To Catch A Storm

by Warren Slingsby

  “Want more water? You probably need to rehydrate yourself Janet.” the large bald man they called Carl said to her. “You’ve been sleeping for a long time.”

  “How long?”

  “Since last night. About eighteen hours. I think you have most of it out of your system now which is good ‘cos that means you should be about ready to answer some questions for us. You see, we seem to have mislaid two point five million quid somewhere.” He paused and raised his eyebrows as if awaiting an answer. “I think you have it. But first we’ll get you something to eat, you’ll need to get some strength back. Charlie, would you do the honours?”

  One by one, they walked away from her. One of the other men came back with a towel and mopped her face. She instinctively pulled away and then thought to herself why am I doing that? Idiot. He mopped her and walked away. You are a fucking idiot she told herself. How could you allow this to happen? She was oddly thinking pretty clearly now. Must be the adrenaline or something but she remembered now that Charlie went to get her a drink and he must have spiked her then. It’s the oldest trick in the book. She started going through in her mind, examining how this was going to play out. They wanted the money pure and simple. Surely, they have her handbag and would just find her keycard for her room. It clearly says which hotel it is, so they’d just find it and go and help themselves. Unless... She had an idea what may have happened.

  She was going through all this and they were watching daytime game shows. Trivia questions about Sport, Film, Politics and Geography. She took everything in to try to see some way or means of escape from this.

  Charlie came back to her with a cold bacon roll slathered in ketchup. He offered a very small smile. She did not offer one back and neither of them spoke. There was nothing to say. Nothing that he could say that could patch things up for her. Nothing that she could say that could express how utterly pissed off she was at him. So they remained silent. He put the bread roll into her hand. She took it and stretched it to her mouth with her free forearm. It felt good to put something other than booze into her stomach.

  They left her for a good half hour, seemingly until the quiz show they were watching had finished and the theme tune was playing. There was some hushed talk among the group, then the leader, Carl came over on his own. He had a cup of either tea or coffee, she couldn’t tell which.

  “Could I have some more water please?”

  “Of course you can Janet.” he said, holding up the glass of water to her lips. “Maybe just sip it instead of gulping it, hopefully you’ll be able to keep it down then.” She did as he said.

  “Now, Janet, I’m going to ask you a few questions. I’m going to need honest answers and I’ll warn you. I am low on patience.” She simply stared at him.

  “Where is Joseph Janet? He was a bad lad and he double crossed the five of us. He was supposed to meet us. Here.” He motioned to the space they were in. “But he never turned up. We were supposed to share the two point five million that he got from the art dealer, but he did a runner. I think he did a runner to meet you Janet.”

  She was quiet for a few seconds as if waiting to see if he had finished talking.

  “If I know Joseph or know where he is, whatever your boy slipped into my drink last night has removed it from my brain.” she croaked. She felt rough, but she needed to lay it on thick. “I hope that is a temporary thing, but I’m not sure.”

  Carl thought for a second. “What do you do for a living Janet?”

  “I work in banking.” She decided it was best to omit the details.

  “So you remember that at least?” he mocked.

  “I remember most stuff, I know who I am. I don’t have complete amnesia, but the last few days now seem blank.”

  “And yet you seemed to recognise Charlie when you saw him. Why would that be, if you’re blank, do you think?”

  “I’m not sure.” she said trying to look forlorn at the blankness of her mind. The expression was supposed to say - ‘I want to help you Carl, I really do, but at the moment, I just can’t seem to remember.’

  “Do many of your colleagues have Lamborghinis Janet? When you turn up to work, do all your work mates drive up in super cars? What does your manager drive Janet? A Bugatti?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I mean you were driving a Lamborghini when we saw you in Glasgow two days ago and I have to say that’s the first time I’ve seen a girl your age driving a hundred grands worth of Italian sports car. It says to me that you’re in cahoots with our old friend Joseph.”

  “Really? OK, well I’ll have to take your word for it until some more of my memory comes back to me.”

  He put his cup down and folded his arms. “I think you’re working with Joseph and that he saw us in Glasgow and asked you to get the money away from us. Sound familiar?”

  “Not so far.” She shook her head. “Nothing sounds familiar. Your little boy there nearly poisoned me and made my head feel like it’s full of mush. I think I have short term memory loss.”

  “It had better be short term. It’s going to start wearing pretty thin this memory loss soon Janet. Have a little more sleep and then we’ll have another chat later. The next time we chat, I’d like to walk away from you with the whereabouts of Joseph and more importantly, our money. If I don’t, then there is very little point for me to keep you here.” He was bright red and seemed out of breath. He walked around the back of her and grabbed onto the sides of her chair. He pulled the chair back onto its two rear casters and then pushed her forward toward the others who were gathered around the other side of the cars. They parted to let her though. This was odd she thought. She was tipped so far back, so she could see his face upside down. He pushed her in between the two cars and back to where she started off. His breath was bad. Coffee and cigarettes and a distinct lack of brushing. It was making her stomach want to wretch again. He leaned close and spoke into her upside down ear. “You’re surprisingly mobile. I’ll bet if I wheeled you outside this lockup in your arm chair, I could have you to the dock side in half a minute. In fact, let’s give it a try! Dan, get the doors!”

  Dan ran around the car and pulled back the big doors as Carl wheeled her in the chair through them and across a dimly lit dockside. Until the front of her chair was butted right up to the waterfront.

  “I think if you went into the water in your current situation, unable to flap your skinny little arms about, I think you would sink very quickly.” He pushed her slightly further until the front wheels dropped over the side and tipped her forward until she was leaning tightly against the tape and that was all that held her from dropping into the inky, icy water. There was a lot of commotion around her with the other men whooping. She heard one say ‘I’m not gonna’ fish ‘er out’.

  “How does it look Janet?” Carl snarled into her ear. “I don’t know about you Janet but the thought of drowning makes me feel a little bit ill. Think you’d like it? Think you’d float?”

  As much as the tape held her firm, she still gripped the ends of the arm rests until her knuckles were white. ‘He needs me, he’s not going to drop me in. I’m his only hope of finding his money.’ she told herself. ‘Be strong Janet!’ She shut her eyes tight. Carl pulled her back and dropped her chair back onto its four wheels and her head jolted backward. She was vaguely aware he asked one of the others to move her back inside. He walked back in front of her. Red faced and panting slightly.

  “You didn’t answer Janet, do you think you’d like to go in?” Carl asked, his shoulders hunched and his eyebrows raised.

  “No I wouldn’t like to drown.”

  “Well, all that is standing in the way of you and the water Janet is what’s in your little head... I don’t believe that you can’t remember Joseph and how you came about that Gucci bag and that Lamborghini. I do believe you can’t remember what happened last night, that’s what Rohypnol does, it blanks your short term memory out. But it doesn’t affect your memory of what
happened days before. All your plans with Joseph. About how you’re helping him get that big bag of cash to safety. Away from us. That, I believe is still very much in your mind. So have a little sleep and have a think about your future. And whether or not you want one.”

  He reached out and grabbed her neck and pushed her back into the chair so she was looking directly into his eyes. Her airway was cut off. “We understand each other?”

  She nodded her chin as much as she could, though it was difficult in his grip. “Clever girl. Clever Janet.” He released her neck and gave her cheek a friendly clap. Then he smiled and walked away.

  He had been gentle with her, but there was some real power in those meat slabs of hands. She shut her eyes. She was desperately tired, but she needed to think. Think how she was going to get her stupid self out of this mess. She traced herself backward from this point, back to the bar where he bought her that drink. He didn’t give a thing away. He was so subtle. What a scum bag. So smooth as he handed her a double gin & Rohypnol with lots of lime. Her deadly apple in a glass. Ready to put her to sleep and render her defenceless.

  She didn’t have any pockets and everything she had with her was in her bag. She could probably cut herself out if she could get her nail file from her bag, but that wasn’t going to happen, they wouldn’t be handing that over anytime soon. What else did she have that was sharp? Her nails. They wouldn’t penetrate the tape. Earrings. Sharp but no match for the tape which was probably ten layers thick at some points. If they hadn’t used so much, she might just be able to break it by pushing her arms out, but it was gripping her like a vice. No give whatsoever. She looked down at herself. Scanning for something sharp. Belt buckle. That would be able to pierce the plastic. If she could perforate a line from top to bottom, she might be able to rip through it. She wasn’t sure if she had the strength to do it. She’d probably only have one chance, if they saw what she was up to before she escaped, she’d be in trouble.

  So far she’d been pretty lucky. They’d not managed to get what they wanted off her, but if they had that key card, they’d be gone and who knows they may just discard her. She assumed that card had slipped down through a hidden hole in the lining of her bag. She’d lost credit cards in there before. They wouldn’t find the gap if they didn’t know about it. She’d forgotten about it several times and eventually found all sorts down in there. Lipsticks, nail files, cash.

  Making sure no one was around, she could just get the belt off as a start. The problem was the tape was quite noisy whenever she moved. She didn’t want to disturb the men. The belt was a simple grey suede belt with a steel buckle. It would punch through the tape if pushed hard enough.

  At the other side of the cars, the TV was turned up. Sounded like they were all in front of the TV once again. A happy little family of thugs and thieves. Watching a boxing match she thought, from the sounds of the cheering crowd, a dinging bell and some overly excited commentators.

  She freed the belt and unbuckled it and slowly fed it through the belt loops. She got it off and tucked it into her side. She wanted to make sure she could hide it if necessary. It needed folding in half but then it would slip neatly next to her leg. If they really looked, they’d see it but more than likely they wouldn’t she thought. She pulled it back out and pushed the loop of the buckle back leaving the point which she grasped between her thumb and forefinger. She reached across with her free forearm and was able to reach all the way to the top of the strapping which ran the length of her upper arms. The point gradually punched through the tape into the space between her arm and body. It needed a firm giggling push to break through. She then pulled it back through and pierced again about thumb width lower. She repeated this again and again until she’d perforated a line of ten holes up the full width of the webbing. She tried to push her arms away from her body to pull the webbing apart but it wouldn’t budge. Yet.

  She continued punching holes. Another set in between the first set of holes until she reached the top of the tape holding her upper arms. She couldn’t do the very top part as the tape was over her shoulder and to punch through the tape would mean plunging the point into her skin. Once again, she tried to push her arms outwards, the tape seemed to give a little more than it had before, she could see the perforations stretching but it still would not tear. She was determined though. It was amazing the determination a threat to your life could give you. Taking a deep but quiet breath and she started punching more holes again one in between each of the existing holes. Ten minutes later, she’d punched another set of holes through the tape. This time, she pushed her arms outwards but it still held fast. But she could just about get her hands to meet in the middle so that she could push outward against them. The tape started to tear but it made a loud squeak. She stopped moving and heard movement. She shut her eyes and lolled her head to the side. She could just about see one of the men stand up and look over the top of the cars, he soon dismissed the noise and sat back down.

  She needed to plan her escape route before she released herself from the tape. There was a door to her left, but it was too near to where the men were gathered around the TV. If she got to it before them and out, they would soon catch her, she was a good runner, but one of them would no doubt be faster. There could be a back door but she couldn’t see it. There was a door to her right which led to the back, it could possibly have a back door or a window but she couldn’t see from where she was. She seemed to remember hearing a toilet flush back there. That would probably mean there would be a window but probably a small one. There was no other exit she could see. She would have to take her chance. Or she could just tell him where Joseph was and what happened to him and return the money. She could but somehow she thought that would not be the last of it. Oh thanks so much for giving us our money back Janet dear. On your way and have a nice life!

  No, she had got to this point, she now needed to see this through. Something in her had changed in the last few days. She would have been a crying, screaming, gibbering wreck at this point if this was her previous life. To be fair, she could have a good old cry now, but she would not allow herself to do that. She was stronger and would remain strong. If caught, she would then ‘fess up as to Joseph’s whereabouts and what happened to him. She still had the money as a bargaining tool. She could take them to it and then scream blue murder and take her chances with the police. What would they do about it? Probably she had broken some laws along the way and would spend a little time in prison, but a little time in prison was better than being fish food.

  She placed her hands back together and with as much control as possible, pushed hard. Gradually straightening her wrists out as the perforation down her left side opened up one hole at a time. The temptation to rush was overwhelming as they may decide at any moment to come over and interrogate her again, but she knew if she went too fast it would make noise. They still seemed to be engrossed in their boxing match. There was a lot of boxing chat and encouragement of their preferred fighter.

  She tore all the way through the perforation. Now she needed to peel back either side. This was taking too long. She shut her eyes tight again to force her brain to speed up. Take the blouse off. Of course, it was obvious, the tape was stuck fast to her top, but now she was no longer secured to the chair and had freedom to move, she could slip down and out of the top. She’d then be just in her bra, but that was the price to pay for her escape. Slowly and silently, she slid downwards and out of the floral cotton shirt. She was free. Well, of her tape bond at least. She had to work fast. She went low and toward the door at the right of the room. A quick look revealed it was a disgusting toilet with a tiny frosted glass window. She’d never get out of it. Fuck.

  She went back to the car and as she suspected the keys were in. She sat down on the floor and leaned back against the car. She thought through her plan. She would need to be fast and time it exactly right. She crept round the car as low as possible to the car nearest the men. As quiet as a mouse, she reached through the
half lowered window and grabbed the key from the ignition. Single thankfully, no bunch of keys to make noise. She saw the backs of the heads of the men, they drank beers and were eating pizza. A regular little party. Whilst they left her to fester in her own vomit. Motherfuckers. She ducked back down and tracked back around the car furthest from them. She gently lifted the handle and slowly pulled open the door. This might have alerted them, but it didn’t. She slunk low into the driver’s seat. The window was down on their side. When she turned the key, she’d need to work quick to wind up the window and lock the doors. That should keep them at bay for a short while. Electric window switches. Check. Central locking button. Check.

  She held the window buttons down, grabbed the key and turned. She pumped her foot on the gas and revved the engine. It fired up and she saw the rev counter hit the red line. It was deafening in such as small space. She saw the men moving from the corner of her eye, they were jumping around manically. She slammed the door shut, then realised that the windows weren’t going up. Damn, were they broken? She released the buttons and pushed again and they started to lift. She hit the lock button with her other hand. Now, they were all around the car. They were all shouting crazily at her, baying her name. Knocking loudly on the window at the side of her head.

  “Janet, what the fuck are you doing?!” Carl demanded.

  She heard one shout ‘smash the fuckin’ windows’ and another ‘with what?’ It was time to go. She pulled the gear lever to reverse. Took the handbrake off and pushed the accelerator. She went backwards and hit the doors and they made a big dull bang, but held firm. She pushed the gear lever to drive and went forwards. Men were jumping out of the way. There were a variety of expressions ranging from surprise to anger. She braked and placed the gear in reverse again and hit the accelerator. Hard this time. She went flying forwards onto the steering wheel as the car went flying backwards. It hit the wooden doors and blasted through like a ten pin ball.