Devil To PayPart 2"What the fuck?..." I began, then I saw two more guns. One was pointed at me. I shut up. There were about ten of them. Mad mountain men, in thick coats and boots, and with furry hats on their heads. And guns in their hands. They gestured to us to get out. We got out, no fucking sweat! They jabbered to each other in double-dutch, and tied our hands behind our backs. One of them put the point of his gun under Lighe's chin, and pushed it up. He said something to his comrades which tickled them - because they laughed. And leered. I didn't like the look of the leer much. It didn't look good for him...not at all. Orli came in for much the same treatment. They were both pretty, y'see. Not like me. Nobody looked twice at me. I cannot believe, now - knowing what I know - that I was mightily pissed about this, at the time. Mad! We were bundled back in the bus. One of the men, whom we named "Smiley" because of the grin that seemed permanently fixed to his face, sat next to me, opposite Lighe, and took much pleasure in poking his gun barrell into the pale skin on Lighe's arms, watching the red marks break out on it. Lighe didn't flinch, although his eyes showed it. He had his sweater tied around his waist. I wished he'd put it on. I bet he did, too. He may only be young, but he's wise beyond his years, this one. I caught his eye, and realised the pair of us were scared shitless. What the fuck was going on, here? I glanced at Billy, who shrugged his shoulders slightly. Viggo was looking out of the window, as if trying to memorise where we were going. Orli kept his head down. Wise move. One of the other men barked what sounded like an order at Smiley - probably "don't damage the merchandise!" He stopped poking. "Sblom..." Lighe said, and earned a hard blow across the face from Smiley. I just reacted. I jumped up from my seat, and made to butt the bastard in the head. It was the only weapon I had. I got manhandled - if you can call it that, without hands - back into my seat by Viggo, who hissed "sit down, you stupid fuck! D'you want Lijah to get killed?" The gun was pointed at Lighe's head...again. The safety clicked off. I got the message. There was a dark bruise forming on the side of his face. I nudged Viggo's arm, letting him know I'd calmed down, now. Billy raised his eyebrows at me� don't do that again! they seemed to say. There was no further violence. Thank God! I couldn't keep my eyes from Lighe's face. Bloody animal! I let my eyes slide up to meet his. I was shocked to see them boring into me, demanding my attention. Then they softened, and I knew that they were telling me that it was all right, that he was all right. Then they smiled. How eyes can smile I don't know...but his did, then. I gave what I hoped was the same look, back. The corner of his mouth lifted very slightly. Yes, he'd seen it. I felt the thickness in my throat ease off a little. God, he knew! Knew how I felt! Didn't he? Did he? Fuck! It seemed like hours, speeding round sharp corners in the road, until we got there. I don't know, to this day, where there was. I never want to know. Billy fell off his seat as we raced around one particularly sharp corner. Smiley laughed as Bill banged his head on the corner of a seat. Yeah, really funny, man! We were right up in the mountains by now. Nothing to be seen for miles. We drew up beside a wooded area that contained two buildings. Quite a large house, and a small...barn, it looked like. They shoved us towards the barn. Inside it was like any other barn, with thick uprights holding the roof up. They tied each of us to a separate support, and left us, in the semi darkness. "Is everyone okay?", Viggo asked quietly. "Lijah?" Lighe's face was turning colour, and was now black and blue. I understood the phrase for the first time - black and blue. And red. "I'm okay", he answered, in a small voice, sliding down the pole, to sit on the ground. "Bill?" Viggo said. Billy joined Lighe on the floor. We all followed suit. Stupid to be standing, when you can sit. Never stand when you can sit, and never sit when you can lie down. Yeah. "I've got a lump on my head the size of a fuckin' ostrich egg, but I'm okay". Orli winced. "Guys", he said, desperately, "I need to piss". Funny how fright has that effect. I did, too. "It'll stink to high heaven in here, if we piss on the floor. If they keep us in here...well...", observed Viggo - ever to the point. He stood up, and shouted. Smiley came in. Great. "Who called?", he said, in heavily accented English. My god! The only one who seemed to speak English was this gorilla! Fuck! That was bad! "I did", Viggo announced. "We need a bucket to piss in, and some water, and a mug" He didn't say please. Smiley laughed. "Piss on the floor!", he said. "Okay, if that's what you want. But I'm warning you, with all of us here, it'll stink soon enough. And we won't only need to piss, you know. Two buckets, and water and a mug." Smiley went out. I didn't hold out much hope, and was just trying to work out how to open my fly with two hands tied behind my back, when in came a younger man, carrying two empty buckets, followed by an older one, who had the water. Perhaps Smiley was sensitive to the pong of urine...I don't know. Or this wasn't his barn. The men we going to place the buckets against the wall, but Viggo mimed what we wanted them for, so they put them between us, and the water by Viggo. Well, at least one of us would be getting a drink! Smiley came back in, and surveyed the scene. He went out, again. Two armed men came in, and one untied our hands, then tied us back up, leaving us with one hand loose. We could reach the buckets, now. "These men will be on guard at the door all night. If you try to escape - you will be shot!" He left us, then. We'd got the message, good and loud. No escape attempts. Orli and I wasted no time in using the bucket. Thank god! That was better! The others soon followed suit. Soon, one bucket was half full. We really didn't fancy trying to fill the other. Fuck, this would be murder! We all had a drink, passed around in the precious mug, and sat down to talk, quietly. "Why do they want us?", Lighe asked, biting his nails, tensely. "Ransom?" "I expect so - I don't think it was a random pick-up. They might not know who we are, but I think they might know we mean money", Viggo scratched his leg, as he spoke. "Fuck it, fleas, as well! Oh, great!" "How much d'you think they'll ask for?", I queried, looking at him. "I don't think they'll go mad! Shit, a million to these guys would be a fortune! The average wage in this region is about thirty dollars max! I like to find out these things", he said in reply to Billy's astonished stare. "God, it's like having Astin, here! Another fucking encyclopaedia!" Lighe laughed, shakily. Everyone smiled. Fond memories. It was getting dark. And cold. We were hungry, tired, and frightened. Lighe reached out his hand and tried to reach me. I met his half way. Contact, at least. His hand was shaking. Fuck it - so was mine! With the dark, my fears grew. Lighe and Orli were sleeping, lucky buggers! I sat there worrying. Had Lighe noticed the smiling bastard eyeing him up? I whispered this to Billy, nearest to me. "God, Dom, I hope...d'you think he'll be safe?", Bill nodded in Lighe's direction. "That big bugger wants him, y'know - and there's fuck all we can do about it!" Viggo coughed, slightly. We looked at him. He made a "Shh!" sound with his lips, cocking his head in the direction of the sleeping pair. I met his eyes across the space, and saw the concern in them. Fuck it! He thought the same as us! That the one in the most danger, here, was the one who had the most to lose. Our Lighe. Oh, God! |