Chapter 4

ROOM 216

Meanwhile, back in room 216 Michael was beginning to awaken. His eyes took time to process where he was. He looked around to see that the walls were painted an ugly green that resembled the color of a 1950’s sedan, almost a sea foam green. Nothing in this hell hole was modern. He heard strange noises coming from all around him. Michael tried to wipe his eyes and found his hands restrained, as well as his feet. Michael turned his head to see the assistant standing over him menacingly. Michael asked “where am I? Why am I here?” The assistant sneered and said, “I ask the questions.” He pulled out his lighter and lit a cigarette. Before he extinguished the flame, he placed it under Michael’s right heel. Michael screamed in tremendous agony. The flesh on his heel bubbled and then blackened. When the flame was removed from Michael’s foot, the screams continued. The assistant patted Michaels forehead and said, “we are going to be very good friends, you and I!” The assistant muffled the screams coming from Michael with an injection of Thiopental. Michael quickly drifted into a state of unconsciousness. The assistant left the room and instructed the nurse at the unit desk to get Michael’s foot bandaged. He said, “we don’t want our new plaything to die too quickly!”

Thomas dozed off and on, while sitting in his truck. He had earphones on so he could listen to the Director’s office from his truck. If anyone walked by, they would assume he was simply listening to music. Thomas also had his laptop open and could see almost the entire office. Thomas had been occupying his truck for just over 2 hours when he was startled awake by the office door slamming shut. The Director was obviously angry. He listened as the director picked up the office phone and told his secretary to get her ass in there. She timidly opened the door and he said, “I need you to help me relax!” Thomas was stunned when he saw the director unzip his pants and his secretary performing fellatio on him. She did not look pleased, but she did as she was told. The director told her she had better swallow if she wanted to keep her job and then the Director grunted and came in his secretary’s mouth. When finished she rushed from the room and out of sight. Thomas realized quickly that she may be an ally if he could connect with her. He watched the director doze off for a bit. After a couple of days of watching, he realized that the director apparently was also using his office as his apartment. The director used the facility showers and ate in the cafeteria for breakfast every morning at 7am sharp. He also knew from watching that his secretary showed up at 7:30 and was left alone until 8am. It was the 30-minute window that he saw as a possible contact point for the secretary. Thomas decided he would contact her but anonymously. He needed to be sure he was protected. He decided to send her a bouquet of flowers with a single red rose in the center. He attached a card that said to her, “if you would like to turn the tables on the director and stop what he makes you do, remove the red rose so I know you are in agreement.” Thomas had the flowers delivered the following morning. Prior to the delivery of the flowers, he had gone into the hospital dressed as a maintenance man and placed a camera near the girls’ desk. He would be able to watch to see her response.

The next morning back in room 216 Michael was given an IV injection to bring him out of his drug induced coma. His foot had been bandaged and he had been bathed but left unshaven. Michael was awakened when the drugs were introduced into his body to wake him up. He quickly realized that he was still in serious trouble. His foot hurt tremendously, and he was still restrained. Michael fought to get his senses about him; he was still groggy from the meds. The first thing he realized was that the nurse was packing ice packs all over his body. He was starting to shiver, and the cold awakened the nerves in his foot. Michael screamed when he felt the nurse take her pen and jab relentlessly at the burned charred heel. Once she knew he was awake she spoke softly and said “who do you work for, and, why did you have a tracking device on you? Michael shook his head and screamed. All that came out was “DEA ... DEA...” The nurse got close to Michael’s face and screamed “LOOK AT ME YOU SON OF A BITCH.” With that she slapped him squarely and his head snapped back suddenly aware of her. “You work for the DEA? Tell me and your death will be quick!” He tried his best to focus but the pain seared through his foot and up into his leg. All Michael could get out was “No DEA, please...!” The next thing Michael was cognizant of was the smell of burning hair. He quickly realized that his torturer had lit his beard on fire then the Thiopental kicked in and he was immediately in the drug induced coma again.

At the same time Michael was being tortured, the flowers were being delivered to the secretary’s desk. She commented on how beautiful they were and opened the card. Her eyes got large, and she looked around to see who if anyone was watching her. What she did not know was Thomas was watching her from his truck. He worried that she would not respond out of fear. Fear that somehow the director would know about it. He was pleasantly surprised when she opened her desk drawer and pulled out the scissors. She proceeded to cut the rose into tiny pieces into her trash can. When she got to the flower, she ripped the petals off one by one and cut them in two. Once the flower was demolished, she put the card into her purse and pursued her daily activities. Thomas was elated to see that she had accepted his offer, but by cutting it up and mutilating it she gave the message that she was more than a willing partner. The director apparently had way overstepped his boundaries with his poor woman. He now had to figure out how to contact her so they could talk. He hatched a plan where he would be able to walk right up to her and let her know he was there. He decided that he would show up at lunch with a box lunch he was delivering, and he was looking for a woman named Rose. He would give it to her and hopefully she would get the clue. He also hoped it would allow him a chance to get Michael out so he could get him back to the States!

The Director arrived back at his desk after lunch and advised his assistant to wait outside his office door. He pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed. Just as the phone was answered the cell started beeping, a low battery alert symbol popped up on his screen. He yelled “Mierda.” The director opened the office door and slammed it shut and screamed to his secretary to get the head of nursing on the phone and tell her to meet him in room 216. He then headed to the mental ward. The director went directly to room 216 and entered with his assistant/bodyguard. Two minutes later the head of nursing walked through the door. Michael was again awakened by an injection into his iv. Michael very quickly woke to agonizing pain in his foot and burns on his face. The director spoke to Michael and told him if he would cooperate, this would be over very quickly. He started saying “Michael, who do you work for?” “Michael how much do they know?” Michael again denied everything because he was innocent of knowing anything about the tracker.

The director spoke to the Head of nursing, a strong willed and formidable woman. She had long black hair tied up into a bun on her head. She had a body that was not only sexually pleasing but also intimidating. She was a stone-cold fox, and she was the one in charge. The director told her to make the man talk. The Nurse was named Mariela. She immediately took command. She told the staff to leave the room apart from the Director and his assistant. The nurse took something from the cabinet behind her and came at Michael. He quickly saw that she had tin snips with her. Michael screamed in fear, and she stared into his eyes. She said, “you will cooperate, or you will leave here in pieces.” “Who do you work for?” Michael shook his head and repeated over and over that he had no idea how that tracker got on him. The nurse opened the tin snips and placed the opening on the little toe of his right foot and the next thing he heard and felt was a loud SNIP. Then the pain hit him. The toe that once resided on his right foot was now laying on the blood covered floor. Michael let out a blood curdling scream and begged her to stop. She screamed back, “Tell Me!” Again, Michael told her he did not know about the tracker. She then took his other little toe in the same manner. Michael Blacked out and then he was given another shot to make him slip into a drug induced coma.

~Three Become One~

The key to the finances was the source of power. Upon review of the finances, Rachel found 23 separate bank accounts. Each account had between 1.5 million Dollars and Ten Million Dollars. When they added them up all together there was over $157,000,000. The access codes were there to be seen and oddly enough, Rachel’s name was attached to each of the accounts as a second party. This meant that Rachel could move or take all the money and use it as she wanted. Rachel wondered if the accounts had been set up that way so if things went bad, they could manipulate her to go along with the sham. The other possibility was that her name was on the accounts so she would be the scapegoat. Either way it was not good.

Rachel and Nichole worked late into the night and devised a plan to get revenge on Buck. The two women moved all the money into a single account with a separate bank account number. They made the account only accessible by the three women and they agreed to work with two signatures required for any transaction over $10,000. Margot also had been victimized so they included her in the revenge plan. Rachel and Nichole decided that they would be stronger if they had Margot working with them. Rachel called Margot and told her what they had found. With some maneuvering the three decided to join forces and get revenge on Buck. Little did they know that Buck was the key to what had been going on with Michael and Thomas. The three women talked long into the night. They decided they would all move into the house together and pool all resources. They laid out a plan that they thought would get them justice. The women pieced together everything that had been happening over the course of the past few days. They concluded that the money was due to some type of drug deal and that Buck knew about it. Rachel also concluded that this is why Michael went on his business trip. Where had he really gone? The ladies also decided that they needed to take matters into their own hands and find out what was truly happening.

The three women laid out plans to gain the upper hand on Buck. They decided that they would wait a day or two, but they needed to do something before something was done to them. They decided that the best way was to get Buck into a Compromising position and then take control. The women decided that perhaps the best place for this was in the barn. The trick would be to get one of the women to entice Buck to drop his guard and then once he was involved get the other women to make sure he was controlled. The only danger was if they failed, and Buck got the upper hand. One or all could die. It was a gamble, but the three women decided it was worth it. Margot volunteered to be the bait. She would go up to Buck and try to flirt with him. She insisted that they take the upper hand before Buck got his way with her. The two other women agreed and, they would then take all the power away from Buck.

The opportunity did not take long to present itself. The next morning Margot was at the riding stables early. She was mucking one of the horse’s stalls and had dressed so that there was nothing left to the imagination. Buck came in and immediately spoke. “Hey baby. You’re looking exceptionally tasty this morning!” He stepped closer and slapped her on the ass. This sent tingles of excitement and of hate through her, Mar could feel the adrenaline rushing through her blood. Buck slid his hand up her shirt to cup her breast. Margot inhaled quickly and Buck knew that this was a sign she enjoyed it. Buck pinched her nipple and whispered in her ear, “let’s go into the loft.”

Margot dropped the mucking rake and slid out of the stall and took Bucks hand and guided him into an empty fresh stall covered with hay. Margot said, let’s take a risk and do it here. She undressed and Buck was upon her. He hated women. He loved to control them but hated women. He was savage as he undressed and then started his assault. He groped her as if she was a street whore. When she resisted in the slightest, he would punch her in the face or stomach. He was not to be denied. He commanded her to get on her fucking knees and honor his manhood. She quickly slid his muscular throbbing member into her mouth. He grabbed her by the hair and said “if I feel even one tooth on my cock, I will gut you like a fish.

She complied. He then told her to get on all fours so he could take her tightest hole. She was still a virgin in that area, and she was terrified that the other women would not get to her in time. He was almost rabid with the power he thought he wielded over her. She begged for mercy, and this seemed to make him more violent and angry. Just as he was about to enter her, he saw stars. Rachel had sneaked up behind Buck and smacked him in the back of the head with a shovel. He was stunned but not unconscious. Nichole was right behind her, and she had a twelve gauge pointed at Buck’s head. He Acquiesced. Margot regained her senses and scrambled to get herself back in control emotionally.

She re-dressed and grabbed a hay rake. Rachel screamed “GET UP MOTHERFUCKER!” She told Mar to tie him up real tight. Mar grabbed the rope and told Buck to turn around. Buck turned and just as he turned Mar kicked Buck in the balls. Buck dropped like a rock and clutched his groin. Nichole saw a chance to get some revenge on Buck and she took the shovel and smacked his forehead with the flat side of the blade. When Buck regained the ability to speak, he told them, “I’m going to fuck you all up. You’re all dead!”

Nichole kicked Buck in the ribs, and he felt two of his ribs break. Nichole pressed the shotgun to Buck’s head and told him to get up. The ladies knew that killing him would complicate the situation so they opted to place him into a position where he would have to give up the knowledge he had. Buck was stripped and gagged and bound in a stall where he would remain either until he escaped or was killed. Buck knew he was in trouble, but he did not know how much information the ladies had pieced together. What did they know and what purpose did he serve? His whole world spun out of control, and he knew the rest would be very bad for him. Buck considered escaping until he felt the cuffs being applied to his wrists and his ankles. Not only had they cuffed him, but they also cuffed both sets of cuffs together so he would not be able to stand up. Buck knew he was in trouble. As the ladies turned to go back to the house, Rachel asked, “Where did all the money come from and where did Michael and Thomas go? Buck said, “What Money?”, and with another smack of the shovel, his lights went out.

All three ladies turned and walked back to the house and decided they needed to eat and talk. All three women were exhausted from the activities and realized that they had neglected to eat. The three women ate a hearty dinner and then decided they had better feed Buck. They were still unnerved by the events of the afternoon, so they chose to go together to the barn to feed him. One would feed him and the other two would make sure he was secure. There was no reason for them to take a chance.

Upon Arriving back at the barn, they found Buck sitting in the exact same position they had left him in. He seemed to be asleep. They knew that this would probably be a ruse, so Nichole aimed the shotgun at his head and yelled, “Open your eyes asshole!” Buck heard the shotgun as it was cocked with the pump action. He opened his eyes and stared at Rachel. Rachel spoke softly and said “I’m willing to give you food but if you move wrong or speak louder than normal you will go hungry and will suffer consequences. Am I Clear?” Buck nodded acknowledgment and she pulled the gag from his mouth. Buck seemed to respect the commands she gave him. He sat straight and asked “why?” Nichole spoke first and said, “You piece of shit. You almost killed my daughter. You have raped two of us. You killed Rachel’s Dog, what do you mean by Why? You’re lucky we didn’t kill you.”

Mar spoke next and said “you’re done here. You no longer will ever scare, hurt, or rape anyone!” Rachel knelt and asked, “would you like some food before we get down to business?” Buck agreed and they fed him. He didn’t get a lot; he did get enough to sustain himself though. Rachel then spoke and said, “We need some information. We know you have the information we need, and we want it now!” Buck replied with “I don’t know shit!” Breakfast the next morning never showed up!

~Room 216 Revisited~

Michael was awakened with another IV injection. When he came to his

senses he saw the assistant standing over him. The assistant had a name tag on, and it read Carlos. “Water” was the only response from Michael. Michael had not had anything to eat or drink and his parched lips barely made any sound. Carlos spoke and told him, “After we clean you up, I will get you food and water. Okay?” Michael nodded. With that being agreed upon, Carlos made Michael stand. Michael was covered with blood and his own fecal material. Apparently while Michael was either being tortured or while in the drug induced coma, he had evacuated his bladder and bowels. The smell was horrible. Carlos commanded him to strip off his clothing. And then Carlos opened a fire hose and sprayed Michael to clean the shit, piss and blood from the room.

The water was intense, it felt like a thousand bee stings, as the water pelted the skin. Carlos sprayed the whole room down and then squeegeed the room. He tossed Michael a couple of towels and told him to dry himself. Michael was still bleeding from the amputated toes. Carlos called in a nurse, and she re-bandaged the feet. Carlos then brought in a tray of food and some water. Michael’s stomach did a barrel roll when he smelled the food. If he had any food in his stomach, it would have been thrown up. Michael was so hungry that the food overwhelmed his senses. He drank every drop of the water and then ate the meal. He ate too fast and almost vomited the meal.

Carlos spoke and said, “We need you to tell us how you got the tracker on you, and who you are working for. It will make things go much easier.” Michael nodded and said he still was not 100% certain how that happened but would tell him what he knew. Michael told Carlos about the D.E.A. agent on the plane. He told him about how the agent tried to extort him and how the agent had fallen into him. He assumed that was when the tracker was placed on Michael. Michael did not tell him about his brother being in Paraguay. Carlos asked Michael who the D.E.A. agent was, and, where he could find said D.E.A. agent. Michael lied and told Carlos that he had killed the agent. Leaving out the truth that his brother Thomas was really who had killed the agent. Carlos thanked Michael and then had the nurse drug him again. Carlos turned and walked to the director’s office.

~Thomas and Ninfa~

Thomas decided he needed to get the Director’s secretary alone. He was nervous about that since it would possibly put her in danger as well as revealing his presence to the Director. Thomas was also worried that the secretary was involved. Thomas decided he would again covertly get a message to her. He needed her name and a way to meet her. He decided he would go to her desk as a Maintenance guy and try that way. He pulled some tools together and a work belt and walked towards her desk. He hoped that his Spanish was sufficient to get her talking. As he walked towards the desk, he ran into a domineering looking nurse. She had black hair and a not so nice scowl. Thomas Apologized for bumping into her and found himself face to face with the head nurse of the hospital. She called him an idiot and almost did not even see him there. Thomas walked to the desk of the red headed secretary and spoke. Buen Dia! The redhead smiled and then he said “No Te Gustan Las Rosas? (Don’t you like roses?) She smiled and at once knew this was the man that had sent them to her. She introduced herself as Ninfa. He asked her if they could get together and she quickly gave him an address and told him to meet her there the next day at 3pm. He pocketed the address and agreed and went on his way. The director came down the hall at the same time as Thomas was leaving. He asked Ninfa what the maintenance guy wanted, and she told him he was there to fix a light. The director thought the man looked too American to be working there but went into his office.

The following morning Thomas took a taxi to the small town of Caacupe. The address she had provided him with was a cathedral in town. He went into the cathedral and found Ninfa Kneeling in prayer. He slid in beside her and kneeled as well. The two sat for about two hours and talked about how the director was controlling everything but the person in charge was really the head nurse. She told him that the head nurse was the real person to fear. Ninfa also told him about Michael and that he was still in the hospital. Thomas asked, “what is room 216?” Ninfa told him that the room was part of the psychiatric wing and that was all she knew.

When the time came, Thomas stood then gazed into Ninfa’s eyes. He saw an intelligent and amazing woman. One with love and kindness in her eyes. He also felt himself feeling drawn to her. He suggested that they share a taxi back to Asuncion. She knew that if they were seen together, she would find herself in a very bad place. She gently kissed him and told him to wait 5 minutes before leaving because she did not want to be seen together. She exited and found her way to the street. He waited and then followed 5 minutes later. Just as he was leaving the building, he saw Ninfa being forced into the assistant/bodyguard’s car. Thomas wondered if the assistant had reported what he had seen to the director of the hospital. Miguel had followed so it was a very bad sign. The car pulled away from the curb and sped away into the streets of Caacupe. Thomas was powerless to help. Thomas tried to flag down a taxi, but the closest taxi stand was 2 blocks away.

Once Ninfa got over the initial shock of the kidnapping, she looked around the vehicle and found that the passenger door on Miguel’s car did not have a door handle. This brought immediate fear to her. She asked, “What’s going on, Miguel? Where are you taking me?” Miguel looked at her and asked, “Who is that man?” Ninfa told him that the man was a maintenance guy at the hospital. The assistant knew this was a lie and brutally backhanded Ninfa with all his might. When his hand contacted her face, she felt the crunch of the cartilage in her nose and the immediate stream of her own blood gushing down her face. What she did not know was that Miguel was well aware that Thomas was not employed at the hospital. “What is his name?” He bellowed. Ninfa trembled with fear yet felt her body steel itself for what was to come. She knew that she was in trouble. She reached for the window crank and that too was missing. Miguel steered the car back towards Asuncion but turned onto a road on the outskirts of Caacupe. In a secluded spot Miguel pulled over and decided he would try to get Ninfa to “talk”. Her eyes got wide, and she knew there was no escape. Miguel started to unbutton his shirt and Ninfa whispered “no”.

Miguel heard the whisper and slapped Ninfa again with a backhand. She saw stars. He yelled at her and told her to open her dress. Ninfa started to unbutton her dress and as she glanced down at the discarded shirt that Miguel had removed, she noticed a ballpoint pen. She grabbed the pen as if it was a javelin and jammed the point into the center of Miguels’ neck. Effectively giving him a tracheotomy. Miguel raised his hands to his neck providing Ninfa the opportunity to finish the job. She then drew back the pen again and struck a shocked Miguel in the right eye. The pen penetrated the eye socket and made a squelching noise as it sank deep into brain tissue. The gaping neck wound sucked air until Miguel’s life ebbed from his body. Ninfa then pulled out her cell phone and called Thomas and though she could barely speak, told Thomas what had transpired. Thomas told her he would be there shortly. Ninfa escaped the vehicle by climbing over the dead man. Thomas told Ninfa he would be there momentarily.

Thomas had the taxi he’d secured stop around the corner a block away and told the driver to wait. Thomas walked to the car and saw a blood-covered Ninfa crying as he pulled up. Thomas held Ninfa and checked her out. He saw that both eyes were blackening and swelling badly, and her battered nose had been flattened. Thomas checked Miguel’s phone and saw that the phone had not been used to call the Director of the hospital. This indicated that there was a good chance that the Director was still in the dark regarding Thomas, as well as Miguels sudden meeting with his maker. As Thomas looked at Miguel’s phone the phone began to ring. Displayed on the screen was the Director’s number and name. Thomas dropped the phone and stomped on it shattering the screen and effectively rendering the phone inoperable. Thomas then removed and broke the sim card. Ninfa and Thomas then walked back to the taxi that was still waiting a block away, explaining that the blood was from abuse at the hand of a jealous lover. They traveled back to Ninfa’s apartment so that Ninfa could clean up. Ninfa was battered and bruised but alive. Thomas hugged Ninfa and said he had to go.

~Truths revealed~

Buck went 2 days without any food. Since he was handcuffed in such an awkward position, his lower back screamed with pain. his hunger gnawed at him relentlessly. Rachel and Mar arrived at 10am and asked Buck if he wanted anything to eat? Buck shook his head yes and again Rachel reminded him if he screamed or did anything that was remotely threatening, she would end his life right then. Buck nodded his agreement, and the gag was removed. Buck asked if he could get washed down since he had defecated where he sat. Rachel said yes but only if Buck told them what really happened to the two brothers Michael and Thomas. Buck spoke and said that they had traveled to Paraguay to complete a deal that had gone wrong. Buck said that he had not heard from either of them in a few days. and Mar held the rifle on Buck as Rachel uncuffed his legs allowing him to stand up. She then re-cuffed the left leg to a metal pole so he still could not run. Buck was still as she backed away. He then asked if he could stretch.

Rachel said OK and Buck flexed in ways he found very painful. He was trying to get his body to respond. Rachel then went outside the stall and grabbed his breakfast and said he could eat if he told them about the money. Buck was not sure exactly what was known so he spoke carefully. Buck told the women that the brothers were involved in drug running. He said that they roped him into participating. Nichole knew that this was a lie. She told Buck he’d better come clean. Buck told them he was an equal but dominant participant, and he was unsure what had happened to the brothers.

Breakfast consisted of one hard-boiled egg and a cold cup of oatmeal. Since Buck was still handcuffed, Rachel spoon fed Buck. Grimacing at the cold oatmeal, Buck ate it even though he hated oatmeal. Buck ate the egg and asked for water. Rachel asked if he would like some coffee. Buck acknowledged that he would. Buck told Rachel and Margot that the farm was failing, and the three men opted to run drugs to try and save the farm. They recruited Nichole to be an unknowing spy on Rachel. Nichole was completely unaware of the type of business. The drug running had been going on for six years. Nichole stated that she was only involved because Thomas would talk after sex and share confidential information. What Thomas was really doing was feeding just enough information to Nichole to ensnare her and manipulate her to see if Rachel suspected anything.

Nichole told Rachel that Thomas would tell her things when they had sex. She told Rachel that Thomas and Michael were badgered by Buck constantly. Nichole never saw any of the money and was kept in the dark with regards to the drug slinging. Nichole was essentially a victim in this as well.

Rachel then asked Buck, “Where exactly are they?” Buck said Somewhere in Paraguay South America. Rachel then said, “You had better pray that this information checks out!” With that, Rachel turned and started to walk away. Margot abruptly stopped Rachel and said, he is too upright for my comfort. We need to re-cuff him. Rachel agreed and they told Buck to sit back down. Buck started to sit and then tried to trip Rachel. When Buck tripped Rachel, he pushed her back into Mar who was holding the rifle. The rifle went off and Buck was wounded in left his foot. Rachel took the gun and pointed it at Buck’s head and prepared to fire. Rachel hesitated to fire because she was sure they would need Buck at some point. Buck begged. Buck cried out, “YOU PROMISED TO NOT KILL ME!”