“What about Leisure Suit Larry?” asked Rellik.

The hope in Leitch’s eyes disappeared when Damien said, “Leave him as is.”

Ray quickly dressed and Damien handed him the cellphone. “When your brother calls, tell him I’m setting you free. You can just walk out of here.”

Damien saw Lance return and said, “You tell the boys outside to let him go?”

“I told them,” said Lance. “You want me to call a cab too?”

Damien nodded and said, “Tell them to be here in half an hour.”

“Yellow or City?”

“I don’t give a fuck! There’s a phone book in the office. Use it!”

Damien looked at Ray and said, “Nobody will follow you. When you know you’re safe, call your brother and let him know. Your Mercedes is still at Stanley Park. I’ll give you your keys back.”

Ray’s dark eyes gleamed. He was back in control again. There was one thing he was certain. He knew his brother ... and what would happen when he was freed. Damien would pay dearly for this intrusion. He would never see his wife and daughter again. In a few years, when Damien thought he was safe, he would also die. But what choice does Damien really have? Not to release me will mean that both his wife and daughter will die. Of course, they will anyway. But how can you live with never knowing for sure?

Ray stared at Damien, who returned his stare briefly before looking down. Damien was beaten. He knew what was about to happen and there was nothing he could do about it — but beg. Something he was likely willing to do right now.

The Carlos cartel was no stranger to kidnappings. Ray knew that his brother looked at it as entertainment. It instilled terror and maintained the position that Carlos had hacked out for himself. Damien will suffer the fate of many others. He will listen to his loved ones die...

“Hola!” answered Ray when Carlos called.

Ray spoke with Carlos in Spanish, then looked at Damien and asked, “I may leave now?”

Damien peered out from the tarp covering the front window, then replied, “The cab just arrived. Go. Leave the phone so that your brother can call me. When you know that you are safe, use a payphone to call your brother. He can then call me on this phone.”

“I can’t believe you’re letting him go!” shouted Lance. “This is not the way to do this!”

“It is not your family!” yelled Damien. “You are not in charge! I am!”

Ray paused as Lance mumbled an apology. Carlos heard the angry exchange of words and laughed. He then gave Ray instructions: “Make sure you are truly free,” he said in Spanish, “then call. The men are waiting at a place to dispose of two packages but should not wait long. Leave quickly! Do not go home. Do not get your car. Go to the airport!”

Ray hung up and handed the phone back to Damien. He almost felt sorry for him but glanced at Leitch and thought of the indignity he had suffered himself. Almost sorry ... but not quite.

Moments later, Ray gave the taxi driver one hundred dollars to ensure that they were not being followed. He earned his money. His expertise as a city cab driver was evident as he followed orders and whisked down back alleys and ran red lights.

Ray watched carefully to ensure that they were truly not being followed before instructing the driver to pull over by a payphone where he would make two calls.

His first call would be to Carlos. His second call would be to order a taxi from a different company. Even if they were watching the airport, he knew he would be safe once inside. He glanced at his watch and wondered how many hours it would be before he arrived at the Aragon International Airport in Cali. Once in Cali, it was less than an hour’s drive to his home turf of Buga.

Vicki did not have any religious beliefs, but now she prayed that her ride in the van was to their freedom. Her hands were still bound in tape behind her back and her ankles were also bound. Pain radiated up her arm from her severed finger and she wondered how long it would be before the infection killed her ... if she lived that long.

More tape covered her eyes and mouth. She knew that Katie had been bound in the same manner. Both had been bound that way shortly after their arrival at the warehouse. Neither had received any food, water, or bathroom breaks in the last eighty-four hours. Vicki had lost control of her bladder. From the smell, she knew that Katie had defecated. Their only comfort had been to lie back to back on the burlap sacks and touch each other’s fingers.

The van stopped and they waited for a while. She could hear the men speaking to each other. Eventually she was dragged out of the van. She felt men’s arms reach through her own arms and drag her over the ground, scraping her knees as she went. She could hear the sound of water and wondered if she was going to be drowned. She moaned when her knee came in contact with a protruding stone in the path. Other men grunted behind her and she knew that Katie was also being dragged along.

A few minutes later, Vicki was placed sitting on her knees. She heard the sound of a cellphone being dialled, then a man spoke in Spanish. Fingernails scratched her face and the tape was ripped from her eyes. She blinked as flashes of light and shadows mixed. She saw that she was kneeling in front of a river. Seconds later, the band of tape was ripped from her mouth.

“Numbers! What numbers?” a man said, then slapped her across the face.

She blinked her eyes and saw the man holding a cellphone toward her face.

“Your hombre! What numbers?”

Vicki tried to speak, but her throat was swollen and no words came out.

The man cursed in Spanish and was about to slap her again when someone else intervened, grabbing her by the back of her head and shoving her face into the river.

They’re going to drown me now ... my poor Katie...The water suffocated her and she started to choke as her head was brought out, then repeatedly dunked again. Finally she found the words and pleaded, “No, please. Don’t kill us! She’s just a child. I —”

She was brought back to her kneeling position and the man with the cell demanded, “Your hombre. His phone. Talk to me the numbers!”

Vicki then understood what was being asked and quickly gave Damien’s cell number. As the man dialled, the other man spoke in Spanish on another phone.

It was good that Vicki did not understand Spanish as the man verified his instructions from Carlos. He was to slash Katie’s throat as Vicki spoke with her husband. Vicki would then receive the same treatment.

Vicki looked at Katie as she knelt beside her. The tape had been torn from her eyes but she was still gagged and bound. Vicki saw the bewildered look in her eyes as she looked around. The look of bewilderment turned to pleading when she looked at her mother. Vicki had thought the two of them had used up their well of tears in the last few days as their brains slowly went numb. She was wrong.

chapter thirty-two

Jack slapped at a mosquito on his face as he and Laura made their way along a narrow path leading through dense bushes and trees that followed parallel to the river and would eventually lead them to the Red Bridge.

“Dusk ... prime time for these little vampires,” whispered Laura, slapping her own neck.

“There it is,” said Jack, pointing to the upper structure of the bridge as they neared.

“Wait here in the bush. The parking lot should be close. I’m going to take a look and see if they’ve got company.”

Laura waited a moment and then Jack returned.

“Didn’t see any other vehicles except theirs,” said Jack.