by Tom Clarke
Nico put his hand to his forehead as if to massage away a migraine.
“No, they are not turning themselves in! The tall one, he is something like a priest, and the three others they are his personal servants. The priest carries with him a measure of Ran’s power; he is the one that is playing games with your mind. He is the reason why you saw what you did. I don’t understand how they found us, though.”
As the elevator door opened for the third floor, Nico and Darrel both moved with a sense of purpose towards room 318. As Darrel rounded the corner from the nurse’s station he ran straight into Jim who was on his way back to Shelly’s room with a cup of coffee.
“Whoa, what’s the rush?” Jim said as he tried in vain to keep his coffee from spilling. “We got to move brother!” Darrel said, “more of those cats that attacked Shelly are in the hospital.”
Jim dropped his cup of coffee, turned, and along with Darrel and Nico started moving towards room 318. As Jim approached the room, he could see that the curtains had been closed. “Darrel those were open when I left” Jim said in a borderline panic. Jim reached over and grabbed the door handle but was stopped by Darrel before he could pull the door open.
“Wait, let me” Darrel said, motioning to the .45 caliber Colt Commander he had just drawn from his concealment holster.
Jim stepped to the side as Darrel pushed the door to room 318 open. Passing through the doorway quickly, taking deep steps moving to his right, the muzzle of the .45 handgun, which was now in line with his eyesight, scanned over the room.
“Get your hands up!” Darrel yelled at the only person in the room. “Jimmy, she’s gone! Get your fucking hands up! Get down on your knees!”
The sole occupant of room 318 was one of the men in the brown colored suits Darrel had seen in the parking lot. He stood with his hands in the air, his palms facing towards Darrel, and now Jim, and Nico who had entered the room.
Darrel moved in towards the man, and while keeping the muzzle trained on his chest, he kicked him square in the groin causing the man to double over and collapse to his knees. Darrel stepped forward and then using his right knee struck the man in the face, knocking him backwards and flat onto his back.
“Wait” the man said as he groaned in pain.
“Eat it bitch!” Darrel replied, “when I tell you to get on the ground you get on the ground. Where is she?”
Before the man in the suit could say anything, Jim grabbed Darrel by the shoulder, “D, you stay with him, don’t let him go, and keep him alive. Nico, with me, parking lot, let’s go!”
Nico and Jim ran out of the room and down the hallway, dodging past patients, visitors, and staff as they ran. They bypassed the elevator and ran straight for the stairwell.
Jim threw the door to the stairwell open and the two started jumping down flights of stairs until they were on the first floor. Jim grabbed the door to the main lobby of the hospital and pulled it open then ran towards the entrance knocking several people out of his way.
Jim ran out into the main parking lot, Nico peeled to the right and ran around to the side. Nothing, Jim doubled over, his lungs were burning, and his knees were pounding from his sprint down the stairs. He took a deep breath, stood up, and as quickly as he could began looking into all the cars in the main parking lot hoping that he would find them hiding in one of them.
“No…no…no!” Jim muttered as he went from car to car, nothing. Then he heard the voice of his friend Tyler, “It’s going to be okay, Jimmy.” Jim looked up and there standing in the middle of the lot was Tyler.
“Tyler?” Jim asked as he looked on in confusion.
“Yeah, it’s me. Look Jim it’s going to be okay” Tyler replied as he walked towards Jim.
“Tyler, they snatched Shelly from her room. We got to get back inside and look at the surveillance tape.”
“Jimmy, relax” Tyler said in as comforting a voice as he could muster. “Listen to me, she’s going to be okay, I promise.”
Jim looked at his friend with confusion, “What does that mean Tyler? What’s going on, why are you out here in the lot and not inside?”
Tyler reached out a hand to take Jim by the shoulder and lead him back inside, “Come on, Jimmy, let’s go back inside and talk about this.”
The realization that he had been betrayed by a friend came crashing home. Jim’s confusion melted away and was replaced by rage. “What the hell have you done!” Jim yelled as he hit Tyler with both hands in the chest, knocking him back a few steps.
Tyler steadied himself, took a breath, and started to tell Jim to relax only to be punched in the face by Jim as he stepped in yelling, “What did you do!”
Tyler reared back from the strike to his face, pivoting to his right, and then reaching for his handgun. It was then that he felt Nico’s right arm come across the front of his throat. Nico’s forearm and bicep each compressed around the carotid artery’s running on the right and left side of Tyler’s neck. As Tyler reached up, trying to free himself, Nico pulled him tight against his chest, grasping his right wrist with his left hand creating a lock that Tyler could not defeat.
As the blood flow to Tyler’s brain was cut off, he started to lose consciousness. The last thing that he saw as his vision narrowed and darkness collapsed in on him was Jim stepping towards him and punching him in the stomach. Tyler was now asleep.
“I heard the whole thing!” Nico said as he and Jim both hauled Tyler’s limp body to Jim’s SUV. Max and Shilo both looked on as Jim and Nico loaded Tyler, who was now starting to recover from his short nap, into the back seat of Jim’s SUV.
“Nico, grab me that tape in the center console” Jim said as he seat-belted Tyler in.
“Jim” Tyler said in a weak and groggy voice, “Jim we need to talk.”
“Tyler, you say another word to me and I will dump your body in a ditch and cover you with honey, so the freaking bears dispose of the evidence.”
Jim then took the role of duct tape and taped Tyler’s mouth shut. He then ran the tape around his hands binding them together, adding another loop of tape attaching Tyler’s now bound hands to his legs.
“Ah, Jim” Nico said, pointing to Tyler’s handgun.
“Oh yeah, thanks” Jim replied as he removed the handgun and then the tactical folding knife Tyler had in his right front pocket. After securing the handgun and knife in the center console, Jim turned, and said in a tone of voice that made Tyler’s eyes widen, and his blood run cold, “Don’t worry good buddy, you and I are going somewhere to have a good long chat.”
Jim pulled out his cell phone and sent a text message to Darrel: Shelly’s gone bring that piece of shit to the car. The reply text simply read: K.
Nico got into the back seat sitting next to Tyler. He put a ball cap on Tyler pulling it down to conceal the duct tape running across his mouth. He then reached back and gave Max, and Shilo, who were both looking at Tyler as if he were a new chew toy a scratch on their respective heads. Jim pulled the SUV by the front doors to the hospital.
“How much fuel do you have in that rental car?” Jim asked as he pulled the SUV by the front doors to the hospital.
“A full tank” Nico replied.
“Okay. Listen, when Darrel gets here with our other friend put him in the front seat with me. Have Darrel get in the back, and you follow us with the rental.”
Nico nodded, “Sounds good, where are we going?”
“Somewhere we can have some privacy and get some answers” Jim replied looking straight at Tyler.
Nico nodded in agreement, then muttered something in Swedish. He looked at Tyler, “I am protected by the power of God. You, your screwed!”
Back inside hospital room 318 Darrel holstered his handgun and pulled the man he had detained to his feet. “There is no need for violence” the man said in a heavy accent as he was hoisted to his feet and then shoved against the wall.
The accent was strange to Darrel, which was odd as he had traveled all over the world while working for the ATF.
It sounded almost Egyptian, but not quite. There was a slight metallic ring hiding under the accent, followed by almost a hiss.
Darrel looked at the man, who was smiling with his hands raised and his palms facing towards Darrel. “I disagree Smiley” Darrel said. “I’m thinking that there are all kinds of a need for violence right about now.”
“You don’t understand” the man said, still smiling. “I am here to talk to you, and your friends Jim and Nico. To work out the details, I will not resist.”
Details Darrel thought. He had been involved in hostage situations before, this was shaping up to be a kidnapping for ransom, but a ransom for what? “This is how this is going to shake out” Darrel said, looking straight into the eyes of the man in the brown suit. “You and I are going to walk out of this room, down to the stairs, and then out into the parking lot. If you try to run or give me any shit what so ever I will shoot you in the back of your knee and then drag you out of here by the throat.”
“Yes!” the man replied in an almost jubilant tone of voice. “We will go out and meet with Jim and Nico and all will be explained.”
“You got that right!” Darrel said as he took the man by the shoulders and pushed him towards the door. “Stop smiling! People are going to think you are trying to sell me a used car. Now open the door and walk out towards the stairs slowly.”
The man opened the door. He and Darrel then walked to the stairwell and down to the first floor. “What’s your name Smiley?” Darrel asked as they stepped from the stairwell into the main lobby.
“You can call me Paul” the man replied.
“Okay, Paul, see that SUV right outside the doors? Walk to it and do exactly what you are told.” Paul shook his head and walked to the SUV.
As Paul and Darrel approached the SUV Nico, who was standing behind it, stepped out, grabbed Paul by the arm and shoved him into the front seat. Nico shut the door, whispered instructions into Darrel’s ear, and then got into his rental car which was parked right behind the SUV.
Paul, still smiling, looked at Jim and then into the back seat where he saw Tyler sitting with his mouth taped shut.
The smile immediately left Paul’s face, “You, what are you doing here!” Paul barked with a sneer on his face. “You were to wait at your home for us to contact you. You were told not to interfere!”
That was as far as Paul got with his statement when Jim reached over, grabbed him by his head, and slammed it against the dash of the SUV. As Paul reeled back into his seat, the pain of experiencing a sudden impact clouding his thoughts, Darrel, who was seated behind him, leaned forward and covered his mouth with a strand of duct tape.
Paul, still in pain, turned and looked at Jim. “Sit there and shut the fuck up!” Jim said as he started to pull out of the parking lot. “We are going to get this all sorted out shortly. You fellows just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
5.
Shelly
It was a large jolt that started to bring Shelly out of the deep sleep she had been in. Groggy and disoriented, she forced herself to wake up.
As she opened her eyes darkness was slowly replaced with light. As her surroundings became clearer, she could hear conversations, and then, as she struggled to move fear began to set in as events slowly returned to her. The realization of what had happened, accompanied with the fact that her hands and feet were bound with zip-ties, sent her spiraling towards full on panic. Shelly struggled to control her breathing as she became aware of the reason for her diminished sight, she was wearing a hood.
Another sudden jolt caused her to bang her head, she let out a groan and then a muttered profanity as the reality of her situation fell into view.
“Sir, she’s awake” a tepid voice said.
“So soon?” another voice replied. “Very well, brother, please remove the hood so we may speak with her.”
A hand grabbed Shelly by the shoulder, holding her still as the fabric hood was quickly pulled from her head.
As her eyes adjusted to the blinding light she was suddenly hit with an overpowering odor of rotting meat. Slowly things came into focus and she saw that she was sitting on the floor a school bus which had many of the rear seats removed.
Her hands and feet were bound with plastic zip-ties, and she was wearing a wide leather belt which was secured to an anchor point on the side of the bus. Her breathing teetered on the edge of hyperventilation as she struggled, to no avail, against the restraints holding her in place.
A voice with a strange accent, and a metallic undertone spoke, “Gently my child, if you struggle you may hurt yourself.”
Shelly looked up and saw a tall, thin man wearing an old style brown suit and wearing a wide brim hat sitting in front of and looking down on her. She could see that the man’s face was gaunt, and his eyes were sunken into his skull. His teeth, which she had a full view of as he smiled at her, were yellow, worn, and somewhat rotten.
“Where am I?” Shelly asked, her voice cracking with a combination of fear, anger, and pain.
The man held up both his hands, his palms facing her and with a wide smile said, “Be still my child, you are safe. We are going to see him.”
“Going to see who?” Shelly asked.
“Why we are going to the master! He has called for you, God has called for you!”
With this the man stood up, and along with the other two men on the bus, started clapping and singing in what sounded like a combination of chants and early 1930’s revival songs.
“Hey!” Shelly yelled, “Hey, who are you guys, where are you taking me, and what the hell is that smell!”
The singing stopped, the man looked down at Shelly and replied, “You can call me Paul. As for where we are taking you, well, you will see soon enough. The smell? My dear, that’s lunch.”
The tall, thin man laughed, sat back down, and started humming the same melody he had just been singing. It didn’t take Shelly long to figure out that she had been abducted by the same people her husband Jim had dealt with right before he retired from Law Enforcement. In fact, she was pretty sure she had seen the tall man who called himself Paul before, when she and Jim had gone to pay their respects to the wife of an Officer who had been killed the year prior.
What would Jim do? That was the thought running through Shelly’s mind. He would beat these guys up and then probably kill one or two to make a point she thought. Looking down at her restrained hands and feet this idea became instantly unachievable.
Shelly was again thrown against the side of the bus when it hit another large bump in the road and then came shuddering to a stop.
“We are here,” Paul hissed, “praise be to God for soon we will eat.”
As Paul stood over Shelly another man, thin, shorter than Paul, but wearing the same style suit and with the same physical features came over and cut the restraints holding Shelly’s feet. He then released her from the belt, stood her up, and started walking her towards the front of the bus.
As Shelly was led off the bus, she could see other men unloading a large duffle style bag with a zippered top. The bag had a red liquid staining and dripping from the bottom. When the men dropped the bag on the ground, she could hear a slight moan from within.
“Oh my God!” Shelly exclaimed as she was pushed past the bag and towards the front doors of a large multi-level log cabin home.
“Yes” Paul replied with a wide smile, “God is good! You see, that’s lunch.”
Paul held his hands up in the air, his palms facing in front of him, singing as he led the way into the front door of the cabin.
As soon as Shelly walked into the front door she could hear a faint ringing in her ears, a ringing that soon turned into a hum. Soon the hum turned into what sounded like distant voices. As she was led further into the house, and then into a large sitting room the voices became louder. She could hear children, and then all suddenly she could hear those children screaming and yelling for help. The screams of the children got louder and louder until the noise was painful and sh
e found herself doubled over.
Suddenly the screaming stopped. Another voice, a strong, metallic sounding voice said, “Hello Shelly. I told them you were mine, welcome.” Then a sharp pain in the center of her forehead and she passed out.
When she woke up Shelly found herself sitting in a large chair in what looked like a bedroom. The room was dark except for daylight coming in through the shades covering a barred window.
Shelly’s breathing started to increase, she could feel her heart racing as the reality of what had happened to her started to sit in. “Calm down, calm down, calm down,” she started saying to herself.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to get up and out of the chair. Collecting herself as best she could Shelly walked over to the door and tried to open it. “Shit!” she said as the handle refused to turn, “locked…. Fuck! Okay, calm, breath, you're still alive, so you're still in the game.” She went over and inspected the window. Looking out she could see that she was in a room on the top floor, and that it was a straight drop down to the ground. If she could somehow get the bars off, and the window open, she would certainly break something important if she made the jump.