Deceptions

by Dana Mansfield

  “Burned?” Millie asked before covering her mouth in shock.

  “Yes. We suspect foul play and I’ve contacted the FBI.”

  * * *

  Chapter 9

  Jack’s left arm bothered him. There was a deep ache that throbbed after each slight move he made or bump the Hummer took. The cuffs were biting into his wrists but at least he wasn’t dealing with broken ribs. Jack could tell by the look on Penny’s face that she was in pain and he worried that there were more internal injuries. They were told to keep quiet and they did, each of them looking out the back of the Hummer and away from freedom. The experience was so surreal but it was the ache in his arm that was shattered in the 4th of July accident that kept his focus on reality.

  Kidnapped.

  It was always a possibility as a public figure but never before had there been a threat of this level. Sure, there were the crazy fans who blurred lines of reality but all they needed was a talking to from either the local authorities or someone from Jack’s record company to set them straight but none of the crazies were ever thought of as a serious threat. But now, someone paid to have him kidnapped.

  Kidnapped.

  But he wasn’t alone in the situation; Penny was with him. A surge of guilt washed through him. She was innocent in this hell but so far received the worst treatment. They almost killed her. The thug named Landon almost tossed her into the ravine and she’d been kicked hard. Jack worried she was injured from the brutal hits beyond the couple ribs she thought had broken. He knew his job in the situation was to keep her safe but about the only thing he could do was use his words to remind her to just do what the bastards said.

  As they travelled to an unknown destination, the image of Penny struggling against Landon replayed in his mind. She almost died. Jack would never be able to forgive himself if something final happened to her. He risked a lot for her and he wanted to make sure that risk paid off.

  He adjusted his position as best he could in the still vehicle. They had drove for at least a couple hours but then the vehicle stopped after turning onto a private lane. The leader and the woman – William and Vivienne – exited the vehicle and walked up and over a rise in the lane and out of sight. And that was it. They’d been stopped for quite a while and the temperature in the vehicle had been dropping since. Jack worried about Penny. She had no coat on and the clothes she wore were damp from her falls into the snow. He had slipped his parka back on before running after her but Penny wore nothing appropriate for a blizzard. She was shivering next to him.

  “How are you doing?” he asked. They were able to talk now that they were alone in the vehicle. Escape was impossible with their hands bound behind them.

  “In general or do you want specific to the fact that we’ve been kidnapped?”

  “I meant your ribs. Has the pain worsened?”

  “No,” she replied and shivered. Jack did his best to scoot closer to her. “You’re smooshing me a little,” she noted.

  “I am just trying to share my body heat,” he replied. She nodded in understanding and looked out the window of the vehicle. Jack did the same but there was nothing that indicated where they were other than on someone’s private property. William had used the term compound which didn’t have a warm and fuzzy connotation. Other than the snow covered lane, the only thing Jack saw was a wooded area on either side of them. Most of the travelling had been done in the dark and they stopped in the dark but now it was gray out from the sun trying to fight through the storm clouds. It was still snowing and on occasion, a gust of wind would rock the Hummer.

  “Why are they making us wait?” Penny asked.

  “To torture us,” answered Jack.

  “It was a stupid question.”

  “Not stupid. Very valid.” Penny leaned her head over and laid it on Jack’s shoulder.

  “I have a headache,” she said.

  “You took a hard slap and to be honest, this situation is giving me a headache also.” Penny sighed and he noticed her close her eyes. He knew she had gone with little sleep in the previous few days and despite the situation, exhaustion hit her.

  Penny was his rock and he felt so awful for her being there with him. If only I’d left the lodge when I should have… Jack came to the conclusion the abduction would have happened regardless of when he left but if he departed right after Crystal banished him instead of going to the bar, Penny would have been spared. Her being there was his fault.

  Emotion welled up within him. His children would be inconsolable without either of them. How would they get through this? Jack doubted Crystal could deal with both the situation and the kids. The kids, however, would have Millie and Danny and Jack knew they would protect and comfort his children. Millie and Danny loved their nieces and nephews and would do anything for them. He just hoped his brother and sister could find the extraordinary strength once again to deal with such an awful situation. In the first few weeks after the car accident, they held the family together while Jack and Penny recovered from their injuries.

  The waiting was agonizing and did nothing to help his nerves. Even with his parka the cold was getting to him, especially his arm and surgically repaired left leg, and he worried more about Penny. Her shaking was near continuous and her lips were taking on a blue hue. He didn’t want her to succumb to hypothermia unless that was the point of making them wait. This churned his stomach and he chased away the terrible thought.

  Jack focused on the situation. He hoped the kidnappers would make their ransom demand quickly, Crystal would work with his business manager Tony to pay it, and he and Penny would be released without being hurt any further. In his mind, this was how Jack saw this playing out.

  He wondered how much the kidnappers would demand. If one would have to label him, it would be a label of very well off and comfortable. Unless a financial disaster hit him, he didn’t need to worry about money. The band was successful. Damn successful with album sales in the millions and a handful of industry awards but they were certainly not on the same level as a fad pop star that lasted just a couple years before the next studio created entertainer usurped him or her. The Ivy Brothers were in the business for the long haul and refused to compromise their creativity. It had been that way from day one and they were beyond lucky that Emerson Cohen signed the band to his Lion Records while Jack and the guys were still in college. Emerson saw their potential and allowed them the time over the years to make honest music. Their work paid off. They were a solid rock and roll band with a strong following and the band members and their families enjoyed the spoils of their hard work.

  When the money did start rolling in just a couple months before college graduation, Jack hired the wealth management firm owned by Shane Damon’s father to take care of his money. Shane was another fellow Princeton grad – and Penny’s former fiancé – and Jack became his first client as Shane went to work in his father’s firm.

  But Shane lost Jack’s trust when he found out he was beating Penny. He requested another account manager to take care of his money and now he trusted Tony Harper with his finances. Before the change, even as Crystal’s tastes grew more expensive as the band’s popularity and success rose, Shane made sure the kids’ financial futures were secure. When the medical bills from the accident started adding up, even with insurance, Shane worked his magic to make sure Jack and his family was financially stable even as the royalty payments dipped as Jack stayed out of the limelight after the accident.

  But then Jack’s suspicions about Shane abusing Penny were proved and he just could no longer have a man like that work for him. Jack kept his money and investments at the Damon Group but there needed to be someone new for Jack to trust with his money. Tony was a family man and came with a high recommendation by Shane’s father, who knew of Shane’s ugly secret, and Jack was certain Tony would work with the authorities to pay the ransom and then once the dust would settle, Jack would figure out how bad of a financial hit the kidnapping was to his financial security.

  A
severe shiver from Penny brought Jack back to the Hummer. The ransom demand and payment was out of his hands and at that moment, there was nothing he could do other than make sure he and Penny survived this ordeal. He thought back to the mandatory training he and the band went through a few years ago before partaking in a tour of the Middle East. The first thing they were taught, should they be abducted, was to cooperate with the kidnappers and make no demands. Think of the kids, he reminded himself. I have to get back to the kids. However, with Penny in this horrific picture, Jack needed to protect her also. She meant just as much to him as the kids and it was imperative both he and Penny make it back home safe and in one piece.

  “They’re coming back,” Penny said. Jack heard fear in her voice and he didn’t think less of her for that. He was scared shitless.

  William opened the back of the Hummer and a rush of frigid air hit Jack in the face. “Time to get out,” he said and Jack scooted forward and out of the vehicle. There was at least eight inches of snow on the ground and his worry for Penny increased. She exited the vehicle and was visibly shaking. Jack hoped wherever they were going was close.

  “Time for a little walk,” William said and grabbed Jack’s arm while Landon took Penny’s. It was difficult walking for both Jack and Penny since they were both wearing inappropriate shoes for a trek in deep snow. Jack was able to keep his balance for the most part but Penny fell several times. Jack wanted to say something but knew better.

  They walked over the rise and Jack saw a house with an attached garage. The house – a bungalow – was ordinary. Not very big, it had mustard yellow siding. They walked towards it and eventually made it into the garage where they were lead up a short flight of wooden steps. Through a tiny entry way, they entered a small kitchen with ugly 1970’s carpet and avocado appliances. William opened a wooden door and descended down a steep set of open stairs. The first room was a partially finished basement with a bar at one end and a small laundry area at the other with a small shower, sink, and toilet behind a set of bars? Jack looked twice just to make sure he was seeing what he saw. There was most definitely a bathroom inside of what looked like a large cage. A utility sink and stainless steel cabinets sat opposite the wall running parallel to the driveway.

  Where some of the items were ordinary, the other items Jack saw in the basement scared him. There was a heavy wooden chair in the middle of the room with leather restraints on the arms and legs. Next to that was a steel medical exam table. Both pieces of furniture had dark stains around them on the cement floor. At several spots around the room, metal manacles hung from the ceiling and there were some attached to the outside brick wall along with instruments Jack didn’t want to find out what they were used for.

  Behind the unfinished bar was a door and on either side of the utility sink area were two more. Jack and Penny were led to the one on the left where William unlocked a large, rusty-looking padlock.

  “In you go,” ordered William and Jack obeyed. The room was about eight by ten feet and had no furniture. Opposite the door, near the ceiling, was a small window. It was just about a foot tall and a couple feet long with three panes of glass that had been spray painted over in white. Bars on the inside of the room covered the window. A bare but dull lightbulb lit the room further and when Jack turned around, he saw a camera over the door. The tiny red light made the situation more real, graver. The walls were brick with metal pipes running across. The only other thing in the stark room was a pair of manacles hanging from the ceiling. They did nothing to ease Jack’s worry.

  James and Landon led Penny into the room and when Landon withdrew his support, she wavered on her feet. Jack went to her side but there was nothing he could do with his hands bound.

  “Honorable,” said William as Vivienne joined the party. In her hand was a black garbage bag. “Shoes, socks, your coat, and any personal objects like jewelry and wallets go in the bag.” William removed both Jack and Penny’s cuffs and Vivienne handed the bag to Jack. “You have five minutes. Learn any task we give you to complete with a time limit should be taken seriously. The Employer has given us wide leeway when it comes to consequences and my team is very talented. As long as we don’t kill you, Jack, we can pretty much do what we want.”

  “What about Penny? You say you are not allowed to kill me but what about her? She is innocent in this; she should not be harmed.” Jack was taking a risk speaking up but he had to make it clear his expectations about Penny’s treatment.

  “The Employer has very little regard for Penny. The decision to spare her life only came after considerable thought by the person who employed us. If I were you two, I would accept the possibility that Penny’s stay in this world is tenuous at best. And she’ll get a punishment for the running into the woods shit.” William checked his watch. “You have about three minutes left.” And with that, William and his team left, locking the door behind them. William’s words both angered Jack and scared him. He basically said Penny was disposable.

  Jack turned towards Penny. Her eyes were shut and she was holding onto a pipe and shaking severely. He wanted to warm her up but time was of the essence.

  “We have to hurry, Penny,” he said and pulled his parka off. Penny sank to the floor and tried to untie her running shoes. It appeared to pain her to bend towards her feet and her hand kept going to her left side where she had been kicked. Jack sped up his movements and had everything he needed in the bag and then moved to help Penny. Since she had no coat it was just a matter of getting her shoes, socks, and jewelry off. She tried again to reach her shoes but she moaned.

  “Let me,” he said. A surge of fear caused him to panic and his fingers, which were shaking, kept getting tangled in her shoelaces. Penny worked on her jewelry and gave him her simple watch and gold hamsa necklace she wore. She received the necklace as a gift from Jack and the kids last Hanukkah.

  Her first shoe came off and he moved to her other foot. Jack got that shoe off easier and tossed it in the bag with the other one and her pair of socks with brown turkeys on them. He placed the jewelry in one of her shoes. The last thing he took off was his simple gold wedding band. He felt nothing as he tossed it into the bag.

  “Holy hell,” Jack said and ran his shaking hand through his hair. He was breathing heavily and his heart pounded in his ears. Was this ordeal going to be full of these innocuous challenges? Jack had a terrible feeling the answer might be yes.

  The door opened and William returned with just Vivienne. Jack took this as a good sign but held his breath as Vivienne rifled through the bag.

  “Looks like everything,” she said.

  “Good,” William replied. “So, here’s the deal. Jack. You have access to water and buckets to piss and shit in,” he said as James and Landon brought in a flat of bottled water and several plastic buckets stacked together along with toilet paper. “That’s truly all you need for your orientation.”

  “Orientation?” Jack repeated.

  “Yes. The Employer wants to make sure you understand your new reality. We’ll be back to the cell soon. The length of your orientation, however, has been doubled because of Penny’s presence.”

  “Are we talking hours or days?”

  “Definitely more than a few hours but the number of days will be my little secret, Jack. It makes this so much more fun that way,” he explained with a lilt to his voice and turned to go. “Oh, I almost forgot.” He walked towards Penny and grabbed her arm, pulling her up to her bare feet. He led her over to the manacles in the middle of the room and motioned that she should raise her arms. She did and William clamped the manacles around her wrists. Although her feet were on the ground, she was still strung rather tight. “At night we’ll lower the manacles but her days will be spent on her feet.” William turned to go again but Jack wasn’t ready for him to go.

  “But I have questions,” Jack said and stood up. “Who is behind this? Who is this employer?” William gave Jack no more attention and ushered Vivienne out of the room. The door was locked and Jack�
�s anger rose. This was all just so ridiculous. He went to the door. There was no inside handle but that didn’t stop him from trying to pry it open at the edge. When that didn’t work he went to the bars over the small window. Grasping them in both hands, he tugged on them with all his might, ignoring the pain this caused in his left arm. His anger rose even more and he let go of them. “Fuck!” he yelled and rubbed his face in anger. Jack went back to the door and gave it a pound. “Let us go!” he shouted.

  A whimper instantly calmed him down. He turned around. Penny had pain across her face. The position she was in could not be easy on her broken ribs.

  “They should not have done this,” he said and checked to make sure that the manacles were actually locked. They were.

  “I’ll be okay,” Penny said, shivering. “It’s just standing. I’m on my feet a lot with the kids.” Jack knew she was trying to lessen the worry of her situation.

  “You need to be warmed up,” he said and stood in front of her. The only thing he could do was zip up her wet hoodie.

  “Thank you,” she said with chattering teeth. Penny was purposefully not looking at Jack. He knew this was to keep both of their emotions in check.

  Penny moaned and Jack laid his hand gently where she was kicked. Even with her hoodie and t-shirt, he could feel each of her ribs. Guilt rose within him. He’d been so caught up in himself the last few months that he hadn’t noticed Penny spiraling out of control. He even ignored the almost daily texts from Millie and Sasha the last few weeks about how they thought Penny was struggling again with both her anorexia and depression.

  “I’ll be okay,” she said in a strained voice but deep down, Jack felt that she wouldn’t.

  * * *