Witness Protection: Hide and Seek

by Dukes, Ursula

  Castillo told his men that he'd been gone too long and he had someone to answer to as well. Eduardo Guzman was that man and although things had slowed down since his arrest, Castillo did not want to disappoint Guzman. He was a 'subcontractor' of sorts for Guzman and had been given leniency three years ago when he was first prosecuted. Now Guzman told him to do what he needed to do to get back into the game.

  Castillo had agreed to make the trip to Bolivia, but it was not to please Guzman. He could care less about whether the old mad was happy or not. He was going back to Bolivia for one reason and one reason only, to take control of the cartel.

  Castillo was going to do whatever he had to in order to get rid of Guzman. After all, he was the one who'd been forced to sit in a prison cell for three years, not Guzman. While he rotted away in prison, Guzman sat in Bolivia, truly enjoying the finer things in life. Things that without Castillo, he would have not been able to afford, and Castillo thought that now was the time to replace the old man. He did what he had to do and very soon, he would be in control of things.

  ****

  Jessica and Madison were in their dressing rooms trying on clothes. Within minutes, they had sought out several outfits. Neither one paid attention to the chime that rang above the door, signaling that someone else had entered.

  While the two women tried on clothes, the young sales clerk giggled softly and pointed the customer toward the dressing rooms.

  "I'm sorry if I've been acting a little strange towards you." Jessica stood in front of the mirror turning from side to side.

  "It's alright," Madison said and smiled.

  "It's just that sometimes, I get so irrational and everything makes me laugh, or cry, or think crazy thoughts. I love the fact that I'm pregnant, but I can't stand the emotional and physical rollercoaster that my mind and body is being taken on."

  "I can't begin to imagine all the changes that your body is going through Jessica. I hope that as the months go on, you'll start to feel like your old self. You'll probably feel bloated and uncomfortable, but you'll feel like your old self." The two women chuckled at the comment.

  "Thank you for understanding. Now it's time for some serious girl talk. So tell me, what's going on between you and Cole?"

  Just hearing his name made her smile.

  While she spoke, Madison didn’t hear the light shuffling sound coming from Jessica's fitting room.

  "I'm not sure. I do think that since we arrived here, things have taken a turn for the better. Aside from Tristan, Cole is the most attentive man that I've ever met. Do you think that he's always been like that?"

  When Madison got no response, she asked again. This time, all she heard was a muffled noise coming from behind the dressing room door.

  "Jessica? Are you all right?"

  Madison did not hesitate when she opened the door. She'd apologize for the intrusion later, right now she needed to make sure that Jessica was all right.

  Jessica was standing with her hands raised and a terrified look on her face. There was a man standing behind her. He was holding a gun to the back of her head and he was smiling.

  "What do you want?" Madison questioned the man. Even before she asked the question, she knew that the man wasn’t there to rob them, the words just slipped out.

  "If you don’t come with me Miss West, I'm going to have to hurt your friend, and that will in turn, hurt the child she's carrying, and I'm sure you don’t want that," he said softly."

  "I need you to come with me now."

  Madison kept her eyes on the gun, if the circumstances were different, she would have tried to take the gun away from him. She and Tristan had taken self-defense classes and she was pretty sure that she could disarm him. But this wasn’t just about her, this man, this animal, was holding a gun to Jessica.

  For now, she would have to comply. At least until Jessica was out of harm's way.

  "Move, now!" He shouted. It was a loud, gut- rumbling shout, the kind that makes the listener's adrenaline surge.

  Jessica kept quiet, but Madison could see the tears welling up in her eyes and she reassured her that she would be all right.

  The man now spoke in a voice that was deathly calm. "Do not leave this room until we're gone."

  Jessica wanted to speak, but her throat produced no words.

  He turned his back to her and pointed the gun at Madison. "Let's go," he mumbled the words. Madison nodded her head and made her way to the front of the store.

  "No," the man said and grabbed her by the arm. "This way." He led her through a small break room and out the backdoor.

  Jessica did as she was told and waited. The only loaded weapon that she'd ever seen was her husbands, and it was always tucked away in his holster, or locked away in the safe.

  For a moment, her mind drew a blank, she wasn’t sure of what to do. Call 911 her conscience reminded her. Get your phone out and call 911!

  She waited a few minutes more before her legs, somehow disconnected from her petrified mind, began moving her towards the front of the store. Leaving the dressing room, released the shock and she allowed the tremulous screams to escape her mouth.

  ****

  Madison didn’t recognize the man who'd forced her out by gunpoint, but her intuition told her that he was part of Castillo's crew.

  Okay, Madison, stay calm. She remembered what she and Cole had talked about on their way to Summerbridge. It was just a few days ago that they had the conversation, but now it felt longer than that. A lot longer.

  If you panic, you are in turn, going to panic the person with a gun to your head.

  Remember Madison, the assailant has control of your physical movement because he'll be the one holding the firearm. But you will, almost without exception, be at a psychological advantage in this situation.

  If you stay calm, you will have the benefit of level-headedness, reasoning, and persuasion, all of which you'll need to use in spades.

  Madison could feel the man's protruding stomach rub against her back as he moved in closer. He held her hands behind her back with one hand and kept the gun pointed at her with the other.

  The driver got out of the car to open up the trunk. Immediately, Madison recognized him, it was the young man who'd tried flirting with her just days ago.

  His eyes were wild and he looked as if he were on something. Just as fear and panic began to set in, she felt the sudden stab of a needle being jammed into the side of her neck. Before she could cry out, her legs collapsed and the large man scooped her up before she could hit the pavement. It took only seconds before everything went black.

  Jay stood there paralyzed. He'd talked a good game, but now that things were heating up, he was afraid.

  "Help me get her in the trunk!" Manny grunted out orders.

  ****

  While the young cashier sat Jessica down in the break room and tried calming her, Robin came in and slipped three hundred dollars under the cash register.

  She slipped in and out so quietly, that no one even knew she was there. As she made her way back to the diner, she thought about Jay and the job he'd been given. She hoped that he was all right; she couldn’t wait until her shift would be over.

  Jessica's hands were shaking so badly that she asked the sales clerk to dial her husband's number. By the time Robert answered the call from his wife, he and Cole were already on their way to the Boutique.

  Their stride quickly turned into a run and within seconds, they were in the Boutique.

  Robert immediately went to his wife and when he saw that she was in shock, he summoned for an ambulance.

  Cole tried to show concern for Jessica, but he was too enraged to even think about how she was feeling. Fear held him in its grip. Madison had been taken, by whom; Jessica seemed to have no idea. When Cole began to press her for answers, he bit off his words, his tone barely restraining his frustration with her.

  Robert pushed him away and told him to back off.

  "This reeks of a set-up," Cole pulled Robert aside. For
a moment, the accusatory look in Cole's eyes made Robert feel as if he and his wife were under suspicion.

  "I understand that you're angry right now and the frustration is building," Robert said.

  "But you better get that fucking idea out of your head, now!" Robert cautioned his friend.

  The sales clerk was no help either. Cole and Robert exchanged looks when they noticed her too calm demeanor. She'd called the police and an ambulance and then she excused herself while she went outside to smoke a cigarette.

  Two police cars and an ambulance arrived at the same time.

  To Cole, things were not happening fast enough. When he summoned the help of all the officers in and out of the area, he was told that authorities from all near-by towns, including Summerbridge, had been called out to a fatal automobile accident out on the interstate.

  "A missing woman holds no precedent over a deadly automobile accident!" He heard an officer from a neighboring town shout over the radio.

  Cole fought against the desperate urge to verbally rip apart the man on the other side of the radio.

  He was also told that it would be several hours before any extra help would arrive. The only positive thing, one of the officers told him, was that the interstate would be closed for hours. "No one is getting through; I can promise you that sergeant." The officer tried to reassure him.

  "This is West Virginia officer. How many back roads do you think there are?" Cole tried to hide the growl in his voice.

  When the officer put his head down and walked away, Cole knew he'd gotten his point across.

  Madison does not have several hours, he thought to himself.

  Outwardly, he gave the appearance of being calm and in control, but inside, his anger had turned to rage, and it had begun to stick to the flesh and bones of his body.

  Time was of the essence and while officers flipped open their notepads and questioned onlookers, Cole wanted to start a search. There were leads that needed to be followed and people who needed to be killed…

  Before she was taken to the hospital, Jessica was able to describe her assailant and her description did not match the one that Cole was anticipating.

  He stormed outside and began questioning the sales clerk. "Where did the man take her?" He was at a disadvantage; he was new in town and still hadn't gotten a feel for all the locals yet. But something about the young girl seemed bogus; it was obvious that she was holding something back.

  If there was anything he knew, it was how to get information out of people, especially from this young woman.

  He called an officer over and told him to take the sales clerk over to the station. He'd finish questioning her there. "Oh and stop by the diner and pick up that waitress, Robin."

  When the sales clerk's eyes bugged out of her head, Cole knew that he'd hit pay dirt.

  The thought of Madison screaming and begging for her life was enough to make his heart slam hard against his ribcage. His breathing grew harsher and harsher by the minute, and his muscles bristled.

  But he knew he had to hold it together, Madison's life depended on it.

  ****

  Jay held the steering wheel in a death grip as he drove to his destination. A few more miles and he'd be at his motel, the Valley House Motel. Reggie would already be there, waiting for him and the woman that he hoped was still unconscious in the trunk. The dose of Chloral hydrate that Manny had injected her with was enough to knock her out for the trip to the motel. At least he'd hoped so.

  When he arrived at the motel, he planned on collecting his money and getting the hell out of there. He didn’t want to be involved in whatever it was that Castillo had planned for the woman.

  Get the Chloral hydrate, drive the bitch to the motel, deliver her to Reggie in the room, and collect his money. That's all he had to do, Castillo told him. So far, everything was going as planned.

  Jay peered into the rearview mirror as he slowly backed the car into its space. He was glad that he'd chosen the very last room located in the back. Not that the location really mattered, it was after all, his motel and the comings and goings of him or any other member of his crew was nobody's business.

  Although the guests of the motel were nothing but a bunch of junkies and hookers, Jay didn’t want to risk being seen lifting a woman out of the trunk of the car, it might raise suspicion.

  Reggie walked out of the motel room and stood near the trunk.

  "She give you any trouble?" His fist slammed down on the trunk.

  "Hey!" Jay got out of the car and lit a cigarette. "Don’t do that man." He smacked Reggie's hand away.

  "Haven't heard a thing. Shit, I hope the bitch ain't dead." He took a long drag of his cigarette before exhaling.

  Reggie shrugged his shoulders and pounded on the trunk once more.

  "Come on, let's do this."

  Jay put his cigarette out on top of the trunk and tucked the half-smoked butt into his shirt pocket.

  Please let her be alive, he silently prayed.

  Jay was hesitant to unlock the trunk, so Reggie snatched the keys and did it himself.

  Madison was still unconscious and she was in the same position as when they'd placed her inside the trunk.

  Jay reached into his pocket and retrieved the cigarette. He stared down at Madison. She was curled up in the fetal position, her body lifeless, and her breathing, shallow. "You sure she ain't dead? Because she sure as hell looks dead." Jay took another drag of his cigarette.

  Reggie pushed him aside and felt for a pulse. When he reached down to grab hold of her, she stirred, and a painful moan escaped her lips.

  "Told you she wasn’t dead." Reggie smacked Jay on the arm.

  "Now come on and help me. The boss will be here any minute."

  "The boss is here now." Reggie jumped at the voice coming from behind him.

  "You pendejo's planning on moving this puta inside anytime soon? Come on, Vamanos!" Castillo demanded.

  "Sure boss, right away."

  Jay stood in awe for a moment before helping Reggie to remove Madison's body out of the trunk.

  He watched as Castillo stood just outside the room, watching their every move. Jay still could not believe that all of this was actually going down. What the hell had he gotten himself into? This was the big leagues now and all of a sudden, things didn’t look so glamorous. Things looked complicated and heavy. Life in Summerbridge was good; he had no reason to fuck things up now.

  Besides, he did his part. Now all he had to do was get his money and get the hell out of there.

  Castillo snickered as his men plopped Madison down on the bed. When she failed to move, he poked her in the arm with his cigarette lighter. "You kill her before I get a shot at her?"

  Reggie shook his head. "No boss, it's just the drug that I injected her with. It should wear off shortly.

  Castillo sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Looks like you may have given her too much." Castillo was leaning over her, pouting like a spoiled child and continuously poking at her with his lighter.

  His voice was calm, but Manny knew there was anger building up inside of him. He hadn't planned all of this so that Madison West could die a slow and easy death. No, he wanted her to suffer and he wanted to watch her do it.

  "Don't worry boss, she's still alive. You'll be able to do everything that you want to do to her. And I know that will make you happy," Manny said with a wry smile.

  Castillo stood up and smoothed out imaginary wrinkles on his suit.

  "Good. Now go get the supplies out of the car and when you come back, I want her moved into the bathtub. I'm wearing $1,200.00 shoes. I don’t want to get them dirty."

  Jay cleared his throat, trying to stop the quiver in his voice.

  "Um, do you think I can get my money now? I mean, I did my part and now I'm finished."

  Castillo turned and smiled devilishly. "You're finished when I say that you're finished."

  Chapter Twenty Six

  When they brought Robin into the station for
questioning, Cole stood behind the two-way mirror, with his arms folded and his eyes closed. At the moment, he couldn’t think about what Madison was going through, he had to focus. He had to put his game face on.

  He wanted Robin to think that no matter who she was, whether it be a waitress trying to make ends meet, or a corner skank in a skintight skirt, she'd be treated politely and with respect.

  He'd be polite not because he wanted to be, but because he wanted information. Those tactics would most definitely work, especially on someone like Robin. It’s was as good a way as any to take her down and to find out where Madison was.

  So far, he'd gotten the full support of the Summerbridge, PD. Well, those who weren't called away to the accident. And all he was waiting on now was for his partner Faith to return from the hospital. They'd taken Jessica there as a precaution and Faith called, saying that Jessica and the baby were all right and that he'd placed a call into the FBI and the DA's office. He was told that help would be arriving very shortly.

  He told Cole that once he got Jessica somewhere safe, he'd return. He also told him not to do anything stupid and brash. That Madison's life depended on him keeping his cool. So far, that was easier said than done.

  When his cell phone buzzed, and he saw that the number was unknown, he immediately answered it.

  "Harding."

  "Is this Marshal Cole Harding?" The voice on the other end was unrecognizable and Cole couldn’t place it.

  "Who is this?"

  "This is U.S. Marshal, Dane Spear. I'm calling from Oklahoma. If this is Marshal Harding, you've made it very difficult to get a hold of you. Is this Marshal Harding?"