Paying My Dues

I took the note from him and reviewed it.

"Be convincing, if you know what's good for you," Brandon urged as he aimed the gun right at my head.

I took my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed grandpa's number. "Hi grandpa, it's Quinn. Look, I'm in a bit of a bind at the moment and wonder if you'd mind giving me a hand." Brandon was listening to my side of the conversation for accuracy to the prepared script.

"What happened is, I'm out at the old quarry and the car is stuck. I can't get it out. Luisa is here with me and we got stuck in some mud. Can you bring your old pickup out here right quick with your chain and give us a pull?"

"Great see you in about fifteen minutes," I confirmed before ending the call.

An angry Brandon lambasted me. You were supposed to say, Tamara! Why did you change it to Luisa?" He raged.

"Think about it, Brandon. If Tamara had been here, he would have wondered why she didn't call you. He may have been suspicious as to why I would have been here with her anyway. It makes much more sense that Luisa and I would have come here together, right?"

"I suppose so," he reluctantly agreed. "Good thing for you that I happen to know that Luisa is visiting her father in jail. That'll keep her out of the way until all of this is over."

"And how would you know that?" I inquired.

"Let's just say that there are a few people at the plant still loyal to dad and me. I have inside information," he boasted.

"I see," I said puzzling about who it could be.

Faye turned my car around in the parking lot giving the appearance that I was trying to leave but the car was stuck. She left the driver's side door open and walked toward me.

"Alright, Quinn. I don't want you trying to go heroic on me when grandpa gets here. Faye is going to ty-rap your wrists together. Get them good and snug, honey." He held the gun on me as she tightly bound my hands with the large cable tie.

"Now walk over to your car and get in the front seat. She has your keys, so you aren't going anywhere."

I did as he commanded and slid behind the wheel.

"Now get his ankles, baby, nice and tight," Brandon ordered. Faye complied, securing my ankles together with another huge cable tie. Then she shut the car door, walked around, and slid into the passenger seat beside me.

"Now we wait," Brandon mused aloud.

True to his word, Grandpa soon appeared in his old truck and pulled into the parking lot, seeing two people in my car. He pulled up beside me, immediately noticing Faye in the seat beside me. As he was about to speak, Brandon sneaked up and put his gun to grandpa's head.

"Don't make me do it, old man. I don't want anybody to get hurt. I just want to have a chat with you and Quinn at the same time. Cooperate with me and we'll get this over with soon. Okay?" Grandpa silently nodded his understanding.

"Okay Faye, secure grandpa the same way you did Quinn." She did as instructed and took the truck keys. "Alright, get Quinn to hop over here and get in the truck beside grandpa." Given no other option, I submitted to his request.

After the truck door was closed and we were both restrained and seated, "Alright, honey. I don't want to hear any of their backtalk while I'm saying my piece. Tape their mouths shut." She complied. While she was doing that, Brandon dropped down behind one of the front tires and loosened one of the hydraulic brake bleeder valves. Of course, we could not see what he was doing.

After both of our mouths were silenced, Brandon began his speech.

"Dad and I are completely fed up with you two. You've tried to destroy our lives and we're about to have our revenge. I don't know what you said or did to get grandpa to turn on us, Quinn, but it ends today, right here and now. You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? When dad and I began using the plant as a cash cow, he felt it was owed him. He worked hard for many years, yet you greedily wouldn't let go of a stinking share of stock, would you, grandpa? That's right, Quinn. Dad brought ME into his plan because he knew he could never trust you, the pansy of the family, mom's favorite daughter. Even today she dreams about the two of you frolicking around dress shopping together," he laughed mockingly.

"So all we did was get what was coming to us anyway. We've done things you never dreamed of. Dad and I have gone to Vegas many times to engage in high-stakes gambling. We lost most of what we had in the bank but were treated like royalty. I've screwed more gorgeous hookers than you can imagine, and dad has had his share of paid pussy as well."

An upset Faye yelled, "You had hookers? Both of you? How could you? You never told me anything about that!"

"Oh, come on, Faye. What did you expect? Did you think I would be happy with just the three times a week you and I hooked up? Hell, you fucked Quinn silly every single day! I needed more than what you were able to give me. That should come as no surprise to you. You're the mother of my child. Sure, I agreed to remain single and not marry until Tamara turned eighteen but I never promised to remain exclusive."

Brandon turned his attention back to grandpa, "Dad and I went through money like water. We realize now that we should have socked away a chunk of it but never imagined things would turn out as they have. But there's still time to fix everything. Dad has checked. Our sources say that while you haven't signed over your shares to Quinn yet, they're earmarked to go to him in the event of your demise."

He continued, "Well your demise is about to happen sooner than you planned, old man. You're both about to die. The truck brakes no longer work; your emergency brake hasn't worked in years. The storyline will be that the two of you met here for a talk, then the truck popped out of gear and before you could get out, it went over the cliff, crashed on the bottom, and caught fire, killing you both. Don't worry, we'll hold grand funerals for you two. Grandpa, when you die, all shares will go to Quinn. With Quinn dying while still married to Faye, she will inherit everything. Once she has everything, we'll say that we were framed and produce records to back that claim up with our own records that will show you were blackmailing grandpa. That way, all charges will be dropped, I'll marry Faye, and we'll have it all. That's why this has to happen before your stupid annulment takes place. A few more weeks and it will be too late. You forced my hand. I wish I could say I'll miss both of you but we both know that's not true. Comfort yourself with this thought, Quinn. When I seduce Luisa and fuck her senseless, it will be MY name she'll be screaming out in lust, not yours. Hell, I may even breed her, and give your fiancée a baby as I did your wife, Faye."

Brandon walked the fifty yards to the edge of the cliff where five plastic gallon-size used milk jugs had been filled with gasoline. He grabbed them one by one and tossed them over the edge to the bottom of the quarry. Each jug burst open upon impact, bathing the boulders below in splashed gasoline. He then lit a wadded piece of paper with a match and tossed it over the side. A thunderously loud whoosh could be heard as the gasoline ignited and caught fire, reaching upward with hungry flames.

Brandon sneered as he signed our death warrants, "The truck will slowly roll off the edge into the pit of fire I just set for you. With no seatbelts fastened, if you're lucky, you'll die on impact. By the time they find your charred remains and the burned-out truck, Faye and I will be picnicking and hiking with dad and mom at the state park. We took some pictures with them there last week. After we join them today, we'll take some more with them. Our alibi is secure. We're not even here. Tamara is the only one who doesn't have a clue what's really happening here today. We'll tell her it was a tragic accident. I can be very convincing.

Grandpa and I struggled desperately against our bonds but were unable to free ourselves. Brandon and Faye each had a large cloth that they'd doused with chloroform. Simultaneously, they placed the chloroform-laden cloths over our noses. We held our breath as long as we could but soon succumbed to the anesthetic effects. Grandpa fruitlessly blew the truck horn for a few seconds before passing out. Then everything went black for us both.

= = = = = = = = = = = = =

The miraculous revelations I'm about to share are a reconstruction of events that were told to me by various sources and points of view.

When I had called my grandpa earlier at gunpoint, I knew that Luisa was visiting her father, of course, but not at the prison. Her father, Juan Hernandez had been released early from prison for good behavior that very day, and all three of them had returned to the farm to celebrate his freedom, a fact that Brandon and dad must have been unaware of. I had hoped that by saying that Luisa was with me at the quarry, it would alert grandpa that something was seriously wrong. Grandpa wanted to come alone to the quarry to meet whatever danger presented itself. There was no way in hell that Luisa wasn't going with him, and her dad wasn't allowing his daughter to be placed in harm's way unless he was there to protect her. Grandpa drove his truck and Luisa followed behind in her car with her dad as a passenger. She parked way back to avoid being seen and watched from a distance using binoculars.

Brandon cut the cable ties from our wrists and ankles once we were rendered unconscious. Faye pulled the tape from our mouths leaving no traces of our having been subdued. Brandon then started the truck engine, popped the transmission in neutral, and let it begin its slow natural gravity descent toward the edge of the quarry where we'd meet certain death. There was just enough slope toward the edge to allow the truck unfettered passage to its ignominious end. Brandon walked away from the scene and was nearing the gate that he'd pulled closed to prevent intrusions. He called for Faye to join him as they had a long walk to where he'd concealed his car. Faye seemed stuck in her shoes. He yelled for her again to catch up with him.

Then Brandon heard a twig snap which made him turn his head. As he looked up the road leading to the quarry, he caught a glimpse of a person running faster than he'd ever seen a human body move before. Jet black hair billowed behind her so forcefully that it appeared to be struggling to remain attached to her head. Her feet barely touched the ground as her toes launched her forward like a missile. He'd never seen anything like it in his life. In mere moments before he even had a chance to react, the blur had barely touched the top of the four-foot-high barrier with her fingers, moving past him, and leaping over it as if it wasn't there.

Faye had not yet seen the approaching form. She muttered, "No. It's not right. It's just not right. Maybe he deserves to be punished but he doesn't deserve to die."

Knowing it would be futile to try to jump in the truck and attempt to use the brakes, Faye ran to the passenger door, hoping to pull me out of the careening vehicle. The door was locked! Faye's eyes became as big as saucers as she realized that there was no stopping it. Then she made a decision that I'll never understand to my dying day. Faye selflessly ran in front of the truck, pushing with all of her might to stop it but there was too much momentum, and she was soon overcome. As her final attempt to undo what she'd help Brandon set in motion failed, she offered the last thing she could, to slow the truck down, her body. Faye threw her body underneath the truck and it jumped up as both sets of tires struck her and ran over her horizontal form. She had nothing left to give, nothing.

The speedster had nearly made it to the truck when Brandon realized who it was and what she was trying to do. He grabbed his handgun and aimed it at the flying form steadying his grip so he could pull the trigger and stop her. Before his finger could squeeze the trigger, the gun was ripped from his hand, brutally breaking two of his fingers in the process. Then an extremely angry man's fist was the last thing Brandon saw before being knocked out cold with one extremely powerful punch.

Luisa opened the driver's door, and with extreme exertion, shoved my lifeless grandpa over into me, making room for her in the front seat. She frantically pressed the brake pedal, which immediately went all the way to the floor, offering no resistance whatsoever.

Now in a major panic, Luisa yelled, "Quinn, if you can hear me, if you go, I go, we go together. I will NOT leave you!"

She'd known about the inoperative emergency brake on grandpa's truck for years. When she was younger, she'd tried to use it many times before to no avail. Luisa mustered all of her strength and energy, unlocking every molecule of adrenaline that her body could produce. She shoved both of her feet in unison down on that emergency brake pedal and pushed. It was later said that the most ungodly groan ever heard, escaped her as she gave her all to stop that truck. The front wheels slipped over the edge and dropped. What did Luisa do? Did she flee the truck? Hell no! She pressed and groaned even louder as incredible pain tore through her legs. Her muscles begged for her to allow them to collapse but she would not permit it. Then, miraculously, the truck came to a stop. Afterward, when a mechanic checked the truck in the shop, he said that the solid steel beam emergency brake arm had been bent nearly forty-five degrees. The pedal was all the way to the floor. He said he didn't have the strength to straighten it out nor bend it any further, even when using a pipe for leverage. Those emergency brake arms were manufactured much heavier duty in the old days. He had no explanation to offer as to how the hell Luisa did it.

Faye, bless her heart, she was a mess. She spent three and a half months in the hospital. When the truck wheels had run over her body, it slowed the truck down just enough to where Luisa had barely enough time to stop it before going over. But it took its toll on Faye. Her back was broken and she would never walk again. She would recover but be wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life.

When the ambulance and deputies arrived at the scene on the day of our attempted murder, grandpa and I were treated at the scene and taken to the hospital for observation overnight. The uncertainty about the dosage of chloroform we had received concerned the doctors. We were released the following day. The Sheriff's deputies were able to locate the bottle of chloroform used to subdue us, and the small box-end wrench that was used to compromise grandpa's hydraulic brakes was found in Brandon's pocket with only his fingerprints on it. The gun he'd used to threaten us with was registered to dad. Brandon's car had been located a quarter of a mile away.

The four adults were formally charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and drugging with intent to commit bodily harm. Faye testified against the other three, and with her plea agreement along with my adamant recommendation, had all charges against her dropped. Many people SAY they'd lay down their life for someone they love but precious few would actually follow through and DO it. I'd had two women do just that at the same time. I would not have survived if either of them had not done what they did for me that day. Even though Faye had betrayed me in the worst possible way, she also willingly put her life on the line to save mine at the last moment. I didn't want her to spend years in prison. She'd be in a prison of her own for the rest of her life.

My annulment sailed through the court without a hint of objection from Faye. I was a free agent. Luisa and I decided to wait until after all the legal family matters were settled before officially tying the knot. Tamara stayed with her aunt, Faye's sister during the trials. She attended the proceedings and her eyes were opened to their murderous plot. Tamara came to me sobbing uncontrollably after all the incriminating testimony had been given.

"I'm so sorry, daddy," she entreated. "Mom and Brandon told me that you had planted evidence against him and your dad in the company computer, falsely accusing them of stealing. While you were out of the office coming to meet me at the quarry, they said they would use that time to copy the real files from your office computer to expose your plot and exonerate them. They just needed you out of your office for a short while. So when I called you that day to come to the quarry to rescue me, the ruse would give them the necessary access time in your office. I had no idea they were lying to me, daddy, I swear. I thought I was just helping them to clear their names. You were nearly killed, and I helped them do it. I never wanted you hurt, not for a second. I hate what they did to you. Please believe me!" She bawled.

My attorney successfully sued my parents and Brandon. They were forced to liquidate everything and ended up bankrupt with no other recoverable assets. The proceeds were split between me and the company. Grandpa excluded himself from the lawsuits so that I would receive more. The company would never see full restitution of the embezzled amounts but judgments were made against them in perpetuity even after serving their sentences. Dad and mom were sentenced to twenty years each for felony conspiracy with no time off for good behavior. Brandon was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

As my final altruistic act toward Faye in light of her permanent disability suffered for trying to save my life despite everything else she had done, I took a small amount of the money awarded to me from the lawsuits and purchased a small home for her. I had a contractor go through the entire house to make it handicap-friendly. It took some convincing but I finally talked Tamara into living with her mother and caring for her until she turned eighteen. Then, as an adult, she could make her own decisions from there. Faye was riddled with guilt and contrition and made it known at every opportunity. She wished Luisa and me every happiness and told Luisa she was getting the finest and most loving man she'd ever met.

Juan had been welcomed back at grandpa's farm with open arms, assuming his former position running the farm. He told me he never regretted a moment spent behind bars for what he did, saying he only wished he'd taken care of Alejandro much sooner. He was not charged with assaulting Brandon at the quarry. He had prevented his daughter's murder and the DA ignored Brandon's pleas to charge him. Juan said his greatest regret in life was coming between Luisa and me all those years ago. If he'd simply let our hearts lead us to the rightful conclusion, a great deal of pain and anguish might have been avoided. Luisa nor I ever blamed him for anything other than being a protective father.

Three months after the sentencing hearings, Luisa and I tied the knot in a grand ceremony on the grounds of grandpa's farm. It was a glorious setting. Grandpa had arranged for more flowers than Luisa or I had ever seen in one place. His wedding present was to transfer the stock early with a twenty-grand bonus to pay for our honeymoon in Hawaii. We spent two magnificent weeks in Maui with day trips to the other islands. It was an experience neither of us could have ever imagined.

We located a very nice four-bedroom upscale home halfway between the plant and grandpa's farm. We spent quite a bit of time in both places. Luisa and I were blissfully happy. She never had any fear that I would turn on her as Alejandro had done, and Juan called me his son from that day on. Call it luck, call it a miracle blessing from God, call it kismet, or call it a twist of fate; after seventeen months of marriage, Luisa gave birth to a healthy baby boy. There was no doubt who the father was. He was my spitting image. We decided against naming him after me. Grandpa's surname is William. Juan's middle name is Martinez. We named him William Martin Davenport after two honorable men who we both admired, respected, and loved.