by Matthew Buza
Nick’s face showed a confused look, “I’m not following.”
“The fuckhead here decided to take a lady and bring her to the office.”
“What there’s a woman here?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“We put her in with the heads and someone is coming to deal with her.”
“What guy? She’s with the heads? You put a stranger, a woman, in with the heads? Oh that is low man. Those shits over there are insane.” Nick’s eyes opened wide as he scanned the room.
“A guy is coming to deal with the situation.”
Nick’s face started to open up and a deranged smile came across his mouth as his tongue played with his teeth, “Tyler let me go see her.”
“No, fucking sort bud.”
“Tyler, 1 minute man. I’ll cash in on my first piss break, no biggie. I’ll be right back.” Before Tyler could respond, Nick was halfway out the screen door and onto the porch.
“A lady in our midst.” He walked around the corner of the porch and onto the walking path. He mumbled in crazed excitement as he walked through the grass. His eyes lifted to the darkened house. He bounded up to the porch but caught his foot on the top step. His arms went forward and his other leg caught him on the wood. His hands scraped across the worn wood and he let out a gasp. His stumble released a loud thump as he tried to stand again. He walked up to the door. His hand pulled out the cell phone and he flipped on the flashlight.
The door creaked open and he shone the light down the hall. Slithering bodies moved in fear of the light. The tangled limbs pushed against empty walls and stripped flooring, stammering and clawing for relief in the darkness. Eyes hid behind dirty clothing and pulled blankets.
“Fucking animals.” Nick scanned the hallway for any hidden bodies. He had always been nervous going into the head house. At any moment a body could stumble through a room or doorway grabbing onto a shoulder or leg. It was more terrifying than dangerous. The bodies were weak and easy to defend, but the stress on the heart as it lifted to the throat was another thing altogether.
He looked left and right and saw the closed door. His hand reached the nob and he opened the door. Behind the door boxes and paper pushed against his approach. He forced the door open as papers dragged beneath. The room had more light than the entry way. He could see in the corner of the room a woman kneeling with her arms behind her back. Her eyes were wide and she was breathing quickly.
“Hello there. How are you?” Nick smiled and entered the room. He closed the door behind him and in doing so saw the body laid before the closet. “You have been busy tonight?”
Jennifer’s eyes were terrified at this new figure. Her breathing was rapid and she released soft whimpers through the slit in the tape across her face. Nick cross the room and stood before the man face down on the floor. His foot went out and lightly kicked the man. His skin jiggled but there was no response. He strained to view the man’s face and noticed the dent in his forehead. Nick looked at Jennifer, “Feisty one.”
Nick crossed the room slowly, shining his cell phone at Jennifer. She pushed her legs against the floor driving her back into the wall behind her. Her voice whimpered.
“What is your name sweetie?” Nick began to lower himself in front of Jennifer. She kicked out with her bound legs but missed Nick. “It’s alright we’ll keep our distance.”
The light shone in her face and she recoiled turning to the open wall. Nick lowered the light down across her body. He stopped briefly on her pants and shirt.
“You're a pretty one,” Nick smiled as he ran his tongue along the bottom of his lips. He reached down and grabbed the bindings around her feet and pulled her towards him. Jennifer’s body sprawled out onto the floor as Nick quickly straddled her, sitting on her thighs. His weight pressed down on her body compressing her arms behind her back as she let out a scream. The house awoke to the voice and returned the night’s call.
Nick dropped the phone next to Jennifer hiding the light. She looked up into the dark room to see the silhouetted man straddling above her. She tried to kick her legs but his weight held her down. She arched her shoulders and bucked her hips beneath him. He braced his arms to keep from rolling over.
“It’s ok, it’s ok. I’m not going to do anything to you. I just wanted to say hi.” Nick now lowered himself down onto Jennifer’s chest. The weight pressed the air out of her lungs. Nick’s face moved inches from Jennifer’s. She strained her neck to gather distance as Nick lowered his nose to her and took a long drag, “You smell nice.”
His left arm braced himself over her shoulder as his right began to move gently down over her chest. He traced the bra line under the shirt as a single finger ran the profile gently flicking her nipple and moving onto her stomach. Jennifer’s eyes were tearing up as her head pulled away. His hand ran down her stomach to the waistline of her pants. Her shirt had lifted and Nick’s hand opened to touch. He began to run his hand under her shirt feeling the soft hairs along her stomach. He could feel a tremble ripple through her body.
From behind Jennifer her unbound hands bled on the ground but were free to move. She had noticed the Leatherman on his left hip when he entered. Nick’s hand was busy tracking up her shirt as she pulled out her right arm and gently put her fingers on the tip of the Leatherman. She waited for a pause as his hand reached the lace. She kicked her legs up distracting him for a moment, she lifted the Leatherman and returned her arm to her back. Nick reached for the floor to steady himself under the surprise move. Her fist closed tightly on the Leatherman.
He lowered himself again, “You’ve got some kick girl.”
She waited a moment for him to close the distance before bringing the crown of her head to his face. She pulled in her legs and rolled again. He fell back to the floor holding his head.
He yelled out, “Bitch! You stupid bitch!”
Jennifer pushed herself back up against the wall still holding the Leatherman in her grasp behind her back.
Nick pulled his hand back in rapid succession looking for blood. He saw none and grabbed for his phone. “Stupid shit, you’ll get yours tonight. A treat is coming for you.”
The anger welled up in him as he gazed into Jennifer’s eyes. She was bound and crumpled unnaturally on the floor slowly inching her way into the corner. The flaring of Nick’s nostrils signaled that the attack was not over. Nick pulled back his lips, his teeth shone bright in the evening light. His fists curling and the veins in his arm pulsing with anger. He came at Jennifer with his legs keeping his distance from her. He connected with the point of his shoe on the small of her back grazing her arm and the hand that secretly clutched the Leatherman. She released a terrified cry as the pain rolled over her back and across her chest. She felt a numbness down her legs that raged into a warm fire and then open pain. She felt for the first time tonight she may not survive. Nick’s eyes raged as he growled. His foot reached up and he stomped down on Jennifer’s knee. As if by reflex she pulled in the throbbing knee and kicked out at Nick. She caught his left leg and he stumbled onto the pile of garbage. His hands reached out to brace himself against the fall. Jennifer defiantly screamed through the tape and reared back striking Nick in the thigh. He fell over into the garbage but quickly rose.
Before he was upon her the door to the room burst open and Steven appeared in the entry way. Jennifer pulled back. Her face slowly gave way to horror. She was managing to keep one monster off her, but the sight of a second was insurmountable. She pressed against herself against the wall and began to prepare to use the Leatherman in her hand. She opened the knife hoping this little weapon may afford her some chance at escape. Her eyes trained on the door as she waited for her moment to cut the bindings on her legs.
Steven looked at Nick who was lifting himself from the garbage still holding a hand to his head. He was screaming obscenities at Jennifer and preparing to launch another attack at her. Steven crossed the room and grabbed Nick by the shoulders and threw him to the oppos
ite corner. “What are you doing? I could hear you from the house.”
Nick curled up defeated and licking his wounds, “I came in and she attacked me.”
Steven glanced quickly at Jennifer and back at Nick, “She is bound and gagged. You’re telling me that woman attacked you? You’re really admitting that you got your ass handed to you by a helpless woman?”
Nick didn’t make eye contact and Steven knew he was taking advantage of her. He looked back at Jennifer and took a deep breath. For the first time Steven took a long look into her eyes. He could see the terror and abuse she had suffered. He knew this was all because of him and it made him sick. More so than the shooting earlier tonight. At least there he was trying to protect himself. He had convinced himself that shooting was justified. Self-preservation and self-protection were the words that fluctuated through his mind. But Jennifer was a different story. He had done this and he regretted it. He jeopardized his job within the organization. How many crimes had he committed that night? He was sure someone must be looking for him. He didn’t know which one was worse, Juan and his posse, or the cops. At least the cops would stop looking after a while, he knew Juan wouldn’t.
He relaxed his body and for the first time that night Jennifer calmed. She saw Steven’s face full of remorse. It didn’t change anything in her mind, but she was relieved her immediate nightmare was over. Steven looked back at Nick, “Get your shit and let’s get out of here.”
Nick got up, dusting his pants and straightening his shirt, “She was lucky and caught me in the leg.”
“Why was she kicking at you? What were you doing?” Steven pushed Nick out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Jennifer stayed silent in the room listening to their words as they left the house. Nick and Steven left the porch, Nick still holding his head. They took the direct route through the grass. The late night dew left water streaks across their pant legs. They both stumbled across the yard discovering uneven ground and made their way back up the porch and into the house and kitchen. From outside the kitchen, laughter could be heard as the group mocked the wounded dog returning from the woods.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Conners hand rested on the coffee machine as he stared across to the wall on the far side of the room. A large image of a shield sat like a sentry guarding the rows of cubicles that spanned the police office. His mind drifted to the video from the bar. The shadowed image replaying before him. He floated out of the camera's vision and down just over Jennifer's shoulder as she walked back into the bar. He could hear the noise of the bar rise and fall behind his ears. His eyes forward as he moved down the sidewalk. Ahead of him the blackness of the road and to his left a shadow rapidly approached him, his feet shuffling across the asphalt. The shadow was faceless as it crossed in front of Conners. He turned his head and followed the shape around the corner of the bar. It walked up to the unlocked vehicle, opened the door, and climbed into the back seat. A short head poked up from the backseat, staring out with white eyes piercing through Conners. From behind, the bar door opened and Jennifer left the bar, the noises chasing her out. She rounded the corner and walked through Conners. He could see the head in the back of the vehicle dip down as Jennifer fumbled with her keys, her phone in her left hand. She opened the door and a moment later the car roared to life making a quick turn and left Conners standing on the corner. From behind he could hear a faint voice calling out.
"Conners...Conners," The voice called out.
A hand was placed on his shoulder and his head shook, "Yes?"
"Your coffee has been done for a few minutes." The hand lowered from his shoulder. He saw the face of the janitor. Behind the man was a push cart containing supplies, brooms and buckets.
Conners looked at the cup under the machine. The cup was still steaming. He reached out and pulled the coffee out of the housing and lifted it to his lips. He took a sip, "It's been a long day."
"Well I figured you were either getting a good start to the morning or you've been here too long." The janitor began to walk away, his voice lifting over his shoulder, "Regardless, you look tired and you should probably go home."
"Thanks, duly noted," Conners spun around and walked back to his desk, sitting down and staring at the blinking cursor on his report. He took a long breath and pulled up to the keyboard and continued writing. He detailed the current state of the investigation. Inside his mind he regretted stopping for the night. He knew there was a woman out there and she needed their help. The statistics are always right. As time goes by their chances of finding her alive drop. They had pressed this evening trying to find her. Conners knew that officers were still out looking for Jennifer, but the police had failed to find any new leads.
He finished the report by dropping it into the network drive. He slowly lifted himself out of the chair and arched his back. Soft cracks could be heard emanating from his lower back and knees. He locked his computer and pressed the power button on his monitor.
The evening was cool and cloudy as he exited out into the gated parking lot. He pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket and saw the stream of missed messages from his wife. He couldn't remember the last time he ate anything that wasn’t a cup of coffee, and from the context of the messages there wouldn’t be anything at home either.
The car pulled into the lit parking lot of the all night burger restaurant. The building included wrap-around glass and Conners could see that he would be sharing his evening meal with a pack of strung out individuals. Their wide eyes followed him as he approached the building. A string connected to a bell signaled his entry. He walked up to the counter and a young man asked him what he would like. Conners ordered the same thing he always ordered, a double cheeseburger with light ketchup. The young man rang up the bill and let Conners know that it would be two minutes.
He nodded and walked back to an empty table. He fell into the seat and tried to avoid the sets of eyes staring. Conners pulled out his small pocketbook in an effort to seem uninterested in the situation. He pulled out a pen and began to annotate his notes from earlier in the day. He ran through the entire evening, looking for anything he missed that could help locate Steven. Officers had already been to his house and found two less than sober individuals drooling on themselves. His brother was missing and Steven's car was impounded. He felt there was still a chance to find Jennifer since Steven hasn't surfaced. He circled Jennifer's name multiple times.
From over the notebook Conners saw a figure move and walk towards him. He continued focusing down as the man walked by and entered the bathroom. He was wearing a long trench coat and a small backpack across his shoulder. The man's step was irregular either from a limp or glazed coordination. He could still feel the eyes on him from the opposite table.
His burger was delivered to his table and he thanked the young man and took the opportunity to shoot a glance at the table. The group was talking softly amongst themselves as they gathered their rolling luggage and began to stand up and quickly exited out the side door. The bathroom door opened and the coated man exited still carrying the backpack. Conners glanced at the bag and saw it struggling under a new found weight. He pulled on the strap with both hands as it hung low across his back. Conners’ eyes followed the man as he left out the door in the opposite direction as the group. He looked down at his burger. He could see the cheese falling gently down the side, grease forming a small pool beneath the bun. He took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. He quickly dialed the number for dispatch.
“Yes this is Officer Conners. I believe there is a male suspect walking down 23rd street north carrying a backpack that may contain drugs.”
"Can you describe the man?”
“He is about six foot tall, wearing a trench coat, and carrying a dark green bag that is straining under some weight.”
“Thank you sir, I’ve alerted the local unit in the area and they will check it out. Late night for you?”
“I'm almost done, just getting some food and heading home. You h
ave a good night.”
“Same to you.” The phone clicked and Conners put it away. The restaurant was quiet. From behind the counter the two employees talked softly and above Conners’ head indistinguishable rock music was playing. He reached down and pulled off the top of his hamburger and carefully placed fries horizontally. He replaced the top and began to quickly eat his meal.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Nick's hands were covered with black latex gloves as he sat at the kitchen table staring down into the large garbage bag. To the right and left of the bag were clear sorting bins and piles of green bud. A lamp light sat over the garbage bag as he quickly lifted and sorted the bud from the bag. His fingers rolled as he observed color looking for any brown dusty mold. He sorted left and right working both hands in rapid succession.
After a few minutes the garbage bag was empty and he dumped the trace dust and leaf material into the plastic container to his left. He took the bud from the other bin and placed it back into the garbage bag. He tore off a piece of duct tape, sealed the bag, and using a sharpie he marked the bag Sorted. He then placed the bag in the finished materials area just outside the kitchen.
“The sorted bud is here at the entry,” Nick said.
“Did you mark the bag?” Tyler said.
“Yeah, bag’s marked. Is that going to the shop tomorrow?”
“I think it's going to the med store. Are you moving on to hash?”
“Yeah, I'm getting prepped now.”
"Watch that color when you process. It was too green last time. Be careful to watch that leaf material dropping out."
He returned to the kitchen table and pulled the empty plastic garbage bin up to the chair. From a black duffel bag Nick pulled out a white mesh bag and placed it into the garbage bin rolling the top over the edges. Nick took the plastic bin that contained the sorted bud and dumped the contents into the mesh bag. Using a small brush he dusted the bin ensuring that all of the contents emptied into the container.