Seeing Black (32 page)

“Wonderland.”

“Huh?”

“This place. He calls it Wonderland. I’m Alice. I
can’t get out.”

“No. That’s bullshit. I don’t believe that.”

“Not bullshit. I’ve tried. I can’t. You’ll get hurt.
Leave and call police.”

“I have Jill. So many times. They won’t come here
and accuse Rocco.” When she didn’t budge, he crouched down. “Listen
to me. Paul told me you were ready. He told me, babe. You’re ready.
Even before Rocco’s death, you were already remembering. Whatever
shit he had you believing, wipe it out of your mind. Think.
Concentrate. You can do this, Jill. I’m not leaving without you, so
you better try, damn it. You better fucking try,” his voice
cracked. “I’m not living one single second without you, so start
meditating or concentrating or whatever the fuck because you are
getting out of here. Tonight.”

She nodded, anxiously. “O-okay. Give me a second.”
Even though Rocco was dead and she could now remember everything,
she wasn’t sure she could leave. She was uncertain whether the hold
that kept her in Wonderland died with Rocco. She still hadn’t seen
Alexander’s face. She closed her eyes and steadied her breath. His
firm hands remained on her shoulders, patiently waiting, all the
while both knowing that time was of the essence. She focused. She
visualized Helen’s maternal embrace, the twins running along the
beach and climbing trees on Onion Island, the powdery beach sand
tickling her toes, and Helen writing in her journals, laughing at
some funny quip. Then she was able to see herself walk out of
Wonderland. Jill pictured herself as she hopped on the back of
Alexander’s bike. She saw Oliver’s warm smile as she walked into
the apartment. She smelled Heather’s tofu stir-fry and felt her
sweet hug. Alexander’s soft lips and wet tongue moved against her
luscious lips as she got into his bed and slept away the nightmare
while he held her all night. She felt it. She felt him, and, as if
he could read her mind, he bent down and brushed his lips gently
against hers. At that moment, she knew she could do this. With him,
she could do anything.

“I’m ready.”

“I’ve missed you so much, Jill.” He kissed her again
quickly but with such heartfelt emotion that she felt it all the
way to her toes.

“If I struggle, if I get confused, you remind me,
okay? Remind me I’ve been here seven months. Remind me that you
missed me. Remind me that I love you, and I will come back to
you.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Alexander slowly and quietly opened the door. The
hallway was dark, but not as dark as the white dungeon. The
floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the back of the house let the
moonlight in just enough that she wasn’t moving blindly. She could
see enough, even with one good eye. The house was so quiet it was
unnerving. Even though they were being quiet, she felt as if they
were two noisy bulls stomping their way around a china shop.
Alexander kept her behind him as he quietly walked down the hall to
another room, a very familiar room. He opened the door and shut it
behind them. They were now in her room. All business, Alexander
continued to pull her until they were by the window, the window
Paul had come in and out of numerous times, probably at this same
time in the night. Or maybe it was early morning; she wasn’t
sure.

Alexander picked up a stool by the bed and moved it
in front of the window. He obviously had a plan. He then carefully
opened the window and looked out before nodding. “Okay. The coast
is clear. Let’s go.”

Alexander helped her up on the stool, and Jill
looked through the open window and down. “Go? Like how? Jump? We
must be three stories up. I’ll kill myself.”

“See that ledge?” He pointed to a small crevice that
was possibly a windowsill. “Jump there first, and then you can make
a final jump down.”

Was he out of his mind?

She didn’t look at him as he spoke. She continued
looking at the so-called ledge. Well if Paul’s and Alexander’s big
feet fit on the ledge, her smaller ones most certainly would.

“I know it looks scary, but I assure the alternative
is worse.”

The alternative. Staying captive.
No thank you!
Jump six feet onto a tiny ‘ledge’? No problem. No problem at
all.
Her entire body still ached, but she had to do this. One
tippy-toed foot stood on the stool as she began to move the other
one through the window. “Shit. Wait.” She brought the foot back,
jumped off the stool, and painfully ran towards her bed.

“Jill. We don’t have time. I could only deactivate
the alarm for thirty minutes. It will activate again in about seven
minutes.”

“I just . . .” She lifted her mattress and pulled
out her journal. “I just have to get this. Okay, let’s go.” She
tucked the small journal in the waistband of her yoga pants that
were hidden by her long t-shirt. Once again, she got into position
and slowly went through the window. Both her feet were on the
foot-long windowsill. Her back was flush against the window. It had
been days since she’d smelled the fresh air. She took a deep
breath. “You right behind me?”

“Of course, love. I’m right here, always, right
here. As soon as you jump to the ledge and then to the ground, I’ll
follow.”

“Promise?”

“I promise, Jill.”

“I love you, Alexander.”

“I love you too. Now jump.” She did. It was like a
long, painful, scary game of hopscotch. Hop to the ledge, not
enough time to keep balance, so hop right down to the floor.
Because of the distance and her already injured body, it was far
from graceful, and she landed on her already injured hands and
knees. Before she had a chance to get up, Alexander was already
there helping her up.

“You okay?” he asked as he carried her to her feet.
She nodded because this was not the moment to tell him she thought
her already raw left wrist was now probably broken.

Alexander pulled her quickly against the house and
led her to the edge. “You have to hurry. The alarm will reset
soon.”

“But we’re already out of the house.”

“There are motion sensors everywhere. We have to
move, okay?” He didn’t give her time to answer. He pulled her
behind him, running quietly. She followed.

And then came the pain. Something yanked her back by
the hair so painfully hard that her hand detached from Alexander’s
grasp and her neck snapped back.

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” An
all-too-familiar voice came out of the shadows, accompanied by
Ogre-man, who held Jill by the hair.

“You must be Josef,” said Alexander. “Who the fuck
are you?” Alexander asked Ogre-man, who incidentally didn’t
reply.

“I told you I’d kill him if you didn’t cooperate.
Looks like I’ll kill him anyway,” Josef said.

“No. Please. No!” Jill cried. “Let him go. I’ll do
whatever it takes. Please.”

“Hmmm. This may be easier than I thought,” Josef
said.

Alexander took a step forward. “Let her go right
now! You’ll regret it. I promise you. If you hurt her, you will
never see the light of day again.”

“No. Stop. Alexander, stop. Josef, please. He’s just
trying to protect me. He doesn’t know anything. Just let him go.
Alexander, shut up. Don’t say anything else. Stop antagonizing him.
Josef, please, just let him go.”

“It isn’t a threat. Let her the fuck go. Now,”
Alexander barked.

Slowly, as if this were a normal everyday
occurrence, Josef sauntered towards Alexander and stood right next
to him. “Do not presume to think I am stupid. I know that I am
nothing but an old man to you. I know I would never win a physical
fight against you. I know that. But he will.” Josef pointed to
Ogre-man. “He’ll kill you like this.” Josef snapped his fingers.
“He won’t flinch. He won’t hesitate. All I have to do is say the
words. And when he finishes killing you, he’ll kill her. So . . .”
Josef, hands casually intertwined behind his back, strolled slowly
around Alexander. Alexander’s eyes never wavered. They were glued
to Jill. “This is how this is going to work. You don’t want her to
die. She doesn’t want you to die. A love story. How very romantic.”
Josef clapped his hands and smiled. “You will sacrifice your lives
for each other. I know you will. I can see it in your eyes. Both of
you. And that is your downfall.”

Josef looked over at Jill, who was still being held
up by her hair about six feet away from him and Alexander. “Tell me
what you know about the plane, Jillian, about my finances.” Jill
noticed a change in Alexander’s face.
Son of a bitch!
Alexander knew. Somehow he knew what the lunatic wanted to know.
Josef was interrogating the wrong person. If Josef knew that
Alexander knew this information, he’d undoubtedly kill him. He was
out to kill whoever knew. That was the plan. That had been the plan
all along. When she didn’t answer, Ogre-man pulled her head back by
her hair and backhanded her across the face.

“I fucking warned you, you son of a bitch!”
Alexander lunged forward. Ogre-man, to keep balance, released Jill.
The two men rolled around the floor. Ogre-man was taller and
stronger than Alexander, but he wasn’t as angry. He didn’t have as
much invested in the fight.

Jill tried to get closer, tried to help. She now
knew how to do psychic remote viewing, thanks to her asshole
father. Unfortunately, it was the kind of thing she needed time to
meditate on. She couldn’t just close her eyes and know the next
swing Ogre-Man would take and assist Alexander, so she stood
helpless as Alexander took hit after hit. However, he wasn’t the
only one taking hits. Ogre-man was also feeling Alexander’s wrath.
It seemed as if Ogre-Man was all brawn and no brain, none
whatsoever. Alexander, who had the size disadvantage, was able to
move in ways that Ogre-Man didn’t see coming, thus getting the
upper hand. He was able to get him pinned against the side of the
house, punching him left, right, left, right in the face. Alexander
was relentless. Blood splattered as Ogre-man fought back. “Enough!”
Josef yelled.

Alexander stood, grabbed Jill by the hand, and
pulled her. “We’re leaving.”

Jill heard Josef laugh from behind. A villain laugh.
It sent chills down her spine. Then she heard the sound of a gun
being cocked, and both Jill and Alexander stopped in their tracks.
As if synchronized, they slowly turned around and saw Josef
pointing a gun towards them.

“Play time is over.” Josef took three long strides
towards them. His entire demeanor was different. He pointed the gun
at Jill. “Tell me now. What do you know about the money and the
plane? Who have you told? And what? I need to know how many people
know.”

“I-I d-don’t know,” she really didn’t know and hoped
Alexander would keep his mouth shut.

Strangely, Alexander stood with his hands in his
pockets as if in defeat. Head down. Had he given up?

“Oh, is that what this is about? About the money you
stole twenty-four years ago from some very angry drug dealers?
Very, very, angry drug dealers, who, by the way, are on their way
with a very angry, very volatile man by the name of Brian
Reynolds.”

When Josef didn’t say anything, Alexander continued
to speak. “Oh, can’t recall Brian, huh? Well, let me refresh your
memory. Brian was shocked by large volts of electricity,
repeatedly, by you, almost thirty years ago. He’s a real nut, a
loose cannon. I can’t imagine what he wants to talk to you about.
About the plane, well, I didn’t know anything about the plane until
just now. It never occurred to me.” Alexander turned to look at
Jill. “I think Josef here, along with your father, caused the plane
to crash. I think they wanted to make sure your mother never spoke
to anyone about anything—about the drug money or about the
experiments. What they didn’t expect is that you were alive and
that you survived. How am I doing, Josef?” As if on cue, both Jill
and Josef looked over at Alexander. Stunned.

“So you told your boyfriend. Who else?” Rocco
said.

“Oh no. Actually, she didn’t know. She’s not the one
who told me. This is all new to her.” That seemed to finally put a
wrench in Josef’s master plan. If he killed Alexander, he wouldn’t
know who else knew, and at least one other person knew, the person
who had told Alexander. Suddenly, Jill became expendable.

“You are lying!” Josef yelled. He seemed to be
losing control. His fist tightened around the gun that he swung
back and forth between Alexander and Jill, looking unsure as to
what he would do, or better yet, whom he’d kill first.

“You said it yourself. We would die for each other.
You know she wouldn’t have held something back that would’ve
ultimately protected me. Obviously, she didn’t know.” He hissed
that last words slowly. “But I do. I know all about why you wanted
Esther out of the picture.”

“Of course, I wanted that bitch out of the picture.
She was on-board when everything was easy; then when things got a
little scary, she ran away. We’re not big on having loose ends. The
other passengers on the plane were just collateral damage.” Then he
smiled, cockily. “I have to say it felt exhilarating to close my
eyes and cause that plane to crash. I felt like God. It was worth
losing my powers over it.”

“You’re a sadistic lunatic, and now I know all your
dirty little secrets. I know you killed all those drug dealers and
stole their money. That makes you a murderer, regardless of whether
they’re drug dealers or not. I know how you have a hundred million
dollars stashed somewhere, and now I know you killed all those
people on that plane. I know everything about you,
motherfucker.”

Josef looked torn. Ogre-man had limped his bloodied
body closer to Josef. “Who else knows?” Josef asked.

“Fuck you, asshole. In ten minutes, your house is
going to be swimming with a lot of people who want you dead,
possibly more than I do. You lost. This is over. I’m not telling
you shit.”