Limbo

ASHLEY:

Melissa reaches into her purse as I start to ease myself back into the kitchen, and says, "Not so fast, hon. I think our plans for the evening have changed now, so you might as well call the others and have them come back."

Her hand comes out of the bag holding a pistol, and the opening in the barrel looks as big as a fucking basketball as she aims it at my face. "Now do you see what happens when you get nosy and eavesdrop on private conversations? If you could have just minded your own damn business, this wouldn't need to happen. They could have come in and found what we need, and nobody would have had to get hurt unless they did something stupid. But now that you know who I am, I can't just let you go running your mouth to everyone, can I?"

Before I can even think of how to respond, we hear footsteps behind me, and Jinxx says, "Dude, we're gonna be late if you don't hurry up. Whatever you two are up to can wait until la..."

His words trail off as he spots the gun, and she just sighs and shakes her head, "Unbelievable! I never believed before that stupidity was contagious, but I guess I was wrong. So I guess I have to find something to do with all of you now. So you, Blue Eyes, get over here next to the playboy, and we'll all go together."

He looks at her, strangely calm considering the circumstances, then opens his mouth to speak. But what comes out is something that I don't understand at all, and judging by her expression, neither does Melissa. "What the hell did you just say? What kind of gibberish was that?"

His only reply is a sarcastic smirk, but within a few seconds, we all hear the sound of a vehicle starting, and the rental car flies past the house, slinging gravel as it barrels down the driveway. Then it clicks: he and Alice both speak French, and he just sent her for help.

"So you think you're smart, huh?" she snarls. "Yeah, you got Princess Di out of here, but I hope you're not actually dumb enough to think that her running to your friends is actually gonna do you any good. You've just forced me to make a slight adjustment to the plan, that's all."

She moves closer, and puts the gun against the back of my neck, then glances at Jinxx. "Okay, we're going out to my car now, and you're going to drive. And if either of you try anything stupid, Lover-Boy here is gonna end up with a really, really big hole in his head. Move!"

We all walk through the house and out to her car, where she unlocks the doors and waits for Jinxx to get behind the wheel, then opens the back door and motions for me to get in. Once I do, she orders me to scoot over, then follows me into the back seat, so she's directly behind Jinxx. Only then does she hand him the key, snapping, "Get moving, before somebody shows up."

"Where am I going?" he inquires, putting the key into the ignition and starting the engine.

"Don't you worry about that, just drive, and I'll tell you where to go. And don't even think about trying to crash the car, or get anyone's attention, unless you want both of your brains splattered on the upholstery. That might make it a little hard for your friends to get the security deposit back, don't you think?"

He pulls out of the driveway, and when we get to the road, she directs him to turn right, instead of going left past the cafe. Once we're out of sight of the house, she pulls out her phone and thumbs a button, and says, "I'm in the backseat of my car right now, and I'm bringing two of them with me, Ashley overheard me talking to you." She pauses briefly, apparently listening, then says, "Sounds good to me, I'll see you in a few. But before you hang up, is my dad there? No? Good, then he can take care of the rest of the problem. I'll call him now."

Immediately making another call, we hear her say, "Dad, we have an issue. I'm taking Ashley and one of his friends to the compound, they know about the plan. But one of the foreign bitches got away, so you know she'll be trying to arrange for a rescue party, and that's what you'll have to take care of. Of course I know you can handle it, Daddy. That's what he depends on you for, isn't it?"

As she's talking, Jinxx glances up into the rearview mirror and mouths, "They must be after the book she told us about." That actually makes sense, since Rachel explained how important the...what did she call it? Oh, yeah, how important the grimoire is to her dad. They already have the necklace, so there's not much else they could want, unless they think we've actually found Rachel's body.

Shoving the phone back in her pocket, Melissa settles back in the seat, holding the gun in a two handed grip between her tits, which gives her a clear shot at either of us. We drive for a few minutes, then she suddenly says, "Turn into that logging trail there, and put it in park."

He obeys the instruction, and within a minute someone emerges from the treeline and approaches the car. The front passenger door opens, and Jimmy gets into the seat, also holding a gun even bigger than hers. He glares at Jinxx as he closes the door, then a nasty grin passes across his face and he queries, "What do you think the chances are of him giving me a few minutes with Zak Bagans here, and teaching him a lesson about thinking he knows so damn much?"

"I suppose that would depend on whether he has any plans for them himself. You can always ask when we get there, maybe he'll be in a receptive mood since we're bringing him some leverage to get them to cooperate."

They tell Jinxx to start driving again, and we travel for several more miles, until we pass a faded, ragged-looking sign that reads, "MID-CANADIAN TEXTILE", and a large, dilapidated building comes into view as we crest a small hill. It looks like it used to be some sort of warehouse or factory, and has obviously been neglected for years, but as we get closer, it becomes obvious that someone has been doing some minor repairs fairly recently.

Jimmy points to the side of the building, and tells Jinxx to drive around, which takes us to an area in the back that has been covered with sort of a makeshift awning, presumably to conceal the vehicles there from any planes or helicopters that might pass over. He parks the car, they herd us into the building, and Jimmy says something to a woman we meet just inside the door that sends her running out of the room.

After a couple of minutes, we hear footsteps on the concrete floor, and a man enters the room, walking toward us in a very deliberate manner. He's maybe in his late forties or early fifties, at least six and a half feet tall, and bears a rather unsettling resemblance to Ted Bundy. From the way Jimmy and Melissa are almost cowering in front of him, I have a suspicion of who he is, but then he stops right in front of me, staring almost expressionlessly, and I'm sure. There's no doubt in my mind that this is Rachel's father, because he has those same amber-colored eyes, but where hers were warm and friendly, his are cold and nearly lifeless, it's almost like making eye contact with a shark.

After staring at us for a minute, almost like he's sizing us up, one side of his mouth quirks up into something vaguely resembling a smile, and he says, "Normally, I have no tolerance for troublemakers, but you boys may prove useful, so I'll make an exception in your case."

"How do you figure?" Jinxx inquires.

"Oh, come now, surely you're smart enough to figure that out yourselves," he sneers. "Your friends who have taken over my property have something I want, and now I have something that they want. All that's left is to arrange a trade." He then turns back to me and holds out his hand. "Give me your phone."

"Why the hell would I want to do that?" I ask. Then, almost as soon as the words leave my mouth, something hits me in the back of my head, hard enough to drop me to the floor.

"Because milord told you to, jackass!" Jimmy snarls, jerking me back to my feet by the collar of my jacket. "That's all the reason you need. So give him your fucking phone, and if you question another order, you'll lose a finger. That wouldn't be very helpful in your line of work, now would it?"

Holy fuck, these people are completely bat-shit fucking crazy! And looking at both of them, I have no doubt that he'd actually carry out his threat, so I take out my phone and drop it into his hand. As I do, I can feel something wet running down into my collar, so whatever he hit me with obviously drew blood, which is definitely not a good sign.

He opens up my contact list, and Melissa comes to look around his arm at the screen. She points to something and says, "That one."

Before he can do anything with the phone, Jinxx inquires, "So is this about the house, then? Because if it is, we have nothing to do with that."

Berridge's answer, however, isn't exactly what we expect, though. "No, it's not about the damn house!" he snaps. "Thanks to the incompetents in my ranks, and the ignorant neighbors, we couldn't settle there again if we wanted to. What I want is the Master's seal, I know it's in there somewhere, and now your friends can find it for me, unless they want you back as a pair of jigsaw puzzles."

The Master's Seal? That can't be what it sounds like he means, they already have the necklace. Don't they?

Jinxx and I exchange startled looks, but then we both turn to stare at him as he turns on my phone's speaker, and we hear Andy's voice boom, "Ash, are you guys okay? Where the hell are you?"

"No, this isn't Ash," Berridge informs him. "But he's here, along with your other friend. And before you bother to ask, they're both in good health... for now. That is subject to change, though. So if you want to keep them that way, I suggest that you pay very close attention to what I'm about to tell you, because I'll only say it once. Do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal. Just tell us what you want," Andy replies. "Whatever it is, if we can do it, you've got it."

Berridge chuckles, and says, "I thought you might. What I want is my mothers medallion, and you're going to get it for me. You have two hours to call me back, or you'll start getting your friends back one piece at a time."

Notes