One might think the deep rumble of the car would be what woke Adrian. Or perhaps the shouting taking place. Or perhaps even the discomfort of the cold floor. It was neither of those things. Instead, he woke up to the very mundane, very serious need to go to the bathroom. It was an everyday occurrence at odds with what had beco a very atypical evening.
Adrian lay silently with his eyes closed. He took stock of the situation, listening in on the argunt taking place right outside the van.
“-ks dead! Explain to why you brought a corpse?” said a voice Adrian didn’t recognize. It was clearly a man’s voice, although higher pitched than most; the kind that just grated on you without even trying.
“He’s not dead, boss!” a voice he did recognize protested. It was the man that had tased him. An imdiate dislike towards the stranger ford and sat unpleasantly in his chest.
“If you look closely, you can see that he’s still breathing,” a third voice interjected smoothly. The driver, this ti, Adrian noticed. “Jas clearly gave him the correct dose and there’s a –”
“Rex,” Jas interrupted. “We have code nas for the mission, and you keep forgetting to use them,” he added petulantly.
“You idiot, the mission is done.”
“It’s only over when the boss says so,” Jas added in a matter-of-fact tone. Adrian easily envisioned him nodding his head as he said so, as though it would lend credence to the complaint.
“Fine, Rex,” the driver emphasized sarcastically. “As I was saying, there’s a simple way to check if he’s awake or not.”
“There will be ti for this later,” the boss admonished. “Now, Max, show what you an.”
It’s almost as if they’re trying to be cliché villains, Adrian thought as he supressed a snicker. He snapped out of his musings when he heard footsteps approach.
“See? Even the boss doesn’t use the stupid nicknas,” Max muttered.
Keeping his eyes closed, Adrian steadied his breathing and tried his best to feign sleep. Until he was rudely woken up by a heavy boot making contact with his ribs. A dull thud resounded from the kick. He groaned in pain as he rolled over, his eyes opening as he brought his arms to his stomach.
“There, see? He’s awake. Now then, how much of that did you hear?” Max asked as he leaned over Adrian’s prone form.
“Max!” the boss barked angrily. He walked over towards Adrian and raised his arm. Max turned towards him as he did so.
Slap
Max’s head whipped to the side as the boss’ open palm made contact with his cheek. Max stumbled, reeling from the force of the blow. Involuntarily, he brought his hand to the side of his face that had been hit.
What kind of boss slaps their minions? Adrian thought incredulously.
“You utter fool!” the boss raged. “The rchandise needs to be intact, with no damage! What part of that wasn’t clear? It’s the whole reason you used a taser and sleeping gas in the first place! Now I’m going to have to explain this when we deliver him!”
“Sorry,” Max said morosely, his head hung low. His hand was still clutching his cheek. A red, angry welt was beginning to form underneath.
Adrian stared at him, dumbfounded by the scene he was witnessing. This had clearly happened before, as no one made a fuss over what happened. He had been kidnapped by this? Being kidnapped wasn’t sothing he’d ever really thought about before, but he expected sothing more professional than that. At least they’re not going to hurt or anything, he thought with a sigh of relief. He reflected on this fact further and began to wonder what they needed him undamaged for.
“What happens to now?” Adrian croaked. Gingerly, he rolled over and pushed himself in a seated position. His hands and ankles were still bound, which made the endeavor rather difficult. He leaned back against the wall of the car once he was done.
“Also,” he continued, “I need to know, why the taser? Couldn’t you have just used chloroform to knock out from behind? It’s not like I heard you coming.” He gestured down to the black, now scratched, wireless headphones that were miraculously still around his neck.
Max and Jas looked at each other. A mont passed and Jas blinked.
“Shit, we could’ve just done that,” he said.
Max sighed. “We just happened to have this on hand and didn’t bother thinking up any other ways to nab you.”
Adrian finally got a good look at where he was. He was sitting in the trunk of the van, near the edge. It was still dark outside, the air chillier than he rembered. He surmised that several hours must have passed since he was knocked out.
Three people stood outside, illuminated by the red taillights of the still running car. A second car was parked at an angle to the first one, the back facing the three n. It was running as well, its taillights also illuminating the clearing.
Max and Jas were no longer wearing their black masks. Both were wearing black pants and black, long-sleeved sweaters. Max appeared to be older, sowhere in his forties whereas Jas looked a solid ten years younger than him. It was difficult to tell their exact age in the low light. Adrian idly wondered how they ca to work together, but quickly dismissed the thought.
The boss still stood next to Max. He was a thin, reedy man in his fifties. He wore a hat on his head, and had thin, limp hair the went halfway down to his shoulders. He was dressed in an off-grey suit that shone red in the lights. The suit was immaculate and fit him perfectly.
He continued to scan his surroundings. It had clouded over, Adrian guessed, as he couldn’t see any stars nor the moon and it felt darker than usual. He was in a flat clearing and couldn’t make out a single tree nor bush nearby with what limited light he had. Turning his head, he looked through the windshield in the front of the car and saw more of the sa.
Wherever he was, he was in the middle of nowhere, with no place to run without being caught. He doubted that he’d be able to outrun the cars even if he managed to get free of his bindings.
Looking down, he eyed the shiny steel handcuffs attached too tightly to his wrists. They bit into his skin and chafed whenever he tried to move. The chain attaching the cuffs was short and didn’t allow for much freedom. Twisting his hands, he attempted to see if there was any way for him to undo them. Sadly, there wasn’t.
A quick glance at his ankles showed the sa model of cuffs binding his ankles together. They bit into his skin more than the ones on his wrists. Stretching his legs apart, he found that the chain would be just long enough to allow him to shuffle, but not take a full stride. He would not be able to move quickly while wearing them, he surmised.
“Are you done trying to figure out how to run away?” the boss said in an amused tone. Adrian’s head snapped back up and he looked at him.
“What makes you think I would even dream of leaving these fine accommodations?” Adrian replied, with more confidence than he felt. Inside, he was a nervous wreck. His heart beat wildly as he desperately glanced around.
The man snorted. “Your eyes have been darting back and forth for a while now, it was pretty obvious. You didn’t think we wouldn’t notice when we’re standing right next to you?”
“When you put it that way,” Adrian said sheepishly. He was parched. What he wouldn’t give for a glass of water. Sothing told him, however, that these n didn’t have any on them. But more than that, Adrian really, really needed to go to the bathroom. Being terrified, he could handle. Being terrified and having a bladder in pain? That’s just uncomfortable.
“Hey fellas look, I really need you to do a solid here,” Adrian said with false bravado. “I really need to go to the bathroom, so would you mind letting go? I promise not to run away, I swear.”
“No,” the boss said simply.
“Well it’s either I go now, or I sll like urine. And trust , that’s not going to be pretty. You don’t want to have to put up with that, do you?”
All three n grimaced. They clearly didn’t like the sound of that.
“Fine,” the boss acquiesced, “but you’re going to do it right here, where we can see you. None of this going out of sight business.”
“In front of all of you?” Adrian replied. The boss levelled him a stare. Realizing that he probably shouldn’t further antagonize the people kidnapping him, he swung his legs over the end of the trunk and inched his way forward.
Business finished, Adrian looked between his captors. The boss, whose na Adrian still hadn’t heard, looked over to Jas and jerked his head in the direction of the second van. Silently, Jas opened the trunk of the car and took out a black duffle bag.
“You’re really into the black the, aren’t you?” Adrian comnted. “Don’t get wrong, there’s nothing wrong with black. You’re totally pulling off the look.”
The boss sported a Cheshire grin, his look turning predatory. Adrian didn’t like that look. That was the look villains gave you when they were about to do sothing bad.
“Glad you like the motif. We can’t let you miss out on this fashion trend. It just so happens that we have sothing for you too.”
Jas changed his grip on the bag so that he could hold it with one hand. Using the other, he opened the zipper and flourished a small, black sack. Reaching back in, he pulled out a roll of duct tape. He tossed the bag on the ground, where it landed with a dull thud.
“Aren’t you glad? Now you get a black mask too!” the boss cackled.
“Lucky ,” Adrian deadpanned. Internally, he chastised himself. He just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Annie had always warned him that it would get him in trouble one day.
“It’s much easier to bring a willing participant. Either wear the sack or get tased again.”
“Or twice, for good asure,” Jas interjected with a grin.
“I know when I’m beat, fellas” Adrian said. “Let’s just get this over with, shall we?” his heartbeat quickened as Jas made his way over. The man brandished the sack and placed it over Adrian’s head. The duct tape was then used to fashion a loose ring around his neck, keeping the bag in place.
Adrian’s hot breath ward the inside of the bag. He couldn’t see anything beyond the barest of lights coming from the headlights. So small part of him that wasn’t busy panicking noted that black really was the ongoing the of the evening.
He panicked when he heard boots crunch in the grass behind him. His adrenaline spiked when a hand made contact with his back, shoving him forward. He stumbled but managed to catch himself before falling over.
“Co on, let’s go,” Jas said from behind, shoving him.
“No need to push,” Adrian spat back. Unsure where, exactly to go, he awkwardly began to shuffle his way forward in a straight line.
Jas walked in front and grabbed his arm. He roughly pulled Adrian in a different direction and brought him to the back door of the second van. Opening the door, he said
“Get in. And watch your step, I don’t want to have to pick you up.”
Scowling beneath the bag on his head, Adrian did as he was told. He inched his leg forward until it made contact with the side of the van. Putting his arms in front of him, he leaned in and felt around for the seat. Locating it, he fumbled his way inside and sat down. Jas ca in after him and sat beside him, closing the door as he did so.
Adrian didn’t hear Max approach and accompany them. He surmised that the man must have stayed behind to drive the other car. The driver’s door opened, and the boss got behind the wheel.
“Ready to go?” he asked, looking into rear-view mirror. Not that Adrian would know. He only heard an affirmative grunt from Jas before the car lurched forward and sped off into the night.
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