Back on Solid Ground

by Debra Trueman

“They’re nothing like mine,” he said, sitting down hard in his seat. All he needed was for Carlos to go ranting and raving about their hostage being Niki’s soul mate. He could only imagine where that might lead, and he didn’t even want to think about it. He certainly didn’t intend to talk about it.

  “Whose plane is this and where are we going?” Stacy said, unsuccessfully trying to muster some authority into her voice. “And who are you people? How did I get here?” She was very frustrated at her memory failing her so completely, and she tried to think it through. Do I know who I am? she asked herself. Yes, I’m Stacy Trent. Okay, so she knew that much. But as hard as she tried, she couldn’t remember anything that led up to her being on this plane. Surely I would not have gotten on a plane with complete strangers, she reasoned, so I must know at least one of these men. But not one looked the least bit familiar. She could feel herself about to cry. I’ve lost my mind, she thought.

  “I don’t want you to worry about anything right now, Miss Trent,” said Carlos. “I’m going to give you a little something to help you sleep and you will feel much better when you wake up. I promise you,” he added. He took her hand and placed two small capsules in it, then handed her a bottle of water.

  “What’s your name again?” Stacy asked. She sipped the water and swallowed the pills.

  “It’s Carlos. My name is Carlos,” he smiled. “Now close your eyes and get some sleep.”

  Stacy conked out almost immediately. Carlos took the seat next to Niki, and the men discussed the successes and failures of the mission.

  “Well, of course ideally, there would have been no shots fired, no injuries,” Carlos said. “But what I want to know is . . . why is it that Americans feel compelled to be heroes?” he asked, then he continued before Niki could answer. “I’ll tell you why, Niki. It’s the John Wayne syndrome. Americans have to be heroes because they are infected with John Wayne syndrome.”

  Niki laughed out loud.

  Carlos sat in contemplation for several minutes, and in a changed tone of voice, continued. “But seriously, Niki,” he said, “there will be ramifications from today’s events. Political pressure on the authorities will be immense. And when they put it together that the girl was not taken at random, and that we got away with more than was ever suspected, they will realize they are not dealing with a bunch of amateurs. It will be all out war.”

  “It is what it is,” said Niki.

  “You’re right. What’s done is done, and there’s no point in dwelling on it,” Carlos concluded. “Now, onto other matters . . . When do you meet with the client?” Carlos asked.

  “Monday,” said Niki, rubbing his temple. He hadn’t eaten all day and could feel a headache coming on. “Let’s talk about it later. I’m going to close my eyes for a minute.”

  “You do that,” said Carlos, squeezing Niki’s shoulder. “I need to stretch.”

  Carlos stood and stretched his legs for a few minutes then sat down in a window seat. He looked down at the coastline and felt a swell of pride. It was a beautiful land, with its lush tropical foliage and turquoise water. He sat in his seat for the next hour, looking out the window and enjoying the solitude.

  Jason slid into the seat beside Carlos and looked out at the water below. He was getting that feeling they all got after any mission, almost an urgent need to be home. They had been away for five days and were anxious to be back on familiar ground. “We’re almost there,” Jason said, with excitement in his voice.

  Carlos nodded.

  “I’ll wake Niki and Eli,” said Jason. He turned backward in his seat and smacked Eli in the head with his pillow, then threw it at Niki, hitting him in the face. “Wake up boys, we’re home!”

  Niki threw the pillow back at Jason, hitting him in the side of the face. “Very funny,” he said. He got up and stretched, and tapped his brother on the chest, “Eli! Hey, get up. We’re here.”

  All four peered through the small windows of the plane, and when the island came into view, they cheered and applauded. Jason popped a champagne cork and foam went everywhere. The four men raised their glasses in salute to the end of a job, as Stacy Trent slept through the merriment, unaware that a celebration had begun.

  The plane landed on the tiny airstrip that was nestled in the middle of the jungle. Carlos, Eli and Jason unloaded their belongings, leaving the girl for Niki.

  Niki looked down at Stacy. Their feeble attempt at cleaning her up was more noticeable once the lights went on. She was filthy from head to toe, especially her hair, which they hadn’t even attempted to tackle. She looked like something out of a horror movie and he had a twinge of guilt. She looked frail, and he picked her up gently and carried her off the plane.

  The Land Rover was parked where they had left it, just off the path to the right of the airstrip. Niki was the last to reach the vehicle, and all eyes were on him as he laid Stacy down in the back.

  “Be careful you don’t hit her head,” Carlos taunted.

  “I know, Carlos,” Niki said annoyed. “Perhaps you would like to carry her in from the car?”

  “No, my friend, you are doing a fine job. I wouldn’t want to take the pleasure away from you,” Carlos said laughing.

  Niki climbed into the passenger seat and Jason hit the gas. The villa was situated high on the east side of the island and had a panoramic view of the ocean. It was the only structure on the island, other than the boathouse and sheds. The crescent shaped island was approximately five miles long and two miles at its widest point. The sun was about to set, and Jason was pushing hard to make it to the villa before it went down. He snaked around the last curve and the villa rose up into view. “It never ceases to amaze,” he said.

  It was a white Mediterranean-style structure, impressive by anyone’s standards, with its arched windows and doorways, sweeping staircases, and panoramic terraces. On the ground floor was a portico with huge pillars and a patio that led to an enormous swimming pool set off to the side of the villa. There were masses of bougainvillea and mandevilla vines growing wild, adding bursts of color all over the villa.

  The Land Rover came to a stop and Eli, Jason and Carlos bailed out and headed inside. Niki was left with the girl, and he picked her up and carried her to the front door. All eyes were on him again when he walked in, none of his accomplices attempting to hide their smiles. Niki knew what it was about and he was pissed with Carlos for making that damn soul mate comment on the plane.

  “Fuck off,” Niki said.

  Consuela, the housekeeper, had prepared a guestroom for Stacy before the men left for the States, so Niki carried her up the flight of stairs to the guest wing and into her suite. He laid her on the bed and covered her up, then opened the windows to let in the sea breeze. He turned off the light and closed the door behind him.

  When Niki got downstairs, Eli poured him a Crown on the rocks and the two made another toast to a job well done.

  “What a rush!” Niki said, still on a high.

  “Yeah, it was good,” Eli agreed.

  “Let’s hope the girl’s not too much trouble before we turn her over to our client,” Niki said.

  “How bad could she be?” Eli said, dismissing his brother’s concern outright.

  Carlos and Jason had gone to their living quarters to shower and change clothes. Consuela would have made them something to eat, so eventually they would all end up in the kitchen.

  The four celebrated long into the night, and it was just about the time they were hitting the sack that their hostage was waking up.

  Chapter 2

  Stacy sat up in bed trying to wake up from her drugged sleep. The room was dark, but she could see white curtains blowing in the breeze and hear waves crashing on a beach. Her side hurt and she had a terrible headache. She pulled her shirt up and felt the bandage around her waist and it all came back to her. I was shot during a bank robbery and the gunmen took me with them. She remembered being on the floor of the car in a disgusting burlap bag, and in an airplane. And there was some g
uy named Carlos trying to act like he was her friend when she’d had that ridiculous memory lapse. They had probably taken her out of the country, most likely to Mexico. But then, she didn’t know how long she had been out of it. Carlos had given her some sleeping pills and she could have been asleep for days. She could be anywhere. Her mind was racing. Slow down, Stacy. Think! Don’t get bogged down in the details.

  Stacy listened, but didn’t hear any sounds coming from inside the house. She figured they would have locked her in the room, but she would try the door anyway. Stacy got to her feet and realized for the first time that she smelled awful. She must have vomited on herself, and her clothes were so filthy they were stiff. The thought made her want to puke, but she couldn’t worry about that. She had to get out of there.

  Stacy turned the knob and, much to her delight, the door opened. Yes! She felt like she had cleared the first hurdle, and took a deep breath as she walked through the threshold. There was enough light for her to see that she was in a long, wide hall with a half-dozen doors coming off it. It looked like there was a stairwell down to the right, so she headed that way. Her feet were silent on the cold marble, and she was half running by the time she reached the huge sweeping staircase. She flew down the stairs, then stopped at the bottom, deciding which way she should go. She was breathing heavily, partly from exertion and partly from fear. The foyer was directly in front of her and she looked around for any sign of an alarm system that might sound if she opened the door. She didn’t see any, so she opened the door, praying that it wouldn’t creak.

  The sun was just coming up and she could see that the place was surrounded by trees. She slipped out the door and, moving close to the building, made her way to the Land Rover. Please, please, let there be keys, she thought, and then, Oh! I made a rhyme.

  Stacy opened the driver’s door and felt in the ignition, above the visor, on and under the seat, but no keys. Shit! Okay, think. Her side hurt and there was blood coming through the bandage, but she had to get out of there. If it had to be on foot, so be it. She headed away from the house, staying off the road by the trees, trying to ignore the sticks and rocks that were poking her tender feet.

  Niki couldn’t sleep so he went back to the kitchen to make coffee. He had just turned on the machine when he spotted the girl out the window, heading towards the beach.

  He hit the intercom, “Heads up! We got a runaway.”

  Niki bolted out the door after her, taking the path that went below the trees, which would put him almost even with her when she got to the beach.

  Stacy’s abused body was rebelling. Her side was killing her and she didn’t know how much farther she could go, but she pressed herself to move on. She came to the end of the trees and out into the open and slammed right into Niki, knocking them both to the ground.

  Stacy was stunned. “Get away from me!” she yelled, and she pounded him hard in the chest.

  Niki tried to grab her arms but she was back on her feet, this time flying with adrenaline racing through her veins. He took off after her.

  Carlos and Eli had made it to the beach and were watching the action with amusement. There was no place for the girl to go, unless she had been able to get to the boat. That could have been disastrous, but since that wasn’t going to happen, they stood back and watched the show.

  “Stop!” Niki yelled, as he gained on Stacy. “There’s no place for you to go.”

  “Fuck you!” Stacy yelled back at him, and she ran for her life.

  Niki caught up with her, and after unsuccessfully trying to grab her around the waist, he tackled her into the sand. They rolled and ended up in the water, where once again she was up and running, this time out into the surf.

  Niki was right on her heels. He lunged, grabbed her, put her in a bear hug, and almost managed to subdue her, but she was fighting like crazy. Niki was amazed by the girl’s stamina; she was incredibly strong for someone her size, and she had taken a bullet! He dug his feet into the sand and held on to her. They were breathing heavily trying to catch their breaths, as waves crashed up over them. The dried blood and grime from Stacy’s body and clothes had turned the water a reddish brown all around them.

  Eli and Carlos stood at the edge of the water. “Shark bait,” Eli said knowingly, and Carlos nodded.

  Niki locked his arms around her so she couldn’t get away. He turned her around and walked her out of the water. Stacy was too tired to fight and went with him. Her lungs burned, she felt like she had a knife in her side, and the salt water was burning the wound. They got to shore and walked up to where Eli and Carlos were standing.

  “Don’t run,” Niki said, trying to catch his breath.

  Stacy didn’t have a choice; she was exhausted. She had given everything in her attempt to escape and she had no energy to spare. Niki let go of her and Stacy fell to the sand breathing hard. Her hair was dripping pink droplets from the ends, but her body was clean. If she hadn’t been so tired, she would have felt invigorated by the water. She loved the beach. It was her favorite place to be. Stacy looked around for the first time and was stunned. It was beautiful. As beautiful a spot as she had ever seen in all her travels. The water was an incredible turquoise and the sand was white and fine. My captors brought me to paradise, she thought.

  Stacy was exhausted and barely able to speak. “What do you want with me?”

  She was determined not to let them hear fear in her voice. Stacy looked up at Niki for the first time and her jaw dropped. He was gorgeous. Drop dead. Over six feet tall, with a brown loose curls, and a deep golden tan. And those eyes. The color was actually very much like hers, only on him, they were unbelievable. Stacy sized the guy up to be in his early 30’s. He reminded her of Jim Morrison. She dragged her eyes away. All she needed was to be attracted to some bank robbing, low-life kidnapper.

  “Why did you bring me here?” she said, regaining some strength in her voice.

  Niki looked at Carlos and Eli. He didn’t intend to tell her anything, but he felt like he had to say something. Stacy looked over at the two and recognized Carlos as the man to whom she had talked to on the plane.

  “Why hello, Carlos,” she said sarcastically. “How nice to see you again, not.”

  “Good morning, Miss Trent,” he said smiling. “I trust you will feel much better after a nice hot shower and some breakfast.”

  Trust, my ass, she thought. “You didn’t answer my question. Why did you bring me here?”

  She went from Niki to Carlos, looking each directly in the eye, then she looked over at Eli and sized him up. Another 6-footer with light brown hair and matching eyes. He had a cocky smile on his face and Stacy disliked him immediately.

  “You obviously didn’t choose me at random,” she said, looking back over at Niki. “What, are you going to ransom me? Is that it? Because, if it is, believe me, you’re wasting your time. My family would never cower to the likes of you,” she lied.

  Carlos interrupted before she could go on. “There’s no need to get into it right now. We should all go and enjoy this beautiful morning, have some coffee on the veranda and a delicious breakfast.” He offered his hand to Stacy and she took it because she wasn’t sure she could get up on her own.

  Niki and Eli walked ahead as they headed back to the villa.

  “She’s a fighter,” said Eli, clearly amused at what he had seen.

  “No shit. She hits like a guy.” Niki rubbed the spot where Stacy had pounded him in the chest. “Look where she slugged me,” he said. Eli checked it out and sure enough, there was a deep red fist mark imprinted on Niki’s chest. “And last night I actually thought she looked frail,” Niki laughed.

  Jason was walking in their direction with a mug of coffee in his hand. “Hey, did I miss the action?” he yelled to the group. He met up with Niki and Eli, “So, she got her memory back, huh?”

  “Apparently that’s not a problem anymore,” Niki said.

  “Look where she hit him,” Eli said “You should have seen it, it was priceless!
” he laughed.

  The brothers filled Jason in on what had transpired, while Stacy and Carlos caught up with them. Jason broke away from the two and walked up to Stacy. He looked like an all-American surfer, tall and tan, with sun-bleached blonde hair.

  “Hey, I’m Jason, and I guess you met . . .”

  Stacy covered her ears. “Don’t tell me your names!”

  Jason laughed. “It doesn’t matter. We’re anonymous. That’s Niki, Eli and Carlos,” he said, pointing to each respectively. It was an awkward moment for everyone except Jason. Nothing much fazed him.

  Stacy, on the other hand, was feeling the brunt of her combat with Niki and knew it was going to be a rough walk back to the house. Her head and side were killing her and no sooner had Jason made the introductions than she grabbed onto a palm tree for balance. Jason caught her just as her legs gave out.

  “Whoa,” he said, maneuvering his arm behind her back to hold her up. He handed off his coffee mug to Carlos. “You don’t look so good. Let’s get you back inside,” and he picked her up before she could protest, and started off toward the villa. “What are you, about 100 pounds?” he laughed. He walked with a skip in his step the whole way back to the villa.

  Stacy was mortified. She couldn’t stand helpless women who needed a man to do everything for them, and here she was being carried by a damn kidnapper. It was pathetic.

  “Hey, isn’t that your job?” Eli said, elbowing his brother in the side.

  “She’s something else, isn’t she?” Niki said, shaking his head.

  “That’s one way to put it,” Eli agreed.

  The aroma of freshly brewed coffee met them at the door, and the group settled in the kitchen when they came inside.

  “Would you like a cup of coffee, Miss Trent?” Carlos asked her.

  “No,” Stacy said. Jason was still holding her, because he hadn’t decided where to put her. Stacy squirmed in his arms. “Put me down!” she said indignantly. Jason set her down and Stacy held on to the table to get her balance. “Someone take me back to my room,” she said flatly.