She won the chance to compete. As far as the drawing goes, it’s pretty decent odds. We only accept U.S. contestants between eighteen and thirty-five, but truth be told, we’re looking for contestants around thirty-two years old, give or take a year. That is a lot of people. However, not all of them are into the concept of risking their lives, even if it means millions of dollars. On average, between twenty and thirty-thousand enter each season. Of those, fifty candidates are selected to audition.”
Mike picked it up. “So, the drawing is just for the chance to audition. The first part of the audition is a physical. Contestants must be in good basic health and pass a toxicology screening. That usually cuts the field by ten to fifteen contestants. The second part is a physical test—a three-day, mini-survival camp. This typically cuts the field in half to about twenty finalists. The third part is a psychological screening. They dig in deep to see what the contestant’s lives were like at the time their memory will be erased to. They must be able to essentially pick up at that point without much of a problem.”
Olivia continued, “The last part of the audition process is to sell yourself to the judges. Why should they pick you to be on the show? Four contestants—two men and two women—are chosen to train. The entire audition process is a huge event unto itself. Like any other reality contest, the public starts choosing their favorites right away.” She was looking at Bryce, who appeared completely dumbfounded. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just can’t believe you are completely unfamiliar with the show. It’s the biggest thing on television right now.”
“So, I have learned,” he said. “I just don’t have a lot of time to waste watching these things.”
“She’s a public favorite. She’s also a favorite to go all the way,” Olivia said. “I would say you’re making out pretty good in this deal.”
Bryce nearly exploded. “I certainly don’t need you to tell me how good a deal I’m getting here, Miss Thomas, because it seems like a rotten deal to me!”
She paused to choose her words carefully. “I don’t know what her plans are after the show, but if she wins, half that cash is yours, according to the State of California. I fail to see how this is a bad thing.”
His bright blue eyes stared right through her. “It is a very bad thing, Miss Thomas. It is a very bad thing when your wife disappears without a word. It is a very bad thing when your wife has so little respect for you that she completely cuts you out of her decision to run off and risk her life.”
She exchanged a glance with Mike, looking for help. It was time to ask the question. “Mr. Haydenson,” he said, “I completely understand how upset you are. I can’t even imagine being in your shoes right now. But what is done is done. Now, how much is it going to take to turn this very bad thing into a very good thing and keep us out of the courtroom?”
Ian took the lead to answer. “How much does she get if she wins?”
Bryce held up his hand. “No.” He looked at Ian, then at Mike. “You don’t understand. I don’t want your money. I want my wife. I want her off the show and back here, where she belongs. She had no business running off like this, and I intend to correct that.”
“Excuse me?” The words escaped her mouth before her thought was finished.
“Oh, you heard me just fine, Miss Thomas.”
Ian spoke up. “My client is very concerned for the safety of his wife. That’s all. You can see why he wants her off the show.” He shot a look at Bryce. “But, let’s be realistic. I know she is very popular. I know you want to keep her on the air. Let’s talk about how we can put my client’s mind at ease.”
Bryce wasn’t saying anything, but he wasn’t buying in, either. He watched while the three of them discussed the logistics of getting her off the show. The public outcry and backlash would be a nightmare for them. He figured they probably would pay out a ton of money. Why not take that money and use part of it to finance his way to the island and bring her home himself?
He thought about that. It couldn’t be that difficult. The boss wouldn’t be happy that Bryce would be away for a while. He would probably be even less happy that he had to take a crew with him. Nothing that some cash in the boss’s pocket wouldn’t fix, though. As he thought through the beginning of his plan, he decided that taking her off the island might prove difficult. There would be cameras, and there must be some type of crew there. But if he waited until she got off the island herself, she wouldn’t even remember him.
They had done some additional research before the meeting and had a general idea of where the island was. He knew he could fly a crew there in just under seventeen hours. He could take a few guys with him to scope the place out for a month or so to see if she made it off. He would stick around as long as he could, but he couldn’t stay there indefinitely. However, with some money to grease some palms, he should be able to get inside information and have someone get word to him as soon as she made it off the island. If she did, he would be ready.
“Let’s do it,” he interrupted. They all turned to look at him. “Let’s talk settlement. She’s doing great. Why ruin a good thing, right?” His smile wasn’t authentic—but then again, what was in this business?
Ian smiled back at his client before turning to Mike. “Would you mind excusing us for a few minute
s, so we can discuss?”
“Not a problem,” Mike said. “Take all the time you need.”
Ian and Bryce went into the reception area, leaving Olivia and Mike behind.
“What is his deal?” she asked.
“He’s in with organized crime in the Midwest. Low-to-mid-level, from what our guy could dig up on short notice.” He was checking information on his tablet. Their investigator was sending him real-time information as he dug it up. “Well, this is interesting.” He turned it for her to view.
“These are hospital visits?”
“Yep. Looks like she’s been laid up a few times. Funny; she doesn’t strike me as the clumsy type, but she does a lot of falling, apparently. Obviously, our guy assumes she is getting beaten up, but she has never pressed charges.”
“What a piece of shit. Do we have to give him anything?”
“Of course, we don’t have to. But if we don’t, this thing is going to court, and I don’t like our chances in front of a judge. I doubt we would have to pull her off the show, but if she winds up dead, we’re sunk. It makes more financial sense just to get her off now, before something stupid happens.”
“Are you crazy? She’s favored to win and is the most popular contestant we have had in years! She tests through the roof. No way is she coming off the show. Let’s just pay this jackass and be done with him.”
“I think that’s the best plan. We’ll see what he thinks.”
14
“REMIND ME; why are we here? I say, we just head straight for the raft,” Eric said.
He and Abby crouched in the brush about fifty yards from their camp. It was as close as they dared to get for the moment.
“I’m going in there to get the solar bag,” Abby whispered.
“Like hell, you are.”
“Eric, God knows how long it’s going to take us to get over to the other island. If we’re going to head out without a way to purify drinking water, we may as well just stay here and die. We won’t make it more than a day in this sun without water.”
He thought about it. “Well, you ain’t goin’ in to get it. I’ll go.”
“How is it you think I’m not capable enough to do it myself?”
“You are, but I’ve got a feeling this is a trap.”
“We’ve been sitting here for close to an hour. There is no sign of Tom or Sara. I’m sure they figured you went looking for me. They probably gave up hanging out and waiting for you well before we got here, and they’re heading back to their own camp for sure. We had better get our bag and head out of here before they get to their camp and see how we left the rest of them.”
She stood up to make her way to their shelter. Eric grabbed her by the elbow to stop her. “I’ll go.”
Abby was dazed after standing up so quickly. He had steadied her as much as it stopped her. She had a splitting headache. Feeling the back of her head, she remembered being clubbed unconscious last night, just as she made her way out of that pit.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I just stood up too fast.” She took a knee to compose herself. “Why do you think you should be the one to go?”
“I’m bigger and stronger. If they are waiting out there, I want to deal with them.”
“Yes, well, I’m smaller and faster.” She smiled.
“Fine, we’ll both go.”
Abby thought about that. “No, one of us should stay back, just in case. You can be the big man this time. I’ll wait here.” She gave him a kiss. Abby wasn’t giving in; she just hated the thought of him having to come to her rescue if this was, in fact, a trap.
He knew she was placating him, but he was fine with that. They had a clear sightline to the shelter. The oars were propped against the side. He would walk straight in, grab the bag and the oars, and then head on a diagonal path to the beach. She would cut straight through the trees to the beach. There, they would meet and launch the raft. It was the best kind of plan—a simple one.
Eric had made it more than halfway without incident. Still, Abby didn’t allow herself to relax. If Tom and Sara were waiting, they would probably be right in camp, possibly even inside the shelter she had built. Abby figured if they were in there, she should probably be closer than she is.
Standing from her crouched position, she took several cautious steps forward. Something seemed off, but she couldn’t place it. She heard something rustle directly behind her. Abby reached down to grab her knife, but another hand beat her and was holding it against her throat before she could process what had just happened.
Abby reached up to grip the hand as Sara whispered in her ear, “Go ahead and scream. It will be the last sound you ever make.”
Her warning scream to Eric stopped in her throat. However, she didn’t loosen her grip on Sara’s hand. She tried prying the hand from her neck, but didn’t want to make Sara press the knife into her flesh any harder. Her adrenaline was pumping as her mind raced, trying to figure out a solution.
Sara continued to whisper to her, “Tom is right up there. He’s right in that nice little shelter you built. Want to guess what’s going to happen? Well, of course, you know what’s going to happen. We’re going to kill that good-looking man of yours. It’s really a shame you never got to seal the deal with him.”
Abby struggled a bit less, hoping to get Sara to relax. Almost immediately, she felt Sara’s hand let up a bit.
“You would be surprised just how hard it can be to kill someone, Abby. I mean, sure, we could just run him through with this knife here, but where is the fun in that? Don’t worry. We’ve had a while to think about things, waiting here all night for him to show up. You’re a nice surprise, though.”
Abby realized they had been here all night. Meaning, they had not been back to their camp to see the carnage she and Eric had left behind. She breathed a slight sigh of relief.
“Tom will be happy to see you; I’ll tell you that. We weren’t going to kill Eric right away. Just knock him out or break his legs, then drag him back to camp, so we could kill him in front of you. But, you made it so much easier by showing up here yourself! Your man is a big drink of water. It wasn’t going to be fun dragging him back.”
Abby was watching Eric. He was getting very close to the shelter. If he got there, and Tom surprised him, then even if she could figure out some way to intervene, he might still wind up with some sort of broken limb. That just would not do.
She gripped the knife as hard as she could, trying to pry it away from her neck. Her muscles strained as she forced the knife from her throat. She managed to gain an inch of clearance before kicking her heel back into Sara’s shin with every ounce of strength she had. Sara’s grip on the knife loosened just for a second, but it was long enough for Abby to rip it from her hand. Spinning forward out of her grip, she swung her arm back, just hoping to connect with something. Elbow cocked, she slammed her elbow into the bridge of Sara’s nose. They were both stunned. Blood gushed from her nose as she collapsed to the ground.
Eric heard the commotion and turned to see Abby, sprinting toward him. “Look out!” she screamed, pointing behind him.
He turned as Tom was in mid-swing, bringing what looked like a large club straight down toward Eric’s head. Eric made a quick move to the right and raised his arm. This caused the club to graze his left shoulder. He threw an uppercut that connected to Tom’s jaw with a crack, sending him reeling backwards.
Abby was closing the distance but was only halfway there when Tom recovered. Still on the ground, he caught Eric by surprise and smashed the club into the side of his leg, sending Eric collapsing to the ground. Tom quickly sprung up and raised the club to bring it down and presumably break Eric’s leg.
Eric was on the ground, and Abby was too far away. She wouldn’t get there in time. She did the only thing she could think of. Screaming, she threw her knife at Tom with every bit of force she could muster. Her scream caused him to look up as her knife sailed through the air toward him.
Before h
is mind could register what was happening, the knife caught him and glanced off the side of his neck. For a second, Abby thought he had escaped uninjured. Then, she realized that it must have hit something important, as a fountain of blood sprayed through the air. He was so stunned, he did nothing when, a few seconds later, Abby tackled him at a full sprint, and they crashed to the ground.
She rolled off him to the right as he tried to stand up. Every heartbeat sent blood spewing from the gash in the side of his neck. He never made it up from his knees. A moment later, he collapsed to the ground and lay there in a heap. She had not seen where the knife had wound up after hitting him, and there was no time to look. It was time to go. Anyone who was close enough to stop them was incapacitated for the moment, but who knew how long that would last?
She helped Eric to his feet. He was hobbling, but getting around well enough. Tom had caught him just above the knee with his club. They grabbed the bag and four of the oars and moved as fast as they could to the raft on the beach.
They left the oars on the sand while they hauled the raft from the tree line toward the water. It was a decent-sized raft, long and wide enough for two full-grown adults to lie on it comfortably and easily accommodate a third, as they’d originally built it with the thought that Sara would be joining them on their trip. It took some effort, but the two of them eventually got it to the water. The tide was going out, so the sand was hard and wet, which made the trip in a little easier. Wasting no time, they pushed the raft into the water to find that it did, indeed, float.
“Well, look at that,” Eric said with a smile. “Hold it here. I’m gonna grab the oars. We’ll be off this rock in just a couple of minutes.”
“Finally!”
“Don’t leave without me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in for a kiss.
She watched him trot up the beach toward the tree line to grab the oars. Turning, she looked out over the water at the island in the distance. The water was sparkling in the early morning sun. With any luck, they would get there before the sun set tonight, and start finding their way back to... where? They couldn’t just go their separate ways. Not after what they had been through together. She had never been to Texas, but that was an adventure she certainly was willing to take.
Escape, the Complete Trilogy Page 11