Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss.

by Diana Hoffman

  Jimmy walked back outside. "Marianna, do you mind if I take your car. Victoria left, and I want to make sure she's alright."

  "Yes, you can use my car. The keys are in the first cabinet on the right. I'm sure she is fine. She's been in the house for a week straight. She probably just needed some air," Marianna said, dusting the dirt from her pants.

  "Air or not, I still answer to Nic, and he's going to be pissed if he finds out I let her out of my sight," Jimmy complained.

  Marianna laughed and patted him on the back, as she walked past him and into the house.

  Jimmy drove into the quiet, small center of the town. Truthfully, the town was only made up of a few old shops, a post office, one grocery store and two small restaurants. It didn't even have its own police station or fire department. They had to share those luxuries with a bigger city a few miles away. So it wouldn't be too hard to find her.

  Finally, after just a few minutes of driving around, he spotted his car. He pulled up beside it and hopped out. He looked around to see if she was anywhere near, but when he walked over to the driver's side of the car, he froze and his heart skipped a beat. This was not happening, no, no, NO! His keys were stuck in the lock, while her cell phone and a small bag of groceries were scattered and crushed on the ground.

  This was not fucking happening.

  "Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck!!" Jimmy whispered to himself. He pulled out his cell phone and took a deep breath. He dialed Nic's number and waited for him to answer.

  "Yeah," Nic answered.

  "Nic...oh, shit. I swear to God, I came looking for her as soon as I found out she had left" Jimmy rushed out, "Nic, I think—I think someone took her." "What did you just say?" he heard Nic ask in a low voice.

  "She's gone," Jimmy huffed out. Jimmy squeezed his eyes shut only imagining what Nic must be thinking of him. He had one simple task to do. One simple fucking task. 'Don't let her out of your sight,' Nic had told him before they left for Marianna's. He couldn't hear anything coming from his cell phone. No breathing, no noise, nothing. Was Nic still there?

  "Nic?" Jimmy whispered.

  Victoria finally opened her eyes. Her head was swimming and she felt sick to her stomach. She was lying on a cot in the middle of some dingy room. She tried to raise up, but her hands were duct taped behind her, and her feet were bound too. She started to panic. Were it not for the duct tape across her mouth, she would have thrown up. Everything started blurring, as tears formed in her eyes.

  A few seconds later she heard a door open. She looked to the far corner of the room and saw a man approaching. He was dressed in all black, including a ski mask over his head.

  "Good morning, love," the man said with a thick Irish accent. "Glad to see you awake. Now we can finally get down to business."

  He walked over to her and gently pulled the duct tape from her mouth. Victoria stretched her aching jaw. She lifted her body up and swung her legs over the edge of the cot.

  "What do you want?" Victoria asked, shakily. The man slowly swept his eyes over her body and bare legs. "I want what any red blooded bloke would want," he said, as he stepped closer to her. "Money."

  Another man soon entered the room, dressed similarly. "Hey, do you want the phone now?" this one asked, with an American accent.

  "Yes, I would. Thank you," the other man answered, still staring at Victoria. "So, here's how this is going to work. I'm going to call your husband, and you are going to demand, oh, something simple. Just five hundred grand from him, and I'll hop on and make the pickup and drop off arrangements. Sound like a plan, love?"

  Husband? Victoria was so confused and scared, and she was pretty sure whatever they had drugged her with, was still making her loopy. Were they mistaking her for someone else? "I don't know what you're talking about," said, as she focused in on the green eyes behind the mask.

  "So...you're going to play that game, Victoria," the guy said.

  "I—I'm not playing with you. I'm not married and I don't know why I'm here. I don't know what you want? Did Sonny send you?"

  His stance made him look unconvinced. "And you're lying because...?"

  "I'm not lying!" Victoria shouted, then quickly lowered her voice. "Who are you?"

  "I'm Moe, that's Larry, and Curly is downstairs with a gun, so don't try anything silly, like running away, because we will catch you," he said. "So, now that introductions are out of the way, how about we make you a little more comfy before we call your old man. He quickly pulled out a switch blade, causing Victoria to jump. He placed the blade at the top of her leg and slowly slid the smooth side down the inside of her thigh and down her legs until he reached her ankles. He cut the tape and removed the remnants. "There, that's better. Easier access," he said, as he grabbed her ankle. Victoria tried to kick him, but he grabbed both her legs and pulled her off of the cot and onto his lap, straddling him. Victoria tried to push him off, but her hands were still tied.

  Victoria screamed, "Don't you fucking touch me!"

  "Not to worry, love. We can have fun later, but business right now. Tell me your husband's number," he said, pulling out a cell phone.

  Victoria wasn't sure what the hell to do or who he expected her to call.

  "I don't know who you want me to call," she said again, right as his hand came smacking across her face. Victoria felt as though her head had exploded. All she could feel was the sharp stinging imprint left from his hand. She slowly turned back towards him with daggers in her eyes.

  "I hope you got the message. Now stop fucking with me and give me his number!" he shouted, causing her to flinch.

  Victoria wasn't sure what to do or say. Maybe he thought she was married to Nic, and that's what this was about. She didn't want Nic to be hurt because of her, but if she didn't give them something, they might kill her.

  "I'm sorry," she whispered, "but I don't know who you want me to call," she said, flinching again, anticipating the hit.

  Antonio and Eddie stood waiting inside Nic's office. Ever since he had gotten the call from Jimmy, he hadn't said a word. He walked outside and stood facing out toward the back. It wasn't until Jimmy had called Eddie to explain everything, that they understood Nic's mood. He hadn't moved from that position in over twenty minutes. He could have been a marble statue. One very tense, marble statue.

  "Maybe one of us should go check on him," Antonio said to Eddie.

  "Why, are you volunteering yourself," Eddie answered.

  "Um, I'm the newest one to the organization...and I'm pretty sure if I walked over there, he'd toss my ass over the balcony," Antonio said, gazing over at Nic's still form.

  "I saw him do that once."

  "What?!" Antonio said, jerking his head back to Eddie. He had to be kidding.

  Eddie sighed, "I'll go."

  He walked outside onto the balcony and carefully over to Nic. Eddie stood side by side with him and turned to look at Nic's profile.

  "Nic, I'm sure she's okay. Look, if someone took her, it's to get at you, right? Well, if that's so, they will want to show you they have her. They're not going to hurt her...at least not until they show themselves," Eddie said, turning to look out at the back yard too.

  Nic didn't say anything, he just continued to stare out. Eddie leaned against the marble railing. A few more moments of silence passed before Eddie heard Nic speak.

  "Do you believe in karma?" Nic asked.

  Eddie shook his head. "Nic, you know I'm too logical for that."

  "Yeah, that's what I used to think. But now, I'm not so sure. It's like every sin I ever committed is coming back on me tenfold, but it's using the only woman I've ever wanted to make a life with. That I've ever fallen in love with--the only one...that has to be karma."

  Nic's world was crumbling right before his eyes. This was all happening because of him. Victoria hadn't done a damn thing wrong—this was all him. And Sonny, or whoever this was, had him right where they wanted him. He would do or give up anything for her. For the first time in his life, he felt the cold sting of
defeat and heartache.

  BUT Nic knew it wasn't in his nature to go down without a fight. Whoever had the balls to do this...didn't realize what they had done. They had unleashed the demon within him, and there wasn't a single place the culprit could hide.

  And just like that, a switch had flipped inside of Nic. He turned around and marched back inside his office.

  "Get every contact we have on the streets, and see if they've seen Sonny. Tell them I'll offer a generous reward for whoever has the correct location," he said to Antonio. "Eddie, get the tracking kit in case anyone calls and touch base with Jimmy and make sure he has questioned everyone near the spot of Victoria's disappearance."

  "What's taking so long?" the American asked, walking closer to Victoria. "Why won't she give you the number?"

  The Irishman continued to stare at her. He walked over to a desk and pulled out a small piece of paper. He walked back over to her and held a black and white photo of her inside Calamity's. "Is this not you?" he said in a sarcastic tone.

  Victoria looked up from the photo. "Yes, but I'm not married."

  "Right, and I suppose you're going to tell me your husband's not a wealthy banker. You know, I didn't want to do this the hard way, but you leave me no choice," he said, pulling out his blade. Victoria knew she had to think quickly.

  "Wait! Wait...I, um...think about it. If I were some rich man's wife, why would I be working as a waitress? Look at the photo, I'm in my uniform," Victoria said.

  The two men exchanged quick glances, and then looked down at the photo. The American scratched his head, as the Irishman kneeled down beside her.

  "This photo could have been taken before you married him," he said.

  "I'm not married! I only have a boyfriend, and his name is Nic Andretti," Victoria yelled, feeling her options running out.

  "What the fu—who did she say?" the American asked.

  "Bullshyte," the Irishman said, standing up.

  So...they had heard of Nic.

  "Nic Andretti. I'm his girlfriend," Victoria announced, as the tables began to turn on this whole twisted deal.

  "The fucking mob boss?! Shit man, what the fuck did you get me into?!" the American shouted at the other man.

  "Keep your fucking voice down! And besides, she's lying," the Irishman said, staring at Victoria.

  "I can give you his number if you don't believe me," Victoria said.

  "Fine. I'll call your bluff," he said, opening the cell phone. "What's the number?" Victoria gave it to him and he dialed. As soon as it started ringing, he roughly grabbed her chin and got within an inch of her face. "If you're lying to me, I will slowly cut you inch by fucking inch until you bleed to death. Got me?"

  Victoria swallowed and began to shake. She wished she could close her eyes and disappear. Even though the phone was next to his ear, she could hear it ringing. 'Please Nic, pick up the phone,' Victoria prayed.

  Nic was in the middle of dialing another contact when his cell began to ring. He didn't recognize the number, but perhaps Antonio had gotten through to someone who had some information. He answered it.

  "Yes?"

  "Is this Nic Andretti?" a muffled voice asked.

  "Yes. Who's this?" he asked, before the phone went dead. Nic felt a cold chill travel up his spine. He quickly snapped his fingers at Eddie, who had fallen asleep on the couch. Eddie hopped up and rushed over to Nic's desk.

  "Pull the last number back up and track it. That motherfucker just called me. I know it's whoever has Victoria," Nic stated.

  Eddie grabbed the cell phone. "Okay, but you have to get him to talk for at least twenty seconds." Nic nodded.

  "Well?" the American asked in a worried tone, looking at the other man, who slowly lowered the phone from his ear. "Was it him?!"

  The Irishman subtly nodded his head.

  The American threw his hands up in the air. "Oh great! Just fucking perfect!! Oh man, I didn't sign up for this! I didn't sign up to fuck with the mob, Jesus Christ, man!"

  "Calm the fuck down and let me think!" the other hollered back.

  "I'm not going to calm down! Get that rat bastard who set this up on the phone and find out what the hell he's trying to pull," the American screamed.

  "Why don't you shut the fuck up and let me--," the Irishman said, before his phone started ringing. All three of them stared at it.

  "Should we answer it," the American asked in a frightened tone.

  The Irishman slowly brought the phone back up to his ear and clicked the talk button.

  "Put Victoria on the phone now," Nic growled out.

  "I don't know what--"

  "Put her on the fucking phone!" Nic yelled, squeezing his cell phone. After a few moments of silence, he heard some background noise and then the sweetest voice in the world.

  "Nic?" Victoria asked.

  "Baby, are you okay?" he asked, closing his eyes.

  "Yes, I think so. Nic, I'm scared," she whispered to him.

  "I know, I know baby. But listen to me, no one is going to hurt you. Say okay if there are less than five men."

  "Okay," Victoria said.

  "Thank you, sweetheart. I love you and I'll find you. Put him back on," Nic requested. When he heard the man breathing through the line again, Nic closed his eyes.

  "Now that you know who I am, know that I won't be contacting the police. The best you can hope for is to let her go, leave town as fast as you can, and pray I can't find you. But if you make this even more difficult...you're dead. I WILL find you and no amount of negotiating or money is going to keep me from torturing you and then killing you. Pass that message along to whoever you're working with," Nic said, and hung up the phone.

  "Got him. He's about three hours northwest of here, at this address," Eddie said, writing it down.

  Nic called Jimmy. "I got her location. Tell Harry to get the plane ready, and call Damon. I might need his help. Have a car waiting for us when we get there. I'm sending you the address now...she's only about forty minutes from you, but hang tight until we get there."

  "You got it, Nic. See you in a bit," Jimmy said, before he hung up the phone.

  Nic turned to Antonio, "We leave in five minutes. I hope you've learned to shoot that gun," Nic said, as he walked out of the office.

  Antonio took a deep breath. Oh, fuck.

  The one with the Irish accent quickly stepped away from Victoria, and left the room. The other one followed after him, asking him what Nic had said. When they closed the door, Victoria felt her whole body shake. She had been that close to death. But Nic said they wouldn't hurt her and that he would find her. She laid back down on the cot and stared at the ceiling. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten or drunk anything, but she was sure nothing would go down anyway. Her stomach couldn't handle it.

  Victoria heard shouting, but she could only make out certain words. Whoever the Irishman was talking to, he was screaming at, telling the person that they had backstabbed him. He mentioned something about Nic and there not being a banker, and they had been set up.

  Victoria closed her eyes, so she could concentrate on hearing the rest of what the Irishman was saying. "I took the gag off because I wanted the phone number—I don't care what you told me not to do—get your ass here! Hello? Hello?!" she heard him yell. Then it sounded as though he smashed something. A few minutes later, the two of them rushed back in.

  "I say we just drop her off at the closest stop, and get the hell out of here. We were obviously set up. I mean, that's his girlfriend, dude! What the fuck, he's going to kill us!" the American shouted.

  The Irishman grabbed him by the shirt. "You're getting excited again. Shut up!"

  The American finally calmed down. He sat on Victoria's cot and placed his head in his hands. If Victoria didn't despise them so much, she'd actually feel a little sorry for him at least. He obviously had gotten in way over his head, when he thought it would be a simple cash reward. But now Victoria was even more confused. So...someone had set these guys up into thi
nking they were kidnapping a banker's wife? Who would go through all that trouble? Victoria could think of one person, but for Paul's sake, she hoped it wasn't his son.

  Paul was asleep when Remy came into his room and handed him the phone.

  "Sir, I think you'll want to take this call."

  Paul quickly sat up on his bed. "Thank you," he said to Remy, before the young man walked out.

  Paul put the phone to his ear. "Sonny?"

  "Hey Pop! Word around town is that you were looking for me? What's up?"

  "Where the HELL are you?

  "I'm somewhere."