He looked down at his drink and swirled his finger around the rim. The pretty woman next to him kept her hand on his knee.
"I thought they were gonna kill me then and there. Instead, they cuffed me to the bed and left me there to die slowly. Day one, I knew that I was going to die. There was no hope. Days passed. I lost track of them. I was starving, thirsty, hallucinating. It was painful. It's the worst thing you can do to a human."
"Were you scared?" she asked.
Felix shook his head. "I accepted my death. Sure, it was going to be painful. But I didn't break down."
"You poor guy. How did you escape?"
"After about a week and so close to death, I used my last bit of strength to call for help. An elderly lady was passing by the house and heard me. It was a strange coincidence that it was the same lady I helped across the street only a couple weeks before. She called the cops and saved my life. The doctors said it was lucky she found me in time. I was only hours away from death."
The woman gasped. Her hand held his knee tighter. "You are so brave. I wish I was that brave." Still studying the drink in front of him, he nodded with small smile. "What were you thinking as you were dying?"
"Dying?" Marv roared with laughter as he came up to the bar next to Felix. In his arms were more folders of recent skips. Felix didn't attempt to stop him. "Let me tell you the real story. It's so fucking hilarious. So he fucks this woman who knocks him out and ties him to the bed. When he wakes up, her boyfriend threatens him and leaves him chained up. Two hours later, the police come to the door 'cause the neighbors complained about some psycho yelling his head off for help. The police barge in and find him screaming and bawling."
The woman rolled her eyes and took her drink to another part of the bar. Felix stared at his beer. "Why did you have to do that?"
"'Cause you have more jobs. You fucked up letting that bitch run. You owe me." He shoved three folders in front of him. "Stop thinking with your dick and bring in these skips." Marv left with the glare that hadn't subsided in two weeks.
He flipped through the folders. One of them had information of another young female in trouble. He cringed at her mug shot. She was ugly as hell. There wasn't any temptation with her. He could easily ward off any of her seductive moves. As he gulped down his beer and waited to sober up a bit, he took notes on which fugitive to take in first. He gathered the folders and shivered when the chilly wind helped sober him up on his way to his crappy rental car. He didn't attempt to report that his car was stolen. The douche's reminder was still fresh in his mind. The thought of his ball sack being castrated with pliers was motivation for any man to keep quiet. But that wasn't the main thing that bothered him the most about two weeks ago.
He was played by a beautiful girl. Her lovely mouth spewed lies just to get out of trouble. He refused to believe all of her stories were untruthful. The fear of her boyfriend was obvious. The reason why she returned to that sadist was a mystery he half-heartedly tried to solve. He wanted to believe that the sex wasn't a lie, that she wanted him. Every night since, when he lay in his bed at night, lonely and confused, he searched every moment with her, trying to find a clue that she was sincere. Marv was right. That bitch was just looking for a way out.
His phone rang just as his hand was on the door handle. He pulled it from his pocket. On the lit screen were the words, "unknown number." He answered it anyway.
"Hello?"
"Felix?" a woman said.
"Yeah, who is this?"
"It's Carry. Remember a couple weeks ago?" His lips tightened. "You were trying to take me in-"
"What the fuck do you want?"
"Please, I need your help." He heard desperation and fear in her trembling voice.
But he laughed. "Last time you needed my help you fucking lied to me. What makes you think I'll believe you now?"
"Please...I'm in so much trouble. My life is in danger!" She was a good actress. It sounded real.
"Fuck you."
"Please..." she whined and broke into sobs.
"Goodbye..."
"Felix! Wait!" He ended the call.
He shook his head. "Little fucking liar." He laughed at her lame cry for help and kept laughing as he drove home.
~
The next morning, Felix entered Marv's Bail Bonds to collect more information on the next young lady he planned to arrest. She was slipperier than the slut he slept with. No one knew where she was. As soon as he walked through the door, Marv jogged up to him.
"She was here!"
"Who was?"
"The bitch! Carry...um...Wild-"
"What the fuck? Why the hell-"
"She was looking for you. She was fuckin messed up. Her face was all bruised. Looks like someone gave her a good pounding. I couldn't catch her. She ran away fast."
Felix stared off to the side, thinking. "What did she want?"
"You, apparently. She was hysterical asking for you. She must be in real trouble. I don't think anyone could fake fear like that."
"You really think she's in danger?"
"Hundred percent sure. You better go catch her. Then bring her in. I want my money," he said with a growl and started to walk to his office.
"Did you ask where she was going?"
"I did. She replied, 'the morgue.'" Felix ran to his car and tossed the other skips' folders to the passenger seat. He searched his recent calls on his phone and tried the unknown number. Carry didn't answer. He called another number.
"Ello."
"Jay, I need you to work your magic. It's an emergency."
"Who's the skip and what's his number?"
~
With luck and skill, Felix found Carry's last location only a couple hours later. While waiting, he researched what he could about the boyfriend. The creep had a warrant for his arrest along with a long rap sheet full of past arrests. All but one of the charges was mysteriously dropped. One DUI put him in jail for not even a month.
Jay called with an address. It was half an hour out of the city, in the middle of nowhere and at the end of a dirt road. Felix closed his laptop after he scribbled down the directions. He attached his gun to his belt and headed for the highway.
He weaved through the traffic and flew down the semi-paved streets of a low class neighborhood. The spacing between houses grew wider, and the road turned to dirt and rock. He slowed as he made a right on the street that led him to Carry's location. He kept the car at a crawl and stopped when the house came into view. Behind thick trees, he parked his car.
He hid behind overgrown bushes and crept down the long driveway. Ahead was a small house with one parked car in the front. At the end of some bordering hedges, he stay crouched and waited for sound or movement. No one was in the front yard. He made his way to the backyard which extended to a small forest with wild, dry brush taking over. Low to the ground, he moved to the house and shrunk under an opened window. He heard voices but couldn't make out what they were saying. He went to another open window in the next room over. He peered over the sill.
The house barely contained furniture and was almost gone to hell from lack of maintenance. Past the rotten doorframe of that room, he saw into the hallway. The boyfriend and two other men were discussing something in low, angry voices. Carry stood close by. She kept her eyes low. The boyfriend turned to her and asked a question. Felix could see her mouth "fuck you" to him. With a well practiced backhand, he struck her face. She cried out and caught herself on the wall behind her. He grabbed her arm and led her into the room. Felix ducked.
"Sundown," the boyfriend said, "I'm gonna take this knife and slit your throat. And I'm gonna keep going until your head comes off." She didn't make a sound. "Tie her up. Once I get the call that the cop's house in up in flames, our little Judas is next."
Felix heard multiple footsteps fade away after they finished tying her and popped his head up. Carry sat in a chair, hands tied behind the back, head down and trembling. Knowing her fate was sealed, she didn't bother bawling or begging for her life. She stayed limp and quietly weeping.
"Carry," he whispered. She raised her head and looked around. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. "I'm gonna get you out of here." Her quivering lips smiled. The last tear fell from her glossy eyes. He put his hand up, signaling her to wait. He leaned against the wall and searched his pockets. His useful tools were a gun and a pocketknife on his keychain. He was tempted to kick the door in and start shooting. He looked for a distraction instead.
He moved to the backyard and spotted an old charcoal barbeque. Propped against its legs was a bag of charcoal. Partially hidden in the shadows next to it was a container of charcoal lighter fluid. He smiled and quickly headed back to his car. Matchbox in hand, he went back down the driveway and stealthily circled her capture's car, letting his pocketknife rip through each tire.
Through the living room window, he could see two men smoking and talking casually. The TV blared in front of them. The boyfriend paced as he kept his cell to his ear. Felix moved around the house again and quickly checked on Carry. Her leg shook impatiently as she looked around the room. He snuck into the backyard and peered through the glass back door. Part of the kitchen blocked the living room and their view of the backyard. He dashed past the door and picked up the quarter full container.
He soaked four bundles of dry bushes with the lighter fluid and dropped a lit match into each one. He ran to the edge of the house and waited. It seemed to take forever for the flames to reach a few feet high. He held his breath and got ready, remembering that he had only seconds to get her out.
"Holy fuck! The yard's on fire!" one of the men shouted. He saw all three men scramble out the back door. He turned and threw himself into the window. Carry's breathing went shallow as he cut away her ties.
