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Carl dared to pull his eyes away from the snow-covered road long enough to glance at his newest passenger in the rear-view mirror. He looked different than he did in pictures; older and more masculine than he came across in the media. Of course, the fine lines criss-crossing the man’s face could have something do with the fact that he and Angelo had just run his car off of the road and abducted him. Carl knew all too well that stress did nothing to enhance a person’s appearance, or their behaviour for that matter.

What Carl was still unsure about was whether or not he and Angelo were doing the right thing. The plan was solid; it was guaranteed to work. That wasn’t what Carl was worried about. Carl was worried about things getting out of hand. He didn’t like the way that Angelo was peering at their new friend. He didn’t like the fact that Angelo seemed to be getting just a little bit too much enjoyment out of Howie’s discomfort.

“Enjoying the drive?” Angelo smirked at Howie. “You want Carl to turn the radio on?”

Howie blinked back at the man. His expression remained stoic. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

Angelo laughed; an eerily calm sort of chuckle. “You seem scared of us.”

“Do you want me to pretend like I’m not?” Howie struggled to keep the tremor out of his voice.

These two men had just taken him from the streets of New York City in broad daylight. They were calling each other by name. They weren’t making any attempt to disguise their faces or to alter their voices. Howie wasn’t stupid; either the men thought that they were too smart to get caught or they were planning to kill him. He really hoped that it wasn’t the latter.

“It’s about time.” Carl caught Angelo’s eye in the rear-view mirror. “You ready?”

“Of course.” Angelo grinned back at him. “I’ve been waiting for this part.”

Before Howie could even begin to worry about what the two men were alluding to, Angelo yanked a dark coloured pillowcase down over his head. Howie gasped in surprise and immediately wished that he hadn’t. Angelo had pulled the pillowcase hard against Howie’s neck and quickly secured it with a painfully tight knot. Not only was he overcome by the sudden darkness, but Howie could already feel his chest constricting from the limited supply of oxygen. He gulped in as much air as he could, choking on the loose fibres from the fabric that surrounded his head.

“Easy, Angelo.” Carl’s muffled voice drifted through the thick fabric. “We don’t want him to suffocate on the drive over.”

“He’s fine!” Angelo slapped Howie hard on the back. “Right, D?”

Howie could practically feel his heart hammering against the wall of his chest. He knew that he had to calm down in order to avoid passing out, but the fact that his abductors had used his nickname was making it hard for him to focus on his breathing. What else did these men know about him? Did they know where he lived? Did they know about Leigh and the boys? What was he going to do if something happened to his family?

“One more thing ...” Angelo was still talking, seemingly to himself, as he rustled around to retrieve something from underneath the front passenger seat. “... we don’t want you getting any ideas about trying to escape.”

Angelo roughly pushed Howie forward by his shoulders so that he was hunched over on the seat before grabbing his right arm and twisting it painfully behind his back. He secured one handcuff around Howie’s right wrist and quickly did the same to his left arm; tightly binding his hands together before forcing him back up into a sitting position.

Howie let out a small whimper of pain as the metal dug into his wrists. His breath was making it hot inside the pillowcase. He could feel the sweat running down his face, and he had no choice but to close his eyes against the sting of the salt. He wanted to cry, but he knew that his tears would only make his already precarious breathing situation even worse.

The two men were still speaking to each other, but Howie was no longer paying attention to what they were saying. He had already lost track of the turns, and he had no idea how long he had been in the car or how far they had travelled. All he knew for sure was that the car was now travelling at a good rate of speed; indicating that they had probably exited the downtown core. Even if he were to figure out a way to escape, Howie wasn’t sure if he would be able to find his way back to civilization. The terrain was becoming increasingly bumpy, and he just knew that the men were probably taking him to the middle of nowhere. Fleeting images of Leigh, James, and Holdon flashed through his mind and Howie bit hard at his bottom lip to keep the tears at bay. What if he never saw his family again?

“Here we are!” Angelo clapped Howie roughly on the back for the second time as Carl finally pulled the SUV into the driveway. He smirked in satisfaction as Howie’s whole body tensed from his touch. He was pretty sure by the man’s ragged breathing that he was blubbering like a baby underneath the pillowcase. “Hope you enjoyed the trip.”

“You’re an asshole.” Carl twisted his head and rolled his eyes at Angelo as he put the car in park and killed the ignition. “Are we good to take him out?”

Angelo shrugged off Carl’s half-hearted insult and pushed open his door. He stepped out of the car and took a quick look around. The snow-covered street was deserted. Perfect.

“Let’s go.” Angelo motioned for Carl to hurry up and get Howie out of the car. “There ain’t nobody around.”

Carl did as he was instructed. He swung himself out of the car and hurriedly pulled open the back driver’s side door. He grabbed Howie by the arm and helped him out of the car, waiting until he had both feet securely planted on the icy ground before leading him up the driveway. Carl knew that Angelo wouldn’t have been so gentle, but he didn’t care. A small part of him felt bad for the shaking Latino.

Howie allowed himself to be guided through the snow without a fight. He knew that he was coming across as pathetic, but what choice did he have? His hands were bound. His vision was gone. He knew that he had to be complacent, but it didn’t make the situation any less shameful or terrifying.

“Let’s go!” Angelo pulled open the door and took another quick glance up and down the street; still empty. “We don’t have all day!”

Carl rolled his eyes at Angelo for a second time as he helped Howie navigate the single step up. He waited until Angelo had closed the exterior door and was busy fumbling with the lock on the basement door before he spoke. “How are we gonna get him down the stairs?”

Angelo shrugged. He pulled forcefully on the padlock and swung the basement door open. “Push him?”

Carl felt Howie’s entire body go rigid at Angelo’s words, and his feelings of remorse returned with vengeance. Maybe they were making a mistake.

“Here.” It was Angelo’s turn to roll his eyes as he took in the pathetic look on Carl’s face. He grabbed onto Howie’s left arm and motioned for Carl to take hold of his right arm. “We’ll bring him down together.”

Although he was suitably terrified at the knowledge that he was presumably being taken underground, Howie breathed a sigh of relief as the two men began to guide him down a steep set of stairs. At least he wasn’t going to plummet head-first to his death.

After what seemed like an excessively long time, Howie felt his shoes connect with a flat surface as the three of them reached the bottom of the staircase. Angelo promptly let go of his arm, and Howie could hear him releasing another padlock and pulling open yet another door. Howie stepped forward to steady himself and Carl’s grip immediately tightened around the upper portion of his right arm. The motion was enough to bring more tears to Howie’s eyes; there was no way that he was going to be able to escape.

“Home sweet home!” Angelo cackled as he pulled Howie away from Carl and positioned him inside the room that had been painstakingly outfitted with everything that they would need to carry out the remainder of their plan. “Make yourself comfortable!” He swiftly undid the knot in the pillowcase, removed the handcuffs, and pushed Howie forward so that he fell to his knees on the cement floor. “We’ll be back in a little bit.”

Howie waited until he heard the door slam shut before he yanked the pillowcase off of his head. He gasped for air and crumpled the dark fabric in-between his fingers. The tears were now flowing freely down his cheeks, and the burning in his lungs mirrored the painful sensation in his knees from when they had connected with the floor. He manoeuvred himself into a sitting position and looked around the dank, yet strangely brightly lit room. The walls and the floor were cement. There were no windows. It was like a dungeon; a dungeon with five cots lined up neatly against the far wall.

The sight of the cots made Howie’s stomach churn. Oh God. This wasn’t just about him. He knew who the other beds were for. The tears began to fall with even more ferocity as he wrestled with the knowledge of what was about to happen. He knew that he wasn’t going to be alone for very much longer.