She Will Be Mine

Chapter 11: Des

​We were all ready. Victor was in his tree, and gave the OK for us to go in the house. Danny was in the car, with the keys in the ignition. Murphy was crouched in the bushes, and we all had our pagers on us. I was in the living room with Charlie, and the clock said 1:00. We had one hour before the man was supposed to come and return his victim. The family will be grateful to have her back, I thought to myself, as I stood by the window. It was completely dark out, and I could barely see Danny in his truck hiding around the corner. Looking up, I could see Victor in the tree, looking like a mini Tarzan.
​"Are you ready for this?" Charlie asked me, rubbing his hands together. He sat crouched behind the large couch in the room, gun lying by his feet. His hair was flying all over the place, and more than three days' worth of beard was climbing over his chin. Charlie's hands were hardened from years of exposure to New York's winter weather, and now gave off the look of being permanently dry.
​He caught me watching him, and I quickly looked away. I need to stay focused; I berated myself, but found my gaze leading back to him again and again.
​When Charlie had first kissed me, I had been more than slightly surprised. I hadn't even known he felt that way about me.
​Charlie was looking over the chair of the couch when I detected movement from outside. A black unmarked van was pulling out on the street. A man stepped out, covered in black. He carried a bullhorn in his hand. What is this guy playing at? I wondered.
​"Step away from the house." His voice pierced the night. It was masked, and low, and it carried an air of menace when he continued.
​"If you all want to survive tonight, then you need to step out of the house," and with that, he opened the car door, and showed the limp body that lay inside. "If you want your friend to be released to you alive, come out now," the man took out a gun from his pocket and aimed it at the body.
​"Charlie, we need to go out," I whispered to him, and he agreed. There was no other option.
* * *
​Laughing quietly to himself, the man was having fun. He was making them all look like fools playing with his dummy in the car. Grabbing his shot glass, he took a swig of Bourbon and watched as Des and Charlie filed in front of him
​"What do you want?" She asked him. He placed his glass down on the windshield and walked towards her.
​"You," was all he said. His voice was muffled by the handkerchief he wore in front of him, but he moved it. Leaning forward, he kissed her.
​He put his gun up to her forehead and made her walk forward towards the car, while he kissed her deeply.
​"Take your hands off her!" the man could hear Charlie exploding in rage as he took his love away with him. Facing them again, the man spoke.
​"If any of you want to walk away alive tonight, you will do exactly as I say. You," he said, pointing to Charlie. "Go and remove your unconscious man out of the tree before he falls out and kills himself," he laughed as Charlie's face paled, and he took off. "You," he said, turning and whispering to Des. "You are going to do something for me," She shivered under his touch.
​"I want you to go into that van, and grab the body that is lying in the back. Then, you are going to deliver it to the cops that are waiting down the road. I will be walking with you to make sure no funny business happens." The man leaned forward and kissed her again. She pushed against him, and he moved his gun to her head again, pushing it on her. She froze, and began to climb into the van.
​"What are you going to do with her?" Charlie was back, with a limp Victor hanging over him. He laid him on the ground, and then faced the man. "What did she do to you?"
​The man laughed, and walked right up to Charlie. When he was right up to him, the man could see the fear in his eyes. "You call yourself a cop," he spit on his shoes. "You are a despicable excuse for a human being. You don't even get it. It isn't about what that girl did to me; it's about what she didn't do." The man walked back to the van and watched as Des struggled with the burden in the bag.
​The man turned to Charlie once more, and, with one gun pointed at Des, he pulled out his toy, aimed, and fired at Charlie.
​"NO!" Des shouted and tried to run to Charlie as he crumpled to the ground.
​"Stay where you are Darlin', he will live," the man allowed his accent to creep through in that moment. He turned back to her and made her pick up the body again. Tears were streaming down her face. "Calm down sweetie," he said, walking towards her. He caressed her face while she glared at him. "Soon we will be together forever, and everything will be better." He aimed the gun at her head and made her start walking.
​Des turned to him, bag in her hands. "If you think I would ever love you, then you are as crazy as you seem," She spit at the man before turning and walking again.
​The man walked up to face her. "You will grow to love me," He cooed, breathing in her face. "That's the beauty of it. And even if you never do, you will still be mine, and I will have you forever," The man smiled at her, and made her walk again.
When they rounded the corner, the officers got out of the cars and pointed their guns. "Put your hands in the air!" They yelled, but the man laughed.
​"Excuse me gentleman," he spoke softly. "But it appears that I have what you want, so if anything, you should be listening to me." Slowly, all of them lowered their guns, and the man walked forward.
​"I have a proposition for you gentleman," The man opened his arms while holding Desiree in front of him. "I suggest you listen,"
* * *
​When we had been first called to the front of the house, I was terrified. Charlie was next to me, but I didn't know what this guy was going to do. As soon as he made Charlie leave, my heartbeat skyrocketed.
​My hands were shaking as the man walked towards me. When he kissed me, however, all that fear disappeared. Anger flooded through my veins, and I was ready to make someone pay. I tried to move away, but as soon as that gun barrel touched my head, I froze. Images of my parents, lying there dead in their beds invaded my mind. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe.
​I listened and did what the man asked of me, I even let him kiss me. All I could think about was the moment that I had the upper hand, the moment I could really seek revenge for what was done to my family those many years ago.