Thane glared at him.
Uncle Jesse came closer, getting in Thane’s face. “You spite me, and I’ll kick you off the property tomorrow. Got it?”
Thane turned and walked away, heading to the house.
“You get back here, Thane!” Uncle Jesse shouted as he followed. “I need that piano, dammit! If I have to break the door and get a tow truck to pull it out, I will.”
“Go ahead,” Thane said as he entered the house and slammed the door closed. He locked it and went to the bedroom. While Uncle Jesse pounded on the back door and hollered at him, Thane eased between the clothes hanging in the closet and quietly closed the closet door. He dropped out of sight as air pulled the drapes away from the open window.
†
Down in the sub-lair, Clay and Morana couldn’t rule out Thane’s ability to drop a block from the ceiling in any part the sub-lair onto them with the same speed that he dropped the trap floor. To protect themselves, they felt their way to a place where they could lay side-by-side on the floor between knee-high rectangular blocks in the lift chamber. Thane had placed the blocks there, presumably in preparation to remove them from the sub-lair. The blocks would seem to create a survivable air space if the ceiling dropped.
“What if he isn’t planning to crush us, but instead he leaves us down here to starve?” Clay said.
“He won’t. If he’s decided to end us, it will be with a block.”
Clay adjusted his position in the cramped space. “I’m telling you that nothing good will come from him ditching us. When Thane moved to the doorway, I got a weird vibe—like he was forcing himself to stay calm before making a run for it. I mean, he knows you’re a killer.”
“Have you already forgotten that he recited my resume better than I could have? He wasn’t freaked out about me, he was calm.”
“He may have looked calm, but if you think about it, we were blocking him in the aquifer. What if he was just saying all the right things so he could get to the door and make a run for it?”
“Shut up!” Morana yelled. “The only choice we have is to wait for him to come back.”
They waited for another 20 minutes before Morana said, “Did you feel that?”
Clay sighed, “The only thing I feel is death approaching.”
“No, the air… I felt movement.”
“Now you’re hallucinating.”
Morana sat up.
A flashlight blinked on, illuminating the chamber. Thane stood in the corridor entryway, having changed into clean khakis and a white button shirt.
“Oh my God!” Morana said, jumping to her feet. She rushed to him and threw her arms around him. “Sweetheart, you scared us! What happened?”
“There was a power problem above ground,” Thane said. He gently pushed free of her, gripping the flashlight with both hands.
“Buddy, you scared the hell out of us,” Clay said. “Where did you go?”
“I was fixing the problem.”
“If something like that happens again, could you please take us with you? I’ll admit that was terrifying.”
Thane didn’t answer. Instead, he poked his tongue into his cheek and swept the flashlight beam around the chamber, inspecting the walls.
“My uncle hired a paint crew.” Thane pointed up. “He told them to disconnect the solar panels.”
“How do you know that?” Clay said.
“Because I just met with him.”
Morana looked over her shoulder at the column in the wall where the lift would have appeared. “How did you get there?” she asked.
“That’s no longer important.” Thane set the flashlight on the floor, aiming it at the ceiling.
In the ambient light, Morana leaned closer to him and said, “You’ve been crying.” She gently touched his chin.
“I have some news,” Thane said, his voice wavering. “I’m permanently closing the sub-lair.”
“What? You can’t!” Morana said.
Clay added, “Buddy, what’s going on?”
“My uncle is selling the property.” Thane twirled his finger above his head. “I need to take you both to the surface—now.”
“Before you make that rash decision, please understand that there’s no way Clay and I can allow you to lose everything you’ve worked for.”
“No, we’ll stop him from selling,” Morana said.
“How will you prevent it? Kill my uncle, too?”
“Of course not, but let’s discuss other options.”
“There’s nothing to discuss. My uncle says he already has an offer.” Thane wiped tears from his face. “It’s over. Some stranger will soon own the garage above us. I’m sealing the sub-lair in a way that no one will ever know it existed.”
Clay started to speak, and Morana raised her hand to stop him. “What if there was a way Clay and I could arrange for you to continue having private access to the garage?”
“What new owner would be willing to do that?”
Morana exchanged a glance with Clay, then said, “The truth is that we’re aware that this property is on the market.”
“How would you know that?”
“Clay discovered it.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Thane glared at Clay.
“We didn’t want to panic you. Hear us out,” Clay said.
“What if we,” Morana pointed to herself and Clay, “purchased the property?”
The words didn’t fully sink in for Thane. “You are the buyers?” he said, frowning.
“Only if your uncle accepts the offer.”
Thane put his hand on the wall to steady himself. “So, you’re the ones who convinced him to sell?”
“No,” Clay said. “Listen, Thane, your uncle will sell this place, whether it’s to us or not. I saw a listing for your property on a brochure on his desk at the office. I was worried about you, so I accessed your uncle’s email and discovered that his financial situation is dismal.”
“You hacked my uncle’s computers?” Thane said.
“Hold on,” Morana said. “I know how you feel about privacy, but Clay may have saved you from being evicted without a new place to live. If your uncle gets what he wants, he’ll sell the property at a profit, and with no concern for whether you become homeless.”
“I know. He basically told me that a few minutes ago.”
“I think that’s wrong,” Morana said. “Clay and I are in a position to protect this property for you, and to make sure you aren’t victimized—again.”
“I can’t believe this,” Thane said. He put his back to the wall and slid to the floor.
Clay said, “I’m sorry for breaking his privacy, but—”
“No, that’s not the problem,” Thane said, waving off Clay’s apology. “I’m glad you hacked my uncle’s email. You’re right, he wouldn’t have told me. He doesn’t tell me anything, so thank you.” Thane chewed his cheek, looking up in thought.
Clay continued, “I discovered that your uncle subscribed to real estate alerts on this property two months ago. He’s way overextended and defaulting on payments to creditors, including his other mortgage and his car. His emails show that fights between him and your aunt about money have decimated their marriage. He’s even resorted to using company funds to pay some of his personal debts. To save on the real estate commission, he’s trying to sell this house himself. Thane, he’s desperate. I guarantee the best offer will be in escrow quicker than you can ride to the surface.”
“That may be true, but you should have warned me sooner.” Their shadows stretched and warped on the wall as Thane picked up the flashlight and wrung its handle.
“We’re sorry, Buddy. But now we think we have a solution to this dilemma.”
Thane looked at them and said, “You can afford to buy it?”
Clay said, “I’m not loaded, but I just sold my house in Los Angeles. I’m relocating to Florida. Using that plus savings, I could make it happen. This property
is a smart investment.”
Thane got up from the floor and leaned against the wall. His pained expression began to soften as the realization that Clay and Morana might be able to rescue him from his dilemma relaxed his face momentarily. But then his anxiety returned as he looked back and forth between Morana and Clay. “Do you think that owning the property gives you rights to the sub-lair?”
“No,” Morana said. “The sub-lair is useless without you, and we understand that. You would maintain one hundred percent control over entry to and exit from it. Buying the property empowers us to protect it for you. This is your masterpiece. We want to preserve it so you can expand it as much as you like.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then it will make more sense for me to purchase a house closer to the office,” Clay said.
Thane flicked the flashlight on and off a few times, thinking. “No strings attached?” he asked, raising the flashlight to their faces.
“Why are you so skeptical?” Morana asked. “The bottom line is that your situation isn’t as dire as it might seem—depending on your willingness to work with us.”
“What do you mean by work with you?” Thane asked.
“Actually, we do have an idea for the use of the sub-lair,” Morana said.
Thane raised his hands and let them flop to his sides. “I knew it.”
“Hang on,” Clay said. “You might like the idea.”
Thane picked up the flashlight and went to the corridor, turning toward his bedroom chamber.
Clay and Morana followed, staying close, not wanting to risk being abandoned again.
“Sweetheart, please keep an open mind,” Morana said almost tripping into Thane.
As they neared the bedroom chamber, the door slid up. Thane went inside and sat on his mattress.
Morana sat on the floor opposite him, her back to the wall. She patted her hand beside her for Clay to sit.
Thane folded his arms and kept his head down. “I’m listening.”
“First, tell me how you feel about your experience with Waylon here in the sub-lair?” Morana asked.
Thane frowned. “What does that have to do with this?”
“Bear with me. What is it like to be free of Waylon’s abuse? Be honest.”
Thane folded his hands in his lap, and a small laugh welled up in him. “Relief. I must admit it feels incredible. Knowing that he will never bully me again makes me feel—light.” Thane’s smile faded.
“But?” Morana said.
“But I do feel some shame.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t forgive him.” He looked up at her. “They say it’s better to forgive. It’s better to take the high road—to turn the other cheek—all that.”
“All that is bullshit,” Morana said. “If you had forgiven Waylon and set him free again, he would’ve abused you and many others for as long as he lived. You said that yourself.”
“Still, I wanted to be the stronger person, so I should have forgiven him.”
“No, forgiveness does not demonstrate strength. People think that the difficulty of forgiveness means that it requires strength. The reason forgiveness is difficult is that it isn’t natural, and at our core, we know it isn’t fair. Forgiveness creates an imbalance. A person who refuses to be a victim shows strength. The result of permanently ending Waylon’s abuse is your freedom and peace of mind. The result of forgiving him would have been to give him a free pass while you take on the burden of ongoing mental anguish about the abuse he would have perpetrated on you and his other victims.”
Thane stared at the back of his hands, considering Morana’s argument.
She got up, went to him, and sat facing him. “Have you noticed that people most inclined to forgive are those who have no way to get revenge?”
“That can’t be true,” Thane said, looking sideways at her.
“It is true. And forgiveness is always driven by selfishness. When people are helpless, forgiveness is a crutch used to feel better about themselves. The moral praise a person gets from boasting that they have forgiven comforts the victim, distracting others from his weakness. Some forgive only because they fear the legal or physical consequences of evening the score—of making things right. Religious people forgive only because they trust that sweet revenge is deferred until judgment day. They conjure up satisfying fantasies about watching God settle the score on their behalf. They find comfort in the biblical assurance that they’ll one day watch the agony of their enemies as a reward for denying themselves the satisfaction of taking immediate revenge.”
“Haven’t you ever forgiven anyone?” Thane asked.
Morana thought for a moment. “I prefer to remove the need for forgiveness. Righting a wrong does that. Don’t forget Newton’s unbreakable third law of motion—every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Forgiveness is not equal and opposite. It benefits only the abuser. Forgiveness causes the victim to suffer more feelings of regret, frustration, and inadequacy. It launches an unending effort to forget the injustice they’ve suffered. This effort creates stress, taking a huge toll on the victim while their exonerated abuser experiences complete stress relief—given a free pass for their wrongs. On the other hand, revenge completes a perfect, balanced equation.” Morana paused to let her words sink in for Thane.
“But many people claim that forgiveness sets them free.”
“Of course, they do. This is how the weak avoid embarrassment. I’d say the same thing if I were helpless to even the score. Dressing up forgiveness to look comfortable does nothing more than save face. Forgiveness is a one-sided gift to the abuser and a self-inflicted punishment for the victim. Standing up for oneself by forcing repayment of debt makes a person whole and sets them free. Payback fully satisfies Newton’s third law of motion.”
Thane covered his face with his hands.
“What’s wrong?” Morana asked.
“Your argument disturbs me.”
“Why?”
“Because it makes sense. It’s logical.” He dropped his hands and took a deep breath.
“Let me ask you something… Would you repeat your vindication with Waylon if you had another opportunity?”
“Yes,” Thane replied without hesitation.
Clay and Morana exchanged a glance. Clay smiled.
Morana got up and sat beside Thane on the mattress. “I understand that this might be personal for you, but can you tell me any more about what happened between you and Waylon in the chamber?”
Thane briefly studied the back of his hand, and then said, “The most satisfying part of the experience was his expression. Especially in the first moments after the chamber door closed and we were alone. The gag distorted his face, but his eyes gave me everything I needed. I saw in them his realization of my absolute power over him. For a long while, I just watched him, letting him feel it. He tried to talk through the gag—begging for mercy. I leered at him the way he leered at me so many times when tormenting me as a child. I expected that evening the score would be satisfying. But what surprised me was how satisfying it would feel to have access to precisely the same tools he used on me. One by one, I picked them up and before using them on him, I paused to let him feel my power. The sensation felt like a balancing. Something was exchanged between us that is difficult to explain. I felt an emptiness filling up in me.” Thane paused, looked up at the ceiling. “Of course, I couldn’t even the score perfectly. Measured throughout our lives, he still hurt me more than I could possibly have hurt him in the brief encounter, but I do think the experience balanced things as much as possible. It might have fixed something that was broken in me and that I couldn’t fix myself.”
“I was hoping you’d feel that way,” Morana said.
“I answered your question,” Thane said. “Now tell me your idea.”
Morana leaned back on her hands and said, “We want to give other victims an opportunity to feel the relief that you do.”
&
nbsp; Thane frowned. “You mean more… killing?”
“Not necessarily,” Clay said. “There are thousands of people who have not received and will never receive justice for emotional and physical abuse. When the justice system fails them, they have no recourse.”
Morana said, “We want these victims to experience the same relief that you feel.”
Thane looked suspiciously at them. “I don’t want to introduce more people to the sub-lair. You should know that by now. That’s the opposite of maintaining my privacy.”
“The victims would never know they were here.”
“How? Will you drug them?”
Clay and Morana laughed.
Morana said, “If you’re willing to consider using the sub-lair to help other victims like you, this venture could be more fulfilling than you can imagine. I can explain in detail.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Absolutely,” Clay said. “You can turn us down right now, and we’ll call the whole thing off.”
“I need to think about it.” Thane got up and walked to the entry of the aquifer chamber and stared into the darkness for a few moments before he went inside.
Morana tilted the flashlight to see what he was doing.
Thane knelt beside the aquifer, spreading his fingers in the water, and staring at the ripples.
When Morana looked at Clay, he mouthed, “What’s he doing?”
Morana put her finger to her lips.
Thane stayed in the aquifer room for almost 10 minutes. When he came back into the bedroom, he said, “I’m ready to hear the specifics.” He provided some paper, and for the next two hours, listened while Morana and Clay presented a plan by which they could use the sub-lair in ultimate secrecy to render justice for victims like Thane and people the justice system had failed. They sketched out security and safety precautions to ensure absolute secrecy. The plan included a solemn oath between the three of them and veto power for Thane to prevent any activity in the sub-lair that he deemed inappropriate.
At the end of their meeting, Thane scratched his head. “This operation is dangerous. What we’d be doing isn’t legal.”
Prey for Us Page 31
