Little Red (31 page)

He edged around the open door and moved closer, Nathan pushed through slowly, the smell filling his chest. He felt
nauseous, the waft of stale food and sweat caused him to flare his nostrils. Richard stood, the bag in one hand. The obese man starred into the hypnotic blue screen, unaware of his unwanted guests. He placed the bag down slowly and pointed Nathan to the other side of the room, out of view and the line of fire. He positioned his feet apart, one foot forward, the other in line with his body, creating a stable platform to attack from. He moved his hands in a circular motion, clicking the wrists free. The fists were clenched and raised for an attack.

‘
Hey’ he shouted, catching the man off guard.

The blob swivelled to the sound. The
fist landed smack bang on his nose, he stood, staggering slightly. The open hand jab followed soon after, connecting with his throat. He fell to his knee wheezing. The straight kick to the stable leg forced it to buckle and the man landed upon the floor.

‘Tape, quickly!’ he shouted to Nathan who moved with the speed of a Gazelle.

The interior lighting had been switched on once the man was secured to the chair. His wrists were bound to the arms with copious amounts of tape. His legs and feet were taped flush with the frame, the grey sticky material wrapped over and around the seat several times to keep his limbs in place. Nathan had even pulled strands of tape around the man’s torso, to keep him down for definite. He woke, coughing from the wind-pipe strike delivered by his attacker.

‘Wakey wakey’ whispered Richard into the man’s ear.

‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ he yelled

‘Hey, I ask the fucking questions…..not you!’ tapping his forehead with a stiff finger. Nathan moved to Richard’s side and they watched the large man as he wriggled in the chair. The beads of sweat dropped from his brow, the top of his head was barely covered by fine hair. Richard retrieved his bag and began placing some of the contents on the table where the monitor sat. The man prisoner watched as each item was shown to him, a wide grin upon Richard’s face.

‘You see these tools, they’re for you fat boy!’ his finger hovered over the weapons.

‘Who are you?’ his face showed fear.

‘That’s not important’, began Nathan, ‘
Your name please?’

‘Fuck you’ he spat

Nathan extended an open hand and the hammer was placed in it.

‘Nice choice!’ he nodded to Richard

‘Right, I’m going to fire some questions your way, I want them answered!’ the hammer aimed at the man’s face.

‘Like I said, fuck you’

‘Wrong answer’ the hammer crashed down upon the blob’s foot, the bone cracked as the skin was split. It came down again and again, the foot began to deform as each blow separated the bone. The victim screamed as the pain shot through him, the blood spitting in all directions.

‘Right, I’ll ask again!’ the sweat building upon his own brow, he attempted to catch his breath
, ‘What’s your name?’

‘Lee, its Lee I swear!’ he trembled

‘Good, next one, what do you know about the Wolf?’

‘The killer?’

‘So you do know him?’

‘Not personally no, fuck, my foot is killing me….please!’

‘Why did you mention his name, the internet chat site, the one with the pictures that you admire so much….you know what I’m on about Lee!’

‘Please, I need to go to the hospital….please!’ he whimpered. Richard moved forward and stamped on his broken foot, the man jerked as the strike took him by surprise. The crunching sound deafened them.

‘The Wolf, where is he?’ Richard screamed in his face.

‘Fuck……..please
stop!’

Nathan stood and watched the grown man cry, he had never heard a noise like the one coming from his mouth. The over emphasised breathing and high pitch whimpering had shocked him. He stepped back, the room started to spin. Richard moved to catch his friend as he collapsed to one side. He managed to grab hold of his jacket, decreasing the impact as
Nathan connected with the floor. Richard lowered to his friends level, his knee resting upon the littered floor.

‘Nathan, hey, you hear me?’ shaking his shoulder

There was no reply, he had passed out but was still breathing. Richard contemplated his next move, he didn’t want to leave his unconscious friend upon the floor, but also he didn’t want to leave the occupant in case he made an attempt to flee. He thought quickly about the decision.

The small coffee table crumbled as
Richards foot landed upon it. He collected the longest slab of wood and checked its durability, his strong hands attempted to break it in two. Satisfied that the item was strong enough he moved back to the obese man and placed the wood flat under his feet. He stood and reached for the black bag. The nail gun was removed, the box of nails clipped into place within the handle. Richard aimed it towards the wall and depressed the trigger. The loud clunk sound forced a nail to dart from its home and land upon the area in which it was intended for. Smiling, he turned to the man who had begun wetting himself, his grey underpants held a dark patch as the urine flooded his chair. Richard knelt down, the tip of the gun placed upright on top of the good foot. The pleas from his victim were un-heard, the trigger was pulled and the familiar clunk sound sent the nail through the bone, the wood cracked as the metal dug through it. The second was placed just below, securing the foot to the slab of wood. The blood leaked from each rupture. The cries were loud but Nathan remained out cold. Richard moved the weapon to the damaged foot.

‘Can’t do much more damage with this one can we?’ he laughed, the nail tearing through the pulped flesh and greeting the wood.

‘Now stay still, there’s a good boy’.

***

Jack’s head felt light, his vision impaired by the consumption of the amber liquid. He hadn’t drunk in a long time, not that he was a recovering alcoholic, he just released his built up anger whenever he had a skin full. The bottle held little alcohol, the vast amount of the contents now pumping through his stomach and diluting his blood stream. His stability had been weakened as he stood from the chair, he needed to stretch his legs, the numbing sensation crawled from his toes to his calf muscles. He tried calling Nathan again, he was struck by the same bad luck that had been following him like an overcast cloud above his head. The mobile phone was thrown across the room, landing by the bright green plant that stood in one corner. He growled to himself as the alcohol intensified his anger. He collapsed to his knees, the weeping began and he found it difficult to control himself. He had lost everything that ever mattered to him, he blamed the job, and now his career was slowly drifting away. He watched as his mind displayed an image, the unmanned boat bobbed upon the clear blue waves. He reached for it, the waves dragging his dream further away. He called to it as the object decreased in size, the distance between them increasing. His forehead kissed the carpet of the office, he cried for his ex-wife, her name echoing the room. The spit escaped his mouth and pooled below his nose, a strand clung to his skin. He began to remember his reaction to Helen leaving him, the day she had packed her belongings as he worked. The scene they made as she left their house when he arrived home. The copious amounts of amber liquid he consumed. The length of rope from his garden shed, securing it upon the bannister at the top of the hall. The other end holding a loop, large enough for his head to fit through, the knot made to allow the rope to slide up until it could go no more.

It was Nathan who found him, still breathing and surprisingly having a spine that still remained intact. His throat had burned
as the skin was pinched to a close. He remembered the flashing lights of the ambulance, the aluminous coats the paramedics wore. He relived the last conversation he and Helen had whilst he was in hospital, the words
selfish
and
sympathy
hurt him the most. Her wedding ring sat upon his chest as she departed for good. He remembered all of this, but couldn’t see the time where he threw himself from the stairs, the suicide attempt failing.

The emotions he began feeling were the ones that drove him to the garden shed many years ago. They haunted his mind and he put up little fight to remove them. His fists slammed down upon the floor, he asked
why
many times, his brain attempting to piece together the awkward puzzle. He tipped the bottle upright, the remaining contents falling into his open mouth. The fan from above wafted a cooling air against his skin, his eyes followed it drunkenly as the rotations it made hypnotised him. His tie was slowly removed, his concentration fixed on the fan. The desk offered a low grumble as it was manoeuvred to the centre of the room. His flat sole shoes scraped on the wooden surface as he climbed it, his flimsy frame bowing to one side. He placed the garment around his neck and fumbled to make a knot. He wept as the tie was secured around his throat. He watched as the spinning blades caused a dizzy spell in his eyes, little black dots flashed upon the retinas. He reached up, the loose end in one hand. The metal blade clipped his hand and drew blood, he struggled once again with his balance, leaning forward to grab hold of the cooling object he slipped and plummeted to the ground. His body rattled as he hit the floor hard, his shoulder ached from the contact. He brought his knees up to his chest as he lay upon his side, the jerking movements followed as he erupted with tears and cries of pain.

***

The kiss upon his cheek warmed his
heart; her perfume entangled his body with lust. The drinks were still in her hand as she sat, the glasses placed upon the table as she leant over. William grabbed his red wine and sipped it, his eyes fixed on the woman who had wooed him. Her eyes, a light blue, twinkled as she blinked provocatively, her teasing smile turned him on.

‘Please excuse me whilst I nip to the loo’ he stood slowly.

He staggered slightly, forcing his brain to straighten his posture and remain stable. He flashed a smile as he left for the toilet, the whole time telling himself to walk properly and move with sophistication. He stumbled through the gent’s toilet door, his suede shoes fighting to keep grip on the wet floor. He released the built up internal stash of fluid and a huge sense of relief washed over him.

My God she is beautiful……play it cool William, play it like you want it….like you own it
.

He performed a circular motion into the urinal and tucked his parts away, the zip grinding as it was secured. He washed his hands and splashed a slight dabble of water against his face, convincing himself that it was keeping him cool. He inhaled slowly as he prepared to exit, his heart beating with suspense. The door opened and he moved steadily through the corridor.

That’s it, keep cool…….keep cool……keep……

He stopped, his eyes searched for the woman. She had moved from the seating area, he couldn’t see her. He panicked, thinking maybe she had gone to the toilet or the bar for
another drink. He sat alone, waiting for his lady friend. The wine slipped down his throat, the pungent taste souring his taste buds.

***

Richard lowered Nathan’s body onto the backseat of the car. His friend stirred slightly as his head made contact with the leather.

‘What……what happened?’ he asked curiously

‘You passed out mate, hit the deck pretty hard!’

‘Jesus, sorry….I’m just….I’m exhausted’ he explained drearily

‘Look, it’s a new thing to you. I didn’t take you as the type of guy who does this stuff every Friday night!’ he chuckled

‘No way’

‘Well, I’m not done yet, what do you want to do?’

‘I’m seriously in favour of going to bed’

‘No dramas, I’ll finish up and we’ll head back, okay?’

‘Cheers mate’ his eyes closed

Richard closed the door carefully as not to catch his friend’s feet. He moved with speed back to the room, the cries could be heard from down the hall. He stormed into the living room and approached the man.

‘Right, the Wolf….do you know him?’

‘No!’ his head shook violently

‘You’re a Paedophile aren’t you?’

‘What….no…no I’m not’

Richard moved towards the monitor and located the mouse. He brought up the internet explorer page and allowed it to load fully. His eyes moved back to the bleeding beast upon the chair.

‘We’ll see!’

The page was up and he dragged the cursor to the history bar. It opened as he clicked it, the details of his recent searches appeared in a separate box. He clicked on the
today
folder and looked through it…..nothing appeared abnormal. He flicked through each folder, reading the site details that the man had searched. The folder titled
three days ago
sprung to life, he scanned the information noticing a site with an
xxx
mark next to it. He opened the page, once again allowing it to load. He looked back to the man, his eyes held fear, his body shaking due to the recent pain that was inflicted upon him. Richard’s eye caught the screen change colour, he turned his head to face it. The thumbnail pictures were littered upon the page, the titles of the images caused him to close his eyes with disgust.