Chapter Four

He coughed then put his mask on to inhale oxygen. "When I lost my son, Gideon and my ex wife Jill Tuck, I became..insane. But I was also diagnosed with cancer and I tried to commit suicide. But miraculously I survived. i became testing with the human nature. Oh, you know, how much a a human can bleed without dying and how strong human tissue is. Amanda did drugs and cut herself so I taught her a lesson. I put in my ingenious Reversible Bear Trap. She then became my accomplice and still is of course. Cecil Adams were my first test. I had his face look like his personality...ugly. I used seven knifes for him to press his face against to escape. He did but fell into barbed wire."

Victoria leaned back in the chair and sighed. "Wow, what a sad story."

Mark knocked on the door. "Kerry failed her test. The police will be finding her soon no doubt. I will be going to fix up Jeff Denlon's test. Will you and Amanda be joining me shortly?"

Hoffman looked over to Tori. "She isn't bothering you, is she?"

John shook his head. "No, No. Take her with you. She might be able to help out." He insisted.

Hoffman signaled her to come along with a head tilt.

She gave John a short smile and walked away with Hoffman to the other side of the meatpacking plant.

In a wheel barrel, he was carrying Timothy Young.

"What's this device called?" Victoria walked over to examine it.

"Jigsaw's personal favorite, The Rack Trap." Hoffman explained.

Out of curiosity again, Victoria asked another question.

"How did you get involved in all of this?" She leaned over the table.

He stopped messing with it and looked coldly at her.

"My sister, Angelia Acomb, had a son of a bitch boyfriend named Seth Baxter. I was called in from my Erickson about my sister. I rushed to her house to find her throat slashed over the bed. It was Baxter alright. But he went to jail for four years due to a technicality. I nabbed the bastard and made the pendulum trap. Made it look like a Jigsaw Trap and John didn't like that very much. I woke up in a seat with a gun aimed at my throat. I learned my lesson and joined him shortly."

Hoffman then begin to work on the trap again.

Not much later, John was in a wheel chair being driven by Amanda.

"Last minute tweaks?" Amanda asked Hoffman. "Told ya he would fuck with it." She whispered to John.

"If you switch the gear ratio you have to change the grease to match the increased friction." John stated.

Amanda keep walking along. "Maybe you should stick to the heavy lifting."

Victoria kept quiet and stared at Hoffman who was starting coldly at Amanda.

Hoffman put the gear down.

"You need five weight. It's in the gun." Amanda chucked it at him.

Hoffman caught it and looked at Victoria.

"Check with me next time." John demanded.

"How many next times are there going to be?" Hoffman asked.

"How many there needs to be." John replied.

Hoffman sat the gun down and glazed at John who was putting his shotgun down.

Mark walked over and Timothy and dumped him on the ground with a thump.

"That's a human being." John stated firmly.

Mark looked up from Timothy over to John.

"You like how brutality feels Mark?" John said coldly.

"Let's be honest. You want him to suffer just as much as I do." Mark said.

John looked away because he knew Mark was right.

Mark went to the left arm crank and clicked a switch to make the crank rotate to test to see if it was working.

John began to cough roughly, making Hoffman stop. Amanda gave him his oxygen mask then Mark tweaked it once more.

Amanda scoffed and walked to the gun and shoved Victoria out of the way.

Tori didn't say or do anything but just stood there holding back pain.

Amanda faced Hoffman with the gun.

"So when's your test Detective?" she whispered.

Hoffman turned to her. "I don't need one."

"Oh yea?" she replied.

"Yea because I," he grabbed her wrist flipping it to expose her cut marks. "didn't take my life for granted."

Amanda came close to his face. "You're still dragging your knuckles on the ground. What do you know about life?"

She flinched her arm with the gun in it and chuckled. "Get used to me...cause I'm not going anywhere."

Hoffman snatched the gun away from her. He whispered in her ear "You sure about that?"

He walked around her, Amanda following him as he walked away.

"Time is short." John caught Amanda's attention.

Amanda walked over to John and bent down to his knees, resting her hands on his knees.

"You ok?" She asked sincerely.

John nodded. "Now it's time to get Doctor Denlon from the hospital."

Amanda nodded a bit. "Ok." she whispered.

Hoffman got the restraints ready for Tim.

"Oh, and Tori...nice to see you again." John added.

Mark and Amanda glared at each other as she walked out with John.

"Doctor Denlon?" Victoria asked.

He nodded. "Jeff's wife. But don't tell Amanda. It's her test." He put his finger over his mouth. "Shh..." he laughed.

Victoria exhaled anxiously. She could never keep a secret but if she told Amanda, Mark would kill Tori his self.

Hoffman securely strapped Tim in and hung a recorder on his neck.

"Let's collect everything and get the hell out of here. Jeff should be waking soon." Hoffman commanded Tori.

She nodded and gathered all the tools and equipment. "Who was the person you wrote the letter to?" Tori asked.

"No one you should know." He said to her face. "No more questions." He ruffled her hair.

"Is there anything else I will need to do?" she asked.

"Get some rest..you earned it." He gave her a smug look and left with her.