by Kiki Swinson
“Why? How did we let this happen? How did we get here?” I sobbed. “How did this all happen?”
“Hey! You’ve got to get out of here,” a security guard huffed, pulling me up onto my feet. I was shocked to see that I hadn’t been hit. “Get out of here. Run as fast as you can and hide,” he instructed. He hurled demands as fast as his lips could spew them out.
“I . . . can’t . . . leave . . .”
“I’ll take care of him as best I can, but it doesn’t make sense for you both to die,” the guard told me. “Now run!”
17
THE RECKONING
I hitched up my dress and did as I was told. I ran out the side door he’d pointed to and took off like someone had put wings on my back. The wind whipped over my face so hard, it snatched my breath. My tongue felt like it would disintegrate as my breath came out so hard and fast that it made the inside of my mouth desert dry. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought I was having a heart attack. My chest heaved up and down, and my shirt stuck to my sweat-slicked skin.
I still couldn’t believe I was in this situation, and all for what? For a good story? For a better position at a job that didn’t give a damn about anything, but getting the story first? I was risking my life and limb. I had literally been selling my soul to please them.
“Agh!” A scream unconsciously escaped my mouth when I realized the footsteps thundering behind me were closing in. A flash of panic caused me to almost double over and dry heave.
“Oh, my God,” I gasped, eyeing the path ahead of me filled with people and cars and all sorts of things that were in my way. As my feet pounded the concrete, and my body moved forward like a charging bull’s, I could see people either jumping out of my way or stopping and watching the drama unfold. One thing was sure, no one was going to stop and intervene. Society was different now—people ran away from any signs of danger, not sure if they’d be innocently pulled in and possibly killed or not. I knew there was no chance of me having a chivalrous stranger pop out and help me. No chance at all.
I panted and whipped my head around frantically. I peered quickly over my shoulder, trying to see how much time I had left, how far of a distance I had gotten away. My eyes went wide at what I saw. They were closing in on me fast. My pursuers were right there. They were weaving through the throngs of people on the street to get me.
“Shit!” I swallowed hard, listening to the commotions from footsteps behind me progress from rapid taps to gallops. I turned around one more time, which was a mistake. More rapid footsteps closed in behind me. They were hot on my heels.
Moving my body around in terror, I saw the shadowy silhouette of a monstrous figure. I knew it was him: the killer. He was gaining on me. I had no choice. I lifted my aching legs and forged ahead like my life depended on it, which it did.
With raggedy, jagged puffs of air escaping my lips, I ducked down a side street and looked around for a hiding place. I ran to a row of Dumpsters. Knowing they’d look there first, I passed it and dived behind a tall wall of industrial-sized garbage bags. I buried myself under them and lay perfectly still, hoping they wouldn’t find me. Hoping he wouldn’t sniff me out. They always said, killers have an instinct and they can smell fear. As I lay in that pile of bags, the strong smell of rotting garbage and shit shot up into my nostrils. I didn’t care. It was either inhale the stench, or die. I chose the nasty odor in exchange for my life. Chills covered my body. I clenched my lips together tightly, trying to slow the sound of my panting and keep my teeth from chattering so loudly.
After a few seconds of hiding, I heard something scratching next to me. I squinted my eyes to see where the noise was coming from. It seemed to be getting closer and closer. The scratching sound was growing louder and louder. I shifted a little bit and finally I could see the source of the noise.
A rat! Oh, my God!
I was deathly afraid of rats. I felt my bladder fill up and suddenly I felt like I would pee myself. My first instinct was to move, until suddenly I peeked and noticed the shiny black shoes of one of the men chasing me. I could hear the others slamming the covers of the Dumpsters and murmuring to each other as they searched. I heard one of them cock a gun. An involuntary whimper bubbled up to my lips. I quickly put my hand up to my mouth. My body trembled fiercely. Then, to make matters worse, the rat moved over my legs. This time a tiny bit of pee leaked from my bladder. The nasty critter moved slowly at first, and when I jerked to get it off of me, it began to run over my body. I swear, I almost died five times.
Desperate to get it off of me, I shook my leg harder this time, but that just scared it and made the rat crawl up my torso toward my face. I began to hyperventilate, and tears ran out of my eyes. The rat was heading straight for my face. Now, not only was I being chased by killers, who wanted to end my life, but I was about to be bitten by a nasty rat and would probably get some disease that would kill me anyway. The rat got to my neck and all hell broke loose then. I panicked and instinctively lifted my hands to swat it away. It hissed at me, flashed its beady red eyes, and bared its jagged teeth. That was it. The fear snatched all my good senses and I screamed. That spooked the rat and it ran up my face, over my head, and jumped down and away.
I quickly clasped both of my hands over my mouth right after, but I was sure it was too late. Sweat trickled down my face and burned my eyes. My heart jackhammered against my chest bone so hard, it actually hurt. My stomach knotted up so tightly, the cramps were almost unbearable.
“She’s over there, here!” I heard one of the goons scream to the others. The next thing I heard was their rapid footfalls. It was over now. I was a dead woman. I swallowed hard and started praying under my breath. I decided in that moment that I wasn’t going out without a fight. I pushed the big bags off of me to free myself so I could try to run again. I couldn’t believe I had risked it all for a story. Everything I had worked for had come down to this moment—a moment I might not survive.
“You’re about to die, bitch!” I heard one say as soon as I freed myself.
I was back off and running, but I didn’t get too far.
Bang!
The ear-shattering sound of a gunshot was the last thing I remember . . .
* * *
I came into consciousness to voices talking around me. “Look, this is definitely the girl who did all of the damage,” I heard a man insist.
“I am not letting her get away this time. You just need to be on board,” the man growled. I felt myself being hoisted up at that moment. I swear, my heart seized in my chest. I thought I was dead before, but now I knew I wasn’t.
“Get off of me!” I yelled. Just then, a black van screeched to a halt in front of us. The strange man smiled wickedly. Three men jumped out of the van. They pushed me toward them.
“What the fuck,” I huffed, my eyes going wide. I looked around me with desperation dancing over my face. It was too late. These people meant business, and it was clear that the promises and threats that had been made against me were going to be carried out.
“Who are you?! Who the fuck are you?!” I screamed as I whipped my head around.
“Your worst fucking nightmare,” another man said evenly. One of the men from the van threw a black bag over my head, while the other two forced me, kicking and screaming, into the van.
“Take her to the warehouse,” one of them said. “Pick up the stuff that she dropped, the earring and bracelet. We can’t leave any clues of her disappearance behind. There will be no saving her this time.”
“Yes, sir, boss,” the driver of the van answered.
Lying on the cold, metal floor of the van, I kicked and moved my body frantically.
“Keep fucking still, before I tie your ass up,” one of the men growled at me.
“Fuck you,” I spat.
A huge, booted foot slammed into my ribs. “Agh!” I cried out. I coughed, but I kept trying to fight. A punch landed to my face and I saw stars, but I still didn’t stop fighting. Another one of the men got c
lose to me and tried to get me tied up. I moved so much, the black hood covering my head came up slightly, but the man didn’t see it in time.
“Agh!” the man belted out.
I had clamped my teeth down on his wrist and wouldn’t let go.
“Get the fuck off of me, bitch!” he hollered.
I thrust my foot forward and caught the other man in the balls.
“Ooof!” he wheezed, rolling over onto his side.
“What the fuck is going on back there?!” the driver screamed.
I released my bite on the first man’s wrist and blood covered my mouth. I struggled to get up, but the man I had kicked in the balls recovered and moved toward me.
“You dead now, bitch,” he hissed, obviously still reeling from the pain. I squirmed helplessly. I had no more tricks left, especially with the constraints of that fancy gown I had on. Both men were well aware of what they were dealing with now. In pain and a little dazed, I tried to roll as far away from them as I could. I was too slow, and there was nowhere for me to run. The man I had bitten kneeled over me and lifted his gun . . . and Bam! Blackness came down on me with quickness.
When I regained consciousness, I heard the muffled sound of voices surrounding me. The pounding in my head was so bad, even my teeth hurt.
“Mmm,” I groaned, trying in vain to lift my hand to shield my eyes from the bright lights.
“She’s awake!” a man announced loudly.
“Good. Bring her over here so she can see the mess she’s made,” another man’s voice echoed loudly through the hollowed room.
“Ahh,” I winced. Pain shot through my rib cage as I was handled roughly. I was dragged to another part of the expansive warehouse. Before I could see it, the smell hit me like a kick in the chest and I gagged. It was a mixture of raw meat gone bad, burning flesh, shit, and piss.
“You know him?” one of the men asked, grabbing a handful of my hair and forcing my downturned head upward.
“No. No!” I shook my head in denial as tears raced down my bruised cheeks. “Kyle,” I rasped. They had snatched my brother from the theater and had him in this place. I couldn’t even look at Kyle’s naked and bleeding body suspended by chains from a metal rafter. There was a piece of metal that resembled a horse bit forced with wires hanging from between Kyle’s lips. I knew there was no way he would make it through this.
“Oh, so you do know him,” the man said, amused. He nodded at his henchmen. One of them walked over to a small box that contained three levers. He flipped on the switches and pulled down the first lever.
“Grrrr! Grrrr! Agh!” I screamed as I watched Kyle’s body jerk and curl in response to the high jolts of electricity that hit him. I heard some kind of liquid splashing on the floor and knew it was coming from my brother’s dying body.
“Please! No! Stop!” I begged, closing my eyes.
The man let out a raucous, maniacal laugh. I kept my eyes closed and my head down. The lead torturer signaled his men to cut the electricity. Kyle’s body finally relaxed, but it swung limp and lifeless above my head.
“One more round of that and he won’t make it,” the man said, smiling evilly at me. “He was the one who showed you around inside our organization, didn’t he? Isn’t that sweet of your brother? All that time of you sneaking around inside our operations, he was the entire reason you were able to. We couldn’t figure out who had been the mole inside. Then, just like that, I find out you were related to him. It was right under my nose,” he continued cruelly. “You know what’s worse than a snitch? A traitor. And what is worse than a traitor? A coward like this.”
“Let him go,” I croaked through my battered lips. “It’s me you want. Not him. Not them. I’m here. I’m not scared to die. Just let him go and kill me!”
“I’ll get to that, but first, I want you to see what if feels like to have those close to you suffer for no reason,” the man gritted. “Now open your fucking eyes and look at him before I gut him like a pig, just like what happened to your father!”
I slowly lifted my head with fire flashing in my eyes. My hands involuntarily curled into fists. I looked up at Kyle’s limp and badly abused body.
“I’m sorry, twin,” I whispered. With that, the electricity was turned on again and Kyle’s body bucked fiercely. At first, he didn’t make any sounds, but then I heard low growling coming from his mouth. I thought he was already dead.
“Wait! Stop! I have some information about your boss and the things he did behind your backs,” I screamed out. “You can kill me after, but let my brother go!”
The man laughed again. “There is nothing you can tell me about my boss—except you decided you put him away for a long time and now I have been commissioned to exact revenge,” he growled, getting close to me and grabbing a fistful of my hair.
“He . . . he was doing things behind your back,” I whispered through my swollen lips.
“What?” the man hissed.
“He was making side deals because he strongly believed that he was going to become mayor and side with the feds to boost his run for governor and eventually president,” I told him. The man released his grasp on my hair with a shove. I fell forward and hit my face on the concrete floor. The pain sent a flash of anger through my entire body. I got up onto my knees and fell back down from my legs being so weak. I didn’t give up; I pushed myself up again.
I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees, I said to myself. Those were words my father had always said to Kyle and me.
“He was raping little girls. He participated in the abuse of children. He hated you and said he only did business with your dirty Mexican ass because he wanted money and security. The things he couldn’t do for himself, and the people he wanted out of his way, he used you for that,” I said, still struggling to get to my feet.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” the man snarled, his nostrils flaring. He could feel the gazes of his men bearing down on him. I could see everyone looking for the next fact I was going to drop.
“Him—that one right there, who worked with your so-called boss—he was part of it all. The time the shipment went missing . . . he planned it all out. They were planning on doing your ass dirty and running off together, but not before they made sure you went down. All of the proof is right here in my head. I saw it all as I gathered the story. I have no reason to lie, and how would I know who worked with who! Him . . . he was lying and is still lying,” I growled. I got to my feet. I swayed unsteadily, but at least I was able to look him in the eyes.
Within ten minutes they dragged the other guy over and stood him up in front of the leader, who I knew was Arsenio Galina. He was strapped to the chair with rope and now they were standing, eye to eye. Galina had swallowed hard more than once as he listened to me say more and more. Not only had I brought down Barker and his crew, but I had been forced to gather an entirely different story around Galina and his people, even the ones who had betrayed him right in front of his face.
He was listening to me lay out fact after fact that made perfect sense about the betrayals happening around him. I spoke as fast as I could. I wanted to save my own life, but I was hopeful my brother might be saved too. He was in terrible shape and all I could do was pray that God would have mercy on him, or that someone would have seen something when these men snatched me off of the street.
“Agh!” Galina howled, flipping over a chair after listening to me for long enough. His chest rose and fell like a wild animal’s. “Bring him closer to me,” he gritted. His men all looked at the other guy, the traitor, sympathetically.
“Boss . . . um . . . maybe you should calm—” the traitor started.
“Shut your fucking mouth!” Galina roared so loud that the man fell to his knees.
“What about the girl? And the other guy here?” another one of Galina’s men asked.
“I am going to take care of them too. I haven’t forgotten them,” Galina said calmly now. They rushed around and took their positions, not knowing wh
at move to make next. Galina stood in the middle of the floor for a few minutes. Then out of nowhere he started smashing shit, kicking over chairs and tables, and roaring loudly. He was a man possessed, and he was going to stop at nothing until he felt satisfied that everyone involved had suffered longer and much harder than he did.
“Please, boss, you have to believe me. This girl is lying,” the traitor begged.
I watched through my swollen eyes and wished every single pain I felt on the man. I didn’t care anymore; my heart had grown as cold as ice now.
“She’s not lying! How would she know so much about the business?” Galina barked. He rushed over and slapped the man across his face so hard, blood and spit shot from her mouth.
“Agh! Please!” the traitor screamed. I’d taken hours of ass whupping from Galina since he’d captured me. I smirked. I loved seeing someone else in pain. Even if Galina killed me after this, I felt I would die satisfied. I had officially broken up their entire criminal enterprise and turned them against one another. A job well done. And regardless if I died or not, I had still achieved my life goal of winning an Emmy Award.
“You were supposed to be like my brother. We came to this country together with big dreams and hopes. I was loyal to you from the day we got on this soil. You told me there was nothing you wouldn’t do for me, and I told you the same. You fucking lied!” Galina spat.
The traitor hung his head and sobbed like a baby. “I wanted to be boss too! You never gave me a chance! You took everything for yourself. The women, the cars, the money—you took all the best! You took the most! I never wanted to live in your shadow! We were supposed to be partners and you never wanted anyone to get more than you!” the traitor screamed, finally confessing to his jealousy and betrayal.
As I stood there, I suddenly started to feel sorry for the traitor.
No! Fuck him! He did some disgusting things to me, I reminded myself.
“Kill him,” Galina rasped. “Kill him!” His voice rose to a fever pitch. He wasn’t giving up.
