by Jack Parker
Roden poked his head out from behind the car, wondering if he could make a run for it in the direction that Manda had gone. The bodies were closer into view now, and what he saw shocked him more than anything thus far.
The people were now distinguishable, and moving at a much more rapid pace than they had the moment before the gunfire. Martin was in the lead, gun waving around in one hand as he tried to run, while dragging a petite young woman behind him.
The young woman was slightly familiar. It took Roden several seconds to perceive that it was Esther. None of this seemed to fit his comprehension of the proceedings of the last twenty-four hours. He didn't know how Martin had a gun, and he was in wonder over how he had found the woman and managed to get her away from Max. A thought flashed before him, and Roden hoped to God that Martin hadn't shot Max to do it.
But why did Martin shoot at him just a moment ago? Was he afraid? He must have been anxious from his ordeal. Roden decided that he would attempt to make himself known again to the man. He prayed that Martin would realize it was him.
Roden poked his head further out from behind the car and cried out, "Martin!" Martin turned his head in Roden's direction, but kept up his pace and direction. "Martin. It's Mike Roden." Roden slowly stood up. "Don't shoot."
If Roden found Martin to be a contradictive nuisance before, now he found him down right objectionable. Martin stopped short, pulling Ess to him. She groaned her displeasure as he wrapped his free arm around her. Then, he pointed the gun towards Roden, and snarled. "Damn it, Roden. I got what I came for. I don't need you anymore. Now, you either turn and walk away, or I'll shoot."
Roden was dumbfounded. What the hell was this man saying? He'd gone crazy - and that was a clinical diagnosis. "Martin, come on now. Listen to me . . ."
Martin jerked the gun forward. "No. I don't want any of your psychoanalytical bullshit. You thought I was just along for the ride? This is what I came for." He shook Ess with his arm. She made a bitterly angry face as she attempted to wiggle free, but Martin squeezed her closer. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm going to collect my reward."
With that, he cocked the gun, and pulled the trigger. Ess jumped in surprise, which knocked his aim a little to the right. The bullet hit the Jetta instead of its intended target. While Roden dunked behind the car again, Martin resumed his steady progress with Ess.
How did the man really expect to get out of the preserve anyway, Roden wondered as he crouched by the driver's side door. On foot? A second later, he realized the answer. He had left the key in the BMW when he got out to check it for damage. Martin probably noticed that when he crawled out of the backseat.
Roden dared to peak over the Jetta, again. Sure enough, Martin was heading towards the BMW. His anger escalated. Not only was the crazy bastard making off with the girl, but he was also stealing Roden's pride and joy to do it.
Roden was about to make an ill-considered suicidal rush towards his car when he heard a shout in the opposite direction. It was Manda. "Hey." She was flailing her arms and running down the dirt road as fast as her high heals would let her. "Hey, hey, hey." It appeared that she thought her companions were leaving without her.
Roden made a resigned dash towards her to keep her out of harm's way. As he reached her, another shot was fired. It sliced through the branches far above them, clearly a warning shot. Manda screamed, and Roden wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to the ground. She let out an indignant huff, but went down without a struggle.
From a distance, Roden looked on as Martin forced Ess into the driver's side of the car and pushed her towards the passenger seat. The car roared to a start, and Martin put it into reverse to reposition it back on the road. He sped off entirely too quickly down the dirt path, and Roden could only watch in disbelief, willing the events of the last few minutes sink in.
* * *
A half an hour later Roden was still trying to understand what had happened. The complete turn of events puzzled and vexed him. Martin was a turncoat; or more accurately, he used them to get to Esther. But why? The reasons for the seriously obsessed Max to kidnap the young woman were obvious, but Roden just couldn't understand what would make Martin do the same. It was clear by Martin's actions that he wasn't intending to rescue her. He mentioned a reward, though. There wasn't a reward. No one even knew Esther was gone. Yet.
He pondered on this as he and Manda made their way in silence. Manda was evidently in her own state of contemplation and shock. They were headed down the dirt trail that she had traversed earlier. As it turned out, the cause of her initial excitement at seeing her companions had been because she had discovered a new lead.
While performing her search, she had kept to the road, but spotted a cabin in the distance. Smoke from the chimney indicated that it was occupied. Apparently, she conjectured for a while on rather she should keep going towards the cabin, or if she should get her companions. By the time she decided that it was better to have back up, she was late in returning to the Jetta.
After Martin sped off, Roden was forced to give her the play by play on what had just occurred. This, of course, set her off. She yelled and stomped her feet while throwing curses in the general direction that Martin had gone. Her bantering swung back and forth so frequently that Roden couldn't tell if she was more upset that Martin had now kidnapped her poor friend, or if her anger stemmed from the fact that he had used her to get to Ess. God help Martin if Manda ever got a hold of him again, Roden thought. He smiled at the idea. If that ever happened, he hoped he would get to see it.
Eventually, Manda spoke again; pointing out the cabin she had seen earlier. Sure enough, smoke indicated occupation. They turned off the road to make a straight path to the hut. Roden's empty stomach grumbled and turned in knots, as he knew he was nearing the possibility of finding out the rest of the story of Martin's dealings with Max. He prayed that the man had not used that gun on his friend.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ess grasped the door handle of the car with white knuckles as Martin bounded it ruthlessly over the rocky road. Occasionally she glanced over at the gun, still in his hand while he gripped the steering wheel. That gun was the only thing that kept her from jumping out of the car and attempting another run for it. This man had used that weapon too liberally towards others for her to think that he wouldn't use it on her, as well.
They rode in silence for a while before she summed up the courage to speak. She figured that, since it was her life that was in danger, she had better swallow her timidity and find out what on earth was going on.
So, she started with the best question she could think of: "Who the hell are you, anyway?"
He kept his eyes on the winding terrain, but smiled wickedly. "My name is Martin Voletti, but you can call me Marty. So, do you have some nickname or something?"
"For you? No." Ess was taken aback by his small talk. She just wanted answers. "And where do you plan to take me, Martin Voletti?"
"To Mr. Marcus Angoli. He has a keen interest in you." Then he spared her a devious glance. "I don't know what it is about you – no offense – but you seem to have turned several heads. You are one lucky young lady, though, because the man I'm taking you to is rich beyond your wildest dreams. If you're good to him, you can bet he'll treat you like a queen."
"No thank you. I'm not interested." Ess responded. "You can just drop me off here." Martin's explanation didn't make her feel any better about her situation, though it certainly solidified Max's reasons for kidnapping her. She felt bad for not having trusted him more.
Martin laughed. "Oh, witty, huh? Well, rather you are interested or not, I'm still taking you to Angoli. So, you better decide if you want to be treated like a queen or handled like a prisoner. That's the only choice you've got."
That disclosure made Ess feel queasy. She didn't like her choices, and she didn't understand why this was happening to her. She still held to the assertion that she wasn't anything extraordinary. Her whole life she'd been looked over. And now, she couldn'
t seem to get herself out of the damned limelight.
When she didn't speak again Martin decided to continue the conversation himself. "So, how about that Manda-broad. She's quite the feisty little bitch. How did you two ever become friends?"
"Manda?" Ess was startled. "How do you know Manda?"
"Part of the plan, my dear. Part of the plan." Martin smiled at his accomplishment. "I was only supposed to play a minor role in this shake down, but fate led me to be the star of the operation." His dramatics and over-the-top display of self-assurance caused an irritated eye roll from Ess.
He paused to grin in self-congratulations, so Ess prodded him to continue. "What do you mean?"
"My job was to distract Manda, keep her away from you for awhile. Let me tell you, that was an experience. That woman is a prima donna. She required a lot of attention. When the abduction was set to go down, I had made sure I had a date set up with her. Something went wrong though, as you know. Max got involved, and Roden was on the hunt to stop him. He thought Max had snapped.
"Anyways, Roden ran into Manda and me, and we went searching for you together. Lucky me. My chances for compensation opened wide up. So, I phoned in the situation the first chance I got, and, as if my luck couldn't get any better, I found you first.
"By the way, I want to thank you or Max or whoever it was, for leaving a trail right to the cabin. The white tissue idea was brilliant. Not obvious at first, and the wind knocked the pieces around a bit, but all in all, it got me to where I needed to go."
Ess turned a deeper red than she ever had before. The entire monolog was an unhappy revelation, but to find out that it was her 'breadcrumb trail' that attracted the enemy had to be the ultimate blow. Max had tried to save her, and in her lack of trust, she betrayed them both. It was her own fault that she was in the car with this evil man right now.
Then, a second thought hit her. "Manda. Where's Manda now?"
"She's back there with Roden. I'm sure they'll be fine. Eventually."
"Who's this Roden?"
"The esteemed Dr. Michael Roden? He's the man who is responsible for discovering you in the first place."
Suddenly, Ess recalled. Max had mentioned a Mike Roden. He was Max's friend, and the gentleman who approached her a couple of weeks ago in the restaurant about the artwork. So, he had tried to find Max? To stop him from making the big mistake of kidnapping her? Apparently, he truly cared about Max; and Manda was with him now. Hopefully, he'd keep her safe. With any luck, they would keep trying to find Max, and free him from his bonds. Then, Max said he would come for her.
She relied completely on that hope now.
* * *
Roden peeked into the cabin's front window. It took a few seconds to adjust his eyes to the interior's dimness, but eventually objects began to appear into view. He saw various items sprawled on top of the small kitchenette, and blankets strung across the couch, but no sign of a person present. Reluctantly, he moved his eyes down to scan the floor.
And there he lay. Not a dead body, but a very much alive Max struggling on the floor. Roden ran for the door, and threw it open. "Max!"
"Mike?" Max looked bewildered, but not unhappy to see his friend.
Not long before Roden's arrival, Max had finally freed his hands from the clothesline. Then, he had begun struggling with his feet. He managed to stand up at one point, intent on finding his knife to finish the job. Much to his dismay, he lost his balance while trying to hop to the kitchenette counter and fell again to the floor, but not before smacking his forehead on the metal edge of the counter. That made head injury number three for the weekend. He was sure to develop brain damage if he kept it up.
After hitting his head, Max lay on the floor in a daze for several minutes until he came to. As he began to rise for his second attempt, his friend made his entrance. Roden managed to retrieve the knife and cut Max's feet loose; but when he helped Max up and walked him over to the couch, Max refused to sit.
"No. No time for that. We have to go after Ess." He exclaimed. "Martin Voletti has her, and he's going to take her to Angoli."
Manda, who had watched from the doorway in silence thus far, finally spoke, "What? What about Martin? What's going on? Why did he take Essy?" She was a mixture of anger and panic.
Max looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. He was surprised at her presence. "You're Esther's friend."
"Yes, I am. And I want her back. Why the hell did you take her? And where the hell is she now?" If Roden wasn't between her and Max, she would most likely have pounced on him, aiming for his throat.
"I'll fill you in on everything, but you need to listen while we're moving. We need to get back to the car. We don't have a moment to lose." As he stated this, he began searching through bags for his keys.
"No way. We're not going anywhere with you. You're a criminal. Just tell us what happened to Ess." It appeared that, as Manda's latest scruple diminished, she came around to her old, angry provoking self.
Max found his keys and grabbed his jacket, then headed out the door. "Suit yourself. I can't wait any longer."
"Wait, Max." Roden followed him out. "You can't go alone. We need to figure things out."
"No time for that."
"Max, he's got a gun."
Max stopped and turned to him. "You think I don't know that? Using a gun is not the worst of what Voletti or any of Angoli's men can do." He resumed his walking. "All the more reason to get Ess away from them immediately."
"Max. Wait, we're coming with you." Roden turned and called for Manda. She just stood at the door of the cabin glaring at them with her arms crossed over her chest in the usual position. "Fine. Stay here then. I'm going with Max. I'll swing around and get you when it's over." If I'm still alive, he thought.
Just as Roden suspected she would, Manda grunted in aggravation and stomped out of the cabin. She was not happy about her company, but it had to be better than being alone in the middle of the wilderness.
"Alright, we are on our way to the car now. So, please Max, tell me what is going on." Roden pleaded, and Max relented.
After Max filled them in on what he knew and what happened up until the point that Roden and Manda had found him in the cabin, Roden reiterated with his side of the story. Manda, ever obligingly at odds, supplied details and corrected Roden wherever she saw fit.
"So you're saying you led Martin Voletti here?" That was Max's way of summing Roden's story up, and he didn't look very thrilled about it.
"Max, I'm telling you again, I didn't know he works for Marcus Angoli." Roden defended. "Seriously." Max seemed very unaccepting of this excuse. "How was I to know that the guy having dinner with Manda - a woman who is Ess's friend by the way - works for Angoli?"
"Hey," Manda looked offended, "I didn't know, either. He seemed so charming, too. Unlike any of the other guys I've met lately. How was I to know it was too good to be true? You men are all the same. You all have an agenda. Can't anyone be genuine anymore?"
Max and Roden ignored her comments, as they had been doing since they'd begun heading towards the car. Roden noticed the Jetta now in view. Max must have noticed as well, because he picked up his pace.
Manda only noticed that they were not listening to her. This apparently made her think of a new topic of conversation. "Well, at least I didn't make some sort of sadistic shrine. I mean really, we all know that you are obsessed with Ess, but a shrine in your apartment? Don't you think that is a bit overboard? Creepy, maybe?"
"What?" Max looked confused and offended. "I don't have a shrine."
"You mean the pictures and statues in your closet aren't some kind of dedication to Ess? Something you get off on?"
"Manda - " Roden tried to warn.
"Oh, my god. That?" Her pushing had the desired effect. Max paled, and new frustration began to show on his already tense features. "That is not what you think it is."
"Oh, really?" Manda had a knack for adding fuel to the fire. "What other explanation could you possibly have
for a closet collection full of 'Esther art'? Paintings, drawings, statues?"
Max became very defensive. "It's not a collection. Some of them were preliminaries, but most of them were errors. Works that I made mistakes on. Like that statue: I chipped half the ear off. I miss-stroked on some of the paintings and used the wrong colors on others. Artists do make mistakes on occasion, you know. I just couldn't bare to throw them away when that happened." Max looked dejected at the thought. "I stored them so that I could enjoy them if no one else would."
"Oh, please." Manda egged him on. "I saw the way you had it set up. Clearly it was a shrine to your crazy fixation for Ess. Do you even have any idea what a nut job you are?"
"Manda!" Roden felt himself getting truly irritated at her provoking words.