Arise, Sir Jackson – Chapter 3
-O-
DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV
-O-
Jackson was speechless!
"I think we've got some unfinished business, don't you?" O'Riordan had an evil smirk on his face.
Jackson tried to compose himself, "I thought you were still in prison," he gasped.
"Done my time...well, got parole, time off for good behaviour and all that."
"Well, the parole board won't take kindly to you kidnapping me again, will they?"
O'Riordan sneered, "They'll have to catch me first. Anyway, you've got to pay for what you did to me!"
"What I did to YOU?" Jackson spluttered in disbelief, "Do you have any idea how you nearly ruined my life? You nearly drove a wedge between me and my husband...I had to have counselling and everything..."
"Shut the fuck up!" O'Riordan snapped, "You've done alright for yourself, Lord High-and-Mighty! Me? I've been banged up with a load of hard cases. Do you know what they do to 'pretty boys' in a place like that? I was their slave...their bitch! It's all your fault and...now you must pay!"
Jackson feared that O'Riordan might threaten to rape him again, but he sensed that the madman had something else on his agenda this time...revenge!
Jackson was thinking on his feet, "Look, if you let me go, I won't say anything. Just take me to my hotel and I'll keep quiet about it."
O'Riordan had the same crazed look in his eyes that Jackson had seen before, "Let you go? No chance! I've waited years for this moment. When the cab firm I work for took the call, I couldn't believe it...I even swapped the fare with another driver so that I could pick you up. We're going into that old warehouse over there and then I'm going to give you what's coming to you."
O'Riordan climbed out of the taxi and unlocked the rear door. He took hold of Jackson's arm and dragged him out. Jackson struggled but he quickly understood the phrase 'strength of a madman' as he was no match for O'Riordan. An old lamplight illuminated the warehouse with a dim, ghostly glow. The lunatic pushed Jackson into the building: the place had been deserted for some time and was in a state of decay, with rubbish strewn around, graffiti covering the walls and all the window glass broken. O'Riordan used a length of rope to tie Jackson's hands behind his back and pushed him down so that his back was against a wall, making him sit on the dirty, cold concrete floor. He then bound Jackson's ankles together with another piece of rope and put tape across his mouth.
"There, now we'll see who's the big man...won't we?" O'Riordan had a cold, unfeeling look in his clear, grey eyes.
Jackson was suddenly aware that O'Riordan had pulled out a knife! He looked on in horror as the madman came towards him, brandishing the weapon.
"Let's see if your darling husband still fancies you when you've got scars all over your face!" O'Riordan waved the blade near Jackson's cheeks and he flinched, expecting to feel the sting of cold steel against his skin. Then, suddenly, the radio in the taxi outside burst into life: obviously the cab firm were trying to get hold of O'Riordan, who turned and walked away to answer the call.
Jackson breathed a sigh of relief. He tried to free himself while O'Riordan was otherwise engaged, but the ropes were too tight. He wriggled around but all to no avail. Then he heard the footsteps of his tormentor approaching him again.
"We'll have to put this on ice," O'Riordan was still waving the knife around, "I've got to go back to the cab office, or they'll become suspicious. Make yourself comfortable," he sneered, "I'll be back later."
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Aaron stirred and looked at the clock. The alarm was due to go off any second, but he cancelled it as he was now wide awake. He checked his phone, but there was no message from Jackson. He thought it a bit odd, but did not worry unduly as he knew that Jackson's mobile had a flat battery and he surmised that maybe he had not had the opportunity to charge it. He jumped out of bed and headed for the shower as he needed to get ready to go into Bradford for the opening of his new car dealership. He was likely to be busy all day and that would take his mind off his husband for a while.
The opening was a big success. Aaron sometimes had to pinch himself when he thought about how far he had come in his life: car dealerships in Hotten, Leeds and now Bradford. Once the cutting of the ceremonial tape had been carried out, Aaron spent most of the day chatting to prospective car buyers in the smart new showroom. Aaron's company were holding a special sales event as it was the grand opening day and business was brisk. Aaron also visited the workshop and spent some time with the mechanics and he realised that he was still more at home in this sort of environment, rather than the 'posh' surroundings of the showroom. But, as managing director of the company, he needed to be up to speed with car sales and staff appraisals as well as servicing, so he knew that he needed to show his face not only in the workshops, but also in the offices and sales area.
The day whizzed past and Aaron eventually had time to think about Jackson again. He became slightly concerned when he realised that there was still no message from him. However, he just thought that his husband was probably on the train by now and he would doubtless be waiting for him when he arrived home later.
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Jackson had spent the night on the cold floor of the derelict warehouse, He was tired, hungry, and would do anything just to be able to have a wash and brush up. He could not understand why O'Riordan had not returned, but was very relieved that he had not. He thought to himself that, maybe, the madman had just wanted to frighten him. The lamplight, such as it was, had extinguished and the sun was rising, flooding the filthy old building with natural daylight. Jackson noticed a broken bottle near his legs and he manoeuvred into a position where he could get the rope around his feet against the jagged edge of the glass. After a bit of an effort, he managed to cut through the rope! He got himself into a standing position and then set about the tricky task of cutting through the rope around his wrists, behind his back. It wasn't easy and he cut himself a couple of times, but eventually managed to free his hands. He then ripped the sticky tape away from his mouth. Jubilant, he walked out of the warehouse to be greeted by a wasteland of shrub and rubbish: he was obviously in an old railway goods yard as there was still evidence of some ancient tracks visible through the long grass. Although there was no sign of life nearby, he could hear road traffic in the distance and could see a flyover about half a mile away, so he decided to head in that direction in the hopes of getting back to civilisation.
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After Aaron arrived home, he saw that he had a message on the home answer-phone. He played it back and a chill ran down his spine. "Hi babe, it's me. I know you are in Bradford today and you've got your mobile switched off. Now, don't worry, but I'm just letting you know that I'm in hospital in London. When you get this, can you give me a ring on my mobile, it's charged up now. I'll explain everything then. Love you."
Aaron could not believe it. Jackson was in hospital and he had not known anything about it. He quickly dialled his husband's number.
"Why didn't you ring the garage in Bradford...you are an idiot!"
"Thanks, I love you too!" was Jackson's sarcastic reply.
"You know what I mean. If you're in some sort of trouble, I want to know, straight away!"
"I didn't want to spoil your big day. Now, promise you're not going to go off on one!"
"How do you mean? What is it Jackson? What's wrong?"
"I ordered a taxi last night, like I told you, but you'll never guess who was driving it!"
Aaron was getting frustrated, "Will you stop playing games and tell me what's happening?"
"I'm getting to that...it was O'Riordan!"
The name hit Aaron like a ton of bricks, "O'RIORDAN! Driving the taxi? Oh my God! I thought he was still locked up. Jackson, are you alright...if he's hurt you, I'll murder the worthless little piece of shit!"
"I said not to go off on one, OK? He kidnapped me and tied me up in an old warehouse, but I escaped."
"I just don't believe this, it just isn't happening," Aaron's voice began to tremble, "So, why are you in hospital?"
"I cut myself on an old broken bottle. I called into an A&E department and they cleaned me up and gave me a tetanus jab, but they are concerned about my blood pressure so they want to keep me in for observation."
"Right, tell me which hospital you're in and I'll come straight down on the train. No arguments!"
Jackson knew that there was no point in trying to stop Aaron when he was in this mood. In any case, he really wanted to see the love of his life as soon as possible.
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Aaron took a cab from Euston station and made his way to Jackson's ward as soon as the taxi dropped him off at the hospital. Jackson was sitting in a chair by the bed in a private ward and stood up when his husband walked in. Aaron flung his arms around Jackson and kissed him, concern etched into his features, "Oh, my baby! What has that scumbag done to you? He didn't...?"
Jackson picked up on Aaron's meaning without him having to say the words, "No, he didn't, not this time. He wanted to cut me: he blames me for putting him in prison. Luckily, he got called away by his cab firm and didn't come back. I think maybe he just wanted to put the wind up me."
"That little, low-life piece of filth! You've told the police, haven't you?"
"Not yet, I was going to call them after my treatment, but then I had to stay here and I didn't get around to it."
"Well, we'll deal with that in the morning. The main thing is you're safe now. It's late, I've booked into a hotel for tonight and then we can sort things out tomorrow."
"I'm glad you're here," Jackson looked at Aaron fondly.
"Where else would I be? You know you mean everything to me. I just wish I'd been able to protect you from that..."
Jackson could see the anguished look in Aaron's eyes, "Hey! Don't fret babe, I'll be safe in here and you're close by. I'll sleep soundly in my bed here tonight...it will be a more comfortable night than I had last night."
Aaron had a face like thunder, "Just you wait until I get hold of that scum..."
Jackson cut his husband short, "Aaron! Promise me you won't do anything stupid! I don't want you to get involved: we'll let the police handle O'Riordan. He'll be back inside when they know what he's done."
Aaron did not answer, a plan was already forming in his mind and it didn't have anything to do with the police!
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After spending the night in his hotel, Aaron went straight round to the venue where Jackson had given his speech to ask them which cab firm they always used. Then, he went to the taxi offices to try to track down Dean O'Riordan. However, he realised that it would be a difficult task when the cab office personnel refused point blank to give out any information about Dean O'Riordan's personal details. However, he then had a stroke of luck. As he was leaving the offices, he saw O'Riordan pulling up onto the rank outside in his taxi. He approached him as he climbed out of his cab. Without a word, Aaron aimed a punch at O'Riordan, who fell and lay sprawled on the pavement.
"That's for kidnapping my husband!" Aaron shouted at the top of his voice, "You come anywhere near him again and I'll kill you, you bastard!"
O'Riordan shook his head as if to try to clear it and felt his jaw with his hand.
The cab office manager, who had left the cab office just behind Aaron, had witnessed the whole scene.
"What the hell is going on?" the cab manager asked.
"Ask him...the low-life little toe-rag!" Aaron scowled as he walked away.