The drive to Southbound Pier was a long one, far longer than the forty minutes he had bargained for. Neither of them spoke much along the way—they were too wired for that. Every now and then Thad glanced at her as if to reassure her everything would be just fine. She merely acknowledged his glance with a weak smile. They drove further into the night like a dream.
The city outlook grew dark and foreboding as they drove closer to Southbound Pier. It was a seedy part of the city known to house society’s dregs. Decades ago it had been a thriving port, but hurtful budgetary cutbacks and union strikes had forced the majority of the businesses in the area to close up and move elsewhere. The area housed row after row of empty warehouses and decrepit cinderblock structures, much of which have become abodes to homeless derelicts and whatever else that inhabited the nightmarish streets. Brooding eyes followed them
The gunshot report was deafening and Constance heard it loud and clear from inside the vehicle. The sound of the gunshot made her jump in her seat and she gasped at the door handle as fright gripped her like a thick shroud. In her mind’s eye, she pictured Thaddeus collapsing in pain and that doubled her fear automatically. Constance was in a near-panicky state as she fumbled for the door’s handle with a shaky pair of hands, unable to hold back the tears that sprouted in her eyes. The darkness seemed to fight against her as she managed to pop the lock tab then shoved the door open but then cried out as she was suddenly pulled back by what felt to her like a pair of hands forcing her back to her seat. Her hand searched for find the button of the interior light and when it came on, she gasped when she realised she was held back by her safety belt. She unclasped her belt and nearly stumbled out the vehicle just to be free. &n
Constance cried out and jumped to the side when she felt a creature scamper past her feet and she hugged the wall moaning with fright against whatever else was in the passageway with her. She could barely make out anything out of the impenetrable gloom. But still she kept on, keeping one hand against the wall as she made her way up the stairs to the room Thaddeus and the kidnapper had earlier occupied. She saw the torch lying on the floor and picked it up and was surprised to find the money bag not far from her but no sign of Thaddeus anywhere. She unzipped the bag and saw the pile of money inside and was confused by whatever might have happened in here.She heard footsteps coming from beyond the door and got up and went and stood behind the door and switched off her torch. The footsteps got closer and so too a touch light that lit up the room as the person’s feet stopped at the doorway not venturing further inside. Cons
They were back in comforting lights and surroundings that were the city. Constance had dozed off a little and when she awoke to view the lights all she thought was how happy with relief she felt at seeing them compared to the gloom they had left behind. She propped herself upright in her seat and shielded her mouth to stifle a yawn. Thad drove serenely; all he thought about was the sleep he was bound to enjoy once he got home after dropping off Constance.“Is it all right if I crash at your place tonight?” she asked.Thad turned to look at her and for a moment couldn’t think of what to say about her request. “You think you won’t mind crashing at a low-income, bachelor pad like mine?”“Is that your way of saying no?”“Well, not really . . . All right then sure, why not? You’re more than welcome. Oh shit!” he exclaimed and smacked the
Constance couldn’t sleep a wink.She kept turning from one end of the pillow to the other and clutching the covers to her chin, sometimes moaning while she did. The dream she had was vivid and held her in a suffocating chokehold. They were back at the upper room in the abandoned warehouse, this time they saw the kidnapper pressing a gun to her frightened son’s head. Neither Thad nor she could do anything to stop what was coming as the kidnapper having somewhat prior knowledge that they had come up short regarding the money short and now suggested to her to choose who gets the bullet first—her son or Thad.Before she could make a choice, his gun went off. There was the sound of her screaming before everything went suddenly dark.Constance shot up instantaneously from the bed, screaming.She caught herself and ceased her crying when she realised she was awake. Her hand fumbled shakily for the bed
Thaddeus was at the precipice of falling into deep sleep when he felt someone kissing his lips. He mistook it at first that he caught up in a dream like the previous memorable one he had last time and paid it no mind, except the kissing feat persisted. His eyes came groggily awake in the dark and there was Constance leaning over him, smothering him with kisses. Thad’s senses came alive and he quickly responded to her passion, least it ended so fast. He flung the covers off to better manoeuvre her to get on top of him. Their lips smacked against each other with fervour. Thaddeus rummaged his hands all over Constance, feeling over her torso, down to her thighs and hips and then went to grabbing her butt as if visually painting a portrait of her body in the dark. Constance rubbed her butt against his crotch, dry-humping him while caressing his face with both hands while keeping on with their passionate kissing.  
Sunlight streamed through his curtains. There was the music of birds chirping in the tree outside his window, interspersed with cars driving to and fro on the street. There was a slight stir behind his eyelids and slowly he swam from the depths of slumber and opened his eyes to the light of the new day. Everything was all bleary at first and he groaned lazily from having slept so late; he was almost reluctant to want to get up from bed. He turned to his left and there laid the sleeping form that was Constance Loftus curled on her side. Last night hadn’t been a dream after all, he thought.Thaddeus pulled aside the covers and slipped out of the bed as quiet as he could without disturbing her. Constance stirred in her sleep but that was it. He found himself a shirt and a pair of shorts to wear before slipping out of the room.There was no one in the living room. Nothing to show that Myra had been there e
He was back to being with his lonely self again.Thaddeus slumped down on the couch with all the buoyant air he’d carried earlier now dissipated from him. His head lolled between his shoulders and his arms felt lifeless resting across his thighs. He felt like a boxer who’s suffered his worst night getting KO’ed in the first round. He recalled the way she had looked at him before she left; the coldness in her voice when she talked about mailing him his check later. That one hurt more than anything, which was an absolute surprise to Thad. He had been through a number of breakups, some barely lasting a week let alone a day. He usually preferred one-night stands to anything daring to enclose him in what might transpire into a relationship. Except this one felt deep and personal. If only he could find the bastard that leaked the news of her son’s kidnapping to the press, he’d sure love to s
Thaddeus Black didn't drive straight to the office but instead went to the city’s grand central train station. He did, however, call Sarah who was already in the office to let her know where he was heading. At the station, he rented out a locker box and deposited the money bag inside it. His intention was to return the money later once the media storm blew over; right now it was a lot safer here than at his place. He glanced at a wide-screen TV as he strolled towards the revolving doors of the terminal and saw people staring raptly at the retelling of Constance’s missing son. Thaddeus lowered his hat over his face as he hurried out of the building. He returned to his car and screeched out of the parking lot.Thaddeus arrived at his office a half hour later. The summer heat was atrocious and seemed to choke the air out his lungs. A burgundy-coloured Ferrari was parked in front of his office building, the
Four days later.Thaddeus was in his office in the afternoon perusing leftover paperwork that had for days gathered on his desk when Sarah stuck her head through his door and made a hissing noise. He looked up at her and mouthed, ‘what?’“There’s a lady here to see you,” she said then opened the door further for his guest to enter.Thaddeus dropped the papers he had in his hand and stood up as Constance strolled into his office. She looked smart and breath-taking in a snappy high-neck cream blouse and jacket with a skirt to match, with a handbag slung over her shoulder. Her blonde hair flowed behind her shoulders; its lustre matched the warmth of her smile as she approached his desk with cat-like grace. Thaddeus swallowed and tried not to blush as he felt a sudden stirring in his pants as she came round his desk to kiss him on his cheek.“I finally get to see what your office looks
Past an hour later the scene outside the apartment building hadn’t calmed down; it was just as chaotic as when gunshots had shattered the quietude of the neighbourhood. Police vehicles cordoned the street from two blocks down while officers struggled to keep the curious crowd at bay. An ambulance had pulled in front of the building to cart away the corpse. John Elwood had been revived sporting a protruding bump on his head and as well a deep cut on his arm due to a struggle he’d had with the deceased butler. He too rode in the ambulance but not before getting a hug from Constance and a handshake from Thad and thanking them for arriving at the nick of time. A night crew press van was there too, not wanting to be excluded from the fanfare. They too added further unrest to the crowd of onlookers turning the neighbourhood into a bedlam of noise and movement. Thaddeus was detailing the night’s event to several plai
It was past midnight on Green Street, located across from downtown Biloxi Avenue. The night time bars and Korean shops remained open with customers spewing in and out. The potholed streets were wet with grim as if it had rained all through the day in this neighbourhood. Thaddeus parked the car a block from the red brick apartment building where the actual John Elwood resided. The same building he had visited in the afternoon pretending to be a city councilman. He hadn’t had time to dig up enough information about the guy to figure out how his world came to cross that of the Loftus.They got out of the car and sauntered towards the building. Thad gripped Hilda’s .38 pistol in his jacket pocket, his eyes darted everywhere as they walked. Constance tried not to appear nervous as she walked beside him. Few people passed them on the street; hardly anyone bothered looking at them.They pushed pas
The two watchmen were still at the main gate when Thaddeus and Constance drove out of the compound. Neither man waved a hand or gave an acknowledgement gesture as Thaddeus drove out of the compound into the night; neither appeared to suspect anything. Constance gave him directions as they made their way along the lonely dark road that didn’t seem to end till they found themselves out on the turnpike heading towards the city. Neither said anything for a while. Constance rested her head on her arm with her elbow reclined against the window. The wind ravaged her hair and every now and then she lazily pushed locks of her hair from her face. It wasn’t until they got closer to the city that Thad figured it was time he got some answers.“So,” he began, “are you going to tell me about it?”She turned away from the window to look at him. There was a benign concerned look in her eyes that
They walked down the corridor holding hands while trying to appear inconspicuous to other couples they passed along the way. To any observer, they were like everyone else having themselves a good time. Thad ran into the Asian woman he’d enjoyed earlier and this time she was with another female friend, not the redhead. The women stopped them and seemed to want another piece of him. Constance was the one who rescued him by fending them off, explaining that she had first dibs.The mansion was very large and every corridor had multiple doors that led to somewhere. Constance hadn’t been here in a long time and explained that she hadn’t thoroughly investigated the place to know where all the exits were. As they went from door to door, a couple of times they got lost. One door led them into a large room where an orgy was ongoing. There were bodies of naked parading women and men on joined beds having rau
Hilda was in charge of the situation. She motioned her sister to go sit at one of the chairs then went back to enjoying Thad’s cock. Constance looked somewhat dazed to be in the same room with her sister and Thad; her eyes appeared expressionless and her movement listless as she went and settled in a chair across from them.“Is she high or something?” he asked Hillary.Hilary pulled her mouth off from his cock, “No, she ain’t. I guess she’s just shocked seeing you here with me after I’d shown her those photographs of you and me.”“What photographs?”“That day you came to my apartment, my former boy-toy Blondie took a few snapshots of us fucking. He usually does that whenever I’m having anyone over, but yours was an exception. I had him do that in case I needed some leverage. Constance almost freaked out when she saw it was you. I
It was a simple room with a large bed with two chairs and a table by a corner. A large mirror made up the entire wall of the right side of the room that reflected everything inside including Thaddeus Black who stared at his reflection in mute disbelief as if unwilling to comprehend what he was doing in there. Thaddeus loosened his tie while admiring his reflection. It was a see-through mirror like the ones similar in police interrogating rooms; he was bound to have an audience at the other side waiting to see him in action. He slipped off his jacket and draped it on one of the chairs as well took off his shoes then sat on the bed waiting for his upcoming visitor to arrive.Thad didn't have to wait too long. There came a sound of the door’s lock turning and then it opened to reveal two women who peeked inside before entering the room. He recognised one of them as the beret woman who had accosted him earlier; she was witho
The car rolled smoothly on the driveway which snaked a circular route towards an austere building that turned out to be another security outpost. There they went through a second security check where Thad presented his invitation to two men in long coats and uttered the password again before they cleared the vehicle to continue. Thaddeus made out the majestic castle that occupied the distant end of the driveway. The building had impressive grandeur and opulence. Greek columns lined the front, looking like the Acropolis; bright lights lit the compound with a dazzling display. The forecourt was littered with limousines, Aston Martins, Bentleys and other exotic wheels. The vehicle Thaddeus was in pulled around a fountain circle in the forecourt and someone came and opened the door for him. The man said good evening and demanded his invitation card of which Thaddeus then parted with it. The man handed him a face mask to wear
Thaddeus drew back on his jacket’s sleeve to check the time on his watch. Eight fifty-five pm, it said. The address to the club put it at the city limit; it was going to be a long ride. According to Erica, the festivities won’t begin till near midnight, giving him plenty of time to arrive and get comfortable.Thaddeus had one pair of black suit which he’d worn for the occasion and a tie to go with it. It wasn’t until his fourth attempt at securing himself a cab that he got one willing to take him to his destination but at an exorbitant price. He would have much preferred going with his car, except anonymity was the word as he settled in the cab’s backseat. This club thing felt like a wild goose chase. He was simply following a scent he should have smelt earlier but was too preoccupied to think it through. Something murky existed between Constance and her sister. Whether or