by Kim McMahill
Jessica’s eyes moved from gunman to gunman. She doubted they knew who she was. If they did, surely she would have been the only hostage taken. Her family possessed power and money that she felt certain would dwarf anything Gilbert claimed. She glanced over at him and his eyes were squinting, studying her face, trying to place her. She quickly looked away. She couldn’t get out of his sight within the crowded confines of the van, but she could keep him from looking into her eyes.
The first time her father ran for public office she was only ten years old. Every time her picture appeared in the paper with him, someone always compared the color of her eyes to a Texas bluebell. He had always called her his little Bluebell for that same reason and the media caught on to the pet name and it’d stuck.
If anything could trigger Gilbert’s memory, it would be her eyes. If he explained to their captors who she was the rest might be let go, but she doubted it. She was more afraid that as witnesses, they would be killed if they were no longer deemed useful. For everyone’s safety she believed her identity needed to stay hidden. Her captors knew her name from her wallet, but hopefully they hadn’t made the connection and she hoped none of them had access to a television or a newspaper. She could see the headlines clearly, “Texas Senator’s beloved Bluebell abducted.” The vision made her cringe.
Jessica sighed and wriggled around until she could peer out the window. She needed some clue as to where they were. Now that they hummed along a paved road with the headlights back on, she hoped to spot a sign. This time she wouldn’t sleep.
She strained her eyes through the night, but could see little. The occasional set of headlights from an oncoming car illuminated the van for a moment, but then left them once again in darkness. The men up front conversed quietly and glanced back at them often. The guard in the back of the van slept, along with Ashley, Megan and Gilbert.
During the brief bits of light, she would glance at Jack. He was awake, but didn’t look in her direction. He studied the men, the van and the scenery. Something about the way he watched everything made her think he was developing a plan of escape, which they desperately needed. They had to get away before Gilbert’s memory was triggered or she had no doubt they would all die.
As dawn approached she caught a glimpse of a sign welcoming them to Chiapas. She looked around at the occupants. All were still asleep except for Jack. Their eyes met and there was understanding. They were watching, thinking and neither had any intention of following Gilbert’s insistence on doing nothing. Jessica knew her reasons and she wondered about Jack’s, but if she had found an ally, she wouldn’t question his motives. Too much was at stake to sit back, do nothing and wait for inevitable death.
Chapter Six
The kidnappers drove until Jessica’s stomach grumbled, indicating it was around noon. They hadn’t eaten since early evening the night before and she was famished. She hadn’t seen a town for hours and they had just left the pavement again, so any dreams of grabbing a quick bite in an establishment with a restroom with running water had vanished.
The van bounced down the pot-hole riddled dusty road for about an hour before it came to a halt in front of a run-down building. The ground around the house was cleared of vegetation, allowing the sun to bake the ground, and Jessica feared the small house would be as hot as a sauna.
They waited until the back door of the van was opened and each occupant scrambled out of the vehicle as quickly as they could to avoid being pulled out as Jessica had suffered at the last stop. As before, they were marched single-file to the house and locked in a dimly-lit dirty room.
“Does anyone here speak English?” Gilbert demanded. “Someone here has to speak English. If we could just find out what you want, I’m sure we can work something out. Damn it! I know one of you idiots must understand me.”
One of the gunmen walked up to Gilbert and backhanded him so hard that the heavy man crashed to the wooden floor with a solid thud. He crawled to his hands and knees and then staggered to his feet, rubbing his jaw.
“So you must be the one who understands English? Just tell me what you want and I’ll help you get it.”
“We will send our demands when we are ready. First, we make your families and your government fear for your safety. Then they will be eager to cooperate. You will keep quiet, do as you are told or you will die.” The man slammed the door shut and locked it.
Jessica paced the room until she could feel everyone’s eyes following her. She stopped at the one window in the room and stared out. There were bars over the opening, but it offered more of a view of the area than the previous night’s room had. They were surrounded by jungle, broken only by the narrow dirt road they had arrived on. The trees were densely spaced and leafy, preventing her eyes from seeing much further than the clearing encircling the small house and the lone van.
After Gilbert sat down and Ashley and Megan joined him, Jessica left the window and walked to Jack who was sitting on the opposite side of the room. She slid down to the floor and scooted close to him, laying her head on his shoulder.
He looked over at her with a puzzled expression on his face. “So is this your way of apologizing for snapping at me for doing nothing more than sitting innocently in the van and cushioning your fall?”
“No. We need to talk and I don’t want anyone to hear. I don’t know who to trust. I don’t even know if I can trust you, but you’re all I’ve got.”
“Stop. You’re making me blush with all the flattery.”
Jessica jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow and smiled a little as he flinched. His cocky remarks irritated her some, but mostly she found it a little endearing. He didn’t say much, so when he did it meant something.
“Seriously, we have to get out of here. I have a feeling the longer we wait for help, the more likely it is we’re all going to die.”
“They’ll give us an opportunity. We just have to watch, wait and be patient. If we behave like good little hostages for a while, they’ll let their guard down enough for us to escape. For instance, they didn’t even bind you three women in the van when we had to leave the last house in a big hurry. They’ll keep getting more confident and more careless.”
“We don’t have time to wait. We have to go now.”
Jack looked at her and narrowed his eyes. “Is there something you know that you should be telling me?”
She paused. She thought about telling him the truth, but decided it was probably safer for everyone, including him, if he didn’t know she was the daughter of a very high-profile U.S. Senator.
“I just fear Gilbert is going to do something sooner or later that will get us killed if we don’t get out of here.”
Gilbert made Jack uncomfortable too, but Jessica’s desperation concerned him even more. So far she had been a rock and allowed none of her fear to show. Their captors didn’t seem to intimidate her, but he’d noticed she’d been watching them. Maybe she had picked up on something he hadn’t, though he had always been good at assessing these kinds of situations, a skill which had saved his life more than once.
Jack agreed they had to get away as soon as possible. He just hadn’t seen an opening yet and he hadn’t decided what to do about Gilbert. The man was a liability, but he wouldn’t feel right leaving him behind and he wasn’t sure if he could convince Megan and Ashley to go along without Gilbert. Jack definitely couldn’t leave the two young women behind anymore than he could leave Jessica. If they stayed put, he would eventually be shot, but he doubted the women would be so lucky.
Megan and Ashley were scared and desperate to trust someone with their safety. Unfortunately, at the moment, that was Gilbert. They were young and naïve, so Jack supposed they saw Gilbert as some sort of father figure. Somehow he and Jessica would have to shift their allegiance.
“So, do you have any ideas?” she asked hopefully, jabbing him in the ribs again to get his attention.
“You’ve got to quit doing that. You’re bony elbow hurts like heck.”
“Sorr
y. Think about it and think fast. I feel like there’s a ticking time bomb buried under this shack, set to explode at any minute.”
“Believe me, I’m working on it. Now go sit somewhere else. Not that I’m not enjoying your little excuse to get close to me, but if they think we’re anything more than two people thrown together by circumstances, they’ll use us against each other.”
* * * *
Jack scooted away before she could elbow him again and watched her huff off toward the window. He never lied. He did enjoy the feel of her so close to him and he was determined to not let it happen again. So far she had been rude, unapproachable, and at best, cool to him, but she was feisty and he liked that trait in her a little too much for his own good.
He had only known Jessica for a few days and already felt accountable for her safety, which terrified him. For the past three years Jack had been trying to avoid that feeling of responsibility at all cost. He had even quit guiding the difficult ascents and had taken over the beginners climbing school, which equated to showing first-timers how to use the equipment and practicing basic moves on climbing walls or over boulders, activities that posed no more risk than an occasional pulled muscle or twisted ankle. Dave and Zach had been patient with him and were trying to get him back out there, but Jack still wasn’t sure he could ever guide the technical climbs again. He couldn’t bear the weight of anyone’s safety again.
Jack’s mind filled with images of Elaine and thunderous snow barreling down the mountain, following a noise he would have sworn was a gunshot, which no one else heard. The avalanche that carried her off the cliff had come out of nowhere¾the predicted avalanche danger that day had been low. Jack usually led, but that one time he’d been far behind and helpless as he watched her body being swept away in a sea of white. He’d scrambled down the mountain, knowing he was too late, and he just couldn’t shake the guilt. It should have been him. Some days he still wondered how he could live the rest of his life knowing he had led Elaine to her death and he’d vowed to never put himself in that position again. But, here he was. Lives were at risk, including his own, and there was no way he wouldn’t do everything he could to save them all.
Chapter Seven
It had been quiet¾too quiet—and that made Jack nervous. As long as he could hear the men outside the door in the other room, he knew where they were and what they were doing. For the last four hours, he’d heard nothing.
He moved to the door and pressed his ear to the wood. Nothing. He wiggled the knob and heard the legs of a chair scrape across the wood floor and footsteps rushing toward him.
“Back! Sit!” the man shouted as he slammed the butt of his rifle against the heavy wooden door several times.
Jack walked across the room. There was still at least one man in the house and he was awake and armed. He doubted the other two were close by or they would have come running as well.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to get us killed?” Gilbert demanded as he moved toward Jack.
“I’m looking for a way out of here. Do you think they’re just going to let us go? Whether they get what they want or not, they have no intention of ever letting us live to tell about this.”
“You have no right putting the rest of us at risk. I will buy myself out of this mess and anyone who’s with me.” Gilbert looked over at Jessica.
She turned her back on him, but could feel his eyes boring into her flesh. When the sensation eased, she glanced up and could see Gilbert’s focused had turned to Megan and Ashley. The young women stared at him with wide, wet, terrified eyes and nodded frantically, indicating they would follow Gilbert.
“You don’t know they’ll kill us, so don’t piss them off,” Gilbert said as he poked Jack in the chest.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I do know their type and I know how they operate. They will kill us if we let them.”
“How do you know anything?”
Jack’s mind raced through his past, but he had no intention of sharing any of it with Gilbert. He forced his thoughts back to the present and glared at Gilbert.
“You’re going to have to trust me on this one.”
“Trust you? Like hell I will.” Gilbert spat between clenched teeth.
Jack shook his head and wandered toward the window near Jessica. If he were alone, he would have already tried to escape, but he hadn’t wanted to put the others in danger. Gilbert had no idea how small the chance was they would ever be released under any circumstances. The only one who seemed to understand was Jessica. If they had to go alone they would, but that would be even more difficult emotionally than physically dragging the other three with them. He didn’t care much about Gilbert’s fate, but Ashley and Megan didn’t deserve to suffer because of the man’s arrogance.
Jessica grabbed Jack’s arm. Without saying a word, she pulled him toward her. He looked out the window and could see a lantern bobbing erratically in the distance. As it moved closer, they could make out the sound of voices and the figures began to come into focus. Two of their captors were swaying as they walked, laughing, stumbling and cursing. They were drunk.
“This can’t be good,” she whispered.
“Come on. Curl up like you’re sleeping and as far away from the door as possible. If they come in, don’t make a noise or look up. The less you’re noticed the better.”
Jessica slouched in the furthest corner and pretended to be asleep. Jack sat down about six feet away, close enough to help if anyone came for her, but not close enough to look like he cared.
“Get away from the door and pretend to be asleep,” Jack ordered to the three sitting across the room.
“Why? What good will that do?” Gilbert asked.
“Just do it,” Jack hissed as he rested his head against the wall and pretended to be asleep.
The voices grew louder until they could hear the men right outside the door. Jessica squeezed her eyes shut and hoped they’d go away. A chair fell to the floor and the sound made her flinch. She fought to calm her nerves and get her breathing under control.
Laughter boomed from the room outside. Glass shattered and she could only imagine the two men had brought their buddy back something to drink as well, but had been too drunk to pass the bottle. She heard what she assumed were curses and a body falling against the door, and again laughter shook the room.
As the noise began to level off, Jessica thought maybe the intoxicated men would decide to sleep it off, but before her hopes could rise too high, the door flew open. Light spilled in from the outer room, silhouetting three figures in the doorway.
Jessica sat rigid and still in the far shadows, willing herself to be invisible. With one eye slit just enough to see, she watched as the two men stumbled into the room, while the sober one remained in the doorway with his rifle over his shoulder.
One man grabbed Ashley, who was sitting closest to the door, by the arm and jerked her to her feet. He started dragging her toward the door, but Megan grabbed her other arm and began tugging. The second man pulled Megan off and shoved her to the ground with such force that the solid thud of the young woman’s head hitting the floor echoed through the room. By now both women were sobbing.
Jessica could see what was going on, but was frozen with fear. She doubted she could make her feet move even if she could help. She could see Jack and hoped he’d stay still, but she knew he wouldn’t.
She held her breath as she watched Jack get to his feet and move toward Ashley. His movements were silent like a predator, but didn’t escape their captor’s attention. The man in the doorway stepped in and jammed the muzzle of the rifle into Ashley’s temple and yelled at Jack to get back or he would shoot.
Jack stopped and studied the three men. One had moved to the side, one gripped the trembling, whimpering Ashley, and the third held a gun to her head, never taking his eyes off of Jack. His mind ran through his options as Ashley’s terrified eyes pleaded with him for help.
He glanced over at Gilbert and could
see the man would be of no use. Gilbert sat with his knees up and his arms wrapped tightly around them, slightly rocking, and purposely looking away. Megan still lay on the floor, stunned from the violent fall she’d taken. Jack knew if he tried to make a move the only one who would try to help would be Jessica and that would probably get her killed or worse. He put his hands up and took a step away as the three men backed out of the room dragging Ashley with them.
As soon as the door locked, Jessica rushed to Megan. She lifted the girl’s face and could see a large bruise forming where she had hit her cheek on the floor. She pulled Megan to her and held her against her breast. Megan shook, sobbing, while Jessica rubbed her hand up and down the girl’s arm trying to calm her fear.
A chair outside the room hit the floor. There were curses, cries and the sounds of shuffling feet and a series of crisp slaps. It was obvious Ashley hadn’t given up, but Jessica knew her struggle against the three men was useless and her heart ached for the doomed woman.
Jessica spoke aloud, trying to block out the screams. “Stay strong. Stay strong,” she muttered over and over. She didn’t know if she was trying to convince Megan or herself, so kept repeating the words as she rocked.
“You still think we should just sit and wait?” Jack growled at Gilbert as he walked over to him and kicked him with the toe of his boot. “If I had a real man here with me, we could have taken them. There was only one gun and two of the men were so drunk they could hardly stand. What’s wrong with you?”
“I don’t know how to fight and I don’t believe in it. It’s unfortunate what’s happening to her, but she’s not my problem. I’m only worried about getting myself home to my family and the right amount of money will take me there.”
