5. Benji
5
BENJI
T here’s an uneasy feeling clinging to the air. I can’t put my finger on it, but walking around the motel, trying my hardest to calm myself down, I don’t feel right. Knowing that Cassie is out there somewhere and I’m just here is killing me. I know what Max told me to do, I have all of his instructions, but my gut says differently. My gut wants me out there searching now.
“Just wait,” I whisper to myself as the sun peeks upward, starting ever so slowly to make an appearance. “Be patient.”
Max told me where the meeting will be and what time the transaction is going to happen. My plan has always been to go a little beforehand to try and avoid a big confrontation, but not this quickly, not this early. I should really be patient and give the kidnapper a chance to get everything in position, but my gut is screaming differently. My gut wants me in the jungle now.
I stare at the sky, trying my hardest to focus on something, anything else, but I keep going back to Cassie. My nightmare hasn’t helped things. In the back of my brain, I can still hear that sheer terror of her calling me. I mean, in reality, I don’t know what she sounds like. It’s all just a nightmare playing in my head, but I can feel it. It’s almost like I can feel her, sense her.
“I need to check everything again.” It won’t make me feel any better to read through the information again , but at the same time, I don’t feel good out here, either, and sitting here isn’t making any progress. At least if I’m reading then I’m working, right?
I storm through the motel, my feelings zig-zagging all over the place as I go. It’s because I’m ignoring my gut, I’m pushing through, trying to work on what Max has told me to do. But what if he isn’t exactly right? What if I’m risking Cassie Jones, the woman I now feel like I know pretty well from the information I have, because I’m trying to do what I was told to do?
Panic sets in as soon as I set foot in the room. I know with utter certainty that I need to go now, I need to get out of here. Even if it’s much earlier than Max has told me to, I’ll find a way to make it work. Somehow, I’ll sort this out. Even if I need to hide for a long time to wait for them to arrive… actually, that might be even better. I wouldn’t mind being there first, then I can work out what move will make sure that both Cassie and I get out of the jungle alive. Alive and unharmed, preferably.
I have the motel room booked for days. Max always does things like that to ensure we have somewhere to go. With this sort of mission, there’s no way to tell what way things are going to go, and he likes to be prepared. But that doesn’t mean I need to stay in it the entire time. I can come back to it, hopefully when I have Cassie with me. Safe and sound. Since she comes from a very wealthy family, I don’t suppose the motel will be within her usual standards of lodging, but it has to be better than being in the middle of the jungle with goddamn criminals surrounding her. Anything has to be better than that hell.
I pack up quickly. Thankfully, I don’t have much stuff with me so it doesn’t take long. I pack up the file which I know by heart, so I don’t need to read it again, really, and I exit through the front door. Funnily enough, my gut shuts up now that I’m listening to it. That’s how I know I’m doing the right thing at long last. There might even be a little smile on my face as I go. For a while, anyway.
It isn’t much of a trek to the jungle, so I get there quickly and I’m damn near blown away. The jungle has a beauty to it. It’s magnificent in the way that it towers its greenery above me, but it’s intimidating as well. Stepping in, stepping away from the sunshine which is trying its hardest to make an appearance, I know what I’m going toward. Potential death.
“No, this is going to be good,” I remind myself as I walk. “This is me avoiding too much drama, sidestepping violence as much as I can, and saving Cassie’s life. This is right. I’ll get rid of the one kidnapper rather than the freaking Mexican Cartel.”
It just makes sense, doesn’t it? One small-time criminal versus several big-time gang members. Yes, Max would agree with me. I will even call him and tell him as much to get that confirmation, but it’s too early in the morning for that. I don’t need to disturb him. I can tell Max what I did right afterward. He will know where I am, anyway. It’s fine. He always knows where we are.
I feel calm. I feel good. Every step is flooded with confidence. Every time I check the compass and the map, each time I follow the directions laid out for me, I wonder how Cassie is doing. I would love it if she could feel me coming, if she knew that safety was headed her way, because this poor girl really has been through enough, but I doubt it. But I know it, which is enough.
I’m coming for you, Cassie, I think deep within me as I stalk through the jungle which is growing denser and thicker by the minute. You don’t know it yet, but I’m coming and everything will be okay. You can trust me to get you out of here.
It’s a prospect that could intimidate me if I let it, but I won’t. Any man who has been through a life like I have can’t.
Oh, my God, how is it possible to be so hot? I’m literally covered in sweat and it just keeps on coming. The temperature in this place is overwhelming, but I won’t give up. Every time it gets a little too much for me, I remember that I’ve been through worse. And not only that, but the beautiful redhead is waiting for me. She’s my motivation.
With every step, I think of her face, her eyes, her smile. I tell myself that I’m going to make sure she sticks around to light up more rooms, to make other people happy. Her future rests on my shoulders, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make it real. It helps me to bypass the sweat, to ignore the constant tiredness creeping up through me, to get past any obstacle in my path. The real positive is that I haven’t seen any dangerous animals yet. That’s a challenge I don’t know whether I’m ready for. Humans, I can usually work out what their plan is, I can see in their eyes what they’re doing and what they’re working for, whereas animals… I have no idea. I don’t know if I can outwit a beast that can tear me to absolute shreds.
Wait. I check the map and the compass a few more times before I finally accept what I think might be happening. Yep, I’m right, I’m here at last. I’ve made it to where I need to be. Somewhere in this area is the meeting spot. All I want to do is collapse to the floor to gather myself back up again, but I have to locate the clearing first. Once I know exactly where everything will transpire, I can pick a place to wait everything out properly. I can plan it out right.
I step quietly because it’s always best to act like I don’t exist in an area where things might be happening. Even if I don’t feel anyone around right now because there’s too much time, it’s better to be safe than sorry. For that very same reason, I keep my hand rested on my gun as I move. I won’t use it unless I absolutely need to because death and disturbance in the jungle isn’t ever the best idea, but for self defense and to help Cassie, I need every possible tool at my disposal.
As much as this place looks exactly the same no matter which way I turn, I use my sharp instincts to locate the finer details which will help me with my tracking later on. Maybe this particular skill is why Max believed in me so much. Tracking in a place like this is the difference between life and death, and I’m teetering on the right side of it. Any minute now, I’ll be able to find the clearing, and then everything can come to a halt for a little while. I can wait, use my patience, and see…
Oh, my God. At first, I blink a few times, assuming that I’m having some kind of oasis in the desert moment. This can’t actually be happening, can it? But then, why not? Who else is the flame-haired, terrified woman tied to a tree going to be? Unless there’s some kind of other very similar situation going on here that I know nothing about. No, this is her. This is Cassie.
She’s here. Cassie Jones is in the jungle already. I was right to follow my gut. Maybe the kidnapper has come early. Perhaps Max wasn’t exactly right with his times. Whatever it is, I can save Cassie now and get her the hell out of here. My heart which was hammering violently in my ears only moments before is now softly pulsating with excitement. I might not need to use the motel room again, as we might be out of here in a moment. I could be home in time for dinner if the pilot can come for me sooner rather than later. To have such a sensitive high-profile job done with such speed, I’ll be an absolute legend.
With excitement, I step forward, about to go and untie her without a second thought. To get to Cassie now, with no one around, it’s perfect. Almost too good to be true. And I’m about to be proven right. Before I can make my presence known, a man emerges. A man with a face absolutely red with anger, I can see it written all over him. I slide backward, instinctively knowing that I need to keep out of his eye line for the moment. I can still do this, I can still rescue her, but I need to be patient.
Cassie stiffens. Fear floods her. I feel terrible that I didn’t get to her faster. If I’d moved quicker, then she would be safe now, in my arms. I could be caring for her, keeping her away from this angry man, taking her back home again. Back to the motel, then back to her family, back to the life that she might like, even if it doesn’t seem appealing to me.
Now, she’s at this man’s whim. She doesn’t even know that I’m here to help her. No wonder she’s terrified. Especially now that he’s pacing around her with mania in his face. I take my gun in my hand and hold it in position, ready. I won’t make any moves yet, just in case there are more guys to come out of the woodwork, but I’m on top of this asshole. I’ll finish him off if he even tries to harm Cassie. I won’t let anything happen to her. Her life is on my shoulders, and that’s something I’m taking very seriously.