by Tim Sabados
38
Sammy swung the bottom-heavy garbage bag full of toiletries as if it were a bowling ball. It slid across the floor and slammed into the wall near the exit. He then started pulling dresses from the closet and stuffing them into another bag. Removing them one by one from the hangers quickly stoked his aggravation. How could such a simple task be so tedious?
He managed to pull off a few more, but his anger got the best of him. Letting go of the bag, Sammy wrapped his arms around a bunch of clothes and tore them from the metal rod. He stomped over to the shackled women, dropped the clothing in a pile and went back for more.
Before long he had several haphazard piles around the women. Sammy grabbed several bottles of nail polish remover and dumped the liquid atop the clothes and a few of the empty mattresses. He stopped to catch his breath. The gears of determination were spinning faster and that forced the engine of his resolve to push harder. The decision had been made and the wheels were in motion. Now more than ever he wanted this done and over with.
Sammy pulled out his cell and sharply exhaled. Still no word from Ariek. And still no gas cans. What was wrong with everyone? Was Sammy the only one managing to keep it together?
He noticed the doors leading to the backrooms. The rooms where the bouncers hung out. Could they be trusted to have cleaned up after themselves? He shook his head. Even if they did, they were bound to have left something any half-decent detective could use. He squeezed his fists and stormed off to make sure it was taken care of.
* * * * *
Aryssa’s heart thumped wildly. She could feel it pounding against her bones as if it were trying to escape her chest. She followed Charlie down several steps, through a few doors and along a dimly lit hallway. They stopped at another metal door that seemed to be shut tight.
“This has got to be it,” Aryssa said with spoonful of nervousness.
“Look familiar?” Charlie whispered.
“Kind of.” Aryssa rubbed her temple, trying to break free a piece of her memory. It might have happened only a few hours ago, but she felt as if she’d escaped several days ago. Then again, the crush from that tooth had clouded her recollection. “I’ll know for sure when we get inside.”
Charlie put his hand on the knob and hesitated. He slowly twisted it, causing his head to cock with surprise. “Thought it would be locked.”
“Me too.”
Charlie slowly pushed the door open and peeked through the small crack.
A sharp but pungent odor spilled from the room. Aryssa sniffed.
“What’s that smell?” Charlie leaned back from the opening.
“I’m not…” Aryssa sniffed again. There was something familiar about the odor. Reminded her of the dressing room at the club. “Nail polish?”
Charlie scrunched his nose. “It’s strong.”
“It is,” Aryssa confirmed. “But is anybody in there?”
Charlie put his ear close to the door and remained perfectly still. Once again he looked through the crack. He placed his palm flat against the metal and slowly pushed it open.
Aryssa held her breath as the space between the edge of the door and the doorframe grew larger. That sharp odor poured out even stronger.
Charlie cautiously stepped into the room. Gazed to his right, then his left. Silently jabbed his finger toward something inside.
Aryssa crept through the entrance and turned to where Charlie had been pointing. She gasped with shock. Was it really…? Kami was shackled to one of the mattresses. So too was the young woman who had stood up to the bouncer.
As quietly as she could, Aryssa scampered around the piles of clothes and knelt next to Kami. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
Kami halfheartedly nodded. A tear tried to crawl over her lid. “He’s here.”
“Who’s here?” Aryssa responded. “Sammy?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
Kami tipped her chin toward the backrooms. “Somewhere in there.”
Aryssa motioned toward the rooms with a glare. “Charlie.” She put her finger over her closed lips.
Charlie tipped his head with acknowledgement.
“He’s in there.” Aryssa waved him closer. “What do we do?”
“Please, no leave me,” Kami begged. “He’s going to kill us.” She sniffled. “I know it.”
“We’re not leaving you,” Aryssa said reassuringly. She looked up at Charlie as he squatted by the mattress. “How do we get her out of these?”
“Need a key.” Charlie scanned the room. “We could use a small piece of metal, or maybe,” snapped his fingers, “a pin of some sort.”
“How about a bobby pin?” Aryssa suggested.
“You got one?”
Aryssa pointed toward the makeup counter. “Maybe in one of those drawers.”
Charlie quietly picked up the metal chain. Walked his fingers toward the cuff and studied the lock. “It might work.”
Aryssa swallowed the dread that had dried her throat, stood and scurried over to the counter. Quietly pulled open a drawer, only to find it empty.
So was the next one. Aryssa opened another drawer and exhaled her relief. There were three—no, make it four—of them scattered across the bottom. “Found some.” She pinched them between her thumb and forefinger and held them up for Charlie to see.
Creak!
A nearby door slowly opened and a figure stepped through. Sammy’s brows arched with surprise, then quickly furrowed with anger.
Before Aryssa could fully process what was happening, Sammy dropped whatever he was carrying and lunged at her.
Charlie yelled, “Aryssa!”
Sammy grabbed Aryssa and flung her to the ground.
Aryssa landed on one of the piles of clothes. Dresses scattered. The gun fell out of her jacket and slid across the floor. The solid thud of hitting the ground sent reverberating pain echoing through her body.
Before she could fully process what had just happened, something clicked. There was the momentary scraping of metal on metal and then a sudden…
Poof!
A ball of fire erupted from one of the piles of clothes. The flame serpentined across the floor to ignite another heap of clothes.
Bam! Bam!
The thundering hammer of gunfire exploded in the room.
Aryssa screamed and covered her head. Kami shrieked. Charlie dove.
Bam!
Aryssa’s ears rang. Unfiltered panic shredded her nerves. Would she be shot and killed? She curled into a ball and leaned against the wall. Her body tensed tighter than a watch spring. Nothing happened. Were those footsteps? Did a door just slam shut? After a few seconds she dared to lift her head out from under her arms. No sign of Sammy. Where’d he go? Did he leave?
Kami’s screams snagged Aryssa’s attention. She was frantically kicking her shackled legs, trying to beat back the fire that was eating away the end of her mattress.
Charlie leapt to his feet, peeled off his jacket and started pounding the flames. “Anyone hit?”
“No!” Aryssa yelled.
“Me neither,” Kami gasped.
Aryssa still had the bobby pins between her fingers. She jumped to Kami’s side and buried one of them into the lock. She desperately picked at the mechanism, but the pin suddenly snapped. “Damn it!”
Charlie continued to beat at the flames. They weren’t gaining strength, but they weren’t showing any signs of weakening. A cloud of smoke was already creeping across the ceiling.
Aryssa grabbed another bobby pin and inserted it into the lock. She eased back on her aggressiveness and tried a little more finesse. Without realizing how she had done, there was a sudden click. The cuff popped open and Kami’s arm was free.
“Help me…please help…” Kami squirmed and pulled on the other locks. “Get them off me!”
Aryssa’s confidence blossomed. She realized someone had to go after Sammy. He couldn’t be allowed to get away once again. She yelled at Charlie, “Go get him!”
“These flames,
” Charlie said. “I can’t leave…”
“I’ve got this.”
“What about her?” Charlie pointed at the chained woman who was barely moving.
Aryssa motioned toward the exit. “Go! Go! Go!”
Charlie hesitated. He slapped the flames a few more times then tossed his suit coat at Aryssa’s feet. “You better be right about this.”
“I’ll be fine.” Aryssa stuck the pin into the second of the four locks and got it to click open. “Just go and get him.”
Charlie took a deep breath then sprang toward the door. He jerked it open and disappeared.
The smoke in the room became thicker, its dark hands effectively dimming the overhead lights. Aryssa tried her best to remain calm as she picked at the lock binding Kami’s ankle. She looked at the young woman lying on the next mattress who had managed to wake up. Her eyes were wide with fright. The pressure to rescue both women suddenly coiled around Aryssa. Would she have enough time to do it?
39
Sammy slammed the door, sprinted to the end of the hallway and paused. Did he lock it? His heart and lungs battered against his ribs. He glanced over his shoulder. Too late to go back and check. Besides, he had a more important decision to make. Which way to go?
Up the steps and out to the car or into the factory? Sammy uneasily swiped his hand over his head. Where was Ariek? Why hadn’t that brother returned? Had he taken off and left Sammy to fend for himself? Maybe they both had abandoned him. “Son of a…” he muttered.
Sammy leapt up a step, then another. Before he lifted his leg onto the next step he stopped. If Aryssa had found this place, then the police wouldn’t be far behind. What if the taller brother had been caught? Were the cops up there waiting for him?
He listened for any kind of noise. Footsteps. Talking. The squawk of a radio. Silence swallowed everything around him, even the thump of his heartbeat. Sammy glanced up into the stairwell. Should he risk it? A huff of frustration blew past his lips. As soon as it reached the air in front of him it disintegrated into a cloud of doubt.
Sammy quietly retraced his steps and peered down the darkened hallway that led into the factory. More importantly to that one place in particular.
The hair on the back of his neck wavered with dread. A chill coiled around his spine. It didn’t matter that he was responsible for putting it all together and that he had helped detain the first captive. It still wasn’t his first choice as a place to hunker down. Then again, it would do for a day or two. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
He tapped the flashlight icon on his phone and lifted the beam into the darkness. The light traveled only a few feet before it was devoured by the blackened abyss. He knew the way, but still wanted the light to help guide him. If only he had grabbed a flashlight before darting out of the room. It would’ve made things so much easier.
Sammy gripped his gun tightly and took off at a steady pace. He didn’t make it very far when…Boom! The sound of metal slamming against brick rolled down the hallway and drifted over him.
* * * * *
Charlie threw open the metal door, allowing it to slam into the wall and ducked off to the side just in case Sammy was there with his gun. After a few seconds he exhaled with relief. The hallway was empty.
He sprinted to the end of the corridor and stood before the split. Up the steps or keep moving forward? Which way would Sammy have gone?
A dim light bounced off the walls deep in the throat of the hallway. The faint echo of footsteps rolled across the floor. It had to be Sammy.
Charlie took a second or two to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness, then sprang forward after the light. He couldn’t let Sammy get away. Not this time. Not ever.
* * * * *
Flames licked the sides of the mattress. Patches of burning embers grew outward across the tattered fabric. The smoky cloud rolled into every corner of the room. It became denser. Darker. Aryssa coughed as she crouched low next to the young woman’s shackled wrist. Kami was on the other side of the woman, grunting in desperation.
Aryssa’s bobby pin snapped. “Shit!”
“Hurry…please,” The young woman pleaded.
“Almost got it,” Kami said.
The sting from the smoke spread across the dried surface of Aryssa’s eyes. She desperately swiped her wrist across her eye sockets, hoping to find a little relief.
Kami coughed and rubbed her face with her shoulder. “Come on, already.”
Aryssa snagged the last pin and hunkered closer to the floor. Brought her face nearer to the lock. Did her best to slow her thinking in order to corral the unyielding screaming that roared inside her head. She softly pushed the pin downward and gave it a little twist.
Click. The lock sprang open. The young woman pulled her arm free and snagged a water bottle off the floor. She uncapped it with her teeth, then tossed the water across the burning mattress. “The flames!”
The writhing yellow and orange flames slithered along the edge of the mattress. The free-flowing specter grew larger. Brighter. Its new found strength allowed it to reach onto the top of the mattress in order to feed its relentless need for more fuel. “Oh god! I’m going to…”
Aryssa ripped off her leather jacket and beat the flames. They hissed and dodged her blows. In the end they were no match against Aryssa’s determination. Another swing and the flame sputtered, then morphed into ash. She swung again, forcing the last remnants of its life to go up in smoke.
Aryssa’s focus immediately fell to the lock that gripped the young woman’s ankle. She held her breath and delicately inserted the pin into the hole; it took only ten or so seconds before it sprang open. She glanced over at Kami who raised her arms in triumph.
“Got you, you bastard.”
The girl sat up and rubbed her eyes, then her wrists before aggressively coughing.
Aryssa stood and kicked at the pile of burning clothes, scattering them across the floor. She knelt before the last locked limb. Kami took a knee by her side.
“Do it,” Kami encouraged. “You’re faster.”
Again Aryssa held her breath. Coughed against her tightened lips. Carefully inserted the pin into the lock. The mechanism was firmer than the others and it forced her to squeeze the pin a little harder. She applied a little more pressure. Then a bit more. The pin started to bow.
“It’s not turning,” Aryssa said.
Kami slid even closer, as if to shield Aryssa from the smoke. Anticipation oozed from her cheeks. “You can do this.”
Aryssa eased the pressure, then slowly reapplied it. A little more. Then even more. “Come on, already,” she commanded.
The lock refused to give up its prisoner. Fire crackled. Smoke pressed tighter into the room. Aryssa backed off the tension and slid her finger down the pin to curb the chance of it snapping.
Aryssa once again pushed against the locking mechanism. Then pushed even more. The pin dug into her flesh. She fought back the pain and gave even more. Nothing happened. The stubborn lock refused to budge.
Kami stroked her shoulder. “You got this.”
Aryssa huffed her frustration and gave it a final push. Snap.
Click.
The pin broke. The lock opened. Kami immediately pulled back the clasp from around the woman’s ankle.
“Thank you,” the young woman said. She rolled off the mattress, grabbed the edge and hoisted it upright.
Aryssa slid backward. Kami leapt up to help. Together they flipped the mattress onto a burning pile of clothes. The last remnants of the pile’s smoke bellowed out from around the mattress’s singed edges.
The woman sprang over to a metal object that was partially tucked under a smoldering pile of clothes. She pointed it at Aryssa and Kami.
Aryssa’s heart tore from its moorings and fell into a pool of shock. What was she doing with the gun?
Kami’s eyes went wide. Alarm froze the expression on her face. “What are you…?”
The young woman’s brows curled with
disbelief. “Oh…I didn’t mean to…” She looked down at the gun, then back to Aryssa and Kami. “Umm, sorry about that.” She lowered the gun to her side. “It was kind of a knee-jerk reaction to…” She sighed. Shoulders drooped as if a burden had suddenly been lifted. “I guess I should explain.” A pause. “I’m a cop.”
“A cop?” Aryssa asked.
“Yes,” the woman answered. “I’ve spent almost an entire year trying to…” She rubbed her eye. Coughed. “I’ll explain later.” Quickly motioned toward the remaining burning piles. “We should take care of that before it’s…”
Aryssa grabbed a nearby mattress and tossed it onto one of the piles. Kami did the same with another smoldering heap. All three worked together and within minutes the last of the flames fell victim to their efforts.
The young woman dragged a chair to the far wall, stood on it and smashed the windows near the ceiling with the butt of her gun. Kami ran into the bathroom and happened to find a few tattered wash clothes. She soaked them with water from the showers and passed them out.
The once-thick smoke began to dissipate. The young woman coughed. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did.” She stepped off the chair. “I owe you a lot.”
Kami smiled, wrapped her arm around the woman’s back and gestured toward Aryssa. “I think we both owe her.”
Aryssa wiped her face with the wet cloth to hide her embarrassment. She stepped close to the two women and embraced them. Silence wrapped them in a blanket of gratitude. Aryssa eventually stepped back and looked at the young woman. “Are the cops coming?”
“Not until I can make a phone call,” the woman responded. “I need to find a phone.”
“I don’t have one,” Aryssa advised.
Kami shrugged. “Nothing.”
They all glanced around the room. “We’re not going to find one in here,” Aryssa said firmly. “But there’s something else we need to worry about.”
“What’s that?” the young woman asked.
“Charlie. He went after Sammy. We need to find him.”
Kami leaned into Aryssa. “He’s a good man.” Glanced at the young woman. “She’s right. We need to find him.”