Silence.
“Please pull over and let us go. We swear to God we won’t say nothin’. Hell, we don’t even know your name and I guess we were trespassing on your land. But let us out now wherever the hell we are and you can forget about us. We won’t do no talking. You don’t have to worry about me ’n Kyle. We planned that boat trip for years and we kept our mouths shut about it the the whole time. We can keep our mouths shut about this, man.”
Then, as an aside, Raheem said, as if to bolster his argument, “Shit, nobody can understand anything Kyle says anyway.”
Kyle thought that was mean but true. And if it worked he was fine with it.
Kyle noticed that the vehicle had slowed down significantly but it didn’t stop. He guessed they were passing through a small town.
“Tell you what,” Raheem said, “how about after you let us go me ’n Kyle will get jobs somewhere. When we earn money we’ll send it to you. We’ll keep sending it until we’re all square. You can name the price but don’t get crazy. It’s not like we’ll ever make a million dollars or anything like that. How does that sound to you?”
“Stupid,” Ron said.
“Man, I’m running out of ideas so you tell me. Tell me what we gotta do to get out of this damn truck. Kyle, if you got any ideas now is the time to chime in.”
The tape over Kyle’s mouth was tight and all he could manage was “Mmmff.”
“You talk a lot,” Ron said to Raheem. It was a flat statement.
Raheem apparently didn’t know how to respond.
The truck sped back up. Apparently they were back on the highway.
Finally, Ron said, “I was wondering what I was going to do with you anyway.”
Kyle’s heart lept. Then he wondered if “you” meant them both or just Raheem.
The pickup slowed down and soon Kyle could hear gravel instead of pavement under the tires on the right side. Ron was pulling over.
“You okay, Kyle?” Raheem asked, sotto voce.
“Mmmff.”
“Hang in there, bro.”
*
RON DIDN’T REMOVE KYLE’S HOOD, so what he would remember about what came next would stay with him as a series of sounds burned into his memory. Maybe that was why reliving that day seemed so real.
The truck stopped but the engine continued to run. Kyle heard Ron shove the transmission into park and apply the emergency brake with a ratcheting sound. Then he got out and his boots crunched on the gravel on the side of the road. The rear door opened and Kyle felt fresh air on the exposed skin of his hands. He also thought he smelled hay and fresh dirt.
“Get out,” Ron said to Raheem.
“I’m trying, man,” Raheem said, grunting. He heard Tiffany mewl again as Raheem struggled over her toward the opening.
“Stand still,” Ron said.
“All right, I will. But don’t forget Kyle.”
No response.
Ron said to Amanda, “Take that off. That’s right, I’ll pull that stud out with these pliers and you reach up and unbuckle it and hand it to me.”
“Are you sure it won’t go off?” she asked. Her voice trembled.
“Do what I tell you,” Ron said.
A moment later, Raheem said, “What you puttin’ around my neck?”
Silence.
“Hey, don’t pull it so tight.”
Kyle felt his whole body go cold. He could remember Ron unbuckling the dog collar from Tiffany before he taped her up and put the hood on her. Kyle was afraid Ron was fastening it around Raheem’s neck.
“That ain’t that damned collar is it?” Raheem’s voice was high. He was scared.
“Take off your clothes,” Ron said.
“What?”
“Take ’em off. Everything except your underwear.”
“That’s messed up, man.”
“Do it.”
“How can I do it with my hands and legs all taped up?”
“I’ll cut you free.”
Kyle heard sharp zips that sent chills through his bowels.
After a beat, Kyle heard Raheem say, “Well, shit,” as if resigned.
Apparently, though, the zips were from a sharp blade cutting through tape.
“Your shoes, too.” Ron said.
“Okay, okay.”
Kyle was supercharged with energy. He tried to pull his hands apart. The tape bit into his skin. He rolled his head manically from side to side, trying to catch an edge of the tape to the fabric on the inside of his hood so it would peel back. He would beg for Raheem’s life.
“Hey, settle down in there,” Ron said, apparently to Kyle. Then to Raheem: “Your friend has got this figured out.”
What? Kyle thought. He’s got what figured out?
To Raheem: “You want to go? Then go.”
“I can’t see nothing.”
There was an unfurling sound of cloth snapping free.
“Now you can,” Ron said. “Now run. Run toward that haystack out there. I’ll bet you can run pretty fast.”
“Where in the hell are we? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“Like I said, you talk a lot.”
“You’re gonna use that collar thing on me.” Raheem’s voice was reedy. “You’re gonna use that thing on me.”
“Hey, it may not work. It probably depends on the distance. There may not be enough of an electrical charge in the detonator to set off the C-4 if you get out of range.” Ron sounded calm like he was puzzling out a science problem.
“Look,” Raheem said, “Put that hood back on. I’ll get dressed again and I’ll get back inside the truck and I’ll keep my mouth shut and you won’t ever hear another goddamn word out of me. I swear it. Just let me back in the truck.”
After a long pause, Ron said, “Nah. I don’t know what I’m going to do with you anyway. You’re sort of a wild card and you’ve got a mouth on you.”
“I’ll be good, man,” Raheem begged. “I sit in class and I don’t say nothing. I sit there for hours. I can do that here.”
Kyle had never heard that sad tone in Raheem’s voice before. It ripped his heart out.
“I said ‘go.’”
“I don’t want to. Please don’t make me.”
“At least this way you’ll have a chance. Otherwise, I’ll just put a bullet in your head and leave you here on the side of the road.”
“Please, man…”
“Go.”
The last words Raheem ever uttered were “Fuck it.”
Kyle heard Raheem start running. Bare feet thumped the ground until the sound of footfalls faded away.
A second passed, then two. Then five.
BOOM.
Amanda screamed in the front seat.
Kyle tried to cry out but his voice was muffled and he sounded to himself like a wounded cat.
Ron climbed back in the front of the truck, closed the door, and said, “That worked better than I thought it would.” Pride in his voice.
Before he put the truck into gear he said, “Relax, back there. It was a just a matter of time anyway.”
Amanda’s sobbing was muffled as if she’d buried her head into the floorboard.
“Everybody relax,” Ron said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”
Through his anger and tears, Kyle smelled something sharp and strong: urine. Tiffany had apparently heard what Kyle had heard and she’d voided herself.
Ron smelled it, too, and said, “You people are disgusting.”
PART FOUR
PARADISE VALLEY
CHAPTER