*I can't tell you what Paradise is like, but I'll know it when I see it*
The first moment I realized I was in trouble there was a van door sliding open and a man in a ski mask holding a submachine gun came out at me. The van cut off my forward progress and another car hemmed me in from behind.
"Open the door and slide over!" the man yelled at me. That barrel looked awful big so I did as I was told. When he got in he commanded that I handcuff myself and put on a black hood. After that, we drove around, parked somewhere then I was transferred to the van and driven around even more. I had no idea where I was.
I was aware that I was hungry and thirsty. When I asked for water, they shoved something hard into my stomach and told me to shut up. After that all I could do was pay attention to what was going on around me and hoped that any background noises might give me a clue as to where I was. Of course, I prayed that I would live to see my Mother again as well.
They weren't after me. I'm an only child, my Father died when I was nine, and my Mother does cutting edge research for a genetics lab. They didn't really want money; they wanted something from my Mother. Being seen as a bargaining chip didn't do much for my self-esteem. Believing that my Mother may not be able to do whatever it was she was asked to do didn't make me feel any better either.
I soon figured out there were four kidnappers. The first two were the Professionals. They were a husband/wife team that pretty much thought together and worked things out quickly and efficiently. I didn't learn too much about them because they didn't talk too much and when they did it was in hushed tones. They really didn't have much to do with me once I was in the safe house. I called them Joker and Harley.
The other two I labeled the Expendables. The male of the bunch was a brutish thug who delighted in coming over to me and telling me that he was going to shove a grenade up my ass if Mom didn't come through. When I asked him what he was trying to get he hit me. I took that to mean he didn't know and that the professionals didn't trust him with the information. I didn't blame them. Sadly, I think this sick psychopath would be the one to kill me. He was the Thug.
The other expendable didn't talk much, which was mainly because she was the 'step-and-fetch-it' of the group. Everything was 'slut' this and 'you slut' that. Even the professionals despised her. With their continuous need to repeat themselves around her I got the impression she wasn't too bright. She also must have had the self-worth of a mouse. She was the Punching Bag.
Soon enough I had to do the whole 'Proof of Life' thing and the professionals headed out to get the ransom. I figured that would be the last we would see of them too. I told Thug as much and he went nuts on me. Then he went nuts on the professionals. I heard guns cock and a deathly silence. Finally the Professionals agreed to take the Expendables with them.
Harley 'suddenly' realized that someone needed to stay with me, the hostage, because somehow I was going to bust out of the handcuffs restraining me to the chair and bolt for freedom. I felt my Hulk coming on. Seriously, I thought that my wrists would snap before the wood in the chair would. I had no intention of running away.
I kept mum on that fact because I knew what was coming. Thug in his brilliance decided that the Punching Bag should stay with me until they got back. Since I was pretty sure that the only thing the Thug was going to get was a bullet to the back of the head and I would never see the Professionals again, I decided to take my chances with the Punching Bag.
I sat back and waited. I asked the Punching Bag for something to drink so she brought me a soda. I reminded her that I couldn't open it with my teeth but if she would un-cuff me I would gladly do it myself. She opted to open it for me because she was afraid of her 'brother' (Thug?). I nearly choked to death before she realized that I couldn't take the whole thing in one gulp.
Next I asked for some music, or something to listen to. She cut on the TV because, you know, I wanted to stare at the black hood fabric on my head during the Wheel of Fortune. I asked her to take off my hood so I could watch TV with her. She thought it over. Five minutes later she asked me to repeat the question because she'd forgotten what it was. I gave up.
The show was pre-empted by news of a shootout at a local mall. It seems three criminals had duked it out with dozens of cops who just happened to be on the scene. The van the criminals were in had exploded for some unknown reason. What do you know; the Thug really did have a hand grenade. The Punching Bag watched it happen, watched it happen again, then suddenly burst into hysterics.
"Oh God! My Brother is dead. What am I going to do?"
"Let me go and I can help you," I offered.
"No, I can't do that. They will be pissed with me when they get back if I do that." Duh?
"They aren't coming back. They are crispy critters at the mall," I persisted.
"Oh ... we'll I can't let you go because they will be angry."
"I think we have established that they won't be angry with you if you only unmask me," I said, changing tact.
"Oh, alright then, if you don't think they will be angry." I really had no answer to that.
She took off my hood and I blink hard due to the sudden light. As my eyes adjusted I began to think something was wrong with them. I blink again and I'm certain that it wasn't my eyes. This girl was a bombshell; fucking gorgeous, whatever else you want to call it. Bending over facing me, I could look from her crystal blue eyes all the way down to her tits of mythical proportions. At this time I would like to point out the biggest reason that men work out is to see women in sports bras.
"Are you okay?" she asked me with total innocence and the first thing that occurred to me is this girl is about to be doing twenty-to-life in some lesbian correctional facility being DP'ed by some bull-dyke named Ethel and her buddies.
"I'm okay. Are you hungry?" I inquired. She looked at me, processing the information.
"Sure," she smiled.
"Where do you want to go to?"
"Chucky Cheese?" she suggested to which I nodded.
"Let's go," I smiled. I moved my arms to remind her that I was secured to the chair. "A little help here?"
She pulled out the key and unlocked the cuffs. I looked at the gun in her waistband. It was big β a .44 or .40; I'm not a big guy. I could have taken it then and that would've been that. She had this open trusting look in her eyes.
"You may want to keep the gun on me," I hinted. She looked confused. "I'm your kidnap victim?"
"Oh! Yes, thanks. Hold on," she said as she pulled out the gun and pointed it at me.
"Well, I think you partners are going to be busy for a while, but the cops might be able to trace them back here so we should go," I told her. She bobbed her head.