Steve entered the dimly light lounge, scanning the room looking for his old college buddy. At this time of day, it was packed with bored businessmen and neglected housewives, each trying hard to outdo the stories of their companions. Suddenly a tall, well built and well dressed man rose from a barstool and approached him.
"Steve? Steve O'Donnell?"
"Klaus, is that you? Good lord, man, I hardly recognized you!"
Gone was the scruffy shy young student; in his place stood a man exuding self-confidence and success. Steve was impressed and more than a little surprised at his transformation. The two made their way to a booth and quickly ordered drinks, each surreptitiously taking stock of the other.
Klaus was equally surprised at Steve's appearance. In college, his roommate had been quite the ladies' man, handsome and fit. Now he saw seated before him a man to whom time had not been kind. His dark hair was now thinning and heavily streaked with gray and his face was creased and jowly. His belly strained against the edge of the table and Klaus could swear his former friend had somehow shrunk a few inches.
"It is good to see you, Steve. I have not been in town for many years and I was pleased to learn you are still here."
"Yeah, man," Steve laughed heartily. "Ol' Steve has done pretty well for himself. Got a cushy job at my father-in-laws's company and no money worries. Guess even the ones that graduate at the bottom of the class do okay, huh?"
"Ja, ja, " Klaus agreed. "And how is Callie? I have not seen her since your wedding."
"Callie? The ball and chain is just fine, although she sure ain't the girl I married, know what I mean? I guess it's just harder on women, getting older. She's a good mother to the kids though, although they're both grown and gone, you know. What about you, man? You're looking pretty dapper, what are you up to? Still chasing after that acting thing?"
"Oh ja, you could say that, Steve," he chuckled. "I've had a little success, and it seems more to come. You might see my name up in lights yet."
The two men continued catching up on old times and old friends, and Klaus made sure Steve was outdrinking him, having made an arrangement with the bartender earlier to keep his own drinks watered down. Soon Steve was slurring his words and ready to spill his guts.
"Hey, man, you oughta see my secretary. She is one hot little slut; I've been banging her almost every day for a year now. Blonde, body to die for, and not a brain in her head to make things complicated." Steve cackled. "And she could suck a golf ball through a garden hose, not to mention that tight little pussy. She makes my wife look like dog food. Callie USED to be hot, but Kelly is hot NOW. I promised to take her on my next business trip; I got plans for that ass of hers. She hasn't let me go back door on her yet, but once we're in that hotel..." Steve winked obscenely across the table.
"And you're going on this trip soon?"
"Oh, yeah. We're leaving Sunday, for three weeks. The conference is only for 8 days, but Callie doesn't have to know that. You oughta give her a call, or stop by and see her, man. She always thought a lot of you, d'you know that?"
Late that night in his hotel room, Klaus pulled the revolver from the nightstand and emptied out the rounds. After all these years, he'd come so far just to find he no longer hated Steve O'Donnell. In fact, he felt sorry for him. The man was a pitiful shadow of what he'd been and Klaus was no longer in awe of him. He realized his fantastic fantasy of killing Steve was just a tool he'd used to motivate himself through the years to succeed, to persevere. He'd finally outgrown it and saw it for what it was - the last remnant of his jealous imaginings and youthful insecurity. Now he could move on with the rest of his plan. Now he could help Callie. It was Wednesday night; there was much to do by Sunday.
At the O'Donnell house, Steve casually announced, "Guess who I had drinks with today? Klaus Schmidt!"
"Klaus? Oh my God, you're kidding me! How is he?"
"Looks good actually. I told him he should call you, but I doubt he will. He's still a pretty quiet guy."
Callie kept her eyes on the television screen as her mind wandered back in time. She had always liked Klaus and was sorry when he'd changed dorm rooms about a year after she started dating Steve. They'd stayed in regular contact though, and when she'd discovered she was pregnant their senior year, it was on Klaus' shoulder she cried. He came to their "shotgun" wedding, but disappeared before the reception. She'd not seen nor heard from him since. She sorely missed her friend, but soon had little time for anything other than the baby. As it has a way of doing, life continued and memories faded.
"No, he won't call," she told herself quietly. "Why would he care anything about seeing me?"
Sunday evening, she returned from a trip to the grocery store and began carrying the bags into the kitchen of the quiet, empty house. As she was placing the milk and eggs into the refrigerator, she was shocked to feel an arm snake around her waist, pulling her backwards. A hand reached up from the other side and pressed something, a cloth she thought, over her mouth and nose. An odd smell... and then blackness.
She woke, unsure of how long she'd been out struggling to recall what happened and even to realize where she was. Her eyes were open, but she could see nothing. Blindfolded, oh my God, she was blindfolded and her hands were tied behind her back; her ankles were tied as well. She was lying on something soft. The air was cool, but not cold. Suddenly she recognized a noise, the annoying clicking of their furnace, and knew without a doubt she was in her own basement. She was on the couch in the kid's old rec room!
"Help, help!" she tried to scream but barely eked out a whisper.
Footsteps... someone was coming. She froze, her heart pounding in her ears.
"Callie? Please do not be afraid. I will not hurt you as long as you do as I say."
That voice... smooth and calming. It almost sounded familiar. If only her mind were clearer, she thought.
"If you understand, please nod, Callie."
She nodded, her entire body shaking with fear but listening intently. It struck her how perfectly articulated his words were.
"I am here to help you. In time, you will know that. Now I have a few modifications to make down here, so please just lie still. I will not hurt you as long as you obey. Remember that. It is your first lesson."
Although her captor did not sound deranged or even remotely agitated, his tone indicated he meant every word he said. Callie knew that screaming would get her nowhere anyway. Steve was gone for weeks and the nearest neighbors were too far away to hear. She decided to concentrate on calming herself so that she could think... and plan.
She could hear noises - banging, ripping, sawing. That last sound chilled her to the bone. It went on and on, for hours it seemed. At one point, the intruder came over and tenderly covered her with an old afghan she'd kept thrown across the back of the couch. "It is a bit chilly in here," he said softly.
At last, the room grew quiet and the footsteps approached her once more.
"I'm going to untie you now; do you remember your first lesson?"
