Caged

by Shanna Ehrlich

  His intimidation tactic worked. The fight in her eyes was still there, but a little bit of fear crept in.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Well since I know everything about you already; I’m really good at doing my homework by the way. Mom Vivian, dad Roberto, two siblings, one niece, yadda yadda. I could go all day. Addresses, phone numbers, you name it, but I don’t think I really need to recite it all. I guess the only thing left I really want to know is um, oh yeah, who the fuck is your source?” he yelled out at her. “Who’s been feeding you all this information that you felt you could go live with on CNN and trash the Emmo’s reputation?”

  “You can threaten me all you want, but I’m not telling you my source.”

  “Your bravery is pointless Ms. Cruz. If you don’t tell, I have no reason to keep you alive.”

  “No. I know how this works. If I tell you, then you have no reason to keep me alive. I’m not stupid. You’ll just kill us both.”

  “You see, that’s where you’re wrong. Look, I’m going to be honest with you. Your source dies. I can’t have anyone spreading lies about us, especially since I don’t know his motive, but if you tell me his name now, I’ll go easy on him. A bullet to the back of the head. It’ll be quick. He’ll never see it coming.”

  “And what about me? Are you going to kill me quick too?”

  “No. I have one stipulation for you to agree to and you walk. It’s as easy as that.”

  “What do I need to agree to?”

  “I need his name first. Then we’ll talk.”

  Kari looked around the room, everywhere, but at the camera. Braxton knew what her answer would be. She was going to continue to play the upstanding journalist card. “Please don’t make me give you his name. I won’t do it. All I can tell you is it’s someone from Attica.”

  “Well that’s something, but not good enough. Are you telling me you’re prepared to die for a fucking prisoner who’s been filling you in with lies? He doesn’t care about you. You’re just a means to an end for him. As soon as you’re gone he’ll move on to a new reporter, anyone to help him take us down.”

  “That’s not true. He doesn’t want to take you down. He’s only giving me the information because I’m.” She looked away again, tears forming in her eyes.

  “You’re what?”

  She shook her head, looking down at her lap.

  “She’s sleeping with him,” B stated and Kari jerked her head back up.

  “Is that true?” he asked.

  She nodded, embarrassed.

  “Wow. I may have underestimated you. I’ve had you pegged all wrong. You’re a little hustler. So I guess I can safely assume he’s not a prisoner. That’s good. One of the guards maybe?”

  She shook her head yes.

  “She’s lying,” said B and Braxton muted the phone.

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. She relaxed. Right when you asked if it was a guard. She was relieved she didn’t have to tell you. That’s my professional opinion. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.”

  Braxton unmuted the phone. “I don’t stand for lying Ms. Cruz. Ever. If this guy’s so important you want to die for him, so be it. Benny. You’re up.”

  Benny walked toward her, smug and satisfied.

  “Neck and below,” he told him, still hoping she’d give in. “You’re in control Kari. You want to live, all you have to do is tell me what I want to know.”

  “No no no,” she protested as Benny pulled his fist back, ready to punch.

  He halted his movements at her protests and looked back toward the camera, waiting for Braxton’s signal.

  “You don’t understand. I don’t care about him. I just can’t lose this story. That’s why I don’t want to tell you. It’s going to make my career. Please don’t make me tell you.”

  “Here’s how I see it. You don’t have many options here. You either tell me his name and lose the story or you don’t tell me his name and lose your life and I’m pretty sure that encompasses the story as well. It’s up to you. However, there is one other option. What if I promise you a different story? One from my perspective. Would that make your decision easier?”

  Her eyes suddenly lit up. He could see the fire coming back to life. “What are you saying? You’re going to be my source?”

  “You have five seconds to make your decision.”

  “Fine, I didn’t want to be sleeping with a man thirty years older than me anyways. Dan Arts,” she blurted.

  “The Warden?”

  “Ew,” B cringed. “Guess you really will do anything for the story.”

  Kari couldn’t see her, but gave her a dirty look none the less.

  Braxton chuckled under his breath and playfully smacked her thigh. “Behave,” he whispered. “From now on, I am your only source,” he told Kari. “You want a story, you’re getting it from me. No one else. Is that clear?”

  “Yes. Crystal. Can I go now?”

  “No,” he heard B state beside him. “There’s one more thing.”

  He had no clue what she was going to say. In his mind this was a done deal. Kari was eating out of the palm of his hand, but he let B continue, he’d promised as much.

  “Since you’re working for us now, it’s only fair we pay you.”

  What the fuck? Where was she going with this?

  “How about one hundred grand? That’s more than you make in a year, right? I figure that will hold us over for a bit.”

  Braxton could see each and every one of his men drop their jaw in shock. She was so fucking dead. He wanted to interrupt right then and there, take back what she just offered, but it was too late. He had no choice but to stand by and let it happen. If he stepped in, it would only make him look like an idiot who let his dumb as fuck girlfriend attempt to play mobster for a night.

  “So you’re going to let me live, give me a story and a hundred thousand dollars? What’s the catch?”

  “There’s no catch,” Braxton jumped in, worried to hear what ridiculous notion B might say next. “You keep airing the stories and we’ll keep paying you. It’s as easy as that. Do we have an understanding?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Benny, please make sure Ms. Cruz gets home safe. And Ms. Cruz, if you tell a single soul about our deal I’ll have every man in my arsenal rape you seven ways from Sunday before I slit your fucking throat.”

  Brax hung up the phone and set it down on the arm of the couch. He was brooding and angry, just how she liked him. The call acting as a form of foreplay, she wanted to jump on him. Wanted to rip his clothes off and feel how truly powerful he could be. Reaching for his shirt she tried to pull it off, but he gripped her wrist and used it to force her away, down to the ground.

  “Get on your knees,” he told her, demanding and domineering, but she didn’t want to just blow him like they talked about. She wanted him writhing and naked on top of her.

  “No Brax. I need you inside me. Do you know how hot that was? Seeing you like that?” She moved to stand but he took hold of both shoulders, keeping her grounded.

  “I said get on your fucking knees,” he yelled, holding her in place while he unzipped his pants.

  Not wasting any time, he pulled himself out and forced her mouth on to him, holding her by the neck; going deeper than she could take. She gagged. Tried to push away, but he wasn’t letting her up.

  “You want to spend my money, you’re going to fucking earn it.”

  Excuse me? Did he really just say that to her? The mood was killed. She pushed from him again, but he wouldn’t relent.

  “I told you to be careful what you say and you took that to mean, throw away a hundred thousand dollars. Are you fucking kidding me?”

  Tears streamed down her face as he moved her head faster, driving in deeper. There was nothing she could do to stop him, and he continued the assault while simultaneously going on with his rant.

  “I gave you power and again you threw it in my fucking face. Just like in the club, in the
fucking park. When are you ever going to learn? I know you can’t be this goddamn stupid.”

  On that note he paused his movements, held her head in place while he groaned and came down the back of her throat, just as he said he would. It was all Annie could do to not throw up all over him. He deserved so much worse.

  He finally released his grip on her hair and Annie wasted no time pushing him away, pressed her hands against his chest and shoved as hard as she could. She stood with haste, turning on the light and dressing herself as quick as possible, not caring to check if the clothes were even right side out. She just wanted to get away from him.

  “What are you doing baby? I’m not mad anymore. You don’t need to leave.”

  “Oh, you’re not mad? You’re not mad?” she asked again, getting louder. “Well thank god for that.”

  “Stop it. Don’t be like that. You just pissed me off. You know what you did was stupid.”

  Without thinking Annie grabbed a coffee cup off her desk and threw it at him, missing his head by mere inches.

  “Jesus B, what the fuck,” he yelled, standing from the couch.

  “Fuck you. I did it to protect you and your stupid gang. It makes more sense to have her happy than scared, and this way, no one else can offer her a better deal because she’s already getting plenty from you. You can’t possibly think you’re the only person who would come up with the idea to use the naïve little reporter to their advantage. Huh Brax? Any other gangs out there who might think this is the perfect way to bring you down? She’s already on the right track. It wouldn’t have taken much. Now she’s loyal to you. You’re fucking welcome.”

  Brax didn’t know what to say and Annie wasn’t about to give him time to let him think of something.

  “You just called me a whore and treated me like one. I’m fucking done. Hope I was worth the hundred thousand dollars.” Grabbing her keys off the desk she let the door slam behind her. Fucking asshole.

  Twenty

  Keith lounged on the sofa in Carter’s overbearing living room. The house was more like a mansion and he had come to think of it as his home away from home he’d been spending so much time there. Days later he was still upset with Annabel for skipping their dinner, and Carter’s home was like his own little sanctuary, a place he could go and not have to deal with her. When she called to cancel on their dinner, he knew she was lying, called her out on her bullshit excuse of having to work late, but she didn’t back down. After they hung up he expected her to call back and change her mind. She didn’t. All throughout dinner he hoped she would make a surprise appearance. She didn’t. The longer he sat there, crossing his fingers she’d show, the more upset he became. He came home from dinner and she was still “working”. He waited up for an hour for her to come home, tell him she was sorry, but the apology never came, neither did she. He slept in the guest room that night. Found out the next day she went out with Trevor after work and almost blew a gasket. To say things were bad between them from there on out would be an understatement. He kept his distance and so did she.

  The transmission of Jason’s audio came through loud and clear. He was watching a movie, not one Keith recognized, but then again, he wasn’t well versed in the film industry. He barely had time to watch TV never mind a movie, but it’s what Jason seemed to do all day. Then again, if Keith was accused of murder, he’d probably hide in the house watching movies all day long too.

  He half way listen to the audio while simultaneously researching heroin on the computer resting on his lap. He wanted to find out if there were any false positive cases in the past when testing for heroin. The idea took form after Carter left his house last weekend; starting off as a little blip and then growing exponentially as the days passed and he thought about it more and more. He wanted to ask someone, wanted to call a doctor and find out if bagels really can make you show up positive for opiates on a drug test, because if that could happen, what else can make you test positive? It seemed like an asinine thought. The doctors would have done a thorough test. There’s no way a mistake that profoundly stupid could have been made, but Keith couldn’t let it go. He knew he was grasping at straws, but it was something he needed to see through.

  “Find anything yet?” Carter asked from across the room, propped on a second couch and using his laptop as well.

  “Not really, but it seems you were right to be paranoid about the bagels. Poppy seeds can test positive for opiates for up to two days after consumption.”

  “You didn’t believe me?”

  “I just always thought it was an old wives’ tale. Like sucking on a penny to not blow as high on a breathalyzer.”

  “What?” Carter ask amused. “I’ve never heard of that one. Why would that work?”

  “I don’t know. Something about the copper. It neutralizes the scent of the alcohol.”

  “That’s the stupidest fucking think I’ve ever heard. Pennies aren’t even made out of copper.”

  “No?”

  “No. Like maybe three percent is copper. The rest is zinc.”

  “Huh.”

  “You’ve tried that before haven’t you?” Carter laughed out loud.

  Keith smirked, but said nothing, he wasn’t about to admit guilt and state the obvious. He may not have been the brightest tool in the shed back in the day. He blamed it on his frat brothers. Always filling his head with stupid shit.

  Continuing to skim silently down the webpage, he looked for something more specific to his theory. He didn’t find much, but he did learn it was at least a possibility. Almost every site he visited claimed that the tests could be misinterpreted if not done by a professional, but surely the county jail was using a professional.

  “You’re thinking too hard over there Nichols. Just call a doctor on Monday. Get a second opinion on the results. Do a hair test if you need to. Doesn’t drug use stay in the hair for like six months or something?”

  “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll call someone on Monday. I was just trying to be productive. Listening to Jason these past few days has gotten pretty tedious.”

  “I told you. You were the one who insisted on being here.”

  “Well I just thought we’d hear something by now. It’s almost been a week. If he was cheating on Melanie wouldn’t the girl have made her appearance already?”

  Carter shrugged. “Maybe not. Maybe they broke up.”

  Groaning he leaned back on the couch, closing his lap top. “I need a drink. You want one?”

  It was a stupid thing to ask. Carter always wanted a drink. He didn’t care if it was a Friday afternoon or a Tuesday morning. Keith found that out first hand. He helped himself to the kitchen were there was a keg on tap and a fancy spout mounted directly into the granite countertop like an extra faucet.

  After pouring two cups he walked back to the living room to hear the audio was no longer picking up the TV. It was silent.

  “Doorbell just rang,” Carter told him while taking one of the beers.

  Keith sat back down and they both listened intently.

  “Oh. Hey. What are you doing here?” Jason asked.

  “You’ve been ignoring my calls,” a male voice answered. “I wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Is that it? You’re not even going to invite me in?”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “Why?”

  “You know why.”

  Keith sat at the edge of the couch trying to make sense of what he was hearing. Who was this guy at the door? Jason sounded harsh toward him, but he definitely knew who he was. This guy wasn’t just some acquaintance, which made Keith jump on board with the same question he asked. Why couldn’t he go inside? What happened between them to make Jason so upset?

  “Fuck you Jason. I’m the only one standing by you right now. The only one. It wasn’t even like that tonight. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. Maybe hang out like we used to.”

  “Like we used to? What’s tha
t supposed to mean? Like when we were in high school and would sit around getting drunk together? Or like when we spent all of freshmen year sneaking out to the roof so we wouldn’t get caught in your dorm room? Or how about every time I snuck out on Melanie to go with you? I lied to her. So many fucking times. I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to lose her and now she’s dead. She’s fucking dead.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Neither do I. That’s why I didn’t answer your calls. I don’t think I can do this anymore Chris.”

  Chris. Of course. He was Jason’s best friend. The first person Keith and Carter interviewed to find out the details of the party. The guys stood quiet for a moment, or so it seemed from the lack of audio, and Keith spent the silence wondering what exactly it was they couldn’t do anymore. What kind of trouble had they been getting into before this whole thing with Melanie? Some sort of commotion happened, Keith couldn’t make it out, but then the distinct noise of the door slamming sounded through loud and clear.

  “Can’t do what anymore?” Chris yelled and more shuffling took place. It sounded like a body or a fist slammed into one of the walls and Keith wondered for a moment if they should do something, but what could they do? They were miles away from his house and calling the police was certainly out of the question. “You think you’re the only one having a hard time with this? It’s been four years Jason. Four! When are you going to just admit it? She’s not here anymore and I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry, but that doesn’t change anything. You’re not going to push me away. Not this time.”

  Push him away? Keith mouthed to Carter like the guys might somehow over hear. He didn’t understand what was happening and listened closer, trying to make out what was now going on. More rustling, moving. It almost sounded like a wrestling match. Something was knocked over, it clanged to the floor. Keith took a sip of his beer, still in complete confusion.

  “Ugh.”

  It was a distinct groan. Almost a sound of pain, but not quite there. Another one followed and then another. Carter stood from the couch wide eyed, apparently catching on faster than he did. There were more groans and then a very audible sound of pleasure. A loud and clear moan. Keith spewed his sip of beer all over Carter’s coffee table.