Guardian Program Ch. 37

Note: Tags are for the book, not individual chapters.

Guardian Program Ch. 37

A novel by R.C.PeterGabriel, all rights reserved.

"Look," suggested Constable Connelly. "He's backing down. He must have realized that neither of us could drive the corners up ahead at this speed. I'm driving three times the safe speed and my hand is slick with blood. Let me slow down."

Bettany was hesitant until he saw the pursuing Mounty turn around and head back the way he came. "Okay, but if you try to stop or even go too far below the speed limit I'll shoot you. Get us to the airport at Fort Nelson. I have a plane there and we're going for a little ride. If you're smart and cooperate I'll let you go after I get to my first refueling station."

She knew he was lying. The moment they were alone in his plane, he'd kill her. Even if he didn't, she wasn't going to survive more than a few more hours without a hospital. She also knew Fort Nelson General was almost directly on the way to the airport and hoped that she could somehow get through this and see her family again. She eased her foot from the gas pedal and tried to think.

"Listen to me, please," Constable Connelly began in the calmest tone she could muster. "I need to get a better grip on the wheel. There are towels under your seat that I use to clean up messes in the back. Could you get a few of them? ... Please."

After almost a minute of staring at her without even blinking, suspicion obvious on his face, Bettany seemed to calm himself and asked, "Why?"

"First of all, my hand is slipping on the wheel, I need to wipe off the blood. But more importantly, I'm assuming the lack of radio traffic means that everyone was ordered to a TAC channel so they can coordinate without us hearing them. The most logical place to try to stop us would be just before we get to the junction of Highway 77. That means, that if I'm going to get us to the airport, I'll need full control of the car." She paused to let her words sink in a few moments before continuing.

"What that also means is that unless they simply disable the car with spike chains, I'm going to have to swerve around or smash through whatever blockage they place in our way. I don't want to spin out or flip the car, but I probably won't be able to prevent it with only one hand. I need a steering knob to compensate. That means I need you to make one for me."

Keeping his weapon trained on his hostage, Bettany slowly reached under his seat and came up with several large hand towels. He looked at the towels for several moments and then with an incredulous expression asked, "Just exactly how am I supposed to do that?"

"Rip one of them lengthwise into a strip about four inches wide. Then tie it onto the wheel here where the spoke connects with the grip. Make sure you leave enough of the ends to hold onto, but not so much that the extra gets in the way."

"Before I do, you'll tell me the real reason you pulled me over. I'm not stupid and don't make the mistake of lying to me. If you try, I'll kill you and dump your body in the middle of the highway. Then I'll kill the owner of the next farmhouse I pass, and take their car along with any children I find. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly clear ..." stated Constable Connelly, before pausing long enough for Bettany to start counting down from three. "Okay! Okay! There was a BOLO out on your van. It was to be sought in connection with a kidnapping of two American women."

The gunman was quiet for so long that she took her eyes off the road and looked over at him. He was white as a ghost.

After several minutes, he lowered the gun. He still had it pointed at her, but it was no longer digging into her chin. When he finally spoke again, his voice sounded miles away. "What else was included?"

"Your name. Which, until you told me, I didn't know was your name. I only knew you as 'Chaucer'. And two other names. A William and Debra Clemons."

He sat perfectly still for almost five minutes before he became animated again. He tried to rip one of the towels, but it was hemmed and he couldn't manage. His anxiety level was rising visibly, and fearing he would just kill her outright, she told him about the knife that she kept in her glove box.

Using the knife, he easily cut the towel to the suggested size. "Grip the sissy bar," he demanded. Confused, Constable Connelly asked what a 'sissy bar' was, and was told the grip above the door that sissies use when they're scared. If you let go before I tell you to, I will kill you."

"You don't have to keep threatening me, Chaucer ..."

The comment went ignored, as he wove the towel around the left side of the steering wheel, and tied it off with about six inches of the ends left over. It had been awkward, and eventually, he ordered the constable to stop for a moment while he completed the task. Before they started again, he fastened both of their seat belts.

When she gave him a surprised look, he simply shrugged and said, "The best odds of my survival, are if you have full control. The belt will help with that, and I'm not letting you have yours fastened without mine being on too. You could purposely crash in hopes of killing me before I shoot you.

They rode in silence for a few minutes, before Bettany spoke up again. "What would they do if you charge the roadblock at over a hundred miles per hour?"

Constable Connelly thought for several moments, then glanced at her captor. She could see that he meant it as a legitimate question, so she thought for several more before answering.

"Well, honestly we'd probably die in a giant ball of twisted metal and broken glass, but it depends on who's manning the roadblock, and what they're using to block the road with.

"If they use spike chains or cars I would hope they'd realize that you have a hostage and that neither of us would survive a crash at that speed, and therefore remove the blockage. That of course depends on whether or not they think fast enough. If they use heavy equipment then I doubt they could move it in time even if they do think of it."

They drove on in silence as Constable Connelly navigated the area of the highway with the steepest grades and sharpest turns, the towel doing its job nicely. Once the road began to straighten, she accelerated to ten miles an hour over the speed limit. She wanted to get as close to the hospital as she could, as soon as she could. Her body was starting to feel heavy, and she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to concentrate, let alone drive. After a few minutes, she said, "We should make the junction of Highway 77 in about twenty minutes."

"We both know the road ahead has very few sharp corners, make it in ten."

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

Jessie continued to listen as Bill and Debra, discussed her's and Toni's fate. She had been feigning sleep for the last half hour, even as Bill repeatedly fondled her breasts. A self-evaluation had told her that she was physically alright, although she noticed mild pain on the inside of her right elbow and the left side of her neck. She remembered having been shot with a dart of some kind and had managed to pull it out before everything went black.

Several quick mental exorcises reassured her that her mind was working, even though she couldn't place why her arm hurt except to guess that she had been hooked up to an IV. She knew she was suspended from the ceiling by ropes around her wrists, that she was more or less standing, and that her ankles were tied together and to something.

Her clothes seemed to be intact, except for being barefoot. At least as far as she could tell by simple contact and from the comment Bill had mentioned earlier about cutting them off.

The next goal was to figure out why this was happening. Why did Debra want them dead and what did Bridge Security have to do with it? Could she or could she not escape with Toni or be rescued? Was Toni okay, or injured? What is the extent of her injuries? Where were they?

Bill had mentioned that no one would be able to find them, even with months of searching. She knew it wouldn't take months to find them with Hal's help, but just how long it would take would depend on where they were. How long had she been out cold? Was anyone even looking for them yet? She needed more information, so she waited and continued to ignore the groping hands.

When Bill finally got bored and moved away from her, she risked opening her eyes to tiny slits. The space seemed to be a great room of some kind, like a huge studio apartment. Without moving she could see two walls of what she assumed was a log cabin. If the logs weren't just a wall covering.

The wall to the left seemed to be the front of the structure, with a tasteful living area and a large flat-screen TV. There were two windows and a door on the front wall. They were small but she could tell she was somewhere in the mountains.

From the color of the sky and the angle of the shadows, she was fairly sure it was sometime near mid-morning, maybe nine, or nine-thirty at the latest, and that the view faced the south. That was good she thought, she couldn't have been out for more than a few minutes then. Maybe this was some kind of sick joke, the Clemons just escalating their BDSM fetish they had started with Toni.

Shifting her eyes to the right, she could see another small window that looked out along a ridge to a cleft in the mountain about three or four hundred yards west. It had a large stand of trees at the base of the cleft. She closed her eyes again and tried to place the mountains. They looked like the Rockies, but none of the peaks she could see seemed familiar.

Then it struck her that the angle of the sun meant she was far to the north of Poison. Maybe even the Northern Territories. There was no way she could have been out for only a few minutes. It had to have been at least a day, but how many?

Her heart sank, this wasn't just some joke or drugged-out delusion the Clemons were having. This was a premeditated, well-thought-out kidnapping, and Dad was in Africa! Did he even know that they were in trouble?!?

She decided she would have to do this on her own.

A few minutes later Jessie could hear the faint stirrings made by someone just starting to wake. "Bill," began Debra. "Go amuse yourself. I think Toni is starting to wake up. I'll start some breakfast, I'm sure they're going to be hungry."

Until the food had been mentioned, Jessie hadn't felt hungry in the least, but now she realized she was ravenous. That however didn't keep her from her pretense.

She heard Bill move to a spot about ten feet to her right, and start talking to Toni. "Wake up sleepyhead ... Come on Toni, I know you're in there."

"Hhmmm?"

"Toni, wake up!" Bill shouted and accompanied the directive with a slap.

"Ouch. What? ... What's going on? That hurt. Bill? What's going on? Why am I tied up? Um ... where are we? ... Jessie? Oh, my god! Jessie, are you okay? Bill why is Jessie tied up?!? Let us go!"

There was a pause for several moments while footsteps circled the spot where Toni seemed to be. "Bill? ... Bill? Debra? What's going on?" asked a confused and anxious-sounding Toni.

Bill was obviously trying to un-nerve Toni, and it seemed to be working. He finally spoke up. "Good morning my little slave. It's almost time to eat. You're going to need your strength."

"Bill, this isn't funny. Where are we and what's going on?"

"Um, how should I answer that?" Bill pondered. "Ah, let's just say the rules have changed. You had your revenge on me for what you call rape. Although I could argue that you didn't put up a whole lot of struggle there, now did you?"

"What are you talking about?" protested Toni. "I told you I didn't want to have sex with you!"

"Oh, get off it, Toni. You know you didn't fight it in the least, and if it was rape why would you keep coming back for more?"

No reply seemed forthcoming, so Bill continued. "Anyway, what is going on is that Debra and I are going to enjoy your company for a long while. You said Robert would be out of town for the whole week, so you don't need to worry. We'll take good care of both of you."

"Speaking of which, why is Jessie here ... tied up? You won the bet so you can have me, but what does that have to do with Jessie?"

Bill paused then answered. "Well, we decided to convince her that she needs to join in the family fun."

Toni chuckled. "Bill, Jessie will never go along with this ... Debra? ... This is crazy. Kidnapping me for a little fun, kind of ... well, it could be fun, but you don't really think Jessie will join us, do you?"

"We'll see," Bill countered, as he moved off farther to help Debra.

Jessie's hands were starting to hurt, due to the circulation being significantly restricted by the ropes. She decided if she were going to escape, she would need to keep her hands so she straightened her legs, taking most of the pressure off her hands, and soon felt the blood trying to return to her oxygen-deprived extremities. A few heartbeats later she almost hissed, as the paresthesia increased the pain level.

Opening her eyes completely, she started studying her situation. She was almost against the eastern wall of the cabin. Her feet were tied to each other and anchored to heavy furniture on both sides of her. Her hands had about two feet of rope between them. The rope was looped through a carbineer connected to a low support beam in the room's vaulted ceiling.

Jessie smiled to herself, as she realized Bill was going to have a hard time doing much to her without setting her free. Looking to the right, she could see Toni, suspended the same way she was, near the end of a king-sized bed. A dining area beyond the sleeping area, and a kitchen area beyond that, along the northern wall, where the Clemons were both working away. She could also see through an open door in the northeastern corner into a nicely appointed lavatory.

"Ah ... Jessie, nice to see you're awake too," Bill stated. "Breakfast is almost ready. Sorry, it won't be a feast or anything, but we know you must be hungry. You've been asleep for a whole day."

Toni turned to see that Jessie was indeed awake, and started to ply her with a dozen questions at once. All of them having to do with the what, where, when and why of their current predicament. Jessie truthfully denied knowledge of most of her questions and claimed ignorance about the rest.

"Don't worry ladies, all will be explained after you've eaten," stated Bill.

Debra and Bill brought a plate and a glass of orange juice to both of their captives. Debra stopped in front of Toni, while Bill moved to the spot in front of Jessie.

"When I said this could be fun, I was referring to us having sex, not being tied up," Toni pointed out. Debra responded by sticking a fork full of scrambled eggs in her mouth.

In the meantime, Jessie raised an eyebrow at Bill, then adopted an expression of sheer boredom and opened her mouth to accept the food. She ate without a word, figuring if the Clemons had intended to harm them before sending the 'proof of life', they would have done so before now. What she hadn't expected, was right after having the last bite of her breakfast put into her mouth, Bill covered her mouth with his.

Jessie yanked her head back and to the side to escape his intruding lips, then finished chewing with her chin hiding behind her arm. When she had swallowed, she calmly spoke. "Eto Akta Gamat."

"What?" asked Bill, thinking she still had food in her mouth and had mumbled.

Turning back to face him, Jessie made eye contact and then in an icy whisper indirectly translated her statement. "I said ... If you ever try to kiss me again, I will hurt you, and then I will kill you!"

The sound of her voice and the pure confidence in her eyes caused Bill to take a step back, but when he did, Jessie's expression shifted back to boredom, causing him to wonder whether or not he had imagined it. After that, he moved off to return the dishes to the kitchen and then joined Debra while she finished feeding Toni.

"Should I explain the next part, or do you want to?" Bill asked.

Debra patiently held a glass of juice while Toni finished it off. "You know my fun won't start until Geoffrey gives us a call tomorrow morning. Go ahead and tell them anything you want. It's your show until then," Debra stated while returning her half of the dishes to the kitchen.

"Well, no time like the present," Bill stated, as he moved to a cabinet that was part of the entertainment center. He began removing several tripods and arranging them around the room. Then he returned to the cabinet to retrieve enough video cameras to open a specialty store.

Twenty minutes later, Bill had ten cameras recording the two captives from five different angles each, and two more that would record both. "If you haven't guessed yet, we're going to have ourselves a lot of fun. I hope both of you enjoy it. I know I will. All the cameras are to record our playtime. We're going to make you both into stars!"

"Bill, you can't be serious!" Toni gasped. "We discussed the whole recording of our sex thing, and you both swore to me you wouldn't! I don't want my image sold for some cheap porn movie!"

Both of the Clemons chuckled. "Oh, you don't get it. Your image won't be sold at all. Well, most of them won't be. A few of the ones near the end will be, but you'll have days to get used to the idea. Anyway, you're going to be posted on all of the free sites."

"What?!? Exclaimed Toni. "Why would you do that?!?" She looked close to panic and turned to Jessie.

"Forget it, Toni," Jessie calmly stated. "They can try from now until the end of time and they won't be able to upload any images of us, at least not without mine or Dad's permission.

"Bill, you have absolutely no idea how powerful Dad's computer is. Its name is Hal. Anyway, Toni and I have what's called 'redacted statuses'.

"What that means is that only the information we want to go on the net gets put on the net. Everything else is deleted before it can go anywhere. But, please do try, because the very second you attempt to upload anything, Hal will know where we are."

"You're bluffing," Debra said shrugging. "Besides, the recordings are for your Dad anyway. Posting them on the web is just for a bit of fun."

Jessie just smiled and didn't say anything else.

Bill made the short trip to the kitchen. This time to retrieve a carving knife very similar to the one Toni had threatened to castrate him with. Walking back slowly, he took up a position between the two bound women and looked back and forth to them. "Should I do 'eeny-meeny-miny-moe', or 'pick a number'? What do you think Debra?"

Debra had moved to the dining room table after picking up a book as if whatever happened in the room just a few feet away, was of no importance. She glanced up and said, "Huh?" then with a dismissive hand gesture added. "Oh, um ... pick a number."

"Pick a number it is. Ladies, I'm going to write down a number between one and one hundred. The closest answer wins the prize." Using the knife, he scratched a number into the bed frame. "Okay Toni, pick a number."

"Forty-two," responded Toni after several moments of pondering.

"Your turn, Jessie," Bill stated with a hungry expression.

"This is stupid," she responded. "You're going to do what you want anyway. I don't need to play along."

"Ah, but you're wrong Jessie. If you don't, I'm going to start cutting on your lovely stepmother here."

"She isn't my stepmother. She's Dad's wife and my friend."

Looking confused, Bill asked, "Doesn't that make her your stepmother?"

"You truly are a moron. I was under the impression you were our friends. Obviously, we were way wrong about that one. But apparently, you don't even know us at all. Robert isn't my Dad. Both of my parents are dead. 'Dad' is the name I use for Robert, and yes, technically he adopted me but only because we knew my mother was dying. We needed a way for me to able to stay with him. He's only ten years older than I am and has never acted nor felt like a father to me. He's never thought of me as a daughter either. I know this because I've read his journals. He is and always will be my best friend, not my stepfather."