Man Detox: A Novel Read online

  Rob increased the volume on the phone to hear what was happening.

  “I will shoot them if you get any closer!” He heard the voice of a man. He sounded American. This was the worst outcome. How could Rob have been so wrong?

  “Drop your weapon! Now!” Max screamed.

  In a brief moment of disbelief, Rob and his team could watch the man getting closer to Ethan and Irene and turn his body toward them. Two shots were fired from the rescue team hitting the man on the head, which snapped his entire body backward in a dramatic swing as bullets scattered out his gun. First horizontally, grazing above the two precious hostages, and then progressively pointing toward the sky before the man collapsed to the ground.

  “All neutralized, sir!” Max said, accompanied by voices of celebration from his team as they ascended on the two hostages.

  “Good work! Get the hell out of there now!” Rob said, with a sigh of relief and apprehension for how terribly flawed his assumptions had been all along.

  ∫---∫

  Chapter Twenty

  Prepared to surrender herself and fully expecting the next many hours to go beyond the genteel treatment of this new trying experience, Irene was going through all the options in her mind when two masked men barged into the room and started to untie her.

  At first, she thought she was going to be freed. The men didn’t say a word to her as they held her on both sides and took her out of the room and into the darkness of the night. She could see a car idling in the distance when she heard voices coming from the other side of the field.

  “Faster! Faster!” It was Roger screaming out orders.

  Irene couldn’t make out who the group was that was rapidly approaching the car from the opposite direction. It was when she was thrown into the back of the van that she saw Ethan. Zip tied behind his back. His face looked beat up. It hit her for the first time they hadn’t placed masks on their faces. They looked at each other. She had never longed to see anyone as much. Her eyes filled up with tears while she silently spelled out, “I’m sorry.”

  Ethan shook his head. He was prepared to die before the request for money and stocks was made. He knew it was going to be a challenge to make the transaction work, but that was a workable solution than having to die in the middle of nowhere. When Roger and two other men can rushing in, he cried out for fear that they were preparing to beat him again. Instead, they untied him from the chair and scuttled him to the van.

  The excruciating pain flooding his body turned into despair recognizing a change of venue was always a dangerous sign. It was back to unpredictability and volatility. Lots thing can go wrong when the captors scramble to find a new position. He was ready to give up completely when they prepared to throw him in the van. Only then did he notice Irene, wounded and hurt and scared. A big, boundless and expanding compassion filled him up like he never felt theretofore.

  The feeling was nothing short of breathtaking. Had he been through anything like that, he wondered as he propped himself against the siding of the van sitting opposite her. How tenderly he yearned for her?

  Was this love? It had to be for it broke him to know she had suffered, more than his own suffering. Maybe because of his own suffering he was made acutely aware of hers. Maybe because he had assumed she had been a part of the scheme, now he was filled with guilt that couldn’t be extracted out of his body. In the middle of the chaos of a foreign language, words were flying around with harshness and terror, devoid of all the romance and softness of the romantic language.

  Something must have gone wrong, Ethan thought for a moment before he was taken again by the undue burden he had subjected this young woman. Because of him, she was exposed to agony. When his mind wandered into accounting all the cruelties of men that might have been visited on her, he couldn’t go on. Instead, he stared at her. Incapable of speech, surrendering to the destiny of randomness. At least he was sitting next to her, he reassured himself almost at the same time as her non-verbal apology.

  The tears in her eyes, the shredded clothes she wore, he had never felt so impotent. He couldn’t defend her. He couldn’t accept her apology in good conscience when he knew he had done her so wrong. He didn’t deserve her. Her bravery was more than his, he convinced himself. At least all that happened to him was being beat up. In his mind, the horror of what these thugs might have done to her was immense. He ached for her as the van sped away to an unknown destination.

  In the darkness of the interior, he pushed his legs in her direction. Probing the area until their ankles touched. It was a slight, but electrical, contact. Had any sort of touch ever mean more in their lives?

  Irene continued weeping hoping they wouldn’t be separated ever again. Ethan suspected this might be the very last chance before something more terrible happened to them. Every warning he had heard of his trainers was movement to a second location after capture meant hiding at a more fortified location. He assumed they were being driven deeper into the jungle where there might be no electronic connection or visibility from the outside.

  Ethan kept begging his brain to conjure up a solution. The demanding and cajoling hadn’t worked before. This time it was pleading for safety leveraging the intimate micro touch of his skin with Irene’s. He wanted his brain to solve the problem for them for he never wanted to lose contact with her.

  Without speaking a word, they reassured each other to stay strong. Not so much to fight through the trouble, but to survive it in the hoping of living another day. Would they be able to see each other’s faces again? Both had wondered before the chaos ensued.

  The van had slowed down and come to a stop before machine gun fire broke out. Deafening madness they couldn’t be sheltered from. Irene had given to closing her eyes and weeping. Ethan tried to gather as much information as possible soon after he established the gun fight was initiated by the group in the van.

  Could it be another gang trying to kidnap them? Then, he thought maybe it was some kind of a rescue mission. He dismissed the idea as a silly notion and refocused his attention on more realistic possibilities trying to keep track of Roger’s actions. He looked frazzled. Was that a good sign?

  Only when warning words were exchanged with the chasing group that Ethan realized the pursuers were Americans. Even then he thought they were a paramilitary group working with a local gang, much the same way as Roger was working with the group that took them hostage.

  Only when he saw Roger’s head blowing to pieces, like a watermelon fracturing and disintegrating into explosive colors, that he knew this was deadly serious. He didn’t have time to think before one of the attacking men arrived and inquired about them.

  “Ethan Anderson?” The man asked, shining the flashlight on his face. “I’m Max with Sky. Here to extract you, sir!”

  There was never a sigh of relief as monumental as Ethan had felt at that moment. Not when he kissed a girl for the first time, not when he lost his virginity, not when he scored his first angel seed or Series A investments, not when he became a millionaire, not when he became a billionaire, not when he was present to celebrate the fortieth wedding anniversary of his parents. None of those big milestones in life compared to this. His life was spared.

  “Is this Ms. Harwin, sir?” Max asked.

  “Yes, thank you for this!” Ethan said as someone in military gear came and cut the zip ties from both of them.

  In the weak body breaking down with exhaustion and pain, Ethan lurched forward and hugged Irene. No hug ever felt as intimate and warm and full of compassion. She held him, tucking her head into his neck and weeping uncontrollably.

  No words were spoken between them, nor were they separated as they were carried and placed into the massive SUV. In less than two hours, they were whisked away directly to the airport to a private jet awaiting their arrival.

  Before the plane was ready to taxi, Max handed Ethan a shoe box containing passports, wallets and other valuables. “Have a safe trip, sir!”

  “I can’t thank you enough,” Eth
an said, looking inside the wallet and putting out wads of cash.

  “Can’t take that, sir. It was a pleasure to serve.” Max said before he waved goodbye and ran to the SUV.

  It was the most honorable and impressive gesture Ethan had seen in a man. The sort of dedication to duty that exceeds above the call of responsibility. He thanked all the men and went back inside the jet where Irene sat at the corner, covered in layers of blanket.

  “I’m so sorry, Ethan!” She said. This was the third time she was apologizing to him. “If I didn’t insist on you visiting, none of this would have happened.”

  “Don’t mention it. Let’s get out of here for now. Do you mind if we fly directly to SF?”

  “No. Not at all!”

  “Excellent. Your friends have been informed of the rescue. The resort is waiving all the fees they paid and giving them a free one week pass to be used at any time. Including you…” He said as he took the seat next to her.

  “I don’t think I am ever going to leave home again.”

  “Never say never,” Ethan said, holding her hand as she leaned on his shoulder.

  ∫---∫

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The wedding party had dispersed from the dance floor before anyone noticed Irene was missing.

  “I can believe she is so selfish!” Lauren said, searching in the small crowd for signs of Ethan. “Have you seen Irene?”

  “Didn’t she leave with the new guy, what’s his face? Ethan right?” Emma said, borderline drunk. She too had invited a guest who happened to be in the resort vacationing with a group of friends and family.

  “Thought I saw her walking away, to the beach… Why do you care what she does?” Tom scolded Lauren. He had drunk too much to make it through the night. Although he thought he had made the right decision to go with the wedding, he still found Lauren’s obsession with controlling others around her most grating.

  “Is it a crime to think my maid of honor should be by my side and make me a priority for just this one day?” Lauren said, emotional and on the verge of a breakdown. She had indeed felt lonely. Ann was unusually quiet, and Emma was busy entertaining the random guest. When they weren’t dancing together, Tom and Lauren sat at the head table quietly, observing other people let loose and have fun.

  “I’ve no fucking idea where she met that prick. Do you know he is one of the most cunning assholes you will ever meet? He looks all polished and good when you see him. He’s fucking ruthless.” Jared said, hating Ethan more for taking Irene than the second-order gossip he heard to form his opinion.

  Soon after he returned to his room the night before, after a stop at the nurse station and created reasonable doubt in the minds of the bride and groom, he had invited Ann for a night cap. He had sobered up from the pain of the bite on his hand and the kick to his groin. He would go on to spend the night, keeping her awake for the most part and indulging her in his ferocious revenge sex until she wept and begged him to let her sleep. The two barely talked when they woke up late in the morning and for the rest of the day.

  “It’s a dog eat head world out there, man,” said Leo.

  “Get your fucking saying straight. Dog eat dog, Goddamit!” Jared corrected before Ann pulled him away noticing him staggering around.

  The night had left her wanting more. Like a spicy hot sauce that makes one want to have more despite all the sweating and crying and runny nose. Jared, in his man-childhood and built body, was that kind of compulsion for Ann. She cried because it was too much pleasure not because it was painful, she had convinced herself.

  Soon, the bride and groom greeted the rest of the guests and wished them good night, reminding those with early flights to put in a request for the airport shuttle. The bride and groom would stay for three more nights before they get back to the rushed life of New York City.

  A call to their room woke them up at 3 AM.

  “Hello,”

  “Senor Thomas. I am afraid I have bad news.”

  “What happened? What’s going on?”

  “We have been informed there has been a kidnapping incident and one of your guests and another customer were taken.”

  “What?! How? When?” Tom screamed.

  Lauren woke up. She asked, “What’s happening?” while rubbing her eyes to wake herself up. She had cried herself to sleep after Tom refused to have more sex than a less than satisfactory quickie.

  “Someone got kidnapped.”

  “It is Ms. Irene Harwin, senor. Authorities are here, and there are also Americans searching. I wanted to inform you about the situation in case you are wondering. We apologize very much for this problem, and we will make sure it is solved very quickly.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “This has never happened before here. We are very concerned and embarrassed, senor. I will make sure to call you as soon as we have more information. Sometimes people walk off the promises and get lost. So, they probably will come back soon.”

  “Who else is missing?”

  “Senor Ethan Anderson…”

  “This is unreal!” Tom screamed. “Is there anything we can do?”

  “Nothing at the moment, senor. Again I apologize very much for this problem. We will try to fix it as soon as possible.” The manager finished his update. He spoke with nervousness that exaggerated his accent, which made it difficult for Tom to hear what he was saying.

  Although he didn’t understand everything, Tom knew now Irene and Ethan had been kidnapped. How could that be? It felt so unreal.

  “Who got kidnapped, babe?”

  “Irene… and… her friend, Ethan…”

  “Are you kidding me, babe?”

  “No, why would I joke about something like that?!” Tom answered angrily.

  “When did it happen?”

  “I have no idea. Maybe that is why she was missing. You were running your mouth thinking it was selfish of her to be gone. There you have it. She got kidnapped. Are you happy now?”

  “Why are you mad at me?”

  “I don’t know. It seems you always think the world revolves around you. You don’t stop for a second and think about other people.”

  Lauren started crying, quietly at first and wailing soon after, accepting the blame that she had somehow caused this terrible thing to happen.

  “I can’t believe it!”

  “Should we tell others?” She asked trying to compose herself.

  “They said not to do that. What good is it to scare everyone now? The authorities are looking for them, that’s what the manager said.”

  “This is so crazy, babe. I had no idea this kind of stuff happened here. I am so scared right now.”

  Tom got up from the bed and started pacing around debating whether to talk to the guys or not. He was helpless. There was nothing he could do to reverse the situation. All the self-talk willing himself to get through the day had produced this most unfortunate outcome.

  Was this not a sign that he shouldn’t be going with the wedding? What if he had succeeded in convincing Irene to elope with him from the resort? They might now be somewhere private all by themselves…

  When he was about to leave the room to walk away, he felt scared and decided to stay behind. If two people could be targeted randomly, who was to say they wouldn’t come after him? So, whether he liked it or not, Tom found it to be the prudent thing to do to sit still, on the couch as far away from the bed as possible while Lauren continued to weep in vain.

  They sat together in that state for the whole of two hours until another call from the manager alerted them that the hostages have been found.

  “Everybody is recovered, senor. I want to apologize for this problem.”

  “What? Where? Are they here now?”

  “No, senor. They were found safe. No problems. They are now going directly to the States.”

  “Aren’t they coming back here?”

  “They preferred to leave right away. There is no problem now, senor. It was a bad misunderstanding. No
thing like this has ever happened in the whole area. Everyone is investigating. I assure you no problems here, senor.”

  “That’s not easy consolation. You were just telling me they were kidnapped and now they are gone. I mean, didn’t they want to come by and take their stuff?”

  “Everything is taken care of, senor. They took everything. I am so sorry for the trouble. I talked to my senior manager, and we want to apologize to you and senorita Lauren. We are waiving all your fees for the stay and apologize very formally to you and all your guests. We also give you one-week free accommodation for the future, anniversary or birthday package.”

  In the private equity trained brain of his, Tom was making sense of the information he was receiving. In a matter of few hours, the crisis he thought would result in Irene dying has now been turned into an all-expense paid vacation with the promise of another extended vacation in the future.

  “What did they say?” Lauren asked.

  “They are found. It seems like it was a misunderstanding or something like that.”

  “Are they here?”

  “No, they apparently left already,” Tom said still amazed how the situation turned around completely. Would he stay with Lauren long enough to use the one-week vacation package he wondered?

  “They left without saying goodbye?”

  “Who knows? I don’t know what the heck is going on. The manager was profusely apologetic. He said something like this has never happened and maybe they got lost walking outside of the resort… They are waiving all our fees for this stay and giving us a full week vacation package for the future.”

  “Seriously?”

  “That’s what the guy said. It looks they were kind of scared and then the whole thing got resolved quickly.”

  “Didn’t I tell you? Remember last night how she ran away and we had to look for her all over?” Lauren started, seizing the opportunity to express her grievance. “Maybe she did the same thing again. Wandered off taking the guy along with her, and you were screaming at me for nothing…”