“Hey! I asked a question. What’s happening?”
“Security precaution, sir.”
“Where are we going?”
“Can’t say, sir.”
Alex was convinced there must have been a serious security breach to initiate this kind of evacuation.
“Where is everyone? Where is the Senator?”
“On the way, sir.”
“Where on the way?”
“Can’t say, sir.”
Within less than two minutes, the SUV pulled into an industrial park with a view of Lower Manhattan in the distance. The car pulled into what looked like a storage space and the doors closed behind them. Not once Alex suspected anything out of the ordinary. Granted this wasn’t the emergency routine. Still…
“Out, sir.”
Alex looked around in disbelief as the security head grabbed his arm and dragged him into a darkened room on the other side of the door.
“Remember me?” Henry asked. He stood in the middle of the room next to a foldable chair.
“Of course, Henry. Is the Senator alright? I haven’t received anything about security threat or anything else.”
“The Senator is doing just fine. You and I are going to have a little conversation. You don’t mind, do you?”
“About what?”
“That is for you to tell me, isn’t it?”
Along with the moment of recognition, a fog of fear descended on Alex. He quickly wondered where he belonged.
“I have nothing to talk about.”
“This will be easy for you, Alex. I know what you have been up to behind the scenes. We can do this one of two ways. You tell me everything you have done and save yourself from embarrassment. Or, we can do it the hard way. It is your choice. We need to make it quick, though. I have a wedding to go to as you might already know.”
“Does the Senator know you are doing this?”
“Who was it that called you? He knows how you betrayed his loyalty. He wishes not to ever see you again. That is a done deal. The question is what will become of your life after this. It is your choice.”
“I haven’t done anything.” Alex reached for his phone in his pocket and felt for the numbers. What a blessing he had a tactile keypad? He pressed 9-1... Before he could finish, a blow to his stomach folded him in half. As he collapsed on the cement floor, a masked individual came and took off all his possessions.
“Don’t try any tricks, Alex. You know the rules of engagement when someone does irreparable harm.”
A sequence of kicks to his stomach and back made him feel like his body was split into halves. He looked up to see the same resolved face of Henry standing over him in the expensive and custom tailored pinstripe suit. Alex gathered his strength and spat a mouth full on him. The spit splattered all over the front side of Henry.
“Two choices. Tell me what you have been sharing with the ball-buster. Anything else you might have been planning on telling him in the near or distant future. We will start slow. If you wish to come out of here in one piece…”
Alex was dragged from the floor and set on the chair. The person who had been beating me took his right hand and stretched it out until it felt like his hand was coming out of the socket.
“How many ribs do you have, Alex? Can you still count? So, I will count to three. If you don’t start speaking one of them will be done. Do you understand? One… Two… Three...”
Alex heard the crushing sound simultaneously as the piercing pain propagated throughout his body. He felt his entire chest cavity had collapsed inside.
“I swear I haven’t said anything about the Senator. I am telling you the honest truth. I swear.” Alex cried out.
