He would walk down a corridor and there he’d be. In his desperation, Jason tried to run away, escape, but someone was always there. They watched him, reporting his every movement.
Pulling himself back to the present, Jason’s eyes again focused on Alexander. He looked so shrunken. Was this really the man who had terrorized him all those years ago? Back then, he had seemed unconquerable. Now he knew he could break him in two without even exerting himself.
Jason wanted this whole sordid business finished with. He was sick of the sight of the man, his very existence left a foul taste in his mouth.
“Hold out your hand.”
Alexander, didn’t move, his fear holding him immobile.
Jason didn't repeat himself. He pushed the red hot end of the cigar into Alexander's cheek and held it there. The first sound of his scream of pain was quieted by Josh clamping a large hand over his mouth to silence it.
“Now, are you going to hold out your hand, or do I need to do this again on the other side of your face?”
Alexander, was in terrible pain. The aftermath of the cigar’s contact still seared along his nerve endings. His narcissistic tendencies kicked into play, not having the capacity to feel remorse for the terrible deeds he had committed. Rather his feelings were fixed solely on his pain and why he was being treated that way. He held out his hand, he had no other choice.
Jason watched his compliance, devoid of any visible emotion. Looking back to the end of the cigar, he saw that by pressing it against Alexander's face, the tip had lost most of its heat. He was unwilling for this to be the case. Flicking open the lighter once again, he raised the cigar to his lips and puffed, releasing smoke until it again glowed red hot.
Passing the lit end back and forth under Alexander's nose, he lowered it in slow motion, his gaze never leaving the petrified man's face. He wanted to see his reaction. He wanted to bear witness to his pain, because even it were tenfold, it would never begin to approach what he and Aviva had suffered at his hands. Jason wasn't really a man to make comparisons, but in this case he felt it was warranted. Pressing the cigar into Alexander’s palm, he held it there as the stench of burning flesh began to rise into the air.
The tears in Alexander’s eyes began running down his cheeks as his pain intensified. Jason lifted the cigar and dropped it into the crying man's lap. Alexander stiffened, attempting to get away from the heat. He needn’t have worried. Jason had extinguished it in his hand. But in a perverse way, it gave him pleasure to see that Alexander was completely unaware of this. Without another glance, Jason turned away in disgust.
“Josh, secure him and then come help us.”
With a nod, Josh released the sobbing older man and reached into this coat pocket, removing two plastic restraints. He handcuffed Alexander to the armrest of his chair. The man was crying so loudly he began to get on Josh's nerves. Oh yes, he thought, you can dish it out but you can't take it. Looking around, he spotted a sheet of writing paper. Josh grabbed it and stuffed in into Alexander's mouth so he wouldn't have to listen to him cry like a baby.
Joining his brothers, Josh saw they still had quite a few unconscious bodies to move. Jason had surmised that if Aviva had been held on these premises, there should be a room that had a lock and key. Fortunately, he found it.
Once he and his brothers finished dragging all the bodies into the small room, Jason looked down at the little cot shoved into a corner and images of Aviva sprang into his mind. He saw her laying there helpless, scared and hurt, and he had to look away as a red haze began to seep into his vision. Pushing away those thoughts, he again set to the task at hand, knowing it was essential that he remain focused.
He and his brothers had positioned the unconscious men in a very specific way. They had been placed in a circle, their backs bracing each other up in a sitting formation.
Josh had the task of tearing up an old sheet into strips, while Jason unwound the length of rope he had coiled around his body for just this purpose. Tossing one end to Jake, they secured it around the men. They wound the rope using over and under loops, strapping their arms closely to their torsos, rendering their upper bodies immobile. When the twins met at the end of their task, Jake handed his end to Jason who wove the rope into a constrictor knot and finished with a reef knot. Accepting some of the rags from Josh, he helped his brothers gag their captives.
Next, Jason squatted down before the cockney, who ironically held his mother in such high esteem, but was prepared to be party to the kidnapping and humiliation of another woman. Slapping him none too gently across the face, Jason attempted to wake him up. He had to slap him four more times before the man started to come around, his eyes opening slowly from his daze. Jason held up a key and waved it before the man’s unfocused eyes.
Once he had the man’s attention, he began to speak. “See this? This is the key to this room. I'm locking the door and taking it with me. Once you get those gags off, you tell your friends of the benevolence of a lady called, Aviva Johnson. But for her, you would all be dead men. This way, if at least one brain cell exists between you, you'll find a way out of this room. If not...I don't need to spell it out to you,” Jason said with a show of his dimples and deadly cold eyes.
Rising to their full height, they all walked to the door and exited the room, never glancing behind them. As promised, he turned the key in the lock and deposited it in his pocket.
Chapter 16
Jason turned to his brothers and looked them up and down, his eyes taking on a look they had never seen before. It looked like...affection, but it was gone in a flash. His words, when spoken, belied what they knew they had just witnessed.
“I appreciate what you've both done tonight, but I don't need your help anymore. I've got this. Wait for me in the car.”
“That's not what we planned, Jason,” Josh remarked in a low voice, attempting to withhold his frustration at Jason's attempt to withdraw from them after his brief show of emotion.
“We stay.” Jake's response was short.
Jason watched them for a few moments, his face expressionless. “Okay, you both know what to do. Let’s get this over with.”
Turning abruptly, Jason's strides ate up the ground as he returned to the room where Alexander sat bound to the chair. Pushing open the door, he stood looking at the older man, his eyes round and staring at Jason, glazed over with pain.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you're a lucky man?” Jason asked.
“What are you going to do with me?”
“Answer my question!”
“No...yes, I can't remember,” Alexander answered, his confusion obvious from the sweat on his forehead running in rivulets down his face.
Jason remained quiet, allowing the tension to build, wanting Alexander to churn up as many horrifying scenarios as his perverted mind was capable of.
“Well, you are indeed a lucky man. I'm really surprised no one ever said that to you.” Jason's words were dripping with sarcasm as he approached the obviously terrified man. Lifting his hand, he showed Alexander the knife he held. Moving it from side-to-side, Jason watched as Alexander’s eyes fixated on it, spellbound to its every movement.
“What do you intend to do with that thing?”
“It's not a thing, it's a knife, and I'm going to set you free. You want to be set free don't you?”
Alexander knew Jason was playing with him. Suddenly the sound of those words repeated twice resonated with him. He himself had taunted a young Jason with exactly those words, and his body began to quake so violently his teeth rattled.
“Ah, I see you recall the use of those exact words...good, very good.” Jason spoke softly, a smile pinned to his face, enjoying how much he was unnerving the older man.
“Now this is going to be fun...you like a bit of fun, don't you, Master? Yes...I remember.” Jason’s words floated around the room as he approached ever closer to where his and Aviva's tormentor was sitting...waiting. When he arrived before him, Jason flipped the knife over in a sudd
en movement that made Alexander cry out with fright. Jason watched as a stain spread out along the seated man’s crotch. The perverted coward had pissed himself. Jason threw back his head and hooted with laughter. How the mighty have fallen, he thought to himself.
“Don't worry, I'm not about to kill you. Tonight, these hands, no matter how much I would like them to, will not take a life.”
Jason folded himself down at the waist and used the knife to cut through the binds that tied Alexander in place. Rising back to his full height, he took three large steps back then stopped, never removing his cold black eyes from his trembling captive.
Jason could see just how terrified Alexander was as he remained in his seat unmoving, unsure if Jason's words were just a ruse. Jason said no more, he just watched him, unblinking, and waited with his arms folded across his chest.
Slowly, Alexander rose from his seat. Pinning his thighs against the edge of the desk, he took small sidelong steps around it until he was facing the door which tantalized him with freedom. Yet he was still unsure. What was Jason's game? Was he just waiting for him to exit the room before he plunged the knife into his exposed back? Alexander was confused, his mind a jumble of possible outcomes to the situation. His mind flashed from place to place until he recalled Jason's word, he had said he wouldn't take a life this night. He had his doubts of the validity of this statement, but if by some twist of faith this were true, he would take the chance on turning his back to the icy giant.
“What are you waiting for?” Jason snarled. “Run!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth, Alexander ran from the room, his eyes searching for an exit. The outer room stood empty, the door to the warehouse gaping open, enticing him forward. He didn't hesitate as he ran towards escape. The sound of Jason's voice stopped him in his tracks. He knew this sudden benevolence had been a foolish grasp at hope.
“Run hard and fast, you son-of-a-bitch!”
As the cold breeze of the night air flowed against his overheated skin, Alexander came to a halt and looked around. It was then he realized he had no mode of transportation by which to escape. Looking wildly around, he was confronted by a huge shadow with a bellowing cape moving towards him. The specter, to his confused mind, seemed to be floating off the ground as it came ever closer. His terrified brain unable to comprehend what it was seeing so he turned and ran in the opposite direction.
With just enough presence of mind, he remembered the alleyway that ran behind the warehouse. He changed the direction of his flight, hoping that way would lead to his freedom. Running as best he could while taking fleeting looks over his shoulder, he approached his avenue of freedom. He was almost there, one more look behind him showed that the ghostly figure was no longer haunting him. Whipping his head forward, he was met by another huge shape blocking his path. His brain was in turmoil. Pivoting, Alexander ran in the only direction that was left to him. He went up the incline.
His movements became increasingly unsure, his breath released one wheeze after another, pain overtaking his chest, but he ran on. His feet touched the gravel of the bank, his expensive oxfords offered him no purchase in his quest for escape. His legs gave way beneath him and his hands shot out to absorb his weight as he fell. Tendrils of agony ripped through him as his injured hand came into contact with the harsh points of the stones.
Almost defeated, he considered staying where he fell. Rolling to his back, he moved his head from side to side, peering into the dark night. Nothing, he saw nothing. Maybe the ghostly figures had only been figments of his imagination and Jason meant to keep his word. Maybe he was indeed free.
Stumbling to his feet, ever mindful of his hand, Alexander used his elbows and knees to crawl to the top of the mounds of gravel that kept shifting under his weight. Reaching the top and still on his knees, he looked around, his breath harsh and the pulse points all over his body thumping as though they would explode from beneath his skin. He saw nothing, felt nothing, his awareness picking up on no another presence.
“Get up!”
Alexander screamed out in panic, looming before him stood Jason, his face a rictus of hate. He was rooted to the spot. He couldn't move even though he knew his life depended on it.
“I said get up...now!” Jason repeated, his rage seeming to grow with each word he uttered.
Alexander obeyed, too terrified to do otherwise. He’d been sure he was alone, that he’d gotten away. Where had this man appeared from?
“You need to go that way,” Jason said, pointing towards the black void.
“Don't be frightened, Master. There's nothing in the darkness that will hurt you. Go on, all you need to do is take one step at a time.”
Alexander kept his eyes turned to Jason as he rose to his feet and took one step and then another, and another.
“Hey, Alexander!” Whipping his head around, he saw his specters had returned and he stopped in his tracks.
“Don't look at them, look at me!” Jason shouted. Alexander's head whipped back in Jason's direction, confused as to where to look, who to heed.
Light, a bright light, blinded him. That was his last living sight as the freight train bore down on him, disintegrating his puny human body with its force.
Jason didn’t move until the speeding train could no longer be seen or heard. Then he turned his head towards his brothers, watching their eyes, waiting for their reaction, their looks of disgust at what had just taken place. He saw nothing. No look of horror, no expression of accusation…nothing.
“It's done,” Jake said, his voice calm. “Let’s get the hell outta here.”
With a nod, Josh turned and began to make his way down the slope. Jake gave Jason one last look and followed his younger brother, their tall figures soon eaten up by the darkness. Jason remained in place for a few more moments before he removed the key from his pocket and threw it as far as he could across the train tracks. Looking down at the spot Malcolm Alexander had stood when he drew his last breath, Jason spat on the track before he too turned and walked away, leaving behind no regrets.
Chapter 17
The brothers sat in silence as Josh maneuvered the car back to the house. Looking at the time, Jason pondered how so much had taken place in such a short period of time. They had left the safe house two hours ago and most of that time had been taken up with the drive from one destination to the other.
Closing his eyes, he laid his head back against the headrest of his seat. He was tired. The last time he had gotten more than a couple of hours sleep without interruption was the last night he and Aviva had spent at their home in California, a little over a week ago. Such a short time ago, Jason thought, yet it had also been the longest week of his life. His mind ran over what had taken place this night and knew the events were potentially life changing.
Technically, he had kept his word. He hadn't taken a life but he knew if Aviva ever learned of how Alexander met his end...she might not forgive him for his actions. He didn't want to think about the possible ramifications and what it could mean to their relationship. Pushing the thought from his mind, he drew in a deep breath, attempting to release some of the tension that still had hold of his body.
“Are you okay, Jason?” Jake asked his twin, sensing how tightly he was drawn.
“Yes.”
“We did the right thing tonight. Most people wouldn't understand what we did but it was the right thing,” Jake continued. “People like Malcolm Alexander don't ever stop, Jason. They keep coming and coming, taking what they want. If they can't take what they want, they steal it, and if they can't steal it, they will kill anyone standing in their way. We did the right thing.”
“If Aviva ever finds out what I did tonight, she'll leave me. I looked her in the eyes and made her a promise based on a play of words.”
“Aviva loves you, if, and that's a big if, she ever finds out...you can say it was my idea. Say I concocted the whole scheme. I don't think she's that fond of me. She'll probably believe it to be true quicker than she would of
you or Josh.”
“Come on, Jake, don't say that. You know that's not true.” Josh jumped to the defense if his brother.
“Jake, I thank you, but I would never ask or expect such a thing of you. If she ever finds out, the full responsibility will be mine. It was my plan and mine alone.”
“Jason?”
“What?”
“Do you know that you get on my nerves?!”
Jason's head snapped forward at Jake's words. It wasn’t the words he’d expected.
“Yeah, that's right, you heard me. I've had it up to here,” Jake said, slicing his hand through the air above his head, “with you and your shit I'm an island freaking crap!”
“What, because I don't want you to take the blame for me, you start slinging insults at me?”
“Did you hear yourself? I this and I that, as if we didn't agree to everything you proposed. Not to mention, we had more than a little input to pulling off what went down tonight!”
Jason didn't see the onslaught coming and was taken aback by just how angry Jake was. Remaining quiet, he silently reflected on his words. His twin was right. They had never once questioned anything he proposed in regards to the night’s events. They had just given him their unconditional support, and again he had failed to recognize it for what it was. Right then and there, he decided to say something that he never expected to say to these men.
“I'm not an island, Jake. I'm just a man who's trying to work through a lot of shit. Every time I think I'm out of the mire, something or someone tries to pull me back into it. I appreciate what you’ve both done for me tonight. Hell, what you've done since the first time we met. Right from the start, even if I wouldn't admit it, you've both treated me like a brother, and for that I...thank you guys.”
“Whatever, Jason. We love you too,” Josh said after a moment of silence. “Isn't that right, Jake?”
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