The Finest Line

by Catherine Taylor

  She was weeping, unable to stop. “Is that what you want Mark? If I fuck you, would you please stop fucking my life up?”

  Mark stared at her. “You know, Mairead, you remind me of my childhood, when my mother was still around, when things still seemed wonderful. And then you grow up and you’re around scum every day and it starts to rub off on you and soon you’re no different from the very people you despise. And then someone like you comes along.”

  Mairead wiped her tears away. “I don’t want you to hurt Kylie and I don’t want you to hurt James. What you do to me, I’ll deal with and just file it with all the rest of the garbage in my life. Just tell me what you want.”

  Mark leant in close to her and he was smiling softly. “I want you to go home and forget you ever met me. Your friends will be perfectly fine and our business is concluded.”

  Mairead laughed softly, “Just like that? Any chance a blowjob might persuade you to betray your father and put the bastard away for life?”

  “Very tempting,” Mark laughed. “But sorry I can’t. Go home Mairead and not the way you came. Go out through the kitchen and there’s a back land leading back to the street.”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “Why would I do that Mark?”

  He sighed. “This conversation went a little different from what I had imagined.”

  Mairead shook her head. “You fucking liar. I can’t believe that I actually trusted what you were saying.

  “Mairead, listen...” Mark tried to grab her but she eluded his grasp. Something was wrong and the sooner she got out the better and not via the way he wanted her to go. Turning she fled towards the steps at the front entrance and ran up, her heart beginning to race as she heard him call her name close behind.

  As she emerged into daylight, the sun was reflecting off the van parked directly in front on the promenade. Mairead was temporarily blinded by the light and realised too late that no vehicle should be parked there.

  As the side door slid open Mairead knew she had to run but she had barely turned when two large men flew out and seized her. In one swift movement she was hurled inside and the door was closed behind her. She barely had time to think of how badly she had fucked up when a massive fist slammed into her face.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  She was cold but didn’t seem able to move to cover herself up. It was the pain which restored her senses. Her vision was blurry with one eye swollen shut and the other filling rapidly with tears. Her mouth tasted of blood. Her shoulders ached from her arms pulled back and bound together.

  Gradually she adjusted to the pain in her face and concentrated on blinking her tears away so that she could see. She was lying on a concrete floor with her legs bound by what looked like plastic kitchen wrap. Her school shoes stuck out at the end.

  Above her was a low concrete ceiling and beyond some low walls she could see the sky and the tops of a few tall buildings. There were car parking spaces but the only vehicle was the van sitting idle in a distant corner. Wherever she was, it was high and isolated. Fear began to grip her but she fought back tears to keep her vision.

  She didn’t try to sit up when she saw two trousered legs move in front of her. Richard Lewis squatted down so he could look at her. “She’s awake.”

  Seeing his grinning face forced her tears to flow but through them she saw Mark come up beside his father. He also crouched down frowning as he stared at her, “You’re fucking lucky that arsehole didn’t kill her with that punch.”

  Richard smirked, “Barry likes to get the job done right but don’t worry, when she’s splattered all over the pavement below no forensic team is going to detect one punch.”

  Hearing her fate, Mairead whimpered and tried to speak only to be overcome with nausea, forcing her to vomit.

  Richard backed away but remained staring at her. “Don’t worry Mairead, you still have a little time left before your death. Enough time to tell us everything you saw that day on the Gold Coast and what other little surprises you may have in store for me.”

  “She didn’t come to blackmail me.” Mark told him. “She just wanted me to leave her friends alone.”

  Richard stood up. “There was more to this meeting than just the welfare of her friends. What else did she say?”

  Mark shrugged, “She asked me to stop you going ahead with the development.”

  “Just like that,” Richard laughed and crouched down to Mairead again. “And what were you offering for this, your cunt?”

  Mairead stayed silent and trembled.

  His face creased with viciousness. “You fucking tramp. You had your chance to be with my son though why he’d want a whore like you I can’t imagine. Where’s the video?”

  She could barely whisper, “It got destroyed in the fire at James’ house.”

  “Did it now?” He sneered, “And what about all the copies?”

  “There isn’t any.”

  He backhanded her across the face sending blood spraying from her mouth. “Don’t fucking lie to me.

  You think you’re fucking special? Well today you get to prove that.” He turned back. “Barry, take this shit off her but if she tries to run, punch her in the kidney.”

  Richard and Lewis stood back while Mairead was approached by a huge bald and heavily tattooed man. She whimpered and tried to shuffle back but he took hold of her and drew a knife from his back pocket. Terror kept her still as she watched him slice the knife through the wrap on her legs. He seized her bicep and sat her up to cut away the binds from her arms.

  Once free, she made no attempt to move but sat waiting fearfully for whatever was to come next. Richard clenched her forearm and pulled her up. Her legs gave way and she sank down but he caught her and brought her up again supporting her around the waist.

  “Don’t go falling sweetheart and smash your head,” He said sweetly. “I have something to show you.”

  He half walked, half dragged her to towards the outer walls.

  Mairead had no strength to fight him. “Don’t please... don’t do this.”

  “It’s okay Mairead,” He assured her. “I’m just showing you for now. Walk with me or I will hurt you.”

  The perimeter was a waist high concrete wall. Mairead could see that the area was an empty car park. When they were within a metre of the wall, Mairead stiffened and tried to get away, not caring what hurt he had for her. Richard put his arms around her from the back and held her arms while lifting her. He carried her the remaining distance, pushing her stomach into the wall. The height was considerable.

  Mairead felt her shorts soak with her urine and Richard let go and backed off, “Fucking filthy bitch.” She slumped to the floor, trembling violently and Mark went to her, gently holding her arm.

  He looked up at Richard. “Fucking hell Dad, you’re going to make her useless for anything. We won’t even get her out there cleanly if you don’t ease up.”

  Richard was savage. “I’ll just toss the little cunt over and the job will be done.”

  “Not before I’m fucking finished with her you won’t,” His reply was equally savage. “She owes me.”

  “Don’t waste your time,” Richard spat onto the floor. “I’ll get you a whore after who will give you a better time.”

  “I will not miss out again,” Mark yelled back at Richard. “That fucking chauffeur took off with what was mine.”

  Mairead looked at him and managed to whisper, “It wasn’t... James.”

  Mark looked at her angrily, though he spoke with mock concern, “Are you trying to say something sweetheart?”

  Mairead breathed deeply, gathering the strength to whisper again, “Your father... took me away... that night.”

  His angry expression waned with uncertainty. “What?”

  She had to breathe again to give her voice clarity. “James rescued me from your father’s car. I was drugged.”

  Looking up at Richard, his anger had returned. “What the fuck is she talking about?”

  Richard laughed. �
�You weren’t the only one who missed out that night. I was going to warm her up for you until I found myself with a gun to my head.” He leant down towards Mairead. “Your boyfriend will be joining you in the next week though he might prove a little tougher to dispose of.”

  Mark was on his feet. “You arsehole, she was mine. You had no fucking right...”

  His words were cut by a blow to his face that sent him reeling back. Richard loomed over him. “Don’t ever talk to me that way, you piece of shit. Everything you have comes from me and I will do with my property as I fucking please.”

  His attention turned to Mairead and he took her by the hair and hoisted her up, pushing her against the wall. “Look,” His mouth was close to her ear.

  Mairead looked out and knew immediately what he wanted her to see. Jutting out from the building was high rise scaffolding, similar to the one she walked upon, but much narrower and higher.

  “You are going to have a fighting chance,” Richard told her. “If you have anything to tell me about copies of that video, I will bring you back in. Otherwise you can stay up there as long as you like. It might even be good if someone does see you... just before you fall. Silly little girl trying to turn the attention of the media, by doing her stunning walk of death, what a tragedy.”

  Tears ran from her good eye and stung the other badly. Mairead knew that she would not last two minutes on one of the narrow beams. Even if she could manage to stand on one, her injured eye would fail her ability to balance.

  She wondered if there would be any awareness of pain when she hit the pavement but figured it was unlikely. The falling would be the worse part and there would be several seconds of it. Maybe she would be able to shift her thoughts to something else through that terrifying interval. She would think of James and only him, and how she had experienced the most incredible time of her life with him be it only for such a short time.

  Her voice was stronger, “Why did you have to kill Josh? He had only tried to protect me.”

  Richard burst into more laughter. “You think I killed him because of what he did to Mark?” He laughed again. “I’d been tracking that bastard down for days. He owed me money. Mark wasn’t going to tell me where he was. They were mates but I had few loyal friends at my son’s apartment that night. They also sent me that wonderful footage of you selling off your cunt.” He looked at Mark in disgust. “I certainly wouldn’t have paid five thousand dollars for it.”

  Mark was rubbing his face but then smirked, “I was wasted and virgins are hard to find.”

  “That’s why you’ll never be like me,” Richard told him. “You think with your dick instead of your brain. It pains me that you’ll be running my companies one day.”

  Mark sized up to him. “Yeah well right now I’m thinking with my dick again. I want to fuck her before you kill her. You owe me that.”

  Richard spat and tossed Mairead down to the floor. “I owe you nothing but I do understand that you wanted the little bitch. It does seem a pity that you never got your cock inside her. You got to get over the blood bit son.”

  Mark laughed. “Always been a downfall with me. How do these bitches bleed for so long without dying?”

  His remark made Richard laugh again. “Women are a commodity. Don’t love them, don’t try to work them out, just fuck them. Remember that.”

  “I will,” Mark smiled. “So what do you say Dad? Shall we have a little fun before the hard work?”

  Richard looked thoughtful and grinned, “Yeah why not? Just clean the bitch up beforehand. She smells like a piss pot.”

  Mark called out to Barry. “Go down to the toilets on the fifth level and get some wet paper towels and soap if there’s any.”

  When Barry was gone, Mark grasp Mairead’s arm and hoisted her to her feet. He put his arm around her to walk her away from the perimeter. She offered no resistance.

  “We’re going to have to use condoms aren’t we” Mark called back to Richard.

  He nodded and grinned. “You’re learning. We don’t want that type of evidence left behind.”

  “There’s some in the van,” Mark said. “Would you get them?”

  Mark held onto Mairead and watched his father walk away before leaning his face in close to hers. “Listen to me. Are you able to run?”

  She looked at him curiously, uncertain if she had heard him correctly, “Run?”

  “There are stairs over there,” He turned her so she could see them. “You’ll have to go that way because Barry will be coming up in the elevator but you are going to have to move fucking quickly because I don’t know how long I can hold them off.”

  “You’re letting me go?” Mairead studied his face, looking for any sign of some cruel joke he was instigating. She saw only a grim expression and was suddenly aware that he was trembling slightly.

  She had to know. “What about you?”

  “I’m going to be fine, but you have to get out. Are you able to?”

  Her legs were still weak but the thought of escape sent adrenaline coursing through her. She nodded.

  “There’s another of my father’s goons at the bottom somewhere. Don’t run into him. Keep your eyes open and just fucking get out.”

  She managed a tiny smile. “Thank you.”

  He looked at her. “Just make it out and get help straight away.” His eyes were shining over. “I’m sorry for what I did to you, now fucking run.”

  Mairead ran and didn’t look back, leaving shouting behind her. Her escape would not be easy with her strength and senses limited. The stairs were narrow and steep and she had to hold the handrail for balance. The temptation to move faster was denied, knowing the slightest fall would cost her freedom.

  Step by step she descended, ignoring pain and emotions that were threatening to erupt. Her wet pants felt disgusting, but she found herself grateful for the shoes James had chosen for her. She had good traction on the steps and was already more than half way down.

  Suddenly she stopped as she heard noises below her. Leaning over the rail, she looked down at the remaining steps and terror filled her as she saw the massive hulk running up the stairs. Like his colleague, he was bald and tattooed.

  There was nowhere to go except back up. Maybe there would still be an opportunity to get away. There was always the scaffolding. It would only take a leap over the wall and a lucky catch of the structure. If she missed, her fate would be the same as the one Richard had planned for her anyway and this way she was choosing her own way out.

  Approaching the top, Mairead prepared herself to push her body to its full potential but ran straight into Richard’s arms. With her new found energy she fought powerfully and drove her knee straight into his crotch.

  The unexpected attack doubled him over and his face was contorted in pain and surprise. It was a look that lasted barely a second before Mairead used the power of her legs and the solid shoe to kick him full force in the face. His nose broke instantly and blood sprayed out.

  Richard went down, gasping in agony. Mairead stood over him and kicked him as hard as she could in the stomach. Curled up, his mouth opened wide, his small desperate intakes of breath barely heard.

  She wanted to keep hurting him but her ears were suddenly assaulted by a noise that shuddered and echoed through her body. Turning she saw the other thug fall to the ground, clutching what was left of his knee. He was screaming for a moment before he passed out.

  Mairead looked up towards the lifts to see James, looking bloodied and dishevelled with Barry in a worse state lying unconscious at his feet. He lowered the gun.

  She could only sit down on the floor and cry as James walked towards her, returning his gun to a holster under his jacket.

  Crouching down next to her, he didn’t touch her but smiled softly into her face. She looked at him still trembling. “I wet my pants.”

  He grinned. “Did you baby? I will give you a bath when we get home.”

  “You look like shit,” she told him.

  “You don’t loo
k much better,” he replied.

  She felt close to losing control until she suddenly remembered Mark. She scanned the entire area but he was nowhere to be seen. She felt sick.

  “We got to find Mark.”

  She got up and steadied herself, and started to walk towards the wall. James was instantly beside her and together they looked over the wall.

  Several feet below, Mark was lying unconscious or dead on a thin board draped diagonally across the scaffolding pipes. One end was bolted securely where his head rested. The other end, only a corner rested on the pipe.