Chapter Thirty-four

Jennifer had screamed until she could scream no more. Then she had fallen down at the foot of the bars, too exhausted to even make it across the tiny cell to her bed.

She woke in the dark and started to whisper to Gerri but then remembered that Gerri wasn’t there anymore. The leather-clad man had taken her away. God only knew where.

She took seven deep breaths and tried to focus her mind on the darkness.

It was dark, and dark was terrifying, which is exactly what her tormentors, whoever they were, meant it to be.

They were counting on her fear to paralyze her. She pulled herself up and stumbled to her bed.

Then she nearly jumped three feet into the air.

Something moved in the bed.

Someone was there, sleeping.

She trembled in fear, then breathed in deeply and was finally able to say, “Who the hell is that?”

She heard someone clear her throat, saw the shape move, then heard a voice, a very familiar voice.

“Hi, Sis. You okay?”

Jennifer couldn’t believe it.

“Michelle?”

“Yeah, guess we ended up in it this time, huh?”

Jennifer moved toward her.

“We? We got in this together?”

“Well. . .”

“No,” Jennifer said, moving closer. “Notwe, Sis. You! You got me into this, and now we are both going to end up being organ donors to some rich bastards!”

Michelle stood up and rubbed her neck.

“It’s actually worse than that,” she said. “The way I understand it, parts of us may be . . . on the menu.”

Jennifer hauled off and smacked her sister in the face. The blow was so hard she knocked Michelle to the floor.

“Goddamn. I didn’t know you could hit like that,” Michelle said.

“There’s plenty you don’t know about me, Sis,” Jennifer said. “I’ve spent my whole life cleaning up your messes and now you’ve gotten us into this. Well, they aren’t taking me without a fight. And when we get out of here I’m going to settle up with you!”

Michelle got up and hugged her, and in spite of herself Jennifer hugged her back.

“You know what?” Michelle said. “I’m starting to really like you. We got a lot of living to do before it’s all over. Now tell me what the guard is like.”

“Shit,” Jennifer said. “You don’t want to know.”

Wearing their ridiculous costumes and armed with three pistols and the makeshift flamethrower, Jack and Oscar made their way down the hall. Jack’s mask was too narrow for his face, so the eyeholes didn’t quite line up with his eyes. This caused him to stagger behind Oscar, whose mask fit neatly. Jack walked into the wall two or three times, and he thought about how he would excise these failings in his memoirs. If he lived to write them.

They weren’t sure if they were going toward the human sacrifice or away from it when they heard a commotion a couple of doors in front of them.

It sounded like . . . but it couldn’t be.

Jack and Oscar arrived at the door and were extremely surprised at the sounds of sex.

“Ohhh, I want it. I want your big cock in me.”

Jack looked inside and saw what could only be a naked Jennifer Wu writhing on a bed, pleasuring herself.

“Hey there,” he said, so stunned that he half forgot that he was wearing his white mask and robe.

“Hey look . . .”

He reached down for Hans’s keys and quickly opened the cell door.

Then he and Oscar, still masked, walked inside and tried to sound reassuring.

“Girls, whatever you’re trying to pull off here isn’t really necessary, cause—”

He never finished the sentence, because from behind the bed came a leaping, screaming, and clawing Michelle Wu. Jack was usually able to handle two men at once, but there was no way he could ever have been ready for this howling, maniacal tomcat who scratched at his eyes and aimed a killer karate kick at his knee.

Meanwhile, the woman on the bed had quickly pulled up her Levi’s and was attacking Oscar with all she had.

Both Oscar and Jack fell to the cell floor, rolling around in their metallic white robes and pointed masks as the girls rained pain down upon them.

Finally, Jack managed to scream, “Michelle, stop. It's Jack and Oscar! And you're fucking killing us!”

She let loose a banshee howl and hit Jack with about ten thousand more punches.

“Jack and Oscar, here to the rescue,” Oscar said.

The punches and war cries stopped. The boys sucked in air.

“It's about fucking time,” Michelle said.

Jack felt bruises and bumps appearing all over his body. He was a giant purple plum of a man.

A plum in pain.

A few minutes later the four of them—Jack, Oscar, Michelle, and Jennifer—were out in the hall.

“We heard something coming from that way,” Jack said, pointing at two steel doors. “I think that's where they're having their warm-up pot roast. But you two have to wait here until we deal with it.”

“We'll be back for you,” Oscar said.

“Yeah, right,” Michelle said. “You want to go down there to the picnic, that's fine. But I know another way out of here. Down the back way. There are steps there and the exit comes out just across from the Red Sombrero.”

“I'll be damned,” Jack said. “That's where Tommy met us, Oscar. This place must be the cave right below the ledge.”

Jack looked at the green walls. He should have known that's why Tommy met him there. If he had only seen it then.

“So you guys go ahead and we'll meet you outside,” Michelle said.

Jack nodded.

“Thanks for saving me,” Jennifer said. “I'm sorry we attacked you.”

“No problem,” Jack said. “Michelle hits like a girl anyway.”

They all looked at the huge lump on his forehead and no one said a word.

“Listen,” Jack said. “When you get out call the FBI and the local cops and get them out here. Right away. Okay?”

Michelle looked away and Jack grabbed her arm.

“I should have let them take you. Maybe I would have if your sister wasn't in here with you.”

“Jack, I can explain. It's not like you think.”

“Stop,” Jack said. “Don't say another word. I get it. I see the whole scam. We'll deal with all that after this is over.”

“I wish you'd—”

“Shut up, Michelle,” Jack said. “I got the picture and I don't want to hear your bullshit ever again.”

“Okay, Jack,” Michelle said, lowering her eyes as though she were heartbroken. “If you say so, Jackie. But I still love you.”

Jack slapped her in the face, hard.

“Now go,” he said. “Before I change my mind and arrest you.”

She didn't look at him again, but grabbed her sister and the two girls headed down the hall toward the back steps.

Jack and Oscar moved forward toward the two steel doors.

As they got closer they heard another round of wild cheering and applause.

“The party's getting wilder,” Jack said. “I think we better move along.”