Mind Games (Games Thriller Series) (24 page)

Chapter 69

The alarm went off, shocking him awake and Tom sat up, looking down at Jessica. He took a deep breath and rubbed his face.

“Shit,” he whispered and got out of bed. After a shower and a shave, he dressed in a suit and tie and sat on the side of the bed, putting his socks and shoes on.

Jessica rolled over and opened her sleepy eyes. “What time is it?”

“Almost seven.”

“What time’s your flight?”

“I’ve got to be at the West 30
th
street heliport in a half hour.”

“You
’d better get moving.”

Tom smiled. “Don’t worry, they won’t leave without me. I should be back around five and we have dinner reservations at seven.” He kissed her and stood. “What do you have going on today?”

“I was going to go down to the South Street Seaport and see that human body exhibit, but I’ll make sure I’m here when you get back.”

“I would appreciate that.” He leaned down and kissed her again. “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” she said and stretched.

Tom took the elevator down and walked out to the front entrance to the waiting town car. The driver opened the door and Tom scowled. “What are you doing here?”

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Sharon Young smiled.

“This isn’t a trip to Disney
land.”

“John is meeting us at the helipad,” Craig Humphrey, the producer of the movie, said, glancing between Tom and Sharon.

Tom nodded. “Sorry for snapping.”

Sharon reached over and put her hand on his thigh. “It’s ok
ay.”

Tom stared at her hand, her audacity bringing the frustration full force and he brushed her hand away. “Please don’t do that again.” He was in no mood to be toyed with, especially today. Quiet and reserved on both the trip to the heliport and the helicopter ride, he did the best he could to prepare himself to enter
that hellhole again.

The helicopter landed behind the warehouse near the private garage and everyone stepped out, ducking under the whoosh of the helicopter blades. Tom hesitated at the chopper door, staring at the open garage, remembering the sweet taste of freedom that it had instilled in him when he had the first seen the garage and the open night beyond five years ago.

He took a deep breath and stepped onto solid ground.

Sharon took his arm. “It’s ok
ay.”

He jerked his arm away from her. “It’s anything but ok
ay.” He walked into the garage.

“Are you ready for this?” John asked.

Tom nodded as the CEO of Empire Technologies walked up and introduced himself, shaking hands with all of them. He escorted them to the elevator.

“I guess they had a hell of a time reprogramming the elevator in the beginning, but at least now it operates with only a key instead of requiring a retinal scan.” He handed over the keys to Craig.

Tom stared at the closed elevator doors and the shakes took hold with each millisecond the elevator plummeted taking them into the bowels of the complex, to the source of his nightmares. He pressed against the back wall trying to melt into it and his breath locked in his chest. A thin high wheeze slipped out as he pulled air into his lungs, the momentary panic attack making even the act of breathing a difficult task.

When the elevator slid open, Tom’s gaze fell to the floor, half expecting Frank’s discarded eye to be where Jessica dropped it. A measure of relief swept through him, allowing him to draw air into his lungs without the burning sensation in his chest, but that was short lived.

The expedition party stepped off and turned expectantly but he clung to the back of the elevator unable to take the step needed and he closed his eyes, uttering a laugh that bordered on hysterical.

God
, I wish Jess was here.
The thought alone gave him the strength to open his eyes and take the shaky step into the hallway, but the whoosh of the doors closing behind him struck terror in his heart and he spun around ready to leap between the closing doors. The click of the doors drawing together registered in his panicked brain and he drew in a deep breath, settling his shot nerves.

“Are you ok
ay?” Sharon asked.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” The wheeze in his chest returned and sweat trickled down the small of his back, an unpleasant sensation that exacerbated the panic attack. Tom crouched down, putting his hand on his forehead and forcing deep breaths, willing himself to get control. To get his shit together as Ty once told him.

Tom raised his eyes to John. “Shit, John, I don’t know if I can do this,” he gasped through his restricted airway. His breath came in harsh pulls, hyperventilating and he fell to his knees, desperately trying to catch his breath.

“You and I have known each other for a long time
, Tom. I knew you long before this happened. You can do this.” He crouched next to Tom, putting his hand on his shoulder. “If you have to get into character to do it, then go for it.”

Tom understood what his friend was saying, and he was able to catch his breath, but he still wasn’t sure he could do this. “You don’t get it. I was supposed to die down here,” he whispered and hung his head.

“But you didn’t.” John stood up. “Now get your shit together.”

Tom whipped his head up, glaring at John. “That’s what he told me before Frank brought her in the room.”

John smiled. “Better?”

Tom stood and nodded, taking a deep breath. “Game on,” he said, stealing the phrase from the character he had signed up to take on. He waltzed past them, his face a mask of concentration as he led them to the control room. He flipped on all the camera controls, reversing what he and Jessica had done five years ago. All the monitors came to life and he stepped back scanning them.

“Jesus,” Sharon whispered.

“He won’t help you now,” Tom growled.

Sharon stepped back at the glare sent her way.

“You wanted to see what things were like down here. How about a ride in one of those chairs?” He pointed at the monitors but never took his eyes off her. “Come on Shar, what do you say?” He stepped toward her, making her take another step back. “It’s such a rush.”

“You’re scaring me,” she said. John and Craig looked on.

The fury riding in his blood got the best of him and Tom laughed, grabbing her by the arm, dragging her down the hall into the last room he had been in. The chairs were still there, so was the table with all the tools except the ones that had been used. He swung her around and into the chair that he had been strapped in.

“You want to know what it felt like to think this was the last thing you’d ever feel?” He tightened the strap around her chest. “The last thing you’d ever see?” He pointed over his shoulder at the chair behind him.

“He sliced her. I watched while Frank sliced her up with the knife.” He leaned on the arms of the chair gripping the wood to temper the shakes flowing through him. He wasn’t just talking about five years ago, he was talking about just a couple
of weeks ago and he could almost hear Frank laughing.

He stepped back and looked at the mirror. “Ty was being pulled apart and she was being cut up and neither of them made a noise.” He took a deep breath. “Not one fucking noise.”

He turned and looked at the chair and the chains and something inside him clicked. “They just stared at each other. It was like they weren’t even here.”

What the hell kind of connection did they have?

He stared at the mirror thinking about the other morning.
Jesus.

“I can’t play this part,” he said and returned his focus to John.

“You just did,” John said.

Tom laughed. “That wasn’t Ty,” he said. “Ty didn’t lose control.”

John and Sharon exchanged a look. “He did with her,” Sharon said.

Tom turned and looked at them. He shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think he calculated everything and ended up getting away with murder.”

“He died for her, Tom,” Sharon said. “That wasn’t calculated.”

Tom started to laugh. “You bet your ass it was,” he said as he continued to laugh
.
If they only knew
. As his laughter died down he looked at John. “I can’t do this. I can’t make him into a hero.”

“Tom...” John started.

“—He killed so many people, John. I can’t make him into a hero.” He turned away. “He isn’t a hero. He isn’t afraid to die either, not for my wife. He would jump off the Brooklyn Bridge for her if he had to, but that still doesn’t make him a hero.” Tom looked around the room and then back at the chains. “No matter how much he tried to redeem himself, he still is evil at the core.” He looked back at the three of them. “We can’t let the world see him as a hero. That’s irresponsible, no matter how brave and self sacrificing he was at the end, it doesn’t matter, he’s still a killer at heart.”

Sharon was looking down at the floor as Tom walked over to the chains, touching them.

“I want to see the other rooms.” Tom looked over his shoulder. “The one we were in and the one she was in,” he said and they nodded, leading the way.

They brought him to the room that the three of them had shared for six weeks. Tom walked in and looked at the chair in the center of the room. He flashed back to the day Frank came back, the way he manipulated her, cut her, raped her and Ty sat watching it all with that godforsaken smile on his lips, like he was entertained by the show.

To this day he never understood how he could remain so calm, so in control, especially since Tom knew better. He walked over to the chains in the wall and crouched down; taking the one he had put on Ty’s ankle, holding it thoughtfully.

“I hate him,” he said. “I hate that my wife loves him.” He tossed the shackle as he stood up and faced them. “After everything he did to her, she forgave him. I still don’t get that.” He shook his head.

“Maybe it’s time you see some of those tapes,” John said.

Tom looked at him and tilted his head. “You’ve seen them?”

John nodded. “She showed me them and I asked her to write the script.” He pointed in the general direction of Sharon. “Tom, he loved her.”

Tom nodded. “I know that.”
He still does.
He looked around the room.

“He treated her differently than any other prisoner over the years,” Sharon said.

“Lucky me,” Tom said sarcastically and walked into the adjoining bathroom. He looked at the shower and leaned his head against the wall. He glanced over at the mirror and remembered the day she healed the bruise on his face with a kiss. These were things they didn’t know about, things they couldn’t see in the videos. The script calls for a malfunction in the chain shackles because they couldn’t fathom any other reason as to how Ty got loose and saved them. Even with the miracle speech.

Tom walked out of the bathroom and out the door into the hallway. Jessica hadn’t done anything until Eric was in danger and then all hell broke loose. He put his back against the wall in the hallway and closed his eyes.

They came out of the room.

“Where is her room?”

“Just a couple rooms down,” John said and started walking in the direction of the elevator. He opened the door and let Tom walk in. This time he didn’t follow and he didn’t allow Sharon to follow. Tom looked at the set up. There was a chair and a mattress, which was a recurring theme in all the rooms and to his left was the treadmill that she had spoken about. He walked over to it and picked up one of the shackles on the handrail.

Rust graced the metal and he knew better, it wasn’t rust, it was her blood. “Jesus,” he whispered.

“That’s just the beginning,” a voice laughed from behind him.

Tom whirled around. There was no one in the room with him but the temperature dropped and he shivered. Tom turned toward the mirror and Frank grinned back at him.

The door slammed shut and his mouth went dry. He backed into the concrete wall, feeling the cold rough surface with his fingers.

“I am going to finish what I started here. Starting with you.” He pointed a knife at Tom. “I want her to watch
you
die.”

The banging on the door snapped his attention away from Frank and the spell broke, the temperature returned to normal just as the door flew open. Tom glanced back at the mirror and all that was looking back was his wide
, scared eyes and pale, blotchy face.

“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Sharon said.

Tom tore out of the room and into the hallway. He fell to his knees for a second and fear tore through him. Trembling, he caught his breath, kneeling with his hands on his thighs. He felt the hand on the back of his neck and Sharon crouched next to him.

“Please don’t,” he said. “Just leave me alone right now.”

John leaned down next to Tom. “What happened in there?”

“I think this place is haunted,” he whispered and looked over at John.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” John said. “We’ve been down here at least a dozen times.”