Gillian Foster regained consciousness to find herself pinned to a table or a bench, she wasn't sure. All she was really aware of was her inability to move and the slightly smothered feeling she was experiencing. She was groggy and her eyesight was blurry but when he moved into her eyeline, she knew exactly who he was.
"Martin, please stop," she whimpered, terror coursing through her. Out of her blurry sight, she saw him grin.
"Now why would I want to do that?" She could hear the laugh in his voice and knew pleading wouldn't be worth her while. She could only hope Reynolds and Cal were doing everything they could.
"You know, your boss thinks he's so clever. He thought I'd come after him. But I think it's more fun to watch people collapse alone, don't you?" He laughed again and Gillian closed her eyes. The feeling of the rag over her face made her scream with what was to come. As the water poured onto her face, she felt herself ebbing away until finally she blacked out again.
OXOXOXO
"I'm a gentleman" he had said. So he was digging a hole in the plot of ground next to the mini-van while she sat tied up on the ground, trying to spot any possibility of escape. She could probably twist her arms out from underneath her but it would be too obvious. The knots were tied so tight, she doubted she would be able to loosen them enough anyway.
Suddenly she heard the handle of the shovel hit off the side of the mini-van. He was finished. And so was she. She heard the revolver jostling into place as again he stepped over her where she sat, now visibly starting to struggle against her ropes, even though she knew it was futile. Maybe that was what people did, struggled even though it was pointless. He smiled down at her.
"Any last words?" She looked up. Buy time, she thought. Maybe Cal and Reynolds…
"Why? And how many?" Martin sniffed, shrugged and looked away towards the trees. Interesting Gillian thought, why did he look to the trees?
"Because it's just so easy. And I, I really don't know how many," he said, sniffing again. She shook her head.
"That's a lie. You've got pride coming out of your ears. You know exactly how many." Grinning, he hunched down to face her.
"Am I including you in the count? Most people say no, they think distancing themselves from the statistic might somehow save them." He stood up again, taking a few steps back, raising the gun. Gillian flinched and started to whimper.
"Including you? Six." She watched his finger move to the trigger and there was no doubt in her mind that he would pull it.
But suddenly there were numerous clicks and rustling. She opened her eyes to see a SWAT team unveiling itself in a circle around Martin who, thinking five moves ahead, dropped the gun. The relief almost caused her to black out again, but not before she saw the short, slouchy figure of Cal coming into her eyeline and grabbing her by the shoulders pulling her into him, one hand on the back of her head.
"I'm sorry luv, I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" he asked pulling back from her, his hands on her cheeks, thumbs caressing the cheekbones. She nodded, tears welling in her eyes as the paramedics moved in around her. They pushed Cal back but he could still see her. She could see him glance at Martin and knew he was about to lose his temper. The paramedics were cutting the ropes off her and she willed them to move faster so she might have a chance of stopping him.
But no one was going to stop him. She managed to clamber to her feet just in time to see Cal break through the circle, winding back a punch and landing it square on Martin's jaw. Breaking away from the paramedics she ran to the circle but the SWAT team held her out. No one seemed to be trying to restrain Lightman either.
Martin was on the ground, grimacing at the force behind Cal's first blow. Cal was on his knees, hauling him up by his lapels. Gillian oculd just about hear the exchange.
"Of all the mistakes you made, choosing her was your biggest one." He landed another punch to his face.
"When this is all over Lightman, I'll walk out a free man and you'll have an assault case on your hands. You can't prove anything." Lightman punched him again.
"Oh yeah? Might as well make the most of it for that assault case then." Another punch. Gillian suddenly remembered something. She pushed through the SWAT circle, grabbing Cal's shoulder.
"Cal, stop. I know where the bodies are." Cal turned, looking up at her before standing up and pushing her away from Martin.
"What?"
"The trees. When I was trying to buy time, I asked why and how many and he looked out into the trees. This is his burial ground Cal. He told me, he told me I was the sixth. So there must be five more bodies…"
"…right beneath us." Cal said, a shiver running down his spine. He walked to Reynolds and passed on the information before returning to Gillian's side. She was turning to leave, trying to bring him with her but he stopped, kneeling back down beside Martin.
"You should have taken me."
"Why?" Cal thought about it for a minute.
"You hurt my best friend. And you're going to prison, there's no question about that. But…because of what you did, if you somehow, ever do manage to get out, I'll be waiting. And I'll kill you. And you're a decent enough chess player to know…that I'm not lying." Swallowing back the string of insults he wanted to throw at him, he stood up and walked away, leaving Martin to be picked up by the rest of the SWAT team.
He clasped Gillian's hand as he led her away from the circle of madness, over to the paramedics.
OXOXOXO
Gillian had insisted on coming back in to the office, just to let everyone see that she was ok, if nothing else. As their employees swarmed around her, Cal slunk away to call Reynolds to get an update on the situation. He was in his office, leaning on the desk when Gillian found him. He looked up and smiled warmly at her. Even beat up and traumatised, she looked a radiant beauty. Instead of sitting in the chair, she sat down on the couch, near the door. He stood up, finishing up his call, before walking over and sitting down next to her, his arm automatically going across the back of the sofa, the protective guise.
"How you doing luv?" She shrugged.
"Ok, I guess." She was deflecting. He decided not to push her, for now.
"They dug up five bodies. He's going be tried for murder. They're going to ask me to testify. And I'm going to make sure that all he sees is the inside of a cell for the rest of his life. Bastard." Cal bit his bottom lip so hard he thought he'd draw blood. He loosened the grip when he felt Gillian's hand on his chin.
"Stop biting. You'll put a hole in your lip." He stopped, opening his mouth as if to speak but closing it again. Nodding his head back to the door, he asked,
"The welcoming posse left yet?" She smiled.
"Yeah. They were just worried."
"Yeah well, there was a club to join. I was president." He smirked and she let her hand fall off his chin.
"How did you find me?" Cal shook his head.
"You know I'm not really sure. I think Reynolds had something done with the mini-van. Something Martin didn't spot. Because he was always five moves ahead. But we were only one." Gillian's head fell at the mention of her tormentor's name. Cal winced. He hadn't meant to mention the name. His arm curled around her shoulder, pulling her to him.
"I'm sorry luv, I didn't mean to…"
"It's fine. It's stupid to get affected just by the name…" He shook his head as hers fell onto his shoulder.
"No it isn't. Not after what you've been through." He turned his head and kissed her hair, holding his lips there so she could feel that he was with her. He felt her near arm slip around his middle and pull herself closer to him. He twisted slightly in his seat and brought his other arm around her as her shoulders began to bob. He kissed her hair again as he reassured her.
She felt weak, crying in his arms. She also know there was no place else she would want to do such a personal and vulnerable action. She clenched her eyes shut, willing herself to stop and she pulled her head away from his shoulder. His face was one she couldn't decipher. He showed everything, pity, heartache, sorrow and love. The last one was the only one she really wanted to remember seeing. His hands came to her cheeks again, wiping the tears from her cheekbones. Then slowly he leaned in, kissing her softly on the lips, letting her know he was and would always be there.
Then he stood up, his hands encouraging her to follow and he pulled her into yet another tight embrace.
"Come on luv, I'll take you home."
OXOXOXO
Ok, so I kind of have an idea for a second chapter of this but don't know whether I should leave it as it is? I like this last line but it's up to the readers to persuade me either way!