Richard Stephenson - Resistance

Colonel Rutherford smiled, not the least bit shaken. “Third option?”

“I’d love to hear it.”

“Look out the window. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t meet us in the parking lot. Could’ve saved us both a lot of time. Go on, Mr. Black! Take a peek. I promise to sit right here and behave myself.”

Ben leaned back in his chair to get a better look at the parking lot, his finger still curled around the trigger. The good colonel wasn’t screwing around. Dozens of vehicles and easily a hundred eager soldiers were amassed outside, ready to storm the park.

“As you can see, I came prepared. Impressive, aren’t they? That’s about a third of them. Believe me when I tell you I won’t hesitate to slaughter every adult in this park and take all of the children with me. I’d rather not resort to such drastic measures. Just give me the girl! Is one little kid really worth all that to you?”

“You’re a bastard, you know that?”

“Actually, I don’t really get much criticism in my line of work.”

“I can see why. Will she be safe?”

“Absolutely! She’ll be an honored guest! You think we’d go to all this trouble if she wasn’t important?”

“Who the hell is she? I gotta know, please.”

“It’s not actually the girl who’s important. It’s her father.”

“What? Her father’s dead.”

Colonel Rutherford beamed from ear to ear. “Oh, no, General Dupree is very much alive, I assure you.”

“Mr. Everton, I admire your passion, sir. I pride myself on being somewhat of an expert in human nature. I know these first stages of captivity-such an ugly word, but I just can’t think of a polite euphemism for what we’re doing here-are the most difficult, and I do apologize for all the unpleasantness. I’m eager to get to the next phase of our relationship. I think we’re almost there, don’t you?”

Joel Everton was duct-taped to a kitchen chair and had been for the past eleven hours. His wife was in the same predicament a few short feet away. Although her mouth had been taped shut, she’d been spared all but a fraction of the violence her husband had experienced. “You’re not suggesting we’re becoming friends are you? That whole Stockholm Syndrome thing isn’t happening here.”

“No, no, Mr. Everton, I have no illusions about us becoming friends. I certainly don’t expect you to become buddies with my two associates here. The next phase is acceptance of what’s happening to you. It’s a given…inevitable, I’m afraid. I’ve seen it many times; some take twice as long as you and some take half the time.”

“And just how do you know when it happens? What makes you think I’m going to do anything you want?”

“Well, for starters, Mr. Everton, you’ve stopped using profanity. I find profanity to be so tasteless and vulgar. I suppose I have my dear Christian mother to thank for that.”

“Maybe I’m just tired of getting punched.”

“It doesn’t really matter, Mr. Everton. That’s not what tells me you’re ready to move on to the next phase of our plan.”

Joel looked at the maniac with contempt. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

The polite man paused to straighten his tie and smiled. “Mr. Everton, I know we’re ready to proceed because you’ve come to terms with your fate. You’ve stopped begging, stalling, and my absolute favorite part of these jobs-you’ve stopped scheming and plotting to find a way out of this.”

Megan Everton snuck a furtive glance at her husband, certain the monster was wrong. She knew her husband was smart enough to find a way out of this nightmare and save them both. His defeated gaze, however, led Megan to the horrible realization that Joel had given up.

“Mr. Everton, you really will come to realize that it’s so much easier when you just play the game. This is going to happen, sir, and I’m delighted that you’re finally accepting that fact.”

“I know the last time I asked this question I was punished for it, but you said I would know when I could ask it again.”

“Bravo, Mr. Everton! I am quite impressed with you, my good man. You’re the first to make the connection without any prompting from me. I was right about you, Mr. Everton.” The polite man was as giddy as a school boy. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Mr. Everton. My employer was not in favor of your selection. You were thought to be much too smart and resourceful. I just had a feeling you might need to improvise and think on your feet to accomplish your assignment. Your predecessors didn’t really have to do much thinking. If we could’ve gotten away with it, their tasks could have been carried about by chimpanzees. Anyway, Mr. Everton, now that you feel the time is right, please ask your question.”

“If I go through with this, how do I know you won’t kill my wife anyway? How do I know you’ll let her go?”

“Well, Mr. Everton, you really don’t know, do you? From the moment my associates and I entered your home, I’ve done every single thing I said I would do without fail. My employer likes things to be nice and tidy. Unnecessary loss of life brings with it the potential for complications. Keeping your wife alive is the easier alternative. Missing persons bring attention. Your wife can simply fabricate the story of your demise, but if both of you were to disappear, well, that would be too costly an investment.”

“You want me to murder innocent people, yet you have the nerve to say ‘unnecessary loss of life’? How dare you!”

The polite man broke eye contact with Joel and smiled at one of his goons who, in turn, whacked Joel across the knuckles with the end of a collapsible baton. The thugs knew a smile meant to go easy on the victim.

“Mr. Everton, let’s not forget my dislike of sass. Just because I’m pleased with how sharp you are doesn’t mean you can speak to me in any way you please. Let’s not ruin the progress we’ve made. As I was saying, assuring someone’s silence is much easier than one would think. I’m sure your lovely wife here holds a great deal of affection for her sweet grandmother in Plano, Texas. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

Megan was stunned by the realization that this sociopath kept tabs on her family.

“Yes, darling. Mammy is just an adorable little country grandma. Doesn’t really live in the country, but you can’t take the country out of the gal, now can ya? You should consider yourself lucky. I only had one grandmother that I could remember, and she went home to see Jesus when I was six. From what I recall, my Mimi and your Mammy would get along just fine. If you can’t keep our little secret, they might meet each other much sooner than the good Lord intended.”

“I’m sure my wife will cooperate fully, sir. I’ll do whatever you want me to do, and she will never speak a word of this for the rest of her life.”

“I’m sure she won’t, Mr. Everton, I’m sure she won’t. While we’re on the topic of family, I have to say that your Uncle Ollie is a real stand-up guy. His second wife has a teenage girl with a spinal cord injury, right? Poor little angel is in a wheelchair, and your uncle doesn’t skip a beat. That girl isn’t just a step-daughter, she’s family to him. Sounds like a family full of fighters and hard workers, real salt-of-the-earth kind of folk. I’d love to spend a weekend with them. I’m willing to bet they’d make us a home-cooked meal before we got down to business.”

“Stop! You’ve made your point. I’m ready.”

“Excellent! I really do like you, Joel. I’ve enjoyed our time together. I seldom get to have conversations with men of intelligence. My associates might lack in that department, but they excel in other areas where it counts. One thing has me curious. It wasn’t really important enough to follow up on but I’m certain you’d be happy to fill in the blanks. Uncle Ollie, is that his Christian name or is it short for Oliver?”