It seemed to Anna that he was only doing it as a token gesture
of dominance, he didn’t want to hurt her…but at the same time he
clearly didn’t want her escaping. He finished off by tying the
loose strands of rope around the legs of the bed. He felt the
peculiar urge to pat her on the head or comfort her in some way,
but held back.
Ridiculous,
he thought.
What am I
thinking?
And he left the motel room with a
stomach full of raw nerves.
Anna wriggled on the bed trying to free her body from the
rope. She knew it would be impossible but would never forgive
herself if she didn’t try. The more she struggled the more the rope
burnt the skin on her wrists and she eventually gave up. Catching
her breath she tried to gauge what was happening. An hour ago she
was asleep in her own bed and now she was here….wherever that was.
She tried to remember the journey over here and was confused as to
why the gunman hadn’t blindfolded her.
Isn’t that what they usually do?
She
didn’t know. She wasn’t an expert on these things like her father
was.
Her father…
she remembered his pathetic, lifeless body on the couch. The
Western movie long ended and there was only the sound of the late
night TV commercials to keep him company. He must have looked a
sorry state when the killer arrived, probably thought he was doing
the old man a favour. She wondered whether he woke up just in time
to see the face of his own murderer. She worried that he would have
been scared. But she stopped herself. Why should she care? She
should be grateful that monster in her life was gone. He was a
bastard, a coward, a criminal, an absolute dirty dog of a man. She
looked at the door and wondered if she had just been delivered from
one monster to another.
~
Carl’s mind
was running ragged as he sped through the night. Soon enough he’d
be at his boss’ house and would have to tell him everything. But
did he? He couldn’t possibly tell him that he’d spared the life of
a witness, the Don would kill him. But he felt wrong killing
innocents - that’s what his Navy SEAL training had taught him to
do, and years after leaving the military, he still tried to fight
for freedom and honor. But that was more difficult to do now he was
tangled into the Mob.
He ran a hand through his hair as he looked in the mirror at
the stoplight. He was only a few minutes away from the Don and was
trying to get his story straight in his head.
Just tell him you killed the girl, no one has to know
otherwise.
He repeated the phrase in his
head like a mantra.
He hated
waiting at stoplights. The position of his legs while driving
always made his back hurt even more than it usually did. He
fidgeted in his seat to try and make the pain go away but as ever
it was a strong presence that refused to leave. The light went
green and he moved away slowly. He was the only vehicle on the road
and he was in no hurry. If anything he wanted to make the journey
last as long as possible.
He had to
control his nerves and he took a few deep breaths. Everything was
going to be ok. It wasn’t as if it would be more terrifying than
Afghanistan and he’d survived that. He tried to remember this as he
made his way down the immaculate long drive of the luxurious house
in Naperville. One last look in the mirror and he saw dark circles
around the rims of his icy blue eyes. He’d seen better days. The
job really took a toll on him.
A burly man in
a black, mohair suit was ready at the front door to greet him. As
ever the size of the house took Carl aback. It was the biggest
house, on the most exclusive street, in the most expensive suburb.
He often wondered what the Don’s neighbors thought of him. The
burly man was called Jerry and was always a pleasant and friendly
gentleman to Carl. He always imagined him as a playful bulldog, all
fat and stupid with a heart of gold. Jerry shook his hand firmly as
he jumped out the SUV.
“
You’ve taken your time tonight ain’t ya?” he laughed as he
looked up to the hitman.
“
Hey! I was you know… stuck in traffic,”
They both
laughed.
“
Of course you were,” Jerry smirked.
“
Say how’s the boss doin? He waitin’ for me?” Carl asked
nervously.
“
Sure is! Getting all angsty cos you’ve been taken your sweet
ass time,”
“
Well… you better show me the way,”
They walked
through the Don’s house, and Carl admired every detail. He always
dreamed that someday he could have all the Don had, but without
having to resort to violence and extortion. At least they know what
they want, Carl mused. On one hand he worked hard to be a fine
citizen that upheld the law… on the other, he killed for cash. It
wasn’t his fault that the military wouldn’t compensate him after
Afghanistan though. He always had to remind himself that.
Jerry led Cark
down a grand hallway that was colored in cream and gold. The
decadence was almost too much, as the gargantuan walls framed the
priceless treasures that adorned the place. A crypt, a chapel, a
private museum, Carl wasn’t sure but he was eager to see. He was
then rather titillated when the doors were pulled back to reveal a
bathroom. The largest bathroom he had ever seen. To Carl the room
could have fitted a train station, and he looked around to see why
they were taking him to a goddamn bathroom. But all that lay inside
the marble walls was a bath and in that bath sat Angelo De Lorenzo.
He was pushing the last piece of a sandwich into his mouth and
sucking mayonnaise from his fingers. He looked up to his two
employees with an irritated look on his tanned face.
“
Hey kid, what took ya so long?” he said angrily to
Carl.
“
Urgh… things got a little complicated, but it’s all sorted,”
he lied smoothly.
“
Complicated eh?” Angelo squinted his eyes suspiciously. “But
the girl? You got her too didn’t ya?”
“
Yup,” Carl nodded, praying he wouldn’t ask more
questions.
“
Good work,” Angelo began to swim over to the other side of the
bath where a briefcase lay. “As always, you never let me down,” and
he slid the briefcase over the wet floor in the direction of the
two men.
Carl picked it
up gratefully and nodded in appreciation.
“
Jerry here’ll show you out,” and Angelo swam back to his
original spot.
As Carl was
led out of the house and back to his car, he couldn’t believe that
lying was so easy. He couldn’t believe that he’d bullshitted the
Don and gotten away with it! He could feel the sweat clinging to
the inside of his clothes as he started the engine and drove away.
He gave a friendly wave to Jerry who was walking back in the house
with a cheery expression and focused his eyes on the road.
CHAPTER 3
Carl looked to
the passenger seat where the briefcase of money lay. $50,000. It
wasn’t lottery money but it would keep him comfortable and settled
for long enough. And anyway, he only needed a few more hits and
then he could retire and make a fresh start. He always thought he’d
head south and live somewhere warm, and cheap. The heat would help
his back recover and he liked the idea of having a little plot of
land to himself. A little orchard maybe and some farm animals. Or
maybe he’d get a condo somewhere like Miami and party hard, living
the bachelor’s dream on the beach.
As he pulled
into the parking lot of the motel he felt a twinge of panic. He’d
managed to get away with not killing the girl for now but what
next? He’d get found out eventually wouldn’t he? He opened the door
to the room and looked inside half expecting to see that Anna had
escaped but was almost disappointed to see she was obediently lying
still. He walked over to her and saw that she didn’t even seem
angry, just inpatient.
“
Who are you?” she spoke in hushed tones. “What are you going
to do with me?”
“
Shhhh…. You’ll find out soon enough,” he said rather harshly
and regretted it.
Anna withdrew
back into herself and sighed.
“
Look, there’s no use getting all pouty and bratty,” joked
Carl. “I ain’t lettin’ you go,”
“
Well can you at least untie me…please? It hurts,”
Carl
immediately felt like a brute. She was so tiny after all. What did
he need to tie her up for?
“
Ok fine… but don’t act up or I’ll shoot,” he put a finger on
the handle of his gun that sat on his hip and Anna
nodded.
He pulled the
knots apart and let the rope fall to the ground. Anna stretched out
her limbs and sat up feeling grateful.
“
Thanks… I knew you weren’t that much of a bad guy,”
“
Oh yeah… Why’s that?”
“
Well if you were gonna do something, you would have done it
already,”
She had a
point. Carl almost smiled but stopped himself.
“
Don’t get too complacent. There’s still time left,” he said
menacingly.
But Anna was
used to being threatened, and he wasn’t the first man that had
showed her a gun to get their way. She could see the kindness
behind the façade of machismo and she wasn’t as scared as she
should have been.
“
You can get some sleep if you want,” Carl nodded to the
bed,
“
And where will you sleep?”
“
I’m fine right here,” he shifted in his seat and winced in
pain. His back was hurting again but it wasn’t anything a shot of
vodka and a couple aspirin couldn’t fix.
Anna shuffled
into bed and pulled the covers up around her. They were dirty and
smelled musty but at least they were warm. She huddled up into the
foetal position and closed her eyes for just a second. She never
for a moment imagined that she could sleep but slumber came easily
and she drifted off peacefully.
~
The sun was
already shining through the venetian blinds when Carl woke up. He
had his head on his shoulder and he felt instantly stiff and in
pain when he woke.
“
Urgh…” he grumbled to himself.
Anna, having
heard him, also began to stir and for a brief moment Carl was
certain he saw a pained expression on her face. It was as if she’d
remembered something tragic. But then she opened her eyes and
looked to the ceiling as she realized where she was. She didn’t
seem even slightly perturbed and just sat up in bed, still wearing
her coat, with a dishevelled look.
“
Sleep well?” he asked sarcastically.
“
Never better,” Anna said so seriously it surprised
Carl.
“
Are you hungry?”
“
Always,” she replied.
And as Carl
looked to her legs that hung from her coat he noticed that she was
frightfully thin with bruises covering her pale skin like fading
leopard spots.
“
I’ll be right back with breakfast,” he spoke gruffly and
yawned before leaving the hotel room and jumping in the
SUV.
As he put his keys in the ignition he worried whether she
would try and escape. Leaving her alone for a while was somewhat of
a test. If she ran away she’d go straight to the police but they
could never penetrate the protection of the mob. But what if she
escaped and the Don found out? He decided to stay in the parking
lot for a while longer and see what she did. He had the key to the
motel room but she could easily smash a window. He could see her
figure a little bit through the gaps in the blinds. She appeared to
just be sitting on the edge of the bed. She leaned forward and
flicked on the TV
. So she’s getting
comfy,
he thought.
She won’t be moving
. As he drove out
onto the freeway, he wondered why.
Back in the
motel room Anna grabbed the remote and put on some cartoons. She’d
never really seen them before. Her father was a strict man and
wouldn’t allow her much freedom so she could never choose what she
watched. Most of the time her Dad had on some ball game, or
gangster movie. In a moment of sadness Anna realized that this was
one of the few times in her life she had just chilled out and
watched TV. A sense of calm washed over her as she enjoyed the
precious minutes to herself in the motel room she was held captive
in.
The tragedy of
the situation did not elude her though, since her freedom came at
the price of her father’s death. Thinking of him dead, she didn’t
know how to feel about it. Part of her wanted to cry because….he
was her father. He raised her, clothed her, fed her and gave her a
life. Granted it wasn’t a life she wanted, but it was hers, and now
that he was gone she could do anything with it.
Her mind
wandered to the mysterious man who kidnapped her. Her feelings for
him were conflicted too. She wanted to hate him, to feel distraught
and angry. She knew that other girls in her position would try to
escape but something inside Anna didn’t want to. She felt safe
somehow and wanted to at least say thank you to him, to explain
that in a way, she felt rescued. She pondered on why he didn’t kill
her. Maybe he was sent by a stranger to kill her father and rescue
her? The thought optimistically hung in her mind before she
dismissed it as fantastical.
Her Dad was a
notorious scumbag but no one knew about the things he did to her.
She saw the way people looked at her though. They knew something
was wrong but they could never have guessed the lengths of
depravity her father would go to for immediate gratification. She
flung herself back in between the pillows and relished the thought
of never being hit again, of never having to be pinned down into
the bed and have her legs forced apart. She’d never smell that
rancid stench that came from his unwashed body and she’d never feel
that dirty way again. Anna thought back to all those times she’d
put a capful of bleach into the bath water and how she’d smell her
clothes over and over again and each time they only seemed to smell
dirtier.