Listening to this was horrible.
Her hands held Phil's in a death grip somewhere between frightened and alarmed. It was not a place she wanted to be at, but the truth was they were watching Chow sing his way through a Nine Inch Nails song with such a flat tone. Beside her Stu was mixing the medicine up before dumping it in quickly.
"Is that gonna be enough?" asked Phil looking up to observe Alan who was entranced by Chow's performance.
"Oh, yeah," said Stu. "This will take about a minute to kick in."
A few moments passed as Chow finished and everyone gently clapped, all except Alan. He stood up and clapped the fastest and loudest to show his upmost cheer in the performance. Jess shook her head and eyed Phil nervously.
"Alan, sit down!" he asked Alan as Chow returned to their table. "That was really nice, Chow."
Squeezing her hand, the silence was surprisingly calm as Jess sat there, a fake smile plastered on her face.
"So Mexico, huh?" asked Jess, clearing her throat. "It's very pretty. Lots of culture too. What are you doing down here?"
Chow narrowed his eyes at her before looking at each person in their group. "You know, fucking, doing blow. Same old, same old."
"That's what Phil's been doing too Leslie!" commented Alan happily "He and Jess are exc—"
"Hey Alan, this isn't the place for that," warned Phil lightly patting his arm. "Kay bud!"
Alan let out a nervous laugh before turning his attention back to Chow.
"Ooh, I got into cockfighting!" he said, eyeing Phil and Jess. "You cock fight recently?"
"Oh, cockfighting. That sounds wonderful!" smiled Alan unaware of the internal conversation between Chow and Phil, the latter remaining quiet.
"Basically, been killing it down here."
Stu raised a glass with a wide beam to congratulate Chow's achievements before calling for a toast.
"To killing it!" cheered Stu, his shot glasses raised.
"Killing it," agreed Phil raising his own. Jess took her water and sipped it quietly watching the group.
Chow looked around once more before pausing on his. Taking what seemed seconds to sniff his drink, suddenly he jumped from his chair. Letting out a short scream, Jess held her mouth seeing he had a firm grasp on Stu's neck, a knife against a major artery.
"Shh. Act cool or I open his vein!" warned Chow peering around. "Why you wanna drug poor Chow?"
"No, no!" admitted Phil first. "It's not what you think! There's this guy Marshall—"
"Marshall? How you know that fat fuck?" shouted Chow, applying more pressure to Stu.
"He says you took his gold. He's got Doug!" said Phil holding up his hands. His eyes kept darting from Chow to Stu in rapid succession.
"And Jess was dating his son Jason—"
"Alan!" cried Jess feeling the hurt in his tone. "I was not dating him!"
Waving his hands to stop Jess and Alan's conversation, Phil snapped his fingers getting Chow's attention once more.
"He'll kill him unless we bring you back!" Leaning slightly forward, Phil tried to get Jess away from Chow's reach and to maintain his interest. "Chow! Chow, that's the truth!"
"God damn it! That motherfucker!"
After slamming the knife into the table and releasing Stu, the group let a sigh of relief out before small talk broke out around the guys. Jess sat agitatedly, reaching for Phil's hands and failing. After nearly thirty minutes of silence around the table, Chow instructed the group to leave with him. Walking the short distance to his hideout, she walked several steps back taking in the darkness all around her.
There was something sinister about the place they walked to, but somewhere deep in her mind, a small voice called out to her. Shaking her head, she let out a deep sigh trying to get control of herself. Noticing she was behind Phil paused a moment observing the panicked state. Gathering her in his arms, and returning to the trio, they arrived at the place.
"What is this place, Chow?" asked Phil pointing out the closed curtains on each window. It was a dark, drabby place with blankets over a lot of things. A single low sitting bed sat near the middle of the room which Jess sat on.
"My house," he muttered peeking through one for something. "Chow used to be on top of the world. Had three beautiful homes in three different countries."
He walked over to a model villa, his eyes glowing with glee.
"But this one, my Mexican villa... this was my favorite! And everything got fucked. Chow go to prison, all my property seized. My homes... sold at auction to highest bidders. But I know something no one else knows."
Chow looked up at the group surrounding him and smiled enthusiastically.
"This house is where I stashed the gold," he declared.
"Marshall's gold?" questioned Phil pointing at the model. Looking up at Stu and Jess, it seemed they were getting somewhere finally.
"Hide it inside the basement wall. No one knows it's there. We're gonna go get it," concluded Chow eagerly.
"Wait! You mean break in?" asked Jess holding her hands on moving stomach. "Chow we can't do that!"
"Look, Marshall wants his gold," argued Chow holding his hands up. "And he's gonna hunt me down until he gets it. If we show up without it, he'll kill me."
Smirking, Chow observed her still stance before continuing. Stu even made a motion to speak before he stopped him too. "We're not breaking in anywhere. Not anywhere, Stu. My house. It's a piece of cake. I know every square inch of this place. The best part, the guy we're stealing it from doesn't even know it's there. So, he'll never know it's gone."
Phil shook his head as Jess and Stu shared a look of concern knowing this was suicide. Crossing her arms, she frowned profoundly at Chow. Something felt weird about the villa. A moment later Alan spoke up, breaking the silence, and pointing at the model villa.
"You guys know what's going on, right?" he asked confused.
"What do you mean?" tested Jess tensing up and pushing hair behind her ear.
"Well, and please correct me if I'm wrong – we're not breaking into this house?" Alan was pointing at the model very confused at Phil and Stu. Jess even looked over confused at his question.
"Alan," sighed Jess turning away to rub her stomach as the kicking intensified.
"This house is too small. We're breaking into another house. This is just a model, right?"
Appearing to confirm his own question, he took several steps backward before falling onto a covered crate causing Chow to jump up at him.
"What? Alan, no! My chickens!"
Unexpectedly there was loud boking as several chickens began attacking the group. Alan fell onto their crates several more times before Stu and Phil could help. Screaming and holding onto her face, Jess covered herself in the corner as Stu was struck swiftly. Phil landed on his back with one struggling in his hands as one approached Jess. Kicking at it, she heard Chow shouting at them that the chicken's claws were sharp and trained to kill.
"His beak is so sharp!" shouted Stu holding on carefully. "Ow! Ow!"
A moment later, a single gunshot rang out near Phil's head. Jess looked up and saw Chow holding a pistol, it smoking at the end.
"Oh, fuck!" he bellowed staring at Chow.
"Stay still, I'm trying to help! Fucking bull's-eye!" He laughed after ignoring Phil's protest and nearly striking him several times.
"Are you out of your mind?!" cried Stu grabbing a chicken off Phil and throwing it out the window. Standing, they observed Chow struggling with the last chicken as Jess walked wobbly to Phil. He gathered her affectionately knowing this was terrifying her significantly. Quieting her sobs, he scrutinized Chow as the last chicken was taken care of.
"That was so scary," she mumbled against his chest, her arms wrapped around his torso ignoring Chow's laughs.
dot*
Reaching the villa took too long and the drive was making her very sick. It must be from the lack of water, concluded Jess, as she looked over Stu's arm that held her in place from bouncing about. Granted she was riding in the backseat staring at Chow and Phil. Nausea hitting her with every bump down on this winding road. The rising sun was shining brightly as it rose from the darken sky, illuminating another day. Upward on a steep slope, they paused a moment seeing the villa in the short distance ahead.
"That's some house, Chow," said Phil, a bit of envy in his tone.
"It was my Shangri-La. Now it's gone," he sighed then let out a loud wad of spit onto the floorboard.
"Could you not spit inside my car!" shouted Jess leaning forward and pushing on his shoulder. "Please? Jesus!"
Chow looked at her with angered confusion but turned toward Stu who held his hand up.
"Who lives there new?" he asked pointing at the gate.
"Some dot-com millionaire. He's never here," answered Chow. "This is a vacation home. The help doesn't show up on Sundays. No one there but the guard dogs. Stu?"
Chow got out suddenly making the others follow in suit. He demanded for Stu to get the leftover food as Jess wobbled next to Phil and Alan. Stu had the leftovers in his hands and was injecting the Demerol in the food to toss toward the guard dogs that were staring at them.
"Make sure you put in enough to kill them," said Chow, a devilish grin spreading across his face. Jess looked over seeing the smirk and felt herself beginning to get sick again.
"We're not gonna kill the dogs, Chow," said Stu. "This will knock em out for hours."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you worked for PETA," argued Chow holding his hands up mocking Stu. "What a pussy!"
Stu looked at Phil and Jess before standing up. The three of them watched Chow shoot the front cameras and instructed them to throw the food over to the dogs. Opening the gate to the sprawling property, they drove in quietly before reaching a side door. Taking her time to get out, the guys were talking loudly as she felt her phone ringing. Ignoring it, she found herself staring at the guys wondering what they were discussing. Gathering herself, she noticed the guys had disappeared around a pillar before the phone rang again.
Silencing it, Jess sat up again, rubbed her stomach. Exiting the vehicle, she walked over to the group when something caught her eye. Listening to Chow's instructions once more, she walked over to the bay window peering inside. There were multiple things of interest, but two baseballs and an old, tattered football sat on a long pillow nearest the window under a glass case. They were turned away but the baseball on her right appeared older and weathered than the other. She could vaguely make out red and blue on the icon labels before Chow's booming voice took her attention.
"Okay, here's the deal. Two security panels inside. If you cut only one wire, it triggers alarm. Place will be crawling with cops. But if you cut wire on both panels at same time, alarm disabled," he explained holding his hands out toward the group.
"Yeah, but how are we gonna get inside without tripping the alarm?" asked Phil crossing his arms, eyeing the man closely as Jess walked up beside him. Chow looked down and struck his leg out activating the doggy door.
"Any more stupid questions?" he smiled at them before standing tall once more. "Now who's coming with me?"
Phil and Jess shared a look of concern before Alan stepped up confidently.
"I'll do it."
Jess let out a small giggle but hid it behind her hand. Phil hushed her before smiling in agreement.
"You wanna tell him?"
Chow looked at Stu for support before smiling at Alan.
"Oh, um... Alan, you're just too fat."
Alan stared at them a moment before nodding and stepping back for Stu to get into position to wrestle his way. Phil and Alan waited quietly as Jess walked around in place rubbing her stomach once more. The baby was very active now and the pressure on her back was unbearable. The walking was helping but Alan's constant questions were becoming annoying.
"Jess, do you need to sit down? This isn't hurting the baby, is it? I mean Phil being the father would give him or her flare but—" he randomly said.
"What the fuck's taking them so long?" muttered Phil as he peered in the windows several times.
"— Your baby is going to be just the most amazing child beside Jack of course –"
"Alan, please stop. I have a bad migraine," she asked kindly rubbing her head. Phil looked over a moment before turning back to look for Chow and Stu. A moment later, he started up again toward Phil this time.
"Where'd you get that shirt? The Diesel store?" he asked, trying to get Phil's attention. "Phil!"
"What?" he mumbled, turning in place. Pushing his head back, he threw his hands to his side.
"It's a cute top. Where did you get that shirt?"
"…" Phil simply stared at him as did Jess.
"Where'd you get it?" insisted Alan taking a step closer.
"I don't know. I'll find out, I'll get you one."
Jess leaned against the window observing the uncomfortable environment caused by Alan's questions before the man stepped too close reaching for Phil's elbow making him flinch.
"What's the matter with you?" he mumbled and took several steps away from Alan.
There was more yelling in the house before Stu walked out the door nearest them. He was visibly sweating and following Chow's fingers toward them.
"All good?" asked Phil.
"Easy peasy," smiled Chow with a little clap. "All right."
"You have no idea."
Jess eyed Stu and followed him to the villa's door behind Chow. They entered a short hall which opened to a collection of items including the baseballs and football she saw first. Veering off a moment, she stopped to see them closer, catching sight of the names Royals and Cardinals listed on the cards. The football listed a Franco Harris name before she was called over drawing her away. To her left, Chow pushed his way into a boar head stature and made it scattered on the ground purposely. Sharply turning, she looked over seeing he picked up a football helmet with a star on it. He threw it at another glass object making it scatter too.
"Whoops," he said singsong like as they made their way through the room.
"Jesus, be careful, Chow!" said Phil as he looked around noticing the items too. Several of them appeared as collectors across several different sports from the baseball balls, the football jerseys and banners, and a tall bookshelf took Jess and Phil's attention as they stopped. Nestled at eye level was the complete collection of Mark Twain.
"Fuck this guy," shouted Chow once more. "Living in my house! Living my life!"
Phil picked up one book out randomly as another item was scattered by Chow. Opening it briefly a piece of paper fell out. Bending down, they saw the nice handwriting and a big heart next to the name Lillian.
"A present for you on your 13th birthday! Love Mama," he read from the note. Looking at one another a moment, he returned the note and sat it back in place before Chow could destroy it.
"Can we just stick to the plan?" demanded Stu holding his hands out to stop Chow.
"Fine," said Chow. He picked up an axe from the fallen amour suit and threw it quickly at a large painting. Letting out a giggling laugh, he finally disappeared from the group toward the kitchen.
"He is completely out of control," muttered Stu looking at Phil for support. Jess and Alan simply stared at the damage caused by Chow in the destroyed collectibles.
"Let's just get this done," mumbled Phil taking Jess and leading everyone toward Chow.
"This way. Come on, come on!" called Chow from the kitchen. Everyone watched as he opened the cellar door, and the guys took several careful steps down. Whispering for her to stay put, Phil went down last. Dramatically, Chow swung a nearby sledgehammer and barely hit the wall even once.
"It's so heavy. Do we have a lighter one?" he panted, turning toward the group. The sledgehammer appeared quite heavy, but Jess couldn't make out much in the dimly lit room.
"Why don't you just let me do it, Chow?" offered Phil holding his hand out.
"Okay. Either way, you or me. Same thing."
Jess watched as he took a firm grip and moved in place. Phil struck the wall a few times when Chow told them that he should remove his shirt. Pausing, he eyed her, and there was a certain look of disdain and annoyance across his face.
"Makes it easier," motioned Chow pointing at his shirt.
"I've heard that too," added Alan pointing back at Jess. "I'm sure Jess wouldn't mind. She's seen it many times."
"Shut up Alan," muttered Jess folding her arm.
Yes, she's seen his naked body many times, but this was neither the time nor place for either of them to wonder such thoughts. Befuddled by their comments, Phil slowly turned back and powered through the hits until finally, after several minutes, broke through the initial bricks. Sitting the sledgehammer down, he was breathing heavily as he rested a moment on his knees. Looking up, he wiped his brow motioning for her to stay at the top of the stairs when she attempted to walk down. They were quite steep, and she could tell he was trying to look out for her best interest. Jogging out to unlock the vehicle hatch, she heard the guys begin to unload the gold, their heaving breaths telling how heavy the bars were. Dragging the bags over to the door once filled, she sighed after taking a deep breath before taking a quick walk through the villa.
Jess stood still a moment longer seeing a small brass colored ring sitting on the floor. It had landed after Chow threw it across the room scattering its protective case. She could tell by the size of the ring, it belonged to a man. The lining read Kansas City Chiefs World Champions and was dated 1969 on the small edges. The dark ruby red background was partially covered by a football shaped diamond.
Picking the ring up, her mind raced as uneven gasps escaped her. Standing tall, she glanced closely at the destroyed items around her. Eyeing the Mark Twain collection and the several Missouri sports teams memorabilia, she felt her heart drop into her stomach. Securing the ring into her pocket, her eyes fell onto a medium-sized family portrait of a smiling couple with a small child in their lap. The man in the photo had warm brown hair, a mischievous smile laying across his cheeks, and had a definite older face with few laugh lines. The woman, on the other hand, appeared very young, but the delight in the child looking at her was obvious. Her hair was styled as Farrah Fawcett's, with the bright wispy blonde strands standing against the dark tones of their clothing. It was swept back a bit as the child's hand was dangerously close. The most of her devotion was to smile for the photographer along with the man, but it was the child that captured Jess's focus most.
Based on the attire, she assumed this photo was from the late 80s, maybe the early 90s. However, the child wore a light blue button up shirt, his feet kicked up in delight, and a wide smile behind curled blonde hair. He wore a big cherub grin showing deep dimples that would form laugh lines her mind filled in suddenly. Looking into the child's face, Jess felt the heat rise in her cheeks and her eye widened as the child changed into the man he would become. The innocent smile turned into something sinister, and this made her take a step back, her hand against a pounding heartbeat.
No, her mind shrieked, this is bad! This is really bad!
The child was cheerfully grinning, but it was a smile that Jess recognized too well. The blond hair wouldn't be curled later in life, but those bright emerald green eyes told her everything. Realizing what they were doing, she ran over to the cellar door finding Chow slamming the door close, locking it in place with a loud giggle. When he turned around, she rounded on him, begging him to open the door.
"CHOW YOU FUCKING LIAR! YOU TRICKED US!" she screamed trying to reach the door. "YOU COCKLESS PRICK! NONE OF THIS IS YOURS!"
"They had it coming. All this time! I will make them pay!"
Jess grabbed for the last bag on his shoulder, but the smaller man had strength that surprised her. Chow struggled a moment before raising a hand and slapped her across the face. Slipping, she fell backward onto the door leading down to the guys before her vision blurred as he walked closer to her once more.
"Chow take everything. Even you."
The last thing she saw before closing her eyes and feeling her head slump forward, was Chow reaching for her arms to stand.
dot*
Chow was smiling at the door as they looked up.
"You got everything? Triple checked?" he asked, worry on his face.
"Yes, that's everything," said Phil holding his hips a moment wondering where Jess went. She had been right by the door last he looked, but her absence concerned him.
"Good," laughed Chow before he slammed the door shut. There was a pause and then a loud scream emitted from the other side of the door. Though muffled, they could hear Jess screaming at Chow about something as Stu ran up the stairs quickly rattling the door.
"Chow?" he shouted, shaking the door handle firmly. A moment later a heavy thud knocked on the door and silence came from the other side. Quietly he thought he could make out Chow talking but nothing after a few seconds.
"Chow? Chow!" shouted Stu, beginning to bang on the door.
Phil ran up and pounded on the door calling for Chow and Jess.
"Chow, open this fucking door right now! Chow! Jess! Open the damn door!"
What felt like forever, the booming security system alarm rang out suddenly making Phil stop, his hands frozen in place. Alan was covering his ears as it was blaring so loud. Sitting down on the steps, Phil and Stu looked at each other knowing what had happened.
Chow had betrayed them, and Jess was not there either. Greatly concerned for her well-being but also for their child, he felt himself shaking as he sat. It worried Phil because he thought he heard her screaming Chow was a liar. Did she figure something out while in the villa? Worry began to set in everyone as they sat there quietly waiting.
dot*
"Stuart Price. No felonies. One arrest. Las Vegas, Nevada."
"Phil Wenneck. No felonies. Two arrests. Los Angeles, California and… also Las Vegas, Nevada"
"Alan Garner—"
The officer looked up after reviewing their files taking pause of each of the men before him.
"Is this record accurate?" he asked sighed deeply handing over Alan's large file. Taking it, he began looking through it quietly, his eyes showing confirmation of the actions.
"Uh-huh…. I did that. Mm-hm…. Yeah…. Masturbating on a city bus. Yep, that was me."
Phil looked over impatiently at the officer who surveyed them each.
"Look, we've been here for 5 hours. We already told your guys everything," he stated wrapping his fingers together. "Besides we are missing my fiancée and mother of my child too."
"No," started the officer. "You told them a story about a little Chinese man. There was no mention of a woman or child earlier. A bad way to begin fatherhood Señor."
Phil felt his heartbeat faster, trying to think back if any of them mentioned Jess. It would appear they hadn't but still it worried him. She could be anywhere, either still at the villa or Lord forbid with Chow, wherever the hell that was.
"Leslie Chow. He's an international criminal. Look it up," muttered Stu folding his hands in defense to their situation.
"A little Chinese man that no one in town has seen or heard of. The hotel where you say he's staying? No one there."
"Probably because he left town," mumbled Phil laying his head down on the table. This was taking too long. The longer they spent here, the further Jess could be and the more danger she was in….
"That's one theory," confirmed the officer once more holding his hands up. "Another theory is that you're lying,"
Suddenly Alan let out a deep belly laugh. "Lewd behavior, Cracker Barrel, Christmas Eve."
A soft knock came from the door as a female officer called for the male officer before them. The man stood up excusing himself and closed the door behind him.
Sitting back in his seat, Phil looked at his companions knowing they fucked up somewhere but was unsure where. Stu was mumbling under his breath about their safety and being deported back to States or about how Doug or Jess could be killed for their recklessness. Alan was still reading over his criminal history.
"Where the hell is she?" he asked out loud rubbing his face.
"She was outside the door the whole time. I saw her walk off toward that trophy room a few times," added Stu folding his hands in his lap. "She was outside the cellar."
"Jess should have stayed with Tracey and Lauren! She is pregnant and I only seem to put her life in more danger!"
Slamming his hands on the table, he stood up, briskly walking in a small circle.
"Phil, she's fine and can take care of herself," said Stu turning in place resting an arm on his chair's back
"Stu, you don't get it man," began Phil resting his hands on the back of the open seat. "Jason Marshall is a criminal just like his father. Jess had told me after learning about his identity that he has killed people before without remorse and he will do anything to get her back at all costs. If that means blackmailing her about Doug or any of us, Jess will cave. She isn't strong like that, like we are. I've got to protect her, and I failed! I failed her when you got married in Thailand, I failed her by letting her go with him to San Diego! And I've failed her now!"
Stu looked up, a small smile forming at the awareness of Phil's understanding and concern for Jess.
"She's fine. Don't doubt her. You can't be her shining knight all the time."
"She is who fucking knows, and I don't know if my wife and child are safe!"
Phil plead with them, trying to make them understand. He cared about the situation they were in, but more so about Jess, and Stu completely understood that. Nodding at his friend, Phil threw the chair back and sat down again.
"Why would Mr. Chow do this?" Alan asked quietly, sitting his file down. There was definite look of desperation on his expression.
"Because he's a greedy piece of shit who used us," answered Phil looking at his hands.
"Yeah, but he's our friend," he said innocently.
Phil and Stu looked at him, internally becoming enraged. "Oh. Grow up, Alan," he spat out. "Our friend has put all our families in complete danger. Jack risks losing all his family because of our friend. His mother and uncle could get killed because of Marshall and our friend."
Alan quietly looked down seeing his point clearly. He was visibly upset by the proclamation but a moment later the male officer returning saying they could leave.
"All the charges have been dropped," he said holding the door open.
"By who?" questioned Stu, standing up and eyeing Phil with concern.
"It's your lucky day," added the officer before leading them out the entrance door they were brought in through. "There's a car waiting for you out front."
The front doors opened and there revealed a long limo sitting out front waiting. The driver was standing by the back door and opened it for the group.
"What is this?" asked Phil after Alan and Stu got in.
"Get in the car," demanded the officer pointing at the driver.
"Excuse me, sir? Where we headed?"
But the door slammed shut in front of him before he received an answer.