Chapter 11: We Need Your Help

After Xena’s condensed recap of the Kevin story, she gave Claudia directions, and they took off down the street. When they stopped, Claudia was confused.

“Why are we at a convenience store?”

“Pop the trunk for me, then go inside and tell that handsome man in there that you are Ariel’s stepmother, and she needs his help and his pistol. Please, just trust me! Call him ‘Gunny’ so he knows you’re legit.”

Xena scuttled back behind the car and threw up the trunk lid, giving her a little bit of privacy. Quickly, she pulled her gown up and over her head and put on her basketball uniform, then collected her bow and arrows.

She came around the car and waited next to the front fender. She watched the lights and signs of the store go dark, and Claudia came out, followed by Atkins, who locked the door and turned to take in his young friend and her weapons.

“It’s that serious, Ariel?”

“Yeah. My name is Xena now. If he’s lucky, he’ll get an arrow instead of a bullet. He’s kidnapped my love from the prom, and I know where he’s taken him to. Will you help me, Gunny?”

“You only needed to ask. Let’s get back in the car, and you can do the introductions. Where are we going?”

“Claudia, do you know the old K-Mart out on the highway?”

“Yeah, sure, but it went out of business a few years ago.”

“I think he took Ben there. Let’s GO!”

“Wait. Gunny, are you a fast driver, and do you know that building?”

He nodded.

“Here’s the keys. Drive like hell!”

He didn’t spin the tires, but he got Lucy’s big car moving at surprising speed. Claudia had a death grip on the handle over her right shoulder, while Xena slid from side to side across the back seat as he took corners at high speed.

“Claudia Lewis, meet retired Gunnery Sergeant William Atkins, US Marine Corps. Gunny was the guy who shot the armed rapist, saving me and Grace Fong. Remember?”

“Of course I remember. Thank you, um, Gunny.”

He took a right turn so violently that she almost lost her grip and crashed into the man’s right shoulder.

“That’s right, Claudia, I haven’t been perfect, but I sure as shit earned my rank in the Corps. She’s Xena, now, right? And you’re Xena’s stepmother? What about her grandmother?”

“Lucy is my partner; she’s been raising Xena since she was an infant. I’m Ben’s mother; he’s the guy we need to rescue. We four share a house together.”

“Oorah!”

“Semper Fi, Marine.”

“Damn right, sugar. If you weren’t already hitched—”

“Yeah, I dated a Lance Corporal once. She had a fabulous rack, and I’m not talking about where she slept.”

“We’re almost there, you two; stop flirting. This ain’t Camp Lejeune. Focus! My boyfriend has brown hair and is impossibly cute. The bad guy is an ugly blonde. For him, Gunny, it’s weapons-free.”

“Where did a nice young lady like you learn all this military shit?”

“Movies and research after we met, Gunny. Now listen. The K-mart has an access door in the back with a broken lock. We should be able to get inside that way. Claudia, I think you should follow behind Gunny with your camera running. I don’t know how much light is in there, but maybe you’ll record something useful.”

The massive old store still had its shelves in some thirty long rows, with a gap midway dividing each row into front and back sections. So he and Claudia went down the middle while Xena matched with them at the back ends. A few remaining fluorescent tubes in the ceiling dimy lit the dusty expanse.

They started by checking the aisle between the first row and second row of shelving. It was clear, and they moved on. The next aisle between rows two and three was also clear, and they continued, moving cautiously and silently. They stopped between rows 11 and 12.

Ben’s formal outfit was sliced off of his body. He was face down, prone on the dirty floor. Ropes tied Ben’s handcuffed arms over his head. Ropes tied his feet to shelves on each side, widely spreading apart his legs. Duct tape prevented Ben from speaking.

Standing over him with his back to the shelves, Kevin was trying to jerk himself into enough of an erection to anally rape Ben as retribution for his previous accusations.

Xena knocked an arrow and drew the bowstring tight, next to her face. At this distance, she wouldn’t miss. Meanwhile, Claudia crept around the side of the former marine and barely stifled a scream when she saw her son’s predicament.

“KEVIN, LET HIM GO!” bellowed Xena. He turned his head to look at her and sneered, believing she posed no real threat.

“Fuck off, Anal.”

Xena’s lip curled, and she lost the last bit of her self-control, letting her arrow fly. Kevin shrieked as the arrow plowed deeply into the cheek of his ass.

“YOU BITCH!”

He flopped around like a beached fish and then tried to struggle back to his feet by pulling his weight up using his hand to grip one of the empty shelves. While using his hand on the shelf for support and stability, he started staggering toward Xena.