Max Burnage Ep. 03: A Time To Burn

There was no question in Max's mind that Terry needed serious help. And, he thought, the best place for that was in the mountains of north Idaho, where his body and mind could be cleansed of what had been done to him. He recalled his own time there after what his first wife tried to do to him.

But, he thought, Johnson and the three women needed to pay for what they had done, and he didn't want them free to interfere with Terry's training. They needed to be held somewhere, but where? He finished his tea and cigarette, then went upstairs. He looked in on Terry and saw him on his side, curled in a fetal position.

He went into his own bedroom, brushed his teeth and went to bed. His last thoughts as he closed his eyes were of Adrestia. As he slept, she came to him in his dreams, naked as always. They embraced each other and lay under a tree after making tender love.

"How are things in Baltimore?" he asked.

"As you would say, they are 'under control,'" she said.

"Good," he said. "So you'll be home tomorrow?"

"Yes, I plan to be back tomorrow. Have you reached a decision about Terry?"

"I have," he said. "I've gone through the file and watched the videos. I believe he needs to spend some time at Camp Rollins."

"I thought you might say that," she told him as she ran a hand through his hair. "I've taken the liberty of putting him on next month's class roster. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, my dear. I'm surprised you had the time to take care of that."

"I AM a goddess, after all," she said with a laugh. "I can multi-task, you know." He chuckled at that.

"I'm concerned about Johnson and his so-called harem, though," he told her. "I really think they need to be out-of-pocket while Terry's gone. I don't want them interfering with his training in any way. Any ideas?"

"I'm sure Eli can help out with that," she said. "I'll reach out to him." Max turned over and regarded Adrestia for a few moments. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

"Reading that file... Watching those videos... I've never seen or read anything so sick and depraved in my life. It makes me realize just how blessed I am to have you," he said. She smiled and kissed him.

"You know that works both ways, my dear husband," she said. "After what I've seen all these millennia, I feel truly blessed to have you. I love you more than you can possibly imagine."

"And I love you even more, my dear goddess," he said, kissing her pretty face.

"Rest in my arms, my love," she told him. "Unlike me, you need your sleep. I will make sure all your dreams are sweet." He smiled as he leaned into her bosom and drifted into a deep sleep as she softly sang an ancient lullaby.

The next morning, he awoke feeling happy and refreshed. After his morning ritual, he got dressed, made a phone call and went downstairs where he made a fresh pot of coffee. He saw Terry make his way down the stairs and invited him to sit at the counter.

"Care for some breakfast?" he asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good, thanks," Terry said.

"How did you sleep last night?" Max asked.

"Alright, I guess," Terry told him as he sat down. "Could've been better." The coffee finished brewing, so Max poured two cups. He set one in front of Terry, and watched as he poured some cream and sugar into it. Max finished making the eggs and bacon and put some on a plate for Terry, then grabbed some for himself.

"So, tell me Terry, have you ever been to Idaho?" Max asked. Terry stopped chewing and looked at Max, confused.

"Idaho?" Terry asked after swallowing his food. "No, can't say that I have. Why?"

"Beautiful country up there, especially in the northern part of the state," Max said. "Fresh air, mountains, pine trees. Just the thing a fella like you needs right about now."

"Are you sending me off to Idaho?" Terry asked.

"Yeah," Max said. "There's a special camp up there for guys in your situation. They have a three-month course I think will do you a world of good. I know it helped me out a lot."

"Three months?" Terry asked. "What about my job? My apartment? I can't be gone that long. Besides, I can't afford something like that."

"It's already been taken care of," Max said. "I spoke with your boss early this morning and filled him in. He's been concerned about you for quite a while now."

"You told my boss what I've been going through?" Terry asked, shocked.

"Actually, he filled in some of the blank spots for me," Max said. "It seems Johnson and your wife haven't exactly been discreet about their activities. From what your boss told me, pretty much everyone at the mill knows what's been going on."

"Everyone already knows? And no one told me?" Terry asked as tears fell down his face. "All this time I thought they were my friends."

"I know it hurts like hell, Terry," Max said. "Anyway, your boss thinks the world of you and says your job is safe. He's put you on a leave of absence for the next four months. Said to get yourself squared away."

"So when do I leave for Idaho?" Terry asked.

"Your class starts at the beginning of the month," Max said. "That just under two weeks from today."

"What about Johnson and my wife?" he asked.

"They won't be able to touch you," Max said. "Adrestia is taking care of that."

"Why are the two of you helping me like this?" Terry asked. "What do you want from me? I'll never be able to repay you for all this."

"It's what we do," Max said. "You can repay us by living a good life."

"So what's this camp like?" Terry asked.

"It's tougher than anything you can imagine," Max said. "You seem to be in pretty good shape from your job, so I don't think you'll have a lot of trouble with the physical part. A lot of the guys who go there are in a lot worse shape than you. Hell, you're in better shape than I was when I went. It's also tough mentally. But if you stick with it, you'll come out a new man. Plus, you'll have a support system that'll be there for you anytime you need it."

"I suppose it's better than spending the rest of my life feeling sorry for myself," Terry said. Max nodded his head.

"I agree," he said. He walked to the door, grabbed his trench coat and his fedora and put them on. He turned back to Terry. "I'm going to the office, see what else I can dig up on Johnson. You stay here. Rest, watch television, whatever. If you get hungry, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge. There's tea bags if you want something to drink. Don't go anywhere and don't answer the door for anyone. Got it?"

Feeling the strange vibration in his head, Terry nodded. "I got it," he said.

"I'll be back this evening. Call me if you need anything," Max added, handing Terry a business card. Terry took the card and Max left.

"Good morning, Sally," Max said as he walked into his office. "Anything going on this morning?"

"Good morning, Mr. Burnage," the attractive receptionist said. "No, it's been pretty quiet so far."

"That's actually good to hear," he said in response. "Oh, and Sally, you know you can call me Max when it's just the two of us."

"I know... Max. It just feels more right for me to call you Mr. Burnage, though." He smiled and nodded his head.

"Okay, Sally, I understand. I'll be in my office most of the day." He went into his office where he hung up his coat and fedora. Then he sat down to his desk and fired up his laptop. As it booted up, he got a message on his phone. It was Adrestia: "Eli says it's a go for this evening."

"Excellent," Max wrote back. "In the office now. Thanks. Love you!"

"Love you more," Adrestia responded back with a string of heart emojis. He smiled and put his phone away. How many guys are lucky enough to get heart emojis from an immortal goddess like Adrestia, he thought to himself.

Seeing that his computer had booted up, he double-clicked the icon for an application Adrestia had just installed. According to her, it would give him access to any network on the planet that connected to the Internet. With it, he could read any document on the network without anyone ever knowing he was there.

She tried to explain it to him once, but after a few minutes of hearing her talk about tunnels and VPNs and proxy servers and backdoors and network ports, his eyes glazed over. He was a trained accountant, not a computer scientist. All he cared about was whether or not he could access what he needed, and he really wasn't keen on knowing all the nuts and bolts about what it took to make it happen.

He knew Johnson's company was called "Johnson Holdings, Inc.," and he had the address of the company headquarters, so he entered that into the search tool. He was presented with three options, and chose the first since it appeared the closest to what he was looking for.

He watched a circle spin for a bit and was about to cancel, when he was suddenly presented with a menu of options. He looked and found what he was after -- Financials. He chose that options and began looking through the various spreadsheets and documents.

He saw nothing that indicated any shady dealings or illegal activity, although he did see some things that he would've done differently. At face value, the company appeared to be stable, solvent, and growing at a nice steady pace. Of course, Max knew that a company could look good at first glance but fall apart under the weight of a full financial audit. He had seen it happen before.

He looked around a bit further and saw an entry for "Personnel." He opened that and looked until he found Johnson's name. He clicked there and was surprised to find a treasure trove of documents -- including tax returns from previous years. He rummaged around and learned that, on paper, Johnson's personal net worth seemed to be about $75 million. Max wondered how much of that he got from Terry.

He sat back and thought for a moment. There appeared to be no apparent motive for Johnson's actions. He had already ruined Terry financially and emotionally. So why was he so bent on continuing to destroy the man? He looked back through the file Adrestia gave him and re-read Johnson's statements to Terry.

Then it hit him -- Johnson was simply a control freak who got off on destroying others. Once he got his hooks into someone, he simply wouldn't stop until his target either submitted to him completely or ended his own life. In short, Johnson was an asshole who needed to be completely destroyed -- squashed like the bug he is. He was brought back to reality when Sally opened the door and popped her head inside.

"It's that time, boss," she said. "I'm heading out for the day." Max looked at his watch and saw it was already 5:00 pm.

"I guess time really does fly when you're having fun," he quipped. "I'd better head out as well. Have a good evening."

"Will do, boss," she said. Max grabbed his trench coat and his fedora and headed home. When he got there, he smelled something delicious and realized Adrestia was back and in the kitchen. He saw Terry sitting on the couch, watching television.

"How are you doing?" Max asked. Terry looked up before responding.

"I'm feeling a bit better, thanks," he said. Max nodded his head and went into the kitchen where he saw his beloved Adrestia pulling a large pan of lasagna out of the oven. He took the hot, heavy pan from her and helped her put it on the table, which she had already set for them.

"Thank you," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"My pleasure," he said, amazed at the notion of this goddess preparing a meal for them. "This smells delicious. What's the occasion? I've never known you to do this before."

"Well, I just wanted to stretch myself a bit," she said. "And I wanted to do something special for my man." He smiled and kissed her.

"Well, I certainly do appreciate it," he said. "And I'm sure our guest will appreciate it as well." He called Terry to the table as Adrestia poured some wine for the three of them.

"This smells wonderful," Terry said as he took his seat.

"I hope you like it," Adrestia said. "I rarely get to prepare meals these days, so I'm just a bit rusty."

"I'm sure it's delicious," he said as Max put some on a plate for him. He spooned up some for Adrestia, then put a large helping on his plate before sitting down. He noticed it was loaded with cheese, meat and mushrooms, just the way he liked it.

"This is the best lasagna I think I've ever had," he told Adrestia after his first bite.

"I'm glad you approve," she said with a smile. "So, tell us what you learned." Max wiped his mouth and took a sip of wine.

"Well, I found that Johnson's company seems to be in fairly good shape, at least on paper. Of course, that could all be a smokescreen, but I didn't see anything jump out at me. Certainly nothing that would prompt a full audit," Max said. "I did notice that Johnson himself seems to be worth about $75 million. Tell me, Terry, how much were you worth at your peak?"

"When I divorced Donna, I was worth about $20 million, but she ended up with half of that," he said. "I had recovered quite a bit of that before I tried taking Johnson down. At that time, I was worth somewhere just under $18 million. Johnson ended up taking all of that away from me."

"What I don't fully understand is why Johnson feels the need to continue harassing you," Max said. "It's almost as if he's obsessed with you for some reason."

"With him, it's about control," Terry said. "And some sick need to humiliate everyone he feels is a threat."

"Well, his day is coming soon enough," Adrestia said. "Are you looking forward to your trip up north?"

"I am, believe it or not," Terry told her. "I just hope Johnson doesn't find a way to screw that up too."

"You won't have to worry about Johnson anymore," she said with a smile. "We have a special friend that'll get him out of your hair for a long time."

...

At that moment, Tim Johnson was barreling down state road 17, a windy, two-lane road that wound north of town. Sitting in the car with him was Donna, Kayla and Amber. They were on their way to a new night club that just opened up.

"So, have you spoken to that divorce lawyer I told you about?" Tim asked Amber.

"I have an appointment to see him tomorrow," she said. He laughed.

"Good. You make sure to tell him everything I suggested."

"Why not just leave the poor sap alone?" Donna asked. "You've gotten everything from him. And you've reduced him to nearly nothing."

"You don't get it, my dear. I won't be happy until I see him on his knees before me begging me to let him suck my dick. I just might even video it and send it to everyone he knows. I'm sure they'd love to see him deep-throat me and swallow my cum straight from the source." They all laughed as he said that. Then Amber spoke up.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to something in the road. Tim looked and couldn't believe his eyes. He turned the high-beams on just to make sure he wasn't imagining things.

Just ahead of them sat two men on horseback. Between the two of them, they took up both lanes in the road. One of them pulled out a rifle and twirled it with one hand before aiming it at them. Tim's eyes grew wide.

"Holy shit," he said. "I think they mean business." He slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a stop in front of the two men, both of whom wore western attire. He rolled down his window.

"Get the fuck outta the road, assholes," he yelled. The older man calmly rode to the side of the car as the other held his rifle on Tim.

"You Tim Johnson?" the tall man in the beat-up Stetson asked.

"Yeah, what's it to ya?"

"Pull over to the side of the road and get out of the vehicle. All of ye," the man said.

"And if I don't?" Tim asked, getting angry.

"Then I reckon we'll just have ta shoot you right here on the spot," the man said. Tim looked at him, shocked.

"Just who the hell are you?"

"Name's Peace. Justice O. Peace," the man said. "This here's mah deputy, Amos. We're here to take you in. We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. Makes no difference to me."

"Take us in? For what? Are you out of your mind? Did Engels put you up to this?" Tim asked.

"Reckon I don't know anyone named Engels, but there's a warrant for you and your little posse there," Justice said. "So if I were you, I'd pull this thing off the road and cooperate, real nice, if you know what I mean. Mah deputy's got a real itchy trigger finger and he can shoot the balls off a mosquito at 50 yards."

"They've got guns, Tim," Amber said. "Better do as he says. We can call the lawyer and take care of this clown later."

"Yeah, I guess so," Tim said as he nodded his head and pulled the car to the side of the road.

"Alright, now get out, real slow," Justice said. "Toss yer keys over to me." They got out of the car and Tim tossed his keys as Justice ordered. He caught them in mid-air with one gloved hand, then put them in his trouser pocket.

"Now, you four get here between us and get close together," Justice ordered. Tim and the three women stepped between the two large horses and Justice pulled out a rope. He opened the lasso and dropped it over the four prisoners, then yanked, making the rope tight.

...

The next thing Tim and the three women knew, they were standing in front of what looked like an old western jail that sat on a dusty street. Looking around, they saw a few other buildings along the dirt road that reminded them of an old western town.

"Where are we?" Tim asked.

"A little slice of reality very much like a town I once lived in a long time ago," Justice said as he got off his horse. The other man had climbed off his horse and gotten behind them, waving them inside with the barrel of his rifle. "Get inside," Justice ordered. They went up the wooden steps and walked inside the building.

"Eli, good to see ya," said a man wearing a star on his old-style western shirt.

"Good to see you too, sheriff," Eli/Justice said. "Got some visitors for ya. Reckon you got room for 'em?"

"How long they gonna be here?"

"I reckon about three months, maybe a bit longer," Eli said. "They'll be standing trial here after that."

"Judge A?" the sheriff asked.

"Yup," Eli said.

"Hoo dawgies," the sheriff responded, shaking his head. "Reckon there'll be a hangin' then."

"Reckon so." Tim and the women looked at each other, shocked.

"Hanging?" Tim asked. "For what? I demand to see my lawyer. I need to make a phone call."

"Won't be any telephone service here for about 80 or 90 years, if that," Eli's "deputy" told him.

"This ain't New York City, you know," the sheriff said. "Don't worry, the lawyer's coming up from El Paso in a couple months or so. You can speak to him then."

"What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Donna asked.

"Well, you have a place to lay down, you'll get three meals a day, a roof over yer heads," the sheriff said. "I can talk to the schoolmarm or the preacher and see if I can rustle up an extra book for ya to read if you want. I'll even arrange to let you take a nice hot bath about once a week or so. May not be what yer used to, but it sure beats the Rock."

"A book. Fucking terrific," Kayla said.

"Could be a whole lot worse," the sheriff told her. "And don't even think of trying to escape. I'll have no problem shooting you myself if you do."

"What about my son?" Donna asked, referring to the young boy she had with Johnson. "He needs his mother."

"Don't worry," Eli said. "He'll be taken care of."

"Alright, that's enough talk," the sheriff said. "Empty yer pockets. I'll keep your stuff under lock and key." They obeyed, butting everything into a bag, which the sheriff locked in his safe. Then he escorted them down the hall into their cells, tiny rooms no more than six feet wide and eight feet long.

A tiny slit with iron bars by the ceiling was the only source of air and light. The tiny bed wasn't even long enough for Johnson's body and each cell had a chamber pot in the corner. The walls were made of rock and were quite thick. Once the doors were closed and locked, they were cut off from each other.