CHAPTER SIX
Charlie was fuming. He could literally feel his blood bubbling. He was sitting in front of the wide screen TV with his brothers, Kim, Tasha and a few of their men. They were playing and then replaying the security tape over and over again; watching Martha's abduction.
"Who is that son of a bitch?" Charlie sneered as he watched Martha's body fall limp for about the hundredth time.
"It's Joshua West," Tasha answered when nobody else did.
"Who does he work for?" Bruiser asked.
"Nobody really; he'll just go with whoever gives him the most money," Tasha explained. "But, if we're gonna take a wild guess; it's usually Henderson or Nadar, and he's even done a few dealings with old man Stewart," she added.
"Old Alfie wouldn't have his own granddaughter kidnapped, would he?" Macca said; although he wasn't so sure.
"I don't think he would," Kim exclaimed.
"Kim's right," Tasha agreed with her brother. "He wouldn't do that; he loves Martha too much. Martha didn't want you to know, coz she thought it might upset you, but she's been meeting with Alf. He's her blood; one of only a few left. She needs him and he needs her. He wouldn't have done this," she told them.
"I don't know why she would be worried about us being upset; she can do what she wants. She doesn't have to explain herself to us," Charlie frowned. "But let's not worry about that now. We need to find her. We need to know who is behind this," he said.
"Yeah; I don't care that it's late," Bruiser stood up from his seat. "Let's head over and see Alf. He needs to know what's going on. I'm sure he'll send some of his men out to help," he said.
Charlie watched as everyone exited the room. Once he was alone, he turned back to the TV. He rewound the tape again and pressed play. He clenched a hand into a fist. If they had harmed one hair on her head; he'd slaughter them; one after the other.
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"Well, isn't this just cozy," Jack exclaimed as he followed Martha into the small shack.
It was only very small. It had a small kitchen and a table with a few chairs around it. There were a few cupboards lined up against the walls, a small couch and a double bed that looked might comfy. Jack noticed another door off to the side; he guessed it was to the bathroom.
"Don't talk to me. I hate you," Martha glared at him as she locked the door behind them.
"Tsk tsk Martha," Jack laughed. "There is no need to be like that. Besides, you should love me; I saved your life. You owe me big time," he pointed out as he looked around the small room.
Martha turned around to face Jack; listening to the crap that was spewing from his mouth. "You're delusional. That car accident must have done a bit of damage to your head. You are the one who owes me, my friend," she laughed in his face. She opened her mouth again; ready to start her rant. "I was tied up and locked in the trunk of a rotten car. I got punched in the face and then you kept me in the trunk for even longer. You made me step on glass, and you tried to make me go into that rat infested diner. Eew. You then proceeded to flip a car with me inside it; almost killing me. You see this face; it's not supposed to be bleeding," she yelled as she pointed at her face.
"Firstly, most of those incidents weren't even my fault. And as for you stepping on a piece of glass, oh boo hoo; cry me a fucking river," Jack started. "And secondly; I pulled your cute little ass from that car before it blew into smithereens. Sweetie; I don't owe you squat," he exclaimed.
"If it wasn't for me buddy, you'd be dead," Martha poked him in the chest. "I had to shoot that bitch just to save your stinking life," she poked him one more time for good measure.
"Yeah, whatever," Jack muttered in a mock surrender. "So, where's the food?" he then asked; ignoring Martha's icy glare.
"You are such a pig," Martha scoffed at him and turned around; walking across the room towards the bathroom. "You can raid the cupboards and the fridge while I take a shower. You can go after me," she said before slamming the bathroom door behind her.
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"So, what do I owe this pleasure?" Alf looked around at the group of people that had just entered his mansion. "I would think that my granddaughter would be here accompanying you. Where is she?" he asked.
Charlie cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Martha is the reason why we are here," he said. "I think you should watch this," he handed a tape to the old man.
"What's this?" Alf questioned as he handed the tape to Tony; his right hand man.
"It's a security tape from our place," Charlie answered him as Tony popped the tape into a player.
"Why do I not like the sound of this?" Alf exclaimed as he picked up the video remote and pressed play. He then proceeded to watch in anger as he witnessed his granddaughters attack and abduction. "What is the meaning of this?" he roared as he rewound it and watched it again.
"That's Josh West; I'm sure you know him," Macca started to explain. "As you can see, he's taken Martha. Now, we don't know where she is or who she is with. She could be dead for all we know," he trailed off.
"It's starting" Alf slammed his fist down hard on a table; knocking a vase to the ground. It smashed into pieces when it hit the ground.
"What's starting?" Charlie was curious.
"I've been waiting for this day; the day when the Henderson's and Nadar's would make their move," Alf started. "They're trying to take over and they're going to use Martha to make sure they get what they want," he explained.
"So you're sure that it's them?" Bruiser questioned him.
Alf nodded. "It's them. And if we're to get Martha back, then we will have to work together. Do you think we could accomplish that without getting into a fight," he then stuck his hand out for Charlie to shake.
"We'll do anything if it means getting Martha back," Charlie shook Alf's hand in return.
"Very good," Alf nodded. He then turned to Tony. "Have you been able to find Jack yet?" he asked.
"No," Tony shook his head. "Luc's been out with Robbie; looking for him, but so far they've come up with nothing," he told Alf.
"We need to find him. He's one of my best men and I need him by my side," Alf sighed as he sat down on a chair. "I need him to find my granddaughter………….."
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"That feels so much better," Jack sighed happily as he emerged from the bathroom; clad in only a towel.
"You still look like crap," Martha exclaimed from her place on the bed. "You look like you've had the shit kicked out of you," she said as she popped open a black briefcase and started riffling through it.
"Have you looked in a mirror recently princess?" Jack laughed as looked over her.
"You were the one who flipped the car and nearly killed us," Martha scoffed. "Here, put these on," she threw a stack of clothes at him.
"Whose are they?" Jack asked her.
Martha shrugged. "Macca's. Charlie's. I don't know," she rolled her eyes. "Does it really matter?"
"Apparently not," Jack muttered as he dropped his towel; leaving him to stand naked in front of Martha.
Martha's eyes widened. She tried her hardest not to look, but she couldn't help it. Martha then averted her eyes; quickly looking up into Jack's smiling face.
"See something you like?" Jack smirked as he pulled on a pair of jeans.
Martha smirked back at him and nodded. "Very nice," she exclaimed. "My mother was right," she laughed.
"You looked good with barely any clothes on too," Jack smiled as he sat down next her as he pulled a shirt on. "But you look good in those jeans too; nice and tight," he said as he looked over Martha's new apparel that consisted of a pair of tight jeans and a black singlet.
"I'm so glad that you approve," Martha said sarcastically.
"So, what do we have here?" Jack then asked as he looked over into the brief case.
"Just some extra cash and weapons that I had stashed away," Martha shrugged. "I knew it would come in handy one day. We're probably going to need it if we want to get home in one piece," she said.
"Nice guns," Jack stated as he picked up one of the pistols and looked it over. "You can have this one," he then said as he handed it to Martha.
Martha looked at him as though he was crazy. "Why do I have to use the girl gun?" she frowned.
Jack snorted. "How about we just figure that out in the morning," he said as he threw the gun back in the case and snapped it shut; placing the case on the ground beside the bed. He really didn't want to get into a stupid argument with her; especially about a gun.
"So, a question?" Jack said as he changed the subject. "Why don't the Mackenzie brothers have protection for you?" he wanted to know. Any idiot should know that she would need protection.
"I don't need protection," Martha answered. "As far as anyone knows; I'm not a part of any of this," she had to bite her tongue from saying anything more. Martha didn't need anyone else knowing how valuable she really was.
"Everyone knows how important you are to those boys," Jack pointed out. "Why do you think Henderson and Nadar took you? You're a bargaining chip Martha," he added.
Martha let out a loud sigh. "They ruined everything. There used to be so much admiration between our families, but then they came along and broke it," she started. Once she had started there was no stopping the words that were soon to come. "I should have sent a hit out on them ages ago. I should have done it before they had the chance to get to me. And to think that I was stupid enough to believe that we could make peace," she suddenly stopped; realizing what she had just said.
"I'm sorry; what?" Jack looked at her with a stunned expression.
Martha looked up at him. She knew it was time to tell the truth. "It's not them. It's not the boys; it's me," she said softly.
"You're fucking joking right?" Jack demanded to know. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was in charge.
"When my dad and Charles died, we were at risk. We had to take over the business and all the dealings that came with it. We had to take on the role," Martha started to explain to a shocked Jack. "But I was the rightful leader. My father created his kingdom, and it was only right that I took over. So, the boys do what I tell them to do, and I stay behind the scenes and watch as they pretend to lead," she finished.
Jack was speechless. Martha was the boss. She was the one her men came to and she had made the Macklin name thrive under the appearance of the Mackenzie brothers. She'd been doing so since her parent's deaths and hardly anybody knew the truth.
Jack finally let out the deep breath that he had been holding in. "This is unbelievable," he exclaimed. "At least I now know why Corey and Ash had you kidnapped. They found out that you were the boss. They knew that by eliminating you; their chances of taking over would increase almost by a hundred percent. All they'd have to do after that would be to get rid of Alf. Then the town would be their's," he was finally piecing it all together.
"Two points," Martha tried to smile.
"God, this is insane," Jack rubbed his face. "You do realize that we could be totally screwed. Everyone could be dead, you know that right?" he said to Martha.
"I know," Martha nodded. But that was something she didn't want to think about right now. "We should probably get some sleep," she suggested.
"Yeah," Jack agreed.
"Keep your hands to yourself," Martha warned him. "If I feel any part of your body touching me; you're a dead man," she added.
"We'll see who's touching whom later on," Jack grinned at her.
Martha scoffed and fell back onto the bed; pulling the covers up over her body. Yes, he was hot and yes, she'd screw him, but that didn't mean it was going to happen. He was a perverted pig; so it wasn't going to happen.
"Go to sleep Jack," she exclaimed.
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"Zoë's dead," Corey exclaimed as he walked into Ash's office.
"What? How do you know?" Ash looked up in surprise.
"She's not back yet; she's totally fucked," Corey said. "Another one bites the dust huh," he then laughed.
Ash shrugged as he lit a cigarette. "This is a job we should be doing ourselves anyway," he remarked.
Corey nodded in agreement. "Everybody else just keeps fucking it up. I've sent a few more blokes out to look for them, so if nothing comes from that; we'll head out ourselves. Do the job properly," he smirked.
"When are you going to see Baker?" Ash then asked Corey.
"In the morning," Corey answered.
He then stood up and started to walk from the room. "I'm going to go and see how my mate Joshy is going," he laughed. "Sam's in with him right now. Having some fun with a hot poker, I think," he added.
"That girl is fucked up in the head," Ash laughed along with Corey.
"My favorite type of girl," Corey called out as he exited he room.
Time for some fun, Corey said to himself as he walked down the hall. He could hear the screams echoing down the hall towards him. To him, it was one of the most beautiful sounds known to man kind.
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NEXT CHAPTER: More Corey antics.