Free Torched: A Thriller by Daniel Powell

portion of an extension cord—the receiving end of the adapter. Vivian
couldn’t hold it together any longer. She sobbed, and then the camera was
moving again.
    Terri returned
it to its previous position, the lens trained again on Miguel, and she stepped
into the frame, twirling the cord like a calf roper going through warm-ups.
    Miguel’s chin
dangled over his chest, his sweaty hair shrouding his features. In an eruption
of rage, Terri swung the cord across his chest and he strained against the
bonds.
    Vivian saw the
tendons in his neck bulging as he panted the pain away.
    “Hey! Hey, Mike!
You still with us?” Terri said.
    He peered up at
Terri, his eyes filled with hatred; it improved Vivian’s spirits, seeing him
like that. She couldn’t explain it, other than the fact that his expression
showed some spirit—some toughness.
    “Gooood! That’s
a good boy . Here, Mike. Say hello to your little honeypot.”
    Vivian brought
the lens close to his face, and Miguel squinted into the screen.
    “Mike! Mike, I
love you honey, I’m so sorry, I don’t know how they found us, I don’t…!”
    He shook his
head.
    “He can’t hear
you,” Terri said, her face filling the screen. “You remember that little
trick, Vivian? It’s a good one! You pulled it on me, remember? Said I could
type something out to my children. Said I had a few characters. Remember?”
    Vivian nodded,
tears streaming down her face.
    “Then go ahead,
bitch. You get five characters. I think you know the drill.”
    Vivian worked
the keypad: luvuM
    His smile was
small (more like a pained grimace), but it gave her strength.
    “What do you
want from us, Terri?” Vivian said. The words echoed in Terri’s earpiece.
    “Good question!
Hmmm. I guess I want to feel better, Vivian. And I want you to know that you
didn’t get away with it. I want you to understand what you did to my family
that day on the mountain.
    “And I want you
to pay. You pathetic fucking bitch, I want you to pay . You went after my
entire family, when you should have gone after my husband. You were angry about
the things he did to your daughter, am I right?”
    “Terri, I…”
    “Am I right?”
    “Yes, but…but
Jesus, Terri, he took my daughter! He just…he just hit her and he left her
there in the street and he ran ! He ran like the fucking coward that he
was, and my daughter bled to death there in the street! Can’t you see?
Don’t you understand what Sheldon did to us?”
    Terri’s response
was quiet, her voice measured. “That’s right, Vivian. He ran. And so what did
you do? What did you do after you put my children through hell?”
    Vivian’s breath
caught in her chest. She stared into the webcam.
    “What did you do, Vivian?”
    “I ran,” she
whispered.
    “What’s that?
Say it louder, so your little fuckbuddy can hear it too!”
    “I ran!” Vivian
said. She choked on a sob. “I ran.”
    “That’s right.
You ran. And now you’ll get a chance to run a little more. That is, if you’re a
decent swimmer. I guess that’s step one.”
    “Where am I,
Terri? What is this place?”
    “Did you know
that the American Alligator’s territory has virtually exploded in just the last
two decades?” Terri replied, ignoring the question. “We both remember how
plentiful they were in Cape Coral, but they’re turning up all over the place
now, girl! And I’m not talking about that random critter that was captured up
in Montana, or the ones they found in Maryland.
    “Nope, I’m
talking about gators putting down roots in Oklahoma. In fact, biologists have
discovered a rather large population living in the Rio Grande. That’s right,
honey—they’re pushing into Mexico.”
    Vivian’s eyes
flashed to the canal. A ten footer on the opposite bank slid into the water,
quick as a shot and silent as a heartbeat.
    “That’s right,
Vivian. You’re actually very near the border. I guess that’s going to be your
second decision. Do you come after ol’ Mikey the