Epilogue
Sasha
I sat with my arms and legs tied to the metal chair. The rope hurt around my wrists and ankles. I pulled on them not to try to escape, but to adjust to rope to try to find something less uncomfortable.
I was in a small gray concrete room. The walls were dirty and damp. The air felt musty, like we were underground or something. The floor was slick. I could see the smudges of dirt in the thin layer of water over the concrete. The room was lit by a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling by a string. It swayed gently, making shadows dance along the walls all around the room.
I had been captured trying to infiltrate a new crime boss’s hideout. We believed he was trying to take business from Cole and Hell’s Overlords, so once again, I threw on the black ski mask, the tight black sweater, leather gloves, black pants, and my softly padded shoes. I snuck into the dark, abandoned building they were using for their hideout in the middle of the night, just as I always had.
I had found their office and pulled out my phone to take pictures of the documents across the desk. They had all kinds of information on who was selling what and where things were going. They knew every move that everyone else in town was making. Cole was right to want to take these guys down. They had their sights set on becoming number one, and with the information I found in their desk, it wouldn’t have taken them long to do it.
Unfortunately for them, their security guards were just a couple of meatheads. They tore off my ski mask and took my backpack, which had nothing in it this time. But they didn’t grab my phone. My GPS locator was on, letting Cole know where I was. When I’d heard them coming, I texted him an emergency code to make an alert come up on his phone so he knew I was in trouble.
The meatheads stood guard on either side of the sliding metal door in the wall at the front of the room. The light from the bulb overhead barely made it to them. They weren’t more than large, broad silhouettes standing against the wall. I could see the guns strapped over their shoulders standing out in the shadows. They had no idea what was coming their way.
“You boys waiting on your boss?” I asked, trying to get in their heads and distract myself from the pain in my wrists.
They didn’t say anything. They just stood with their arms crossed in front of them, staring at some point on the back wall.
“I hope he’s coming,” I continued. “I sure would like to meet him. You know, I’ve been in a lot of hideouts, and I’ve got to say this place is pretty nice. It’s all unassuming from outside. I thought I had the wrong place at first. Usually there’s a light on or some kind of sign to let people like us know that we’re on someone’s turf. Not you guys, man. You guys are operating in secrecy.”
My thought was that if I kept talking long enough and made it annoying enough, they would eventually crack and say something. If I could get them to start talking, there was no telling how much information I would be able to get out of them before Cole arrived. Then, I would relay that information to Cole as we left the building. It was a pretty good plan, and being overly talkative usually worked, but these guys were good.
I was starting to think they were statues.
“You boys don’t talk much, do you?” I teased. “Hey, what if I need to go to the bathroom? Will one of you untie me and accompany me so I can go with some sort of dignity? Or do I have to piss right here in the chair?”
They didn’t move or say anything, which, of course, put a horrible image in my head of pissing myself in the chair to get their attention, but I wasn’t about to do that. I wouldn’t go that far, especially with help on the way.
“Don’t all answer at once,” I told them, laughing obnoxiously. “I wasn’t trying to get you to move or anything. It’s not like I have to go now.” Thank God I really didn’t need to go. I’d used the bathroom in their office before they found me.
These guys were really making me earn my keep tonight. They weren’t budging on anything I said.
“Hey, look, seriously, it’s that time of the month.” That was every man’s weakness. Either they were sympathetic and that line would tug at their heart strings, or it would completely disgust them and they would do whatever it took to shut me up.
They still weren’t giving me anything. If they didn’t move soon, or if Cole didn’t show his ass up soon, I was going to resort to my shitty standup comedy routine.
“But for real, guys, I need to change my pad,” I told them. Oh yes, it was time to get gross. “I think things are getting a little carried away over here.”