Loosening Up Bk. 05 Ch. 20-24

"Further, Mr. Newhouse, I have also made a couple of adult films, just for fun, in my case. I do not apologize for my actions nor do I think Mrs. Prentiss should. Neither of us have done anything wrong other than enjoy our time off work."

Newhouse started to sputter.

Roy said, "I agree with Alice and Abby. I must say that I too have appeared in several films, more as background, but nonetheless I participated in order to help out a friend we share. I didn't think for an instant there'd be any impact on the company nor would the company harbor any concern about what I did. I think that spirit should carry over to Alice and, now, Abby - and I guess me.

Newhouse started pacing and mumbling after stopping to stare at Abby as she gave him her opinion. He started mumbling, almost arguing with himself. Occasionally, he'd stop and look at Alice, Abby, or Roy. Alice stared back at him with a pleasant expression and obvious curiosity about what he intended to do. There was no hint of mocking him, only of being in an interesting conversation with the man.

Alice finally said, "Mr. Newhouse, if I may. Why don't we wait to see whether there is any adverse impact on Knightsbridge Manufacturing from what I did and my award, instead of leaping to some more drastic conclusion? If I have hurt the company, I shall tender my resignation at that time if you wish."

Newhouse got close to her and leaned over, "Mrs. Prentiss, does your husband know what you did?"

"Yes, sir; he was in some of my videos. So were his other wives." She thought she ought to bait the man so he had a broader context in which to place her actions vis-à-vis her videos. He knew little of his employee's personal lives, and some often called him Scrooge.

Newhouse's brow wrinkled, "Other wives? What do you mean; his exes?"

"I live in a polyamorous family with my husband David, whom you've met several times, and four other women - a senior consultant to the international utility industry; a published author whose book is being turned into a major motion picture even as I speak; the director of a billion dollar charitable fund; and a computer scientist working on creating hack-proof voting machines for a local company. David, as you might remember, is a vice president for State Power & Light."

With great sarcasm in his tone Newhouse said, "Very impressive, Mrs. Prentiss." He paused and then went on, "I accept your conditional resignation. We should pray that you are right Miss Walsh, and that is that any PR associated with this incident will result in positive repercussions or none at all."

He looked at his watch.

"OUT!" he announced loudly and gestured for the three of them to leave his office. "I'm done with you all. Out! Out! Out! What a fucking mess!"

Wordlessly, Roy, Abby, and Alice walked down the hall to Roy's executive suite office. As he shut the door, they are took several deep breaths.

Alice got up from the seat she'd just taken and hugged Roy and Abby. "Thank you so much for your support. I don't want to lose this job, and I love working with both of you."

Roy said, "Alice, I did nothing unusual to support you. What I said, I believe."

Abby said, "Me, too. You know I thought he was going to go into orbit when we told him we'd also done adult films just for fun. I wonder if he put any of it together that we were in at least one video all together - probably one of the films that helped Alice win her award." She chuckled.

Roy chuckled, "I bet he's on the Internet tonight looking for Alice Angel, Abby Walsh, and Roy Goodman videos. Maybe we haven't heard the end of this. What if he brings it up to the board of directors?"

Abby shook her head, "Newhouse IS the board and CEO, and he owns sixty-percent of the stock. I think we can stop worrying about this, providing that there's not a serious downturn in business that is attributable to this."

Alice phoned Dave and told him what had happened at work with Morris Newhouse, repeating verbatim as much of the conversation as she could recall. He commiserated with her, and then the ended the call with their usual 'I love you' remarks. She updated her sister wives with a quick text telling them that despite a displeased CEO she still had her job.

During the cocktail hour Jake and Sheri played bartenders for the Circle. The weather was perfect for the Circle pre-dinner gathering on the patio. Dave had just sat down with Dale when Dale's cellphone rang.

"Hi, Amanda. Everything all right?" He walked off a few feet to be polite.

Dave watched Dale's face pale and then turn to something with great concern.

Dale said into the phone with great urgency, "Get out of there right now. I'm leaving right now to help you. Try to get to your car. Shit! Run!"

Dale leapt up from his seat and ran across the patio towards where his car would be parked. Everyone watched him go. No one had ever run across the patio except Matthew when he was headed for the pool.

Dave mumbled, "I wonder what that was about?"

Before the thought was completed, he watched Gail also sprint towards where Dale had headed. He knew they often worked together, especially if there was a computer aspect of the job. Gail could do things with a computer or network that made others pale by comparison.

Dave worried because he never saw any of the three the rest of the night - David, Gail, or Amanda. He asked Susan if she knew where Dale had run to or what they were doing, but all she could do is shrug. "I know the general nature of what he does, but not the specifics. I know where he keeps his files if it's really important, and I can get on his computer."

"No, that's not necessary at this stage. The way he and later Gail ran off left me worried about them - and Amanda who'd called him with some kind of problem."

"Good. You seem tense, can I help you relax? I'm feeling kind of randy, and I hope you are."

Dave snorted, "I am ALWAYS horny. Come on. You and I haven't been together for a long time."

The next morning as Dave arrived in the core for an early breakfast before heading to work; he found Dale already there. He was pacing back and forth. Gail was with him. They looked morose. It appeared that neither of them had slept. When he saw Dave, Dale rushed over.

"HELP!" he said as he arrived. "I just got back here. We've been searching all night. We're in trouble, or rather Amanda's in trouble and we don't know what to do. I'm stymied and I need a fresh viewpoint."

"What trouble?" Dave asked.

"I think she's been captured or kidnapped by someone we had under surveillance."

"Explain."

"We'd been hired by a woman who thought her husband was not only having an affair of some sort, but also doing something illegal that she thought involved a lot of money and probably drugs.

"Well, his wife was right on all counts. He had a hot woman on the side and also the beginnings of a crime organization. The woman runs a whorehouse down in Englewood. He was processing all kinds of drugs and using the place as his base. He's probably been clearing a fifty to a hundred thousand a week. We'd just about wrapped up the job, when last night Amanda disappeared. Her car was near that house but no sign of her anywhere. We've been over every inch of the neighborhood except inside the houses."

"Have you gone to the whorehouse to see if they've got her there?"

"No, I was afraid they'll take me captive, and then we'll really be up shit creek. I'm sure this guy knows his wife ratted him out. This was on my car last night when I got back from where Amanda had been sitting watching them. I roamed around the entire area, even looking at the house from all angles."

Dale passed a crudely printed note to me: 'No cops or your friend is dead. Take a hike and stay out of my business. She's mine now.'

Dave pulled his phone from his pocked. He made several phone calls connecting on every one of them: Dev, Sean, Mike, Aaron, Bjorn, and Jason. When they arrived at the breakfast area on a run, Dave had Dale recap what he knew.

Dave said, "We need to pay a little visit to Mr. Dominic Colossi at his house of ill repute. I think a confrontation asking for some relief in this situation is required."

The eight men piled into two cars and speed south on Route 41 to Englewood. Dale led them to the house but Dave had them drive by and park three houses away.

The eight men walked back to the house. Three of the men broke off from the group and walked around behind the nondescript home. As they went they peered in windows and then silently guarded the rear door. Sean checked out the garage that had two cars in it.

Dave knocked on the door that was almost immediately opened by a thirty-something woman in a sexy kimono. She looked with curiosity at the men. "Yes?" she said.

"We seem to have lost a friend and have many reasons to believe that she may be detained inside your home. We don't want any trouble, and certainly not with the law, but we'd like to know what we need to do to secure her freedom."

Dave could see the color rise in her neck. She said, "Go away. You can't come in. She's not here. I don't want trouble."

Dave smiled and pushed the door open as he pushed into the foyer, "Why trouble is my middle name. If our friend isn't returned immediately the clouds of hell will rain down upon you, your business, your boss, and all manner of personal misery inflicted on everyone standing in our way. Perhaps we should just wait here for her safe return - undamaged in any way. Go call whoever you need to."

She left the door open and ran back inside the house. A few seconds later, she reappeared. Mike was nudging her along followed by Sean and Jason. They were checking the side rooms as they came to the front of the house. Sean said, "She'd tried to run out the back door and escape."

Dave said, "Thank you for inviting us inside. Do you have a name?"

She stalled and then decided to cooperate on that point, "They call me Tilly."

"Well, Tilly, I'll ask you again, what do we have to do to get our friend back? Oh, is it all right if we wander around your house?"

"I don't know nothin' about your friend. She's not here."

"You're lying. Is Mr. Colossi here? Perhaps we should see him."

She looked shocked that he knew Colossi's name. "No. He's not here."

Dave gestured to the stairs. Dev and Aaron took them two at a time as they ran up to the second floor. He could hear doors being opened in every room. Soon they came down with another girl that looked young and appeared scantily dressed. Aaron and Dev took her off to the kitchen to question her.

Tilly seemed to stonewall any efforts to say more. Mike and Bjorn found the basement stairs and went down there. They came back about five minutes later.

Mike said, "She was probably here - downstairs. There's a chair with rope around it. Someone was tied to it for a while."

Dave turned to Tilly, "Care to comment on our discovery?"

"I know nothing," Tilly insisted.

Aaron came back from the kitchen. "Dom and an associate brought a young woman - mid twenties, auburn hair - in here last night, under force. Colossi had a gun on her. She saw them go downstairs, but they left about two hours later. She doesn't know where they went."

Dave turned back to Tilly, "I think it's time for you to call Mr. Colossi and explain the situation to him. I repeat my earlier threat to you so you understand it clearly. We are only a tiny part of a large organization that Mr. Colossi has come into contact with. The fires of hell will converge on him, his organization, his family, and every person he thinks he can trust if the young woman isn't returned to us unharmed immediately. CALL NOW!"

Dave had screamed the last two words to focus Tilly on what she had to do.

Tilly pulled her cellphone from her pocket and called someone on her speed dial. Unfortunately, he had the feeling she was leaving a voicemail message for Colossi to call her back right away. Not a good sign. He pulled his phone out to call Alice and start recovery on a second front.

Alice, Pam, Donna, Robyn, Clarisse, Gail, and Wendy trooped into the living room of Mrs. Dominic Colossi. Her mouth was hanging open at the group invasion, but the women were insistent.

Alice laid out the situation regarding Amanda's disappearance and the high likelihood that her husband was involved in a significant way. She described the scene at the brothel in Englewood to her as Dave had relayed it to her, including the chair with the ropes and what was known about her husband's affiliation with the place.

Maria Colossi shook her head. "The asshole. I knew he'd get in trouble in some way. He has brass balls and thinks he can get away with anything. He told everyone that he too could shoot someone in the middle of Times Square and remain a free man. Your friend is not here, and you're free to search the house to verify that. What can I do to help?"

"Where else might he take her?" Gail asked.

"The only other place he might go that is protected as far as he's concerned is his used car dealership out on 301. It's about a mile south of Myrtle Street on the east side of the road. It's got a large orange and black sign that reads 'Dom's Used Cars'. He's got about forty cars there and there's an office building - a long trailer. It's not much, but he hangs out there and plays cards with his buddies - at least that's what he was telling me until I got more suspicious about his nocturnal habits. I think he also fucks some of his bimbos there or at that whorehouse in Englewood. I hired a private detective agency to get the goods on him so I can fry his ass in the divorce settlement." She paused and then it dawned on her, "Oh, fuck. Is this woman part of that agency?"

Gail nodded. "She was finishing up her surveillance for the night when she disappeared. She got off a quick call before that. We think she saw Dom and at least one other man coming for her. We have the photo of him that you gave us when we started working for you."

"I'm so sorry. Here's one of Dom's business cards. I hope you find her, and if you put his ass in jail so much the better. I'll even testify against him if that helps."

As they walked outside, Gail emailed a picture of Dom Colossi to the men. She also talked to Dave via her cell telling him what they'd learned. The women headed back to the Circle to see how things played out.

After a stop back at the Circle to be sure the men were properly armed, the eight men headed to Dom's Used Cars. Most of the group parked in a convenience store parking lot next-door and walked towards the used car lot in ones and twos. A couple circled around the back of the trailer after scaling a fence. Dave drove into the lot as though he were looking for a car. He looked around.

Dom himself came out of the long trailer that served as the office for the used car lot. He gave a glad handshake to Dave, who held his grip.

Dave stared at the thug, "I'm here for the woman you kidnapped last night. No questions asked."

Dom yanked his hand away and pulled a gun from his right jacket pocket.

Dave tried to look unconcerned. "If I go, you'll go times seven. Look around. If I'm only wounded then you'll still die or maybe just lose your dick." Dave pointed where two laser dots danced around Dom's pants right where his dick would be.

As Dom scanned his lot he saw one man after another, four with a handgun aimed at him, and two with rifles with scopes slung over the fenders of one of his used cars also aimed at him. Several were focused on the door to the trailer in case there were reinforcements for Dom inside.

Dev joined the two men with his gun trained on Dom. "Drop the weapon. Lie down and spread your arms and legs. You have until the count of five or we open fire. One ... two ... three ..."

Dom reached for the ground and dropped the gun close to it. He moved slightly away and lay face down.

Dave kicked the gun aside with his foot and got control of his voice, "Now, let's get down to business."

Dom said, "I don't know about no stinkin' Amanda. Get the fuck outahere."

Dave smiled benignly, "And I know you're lying, because I have yet to mention her name, so we can negotiate from this point."

Dave picked up Dom's gun. He hefted the gun to get a feel for it, slid the safety off, and fired a shot into the ground between Dom's feet. The retort was loud and Dom jumped.

"Shit!"

Dave said in a swearing tone, "Crap, I missed. I guess I should have aimed a little higher. I wanted to blow that small dick off of you or hit your feet. They tell me that some foot injuries, especially gunshots, never really heal. The person shot in a foot limps badly for the rest of their life. Of course, if I hit your cock, your sex life would come to a catastrophic end."

Dave aimed at some hypothetical distant target, and then brought the weapon down to where it was aimed at one of the brown tasseled loafers that Dom wore. "Ashamed to ruin a pair of nice Italian leather shoes like that; do you want to slip one of them off your foot before I start to get the truth? I bet if I shot both feet you might end up in a wheel chair for the rest of your life. You wouldn't even need shoes; you'd wear those sock things all the time."

Dev moved to a better position relative to the thug.

Dom postured, "Do you know who I am? What my organization is going to do to you when you let me go?"

Dave fired another shot between Dom's legs and he jumped. "FUCK! You bastard. I will get you - you're dead meat." Dom tried to squirm away. He said, "I knew you were coming. Tilly called me just a while ago."

"Good, then we can get down to business. Where's Amanda?"

From the door of the trailer office, Amanda appeared with Sean behind her. She was rubbing her wrists. She was also nude.

Dave left Dom to Dev and rushed over to her, "You OK? Did they molest you?"

"No, but they threatened to. It was going to happen this afternoon. They left my clothes back at the whorehouse. Dom invited all his friends to come and enjoy me - the asshole. He told me I was their sex slave from now on. The other men went off to get a late breakfast."

"Do you want to press charges?"

"I'll talk to Dale and see what he says."

"But that Shit on the ground over there kidnapped you and planned to rape you."

"Let me talk to Dale for a minute. Maybe I will. It would get Colossi off the streets and also help his wife."

Dave went back to Dom as Sean sought cover for Amanda. Dev helped Colossi stand. He'd secured his hands behind him with several twist-ties. He also had twist ties around his ankles, but he could take baby steps to move about.

Dale rushed over from his position with a rifle. He and Amanda talked. A car blanket appeared from somewhere to cover her body.

Dale dialed 9-1-1 and then everyone stood there waiting for the police to arrive. Most of the weapons disappeared.

About five minutes later a squad car pulled into the used car lot. Two officers got out and tried to assess the situation.

Dev went over and talked to them in a low voice. Dale joined them and there was a showing of credentials by the two men. One officer went from man to man checking the weapons they'd brought. They were all unloaded by that time and several had been placed in the trunk of Dave's car.

Amanda shuffled over to the police barefoot. She even flashed the cops to show that she'd been stripped of her clothing when she was threatened. Sean was called over to confirm that he found her bound and gagged in one room of the mobile trailer. One officer went with him to see where he'd found her inside the trailer.

Two more squad cars arrived along with a car with two detectives in it. The story was repeated several times. Dom was placed in the back of one of the squad cars. Another car arrived with two more law officers in it; turned out they were from the FBI and called in because of the kidnapping aspect of the event as well as the RICO component with the aspiring small time thug.