by Nicole Casey
“Oh well the bus was early,” she murmured, paying little attention to me as she flicked through the papers in her hand. “So yeah, I suppose I am a little bit early. The post is early too... or at least one letter.”
As she handed it to me, I quickly stuffed it into my pocket not wanting to look at it in front of anyone else. I knew it was going to be from the loan shark. He liked to deliver everything by hand so I’d really get the sense of threat deep in my chest, and it worked.
Every. Single. Time.
“Oh yeah, right thanks, well I’m going to...” I pointed to my office making my meaning clear.
“Sure, I will get the kettle on.”
As soon as the door was closed behind me, I grabbed the envelope to take a look at it with that intense sense of dread sitting in my chest.
This was a terrible mess, and even worse now that I knew my father wouldn’t help me, but I couldn’t allow myself to get too wrapped up in panic. Anxiety wouldn’t solve this. I needed a practical solution to help me. I just needed to calm down for long enough to find it, and that was all.
I ripped the envelope open quietly and gently, as if that would make the contents of the letter less harsh, and my nervous eyes glanced down to read the words in front of me.
‘Dear Mr. Carnn,
This letter may come as a surprise to you, but your son is in a lot of trouble with me. He owes me a lot of money which he refuses to pay.’
Was this man now getting my father involved? What an idiot, and why the hell did he leave the letter at my place of work for me to find? That seemed like a very odd decision. It was never going to make it to my father if I had hold of it.
‘I have your son now. I kidnapped him to get what I need – I’m sure that you understand the need for it – so I’m hoping that you will pay to release him. No more than what he owes me… I’m not an unreasonable man. Then he can transfer his debt onto you.’
There was a number at the bottom, one for my father to ring, which only confused me further. He didn’t have me, no one did, I was sitting right here for crying out loud. The nameless asshole loan shark must have known that I would read this first and that it wouldn’t work. It had to be a mind game, a threat of what was to come. Just a way to freak me out.
“Here you go.” I dropped the letter in shock as Tara entered the room with my steaming mug of coffee. “Are you okay?”
“You seem to be asking me that a lot these days.” I smiled thinly at her in reply. “But yes, I’m alright. Thank you.”
Tara talked to me about work. She ran through the itinerary of the day with me, but I couldn’t hear a word that she said. I could see her lips moving but my mind was buzzing, trying to work out what had happened. I probably looked even paler to her than I did before, but this time she didn’t comment on it.
What the hell is happening now? What do I do? Why is everything such a mess?
Once she left me alone, I read the letter, over and over again, trying to find the hidden meaning between the lines, but there didn’t seem to be anything there. It seemed straightforward, as if it was a genuine ransom note. But the loan shark didn’t have me, so if he did have someone, then who the hell was it?
***
The end of the day couldn’t come fast enough, because I couldn’t focus on anything else, particularly not work. Everyone else was on a high, still enjoying the warmth of us being on top for a while, but I couldn’t enjoy even for a second. The letter was ripping my chest apart piece by piece.
As I watched my staff members filtering out of the building, I let out a deep breath that I hadn’t even realized that I was holding. They were all in the middle of something that they didn’t even know about, and that was awful. All I wanted was for their jobs to be safe, and at every turn I made things worse. I had to be the worst boss in history for this. If any of them found out, they would hate me forever, whatever my intentions.
I paced my office, trying to work out what was next for me. A glint of white caught my eye, sticking out from underneath the desk. I picked it up with a shaky heart, freaking out that it might be yet another note, a clue in the horrible trail I was being sent along, but it wasn’t. It was just one of my loan shark bills.
I wanted to be relieved in the knowledge that there wasn’t anything else, but I was still unsettled. After all, this was tucked away in the bottom of one of my drawers, which meant someone had been through all of my personal belongings. I only had to pull out one of my drawers to see that nothing was in order.
Everything in my life was chaos, but I knew exactly where it all was. Now, everything was everywhere, and that created panic within me.
I wasn’t totally sure what was going on now, but I knew that this had all jumped up a notch.
Something was going on.
Either the loan shark really did have someone that he assumed was me, or it was an intensified threat. Either way, I needed to find out.
I clutched my cell phone tightly between my fingers and stared at the number on the note, wondering what I could do. Did I ring him and call him out on being a liar, or did I act like my father to work out what his intentions were? If only I hadn’t ruled out calling the cops as an option, their help could’ve gone a long way right about now.
Still, I’d gotten into this mess all by myself, without the help of anyone else. It only made sense that I got out of it alone, too. It was high time to stop being a coward and to start taking action. There was a large chance that someone’s life depended on it.
Jamie
“Where is this place?”
Nothing.
“What’s going on here?”
Still nothing.
“Why have you brought me here?”
More silence than I could bear.
“Look, I understand that you obviously have a beef with someone, but it isn’t me. I don’t know you. I haven’t got anything against you. I haven’t done anything to deserve this...”
This was how we’d been going on for hours, ever since I’d come around to find myself in what could only be described as a basement in someone’s home, or maybe a rundown old house since it didn’t look like the sort of place that had been well taken care of. The rafters were hanging down in places, the wood rotten and smelling of damp, and the floor had a lot of flood damage to it.
The man glared at me, his eyes so dark that they were almost black, and he ran a hand over his shaved head. I did my best not to stare at the massive scar running down his face but it wasn’t easy. It terrified me to think about where he might’ve gotten it from. Clearly, he was someone much more accustomed to violence than me. If it came down to it, I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
“Okay, so is this to do with the data leak?” Maybe it was me the guy was after, I’d jumped to the conclusion that it was a case of mistaken identity way too quickly. “Because if that’s the case then I can assure you that I have my best men working on it and the issue will be resolved very quickly...”
“Shut it,” he growled, finally giving me a response. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yeah, that figured. He didn’t seem like a man who would hire Spark Enterprises for all of his marketing needs.
“Is this because I broke into the office, because in my defense, Ashton did it first.”
“I said shut up, Ashton.”
Huh? This man thought I was Ashton? I considered the letter I stumbled across, the one with a terrifying amount of debt upon it, and all of a sudden everything became clearer.
I wasn’t totally sure of the finer details, but it seemed that Ashton had gotten involved with some bad people, for inexplicable financial reasons, and that had led to this man kidnapping me, thinking I was him.
“I’m not Ashton,” I told him firmly. “I look nothing like him. He has blond hair, brown eyes, a thinner face than me.” This wasn’t getting any reaction, which concerned me greatly, so I switched to another topic. “I don’t like Ashton either, I was in his office to get revenge on h
im. Trust me, you have the wrong person, but I’m more than willing to do whatever you need.”
The man yanked a gun out of his pocket and flung it into my face, causing my lips to zip shut rapidly.
This was bad, really bad, and the worst part of it was it’d be a while before anyone noticed me gone. I lived alone, I didn’t spend all my time socializing, and I’d told Gio that I’d be out of the office for a while.
The way that things were going, I’d be murdered by the time anyone noticed me missing.
“Just keep your mouth shut,” the man threatened, before moving his body into a sitting position. “You better just hope that someone gives a shit about you, Carnn, or you’re gonna be in the basement for a very long time.”
“But I’m not...” I started, but my words were completely stolen from me.
“You shouldn’t borrow what you can’t pay back, crappy investments or not. I warned you of that the first time you approached me. You brought all of this mess on yourself.”
“So, you must’ve met me then,” I called out to his back. “You know that I’m not him.”
“I meet a lot of people,” he replied, before slamming the door closed with a bang, plunging me into near darkness. As the lock closed, any hope went with it.
This room was perfect for a kidnapping scenario, considering the door was bolted shut, and there was only one window, which was nowhere near big enough for a human to squeeze through. I didn’t even bother to try and look through it since it was so thick with dust that I wouldn’t have been able to see anything anyway.
No, my focus was within the room, I wanted to find something to either help me escape – I wasn’t totally ready to give up on that dream just yet – or to defend myself. I was in a terrible position here; he had a gun and I had nothing except my innocence. I didn’t want to die just because I was useless.
Damn Ashton, I thought angrily to myself. How dare he get me mixed up in his business!
I mean, sure I felt bad for him; it must’ve been hard to get into such a deep hole of debt, but that was no excuse to drag me into it. I hadn’t ever done anything to him, except beat him in business. How was that fair? If only we’d continued down the friendship path that we started upon, how different things could’ve been now.
***
“Stand up.” I felt a boot in my side that dragged me out of my half sleeping state. I wanted to stay alert in this hell, but I was so damn tired and I had a head injury that wasn’t getting any better no matter how much time passed. “I said, stand up.”
“Wha... why?” I gasped desperately, wanting to remain exactly where I was. I hated it here, but moving anywhere felt dangerous and scary. “Where am I going?”
“That isn’t any of your concern. Just stand up and do what I’ve told you. I’m the one with the gun, after all.” I was pissing him off, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for anger.
I hadn’t been lucky enough to find a weapon in this trap. It seemed that this man was one step ahead of me. To be fair, he was much more used to the kidnapping game than me. This was my first – and hopefully last, with a positive outcome – time.
“Right, okay,” I muttered, succumbing a bit pitifully to be honest.
Shadows appeared in the doorframe, meaning it was no longer just me and scar face, and it didn’t take a genius to work out that these new guests weren’t here to help me. I was either going to die, or leaving for some sort of... well, I wasn’t totally sure what else, I just had to hope it was that option.
Before I got to examine the faces of any of the other people, something was flung over my head – a hessian sack, judging by the smell of it – blocking my view of the world completely. I wasn’t good at being out of control, an emotion that had only grown as I worked on my own business, but I really didn’t have any choice. It was that or die, and I was really trying my hardest to stay alive...
Ashton
Ring, ring... Ring, ring... Ring, ring...
God, you’d think if this guy was waiting for my dad to call him, he would’ve answered right away, but he was leaving me hanging for far too long.
I couldn’t help but wonder if this was all just another part of his sick, twisted game. Maybe he knew that the entire time I was waiting I would be slowly talking myself out of it.
Ring, ring... Ring, ring... Ring, ring...
Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I shouldn’t have bothered...
“Yes?” his gruff voice struck ice-cold fear right into my heart. It made me feel like I was walking right into his trap.
“I erm... got your message.” I wanted to convey my father, and his confidence that bordered on arrogance, but I couldn’t quite seem to manage it. I sounded scared and silly, like a little boy much younger than I actually was.
“Yes, Mr. Carrn. I have your son here.” Either he really did have someone that he thought was me, or he knew that I’d try to play him. I gripped the phone so tightly that it pressed hard into my ear, undoubtedly leaving a red mark behind. “I’m sure you’ve heard about his money troubles recently?”
“Er, no,” I decided to lie as I rode this out, just as an extra cover up. I had only just told my dad after all, so this was plausible. “Please, enlighten me.”
“Well he owes me seventy-five thousand, eight hundred and ninety-three dollars.” Hearing it declared in such a cold way made me feel sick. I knew how much the amount was, but to hear it thrown at me still scared me all the same. How had I allowed this to happen? Maybe my father was right, and I wasn’t cut out for business. “And as I’m sure you can imagine, I would like my money. I have asked him in many different ways but have had no luck, so I’m sure you understand why I’ve had to go to more extreme measures.”
I’ve kept up with the payments you originally set, I wanted to scream, it’s not my fault you keep switching things up. I’ve tried, I really have...
“Oh I’m sure that must be very frustrating,” I replied through gritted teeth instead. “I would like to do anything that I can to help.”
“I’m very happy to hear it. I think we should arrange a meeting, don’t you? Do an exchange of sorts.”
“My son, for the money?” I hadn’t yet worked out how I’d pull this off, but I needed to make it work somehow. The last thing I ever wanted was for anyone to get hurt for my wrongdoing.
“Sounds fair, does it not? I’m only asking for what’s owed after all.”
“Sounds fair.” My head fell into my hands, hopelessness washed over me. If I had the money, I wouldn’t be in this position, so I wasn’t really sure why I was agreeing to something that couldn’t ever happen. Still I couldn’t exactly leave someone there in my place. I would just have to find a way to extend the blagging into real life. “So where and what time?”
“Eleven PM, by the old dance hall. Don’t be late.”
With that, he was gone, leaving me alone stewing in my thoughts. Somehow I needed to convince the loan shark that I had all the money ready for him, until he released whoever he had in my place. Then, once all of that was done, I needed to try and escape with my life intact, which would be the hardest job of them all.
***
Time ticked past, way too slowly as I sat in my car outside the old dance club waiting. In my desperation not to be late, I’d arrived far too early and now I had far too much time to sit here and drive myself insane.
I clutched onto the briefcase so tightly that my knuckles had gone completely white, but I couldn’t let go of it for even a second. I feared that the second I did, I would lose confidence in myself completely. This plan was already gossamer-thin, I didn’t want to make it worse by letting go of the one tiny thread I had left.
Somehow I needed to convince this man that I had all the money in here, and then I needed to get away. At least if one of those things happened, me and the mystery person in my place wouldn’t both have to die. It was an abstract thing really, trying to face the prospect of my own death without falling apart, so I chose to only focus on the whole sav
ing someone’s life point.
Tick, tick, tick.
I wanted to slam my fist into the clock on the dashboard of my car, because I felt like it was taunting me, trying to drive me insane. It was reminding me that any minute now I would be thrown into the lion pit, and any minute now I would probably end up dead because of that.
I tried to imagine how my father would feel to know I had died. Would he blame himself for not helping me, or would he think that I brought it all on myself? Probably the latter. I felt like my days of sympathy from him were long gone...
A roar of car engines grabbed my attention from the morose images of my funeral careering through my mind. I twisted in my seat, desperately hoping that it wouldn’t be him, that he’d forgotten all about it or that something had happened to screw up his mission, but it seemed that I was wrong. The convoy of vans that arrived, circling my crappy little beat up car, had to belong to that man, which meant that any minute now this was all going to begin.
Dear Lord, I inadvertently started praying in my mind for the first time in my life, don’t let me die out here. Please, help me somehow. I know that I’m asking the impossible, but... please?
The loan shark, the man that I knew by face but not name, slid out from the car and stood with his shoulders slung back and his arms folded across his chest. The giant smirk on his lips meant that he thought he’d won, and he knew that he finally had everything that he wanted.
It was my turn to get out of the car. But why couldn’t I do it? My legs seemed firmly stuck under the steering wheel, my arms locked into one place, and my heart stiffened with terror. I might have stayed that way, if another man hadn’t thrown the prisoner forwards into the street, reminding me that it wasn’t just my life at stake here. Someone had accidentally got caught up because of me, and it was up to me to make it right.