by J. C. Cliff
Fear is not what’s holding me back from this decision; Julianna is. She absolutely despises me, and I’m sure that’s putting it mildly. I shot everything to Hell once I ripped her apart. I destroyed what we were beginning to create between the two of us, and every time I think back on how I had to treat her on her birthday, I cringe. Having to watch the pain and anguish in her eyes, while I crushed her spirit…it ripped my guts out.
If Julianna could get past her hate for me and find it in her heart to forgive me, then I’d have to ask myself. Is she worth all the hell that’s going to rain down on my head? It will be the equivalent of unleashing the wrath of Satan if I do. The mere fact I’m even contemplating such insanity tells me she must be worth the risk.
The constant turmoil of weighing my options is eating at my conscience like a cancer. Placing my elbow on the armrest of my seat, I lay my forehead in the palm of my hand. I know in my heart and soul I will most likely regret my decision if I don’t step in. I let out a sigh. If I decide to do this, I need to strike while the iron is hot.
Since I know Nick has left her for the evening, wanting to make her suffer for her transgressions, I have an opening. Plus, he’s not expecting me back in the middle of the night. It’s the perfect opportunity to get her out of there, when their defenses are down and everybody’s least expecting it. Is there any other way around this without causing all hell to break loose? I shake my head at the thought. No, the only option here is for me to step in and rescue her. She’s just going to have to deal with me, the lesser of the two evils, whether she hates me or not. As the airplane begins taxiing down the runway heading south, I start formulating an escape plan.
Once the plane touches down in Atlanta, I first make a run to my apartment to gather some supplies and tie up a few loose ends as I prepare to leave the rest of my life behind. Having already considered the many weapon options I have available, and since I refuse to shed blood, I choose to go with the small, lightweight, and nonlethal Taser gun.
I figure since I will have the element of surprise and with this being a small operation, especially taking place in the wee hours of the morning, it should be a cakewalk compared to what I’ve been up against in the past. I know without a doubt when someone gets hit with one of these guns he sure as hell won’t go down quietly. It will light his fire and he’ll squeal like a pig. I’m hoping the noise factor won’t be an issue, though, and if it is, I will have other backup options on me, but those will be my last resort.
I pull a black, handled box down from the top shelf of my closet and lay the case on my bed. When I open it, my X26 Taser is ready and waiting for me. Double-checking the digital battery pack, it shows the charge is at 100%. I then grab a handful of 21-foot target range Taser cartridges and secure them to the inside of my leather jacket while holstering the gun, keeping it out of plain sight.
There really isn’t much to leave behind. I’ve always considered this place temporary, and made it a point to be able to leave at the drop of a hat. I even keep a bug out bag, which holds important things such as money, new IDs, passports, and a few other items that will be paramount for survival, including weaponry.
By the time I reach the facility, it’s four in the morning, and it’s a breeze strolling in at this hour since there’s only a skeleton crew manning the place. I guess we’ve been a little too cocky lately, thinking we’re too impenetrable to be infiltrated. Well, in actuality we are, but of course, never in a million years would anyone think one of our own would have ulterior motives.
Being that I’m one of the top dogs here and have been known to come in at all hours, my presence is never questioned. My first stop is the monitoring room, and upon entering the secured room, there is only one guard present. Knowing there is a second guard lurking around, I need to be quick and quiet with this one.
The guard turns his head to acknowledge me as I calmly saunter in. “Hey, Travis. I thought you were away on business. What’s got you coming in at this ungodly hour?”
“You know as well as I do there is no rest in this line of business.”
He shakes his head and responds, “You got that right.”
When he turns his head back toward the screens, I step up beside him, pointing to room seven. “I heard she had a rough night.”
When he glances up at the monitor that shows the interior of Julianna’s room, the man doesn’t even get a chance to reply as I place him in a full-on sleeper hold. My arm wraps around his neck as I cut off the blood flow from his carotid artery. Not wanting to cause the risk of permanent brain damage by rendering him unconscious, I wait just until he’s on the brink of being ‘sleepy’ enough. I know as soon as I let go, the blood flow will quickly bring him back to a level of consciousness, so I work quickly as I shove him out of his chair and onto the floor. I roll him onto his stomach and secure the back of his wrists behind his back with a set of zip ties.
“What the hell, Travis?” he barely murmurs out. Keeping my knee in his back, I waste no time in administering a fast acting tranquilizer by injecting it into his thigh. I don’t think he will be yelling for help anytime soon, but just to make sure, I stay in the camera room and begin shutting down the most pertinent cameras. As I log into the computer with my credentials, I begin overriding them one-by-one, rendering the recorders useless. By the time I’m finished, I glance over at my friend on the floor and note he is safely out of commission. Knowing I’ve got one more guard to contend with, I draw my Taser and keep it at the ready.
With stealthy movements, I take one hallway at a time, constantly looking and listening for anything from all directions. As I round the last corner toward the lab, Justin appears from around the bend. Surprise is evident in his eyes as he sees the gun in my hand. I fire my weapon and watch as he twists, successfully dodging the darts just in time. Dammit! Only one dart effectively punctured his skin, therefore, the shock isn’t administered.
Justin suddenly realizes I’ve only used a Taser gun on him, and since I’ve just wasted my one shot, he knows there won’t be enough time for me to reload. In the matter of a second, his large frame reappears from around the corner as he comes barreling at me with speed and precision. My only choice right now is to take a defensive stance and prepare for a fight. Justin is a big guy, but not as big as I am, and he hasn’t had nearly the amount of extensive training I’ve had in hand-to-hand combat. I abruptly realize it’s not the hand-to-hand combat I’ll have to worry about as he pulls a thirty-eight special on me. Knowing I have protection underneath my leather jacket, it still doesn’t warrant me the right to grow cocky, so I raise my hands in the air.
“Not here to hurt anyone, Justin.”
He cocks his head to the side with a sneer. “Really? You think getting hit by a Taser tickles?”
“You know as well as I do there’s no permanent damage,” I respond in a cold tone.
He moves his gun side-to-side, indicating I’m to face the wall. “Arms out to the side and feet spread apart.” His tone brooks no argument, and I immediately comply. Being that he’s the one holding the gun, he’s coming off a tad cocky and a little too self-assured. As he approaches me, I plan to use his overconfidence to my advantage, and catch him off-guard. Since he doesn’t think I will try to fight him, I act fast by swinging my right foot around and knocking the gun out of his hand. We both drop to the floor, fighting each other while struggling for the gun. I give up trying to reach his gun, instead using my precious seconds to grab a tranquilizer out of my jacket.
We’re both grunting and punching, using everything we have not to be the loser. I let him gain the upper hand, pin me down, and get one good punch in to allow me time to unsheathe the needle, and jab the shit out of his left thigh. I express all its contents into his blood stream in less than a second.
“Son of a bitch!” he bellows. He tries for a second swing, but he’s too late. I block his swing with one hand, and then punch him in the throat with the other. He rolls over onto his back, gasping for air and clutchin
g at his throat with both hands. Quickly, I grab his gun and place it in the back of my waistband. “You won’t get away with this,” he rasps out.
I quickly zip tie his wrists and ankles, securing him immobile, and by the time I’m done, he’s halfway unconscious. “Looks like I just did.”
“I know why you’re here, and he will find you, Travis. He will scour the earth to find her, and when he does, he will kill you.”
I nod. “Thanks for the heads up.” He’s not telling me anything I don’t already know.
“He’s got ways to find you…contacts and systems in place you don’t even know about,” he reveals on a hoarse whisper. I watch as his eyes flutter closed briefly, and then reopens them as he fights the drug. “You better sleep with one eye open. You don’t know what Nick is capable of.”
I kick Justin in the side for good measure, and he glares and me and grunts. “I always have and I always will sleep with one eye open, but how nice of you to worry about me.” He’s always wanted to be Nick’s little sidekick, but he’s not smart or ruthless enough. “And for the record, neither of you know what I’m capable of.” I wave my hand around the facility. “Obviously.”
I know I’m losing valuable escape time chit-chatting, and since he’s almost out cold and securely tied, I mentally run back through my game plan again, making sure I’m not forgetting anything. My next stop is the clinic, so I head in that direction. Once I enter the clinic, I go straight for the locked medicine cabinet, swipe my hand over the sensor to open the door, and begin filling my bag with a shit load of Blyss, some other meds I’ll need, and a few filled syringes of pain meds and tranquilizers.
Once I’ve completed the task, I quickly head toward Jules’ room. As I enter, untold emotions run through me. She’s lying face down on the bed; her blonde hair sprawled out every which way, covering her face. Her back is bare, and I cringe at the red welts present. There are some intermittent areas I can tell Nick broke her skin, because there are fine lines where blood has clotted and started scabbing over. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt in a few other places her skin was broken, because I see Jared kindly cleaned her up and placed bandages over the wounds. I clench my jaw at the thought of her being whipped, and my gut twists in a knot. I have to tamp down my anger and focus on the task at hand, which is getting the both of us out of here right now in one piece.
I grab a set of pajamas and underwear from her drawer and make quick work of getting her dressed, being careful not to touch her back. In all of my tousling her around, she tries to come to, but she’s still out of it. She murmurs, “I’m sorry. I’ll be good.”
Her promise twists a knife in my heart, and I’m not sure who hurts worse at the moment. There’s a crack in my voice I don’t recognize when I whisper over her, “Oh, my sweet Jules, I’m so sorry. I’m here, sweetheart.” Emotions stir inside me, ones I haven’t felt for a long damn time.
“It hurts.” She half-garbles in her drugged sleep.
“I know, baby. I got you some more medicine.”
“Nick?” she questions, her forehead crinkling. “You said I couldn’t have anything.” Yep, she’s pretty much out of it if she thinks I’m Nick, and just the mere mention of his name makes my blood pressure rise. Her muscles tense, and I have to pry her fingers from the death grip she has on the bed sheets.
“Changed my mind.” I give her one last shot of pain killer for the road and clear my throat. “I’ve got you now, sweet Jules. Shhh, I’ve got you.”
I take a set of cutters from my back pocket and snip the thick wire that holds her ankle tracker, removing it. When I pick up her lifeless body, her head falls listlessly to the side, along with her long hair as it drapes over my arm. Wasting no time, I carry her toward the bedroom door and quietly open it. I look down each end of the hallway, making sure the coast is clear. As we make haste through the corridor, I shift her head to rest on my broad chest, and she winces from the pressure my arms have placed on her backside. “Where are we going?”
Knowing I need to keep her calm and quiet, I speak into her ear to soothe her. “Shh, don’t speak. Just close your eyes and go back to sleep.” She nuzzles the side of her face into my chest, and I melt a little on the inside. She says nothing more as we make our way to the underground parking lot. When I lay her down on the back seat of my car, she stirs again.
“Travis, is that you?” She peers out through her half-lidded eyes, her forehead crinkling.
“Yeah, baby. Go back to sleep for me, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Travis, I won’t disappoint you again. I’ll take my medicine. I’ll do whatever Nick wants me to. Just please don’t let him sell me. I promise…I really promise I will be better.”
Every word coming from her mouth sinks its claws deep into my heart. “I hear you, baby. Now close your eyes and sleep.” She nods her head and curls up on her side. I lay a blanket over her then shut the car door.
Seeing her again, especially this way, I know I’ve done the right thing. She has too much fight in her to survive Nick, and I don’t see her ever relenting and bending to his will. I’ve seen too many girls in this situation, and I know how these men contend with insubordination. She’ll either end up highly drugged every second of every day, sold to the highest bidder, or worse, killed.
I have to believe there is something permanent between us, because I am willingly throwing away everything I’ve ever worked for by rescuing her. I get into the driver’s seat, crank the engine, and start making plans to begin the rest of my life with Julianna.
~Travis~
I’m almost thirty minutes away from approaching downtown Charleston, when a light smattering of rain begins to dance across my windshield. I’ve been driving for over five hours straight, and my shoulders and neck are wrought with tension. It had been an arduous last few days to say the least, and yet I can’t help but think the most difficult tasks still lay ahead of me.
Hell, I lived through combat zones and many touch-and-go scenarios in my past, but nothing in all of my training could’ve properly prepared me for what I’m about to do with another human being. The minute I took Julianna from her confines, going AWOL, I was asking for a war of stellar proportions, and it would be just me against an army of men.
Exhaling a huge breath, I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I lean over the steering wheel, peering up into the rapidly clouding sky to get a better view. Dark, billowing clouds are growing thicker by the minute, and have been since I got off Interstate 95; looks as if I’m headed straight toward the storm. The local radio stations have been dispatching warnings for flash floods for the downtown area, which is exactly where I need to be. Thank God that will not pose a problem for me, since I have my Suburban. This is the very town I grew up in, so I already know which streets are prone to flooding, and which areas I’ll need to avoid.
I rub my shoulder, squeezing the knotted bundle of tissue, trying to alleviate the tension. I shouldn’t be this tightly wound, especially since my plans are unfolding so perfectly before me. So far, everything has played out almost flawlessly, but I know better than to start getting cocky. Mistakes are made when one becomes too confident, and I can’t allow myself to bask in my success just yet. Half the battle is going to be with Julianna anyway.
As I come upon my exit, I slow down, and as soon as I take the off ramp, the rain begins to pick up at an accelerated pace. Even though the roads are mostly barren, likely due to the storm warnings, I’m glad to get off the interstate. I’m positive I haven’t been trailed. I have too many years of experience under my belt to not be aware of someone following me. Plus, no one can link me to this vehicle; it’s been kept under an erroneous name, and I’ve kept it hidden for exactly these types of situations. About five miles after we left the facility, we changed vehicles, and then I donned a ball cap, a light jacket, and mirrored sunglasses to help conceal my identity.
I decided to take this route through the downtown area, because I wanted to create a zigzag maze, one last ditch effort t
o make double sure I wasn’t being trailed. I’m surprised to see the secondary streets of downtown are even more desolate than the interstate. I’m almost to my next exit, which would allow me to cross over the Cooper River and into Mt. Pleasant, when the bottom falls out of the sky. Raging, pelting rain comes down in droves, and my wipers become a useless weapon against the onslaught. Shit. I take off my sunglasses, and it’s still impossible to see past my own windshield. I manage to make it past one more block and pull over on East Bay Street, just before Adgers Wharf.
I grit my teeth in frustration; we’re so damn close. I hate having to stop. All I need to do is cross the damn bridge and make it to the Isle of Palms. Annoyed, I put the vehicle in park. It’s evident I’m going to have to wait this one out before I cross the waters. I look around, scoping out my surroundings, but my visibility is nil. The saying “pouring buckets of rain” has nothing on this monsoon.
Grant, the closest thing I have to a dad, has a beach house located ocean front on the Isle. I had made arrangements with him during my flight home asking to use the house for a day or two until I could finalize my plans. He doesn’t know this yet, but I need his expertise in helping me safely wean Julianna off Blyss.
My old man was an abusive drunk, and since I avoided him at all costs growing up, I wound up raising myself. I grew up on these very streets. My mother left the bastard when I was seven. Who could blame her, really? What I blame her for is the fact she didn’t take me with her. She left me behind, fending for myself as she found herself another meal ticket, one who didn’t want to deal with another man’s kid.
