Seven Days Ch. 08

A few seconds later she heard a door open. She looked to the far corner of the room and saw a man approaching. He was dressed in all black, including a ski mask over his head.

"Good morning, love," the man said with a thick Irish accent. "Glad to see you awake. Now we can finally get down to business."

He walked over to her and gently pulled the duct tape from her mouth. Victoria stretched her aching jaw. She lifted her body up and swung her legs over the edge of the cot.

"What do you want?" Victoria asked, shakily. The man slowly swept his eyes over her body and bare legs. "I want what any red blooded bloke would want," he said, as he stepped closer to her. "Money."

Another man soon entered the room, dressed similarly. "Hey, do you want the phone now?" this one asked, with an American accent.

"Yes, I would. Thank you," the other man answered, still staring at Victoria. "So, here's how this is going to work. I'm going to call your husband, and you are going to demand, oh, something simple. Just five hundred grand from him, and I'll hop on and make the pickup and drop off arrangements. Sound like a plan, love?"

Husband? Victoria was so confused and scared, and she was pretty sure whatever they had drugged her with, was still making her loopy. Were they mistaking her for someone else? "I don't know what you're talking about," said, as she focused in on the green eyes behind the mask.

"So...you're going to play that game, Victoria," the guy said.

"I—I'm not playing with you. I'm not married and I don't know why I'm here. I don't know what you want? Did Sonny send you?"

His stance made him look unconvinced. "And you're lying because...?"

"I'm not lying!" Victoria shouted, then quickly lowered her voice. "Who are you?"

"I'm Moe, that's Larry, and Curly is downstairs with a gun, so don't try anything silly, like running away, because we will catch you," he said. "So, now that introductions are out of the way, how about we make you a little more comfy before we call your old man. He quickly pulled out a switch blade, causing Victoria to jump. He placed the blade at the top of her leg and slowly slid the smooth side down the inside of her thigh and down her legs until he reached her ankles. He cut the tape and removed the remnants. "There, that's better. Easier access," he said, as he grabbed her ankle. Victoria tried to kick him, but he grabbed both her legs and pulled her off of the cot and onto his lap, straddling him. Victoria tried to push him off, but her hands were still tied.

Victoria screamed, "Don't you fucking touch me!"

"Not to worry, love. We can have fun later, but business right now. Tell me your husband's number," he said, pulling out a cell phone.

Victoria wasn't sure what the hell to do or who he expected her to call.

"I don't know who you want me to call," she said again, right as his hand came smacking across her face. Victoria felt as though her head had exploded. All she could feel was the sharp stinging imprint left from his hand. She slowly turned back towards him with daggers in her eyes.

"I hope you got the message. Now stop fucking with me and give me his number!" he shouted, causing her to flinch.

Victoria wasn't sure what to do or say. Maybe he thought she was married to Nic, and that's what this was about. She didn't want Nic to be hurt because of her, but if she didn't give them something, they might kill her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but I don't know who you want me to call," she said, flinching again, anticipating the hit.

*****************

Antonio and Eddie stood waiting inside Nic's office. Ever since he had gotten the call from Jimmy, he hadn't said a word. He walked outside and stood facing out toward the back. It wasn't until Jimmy had called Eddie to explain everything, that they understood Nic's mood. He hadn't moved from that position in over twenty minutes. He could have been a marble statue. One very tense, marble statue.

"Maybe one of us should go check on him," Antonio said to Eddie.

"Why, are you volunteering yourself," Eddie answered.

"Um, I'm the newest one to the organization...and I'm pretty sure if I walked over there, he'd toss my ass over the balcony," Antonio said, gazing over at Nic's still form.

"I saw him do that once."

"What?!" Antonio said, jerking his head back to Eddie. He had to be kidding.

Eddie sighed, "I'll go."

He walked outside onto the balcony and carefully over to Nic. Eddie stood side by side with him and turned to look at Nic's profile.

"Nic, I'm sure she's okay. Look, if someone took her, it's to get at you, right? Well, if that's so, they will want to show you they have her. They're not going to hurt her...at least not until they show themselves," Eddie said, turning to look out at the back yard too.

Nic didn't say anything, he just continued to stare out. Eddie leaned against the marble railing. A few more moments of silence passed before Eddie heard Nic speak.

"Do you believe in karma?" Nic asked.

Eddie shook his head. "Nic, you know I'm too logical for that."

"Yeah, that's what I used to think. But now, I'm not so sure. It's like every sin I ever committed is coming back on me tenfold, but it's using the only woman I've ever wanted to make a life with. That I've ever fallen in love with--the only one...that has to be karma."

Nic's world was crumbling right before his eyes. This was all happening because of him. Victoria hadn't done a damn thing wrong—this was all him. And Sonny, or whoever this was, had him right where they wanted him. He would do or give up anything for her. For the first time in his life, he felt the cold sting of defeat and heartache.

BUT Nic knew it wasn't in his nature to go down without a fight. Whoever had the balls to do this...didn't realize what they had done. They had unleashed the demon within him, and there wasn't a single place the culprit could hide.

And just like that, a switch had flipped inside of Nic. He turned around and marched back inside his office.

"Get every contact we have on the streets, and see if they've seen Sonny. Tell them I'll offer a generous reward for whoever has the correct location," he said to Antonio. "Eddie, get the tracking kit in case anyone calls and touch base with Jimmy and make sure he has questioned everyone near the spot of Victoria's disappearance."

********************

"What's taking so long?" the American asked, walking closer to Victoria. "Why won't she give you the number?"

The Irishman continued to stare at her. He walked over to a desk and pulled out a small piece of paper. He walked back over to her and held a black and white photo of her inside Calamity's. "Is this not you?" he said in a sarcastic tone.

Victoria looked up from the photo. "Yes, but I'm not married."

"Right, and I suppose you're going to tell me your husband's not a wealthy banker. You know, I didn't want to do this the hard way, but you leave me no choice," he said, pulling out his blade. Victoria knew she had to think quickly.

"Wait! Wait...I, um...think about it. If I were some rich man's wife, why would I be working as a waitress? Look at the photo, I'm in my uniform," Victoria said.

The two men exchanged quick glances, and then looked down at the photo. The American scratched his head, as the Irishman kneeled down beside her.

"This photo could have been taken before you married him," he said.

"I'm not married! I only have a boyfriend, and his name is Nic Andretti," Victoria yelled, feeling her options running out.

"What the fu—who did she say?" the American asked.

"Bullshyte," the Irishman said, standing up.

So...they had heard of Nic.

"Nic Andretti. I'm his girlfriend," Victoria announced, as the tables began to turn on this whole twisted deal.

"The fucking mob boss?! Shit man, what the fuck did you get me into?!" the American shouted at the other man.

"Keep your fucking voice down! And besides, she's lying," the Irishman said, staring at Victoria.

"I can give you his number if you don't believe me," Victoria said.

"Fine. I'll call your bluff," he said, opening the cell phone. "What's the number?" Victoria gave it to him and he dialed. As soon as it started ringing, he roughly grabbed her chin and got within an inch of her face. "If you're lying to me, I will slowly cut you inch by fucking inch until you bleed to death. Got me?"

Victoria swallowed and began to shake. She wished she could close her eyes and disappear. Even though the phone was next to his ear, she could hear it ringing. 'Please Nic, pick up the phone,' Victoria prayed.

********************

Nic was in the middle of dialing another contact when his cell began to ring. He didn't recognize the number, but perhaps Antonio had gotten through to someone who had some information. He answered it.

"Yes?"

"Is this Nic Andretti?" a muffled voice asked.

"Yes. Who's this?" he asked, before the phone went dead. Nic felt a cold chill travel up his spine. He quickly snapped his fingers at Eddie, who had fallen asleep on the couch. Eddie hopped up and rushed over to Nic's desk.

"Pull the last number back up and track it. That motherfucker just called me. I know it's whoever has Victoria," Nic stated.

Eddie grabbed the cell phone. "Okay, but you have to get him to talk for at least twenty seconds." Nic nodded.

******************

"Well?" the American asked in a worried tone, looking at the other man, who slowly lowered the phone from his ear. "Was it him?!"

The Irishman subtly nodded his head.

The American threw his hands up in the air. "Oh great! Just fucking perfect!! Oh man, I didn't sign up for this! I didn't sign up to fuck with the mob, Jesus Christ, man!"

"Calm the fuck down and let me think!" the other hollered back.

"I'm not going to calm down! Get that rat bastard who set this up on the phone and find out what the hell he's trying to pull," the American screamed.

"Why don't you shut the fuck up and let me--," the Irishman said, before his phone started ringing. All three of them stared at it.

"Should we answer it," the American asked in a frightened tone.

The Irishman slowly brought the phone back up to his ear and clicked the talk button.

"Put Victoria on the phone now," Nic growled out.

"I don't know what--"

"Put her on the fucking phone!" Nic yelled, squeezing his cell phone. After a few moments of silence, he heard some background noise and then the sweetest voice in the world.

"Nic?" Victoria asked.

"Baby, are you okay?" he asked, closing his eyes.

"Yes, I think so. Nic, I'm scared," she whispered to him.

"I know, I know baby. But listen to me, no one is going to hurt you. Say okay if there are less than five men."

"Okay," Victoria said.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I love you and I'll find you. Put him back on," Nic requested. When he heard the man breathing through the line again, Nic closed his eyes.

"Now that you know who I am, know that I won't be contacting the police. The best you can hope for is to let her go, leave town as fast as you can, and pray I can't find you. But if you make this even more difficult...you're dead. I WILL find you and no amount of negotiating or money is going to keep me from torturing you and then killing you. Pass that message along to whoever you're working with," Nic said, and hung up the phone.

"Got him. He's about three hours northwest of here, at this address," Eddie said, writing it down.

Nic called Jimmy. "I got her location. Tell Harry to get the plane ready, and call Damon. I might need his help. Have a car waiting for us when we get there. I'm sending you the address now...she's only about forty minutes from you, but hang tight until we get there."

"You got it, Nic. See you in a bit," Jimmy said, before he hung up the phone.

Nic turned to Antonio, "We leave in five minutes. I hope you've learned to shoot that gun," Nic said, as he walked out of the office.

Antonio took a deep breath. Oh, fuck.

*****************

The one with the Irish accent quickly stepped away from Victoria, and left the room. The other one followed after him, asking him what Nic had said. When they closed the door, Victoria felt her whole body shake. She had been that close to death. But Nic said they wouldn't hurt her and that he would find her. She laid back down on the cot and stared at the ceiling. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten or drunk anything, but she was sure nothing would go down anyway. Her stomach couldn't handle it.

Victoria heard shouting, but she could only make out certain words. Whoever the Irishman was talking to, he was screaming at, telling the person that they had backstabbed him. He mentioned something about Nic and there not being a banker, and they had been set up.

Victoria closed her eyes, so she could concentrate on hearing the rest of what the Irishman was saying. "I took the gag off because I wanted the phone number—I don't care what you told me not to do—get your ass here! Hello? Hello?!" she heard him yell. Then it sounded as though he smashed something. A few minutes later, the two of them rushed back in.

"I say we just drop her off at the closest stop, and get the hell out of here. We were obviously set up. I mean, that's his girlfriend, dude! What the fuck, he's going to kill us!" the American shouted.

The Irishman grabbed him by the shirt. "You're getting excited again. Shut up!"

The American finally calmed down. He sat on Victoria's cot and placed his head in his hands. If Victoria didn't despise them so much, she'd actually feel a little sorry for him at least. He obviously had gotten in way over his head, when he thought it would be a simple cash reward. But now Victoria was even more confused. So...someone had set these guys up into thinking they were kidnapping a banker's wife? Who would go through all that trouble? Victoria could think of one person, but for Paul's sake, she hoped it wasn't his son.

*****************

Paul was asleep when Remy came into his room and handed him the phone.

"Sir, I think you'll want to take this call."

Paul quickly sat up on his bed. "Thank you," he said to Remy, before the young man walked out.

Paul put the phone to his ear. "Sonny?"

"Hey Pop! Word around town is that you were looking for me? What's up?"

"Where the HELL are you?

"I'm somewhere."

"I just got word that Victoria was missing. Please, PLEASE tell me that has nothing to do with you."

"That has nothing to do with me," Sonny answered flatly.

"Are you telling me the truth? I can only protect you if you are honest with me."

"I'm telling you the truth, Pop. I didn't even know she was missing. Nic must be a wreck, huh?" Sonny said.

"I'm sure he thinks you are behind this," Paul sighed. "I'll meet you in a safe place so we can figure out what our next step will be. I've already warned him about targeting you."

"Maybe Victoria ran away. I wouldn't blame her, he's a little crazy," Sonny said with a laugh.

"It's not funny. She didn't run away, and she doesn't deserve this. If it weren't for our disagreement regarding you, I'd be out there helping him look for her."

Sonny scoffed. "Pop, I'm sure it's nothing. And when Victoria turns up, he'll probably be so glad to have her back, that none of this will matter," Sonny said, as if he were bored with the whole situation.

Paul exhaled. "Obviously son, you've never been in love. I would have ripped down the fucking walls of every building and house searching for your mother if something like this happened. And then, anyone responsible would no longer be breathing. You don't think Nic feels the same? Trust me, he does, and this is going to get worse before it gets better, I'm afraid."

******************

On the plane with Nic were Antonio, Raymond and his friend, Damon. Damon was a huge guy, ex-Navy SEAL who cashed in big checks with bounty hunting. Nic had employed him several times over the years. He was a trustworthy guy who could kill a man with his bare hands, and proudly bragged about that fact.

The four of them stepped off the small plane and into the vehicle that was waiting for them. Antonio glanced over at Nic. He seemed calm, but Antonio couldn't be sure. Nic never really showed much emotion. At least not to him, but Antonio was freaking out. He felt constricted in the bullet proof vest he was wearing. And the handgun he held felt like it weighed a ton.

"Stop the car," Antonio whispered. They all ignored him. "Stop the car, I'm going to be sick," Antonio yelled, as he opened his car door. Raymond slammed on the brakes. Antonio hopped out and vomited on the ground. He quickly wiped his mouth, and got back into the car.

"Sorry," he whispered to Nic. But Nic said nothing. He just rolled two bullets in between his fingers and stared forward through the windshield.

A few minutes later, they pulled up to an abandoned house, hidden from the street. Jimmy was there, waiting. They all got out of the vehicles and separated, surrounding the house.

*****************

The American was leaning against the wall, now that his nerves weren't so frazzled. But the Irishman was pacing back and forth, checking his phone every few minutes, to make sure it was still working. Apparently the person who had given them this false information had not called back, nor had they shown up.

Victoria ignored the rumbling in her stomach, as she thought about dying in a place like this. Death had never crossed her mind much, but now it seemed to be surrounding her. She just couldn't believe this had happened—or was happening. Things like this just didn't seem to happen in real life. People didn't just kidnap you off the street. She had read about it, seen it in movies or in the news, but it still seemed very distant from her life. Her train of thought was interrupted by someone yelling downstairs. She jumped and screamed when she heard a gunshot.

"Go see what that was!" the Irishman screamed at the American.

The American went flying out of the door right before she heard another gun shot.

"Nic!" Victoria shrieked, hopping up from the cot and running for the door. The Irishman grabbed her around the waist and held her tightly against his chest. She felt his breath quicken and the cold metal tip of a gun press against her temple. Victoria shut her eyes tightly, praying that she would make it out of here alive. "Oh God," she said, as she heard the door fling open.

A second later, Nic came through the door. He saw the man holding the gun to Victoria's head. Her eyes were closed.

"Victoria?" Nic said, keeping his gaze and gun on the man.

Her watery eyes immediately opened and her heart skipped a beat.

"Drop it!" the man holding her yelled. Nic kept his gun trained firmly on him, while the other guys stood to the side of Nic, aiming their guns in kidnapper's direction as well.

"I mean it, or I'll put a bullet through her fucking head!" he warned in an Irish accent.

Nic slowly lowered his weapon. "Lower your guns," Nic said to the group behind him, as he kept his eyes on the culprit. They all obeyed. "Victoria?" Nic asked.

"Y-yes?" she choked out.

"I love you," Nic said, steadying his hand.

"I—I lo-ove you too," Victoria said, shaking uncontrollably.

"You trust me?"

As soon as Victoria mumbled yes, she saw Nic quickly raise his gun as a loud pop sounded throughout the large room, and in an instant, something whizzed past her head. She squeezed her eyes shut as a wet, warm liquid was splattered against the side of her face and neck. The man behind her released her and she heard a thump.

Everything seemed to slow down. She couldn't hear anything, as her body wilted to the hardwood floor. She couldn't catch her breath. She felt arms wrap around her. She wasn't sure if it was Nic or not, but she wasn't going to open her eyes to find out.