Humanity Doesn't Rule

Her heart exploded with rage, the tightness in her chest squeezing like a vice and her hands ready to murder someone. The chill in the air hit her square in the face when she slammed her car door and entered the warehouse. Rolls of plastic, assorted boxes and pieces of vine coveted the dirty, dusty floor. She sneezed from the stale, musty air.

The bastard sat on the rickety chair, his head drooped, and his body secured with rope. His eyes were black and blue. Good. Let the pig suffer.

Nadia salivated with desire. How would she get her revenge? This unconscious man she’d once been married to. A man with no principles.

Her friend James towered over her with his broad shoulders and chicken-stick legs as he gazed in her direction. “Should I wake him?”

Nadia nodded. “We still need answers. Has he said anything at all?”

“Only that he’d rather die than tell us the truth. But if we kill him now, we’ll never find out. What’s your plan?”

She rubbed the side of her neck, her stomach aching as she surveyed her box of goodies and rummaged through it. A knife, scalpel, hammer, and pliers. “Step aside.” James shifted as he made his way closer to the wall. “I’m taking over.”

“You’re the boss,” said James when his phone buzzed. “What’s up, dude?” The pallor of his cheeks made her nauseous. His hands clenched as he looked up at her with pursed lips. He ended the call. “What did you do, Nadia?”

She feigned surprise. “What do you mean?”

He scoffed. “I thought we agreed to not get his family involved. Why kidnap his wife when she’s innocent in all this?”

Nadia scoffed. “Innocent, my arse. She knew that Eli was killing people and said nothing. She’s let him get away with his evil ways for far too long.”

James shook his head. “Who are you and where is Nadia?”

The woman squeezed her hands tight and leaned in towards him, her mouth inches from his. “The day I met Eli, I lost my humanity, James.” She pointed to him. “He made he lose my humanity, and now I’ve got hardly anything to lose.”

“What about Casey’s respect for you? He’s not going to like what you’re doing. All these immoral actions to save your lover. If you start killing everyone, where does that leave you? Where does it leave you and him? What future will you have? He won’t like it.”

Nadia swallowed hard, her eye twitching when Eli woke up and gasped. She squared her shoulders and stood opposite him. Inching her way closer, she grabbed hold of his arms. “Well, well, well. Look who’s woken up. Hello, Eli.”

“What the fuck, bitch. Let me go or I’ll make your life with Casey a living hell.”

Nadia swung back her hand and slapped him hard across the face, but he barely flinched. She’d need to resort to stronger measures.

Walking over to the box, she pulled out a scalpel.

James frowned as he stood alongside her, eventually glaring at Eli.

She turned to her friend and lifted the scalpel, gliding her hands across the edge. Eli’s eyes widened like saucers, but he kept quiet. “Last chance. Where is Casey?”

Eli sighed as he pushed against his restraints. “I’ll never tell, Nadia. I don’t care what you do to me.”

She pulled out her phone from her back jeans pocket, noticing James staring at her arse. He’d told her countless times how he appreciated her buxom curves, full rosy lips and long, strawberry blonde waves. He especially loved her chestnut brown eyes. But if she wasn’t so in love with Casey, she’d have sex with the man. “Check this out, prick.” Pressing play on the video, she watched him flinch with dilated eyes. It was a video of his wife, Lisa, bound and gagged on a chair in an isolated room. She had a cut lip, grazed cheeks, and a darkness underneath her eyes.

His eyes were pitch black. “You bitch. Let her go. She has nothing to do with this.”

“Hmm. You have a choice now. Speak up or she dies.”

“No. She’s my world. Are you seriously going to kill an innocent person? That’s not you, Nadia. You don’t kill people.”

Leaning in, she smelled his stale breath. “I’m a different Nadia now. One you’ve shaped into not giving a fuck about you or anyone, except Casey. He’s my world.” She smiled, her heart soaring at the terror in his eyes. “Now, what will it be?”

***

Nadia placed a finger over her lip, pondering. Why was he still not giving up Casey’s location? Didn’t he care about his wife? Or did he believe she wouldn’t hurt Lisa?

“I’m happy to use the scalpel,” said James.

She waved a hand away. “No, I’ll do it. It’ll give me satisfaction.” Facing Eli, she cleared her throat. “You don’t give a shit about your wife. But we will kill her, Eli.”

He grunted. “Right. You won’t kill her, but you’ll torture me and that’s fine. I still won’t give away his location. He’s a dead man, and the longer I’m here, the worse it’ll be for him. You see, if I’m not back in the next few hours, my men have been instructed to shoot him in the head.”

Her heart palpitated. “I don’t believe you.”

“Try me,” said Eli, whose smug expression made her sick.

Gripping the scalpel, Nadia stepped closer towards him and angled her head. Where to cut. Taking a breath with wobbly legs, her eye twitched again and her hand shook when she dug the scalpel into his upper chest, making an incision of three centimetres long. Eli winced and held his breath, swallowing hard. “Where is Casey?”

“In hell.”

She turned to James with a curled brow, a rage beating in her chest. Lifting the scalpel, she stabbed him twice in the abdomen, making sure he wouldn’t die from the superficial cuts. “Want more? I’m enjoying this.”

Seeing him wince and grit his teeth lifted her spirits after the hell he’d put her and Casey through over the years. He remained silent, so she pounded her elbow into his face and eyes, causing him to moan. What resilience the bastard had! Would he ever give up?

“Let me take over,” said James. “I would love to torture this disgusting excuse of a man. Please, Nadia.”

She nodded. “Keep him alive but make him talk. Please.”

Eli’s eyes dimmed as he shook his head. “I’ll never tell.”

James headed to the box and pulled out pliers and a hammer. Nadia walked outside of the warehouse, needing to breathe in fresh air after the damp smell in the room. An ambulance siren sounded in the distance and cars that whizzed by on the side road grounded her. Where was the love of her life?

After everything Eli did to them: beat up her father, kidnap and almost kill her sister, bankrupt her in her interior decorating business, and kill her dear friend. Now, kidnapping Casey was the last straw, and whether he’d speak up, she had no choice but to kill him. He would never see the inside of a prison because he’d paid off judges and policemen, so she couldn’t trust anyone in law enforcement. Justice would never be served.

He might only speak if he thought she’d let him leave. If he found out they planned to kill him anyway, he’d have nothing to lose. Would she kill his wife? No, of course not. But she planned to use her as leverage.

Her phone rang, and she answered. “Hi Jude. Any luck finding Casey?”

“No, sorry. But we found out something you ought to know.”

Her hand shook, not wanting more bad news. “What is it?”

“Lisa was the one that ordered the hit on your friend. Offered top dollar to one of her henchmen who told us everything. She wanted to get back at you because of Eli’s feelings for you. She said he’d never loved her and only married her because you’d given up on him. Out of revenge, she wanted to hurt you like she’d been hurt.”

Her body went cold, and her surrounds spun around as if she couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. That bitch. She thought Lisa was innocent with an abusive husband, but it was a lie. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Confirmed it with Lisa’s friend, who spoke up after we threatened her family. Lisa confided in her about the murder.”

“Oh my god. What do I do now?”

“There’s only one thing to do. Eliminate her.”

“No, not yet. We need to make sure he tells us the truth. Knowing Eli, he’ll give us the location after we supposedly let her go, but we need to make sure it’s safe for the men. I’ll call you back.”

***

Nadia ambled back inside the warehouse, the tangy smell of blood making her sick. Eli’s front tooth was missing, his arms had deep cuts, and his hands were battered and bruised. Blood dripped around his feet. “Anything?”

James watched her reassuringly. “Still nothing, but I’ve got more up my sleeve.”

“No, I know what will make him talk?” He gazed at her curiously. “My phone.”

Eli gasped for breath; his shoulders deflated. “You bitch.”

Nadia moved in and stroked his cheek. “Your wife’s going to be tortured worse than you, Eli.” She made her call. “Torture the bitch now.” Ending the call, her eyes felt like they were glowing when his bottom lip trembled.

“No, leave her alone,” said Eli.

“Too late. But will give you a live show. What do you think?” She clicked on the live video link as her men grazed into her wrist with a small knife. She screamed. Eli’s eyes teared up before closing his eyes. Next, they blindfolded her and poured steaming water over her cheeks. The sounds of her heightened screams made Eli shift hard in his seat. She forced them open. “You get to watch, creep.”

He pressed his lips together. “No, stop. I’ll tell you, but please stop hurting Lisa. She’s the love of my life.”

She chuckled. “I thought I was the love of your life.”

“Yes, you still are, but I love her, too. I grew to love her.” Interesting. Does his wife know that?

“Tell me where Casey is?” Eli recited the address. She made the call and gave her men the location. “Now we wait. If it checks out, we’ll let you go.”

He shook his head. “No, you won’t. But so long as Lisa stays alive, I don’t care. She’ll get my life insurance and will be protected.”

“Of course she’ll go free,” she lied.

“I played my end of the bargain. Now release Lisa.” He exhaled. “I want to see it.”

She placed the call to one of the men guarding Lisa. “Let her go.” She clicked on the video, and they watched the image of Lisa getting untied and walking out of the room freely. But not before flicking a finger at the camera.

“Thank you,” Eli said.

Ignoring him, she paced the floor of the lino ground and waited for news of Casey. She pictured their wedding and the three children they’d have.

Ten minutes had gone by, then twenty. She peered at her watch, her heart beating a mile a minute and a throbbing headache making her dizzy. He had to be all right. She would die if he wasn’t.

Taking a deep breath forty minutes later, she approached Eli. “You’d better be telling the truth. It can’t have taken them this long to find Casey.”

“It’s a big place he’s in and I have a lot of men. No doubt blood is being spilled.”

“Your men will all die today.”

He raised a brow. “We’ll see who’s stronger.”

Nadia turned to James. “Punch him a few times.” She walked back outside and texted her men to advise them to take precautions. How long was this going to take? The longer they stayed here, the higher the risk of the police finding them.

Her phone buzzed. “Yes.”

“We found him, but the bastard we took out had a trigger switch and planned to blow us to smithereens. Luckily, we killed him in time.”

“Thank God you’re all okay. How is Casey?”

“Apart from a few grazes and bruises, he’ll be fine. All Eli’s men are down, but we’re all good.”

“I’m glad. Please put Casey on.”

“Hold on.” She waited, her heart lifting at the news.

“Hey, Nadia.”

She sighed with relief. “My darling.” Tears streamed down her cheeks and her hand shook as she held her phone. “Are you all right, Casey?”

“Much better now that I can hear you voice, darling. But I’m fine, and I love you so much. I can’t wait to put my arms around you and plan our future.”

Her heart warmed. “Me too. I love you so much too, Casey. It’s such a relief to know that we got you out of there in time.”

“I knew you’d find me. We can only look forward now.”

“Get some rest and I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon, Nadia.”

Ending the call, she returned to the room inside and glared at Eli. “We found Casey and your bomb, but luckily, they all survived.” Her chest lifted. “I’ve got another special surprise for you, Eli.” She placed another call. “Kill the bitch in four minutes.”

Eli gasped, his legs shaking. “What? No, you promised. No, no.”

“I lied. She ordered the hit on my friend, and no doubt you knew about it. She’s as bad as you are.” She held her hands across her waist. “You both deserve to meet in hell. No-one will ever hurt us again. You’ll both be wiped off the face of the Earth.”

He shook his head, crying. “No, please. I love her. Kill me, but not her. I’m the one that put her up to it. It wasn’t her order.”

“I know the truth, Eli. It’s futile to change my mind. Watch.” He kept shaking and crying, but she ignored his plea when she played back the video. A minute. Thirty seconds. Twenty, ten, then one second. Lisa stood against a wall, staring down the barrel of the gun. A single gunshot to the forehead killed her. She fell with a thud.

“You fucking bitch. I’ll kill you. I will kill you.”

She spotted James with his gun. “Kill him.”

“With pleasure,” said James. Aiming the gun towards Eli’s forehead, he shot him execution style. His head fell like a ragdoll. He was finally dead.

“Clean it up and I’ll meet you back at the office.”

She was finally free, or was she?