jclaurens

BOOK ONE

THE GATHERING

10 11

CHAPTER 1

Steven Yates hated to wait for anything. He was impatient, intense and insensitive. The invited guests, retired Brigadier General Hershall Bullock, retired Colonel Michael Baris, Secretary of Defense James P. Pauling, Adam and Brian Sunshine, or better known as the Sunshine boys, Andy Peters, Steven’s attorney and closest confidant, were to arrive by 6:30 p.m. Joining him for dinner would be his 29 year old twin sons Mark and Evan and his 23 year old twin daughters Stephanie and Shari. Lani Yates, Steven’s wife and companion for the past 31 years, was waiting patiently, hoping that everyone would be on time.

At 6:30 sharp the doorbell rang. It was General Bullock and Colonel Baris. They were both dressed in their military finest, with metals shimmering like sunshine over a calm sea. Lani held out her hand. “Welcome gentlemen. Please follow me upstairs for a welcome cocktail. Steven just opened a bottle of Royal Salute Chivas Regal.” Lani half smiled and blinked her sky blue eyes at the group. “You do like aged scotch? Secretary Pauling, the Sunshine brothers, Andy Peters and my son Mark are already here. We’re just waiting for the rest of the twins to arrive. Evan is late, as usual. Stephanie is finishing her swim and will be with us shortly and Shari should be on her way.”12

Bullock turned toward Lani and replied with his usual hoarse voice, sounding like Marlon Brando in the Godfather. “I believe that’s a 50 year old bottle of aged scotch Steven has there. The first time I had a shot my eyeballs practically separated from their sockets, but we drank it all the way from Nam to the Golden Gate. I still don’t know how those gooks got the stuff. I was a 2

nd Lieutenant, fresh out of the academy. My first duty was to escort as many refugees as we could out of Saigon. I was trained to lead and fire. The only fire I got was the one in my throat.” Lani cracked a smile, but held back her laughter. Colonel Baris had a casual smirk. “Great story General.” Baris had heard it too many times to offer up any real laughter.

“The library is this way gentlemen.”

As they walked up the winding white and gray etched staircase Baris commented, “You have exquisite taste, Mrs. Yates.”

“Thank you, Lani said with a soft smile. We designed and decorated this home ourselves. As Steven would say, “we used both quality and quantity. No stone was left unturned.”

The Yates property was in a posh section of Boca Raton, in a high security guard gated private community. Built right after 9/11, it was a status estate; Mediterranean style, 15,000 square feet, 9 bedrooms, 6-car garage, guesthouse, Olympic-sized swimming pool and a tennis court overlooking a private lake. 13

“Good evening General and Colonel.” Steven saluted the men and then extended his hand for a warm welcome handshake. “Let me introduce you to a couple of our guests. This is Adam and Brian Sunshine, of Straightup Corporation, Andy Peters, my attorney and closest friend for the past 30 plus years, Mark one of my twin sons and of course you know James Pauling and you met my lovely wife Lani.

“Glad to meet you all, Bullock and Bates said simultaneously.”

Adam lifted his glass and said, “I am honored to meet the both of you. My brother and I have heard many stories about each of you and I hope we’ll have a chance to hear some more, as the evening progresses.”

Bates looked Adam in the eye and said, “Don’t believe a word you’ve heard. Bullock is the all time greatest storyteller. You’re never really sure whether it’s bullshit or not.”

Bullock then turned toward Yates and said, “I believe that is a fifty year old bottle of Chivas you have there.”

That’s close General, Yates replied. “What I have here is one of the world’s best whiskeys. You don’t often have the opportunity to drink a century old bottle of scotch.” Steven raised his glass to make a toast. “Come, let’s share one of life’s finer luxuries.”

As everyone started to congregate at the bar, Mark turned to his father and whispered,” Evan will be a little late so we may want to start the meeting without him.”

“A little late,” Yates replied in a louder whisper. “Doesn’t your brother ever keep his commitments?”14

“Well Dad, you know when Evan is off somewhere in cyber space he tends to lose all perspective of time. He told me to tell you that if he doesn’t get here by the start of dinner, just start without him. However, he did say that he wouldn’t disappoint you and assured me that he would be here.”

Steven said incredulously, “We’ll see. This isn’t the first time that your brother has done this to us. I have an important announcement to make that will involve all four of you. I need all of your support. You managed to get off the golf course in time. Steph is here. She said that she would come in for dinner after her swim. We also haven’t heard from Shari. Your mother said that she had her final tennis work out this afternoon at 3:00. Its 6:45 and no one has heard from her. It certainly isn’t like her to miss a family function. Do you know if your Mother tried calling Brad Collins?” Brad Collins was Shari’s coach since high school. He had an uncanny ability to find raw talent and mold that talent into a competitive force. Shari exceeded all of his expectations.

“Yes,” said Mark. “Apparently his cell phone wasn’t on. She left several messages, but he hasn’t returned her calls. “I don’t know what to say Dad. I can’t keep track of their daily activities.”

The sunset in the western sky threw an amber glow across the Olympic-sized swimming pool. Everyone was standing on the second story balcony making small talk as they watched the beads of light disappear into the distant horizon. A long graceful figure, which had just finished an hour-long workout, moved slowly into the swim out section of the pool revealing a naked body. All eyes fell on the beautifully figured specimen as she towel dried. That was the way Stephanie Yates liked it; eyes transfixed upon her as she put on her show.15

CHAPTER 2

The Suburban entered the side street and turned toward the warehouse. The driver backed up to the building, stepped out of the vehicle, quickly walked up to the control box and entered the security code to open the double sized stained white garage door. As he stepped back into the driver’s seat, his ski-masked companion said. “Back her up all the way to the rear office. Then bring the body into the room.” He barked out more orders to the driver. “First set her down and take off that tennis outfit, leave her sports bra and panties on. Put the tennis outfit, shoes and sox in the white box that’s sitting on the desk. Then set her on the chair. Tie her hands behind the chair and bind her ankles to the chairs’ front legs. Keep the hood on her head until we’re ready.”

The driver turned to his ordering master with a quizzical look. “It’s kind of chilly shouldn’t we put something on her?”

“No. That’s not the plan,” said the ski-masked man. “Believe me it’s going to get plenty hot in here shortly. Make sure that her body is facing toward the two lamps. I want to make certain that we get her full expression of fear recorded. You got it?”

“Yes, no problem. I’ll take care of her,” said the driver.16

“Good, while you’re getting her ready, I’ll set up the computers to record our session. We can’t afford any surprises. This has to be perfect for it to work.”

“I understand, said the driver. I’ll get the girl.”

Shari was practically paralyzed. As she slowly came to, her senses remained numb. She could taste the cloth that was gagging her mouth. She couldn’t scream for help. Her arms and legs felt like iron weights. She tried to move them, but they wouldn’t respond. The hood kept her in darkness, however she was able to hear the faint sound of a couple of voices. She realized that she was thrown into a vehicle, but didn’t have a clue as to where she was, or where she was going. Was she in a trunk, van, what? She tried to remain calm. Whatever drug they gave her worked quickly, as she lost all sense of time. She wondered how long she had been

out? What was going to happen to her and and why me?

The voices grew louder. She definitely heard two. One had a deep, crackly, hoarse sound; the other was a higher pitch. One voice was giving the other orders. It sounded very military. Yes sir, no sir type of commands, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying.

The rear door to the Suburban opened. She was lifted out of the vehicle and thrown to the ground. She was too weak to fight her assailant. She started to cry, tears were streaming down her cheeks like a heavy South Florida summer rain. The assailant said. “Listen honey, I don’t want to hurt you. Just relax and cooperate and everything will be fine. I’m going to take off your shirt, skirt, shoes and sox, but I am not going to do anything nasty to you. If you struggle, then I may have to hurt you. So be a good little girl and lie still.”17

His voice sounded reassuring, but she was scared. Is he some kind of pervert? Is she going to be ravaged, cut, shot, murdered? She didn’t know what to think. The drug was really wearing off and she was starting to feel her arms and legs again. She had taken defense courses in college and was taught to fight for her life at all costs, but her hands were tied and she was weak. She decided to give in, at least for the moment, collect her thoughts and wait until her strength returned. She closed her eyes and complied with her assailant’s request.18

CHAPTER 3

The lights came on. It was like looking directly into the sun. The driver removed Shari’s black hood and faced her toward two high intensity photo lamps. The light on her face showed every imperfection; red cheeks, a blemish line through the top of her forehead, where her head hit the bottom of the Suburban floor, tiny scratches and bruises were on her forearms and legs. She had a swollen bottom lip, from the gag that was pressing against her mouth. Her eyes were swollen from crying and her nose was running.

She tried to breathe slowly, but the smell of carbon monoxide and mildew was making her nauseous. She swayed back and forth, attempting to balance herself as the driver barked orders. “Lean your head forward not back. We need to get a full front shot. This will only help you to be recognized,” the driver said in a low pitched monotone. “If you cooperate, your time here will become easier. I know that you are scared. You have a family that loves you and misses you. They will be anxious to see that you are OK. Now, open those baby blue eyes and look directly at the red flashing light on the camera. Do you see the light?”

Shari shook her head up and down, acknowledging that she noticed the red light beam in the center, between the two spotlights. The driver peered through the lens and signaled to the shadow in the background. Shari couldn’t see the figure, 19

due to the intensity of the light, but figured out that it was the ski-masked man, who abducted her.

A quick snap and the lights went on and off. Another snap, the lights went on and off again. This happened several times. Then the driver moved the camera closer to her body. The lights went out and the room became dark again, except for the red beam on the camera and a hazy film like glow in the distance, where the shadow was sitting. He paused and asked the shadow. “How did that look on screen?”

The shadow replied in his muffled gruff voice. “Got it, they’re good still shots. I’ll make copies and put a set in the white box. Next up is the DVD. I want to see some real fear in her eyes as you film her. I know that she is scared, but not scared enough. It has to be convincing. I don’t want this to look like an actor playing a role. I want this to be real. Her father must see the fear in her eyes.”

The driver said to Shari. “You heard the man. I don’t want to hurt you, but show the fear. I mean show it in your eyes. Do you understand?”

Shari shook her head up and down again. The driver turned on the lights and commanded Shari to play her part. Shari must have been a born actress. She not only showed her fear in a convincing manner, she also tried to yell, wiggle out of the straps that were tying her to the chair, rocked back and forth in a useless effort to free herself and cried a bucket of tears. When the stress of this act was over, she passed out.

“Hey, wake up you bitch.” The driver slapped her face. There was no response. He raised his hand again and the shadow grabbed his arm. “That’s enough. I got it all. No need to hurt her. She’s very convincing. Either she’s the best actress I’ve seen since Glenn Close went after Michael 20

Douglas with that knife in Fatal Attraction, or she’s the genuine thing.” The shadow was a movie buff and loved Glenn Close. He’d seen all of her films, many times over. “It doesn’t matter. Let her sleep it off. Get her out of the chair, put her into the bunk bed in the back room and tie her to the bedposts. Cover her with the blanket and don’t you dare fondle her. We need to keep this girl clean, for the moment. Lock the door when you leave.”

The driver turned the camera off and flicked the ceiling lights on giving the room a soft daylight appearance. He lifted Shari. She was dead weight, a lot heavier than a 115 pound 5 foot 8 inch body. Shari was built just like her twin sister Stephanie, however, she had long blond hair that she wore in a pony tail. Stephanie‘s hair was shoulder length and a light brunette with golden highlights.

The driver brought her over to the bed and immediately tied her arms and legs to the bedposts and covered her up, just like the shadow told him. He was careful not to touch her. This was a tough task. She was incredibly beautiful, even in her current condition. Men would easily lust after her. He knew that her boyfriend was a lucky guy.

The shadow downloaded the DVD and labeled it

Part One. He was thinking about the plan for Part Two. He looked at the imitation Rolex clock on his wall. 8:15 p.m. It was almost time to make the call. He summoned the driver into his office. Three computer screens faced the shadow. The one to his right had the still photos of Shari. The center screen had a long view of her sitting in the chair and the right screen had a close up. “I think the still photos work well, that’s why I made copies right away. I’m hung up on whether we should download the long shot or the close up shot for the DVD. What the hell? I’ll use both. We’ll end the filming with a21

close up of her face just before she passed out. I know that Yates will go crazy when he sees this.” The driver, as always, agreed with the shadow. The plan was in place for Part One to begin at precisely 8:30 p.m. 22

CHAPTER 4

Adam and Brian couldn’t help but stare at Stephanie. She was a sight to see. She apparently knew that she was being watched, but that didn’t bother her at all. She looked up toward the second story balcony and smiled. Even though she couldn’t see through the glare of the setting sun, she knew who was invited for cocktails and assumed that everyone in there was straining their eyes to get a good view of her towel drying.

Her father was systematical. All things had a purpose. Everything was timed. He never missed an opportunity to gain an edge. Be that gaining the upper hand in a business transaction, using people to his advantage, or in this case, setting up his daughter to be the main attraction for the beginning of the evening.

Steven Yates turned toward the cast of guests and said, “She is beautiful isn’t she? You know her twin sister has the same body, same look, except for her blond hair. However, looks are deceiving. They may look alike, but their personalities are as different as night and day. They are both star athletes. Stephie, as you saw is a powerful swimmer. She has won every competition since elementary school; however, she missed out on winning the gold medal in the last two Olympics. Eight years ago, she pulled a pectoral muscle, just before the qualifiers and didn’t make the team. 23

Four years ago, as you may know, she won two silver medals. She is now training for next summer’s Olympics. She’s a tough kid and determined to make the team, in spite of her age. She’ll be 25 when she competes. Shari is the tennis star. She’s played in Wimbledon, The Australian, French and US Opens since she was 16. Never winning, but never giving up. She was in the finals in the U.S. Open two years ago. Her coach thinks she still has a chance. She’s entering the prime of her tennis career and looking forward to competing in the US Open this fall.”

Steven peered down at his daughter as she finished drying herself and said, “Yeah, for sure, Stephie isn’t shy. She swims in the nude to gain speed and become one with the water.”

Adam turned to Steve Yates. “You should be very proud of your daughters.”

Steve agreed. “Oh, believe me; I am, for both sets of my twin children. They make our lives very interesting and challenging.”

Lani walked into the room and overheard Steven’s ranting about his daughters. “If I might add, “They love each other, but they don’t always get along. Maybe it’s their drive to succeed. Who knows? We’re not unlike any other parents, who only want the best for their children.” Lani sighed and said kiddingly, “We hope that someday one of them will give us grandchildren, hopefully not twins, but they all carry the Yates genes. They are as different as A is to Z. When they were younger, we used to introduce them as our T w i n Z. We used a Z as a description for their differences. We still call them the Twinz.”24

General Bullock walked over to Lani and said. “Let’s have a toast to your Twinz.”

Everyone raised their glasses, as they peered out the window and said, “To the T w i n Z.”

For the next half hour the group shared their individual stories. At six foot five, stocky build, beady black eyes and a salt and pepper military haircut, Bullock was an imposing figure that commanded attention. He loved to hold court talking about his escapades in Vietnam, Iran, during Jimmy Carter’s term, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. It was hard to get a word in edgewise, but Colonel Baris, who served several terms under Bullock, added his two cents worth. Adam and Brian cornered Secretary of Defense, James Pauling. They carried on a conversation about their new software tracking system that was being developed for monitoring robotic military infiltration. James Pauling was acutely aware of the new weapon system; a Star Wars type fighting force, which had the potential to keep troops out of harm’s way.

Mark chimed in, “Well General, I’ve always had a dream of becoming a pro golfer. I just missed getting my Q card by two shots. Of course, to play with the top pros would’ve been unreal.”

Bullock, who thrived on stories, chimed in. “Then you really missed a great opportunity.”

Mark responded. “Yeah, you’re right. But you never know what the future holds. Do you General?”

Bullock turned away and thought. You never do. That’s what makes life challenging, like this evening’s dinner. What does Yates have planned? He’s always one step ahead. It will 25

be interesting to see how he molds this group to accomplish his objective.

It was 8:20 pm. when Stephanie came into the room. Looking fresh from her swim, she was dressed in a black, low cut silk blouse tucked into a cream colored mini skirt. Her three inch heels gave her long legs an extended appearance. She didn’t wear any jewelry, other than an Olympic pendant, that was given to her by the coach of the Olympic swim team.

“Dinner will start in 10 minutes,” said Lani. “Please follow us to the dining room. You can take your drinks with you.”

Steven walked to the rear of his guests and pulled Mark aside and asked him again. “Where is your brother? Where is Shari?”

“Dad, Evan will be here. I’m sure that there is a reason that we haven’t heard from Shari.” Mark wasn’t confident that either Evan or Shari would be on time or, for that matter, show up. They both hated these kinds of dinner gatherings. To them they were all BS, with each guest trying to outsmart or outmaneuver the other. Boring and a waste of time, but when their father said be there, they had no choice but to comply.

8:21 p.m. Mark’s cell phone rang. It was Evan. “Mark, sorry buddy, but I got held up, tell Dad that I’ll be there in about 30 minutes.”

“OK, Mark, but he’s pissed. You know how he is about punctuality.”

“I know, said Evan. Tell him that I got hung up on the new software program that we talked about. You know the one that will give us additional firewall protection. We can’t let another hacker into our system, like last month’s fiasco. We 26

could have lost millions in a matter of seconds, if I didn’t catch it in time.”

“OK, I’ll tell him. Just hurry up. By the way where is Shari?” asked Mark.

“What do you mean?” Evan replied, sounding surprised.

“She isn’t here. No one has heard from her since noon.”

“Where did she go?”

“She went for her final work out with Brad Collins.”

“Well, did you call Collins to find out what happened?”

“Mother left a message on his cell phone, but he hasn’t

answered.” Mark said in a curt tone. “Well, you know she’s been a little flaky recently. Every time it gets close to one of her matches, she loses sight of everything. Maybe, she’s at Manny’s Bar and Grill. That’s where I found her the last time this happened. Or maybe she’s with Charles.”

“You mean Charlie Stevens?” asked Mark. “I don’t think so. He went out of town, some kind of real estate convention.”

“Yeah, but those two love birds, never lose track of each other.” Evan asked Mark. “Don’t you have his cell number?”

“Not in my cell phone.” Mark replied. “I never call the guy. I’ll ask Mother. Knowing her, she probably tried calling him already. You know how she keeps things to herself.”

“OK Mark, we’ll handle it when I get there.”

“OK, but step on it.”27

Mark wondered why he was always the one to coordinate things for his Brother and Sisters. Yeah, he was the oldest, by 2 minutes. What a joke. They called him the oldest twin. The oldest is the one who is supposed to be the responsible child. It seems like he was the one who raised them all.

As everyone was casually entering the Victorian dining room, Mark filled his Dad in on the conversation he had with Evan. “OK, but I’m not happy,” Steven said impatiently and continued toward the dining room.

Lani entered the room. She motioned to a tall gentleman, dressed in a tux, standing at the entrance to the room. “Everyone, may I introduce you to Hector Sanchez, our long time family assistant. Hector was a refugee from the 1980 Mariel boatlift. He was the only one in his family to survive Castro’s deportation. Hector is and has been a valued member of our family for over 20 years. Hector, kindly show our guests to their seats.”

Hector greeted everyone and motioned them to their seats. Steven Yates took position at the far end of the table. To his right was General Bullock, his left James Pauling. The Sunshine brothers sat next to Pauling. Across from them were Andy Peters and Colonel Baris. The four remaining placements were for Stephanie, Mark, Evan and Shari. Lani sat at the far end of the table, closest to the swinging door to the kitchen area. After everyone was seated, Hector went into the kitchen to tell Germaine, the Yates family chef, to begin serving the first course.

Pauling commented on the six-foot high crystal chandelier. “That is quite a work of beauty.”28

Steven responded by giving the group a short historical description. “That fixture was shipped to us from Austria, along with the art work that is on the east and west walls of this room. They survived the Nazi invasion of Austria and Poland. The chandelier and paintings were originally owned by Frederick the Great, the grandson of King Frederick the First, dating back to the mid 1700’s. Those pieces were a part of the King’s estate and remained so, up to the time of modern day Austria. We purchased the items at Sotheby’s auction in New York eight years ago. We kept them in storage, knowing that someday we would have the proper room to display their beauty. Later on, after dinner, we’ll take a tour of the rest of the house. We have Picassos, Van Goghs, Warhols to Niemens and a collection of original John Lennon ink sketches. We have one of the largest private original art collections in the Southeastern U.S.”

Suddenly, Hector came into the room, with a nervous look on his weathered face, just as Steven was finishing his story about Prussia and his art collection. He approached Steven and whispered in his ear.

Steven stood up abruptly and said to his guests. “I’m sorry but, I have to excuse myself for a moment to take an important phone call.”

8:30 p.m the muffled voice on the other end of the line asked “Is this Steven Yates?”

“Yes it is. Who is this?”

There was no response to his question.

“Listen and listen carefully. Do as I say. We have your daughter, Shari. In exactly 30 minutes we’ll call again with explicit instructions. Follow these instructions precisely. If 29

you don’t we will kill her. Do not attempt to contact the police or FBI. Do not tell your dinner guests that we had this conversation. Remain calm. Act as if nothing unusual is happening. Do you understand?”

Steven responded with a lump in his throat. “Yes. Who are you?” All he heard was a dial tone.

Steven’s body felt numb. He turned white. Sweat was starting to pour down his face. Hector saw his reactions and said. “Sir, are you alright? What happened? Can I be of any help?”

Steven turned toward Hector and calmly replied, “Go into the dining room and tell our guests that I am tied up for the moment, but will return shortly. Ask Brian Sunshine to give a brief overview of why we are gathered for this meeting. Do not tell them about the phone call. Don’t mention anything about me. Then meet me back here. OK. Go. Go now!!”

“As you say,

Senor’,” replied Hector. Steven sat down on the leather barstool that was located next to the telephone stand in the kitchen hallway. His mind was running like a racehorse. What is this all about? Who has Shari? Is she all right? What does the caller want? How did he know that we had guests for dinner? His unanswered questions were traveling through his brain at light speed. He was confused. A state of mind he hated. He always had control over situations. This was new ground, in an area that he had no expertise. He suddenly felt light headed and almost fell off of the barstool. He wanted to cry out and discharge his anger, but he remembered what the caller said. “Remain calm, do not tell your guests.” He was in a state of disbelief. Was this a hoax, or a bad practical joke? He knew that he had enemies who were capable of doing just about anything. If 30

you’ve reached the level of his success, enemies were part of the game. Which enemies? He tried to gain composure. He looked at his platinum Rolex, took several deep breaths and waited for the abductor’s call.

30 minutes seemed like an eternity. Steven Yates’ organized and controlled world was about to change…forever.31

CHAPTER 5

Not a car in sight. She was running down a long stretch of deserted highway. It was unbearably hot. Her clothes were torn. Her throat was dry like the desert. She tried to swallow, nothing, no saliva. It burned as she breathed. The sun was bearing down on her, but she kept on going. The broken lines on the road started to wave back and forth in a dizzying display of motion. She kept running.

She tried to focus. Her eyes were tearing. In the distance she thought she saw a billboard, but couldn’t read the sign. She ran faster. The sign didn’t seem to be getting any closer. She reached out as if to touch the words.

Suddenly, she was cold. The road turned toward a clearing and it was snowing. Her body started to shiver. She heard music in the background. It was an old Beatles song, “Let It Be”. The music grew louder. The lyric line, “Speaking words of wisdom, let it be, let it be,” played over and over again.”

The snow stopped falling. She found herself resting under a large oak tree. Her ankles were swollen and her arms had black and blue marks above her wrists. A cool summer breeze flowed gently through the branches. She was tired, but felt comforted. The cool air felt good. Her throat stopped aching. Her mouth became moist. She could taste cool, fresh water.32

“Shari, Shari.” She heard her name. It echoed through her mind. She tried to respond. “Shari, drink the water slowly. That a girl.” The voice sounded soft and reassuring. She tried to open her eyes. Everything around her was a blur. The voice said. “You need to get up. We have work to do.” A cool moist towel soothed her face. She started to come to. She was in another place. There wasn’t a sun-bleached highway, snow falling, an oak tree or music playing. She tried to focus. It looked like she was in some kind of cave, lying on soft ground. The ceiling was full of lumps and wires. A figure was sitting next to her with his hand holding a blinding object with a flashing red beam that blurred her vision.

She tried to move away from the light, but she was still weak and dizzy. Her hands and ankles were bound. She cried out “Where am I? Who are you?” She lifted her head. It wasn’t a dream. Her senses came back slowly. This wasn’t a cave. She was in a bed. There were lumps and wires above her head from the bottom of the upper bunk bed.

“Young lady, Ms. Tennis Star, good to see that you are back with us,” said the figure sitting in a chair directly across from her. “You’ll be the star of our video shortly. In the meantime I’ll bring you some food and clothes.”

Shari looked at the shadowy hooded figure. She couldn’t see his features behind the camera. The opposite side of the room was dimly lit from a lamp sitting on a dresser. From the inflection of his voice, he sounded young, maybe in his mid twenties. “I have to go to the restroom,” she said sweetly. “Please, can I go, now?”

“Ok, I’ll untie you but don’t try anything stupid. The bathroom door is next to the dresser.”

“Thank you. Is it OK if I clean up a little?”33

“That’s fine, but don’t take too long. You have 5 minutes.”

It felt good to have her hands and feet free again. Her legs were a little weak as she walked to the bathroom. She opened the door. The room was cement block. No window. There was a soil stained toilet and a cracked mirror above the sink.

She turned on a dimly lit ceiling light and looked at her image in the corner of the cracked mirror. What a sight, she thought. There she was standing in her bra and panties. Her eyes were bloodshot, her blond hair was a twisted mess and the corners of her mouth had little cuts with dried blood. She checked the rest of her body and realized that she wasn’t raped. Tears formed. Even though Shari wasn’t religious, she said to herself, thank you God.

Shari tried to clean herself up. She washed her face, straightened out her hair and put on an oversized tee shirt that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. She looked in the mirror one more time, took a deep breath and cautiously reentered what she mentally thought of as a cell.

The hooded figure was gone.

She blinked several times, rubbed her eyes and tried to take inventory of the room. The acoustic ceiling’s fluorescent lights flickered on and off, giving the space an eerie feeling. A bunk bed was in the left corner facing a dilapidated stained wood dresser. Next to the dresser was a small card table with two metal folding chairs. She walked over to the table and found a turkey sandwich, chips and a coke. Shari was starving and ate like she hadn’t had a meal in a week.

The driver and the shadowy figure looked on as Shari devoured the sandwich. The shadow said “We’ll watch her for awhile on this monitor. Our instructions are to leave the 34

little bitch alone, feed her, but have no further communication with her until we hear from number one.”

“OK, I got it,” said the driver.

“Everything so far is running like clockwork,” replied the shadow. “We made call #1 on time. In 20 minutes we’ll make call #2. Go double-check the phone recorder to make sure that we get Yates’ response. I don’t have a lot of time to get across town for the delivery after we speak to him. By now the traffic should have died down so it shouldn’t take more than forty five minutes to reach the check point.”

“Right,” said the driver. “Don’t worry, I have everything under control here.”

“That’s what worries me,” replied the shadow in a seething voice. “I’m relying on you to not fuck anything up!”

“I won’t, trust me for once.”

The shadow said under his breath, “Yeah, we’ll see about that.” 35

—————————

Charlie came out of his daze, as Shari towel dried. He stared at her incredibly beautiful body, wondering how she was going to react when she finds out that he is the kidnapper. He looked at the monitor and said, “Too bad little girl that you are so naïve. We set you up and you fell right into our trap. Hopefully, you won’t have to be sacrificed. I really did enjoy every minute of you, but that was then and this is now!”

Charlie put on the plastic mask and waited for Frankie to return. It was time to break the news to Shari.