Chapter Thirty-One
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Sam I Am
L ennox sat at his desk, serenaded by the sounds of Foy Vance’s, ‘Make It Rain’. Tilting his bottle of beer to his lips, he took a few good gulps then set it down on the coaster, mouthing the lyrics to the song while running some software to remove the encryption on a file on the USB drive he’d used at his father’s house.
Though he wasn’t surprised with his findings, he was disgusted. He moved the documents off to the left on the desktop, then opened his storage cloud. He clicked on the folder his sister had hand delivered to him and watched as the photos and videos populated. Taking a deep breath, he watched each one. He listened to all that was being said, his emotions a roller coaster. He went from rage to sadness, to repugnance, to feeling nothing at all. It was late. He glanced at the time on the computer. 3:12 A.M. Grabbing his phone, he sent a text message to Nadia:
Baby, are you good? You told me you’d call me afterwards, and it’s been a long while. I’m just checking in on you. Let me know what’s up.
He placed his phone back down, closed his eyes and rubbed his throbbing head. Soon, his life would never be the same. His cellphone rang, dragging him out of his thoughts.
“Hey, sexy,” he answered. No response. “Baby?… damn…”
Nadia was crying softly on the other end. He could tell she kept trying to speak, but whenever she did, nothing but cries broke through. He sighed, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes once again. He remained quiet for several seconds, perhaps even an entire minute. And then, he spoke to her.
“He gets in your mind, and you can’t get him out. You now know that from the moment the session ended, you’ll never be the same. I warned you, baby. He’s ruthless, and they say he handles the ladies a lot nicer than the guys, so that was probably the watered-down version of what I got.” He chuckled. “He ripped me a new asshole, then had the nerve to be all nice at the end after basically tellin’ me I wasn’t shit for like forty-five minutes straight.” He heard her laugh a little. “It’s alright…it’s good for you, like strong medicine. Just process it. You feel bad, but you feel good too, don’t you? You have the tools now to start healing. It’s hard to explain,” he stated with a sad smile.
“Yes… that’s exactly it… but… I feel so, so, so much better,” she stated between sniffs. “It’s like a lot of my pain lifted after we were finished. It was like he’d reached through the screen, and… and made me feel lighter. Cleaner. I don’t know. Something just feels different.” He nodded in understanding. “He stayed on with me for almost two hours, and didn’t ask me to pay more. It only felt like ten or twenty minutes, but we were on that Zoom call a long time.”
Lennox nodded. “I’m proud of you, baby. Dr. Saint’s good… He knows his shit. Do you need anything from me?”
“No, I’m okay. So, are we still, uh…”
“Yup. I checked everything. You’re amazing, you know that?”
“So are you.”
“I’ll call you when it’s time. Try to get a little sleep before I rock ’n’ roll. Not much time left before I head out.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll be on standby. Love you.”
“I love you too, Nadia. See you later, baby.” He ended the call, placed his phone down and shook his head.
I wish I could hold her right now. Wrap my arms around her… kiss her… I hate that she’s alone, hurting. I don’t know what Dr. Aknaten said to her, and she may never tell me the full story, but whatever it was, if you can make Nadia cry like that, then you’re a bad motherfucker. I haven’t heard her that worked up, since our job at the Rooster. Maybe it’s better I’m not there, actually… that way she can process everything in peace? Yeah… it probably is for the best. I’d just be a distraction. She just needs a minute. I know how she feels. It’s tough. That mirror is right in front of your face, and you can’t turn away from it. She’ll be okay…
After a few minutes, he put all of the documents, photos, files, onto a new thumb drive. As those files were moving over, he backed up the records onto his cloud, then sent full copies to four different people, with instructions on what to do if the worst happened—like him being murdered or taken. He went to the restroom to relieve himself, then grabbed his jacket from the closet. Slipping his .460 S&W Magnum into the holster around his waist, he headed out the door…
My mama told me a story a long time ago. I was just a little boy, but I remember it because it struck me as both funny and creepy. Now, as an adult, I understand more than ever what she was trying to tell me. Everything had come full circle…
Mama said that in her religion and culture, they called the devil Iblis . Or if you’re learned in the faith, ash-Shay?ān (“the Devil”) Followed by the epithet, ar-Rajim (Arabic: ???????? , lit. ‘the Accursed’). There once was a small, doll-like man dressed in fine clothing who came into town. He offered gold coins, sweet treats, soft breads, fresh fruits and vegetables that tasted like nothing you’d ever had before in your entire life. He offered to chop wood for the villagers’ fires, and he always had a bounty of fine satins and silk. He was small and cute, had an amazing singing voice, could play many instruments, and had the most mesmerizing sparkling eyes. A charming little thing. Harmless for sure.
Over time, the villagers grew to depend on him. After all, before he arrived, they were poor, and all he wanted in exchange for his gifts was to sleep in their homes late at night and, on occasion, to receive a home-cooked meal. This went on for quite a while, and the villagers were now fighting over who had what from the little man, as well as who had the best outfits and the most money. After a while though, bad things started happening in the village, mainly to the children.
At first, no one noticed. One child vanished, then another…
Perhaps the children had drowned in the river they were forbidden to play in? It had happened in the past, so it was not out of the question. But then more children disappeared, and more again. They looked everywhere for their babies, but could never find them. They went on manhunts, and soon they all turned on one another, accusing each other of taking the innocent ones.
All of the offspring were disappearing in the middle of the night. Vanishing into thin air. Nobody noticed the little man in the melee. If they had, perhaps they would have seen that he was growing… he’d been getting fatter, and fatter, and fatter still. In some corner of all of their homes were stacks of gold, candies, fruits, jewelry, silk and satin… but their children were gone. And before one could blink, so was the little man…
The little demon was quite content. It was a fair exchange, after all. The village people had received material goods, his precious time, his lovely singing voice, and his hard labor. The only way he could become more powerful and satiate his hunger was to eat the innocent. Wolf them down whole while the adults counted their gold coins, played with their trinkets, and slipped on their gowns made of fine satin and silk.
Off to the next village the demon would go, and the wicked cycle would start all over again. The parents had been blindsided by glitz and self-indulgence, influenced by overconsumption and insatiability for the finer things in life. So much so, they hadn’t even noticed that their most priceless possessions were being stolen and consumed right under their noses. The little demon had gone, and all they had now was rotting fruit and tarnished rings to show for it. How pitiful. How very sad…
Lennox pulled up to the house with the neatly cut grass and American flag waving proudly in front of it. It was on acres of land—Grandpa’s land. He owned it. All of it. A little structure in the country, in a peaceful part of town. The nearest neighbor was over half a mile away. It was dark outside, the sun not up just yet. He hadn’t slept a wink and yet, he felt refreshed. Free.
Inside of his truck, Leon Bridges’ ‘River’ started to play. He leaned back in his seat, bobbing his head slowly to the music as a cool sensation came over his body. As the song still played, he jumped out of his truck and trudged up the driveway of the residence with a bag of supplies. Dropping the bag onto the ground, he stood at the front door, his fingers around his weapon. Chest heaving up and down, flashes of his woman naked and afraid in the shower rushed in his mind. He shuddered as he could practically see her with shower water falling all over her nude body as she gripped a gun, her heart probably pounding damn near out of body…
He wanted to scream. He fisted his left hand, nails digging into his palm, probably drawing blood but he was far too manic to feel a damn thing.
The music pounded in his ears, the lyrics tearing him apart. Turning into a roaring flame, he shot the door, then kicked it in. He raced inside, his body an arrow shooting down the hall until he made it to the master bedroom. The room was dark, but he could see the man in the bed. There was a body next to him, too. Shadows. darkness. A bit of light. The sound of slow movement.
“Howdy, cousin. I understand that you paid my lady a surprise visit. That really creams my corn. I thought I’d pop over and see what’s good!”
Lennox heard Sam scrambling, and what sounded like a drawer opening.
BANG! Lennox fired his gun.
The woman started to wail and scream.
“HOLD ON, MOTHERFUCKER! What kinda welcome wagon are you driving? Ain’t you gonna say hi to your big cousin?!”
BANG!
The room lit up with flashes of light and the odor of gun smoke.
“…Didn’t offer me a drink or nothin’! I’m gonna have to teach you some manners, lil’ boy!” Lennox ground between clenched teeth as he beat Sam about the head with the gun, then stopped to choke him one good time. Sam began to convulse, to gurgle and spit up… the sounds of pleasure to Lennox’s ears.
In a flash he let go, and Sam gasped for air, trying to speak.
“GOT DAMN IT! FUCK!!!!” Sam yelled as he clambered around in the dark, knocking things over. Lennox wrestled him, beating him to a fine pulp. The lady in the bed was wearing his ears out with all of her cries and shrieks.
He snatched arms, legs, and flesh. Pinching, shoving, breaking bones. Drops of moisture dragged across his knuckles. Freshly drawn blood. Screams and bloodcurdling cries echoed in the bedroom—feminine whimpers turning to moaning wails. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her reaching for her cell phone on the nightstand.
BANG!
“AHHHHH! AHHHHH!!!” Lennox shot the headboard right above her mass of dark blonde hair. Shards of wood flew everywhere. The woman brought the sheets up to her chin and kept on with her ear-piercing song of fear.
“Well, bless your heart, little lady… SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Lennox roared as he glared at her. He had Sam in a half nelson, pressing the man to his chest so hard he figured he would pass out if he didn’t let up soon. “All that carryin’ on! And if you try to call anybody, reach for that phone one more ’gin, I’ll know before you even say ‘help,’ and you’ll end up just like my cousin here, Kevin Malone from ‘The Office.’ Ya hear? Do you fucking understand me?”
The woman’s screams turned to a low sniffly murmur. She nodded several times, reminding him of a bobblehead figure.
“And as sure as piss ain’t lemonade, I will kill this motherfucker faster than a one-legged man in a butt kickin’ contest. If you disobey me, and I’ll put a bullet in your skull so big, you’ll be mistaken for a cherry glazed donut and get licked by the cops when they find your dead body. Fuck around and find out if you want to.”
The rage within him was mounting like stacks of leaves. Lennox walked over and locked the bedroom door, then rushed to the woman’s side of the bed, glaring at Sam who lay on the floor.
“Sam, if you try ’nd get up, try to be a hero, I’ll kill her and you, too. Now let’s get you situated, sweetheart.”
She screamed when he grabbed the phone on the nightstand, then stomped it hard a good few times with his boot until it shattered to pieces. When he yanked her off the bed, she shrieked to high heaven. Placing his hand over her mouth, he squelched her yells, then covered her lips with electrical tape. He tied her to the bed, wrists and ankles, then returned to Sam, who was looking up at him with nothing but pure fear in his eyes.
“Sam, I think you took me for a fool. You know still waters run deep. Just ’cause I wasn’t the loudest in the family didn’t mean I can’t go BOOM. You and me got some business to tend to. What kinda flowers would you like on your tombstone?”
“LENNY, NO!!! OH, GOD! Don’t kill me!” Sam shouted and Lennox stood over him, pointing the gun down at his head. “LENNY, IT WAS GRANDPA! PLEASE DON’T SHOOT ME, MAN! I’D NEVER CROSS YOU ON PURPOSE IN A MILLION, TRILLION YEARS! IT WAS GRANDPA! I SWEAR! It wasn’t my idea!”
Another flash of light, and more screams, this time from Sammy boy, rent the air.
He dragged Sam outside, bloodied, beaten and bruised, then slapped a thick layer of electrical tape over his mouth. ‘Take Me to the River’ played on repeat from his truck. Lennox jammed the bastard in the passenger’s seat of the vehicle, then made quick work of tying his hands and feet with twine and tape. He hummed to the music as he did, really getting into the groove of things.
“You know Sam, it’s hotter than blue blazes tonight. It’s a good thing you’re wearing only boxers. Wouldn’t want you to pass out from the heat, now would we? I want you to see and feel what is comin’ your way, boy. It ain’t no fun if you aren’t conscious to watch the show!” He squeezed the knot around his ankles, drawing a painful whine from Sam. “It’s a damn shame it had to come to this… I’m sure Grandpa neglected to explain the danger he put you in by sending you out there to mess with my woman. Now you have to pay the piper.”
The poor fool groaned. His eyes glazed over and he was losing strength fast.
“You’re home, but the porch light ain’t on. Still, you had to know better, didn’t you? Wanted to be a big shot and show off. Prove to the old man that you had grit. Had what it takes to be a true Wilde boy. So, because of that, you’ll have to face the consequences.”
Sam started banging his head all around the vehicle. Twisting and turning as if he were on fire. Lennox delivered a gunshot in the air.
“Settle down.”
BANG! Lennox shot the gun in the air one more time as he stood right outside the passenger’s side door.
Sam kept moving, driving his head into the dashboard, fighting for his life.
BANG!
“MMMMM!!!! MMMMM!!!!” The bastard moaned in agony.
“Yup. I shot ya. You’re a hard-headed motherfucker, ain’t cha?” Lennox chuckled. “Pipe down. It’s just a flesh wound. You’ll be all right. Ya hear that, lady?!” he hollered. “Your little half-witted fuckboy toy with a brain made of stale cotton candy just got bit by a bullet! So fuckin’ dumb he could throw himself on the ground and still miss!” Lennox slammed the passenger’s side door, jumped in the driver’s seat, and headed out of there, singing loudly to the music.
He drove slowly but surely until he reached a desolate stretch of dirt road, out in the middle of nowhere. The sky had begun to lighten a bit, but the darkness still had a stronghold. He took Sam out of the truck, grabbed his duffle bag, and dragged him to one of the old trees out there in the big field where the grass and weeds reached up to one’s knees.
“Well, this is as good a spot as any. You like tree houses, Sam?”
The bastard’s eyes swelled as sweat dripped down his face. Mumbles and murmurs came from his covered mouth—none he could understand.
“This might just be your final resting place. Right here out yonder. If you’re lucky though, you’ll come out of this lil’ situation alive. If you’re not so lucky, and it has come to my attention that you’re not the lucky sort considering how you got turned every which way but loose by the bouncers in the gentlemen’s club, then you’ll die here. Alone. I’d prefer the latter. You couldn’t find your ass with both hands in your back pockets. No need for you to take up valuable oxygen that someone worthier could enjoy.” Lennox stretched and strained as he tied Sam to the tree, arms and legs spread wide.
He reached into his duffle bag, pulled out a camera, and placed it on another tree nearby, pointed in Sam’s direction.
“Now see, from wherever I am, I can see you on this here camera, right from my phone. I’ll be able to know everything you do. Not that you can do too much. The problem with this area of town, Sam, is it’s chock full of cottonmouth snakes, copperheads and bobcats. The grass is too dang high. The moon is still out. That means it’s still huntin’ time and plenty of hidin’ places for critters to crouch down and hide, watch you from a distance before they make their move. A nice warm, bloody body like yours, the scent waftin’ in the wind like barbecue? Well, hell… You’ll look like a juicy steak, ripe for the chomping.”
Sam groaned, and his eyes rolled as if he were lying in the lap of misery.
Lennox heard another vehicle slowly pull into the area. He glanced over his shoulder, saluted the person as they parked, then leaned in close to Sam as he rested his gun against the tree, next to Sam’s head. He patted the fucker’s chest and sniffed, then bent down to whisper into his ear.
“I have to run a little errand, so I made sure you have a concierge of sorts while I’m away. They’ll take good care of you. Now, allow me to let you in on a little something, boy. You were the only motherfucker dumb enough to go on out there and try to have a chat with my girl. You don’t go talkin’ to a man’s lady, ’specially ’bout no business proposition, at her job of all places, without her man’s permission. We’re family. You don’t know much, Sam, but you know better than that . You really think Grandpa chose you outta the kindness of his heart to run that mission? Or thought you were the best man for the job? No, sir. He knew damn well that some of the others he may ask would chicken out, or remind him about his rule regardin’ fuckin’ with our women unprovoked.
“Grandpa don’t really give a fuck about you, but he loves your father, another one of his sons he’s turned into a slave, so he’ll feel some type of way if you come up missin’. Now, technically I bet he ain’t tell you to do what you did. Grandpa is a creature of habit, so I figured you ad-libbed a bit, and that’s when shit went south. Regardless, nobody but you would be dumb enough to do that. It was a suicide mission. The family, and his little security force, Jasper, Uncle Danny, and all the rest of them know what I’m capable of. Why in the fuck do you think he’d want me, if I’m so damn peace lovin’, to help run the gotdamn Zoo?”
Sam blinked several times, his eyes watering until tears started to flow down his face.
“Naw. Grandpa wants his seven wickedest grandsons to join forces with him. He knows how we get down, but we don’t want to be ruled by nobody. We’re our own men. He calls us renegades. You want to be a ‘made’ man, huh? You almost succeeded though, didn’t you? But, you underestimated my sweet Brown Sugar. You thought she was gonna offer to suck your little dick or somethin’ if you turned ’er loose, didn’t you? Figure just ’cause she works there, you can have a little fun with her? Like she’s some drug addicted prostitute. You thought she didn’t have any loyalty towards her man, or didn’t possess any morals?”
Lennox grinned real hard as he glared at him.
“That’s what happens when you judge a book by its cover. Make assumptions that lead to your downfall. Now, under typical circumstances, you’d be dancin’ with the devil right about now—dead as the day is long. Nevertheless, because you’re stupid as hell and I can use you as bait, if you will, I’m going to let you draw breath… at least for a little while longer. Of course, your babysitter could choose otherwise while I’m away. I have no control over what they decide to do to you. It took all of my power, all of my self-control, all of my resolve, to not put three bullets in you tonight, dear Sam.
“One in your fucking heart. Because that was a cowardly thing you did. One in your empty ass skull. Because that was a dumb thing you did. And one in your gotdamn groin, ’cause you got hard lookin’ at my woman. Oh yes you did. It turned you on, seein’ her naked and all drippin’ wet from the water… You wanted a piece of that pretty ass, didn’t you?” Lennox grinned. “Now, I’ve got a piece of you. You stay right here. Relax. Maybe say a prayer or two.”
He tapped the man on the side of his head with the butt of the gun, then walked back to his truck. He looked over his shoulder at his captive. Sam tried to scream through electrical tape, furiously attempting to wiggle free, perhaps plead his case, to no avail.
Lennox got inside his vehicle and turned on the radio. Heartless Bastards’ “Only For You,” came on the air. He turned it up high, enjoying himself. Kicking the truck in drive, he drove past Sam tied to the tree. They met eyes. Lennox smiled and waved, nodded in the direction of the person sitting in a big truck, then headed back onto the dirt road, driving proudly away under the rising sun…