Mia's Journey: An Erotic Thriller (13 page)

“Wickedness is its own punishment.”

Francis Quarles

Chapter 34

Daddy heard Mia’s mental cry for help and was out of his chair and moving toward the door.

Wait. Stop. Think. What was going on,
he thought.
First, where was she? She had to be at the school. Second, who was he going up against? Gilheart, more than likely. What’s the plan?

He thought he could figure that out as he moved.

He went into the garage and picked up some three-pronged tire spikes he had made earlier. At the time, he didn’t know why he made them. They were made to instantly disable a moving car by flattening their tires as soon as they rolled over them.

He looked at his Mossberg 500, a Tactical Pump Shotgun, but decided against it. It was too much firepower. Moreover, things could go south real quick as soon as firearms were introduced.

Besides, with Gilheart he didn’t think he’d needed it. He knew, without even meeting him, he was going to be a coward. He picked up two rolls of quarters instead and put them in his pocket. Next, he tested some military issue telescoping combat batons.

The slide of their casing was like lightening greased with butter. He put one up each sleeve, and backed his pickup out of the driveway. He was on his way in less than five minutes.

He parked on a side street next to the school, not in the lot, and walked through some woods surrounding the school. He arrived at the parameter of the school and looked at it.

Most of the lights were off except in what he assumed was the gym. It had large double doors leading to the football field. He stayed on the edge of the woods completely invisible.

He remembered an acronym from his bad ‘ol days. S.T.O.P

Stop.

Think.

Observe.

Plan.

It was time to think, observe and plan.

He contemplated moving closer to the gym and maybe seeing what was inside, but just then a car turned into the parking lot. It was a late model Lexus. It pulled into a space close to the gym door, idled, then shut down with the lights going off.

Daddy heard the door chime going off, then the interior light came on, and a man stepped out of the car.
This must be hubby,
Daddy thought. Red rage started growing from the base of his spine, wanting to move up his backbone, but he quashed it down.
This is no time for emotion
.

How does this change the equation? It was now two against one. Daddy, however, had the element of surprise, weapons, and tactical knowledge of attack. He knew perfectly well with those advantages on his side, the odds could be four to one and they still wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

He didn’t feel the slightest pity towards them, nor would he have any mercy. After all, Gilheart had been warned.

Prescott stepped out of the car, shot his cuffs, adjusted his coat, and started walking towards the gym door unaware he was being tracked from the shadows. As Prescott went towards the school, Daddy moved in the opposite direction, always keeping behind him, out of his line of sight. Prescott tested the door, then walked in.

Daddy sprinted towards the Lexus and wedged a number of spikes under his wheels. If this went south and Prescott wanted to give chase, his car wasn’t going to be of any help. That done, he stood up, and sprinted towards the school. Planting himself flat against the wall, solid black, in a solid dark shadow.

Daddy chanced a look through the door. He could see Mia, standing between two men. The dress she has been so proud of hours before in tatters, ripped down the front.

There was blood leaking down her leg. Once again, red rage coursed up his spine, blood lust threatened to take over his mind. He pushed it down again. Daddy looked once more and mentally snapped a picture of each man’s face, and put it in a safe place to study later.

Now I know what you look like,
he thought.

Prescott walked into the gym and studied the scene before him.

“Hi there, Trailer Trash, remember me, your loving husband? You really didn’t think you’d be able to go on holiday without me, did you?” Then directing his conversation at Gilheart said,

“How was she? As tight as you remembered?”

“Actually, I think she was getting lazy on vacation and didn’t bother doing her Keagle exercises. She’s getting a little loose down there.”

“Well, if they don’t have a strong man around to point them in the right direction, they do get lazy real quick.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

“Mia, you do look a little worse for wear. Sort of like a homecoming queen after she’s been gang-banged by the varsity football team. I know you’re having fun at the prom and all, but it’s time to go home. Don’t worry Mia, there is still lots of fun to go. Wait until you see what’s at home waiting for you. A brand new present.”

“Do you mind if I come with you and watch?” Gilheart said hopefully.

“Sure John, the more the merrier. You can take over when I get tired. Say, John, I’ve been meaning to ask you, do you offer any advanced courses in anal cattle prods?”

“Funny you should say that. Just this week I was thinking of adding it to the curriculum. I didn’t because I figured I should study the subject more first.”

“Well, tonight’s your lucky night because Mia here has volunteered to advance your education.”

“Well, she is very giving in that way. A true educator.”

“Let’s go, Mia. Time’s a wasting,” said Prescott.

Daddy stood flat against the wall. A solid black form in a dark shadow. The gym door opened and he could see Prescott leading the way, with Mia in between, followed by Gilheart bringing up the rear.

They never saw him coming, and they never had a chance.

As soon as the door closed, Daddy stepped behind Gilheart swinging his body in a complete 360-degree turn, snapping the baton out at the last second and catching Gilheart in back of the kneecap. The centrifugal force of the blow was so great it forced his kneecap out the front side of his leg, crippling him for life.

Still moving in the same circle, he brought the other baton handle down right at the edge of his face where the eye socket meets the temple. The force of that blow caved in his temple and extruded the eyeball out of his head. It fell on his cheek, dangling at the end of the optic nerve.

Daddy completed the spin, then started another. Prescott heard the crack of bone and sensed something was wrong. He turned back to see what the problem was.

Daddy, this time stepped over Gilheart and in front of Mia, dropping the baton. He grabbed Prescott just under the chin, where his jaw meets his face, his fingers like talons digging into the soft area at the base of the jaw, ripped his head viciously around in a circle. Prescott was unconscious before he hit the pavement. Both men were down in less than two seconds.

Mia didn’t know what happened. All she saw was a swirling black shape and then both men crumpled at her feet.

“Come on, Baby Doll, we can send get-well cards later,” said Daddy, taking her hand and running for the woods to his pickup.

The pain hit Gilheart just then, and he started screaming, holding his hands to his face.

“Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.”

Dag Hammarskjold

Chapter 35

Once they got to Daddy’s truck, he put a blanket around Mia, and helped her into the truck.

“Daddy?”

“Shush, Baby Doll, don’t talk.”

Mia stayed quiet and Daddy drove her back to the house in silence.

“Come on, let’s go inside. Careful, now.”

Daddy led Mia into the house and upstairs to the bathroom. He started the bath.

“Baby, I’m going to have to do things now. They aren’t pleasant, but I have to do them even so.”

“What kinds of things, Daddy?”

“I have to collect evidence.”

“Are we going to the police?”

“They won’t help.”

“Then why collect evidence?”

“Just in case.”

“In case of what, Daddy?”

“Mia? Please be quiet and let me take care of you, okay?”

Mia stayed quiet and Daddy worked silently, completely focused on what he was doing.

First, he took pictures. He took photos of the bite marks on her breasts from many different angles. He took full-frontal pictures of her and another from the back. He took more photographs of her from each side with her arms raised. He then photographed the bruising on the inside of her thighs.

“Baby Doll? I know this sucks, but I have to do more. I need to photograph the damage around your ass. I need you to bend over.”

“Daddy, is this necessary?”

“Yes! Don’t play with me right now, Mia. I’m in no mood for games.”

Mia had never heard anger in Daddy’s voice before. She had been around angry men her entire life, but she had never heard anger so deep-seated and full of latent violence.

“Okay Daddy, I didn’t mean to make you angry.”

“You didn’t, Baby Doll.” His regular voice was back. Soft and patient.

Mia bent over and Daddy quietly reset the flash and took multiple photos of the injury to her ass.

“Okay, that part is done. Now, I have to take trace evidence.”

“What does that mean?”

“I have to collect saliva and sperm.”

“Jesus Christ Daddy! Do we have to?”

“Yes, we do. I’m doing this to protect you. Turn off the water, please.”

He swabbed her breast bite with a Q-Tip then put the Q-Tip in a plastic baggy. He also swabbed her vagina and anus, and put them in separate baggies, labeled, and dated them. He then put them side by side, and photographed them.

He left then and came back a short while later with all the photos printed out. He took all the trace evidence and photos, put them in a manila envelope, dated it with the time, and sealed it with candle wax so the envelope couldn’t be tampered with.

“Okay, all done. Now the last part. This part is the most unpleasant. I have to clean your wounds now. It’s going to hurt.”

“Daddy? What did you do to them back there?”

“Only what they had coming.”

“Mr. Gilheart had his eye laying on his cheek.”

“Yes, he did. Do you feel sorry for him?”

Mia thought for a moment. “No.”

“Good. He is a miserable excuse for a human being.”

“Did you kill my husband?”

“No, I don’t think so. Not because I didn’t want to. I couldn’t get my grip right. He got off lucky this time.”

“Where did you learn how to do that stuff?”

“Did anyone ever tell you, you talk too much?” Daddy said, but he had a smile.“Hold on Baby, this is going to hurt.”

“I can handle pain, Daddy.”

He used hydrogen peroxide and cleaned and disinfected her cuts. He bandaged them and then sat back.

“Okay, that’s the easy part. I’m going to tell you what’s coming next so I don’t shock you. Before you ask, yes, it is necessary. I’m not doing any of this because I’m having fun.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

“I’m going to have to douche you with a disinfectant, to make sure he didn’t leave any germs behind. It’s probably not going to be pleasant.”

“I can do that, Daddy. You don’t have….”

“I’m not finished.”

“Oh.”

“Then I’m going to have to give you an enema with the same disinfectant. I’ve got to make sure your gastric tract is completely clean. I can see the tearing. That means there’s a good possibility of infection. It’s going to hurt. I do have some painkillers, though. I can deaden the pain.”

“Oh no, Daddy! You go too far!”

“Either I can do it, or you’re going to the hospital, and a stranger can do it. One way or another, it’s in your future.”

Mia started weeping. “Do I have to?”

Daddy got down on his knees, and pushed his finger beneath her chin until Mia was looking right into his eyes.

“You have nothing you need to hide from me, and nothing you need to be ashamed of. Do you understand me? I never should have let you go to school today. You are my responsibility, and I let you down. I’m going to make it right. But first, I have to take care of you. So let’s just get this over with.”

After he was finished, he eased Mia down in the bath, poured some Epsom salt into the water and told her to soak. She was mentally, emotionally, and physically wiped out by her ordeal and didn’t put up a fight. She winced as the salt hit her wounds, then sank into the healing hot water. Daddy stayed outside the tub, pouring hot water over her shoulders, and gently washing her hair.

“Come, Baby Doll, it’s time for bed.”

“It’s warm Daddy. I don’t want to leave the bath.”

“I know, but the bed’s warm too. You’re safe, Baby Doll.”

He stood her up and dried her off, then carried her to the bed. He wrapped her up in the comforter and went downstairs to his study. He stared at the walls in silence, trying to connect the dots.

He looked at the sign over his desk, “
Face your fear and just do it.
”

He took the pictures of Gilheart and Prescott out from the photo album in his mind and examined their faces. Gilheart wasn’t going to be any trouble for a while. But he would still keep tabs on him just in case.

Prescott however, was another story. He had a bad feeling about this journey then. He looked at the feeling, tasted it, and decided he didn’t care. He was tired of this life anyway. But he didn’t want to leave Mia or his son behind.

A random lyric came to his head from Rock and Roll’s early years:

The New York Times said God is dead

And the war’s begun...

“I felt like the news business was a little rough for me and a little sleazy. So I glided right over into acting.”

Emily Procter

Chapter 36

“Coming up at eleven, prominent city attorney and school principal brutally beaten outside Waterloo Elementary School. Film at eleven…”

Daddy and Mia were sitting in the living room. Mia had woken up, and not seeing Daddy in bed with her had come downstairs. She was still sore and it hurt to walk. Daddy was sitting on the couch by himself, clicking through the channels.

Mia came into the living room silently, shrugged her way into his arms, and curled up next to him dragging her blanket around them.

“Hi, Baby Doll. You should be upstairs asleep.”

“Then you come upstairs too, Daddy. I want to sleep with you.”

“In a while. I want to see what the news has to say.”

“Thanks, Dan…” The news anchor was a pretty blond woman with over sprayed hair and sporting a serious expression. She was standing in front of a fire department ambulance amid sweeping blue police lights. “We’re live outside Waterloo Elementary School where a brutal beating took place earlier tonight. Police aren’t releasing many details, but this is what we’ve gathered so far.

“A prominent city attorney and the school principal here were working late on a project for disadvantaged children. When they left they were brutally attacked by a gang that left one in critical condition. We have also learned…”

“What! Daddy that is such bullshit! They are lying. They are…”

“Be quiet, Baby. Just listen…”

“Cassandra…can you tell us who was attacked?” This coming from back in the newsroom, the camera went to split screen, and an equally serious male anchor with his hand to his ear, was acting as though his opinion actually mattered.

“Dan, details are sketchy at this time. However, Jeffery Prescott, one of the victims, has agreed to talk with us.”

The camera angle shifted, widened, and Prescott was sitting in the ambulance in a white neck brace.

“Mr. Prescott, what can you tell us?”

“Well, John and I came here tonight for the ‘Children Without Hunger’ campaign, a cause we both believe in and are very active in. We came out after we finished and were immediately attacked by some vicious thugs.

They must have been laying in wait for us to leave. John, that is, Mr. Gilheart, suffered serious injuries. My heart goes out to his family. I just hope the police catch who was responsible.”

“Thank you, Mr. Prescott, and I just want to say…”

The anchorwomen droned on.

“That is such complete and total bullshit, Daddy! That makes me so mad. They were raping and beating me! They sit there and make it sound like they are humanitarians?” Mia was almost shouting.

“Calm down, Baby Doll. So what do you want to do about it?”

“Can you stop them?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“They are lying about you. About us.”

“So? We have physical evidence of your attack. We can prove Gilheart attacked you with his DNA. We cannot prove your husband had anything to do with it. Do you want to go in front of that camera and tell the world your side of the story?”

“Well, no…”

“Okay then. I’ll ask again, why do we want to do that? What will it change?”

“It will make me feel better.”

“Yes, but it won’t solve your problem.”

Mia was quiet and folded herself into Daddy’s warmth.

“What do you think we should do about it?”

“Beat them at their own game,” said Daddy, quietly.

Much later.

“Daddy? I’m never going home am I?”

“That’s right. Your life with Prescott is over.”

“How can that be? You can’t just say ‘Your life with Prescott is over,’ and Poof! It’s gone.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m legally married to him. He owns me.”

“He doesn’t ‘own’ you. People get divorced all the time. Didn’t someone just say ‘You’re married’ and Poof! You were married?”

“But that was legal.”

“Who says it was? Just because the government gave you a marriage license makes it real?”

“Well, yeah, Daddy. Duh!”

“It takes more than a marriage license to make a marriage real. The government doesn’t sleep in your bed. The government didn’t get beat up every night. Who are they to say what happens in either place?

If they are going to grant the license, they should share in the responsibility of their decision. But they don’t. If you make a decision, you are responsible for it. If they make the same decision, they aren’t, and suffer no ill effects from it.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying learn to take responsibility for your own decisions and don’t give ANYONE the power to make that decision for you. If you want to be divorced from Prescott, then take responsibility and go get a divorce. No one will do it for you.

The government won’t help you. But yes, you can just say ‘I’m divorced’ and Poof! you’ll be divorced. It is in your mind only. The same as the marriage was. The government is just acting more powerful than it actually is.”

“You are very strange, Daddy.”

“I know.”

Silence. The clock chimes the hours, and they slip past. No words were spoken. Daddy thought Mia had finally fallen asleep until she said,

“You’re right Daddy. No one can tell me who to love, or who to give my body to. I want a divorce!”

“That’s my Baby Doll,” said Daddy smiling.

“Daddy? I don’t want you to suffer because of me. None of this is your fault. You’re getting dragged into something you had no part of.”

“Daddy’s a big boy. He can also make his own decisions.”

“My husband will kill you, you know, if he finds you.”

“I know.”

“You don’t care?”

“It’s not that I don’t care, but this isn’t my first rodeo.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to help you. That’s all. I’ll let the rest work itself out.”

“You’d really do that for me, wouldn’t you? You don’t even know me. But you’d die for me.”

“Well, it’s a big step from helping you to dying. Let’s just take it one small step at a time.”

“Daddy?”

“Baby Doll, you’re tired. You’re still in shock. You should be sleeping.” He started to lightly stroke her hair.

“I will, Daddy but I need to ask you something first.”

“Shoot.”

“Why are you helping me? You know this shit storm is mine, not yours.”

“Baby Doll, you are mine now, which means that any storm you have to weather, I have to weather. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Slow tears started to drip from Mia’s eyes. How could she deserve anyone this good? Why would he want such a damaged girl? She started to cry harder.

Daddy stopped stroking Mia’s head and pulled her up onto his lap. “Don’t cry. I will make this better. Everything is going to be all right.” He left a trail of soft kisses over her head and cheek, taking some of her tears.

“Daddy, you would be better off without me, you know.”

“Never say that or think that. You have given me more than you will ever know. Now go to sleep. Daddy will be here.”