The Collar of Sacrifice

  “Amelia?”

  “Alexander? Are you okay?”

  “Amelia, listen to me carefully. I’ll be at your house in thirty minutes. Do not, and I repeat, do not open the door to anyone but me.”

  “What‘s going on?”

  “Fuck!” he whispers, his voice inaudible, talking to himself. “Is it possible?”

  “Alexander. I’m still here! Why shouldn’t I open the door to anyone?”

  “Just don’t go anywhere and don’t do anything. I’ll be there soon.”

  And with that the line is dead.

  What the fuck just happened?

  “Mrs. Saunders?” I look towards the landing, hoping she’ll come out of the bedroom.

  “Yes, dear?”

  “Would you mind taking Michael and Jason to rugby training this morning? Something came up. I need to stay home.”

  “Yes, of course. Let me just get dressed and we’ll go.”

  “Michael! Jason! Better hurry up!”

  “We’re ready, aunt Lia!” they shout from upstairs.

  Within the next ten minutes Mrs. Saunders and the boys are out of the house and I’m left alone, sipping on my now cold coffee and waiting for Alexander. I’m holding the miniscule object in my hand, completely confused.

  ~

  “Amelia!”

  “Wh-what?” I’m jolted instantly. It seems like Alexander is next to me but he can’t be. I peek into the hallway and I see he’s lifted the flap of the postal box, staring at me through it.

  “Open up, Amelia!”

  “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” I run to open the door. “Will you tell me what’s going on?”

  While I quickly close the door he rushes past me and heads straight for the study. “Amelia, where is it? Where?”

  “It’s…”

  His eyes land on the little red airplane placed on the coffee table, with its wings burned at the edges. He recognizes it immediately. Those were the bumpers of the car. Kneeling down next to the table, he starts stroking it gently and whispers words I barely hear.

  “How did I miss it?” “Oh, mom..” “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  “Alexander, what the fuck is going on?”

  He shifts his focus to me and, somberly, stands up, regarding me.

  “Where is it?”

  “Where is what?”

  “What you found. What you told me about.”

  “Alexander, you’re scaring me. Please tell me what’s going on.”

  “Amelia, don’t play around. Where is it?”

  “Oh, this?” I realize what he really wants and pull the little card out from my pocket. He takes it in his hand and observes it suspiciously.

  “What’s that, Alexander?”

  He’s holding it in front of our faces and our eyes meet over it.

  “I have to go. I have something to sort out.”

  “I wish you’d tell me something... Anything!”

  “I’m sorry, Amelia. I have to go.” He rushes to the door.

  “Where?"

  “Keep your phone next to you.”

  Utterly confused, I see him going out and getting into Quinn's Range Rover.

  I watch the car disappear in the distance and once they’re out of my sight I step back, closing the door. As I turn the lock someone from outside kicks the door in, pushing me into the hallway backwards, where I fall to the ground. Terrified by what I see, I scream in shock. Two men dressed in balaclavas are wrestling me; one is holding my arms and my hair, his fingers tight enough to hurt my scalp and the other my legs.

  “Help! Wh-what are you doing? Help! HELP!”

  The fear inside of me somehow dissolves and my primal instinct kicks in, accompanied by adrenaline. I’m thrashing about, screaming in vain, hoping someone will hear me, scratching their hands, pulling their masks to get a glimpse of these assailants but they’re stronger. It’s all over in a flash, as if they’ve rehearsed it before; my limbs are held tight while one of them covers my mouth and nose with his ghastly hand and I …I can't breathe from the alcohol and acetone smell. My pulse is beating in my ears, blocking out all other sounds except my breathing, raggedly moving in and out of my mouth and nostrils, and I let out a stifled whimper before everything turns dark.

  ~

  The splitting headache does not help me open my eyes easily; I blink and squint a few times before I realize everything around me is dark anyway. I stare for a few moments, adjusting my eyes to whatever shade I see in front and, suddenly, a shot of adrenaline quickens my breath; I was kidnapped.

  Awake, I hear my pulse beating in my ears. Staring through a patch of material hanging loosely over my head, my sense of smell is attacked by something vile. It’s what woke me up. I’m lying on the floor, probably in a van or a big car. It has to be a van; there are no cars as large as these in England. We’re moving. There are two people with me, and I only know that because they’re arguing loudly.

  “… Shut up, Vlad, you stupid asshole!” I hear an enraged man talking. His voice comes from further up; I can only presume he’s driving.

  “What? Why am I an asshole, Mark?” Another voice, somewhat scared is coming from behind me.

  “Why couldn’t you figure it out sooner? Fucking fifteen years had to pass and then a woman figures it out! A woman!!” He snorts a few times, collecting phlegm, and spits somewhere; my stomach churns in disgust.

  “Well, what about you? If you are that clever, why didn’t you figure it out?”

  “Where did he find this one anyway? And how on earth she knew that the chip was in the car beats me. We had that car in our possession for a long time. We did all sorts of things to it but at the end declared it a piece of crap!”

  This has something to do with Alexander?

  “She’s awake.” My hurried breathing prompts Vlad, the man sitting next to me, to notice my distress.

  “Awake? What the fuck, man? Knock her out, now!”

  Suddenly, something hard makes a dull sound. Vibrations are resonating in my ears and even though the sting has not yet arrived, I know it’s coming. Within a second, a sharp pain shoots through my head with a delayed effect and a flash of light appears behind my eyes and I…I...

  ~

  With so much pain, it feels like I’m entering a parallel world where everyone's voice is magnified and all of the lights are incredibly bright around me, causing my headache. My body is restrained on a chair, my hands and legs tied, my mouth taped. I moan through the tape and hear myself; I’m awake, definitely not dreaming. There’s a light shining bright in my face, and I try to adjust my eyes to it, but it’s so damn hard.

  A shadow appears out of nowhere, in front of me. I squint, hoping to get a better look. Don't touch me…Ugh…I move my head away from their hand but I’m helpless. Whoever it is holds my chin between their thumb and index finger firm.

  “Tsk tsk ….poor little Amelia!”

  Oh god… I know that voice! I blink a few times; I must clear my vision sooner rather than later and, adjusting to it, panic mounts in my eyes. Her voice reverberates through my body and I tense visibly. As if I wasn’t scared enough, my heart jumps a few beats. It’s Madison, the witch! I always knew she was mad but this is verging on lunacy. Pulling my restraints forcefully, I want to attack. I want out of here!

  “Going somewhere, darling?”

  My screams are muffled under the tape. I’m erratically trying to set myself free and, after a while of pulling and thrashing about, I stop. Breathing heavily through my nose, I pant.

  “Did you have enough playing?” she laughs hysterically and comes closer to me. My hair is grabbed forcefully, my head tilted and her laughter becomes a whisper in my ear. “Oh, the fun we’re going to have after all this is over.”

  I haven’t felt so much hatred towards a living soul ever. I’m sick to my stomach and, without thinking of the consequences I slant my head as if I’m getting away from her face and then come back with full force, head-butting her sideways as hard as I can.
The thud I hear in my brain may have hurt me more than her as I hold tight and let the wave of pain wash over me. I think I’ll faint; I let my head hang down but not before I glance at her and see blood gushing from her nose and her, cursing me through her teeth.

  “Arrgghh! You…you whore!” She is holding her nose with both hands and looks at the bewildered and surprised men standing next to us, not sure what to do. “Give me a tissue… or something, you idiots!”

  They run around and find a piece of cloth that can be used as a tissue. She’s trying to stop the blood dripping on her clothes and all over the place, but it’s pointless. The floor looks like someone is making pattern with the blood drops falling at a high velocity. She holds the cloth over her nose and, the crazy bitch that she is, she starts laughing again.

  “I enjoyed that, Amelia. I hope there’s a lot more where that came from.”

  “Mmhmmm…” Frustrated, I scream inside. I may have one splitting headache but yes, I can hurt her again. If only my mouth were not taped shut.

  “I know, darling, I know.” She pets my hair while I jerk away under her hand. “The boss is coming any minute now and after that’s over, we’ll play. I promise.”

  I take a deep breath through my nostrils, preparing to release my last ounce of energy and grunt as loud as I can while thrashing about. Two men have to steady me on the chair because I nearly fall down.

  “Let her! Let her fall down! I bet she’ll love it, too!” Madison laughs.

  I’m still jerking against my restraints when everyone’s head turns toward the door. I, too, hear a noise outside, someone walking past it and talking loudly on the phone.

  “In here!”' Madison shouts nasally, still holding her nose.

  All of a sudden, the door opens dramatically and my attention is drawn to the Asian man, walking in with at least five or six goons in his posse. He looks evil, with tattoos covering most of his face.

  “What have you got?” he asks in a cold, dominant tone. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone bowed and shook in front of him. I look around and I’m right. The fear is palpable.

  “Mr. Yao, we acquired intel about the chip. Alexander’s girlfriend cracked open the toy and it was in there.” One of the buffoons that kidnapped me, Vlad I think his name was, is talking. “We found it!!” he exclaims and laughs in jubilation.

  The man, Mr. Yao, just looks at him impassively and opens up his palm, waiting.

  “Actually, we haven’t.” Nervous, Madison interjects. She gives Vlad a concerned look. Fuck, this Asian guy is scaring everyone. “Mr. Yao, we know where it is and we’ll find it by the end of today, I promise.”

  Without any emotion, Mr. Yao reaches in his suit jacket, as if reaching for a handkerchief, takes a gun out and to our horror, shoots Vlad, the man who gave him the wrong information, between his eyebrows. All this happens so fast that nobody has time to react.

  I…I freak. I’m breathing heavily through my nose, feeling the rush of adrenaline surging through my body. It’s unnatural how I can feel the air traveling down my windpipe and into my lungs.

  Murdered in cold blood.

  All that can be heard in the room now is me, heavily breathing. And I know everyone is petrified, not only me.

  “You have until midnight,” he says grimly. He then turns around and leaves, with the last person threateningly smiling before closing the door behind them.

  There is a moment’s silence in the room where we are; I’m staring at the door, purposely avoiding looking at Vlad’s dead eyes. I’m sure they’re doing the same thing too.

  “Stupid fucktard!” Madison suddenly yells. “That’s what you get for not keeping your mouth shut!” She curses under her breath and points to the body, “Mark, get him out of here.”

  She takes a gun from behind her, I never knew she had one, and before I’m aware of what’s happening I hear a thud as the handle collides with my head. Like an anchor dropping on me, excruciating pain splits through me fast as a lightning bolt. The force of the blow knocks me back, and, the room is spinning around so fast …making me queasy…

  CHAPTER 6

  Where am I? Wh-what’s going on? My lids are so heavy. Everything is distorted and blurry…and dark. I’m lying on a cold floor…if only I could remember how I got here.

  “Michael? Jason?” my voice echoes in the room. Where are my boys?

  I feel so weak; I struggle to sit up and, finally doing it, I put my head between my legs, trying to figure out how I ended up here. I’m cold. Actually, I’m freezing.

  There’s a funny pulse in my ears, and this splitting headache is not helping either.

  Suddenly, the realization hits me like a ton of bricks. It all comes back to me. Oh fucking god! Madison! She’s in on this. There was a man killed, and nobody did anything about it. I look around to see where I am but it’s dark. The light coming from the ceiling is the moon shining through a small window. What time is it? Did anyone see me being kidnapped? I’m so close to breaking down and sobbing but the fast beating of my heart reminds me of one thing. I’m an aunt before a victim. And I need to stay alive.

  I try to remember, Michael and Jason are with Mrs. Saunders – thank god for her. Will they notice I’m gone? Will they be looking for me? Why did they kidnap me if they knew that whatever they are looking for is with Alexander?

  I remember the distinct look in his eyes when he left with it. Did he know something like this was going to happen?

  “What the fuck is going on?” I whisper, holding my head in my hands, totally confused. “Alexander, who are you?” I see a wall around me collapsing, with nothing but the ocean on the other side. So much water coming forth, I’m drowning without anyone being able to save me. There’s nothing to stop it. Have I invested too much in someone I don’t know?

  The rug has been pulled out from under me and I don’t know what else to think. The feeling of anxiety sets in, in the form of my mother’s voice, “You rushed again, Amelia!” and it just won’t stop. Buzzing in my ears. “You don’t know him.”

  I lift my head and open my eyes, hoping to disengage from my thoughts. The moon is on my side tonight. Adjusted to the darkness, I see the room; I’m in some sort of cell, on one side there are ceiling to floor bars, covered with cardboard from the outside. There is a soft light coming through the few holes in them and if I keep still and listen, I can hear someone’s conversation. Right now only muffled sounds reach me.

  Slowly, without making a sound I approach the bars and peak through one of the holes. I see Madison, nervously smoking a cigarette, sitting next to one of the men who kidnapped me. The one who stayed alive; Mark, I think his name was.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure! I heard the conversation myself!”

  “When was this?”

  “A few days ago.”

  “And he said he’s coming to London?”

  “Yes, today. In fact,” he looks at his watch, “he should have landed by now.”

  “What the fuck is he doing in London?”

  “He’s after the chip, too, don’t you get it? Every fucking person on this planet is after that bloody chip!”

  “Is that what he wanted from Alexander? Did he say that?”

  “Of course not. He wanted to make up with him, to put the past behind them. He was very apologetic, he even said he loves him. What a weasel!”

  “You are talking about the Bill Reeves, right?”

  “Yes! That’s the guy; he’s in London.”

  Suddenly they sit up, tensing, as another person, someone I haven’t seen before, walks in and sits next to both of them on the brown, old sofa. He tangles his fingers in his hair.

  “What the fuck, Madison?” he says through his teeth, clearly agitated. “I thought you could do this!”

  “I can!”

  “Can you? Really?” Exasperated, he yells, “Vlad was my friend! He was like a brother to me! For fifteen years we’ve been dealing with Mr. Yao and he hasn’t died. One day! One fu
cking day I’m not here, I leave everything to you, and he ends up dead! God dammit, Madison!” Agitated, he stands up and paces back and forth.

  “Baby…”

  “DON’T baby me!!” he points his index finger at her. “I swear to god if you fuck up again …well actually, there’ll never be an again, because now we have up to midnight to get it! Or we all die!”

  “Trust me, I know Alexander. He'll do anything for the girl we have.”

  “Why are you so sure? He hasn’t cared for anyone since you killed his other girlfriend!! And if you remember, that didn’t help either!” He throws it in her face.

  “This one, he loves. I’ve seen it in his eyes.”

  “Fuck that! Mr. Yao is not a forgiving man. We need something else. You said his father’s here, right?” He turns to Mark. “Bring him in! The bastard must want one of them alive.” He stops and pauses, looking at Madison and Mark. “Let’s not fuck this up, guys, it’s been going on for years! Fifteen long fucking years!”

  I look on as he heads for the door, his voice fading in the distance. “Idiots! All idiots!!”

  “You fool, why couldn’t you figure it out sooner?” Madison says quietly, lighting up another cigarette.

  “What? Don’t pin this on me, Madison! We did all we could! Listened to every conversation, followed him everywhere, even got the bloody box! We read through Jack’s will, went through the photographs… and nothing! You see?” He picks up a piece of paper from the coffee table, pointing out something on it. “Even Jack White didn’t know where the chip was! All that fucking effort for nothing!” He scrunches up the paper and tosses it away. “You read it yourself, and you didn’t figure it out!”

  “Damn Alexander! He had it all this time! We could have got it years ago if we only knew.”

  Observing them talking in the distance through the hole, I notice the scrunched paper he tossed away is actually within my reach. I want that piece of paper! They’re immersed in conversation, talking with their backs to me and it’s like someone’s put a spotlight on it. I can’t think of anything else. I must read Jack’s will. It’s what made Alexander different. Tormented. Sorrowful.