Richard
800 Words
Richard
Feeling like a spare part, I sit in the back of the car, staying live on my mobile with Will Stanton, the Police Commissioner, giving a moment by moment account of where we are.
In the front, Michael driving, James navigating, the two barely exchange a word. Nonetheless, they clearly understand each other very well, operating as a smooth team, with James giving only the barest of nods for instructions to take a turnoff or follow a road, whilst Michael drives at breakneck speed out of the City and then on the highway,
A blue light appears behind us, headlights flashing us to pull over. Michael curses under his breath, but shows no signs of stopping or even slowing, simply glancing back into the mirror, catching my eyes as he does so.
But I’m already speaking into my mobile. “Will, there’s one of your patrol cars behind us. It’s trying to pull us for speeding.”
On the other end of the line there is a brief expletive, then, “Sorry, Richard. I should have thought of that. I’ll call it off. You drive. I’ll put the word out to let you through.”
Leaning forward between the front seats, “Michael,” I say, “Just keep driving. Will’s arranging a clear passage through for us.”
He nods acknowledgement and half a minute later, the pursuing vehicle swerves away, leaving us to travel unencumbered.
At length, following the route laid out by Charlotte’s tracers before they blinked off, we turn off the highway. This is a side-road which leads into the deep wilds. Here, the landscape is broadly open, populated only by scrub and boulders. Further up the mountain, it melds to pine forest. Charlotte, finding herself here in this isolated spot, would have had little to no chance of any rescuer passing by.
Only a few miles further along, James points a long finger into a pull-in by the roadside. “There,” he says. “This is where we lost the signal.”
Michael slows, but there is nothing to be seen other than several sets of tyre tracks. Charlotte’s car was taken by her abductors, and the police, we know, have already searched and found her bag and what was left of her phone.
“You think we should just circle first?” asks Michael. He glances at James but also casts an eye back to me in the mirror. “Try different areas to try to catch the signal?”
James’ reply is strained, but, “Yes, you just drive. I’ll keep an eye on the trace.… Wait!” With a jerk, he rears up in his seat, stabbing a finger at his screen. “There.… It’s back again….”
The engine roars to life as Michael slams down onto the gas. “Which way?”
James simply points, his eyes fixed on his screen. Then, only a few seconds later, “Damn! It’s off again…” Hope curdles in my gut as he scrabbles through a collection of dongles and connections, trying one after the other, jabbing at his keyboard as he tries to recover the signal, but to no avail.
Michael cruises in the direction we were already following, up into the mountains and the pine forests. “Perhaps they’re taking her out of a car and into a building?”
“Seems plausible,” James nods.
“Did you see enough to get us there?”
“I think so, yes. Certainly, we can get closer. Keep driving. We’re losing the light.”
*****
We drive, patrolling the same length of road over and again, James fiddling endlessly with his equipment, trying to find some trace of the signal, but without success.
At length, we pull up by the front of a small diner. Nearer the City, such a place would be open twenty-four-seven, but here, in this lonely spot, it lies closed, the windows dark.
Michael’s breathing is heavy, and even in the dim light, I can see his whitened knuckles as he grips at the steering wheel, staring up and out.
James watches him for a moment….
His closest friend….
“What are you thinking about?” he asks, his voice soft.
Michael’s reply is a wounded snarl. “What do you imagine?”
“Well of course, Charlotte. Something specific?”
Am I in the way here?
They want to talk...
…. Not that I can go anywhere...
Just stay quiet....
Try to give them some privacy...
Michael sucks in breath. “I was thinking about that noise she makes. You know the one, when she’s good and aroused, getting close to coming, sort of a cross between a moan and a wail…”
His words stab at me with an unsettling familiarity….
Elizabeth....
…. That breathy silence of hers when I'm building her climax....
Her eyes on me....
Her beautiful submission....
James is very still. “Yeah.… It’s a good sound, isn’t it.…”
The two fall silent for a long moment. I can’t see James, but for a moment, Michael catches my eyes in the rear-view mirror. Then, looking away again, “Shall we move on? See if a different area gives us a signal?”
James taps at his keyboard, bringing up another window. “Yes, I think so.”
*****
- Writer
