Purgatory Blues (2013), page 28
“Look, I don’t know who your boss is, but if he wanted to have a conversation, all he had to do was ask. Let the girl go and I’ll come quietly, there’s no reason to involve her in this, she doesn’t know anything, I just met her a few days ago”, Andy said, trying his best to sound calm.
“Now, now Mr. Maureau”, Carl said with a small laugh, “I know that you have to ask, but why would I give up so obvious an advantage? If I let her go and you cause trouble I will have to put a bullet in your leg. It is difficult to transport a bleeding, injured man…very inconvenient. Even worse, we may accidentally kill you and then my employer will be most unhappy. She will come with us and you will behave. She is expendable and Stephan will kill her the moment you give us any trouble. We are in agreement, yes?”
Andy felt the blood drain out of him. He couldn’t remember ever being so afraid before, but it wasn’t for himself, it was for Melissa. All he could think was that he’d just turned a corner, he’d just decided to embrace life, to embrace a life with her…and now they’re were threatening to take it away from him…and there was nothing that he could do.
“For the time being, yes Carl, we are”, said Andy, as evenly as the panic in his mind would allow.
“Good”, Carl said with a nod, “now, when I count to three Stephan will stand and begin escorting your friend outside through the back entrance, you and I will follow four paces behind. You both know what will happen to the other if you try alert anyone or make any sudden moves?”
Carl looked to Melissa and then Andy. They both nodded their understanding. He counted, “One, two, three”.
As Carl finished the count Stephan stood with Melissa and they began their walk. The combination of Melissa’s jacket and Stephan’s coat neatly camouflaged the gun pressed against her. The same would be true for Andy and Carl. When they were a few steps away Carl pulled Andy out with him and they followed the route that Stephan had taken. None of the patrons or staff paid any attention to them. There were just enough people inside for them to go through inconspicuously.
As they passed through the back exit, the slow walk through the rain made Andy feel like he was on death row heading towards an electric chair. His mind was running through every option trying to devise a plan of action that would prevent them from leaving with Carl and Stephan, but they all ended in failure. Stephan stopped outside a black Rover and Andy knew that once they got inside…their fates would be sealed. If he were alone he’d have tried to make a move, but not with a gun at Melissa’s back.
Andy and his captor were at the Rover seconds later. Carl unlocked the vehicle remotely, allowing Stephan and Melissa to enter and seat themselves in the rear, but not before Stephan quickly patted her down for weapons. Once they were inside Carl did the same to Andy and then showed him to the driver’s seat, entering at the passenger’s side afterward. Every move was made deliberately, allowing not even the smallest chance for Melissa or Andy to overpower them. There was never a single moment where a gun was not pointed at either of them.
“Please follow the onboard navigation precisely Mr. Maureau”, Carl said to Andy as he handed him the keys, “deviate in the slightest and the woman dies”.
“I’m not the woman”, Melissa said defiantly. “My name is Melissa!”
Without warning Stephan punched Melissa in the face and she let out a squeal of pain. “No talking”, he said.
Andy turned furiously in his seat, ready to pounce at Stephan…when Carl put the gun to his head, stopping him immediately.
“Calm down Mr. Maureau. That is not the worst thing that will happen to her if she chooses to test Stephan’s convictions”, Carl warned.
Andy glared at Stephan who looked back at him with a vacant expression. He looked at Melissa and saw that she was bleeding from a small cut on her lip. He nodded to her as if to ask if she was okay and she nodded back. He could see that she was afraid but she controlled it well. It broke his heart that she was being caused pain for something that was his fault and he felt rage that he was powerless to stop it. “Don’t do that again”, Andy said threateningly to Stephan.
“Comply and he will not have to Mr. Maureau”, Carl said. “Drive”, he commanded and tapped the GPS screen on the dashboard. Andy started the car and began following the route on the screen while Carl took out his phone and dialed a number.
“We have him”, Carl said, “twenty minutes”. He put the phone back into his pocket and smoothed out his coat. It was more than evident that he was a fastidious type of man. It showed even in the way he spoke. He was meticulous in his attention to detail. Andy noticed that he didn’t even use contractions, feeling that there was a “movie monster” quality of scariness to his speech.
“Now”, Carl announced to everyone, “if we are stopped for any reason, please conduct yourselves in a fashion so as to convey that you are not under any duress, you both know the consequences, so let us have a quiet, pleasant drive. It is not just the both of you that will suffer, you will be responsible for the collateral damage as well”.
The drive continued and no one spoke for the next five minutes. Andy’s only thoughts were for Melissa. He hoped that she would forgive him if they managed to make it out of the situation alive. If anything were to happen to her, then it would mean that his failure was complete. He would have gladly given his life for hers, the trick was convincing them to let him. He contemplated flipping the car, but without any way to signal Melissa beforehand, he was just as likely to injure her as he was their kidnappers. He drove on and they headed in a northwesterly direction, toward the factory district. It was always empty there at that time of night…a nice, quiet place to kill someone.
“So what are you guys? Hit-men? Enforcers?” Andy asked, hoping to develop some kind of rapport with Carl.
“What ugly terms Mr. Maureau”, Carl replied. “We are merely acquirers of elusive objects. Today, you are that object. Another day, the object might be retribution, another day…revenge or perhaps a third party’s acquiescence. A diverse portfolio Mr. Maureau, sometimes metaphysical in nature. Does this answer your question?”
“So you’re both hit-men”, Andy said after the long-winded explanation.
Carl let out a small laugh. “Did you know Mr. Maureau, that expert marksmanship is not a prerequisite of my vocation? Some people do not believe this to be true, perhaps they are right, but I have never found it to be so”, Carl jammed his gun against Andy’s head such ferocity that the car swerved a little as Andy lost and regained control. “Why would I need such perfect aim when I have this weapon against your head and one against your woman?”
“Carl, I’m sorry”, Andy said, “please don’t hurt her”.
Carl held the gun to Andy’s head for another moment before he withdrew it. He switched hands and kept it pointed at Andy from a more relaxed position. “Do you know what separates men like you from men like me Mr. Maureau?”
“What’s that?” Andy asked.
“Absolutely nothing. You could have been me, given the right circumstances”, Carl said. “From what I have heard, you are no stranger to acts of violence. Today I have the upper hand because I have found your weakness, because I have someone you care for, that is all. Who is to say that on another day, you would not have done the same to me?”
“That’s the difference between men like you and men like me Carl. I would never use an innocent as leverage”, Andy replied, attempting to appeal to his sense of morality.
Carl laughed, “then Mr. Maureau, it seems that you truly are out of your depth, I was told to treat you as an adversary, but now perhaps, I think you were merely an accident”.
They drove in silence for the remainder of the trip. The only noise was the sound of the intensifying rain and the windshield wipers. Now Andy’s thoughts were occupied with Carl. The man was a sociopath and even Carl seemed to be acutely aware of that fact. There would be no reasoning with him. Andy knew that he wasn’t going to let them go. All he could hope for was that Carl’s boss would be more understanding, but if Carl was the average soldier in the ranks, things did not bode well. Men like him were not cannon fodder…and that meant that his boss would have to be a remarkably twisted individual in order to keep a leash on the type of dog that Carl was.
They turned off the freeway and crossed over a bridge before they took a series of lefts and rights, winding their way amidst huge factories, vacant plots of land and empty warehouses. They didn’t pass another living soul the entire time, it seemed that they were completely alone. Carl had chosen well.
As they took a right turn, Carl shut off the GPS. “There”, he said to Andy and pointed to a driveway that descended below road level.
They drove down and through a large roller shutter into a massive factory. It looked to be in disuse. There were sporadic gatherings of steel in assorted lengths and shapes, machinery strewn haphazardly at the farthest ends of the building and large barrels tucked in various corners. Trash of all kinds littered the ground. The interior was three stories high and the surface area looked to be the size of approximately two football fields. The roof was clear Perspex in certain spots, allowing in natural light, but with the moon only half full…few places in the factory were bright enough to see clearly.
“Stop there, if you would, Mr. Maureau”, Carl said to Andy, indicating that he should drive to the middle of the building. There was another roller door on the other side…it too was open. When they’d stopped, Stephan opened his door and stepped out, making sure never to take his gun off Melissa. Once outside, he motioned with his firearm for her to join him. Melissa slid out of the vehicle slowly, wary of what he might do to her if she moved too suddenly. When she was out Stephan roughly took her by the arm and pushed her up against the Rover. Melissa held her reaction in check, not wishing to provoke him.
“Hey!” Andy shouted at Stephan.
“Relax Mr. Maureau”, Carl said casually, “he will not hurt her unless he is given ample reason to”.
Stephan holstered his gun under his left arm and produced a cable tie from his pocket. He used it to bind Melissa’s wrists behind her. When he was done, he pulled her to a support beam two feet way where Andy could clearly see her. He pulled out his firearm and pointed it at her head. The click she heard when he pulled back the hammer caused her to instinctively squeeze her eyes shut and prepare for the worst, letting out a whimper of fear in the process.
“What’s he doing Carl?” Andy asked nervously.
“Ensuring your cooperation Mr. Maureau, please remain inside the vehicle”, Carl said. He exited the Rover and walked around to Andy’s side. “Out”, he instructed, gesturing with his gun.
Andy stepped out and Carl pushed him against the Rover, he then covered Melissa while Stephan used a cable tie to bind Andy’s wrists as well. Stephan walked Andy over to Melissa where Carl could keep an eye on them both and then disappeared in to the shadows. He returned seconds later carrying an empty barrel and placed it in a clearing not far from them. He left and returned with a second barrel, placing it next to the first.
“Come”, Carl said to Andy and Melissa. He shepherded them to a well-lit spot midway between the Rover and the two barrels. “Sit”, he commanded. Andy and Melissa both fell to their knees and then crossed their legs, moving into a seated position. Carl and Stephan both walked over to the barrels and sat down on them, keeping their guns pointed at Andy and Melissa religiously. From where they’d placed Andy and Melissa, there was nowhere to run for cover fast enough without Carl and Stephan each getting off at least four shots. Their vantage point was designed so that they could watch their captives leisurely.
“And now?” Andy asked.
“We wait, Mr. Maureau”, Carl answered.
Andy turned to Melissa and whispered, “Are you okay?”
Melissa nodded but said nothing. Her face was wet with tears. Andy saw the welt on her cheek and the blood on her lip. He cursed himself for having let it happen.
“I’m so sorry I got you involved in this, I never meant for any of this to happen, somehow we’re going to get out of this, I promise”, Andy said, knowing implicitly that it was a lie.
“But if we don’t”, Melissa began, but Andy stopped her.
“Don’t think like that M, somehow…we’re going to get out of this”, Andy said. Hope was all that they had left and he wasn’t going to let her give up just yet. “If they were going to kill us they’d have done it already”, he added. A flawed train of reasoning being all he had to offer.
Melissa nodded and there seemed to be some sort of calm resignation on her face, “but if we don’t”, she said, looking into his eyes, “at least we’re together”.
Andy was rendered speechless at hearing those words from her. After everything that he’d put her through, for her to say those words meant everything to him. He smiled at her and Melissa smiled back. He knew that no matter what happened, everything would be okay because she told him it would be…and he believed her.
They waited in silence for another three minutes and it was then that Andy heard the sound of a car approaching in the distance. Seconds later a black Porsche Cayenne drove through the roller door followed immediately by a black Kawasaki sport bike. Melissa was the first to react. “What the fuck”, she said under her breath.
The bike came to a stop behind the two barrels that Carl and Stephan were sitting on. The rider threw down his kickstand and dismounted, pulling off his helmet to reveal a panic stricken Allen.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Allen shouted at Carl.
“Calm yourself boy”, Carl replied. “You are a puppet, not a captain. Speak to me in that tone again and you will find your strings cut”.
Melissa was already on her feet, “Allen what the fuck are you doing with these people?” She screamed through her tears.
Andy’s mind was reeling, he’d been right all along. If only Jack had listened to him, if he’d just believed him, they wouldn’t be here now. Allen had obviously ratted them out to whoever was in the Cayenne. He stood up and began walking toward Allen, “you piece of shit! I knew it was you!” Andy shouted.
“Fuck you! You hung up on me, remember?” Allen shouted back at him. He turned to Carl and said, “I gave you him”, pointing at Andy, “I never said anything about her”.
Carl re-aimed his gun at Andy threateningly, halting his advance.
“Allen!” Melissa screamed, “why are you doing this?!”
“I did it for us baby, for you and me”, Allen said in a placating tone as he walked toward her, “I was going to use the money to buy Sink and start our own club. It was going to be everything you wanted”, he turned to Andy before continuing, “then you had to come back and fuck everything up!”
“What the fuck made you think I wanted any of that?” Melissa cried.
“Enough!” Carl shouted, stopping everyone instantly, his commanding voice instilled fear in every one of them, “back to your places”, he said to Andy and Melissa. They complied wordlessly but stared daggers through Allen. “Watch them”, Carl said to Stephan.
Carl walked over to the driver’s door of the Cayenne and opened it. He began speaking to whoever was inside, but whatever they were saying, neither Melissa nor Andy was able to hear them. The driver passed a cellphone to Carl and they heard him speak, “yes sir…of course sir…I am taking care of it personally”. He looked at the phone briefly to make sure the call had terminated and handed it back to the owner.
As Carl moved away from the Cayenne, the driver stepped out and walked back with him to Stephan. It was Frank, the same Frank that had requested a meeting with Andy the Friday before Andy’s race with Jack. Frank looked at Andy and shook his head as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Andy felt the same sense of surprise. He hadn’t expected Frank to be involved in the situation. It wasn’t that Frank wasn’t capable…it was that he’d only been in the business a short time and, to Andy’s reasoning, it all seemed far too excessive for him. Andy decided that he’d talk first.
“Hi Frank”, he said.
Frank still shook his head in disbelief, “when Ah-len told me that Andy is the pesson oo as don dis ting to me, I said no, dis cannot be. Not my favorite costoma. I say it most be som-body else, I say dat ee as made a mee-stake”, Frank’s jerky enunciation was worse than ever, “I say dat ee as di wrong man and now you are ere. You elp me make my bis-ah-ness and then you destroy it. Why? Tell me I want to know why?”
Frank seemed to be genuinely upset that Andy had apparently stabbed him in the back. Andy wondered if perhaps he would be receptive to an apology and decided that he’d try a version of the truth.
“Frank”, Andy said and shook his head in a similar fashion to him, “I didn’t know that those guys were with you. Believe me, I didn’t go there to cause trouble. I just went there to check things out and then your guys took a shot at me. Things got out of hand and it came down to them or me. I chose me. I didn’t plan any of it, it just happened. I’m sorry”.
Frank began to nod as though he understood the difficult choice that Andy had made. “So today I know tings abut you dat I did not know beforwa, you are not oo I thot you wa Andy. If you give me back my monny and di coca den I will only kill di woman. You know dat I cannot let you go for nothing. I respact you Andy, I respact you, we can wek togetha, it will be like beforwa and you can wek for me”.
Andy knew that it was all lies, but it didn’t matter to him anyway. If they’d offered to kill him and let Melissa go, that would have sounded more reasonable and closer to something he’d have agreed to. They were treating him like a junkie and expecting him to save himself. He wondered if maybe he could lie that he still had the money and the drugs…maybe he could make some kind of a deal…enough of a deal to buy some time to do something so they could both escape.
Just then he remembered that Allen was in the room and was surprised that Allen was allowing everything to happen. He’d loved Melissa once, it seemed like he still did, but he was just standing by and watching the prelude to her murder unfold. Andy was about to suggest an alternate trade when Allen spoke.
