Lizzie
Lizzie watched Ben’s fingers drum against the overstuffed armchair and smiled. He was clearly lost without a camera to fiddle with. The lift chimed again, pulling her attention to the shining gold doors as they opened into the bustling lobby. Half a dozen people moved out of the lift; none of them were Jaddi or Samantha. Where were her friends?
All of a sudden a warmth crept over her neck and face. She could feel his eyes on her again.
‘Do I have ketchup on my chin, or something?’ Lizzie wiped her fingers over her lips and smiled at Ben.
‘Are you feeling all right?’ he asked, ignoring her question.
She nodded. ‘I’m great. Why? Do I look ill?’
‘No.’ He looked into her eyes. ‘You look –’ a half-smile stretched across his face, crinkling the skin around his eyes ‘– fine.’
‘So what’s wrong? You’re doing your frowning face.’
‘My what?’
‘Your frowning face.’ She laughed. ‘Like this.’ Lizzie scrunched up her forehead, flared her nostrils and pouted her lips, before doubling over in a fit of giggles.
‘Hey.’ Ben smirked. ‘My face doesn’t look anything like that.’
‘It does; you’ve just never seen it before because you’ve always got a hump of plastic in front of it.’
Before Ben had a chance to retort, the lift chimed another arrival and Caroline glided towards them. Her eyes were glued to the screen of her mobile, and yet she weaved around plants and people as if she had a second set of eyes in her forehead.
She smiled a greeting at Ben and Lizzie, before glancing across to the opposite sofa and nodding to Lizzie’s family. Aaron lifted a hand in greeting as his mouth stretched into a wide yawn. Like a wave in a football stadium, it passed between them, hitting her dad and then her mum, before moving back to Aaron.
‘Where’s the rest of you?’ Caroline asked.
‘It’s only just gone quarter to,’ Ben said. ‘They’ll be here in a minute, don’t worry. We lost track of time ourselves over lunch.’
It had been fun spending time with her family and with Ben. There had been an initial awkwardness and small talk about the weather and jet lag as her mum and dad had thrown furtive looks at the three members of Caroline’s film crew, stepping in a slow perimeter around the table. Then Ben had turned to her mum and asked, ‘Has Lizzie always been sarcastic?’
Evelyn had laughed. ‘Born with it.’
The rest of their lunch had flown by as her parents had regaled Ben with stories of Lizzie and Aaron’s childhood, whilst Lizzie and Aaron had laughed along, hid behind their napkins, and declared their parents outright liars. Like the time she’d tried to dye her hair red one Christmas Eve and had spent the entire holiday hiding her bright orange mop under a hat. Or the dozens of times they’d taken Aaron to A&E because he’d been attempting double summersaults off the top of the sofa and hit his head.
‘Have you tried their mobiles?’ Caroline asked, tapping her foot against the polished floor.
‘Yes, and neither of them are answering,’ Lizzie said.
Caroline’s eyes fell back to the phone in her hand. Tap, tap, tap, her foot continued.
Ben leaned closer to Lizzie before he spoke. ‘How many times have you known Samantha to be late?’
‘Samantha?’ Lizzie raised her eyebrows. ‘Never. Jaddi, though, always.’
‘That’s what I thought.’ He nodded, glancing at his watch.
Caroline pulled her wrist up to her face, looked at her watch again and gave a loud sigh. ‘Right, well, we simply can’t wait any longer, so we’d best go without them. I’ve already sent the crew ahead to the launch area to set up.’
‘Hang on, Caroline,’ Ben said. ‘We’ve still got a few minutes. Let me run up and check the suite. I bet they’ve fallen asleep and forgotten to set an alarm.’
‘Fine, but be quick.’
‘I’ll come too.’ Lizzie sprung from the chair and jogged after Ben. The urgency of his movements caused an unease to worm its way around her.
‘Maybe you should wait down here,’ he said.
‘Why?’ she asked. ‘What’s wrong? Do you know something I don’t?’
He paused and stared at her for a moment before answering. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing.’
Ben jabbed his finger against the button causing a red light to illuminate behind it. He pressed it several more times anyway.
‘You know that doesn’t make it come any faster, don’t you?’ Lizzie said.
He shrugged, his gaze fixing on the plain white door next to the lift.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ Lizzie said. ‘Waiting a minute for the lift to arrive will be a lot quicker that sprinting up forty-two floors.’
As the lift doors began to open, Ben darted in, almost tripping over a woman and her suitcase. She tutted and gave a shake of her head as she wheeled her luggage out of the way and walked into the lobby. Lizzie stepped in after him.
The key card was in Ben’s hand as the lift arrived and the doors slid open. Without a word, he ran into the corridor.
‘Ben?’ she called, her feet sinking into the plush red carpet as she chased after him. He didn’t stop until he reached the door of the suite.
She made it to his side just as he whipped the key card out of the lock. They waited for the small red bulb to illuminate green. It didn’t.
‘Here,’ Lizzie said, brushing his hand aside and feeling the warmth radiate from his body as she stepped closer. ‘You’re doing it too fast.’
She repeated his action, pulling the plastic card slowly from the lock. A split second later, the bulb flashed green. Ben gripped the handle in his hand and pulled it as far down as it would go before pushing his weight against the door. It opened without a sound. He touched his finger to his lips as they entered the suite.
Lizzie frowned but did as he asked.
They stepped into a living room area with sofas and a glass coffee table. To one side was a small kitchen, but it was the expansive floor-to-ceiling window and the view over Las Vegas that drew Lizzie’s eyes, and Ben’s, she noticed a moment later, as his body froze beside her.
All of a sudden, Ben’s upper body lurched forward, his hands gripping the back of the sofa. It seemed as though his feet were encased in concrete and someone had pushed him.
‘Ben,’ she said, her voice low as she followed his gaze to the window. ‘Speak to me, what’s going on?’
With his eyes still fixed on the window, he pushed himself to standing and nodded. ‘I forgot we’d travelled up so high. I’m fine.’
Lizzie stepped closer, and placed a hand on his cheek, guiding his gaze away from the window and on to her. ‘Focus on me for a second,’ she said, staring into the depths of his eyes until she felt the muscles in his body begin to relax. ‘Let’s find Samantha and Jaddi and get out of he—’
Out of nowhere a scream pierced the air. Lizzie spun towards the corridor and the direction of the noise.
‘Please let Jaddi go,’ she heard Samantha beg. ‘I’ll play your game, but please let her go.’ The fear in Samantha’s voice sent a shiver down her spine.
‘Enough!’ a man’s voice replied.
Lizzie jumped towards the noise, but Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.
‘Wait,’ he mouthed, picking up the phone on the coffee table. A moment later, he spoke into the receiver. ‘I need security, now!’ he said, his voice a low, urgent whisper.
‘Stay behind me,’ he said, darting along the corridor.
Another screech rung in the air. The door to the second bedroom was pushed closed but not shut.
As they reached the door, Ben stopped. Panic and frustration gripped Lizzie’s body. She wanted to barge into the room but Ben’s frame blocked her path. Slowly, Ben pressed his fingers against the door and pushed it open an inch.
Through the gap, Lizzie could see Samantha’s face and body. Her right leg and right arm were bound to Jaddi’s left, whilst her other hand was pulled out at a right angle to her body and tied to a taut wire. She couldn’t see where the wire ended, but she guessed a radiator below the window.
A figure passed in front of the gap. Lizzie’s heartbeat began to pound in her ears, and in front of her she felt Ben steady his feet.
‘That should do it,’ the man said. ‘Don’t you think, ladies?’
Lizzie knew the voice instantly. David. His back was to the doorway as he waved a small object in the air. Metal glinted in the light from the window. A knife? A blade? Lizzie couldn’t tell. This couldn’t be happening, she thought over and over.
David placed the object on the edge of the bed and moved his hands to the bottom of his T-shirt. As he pulled it over his head, Ben made his move, rushing into the bedroom and shoving David to the floor. With his arms and his head still immobilised inside the T-shirt, David lashed out with his legs.
As Lizzie dived past them and onto the bed, Ben rolled David onto his front with his face to the floor and sat down hard on the centre of his back. David grunted and tried to buck his body upwards, but it was no use. Ben’s hold on him was too tight.
‘Oh my God!’ Lizzie panted. ‘Are you OK?’ Her hands shook as she began pulling at the plastic knotted around their hands. Samantha had a long cut on her arm, and Jaddi had a smear of blood on her neck, but they were conscious and nodded their heads.
‘Where’s Suk? Is she OK?’ Jaddi asked, rubbing the wrists of her freed hands.
‘I haven’t seen her,’ Samantha said.
‘You don’t think he …’ Jaddi’s eyes widened as she allowed her sentence to trail off.
‘I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. He didn’t say anything,’ Samantha replied. Her body began to shake. For a moment Lizzie thought it was the shock hitting her, but then she drew in a wrenching breath. ‘I’m so sorry.’ Tears streamed down her face.
‘It’s not your fault,’ Jaddi said, placing an arm around Samantha. ‘It’s that pig down there who should be sorry.’
David kicked against the floor. ‘Fucking bitches were asking for it,’ he said, his voice muffled behind the T-shirt.
A ball of fire ignited inside Lizzie. Her body moved without thought, spinning towards the figure on the floor. Her fists were clenched so tight she could feel her nails digging into her skin, but she didn’t care.
‘How dare you hurt my friends,’ she hissed, jumping onto the floor and raising her fist.
‘Hotel Security,’ a man’s voice shouted from along the corridor. ‘Las Vegas PD are on their way.’