Different

by Tony Butler

  “That’s amazing, Adam!” Rebecca’s voice brought him back and he looked at his hands – hands that appeared to be covered in bark. Reluctantly, he stepped away from the comfort of the tree and watched his hands slowly return to their normal colour.

  “Did my face change, too?” Adam asked, still amazed by this new ability that he possessed. He, unlike Jay, had kept his clothes on.

  “Yes, you were invisible except for your clothes,” Scott said. “But it’s weird because when I stepped over there to take a look at you from the side, it was even harder to see you. Your clothes and body didn’t show in profile at all. It’s as though you’d been absorbed into the trunk of the tree!”

  Adam shrugged and then he had a sudden, even stronger scent of Jay from somewhere on his left. He found her clothes hidden under a bush so he pulled them out and handed them to Rebecca.

  “Hadn’t we better decide what we’re going to do?” she asked. “Is there any way you can locate her, Adam?”

  “No, but if Scott’s got a computer we could list all the properties of Downey and Matheson.”

  “I’m afraid that I can’t allow that!” Jack Howard and three other men were pointing pistols at them.

  “What’s happening here, Jack?” Scott asked, advancing angrily towards the FBI agent, but he stopped when Jack levelled the pistol at Scott’s chest.

  “My orders are to take you to Russell Downey’s cabin in Montana.” He grinned unpleasantly.

  “You’re going to join the girls.”

  “Don’t be stupid! The Prime Minister knows where we are,” Rebecca said. Jack nodded. “No, he thinks he knows where you are. Unfortunately, you disregarded my advice and left. You’ll simply disappear. Now, I need the boy alive apparently. He’s valuable merchandise, but you two” —he gestured to Rebecca and Scott with his pistol— “are expendable and my orders are to kill you if you give us any trouble.”

  Adam thought fast. “I need to take a leak,” he said, and walked towards the tree before anyone thought of stopping him. Two of the men positioned themselves on either side of him and a few yards apart from each other. Adam, unzipping his pants, walked behind the tree. Neither of the men followed him and he guessed they were satisfied that if he moved more than a few feet away from the tree, they would see him. Tearing off his clothes, Adam balled them up, pushed them under a bush and pressed his back against the tree.

  “Hey, come on kid. What’s taking you so long?” Jack sounded impatient. Adam glanced down at his body and even he had difficulty seeing it. It was almost as though his flesh had melted into the tree.

  “Get him back here!” There was concern in Jack’s voice now and Adam heard the men approaching from either side of the tree. He wondered if his eyes had changed, too, but decided not to risk it and squinted through half-closed eyes.

  “Where the—?” The bigger man, who was all muscle, looked at the other agent. “Shit,” he said.

  “Where the fuck did he go?”

  “What’s happening back there?” Jack sounded impatient.

  “He’s gone, Jack!” The muscle-bound agent stood a foot away from Adam and seemed to be looking straight through him. “The little bastard’s gone!”

  Adam saw Scott and Rebecca shepherded into view by Jack and the other agent. Jack looked all around him and then up into the branches of the tree.

  “He must have climbed up there somehow,” he said. “Move back and see if you can see him.”

  Jack pressed his gun against Rebecca’s ear and the click of the hammer seemed ear splitting to Adam.

  “You get back down here, kid, or I’ll blow her head off. I’m not kidding, now get back down here!”

  Adam was afraid for Rebecca, but he remained motionless because he didn’t think that the agent would risk killing Rebecca or Scott while he was free. Not even Jack would kill someone while there was a witness running around loose.

  As Jack turned to peer up into the branches, Rebecca was also turned and she looked directly at him and winked. No! she mouthed silently and Adam felt some of the weight of his decision to remain concealed lift a little.

  “He’s not up there, Jack!” The muscle-bound man said. “I don’t know how he did it, but he must have made it to those trees behind us!”

  “Right. You and Frank, take these two to Russell’s place. Dope them because we don’t want them causing any trouble on the way. Raoul, you get every damned agent in the area over here, I want this entire area sealed off! Use the State Police and call out the National Guard. I want that boy. Now move!”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Janine was frozen and shivering as she curled up in the bottom of the life raft. It had taken all her remaining strength to set it right and then drag herself up into it. She had half expected the sharks to burst through or overturn the frail craft in order to get her, however except for an occasional bump when one of the creatures investigated it, Janine had remained unhurt. She had no idea how long she had been drifting. It seemed like hours and her watch had stopped. She was hungry, weak, wet and knew that she would soon begin to feel the first effects of the hypothermia, which would probably kill her.

  The throb of an outboard motor roused her from her stupor and she raised herself and peered over the edge of the raft. A small inflatable was bobbing towards her and behind it a large yacht lay anchored. One of the men in the dingy spotted her and waved and Janine managed to raise her hand in reply before she slid back down onto the raft’s floor.

  She awoke warm, naked, wrapped in a thick blanket and lying on a narrow bed.

  “Here, drink this.” The tall weather beaten man handed her a glass and Janine could smell the warm, rich aroma of coffee coming from the mug that he held out to her. She took it from him, sipped the contents and somehow wasn’t surprised to find that the coffee had been laced with rum.

  “This is delicious!” Janine said, taking another sip. “Oh, I haven’t thanked you yet for saving me!”

  “My pleasure, I assure you. Would you like me to call the coast-guard and tell him to meet us when we dock?”

  “No I don’t want to cause any fuss, but I could do with making a few telephone calls if that’s possible?”

  “Please feel free to use all the facilities in the cabin. There’s a telephone on the desk and we have a wireless connection to the internet on the computer. I’ll have to get back on deck now, but as soon as your clothes have finished drying I’ll bring them down to you, Missus…?”

  “Laura—Laura Green. But please call me Laura. You’re very kind, Mister…?”

  “Brian. Brian Docherty. Now, I’ll let you get on. We should be docking in about three hours.”

  After he’d left, Janine used the computer to contact a bank in Zurich, a bank that contained

  £12,000,000 of her and Russell’s money. She gave the six-figure number of their account and arranged for the funds to be transferred to New York. She grinned when she imagined the look on Russell’s face when he finally realised what must have happened. That she’d survived and ripped him off. Settling herself back in front of the computer, Janine scanned the clinics advertising on the wonderful web, and eventually selected one near New Hudson. Within an hour and following her assurance that she would be paying for her treatment by cash, the clinic rang back to say that they would have a car waiting for her at the docks.

  * * * *

  Janine looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at the surgeon who stood behind her. “I would never have believed it possible,” she said, looking again at her transformed face. “The lip enhancement and the eye tucks have completely changed my appearance and it’s been less than twenty four hours since you operated.”

  “I’m only too happy to have been able to help you, Ms Green. It must be terrible to be stalked by an ex-husband. Can’t the police do anything?”

  “They try, Doctor, but Mark, my ex, just distributes pictures of me around until someone recognises me. But that’s all going to change now.”

  �
��Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging for the beautician and hairdresser to arrive at eleven.”

  He looked at his watch. “Oh dear, is it that time already? I must go but I’ll see you before you leave and if there is anything—anything at all that you need—please ask.” He flounced out of the room and Janine nodded to her reflection in the mirror.

  “Easy when you’ve got the money, isn’t it?” she murmured. “A change of hair colour, a thousand dollars for a new ID and we’ll be ready to go and look for Russell, and, baby, I just can’t wait to see him again.”

  Three hours later, having settled her hospital bill with some of the money that had been delivered by special messenger to her hospital room, Janine sat in the rear of the limousine that she’d hired, and was heading towards New York. In her handbag she had over twenty thousand dollars in cash, two credit cards and her new ID, which had been supplied by a friend of the doctor’s. Apparently this friend was a man who was extremely sympathetic to beaten wives on the run from violent husbands.

  Janine thought that once she’d collected the equipment she’d ordered from the hunting store, that she’d enjoy surprising her own violent husband. Russell had no idea that she’d found out about his cabin in Montana years ago.

  “I’m going to kill the bastard,” she murmured to herself. “I’m going to look into his eyes and smile as I slit his lying throat!”

  * * * *

  Jay’s hands were manacled to an iron ring fastened into the log wall above her head. She tried to concentrate as Russell pulled a terrified Mary onto his lap to watch her being raped by Karl. Karl had been waiting for Russell in the cabin and had helped to strip her. Russell gripped Mary’s hair, pulling the weeping girl’s head back so that he could look her in the face. “By the time Karl’s finished doing her, I’m going to want to get laid myself. When he’s done, you take all your clothes off and go down on your knees and start giving me head. You got that, Mary?”

  Mary, her face red from being slapped into submission, nodded miserably. “Yes,” she said quickly as though to avoid another slap.

  “Good girl,” he mocked. “Now, let’s take a look at what you’ve got coming.”

  Jay prepared to lash out with her foot as Karl came towards her, grinning and rubbing his crotch.

  “Don’t you worry, Russell. After seeing me in action, Mary there will be begging you to give her some of the same.”

  Jay put all her weight onto one foot and waited for Karl to step into range. She’d have to move fast, before they suspected what she planned to do.

  “Open these legs wide, baby,” Karl said, reaching between her knees and parting them. He reached down to unzip his pants and Jay jerked her arms forward. She heard the wood tear when the iron was ripped out of the wall. Her arms swept down and the heavy metal ring struck the top of Karl’s head. He collapsed but she was already launching herself at Russell. She stopped in her tracks. Russell, laughing shrilly, yanked Mary’s head back and rammed the barrel of his pistol hard into her mouth. For a long moment Jay stared into Russell’s eyes and it was only the sight of Mary, her mouth full of cold metal and her wide frightened eyes, that stopped Jay from attacking him.

  “One more step and she’s dead,” he laughed. “Now, I want you to back into that room behind you. Nice and slowly, bitch, unless you want me to blow her head right off!”

  Jay walked slowly back until her back was against cold steel. Looking behind her, she saw that she was standing against a steel door.

  “Open it and back on up inside there. I want to see your butt against the wall!” Russell said, walking slowly towards her, his gun still in Mary’s mouth. “That’s right, now turn around and face the wall!”

  Jay turned away from him and wondered if he would shoot her. Mary cried out from behind her and Jay turned towards the sound as the steel door slammed shut. Mary came towards her, sobbing, and Jay took her into her arms and comforted her as best she could, kissing her on the forehead and assuring her that everything would be alright. Not that Jay believed it. She had a terrible feeling that the worst was yet to come.

  Whatever happened, she promised herself, she would protect Mary as best as she could. The problem was that Russell was using Mary as leverage to ensure that Jay did as she was told. If only she could get her out of here, perhaps they’d have a chance.

  They both started when an overhead light came on and a small observation hatch in the door was opened. Russell glared through the small rectangle.

  “You’ve killed Karl,” he said angrily. “You’ve gone and killed him, you bitch!”

  Jay felt numb. She’d killed him. She’d actually killed someone.

  “I’m going to make you pay!” His voice, devoid of any emotion now, cut through her thoughts.

  “You wait and see what I aim on doing to little Mary over there…”

  “Please leave her alone. She hasn’t done anything!”

  “No, but it hurts you when I hurt her, doesn’t it? Well, let me tell you what’s going to happen here. The next time I come down here, I want Mary to come out all by herself. I know how fast you are, but if Mary doesn’t come out, or if you give me any trouble at all, she’ll be begging me to kill her before I’ve finished with her. She does what she’s told or that’s the end of her. You got that? I’ll be seeing you later, Mary!”

  The hatch slammed shut and Mary fell onto the bed sobbing. “What’s he going to do to me, Jay?

  What’s he going to do?”

  Jay didn’t answer because Russell had already told Mary what he wanted. There must be a way out of here. She looked around the cell again. There were no windows, just a bed with two blankets, a stainless steel toilet and washbasin. The only way out appeared to be through the metal door. She looked once more at the blankets on the bed and had an idea, but first she would need to free herself from the handcuffs. Studying the small hole and the ratchet of the bracelet, Jay was struck by the simplicity of the design. It was so primitive!

  “Give me a lever and a fulcrum,” she said to herself as she untwisted the steel wire that had been used to fasten the metal springs to the frame of the bed. After bending one end of the wire, she inserted it into the lock of the handcuffs and gave a twist. The bracelet came free. It only took a few more seconds to free her other wrist and she wondered how she’d known how to unlock it. Suddenly, she was overcome by a feeling of exhaustion that was so powerful that she had to sit down quickly on the bed. Then, almost as though she had lost all control of her body, she lay down. Jay could feel sweat pouring down her face and knew that there was something seriously wrong with her.

  “Mary,” she managed to croak but then her eyes started to close and it was too much of an effort to fight anymore.

  “What’s the matter, Jay? What’s wrong with you?!” Mary sounded a long way off and frightened and Jay was vaguely conscious of Mary shaking her shoulder. Then all sensation faded and Jay was carried away into an ocean of darkness.

  * * * *

  Russell took a last look at the heavy-duty body bag that contained Karl’s body as it was carried to the rear of the limousine. The freak had killed him and Russell intended to make her suffer. He knew just how to do it. He turned to Nathan who was standing looking at the door that led down to the cellar, with a look of longing on his face.

  “You’re really going to let me do her, Mister Russell? You’re really let me going to let me do her?” Nathan looked anxious and his small close-set eyes never wavered from the metal door.

  “Yes. I’ll help you strap her down on the table and then she’s all yours. You know how to fix the thin strap around her leg so she won’t bleed to death?”

  “Yes. I won’t let you down, Mister Russell, and I’ll put her leg in the freezer for you.”

  “No, just put it in the ice box. You’ll want to feed the dogs with it. Now, let’s go on down and get her ready.” Russell inserted two fresh cartridges into the shotgun, opened the cellar door and led the way down the wooden stairs.

/>   “Please help! Jay’s sick. I think she’s dying!” Mary Slymond’s face was streaked in tears when she peered at him through the observation hatch. He was expecting the freak to try something and so flicked the shotgun’s safety catch off.

  At his signal, Nathan drew back the bolts and, with a glance at the freak lying on the bed, Russell stepped clear as Nathan swung open the steel door. The freak hadn’t moved and Russell covered her with both barrels as he advanced cautiously into the cell.

  “You’ve got to help her!” Mary cried. “She needs a doctor.”

  Russell gestured to Nathan who took one of Mary’s arms in his meaty grip and pulled her back towards the door. Still the freak didn’t move and now Russell was close enough to see the sheen of sweat that seemed to be covering her entire body. She hardly seemed to be breathing. Russell gingerly

  laid one hand on the girl’s brow. She felt cold to his touch. He reached down and, gripping one of her nipples between his forefinger and thumb, he twisted it, but she didn’t respond. Frowning, Russell retreated. Following Nathan and Mary back through the door, he shut and bolted it. The freak was sick and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Involving a doctor could be risky. He’d have Nathan keep an eye on her and, if she got any worse, Russell would have no choice but to call in a medic. But that could wait. He had to get to the airport and question the British policewoman to find out what she knew. But first he’d let Nathan have his fun with Mary and when he returned he’d make her watch the dogs feast on her newly amputated leg.

  He turned towards her and frowned. “Why have you still got your clothes on?” He slapped her across the face and she reeled back from the blow, but as soon as she recovered her balance she started to strip. When she was naked, he pointed to the table and, although she stared at the leather straps in fear, Mary went and lay down on it.

  Nathan helped him strap her down while she stared up at him with huge staring eyes. “What are you going to do to me?” she asked fearfully.

  Russell finished fastening the strap around her right ankle before replying. “You’ve got a great body, Mary, and I’m sorry I haven’t got time to fuck you myself. But Nathan here is going to make sure that you don’t miss out and, when he’s done, he’s going to cut you up and feed you piece by piece to his dogs.”