Page 77 of Minus

I tried to wake Pearl again, this time gently shaking her shoulders. “Pearl. Wake up sweetie. Wake up, it’s Cricket.” Her head fell to the side and I could see a raised red circle forming on her neck, with what appeared to be a needle mark.

Duke wasn’t trying to tell me he’d been shot with a gun, but that he and Pearl had been injected with something.

I dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency,” the operator answered.

“I’m at the Double H ranch, off Highway 95 and the owners have been injected with something… I… I’m not sure what.”

“They injected something, but you’re not sure what?” the operator asked. “Are they drug users?”

“What? No, I think someone broke into the house while they were sleeping and injected them with something, a sedative, or poison… I don’t know!”

“Ma’am, did you say, someone has broken into the house?”

“Yes, I think so. I don’t know if he’s still here, or where my… my… boyfriend is.”

Oh my God, where is Minus?

“Okay, ma’am. I need to you get someplace safe and stay put. Fire, EMT, and police are all on their way. I’m gonna stay on the line with you until they get there okay?”

“Okay.”

Just then, a voice sang out from somewhere inside the house, “Christiiiiiinaaaa.”

* * *

Minus

I awoke in the middle of the night and immediately noticedCricket was not in bed with me. What I did not notice right away, was the man thatwasin the room with me. I felt a quick pinch in my neck and recognized it as the stick of a hypodermic needle. A wave of heat washed over me, and I was immediately rendered unable to move. I tried to fight back, but it was useless.

“Whathafuck didju putinmeeh?” I slurred, barely able to speak.

“It’s a special cocktail that I’ve designed myself. A mixture of tranquilizers, anti-psychotics, and mood stabilizers,” he said, now standing over me. “I have a few questions for you, and this will help ensure your cooperation. I’ve given you just enough to keep you immobile, but still able to talk to me”

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could now see that this was the same pock-marked creep from the video feed, that worked over Warthog.

“Lucky me,” I said, finding it harder and harder to focus. The meds making me foggy and nauseated.

“So, how about you tell me where the book and the girl are right now?”

I was glad Cricket wasn’t here when this guy showed up, but where the fuck was she? Hopefully, she was hiding someplace safe with Duke and Pearl.

“Gofuckyerssselfff,” I said.

“I’ll do you a favor and ask one more time, then you and I are going to get serious.”

“Sorryman, I jusss gotintah somthin’ seeriuuuuss with someone elsssse.” My tongue was swelling, and my speech was getting worse.

“Fine, have it your way, but just remember that I gave you the chance for you and your girlfriend to die quickly.”

With that, he picked me up, and carried me out over his shoulder, military style. This guy had either served, or had military training at some point, but was clearly currently living life as a mercenary. He was Hispanic, but I didn’t detect a hint of an accent of any kind. The fact that Los Psychos were hiring mercs, further bolstered my thoughts that theydidn’t have enough muscle of their own for a full-scale war, but who knows, maybe this guy’s just an old summer camp buddy that owes Viper a favor. None of that shit mattered right now. I had to figure out a way out of this, and somehow find Cricket and the others, and get them to safety.

With some effort, crater-face managed to get me out to his car, popped the trunk, and stuffed me in. Although I was still unable to move, he bound my wrists and ankles with cable ties and duct taped my mouth.

“I’ve already taken care of the old geezers, so I’m gonna go back to the house and look for that girlfriend of yours,” he said, smiling.

My blood boiled in my veins as I lay there, trapped in a car trunk. Trapped in my own body.

---