Hot Revenge Box Set 2

*****

James

The message from Charlotte’s abductors…

Finchby…

Baxter…

… replays in my head…

Marsh Street under Barnbridge Road overpass 9pm

Bring the money

No police. No other people or she dies

If late she dies. So does the baby

Brandy and rage burn inside me.

The bag containing the ransom money swings heavy in my hand. I'm the decoy and at some level, I know I may not come out of this alive. Klempner's Kevlar vest gives me a little comfort, but it’s the fury inside that warms me against fast falling temperatures.

I should be afraid…

But I’m not.

Jade-Eyes…

My beautiful Jade-Eyes…

Your gift

day I met Charlotte, my Virgin,

her, ruling her, robbed her of what she deserves. None of it her fault, she has simply been the survivor of

I change any

No. Nothing.

is. Strong. Fearless. Resourceful. Even in the dire situation she’s in, imprisoned in her cell,

for

And me?

I’m the decoy.

of a breeze. High cloud makes a haze of the stars but does little to blanket in what passed for the heat of the day. The streets are glazed to a hoared sheen, except for

the rendezvous point, near enough to get there quickly. Far enough that,

briskly, my footsteps click-clicking down empty streets. It’s not that late, but the cold is keeping people indoors and, after all, Christmas is coming. Most folks will be with friends, at parties or simply at home in the

with warmth and welcome, sparkling with fairy lights, dressed with spray-on snow and Santa, Please Stop Here signs. In my own home, we never finished the trimming up. Charlotte’s abduction killed

I pass by.

minutes I’m leaving the relative safety of the residential zone and passing into more uncertain territory. This end of Marsh Street is not a good

the boundary of the City, it was built before the main highways were developed, a remnant of the old town, under the overpass which carries the modern

services are cautious. The area is noted for hoax calls of fire or medical emergency followed by muggings for cash and drugs, and attacks on medics and fire officers

I'm feeling

Better than the alternative.

to

lies straddled by two great concrete supports for the overpass, dim under inadequate sodium lighting. From the road above, moisture trickles down, streaking stark

on the overpass, late evening traffic grumbles past.

“Hello?”

echoes briefly, then

here.” I pace, circling,

Nothing…