Authors note. All persons entirely fictional. I started this tale, and just followed where it led me. I probably ended up somewhere I was not expecting, but then that's all part of it.
"It's me. I need you to listen. Don't interrupt. I fucked up, and I'm in trouble...I'm sorry babe, I...I don't know what to say, I can explain later, but right now I need you to get home quick, pack a bag, and meet me at the station ok. Can you do that for me?"
"Is this for real? Are you fucking serious Dan, what did you do?"
"No time for that, please just do as I ask, I promise to explain when I see you, be quick."
"But what about work? I can't just walk out."
"For fucks sake Jen, tell them something urgent's come up, I mean, it ain't a lie...please Jen, I need your help."
The phone went dead.
"Dan? Dan? You still there? DAN?"
Jen was out of her fucking mind with worry at the possibilities of what Dan had done, that made him so scared, that meant they had to leave somewhere in a hurry by the sounds of it.
She told her boss she had to go, family emergency, someone had been injured and was in hospital (hoping that her lie didn't become a truth). Then she ran out of the door, and drove home like a lunatic, breaking multiple traffic laws in the process.
She burst in through the front door, ran upstairs and grabbed a bag from the closet and hastily started throwing clothes into it.
Then she heard it. A ringing phone. It was on the nightstand on Dan's side of the bed; she hadn't seen it in her panic. She knew it wasn't Dan's. She had never seen it before.
Tentatively, she approached the phone, and noted there was no caller ID on its face, but it continued to ring loudly, insistent, like it knew she was there and was stalling.
She snatched it up and said almost in a whisper. "Hello, who is this?"
A distorted, robotic sounding voice replied. "If you want to see your husband again, or if you don't want him hurt, then you need to follow my instructions."
"Wh...what the fuck do you mean? Who the fuck are you...what the fu..."
"Shut the fuck up bitch and listen...not another fucking word or he gets a slap...you hear me?"
She just nodded, even though she couldn't be seen, or so she thought, too afraid to utter another word, but it seemed whoever it was got the message.
"OK...your old man has been a very bad boy, and he owes some very nasty people an awful lot of money."
"Now, it seems he can't pay us back what he took, so we have suggested an alternative arrangement to remind him that it's not wise to mess with us, something that will hurt him good and remind him not to fuck us over, otherwise there are consequences. And this involves you."
"Me...ho..how? How do I know you have him...how do I know this is real?"
"Hang up. I'll FaceTime you back."
She complied and within seconds the FaceTime feature lit up. She answered and was faced with Dan tied to a chair, with a few cuts and bruises obvious on his face. He appeared to be in some old warehouse.
She gasped..."Dan, Dan you okay baby, what have they done to you?"
"Jen, don't do what they ask ok, leave me, don't get involved....I can't let you get hurt for my fuck up."
For that he got a punch to the gut, making him double over and cough and splutter.
"Stop, stop, leave him alone you bastard."
"Oooh Danny boy, she's a feisty one, I'm going to enjoy her."
"What? What did you say?" Demanded Jen.
"I'm going to text you some instructions. You follow them all precisely and everything is going to be fine. Do not go to the Police. Trust me we will know. The phone is a burner, but keep hold of it until you get here."
"Here, where is here?"
"All in the instructions, and do not be late, or he gets knocked about more for every minute you are."
The screen went blank. Seconds later a message came through and it chilled her to the bone. She began to realise what their payment would be. Her.
She had serious doubts about this, but what choice did she have? She loved Dan. She couldn't leave him to get beaten to a pulp. Or worse. Despite her conflict she decided she had to comply, and hoped that once there, if she could figure out what he'd done, what he owed, that perhaps she could reason with them, work something else out as payment. It's all she had.
She read the instructions again.
1. Dress sexily. Provocatively. Sexy lingerie. You need to look like a whore.
2. Come to this address. Alone. I remind you again we will know if you try anything.
3. The Old Cannery, Bucktown - use Google.
4. You have 2 hours to get here before the beatings start.
5. Bring the phone so we can track you / keep in contact if needed.