Chapter Five
The Game Begins

Day Five
Monday, May 5, 2008

Somewhere – Somewhen

“Milady! Milady!” the handmaiden yelled as she ran through the hallways of the castle toward her mistress’s chamber.

She turned slowly, her long brown hair falling in cascades down her back. She was half dressed, her corset not tightened yet, and her hair still undone. She looked at her handmaiden’s face and realized that this was indeed something serious.

“Julie, whatever is wrong?” she asked gently, putting the brush down.

Julie heaved a couple of breaths and then managed to speak. “Milady, I’m so sorry, but it is…Jared…”

She turned around fully, her eyes alert and aware now. “What about Jared, Julie, what is it?”

Julie started wringing her hands. “Your Lord has taken him…to the block, Lady Farrah.”

Before the sentence was even out of Julie’s mouth, Farrah had started running to the town where the executioner’s square was. Tears poured from her eyes. He had done nothing but fall in love with her when she was above his station. He did not deserve to die for her. Had she not agreed to marry Lord Delvin? Why would he kill Jared anyway?

She exited the castle, with the guards posted yelling after her. She ignored them, though there were many more voices added as the townsfolk watched her run through them in her corset and under-dressings. She didn’t care. Her dark hair flew wildly about her even paler face and her dark eyes streamed tears.

She ran full speed up the stairs to the platform. “Stop!” she screamed.

Everyone, including the hooded executioner who held his axe over her beloved’s head, stopped and stared at her. Jared, with his hands tied behind his back and head in the block, let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t completely in the clear at, but at least since she knew what was happening, he had a better chance of making it out of there alive.

“Farrah,” he breathed. “Thank God.”

She stood there, her hair a dark corona around her face. “Let him go,” she pronounced.

The executioner stepped back a couple of feet and stared from his eyeholes at her. She knew who was under that hood. Everybody knew. It was a joke that he even wore it. There was no hiding who he was. The reason behind disguising the executioner was to protect him, but where was this reason when he took so much pride in meting out the justice of the kingdom that everyone knew who he was? But faced with the Lord of the land’s daughter, he was clueless as to what to do.

Jared sat up slowly and settled on his knees. “Untie him,” she pronounced, and the executioner did just that.

Jared didn’t take his eyes off of her as he stood and ran to her. They embraced, she with tears pouring down her face. He didn’t know what to tell her. He had done nothing wrong. They had come for him during the night in his father’s little shoemaker shop and dragged him out before Lord Delvin. Lord Delvin, Lady Farrah’s betrothed husband, told him he was to be executed for interfering with affairs of the kingdom, in other words treason.

“So, my blushing bride, you could not stand by, could you?” a rumbling voice came from the crowd. Jared and Farrah turned to see Lord Delvin mounting the steps.

Farrah released the embrace and stood tall facing him. “Delvin, there is no reason to execute him. Our wedding is set, and I have sworn off any contact with the shoemaker’s son.”

Delvin nodded slowly. “This is true, but the shoemaker’s son, as you refer to him as, has something more valuable to me than all the king’s gold, and it rightfully belongs to me.”

“I have nothing!” Jared exclaimed, a horrified look crossing his face. “How dare you accuse me of having anything that belongs to you? I am no thief!”

Delvin turned, smiling. “Oh but you are a thief. You are a thief of the worst kind. What you have stolen is not tangible, and not something I can simply take from you.”

Delvin walked, his hands behind his back, around the perimeter of the platform. He didn’t look directly at either of them, huddled together in the corner farthest from the point he entered the platform. He held to her with a grip born of love, something Delvin could never have. And now, he realized, even if Jared died, he would not have anything but her hate. That left only one solution to the problem.

“You’ve stolen my lady’s heart,” he said, growing closer with each step. “There is nothing I can do to reclaim it while you live, and now I see that you hold her heart in an inescapable grip, and not even death will separate it.”

Farrah breathed a small sigh of relief. Delvin understood that she could never love anyone but Jared. And even if he killed him and married her, there would be no love between them. It would be a matter of show. He stood before them now, his dark eyes staring into Farrah’s. A moment passed, and something rose to the surface of her mind. His eyes…they weren’t supposed to be that dark, Delvin’s eyes were gray…

Suddenly she felt a sharp searing pain in her stomach. She looked down to see red blood blooming over her corset. She looked to Delvin’s hand, holding a dagger. He smiled.

“I cannot separate you any other way. I will separate you both from your life.”

Farrah dropped to her knees. Jared yelled something unintelligible and rolled out of the way of Delvin’s strike. Delvin was a noble, not a fighter, but Jared was more than just a shoemaker’s son. His vocation over the years had turned somewhat illicit. He made a dash for the dumbfounded executioner and snatched away his axe from a slack hand. He then ran at Delvin with a fury born of pure hatred.

Delvin turned and parried it with a long sword that he carried on his hip. “You think you threaten me, boy?”

Jared circled around him. “I think I can separate you from your life quite easily.”

Delvin laughed heartily. “You assume that I play fair.”

Jared felt a stinging sensation go off on several points in his back. He reached his hand behind him. Arrows, he thought madly, as he felt the wooden shafts. He brought his hand back bloody. He turned slowly to see four archers on top of the nearby building. He turned back to Delvin. He’d planned this. He knew Farrah would try to stop it. The axe fell heavily from his hand that could no longer bear the weight. He dropped to one knee, heaving slow breaths.

“You bastard,” he whispered, wavering on his feet. “You never intended to marry Farrah and let me be.”

Delvin walked slowly toward Jared, stopping and looking down on his kneeling form. “Of course not. Who do you think sent the girl to tell Farrah of your execution this morning? I knew all along that her death would be the only satisfaction I would earn. Your death was inevitable.”

Jared looked up suddenly, a grin splitting his bloodied face as crimson flowed from his mouth. His eyes were somehow different, now…almost green.
“You too,” he whispered and leaped to his feet and grasped Delvin’s left shoulder, punching forward with his right fist. He fell down to his hands and knees from the action.

Delvin was forced back a step and stared incredulously at the object protruding from his chest. It looked like some sort of dagger, but spring loaded somehow. He’d had it all the time, hidden inside the bracers he wore. The guards hadn’t removed all his clothes, so they hadn’t seen it. They were idiots. Delvin fell to his knees and had time to look upon Jared with gray eyes filled with shock before he fell dully to the planks.

Jared crawled toward Farrah, slowly, slowly. He finally reached her. She’d fallen to her back on the ground, her eyes staring at the sky. He dropped on her, one arm over her body and looked into her face. Her mouth was flecked with blood, and she turned to look at him, smiling. Her mouth moved but no sound issued, and her eyes turned dead. Jared felt the tears falling, but he could do nothing else as his own soul fled his body.

Hideout – 3:00 am

Michael gasped and sat bolt upright in the small bed, his breath heavy and heaving. He ran his hands down his body, making certain that there were no holes in it. He swallowed the cotton in his mouth as he stood up and headed into the small bathroom. He flipped on the florescent light as he pulled the door shut. He looked up into the mirror. His eyes were red and puffy. He didn’t even know what time it was. The bastard hadn’t even given them a clock. With no windows, it was impossible to guess the time. The only way they even knew the time was when Sheila brought them food. He rubbed his eyes. Dammit, his contacts were bothering him. He sighed, blinking. He hoped that they got out of here before it really started to bother him. He couldn’t see a damn thing without them.

He picked up the plastic cup and filled it with water. He drank it slowly, watching himself. Just what the hell was he supposed to do to get out of this place? It was already too long. What the hell did this guy want from them? Dammit all, he’d been a gamer for so many years, he had come out of so many any role playing situations, it all had to be good for something. He had to think. He had the skills necessary to figure this out. He knew a lot about getting out of tough situations, but he never really had his life actually depend on it. Well now it did. He put the plastic cup back and shut off the light. He opened the door and headed back to the bed.

In the bed next to him, CJ didn’t speak, but her mind was filled with the faces of people long ago, and people she’d never heard of as well.

Hideout – 9:00 am

“Get up,” Sheila’s voice announced sometime later.

Michael opened his eyes to see Sheila standing over him, shaking him hard. “What?” he asked, snapping to full wakefulness.
“Now. You have ten minutes. Get her up too. Joe’s making the calls today,” she said, her voice and eyes distant.

She turned away and headed out. Michael sat up and went to CJ’s bed, shaking her shoulder to wake her. She looked up with groggy eyes.

“Hurry, we’ve got ten minutes before they get down here again to call our folks from the sound of it.”

He headed into the bathroom so she could wake up. He came out and let her have a chance before they came down. She exited in a couple moments. He looked up as she pulled her hair up in a clip, her t-shirt sliding up on her a little, showing her white stomach. He smiled to himself. She didn’t tan. There was something sexy about that, to him anyway. It showed a lack of vanity, and that was something rare. He looked up as the door opened and Sheila came through. She pulled two chairs and sat them side by side.

“Sit,” she instructed. Michael and CJ exchanged glances, but did as she said.
She started tying them down to the chairs. Michael glanced at her with a confused look, but her face was stoic. She obviously wasn’t in the mood to talk about what was happening. She jerked the ropes tight across Michael’s waist, making him grunt. She then wrapped them around his ankles. She then did the same thing to CJ.

“Are you finished yet?” a familiar voice boomed from the open door.

Sheila blinked slowly and sighed. “Yeah, ready for you, dear,” she said slowly and stood and headed up the stairs.

Joe descended then. He wore a black t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. His black hair was tied back in a tail, and his face was somehow bright. It was as though his face was lit with excitement. But it was somehow stoic at the same time. He held three pairs of handcuffs. He silently snapped a pair onto Michael’s right wrist and then to the chair arm. He then did the same to CJ’s left arm. He took the last pair and handcuffed Michael’s left wrist to CJ’s right wrist. All along, he said nothing, nor showed any emotion.

“Is it ready?” he yelled.

“Yeah, got a good shot, foot to head. Do you want me to pull it back so you can stand behind them?” Sheila called from upstairs.

“Not yet. First I’ll talk into the camera without them in the shot. Then I want you to pan to them, then pull back when I walk around behind them. The scrambler is still connected?” he asked, frowning.

“I haven’t touched anything, Joe, its just like you left it.”

“Good. Alright. You dropped the package off yesterday?” he asked.

Sheila paused. “Of course, I did. Just like you told me, last night. I dropped it off on the Kim’s doorstep.”

“No one saw you?” he asked.

“Of course not,” she said.

He yanked on the ropes that Sheila had tied. “Watch it,” Michael grunted a he felt them cinch against his stomach.
“Shut the hell up,” Joe growled at him, turning his dark eyes on him. Michael realized how dark they were.

He then went to CJ and did the same, but Michael watched as his hands lingered around her stomach. He saw CJ’s eyes following him. She felt the extra pressure he put on her stomach. She swallowed hard. He didn’t say anything, though, and then stepped in front of them.

“Alright. Initialize the connection,” Joe said, and they heard a ringing sound.

After a couple of rings the phone, CJ’s ears heard the distinct sound of her mother’s voice. “Hello?”

“Put on the speakerphone and the video feed, dear, it’s the call you’ve been expecting,” Joe said, a superior sound to his voice.

There was a loud clicking sound and they could hear talking over the phone. “We have visual,” a strange voice said in the background.

“Hello dear friends,” Joe said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “I suppose you’re done sweating, at least enough for my tastes. I hope all the things you know I’m capable of have been touring your little brains. Oh the fun I could have with these two little kids of yours. But that’s beside the point. You know well what I’m capable of.”

“What do you want?” asked a voice CJ was unfamiliar with, but Michael knew well, his father.

Joe thought for a moment. “I want what I deserved to get a long time ago. I want money. Lots of it. And I know you can get it. So I want two million in a Swiss bank account that I’ll transmit the number of when the time is right. Then, I’m leaving the country, heading somewhere that I can be left alone, without threat of being put into another hell hole.”

There was a long silence. “That’s not easy, you know that, Joe, it takes time…” Don answered slowly.

“I know that, Don. I’m not fucking stupid. You’ve got the time you need. But while you’re getting your ducks in a row, I’ve got your daughter. And I’m warning you now, you should make sure things move forward quickly, Don,” he answered smiling.
There was a sound of muffled talking. “Let me see my daughter!” came Mara’s voice over the phone. “You son of a bitch, let me see her like you promised.”

“Mara, please,” Don’s voice said softly.

“No!” she responded.

Joe walked around behind them. “She’s right, Don, I did say I’d let you see them. I’m less likely to get my money if you think they’ve been killed.”

Joe came around behind them, dropping a hand on each of their shoulders. On the phone, they could hear both their parents’ voices in a flood of emotional outpouring.

“CJ! CJ are you alright? Has he hurt you?” Mara said, sobbing.

Joe squeezed her shoulder hard. “I’m fine, I want to go home,” she said, looking around for the camera that she couldn’t see.

“We’re both fine,” Michael said as Joe squeezed his shoulder hard as well. “How is Aline?”

“She’s okay, Michael, she’s okay,” his mom answered. He could hear her voice straining to stay calm. “She misses you.”

“Now, you’ve seen them, and they’re fine, but I’m warning you, they won’t be that way for long if you screw up,” Joe said, squeezing hard on both of their shoulders. This time neither one could hide the grimace that came to their faces.
“What the hell do you mean, Joe?” Randy asked, his voice heightened. “You said you’d give us time.”

Joe smiled. “The money isn’t the only thing, boys. If I find out you’re nosing around where you shouldn’t, the deal is forfeit. I will kill them, and ship their bodies to you piece by piece. Only after I get done torturing them and recording it for your entertainment pleasure.”

He then leaned over and grasped CJ by the face with his right hand and ran his tongue across her cheek. She struggled weekly against his hand and whimpered as he took his left hand off her shoulder and ran it down her chest to her legs.

“I’m so glad you had such a lovely little girl, Don. She takes after you, and boy can I have a good time with her. I might even have a hard time keeping my word with this fine piece of ass hanging out here with me…” he said, stroking his hand up and down her thigh.

“You fucking bastard, I’ll kill you if you lay a hand on her…” Don screamed, and they heard voices trying to calm him down and pulling him away. CJ could hear her father’s muffled voice in the background.

Randy’s voice chimed in. “Joe, you bastard, don’t do anything to them or you’ll never get your money,” he said tersely.

Joe stood up suddenly and smiled. “Don’t worry. It won’t come to that, as long as you don’t do anything to piss me off. No cops, no feds, no nothing. I better see you day after day working on my money. Believe me, I’ve got eyes all over town, and I know who you’re seeing and where you’re going. I’ve got surveillance in a hell of a lot of places you don’t know about, and can’t even fathom. You won’t find me, because I won’t be found. I’ll contact you in three days to see how things are progressing.”

There was a click as the line was closed. He then walked up the stairs and left them to sit there. CJ and Michael weren’t sure what to do. Soon enough, though, Sheila came down and started untying them. She unlocked the cuffs and took them with her. She didn’t say a word the whole time. CJ and Michael got up and found a box of pop tarts sitting on the table. They guessed that was breakfast this morning…
Kim Household – 5:00 pm

Terri sat at the head of the table sipping a cup of green tea. Across from her, Mara sipped a similarly steaming cup.

“So we just wait?” Terri said slowly.

Mara nodded. “It would seem. There really isn’t anything else to do.”

“Where are the guys now?” Terri asked looking up.

“I sent them to pick up dinner, chicken. I didn’t feel like cooking,” she answered looking up, her eyes red.

Allie and Alex came running into the room, chasing each other and laughing. Mara looked as they ran through the room and out and burst into tears. Terri stood and enclosed her arms around her old friend. There was nothing to be said, nothing at all.