Chapter 8

The gang leader pulled his chair over to the table, and the others noisily followed him. The distinguished-looking man waited until the four convicts were seated, and then he carefully inspected each of their faces, obviously passing judgment. Ellen noticed that there was something distinctively different about the man that made him contrast starkly with her abductors; and yet--in spite of his sophistication, there was also a sameness--a certain criminality. She watched as he set his brief case on the top of the table and began to shuffle through some papers. The man's gestures were those of an accomplished businessman who was accustomed to dealing at the highest levels of authority. He was no common criminal, and yet there was a slickness to his movements that somehow reminded Ellen of the suave gestures of the card shark or the professional gambler. No, these men were worlds apart in appearance and in thought; but something had drawn them together today that would change the course of the lives of all who were present in the warehouse... and perhaps would alter the direction of world events outside the narrow confines of the criminal mentality of her kidnappers.

Ellen noted a change in the way Billy had been acting, as the gang chief leaned toward the unidentified man sitting at the head of the table. He was no longer the snarling pack leader who asserted himself through violence and animal cunning, but he seemed as though he had consciously decided to keep his more aggressive stance in reserve until he had the new situation under his control. Yes, he definitely had changed, and there was a disturbing quality to the transformation, Ellen thought, as she watched Billy light a cigarette and lean back somewhat nervously in his chair. She sensed a slight strain between the two men that was quite different from the animal conflict between Billy and the three other escaped convicts over the possession of her body.

The adjustment that Billy, as well as the other convicts, had to make when confronted with the well-educated demeanor of the man sitting before them was obviously difficult, Ellen thought. She remembered how she and her sister Jennifer had discussed the condition of the penitentiary system, and how they had come to the conclusion that, for the most part, prison confinement only warped the minds of those it intended to reform and made them into more hardened criminals. A sociology course she had taken in college had also brought up the point that even those prisoners who were released after serving their sentences often mistrusted authority and instinctively rebelled against it. It was apparent that Billy was struggling with this problem right now, even though the man to whom he was talking was, in his own right, as much or more of a criminal than Billy himself.

Perhaps, she reasoned, it was this new breed of criminals who had grown through organized crime or through subversive political and business organizations that spelled out the end of the old era of the Al Capone type gangster. They were not only working against the law of the land, but had become adept at bending that law to suit their own corrupt interests. The likes of Billy and the other men would serve this new breed well, Ellen believed, as they were a handy weapon behind which the real culprits could hide and make their attack against the established order of society.

"Before we start, I think you should get rid of those not participating in our project," the mysterious man said, nodding his head toward Ellen.

"She ain't no problem," Billy said quietly, then he sighed, lowering to the suggestion. "Listen, baby, you get in the kitchen and help Sylvia make us somethin' to eat."

The tall brunette's eyes narrowed in anger and then she spun and slammed her way into the kitchen. Ellen immediately followed the girl, even though she was terrified at being left alone with Billy's ex-girlfriend. She could hear the men continue discussing their plan from the next room, but the voices were half-muffled by a sudden loud cloudburst of rain beating against the tin roof of the warehouse, and it was impossible to follow what they were saying.

The young blonde hostage looked toward Sylvia with dread, and abruptly she knew that her most bitter enemy was not Vito, but this female who would do anything to rid herself of competition from Ellen for the favors of the gang leader. Ellen had studied the tall brunette back in the living room and had instinctively known that the girl was insanely jealous of Billy's new relationship with her. There had been a moment in there when she had thought that Sylvia might get completely out of control, and there appeared to be no doubt that if the other girl were given the opportunity she would attempt to destroy her. Sylvia was no different than the convicts, except she would unhesitatingly kill Ellen in order to regain the privileged position of being the gang leader's girlfriend. Ellen had heard many frightening stories of fights between gang girls over possession of their men, and she shuddered as she remembered some of the more grisly details she had read about in various magazines.

"Whatcha doin' just standin' there," she heard Sylvia's strident voice ring out, bringing her back to reality for a moment. "You get these dishes cleaned up and quick."

Ellen bent quietly over the sink and began washing the filthy dishes and pans that lay on the sink--remnants of some meal eaten by someone else weeks or even months ago. Out of the corner of her eye she watched every one of the tall girl's movements as though her life depended on it. And it did! There was no way of getting around the fact that Sylvia intended to force a confrontation between Ellen and herself over Billy. In Ellen's mind, the other girl wanted her thrown to Vito, Pop, and Cash--to be repeatedly raped again and made an object of their violent, most beastly desires.

"Now get into the living room and pick up the rest of them dishes and glasses on the table," Sylvia commanded once more. "We want to fix up somethin' decent for Billy."

Ellen returned to the living room, feeling very much like she had been a slave to Sylvia's harsh command all of her entire life. She paused as she began placing the remaining plates in her hands, and caught bits and pieces of the discussion between Billy and the man seated at the head of the table.

"Remember, you will be seated behind the grandstands," the man pronounced clearly to Billy and Cash. "There should be no slip-ups if you follow the plan to the letter."

Ellen saw Billy lean forward onto the table, his jaw tightened as though he were under great stress. "And what happens if they see us? You ain't told us about any backup protection."

"That will all be taken care of in due time. Right now we want to concentrate on how the first steps will be accomplished."

Ellen moved from the table, slowing a bit as she approached the door in order to hear some more of their conversation. When the stranger glanced up in her direction, she immediately returned to the kitchen.

Sylvia didn't say a word to Ellen as the young hostage bent over the sink again and ran cold water over the remaining dirty dishes. For a moment Ellen almost felt like trying to talk with the gang girl, but when she looked into Sylvia's hate-filled eyes she knew it would be useless. There was an unfathomable gap between the two young women that was made more apparent by their very gestures and forms of speaking: Ellen was soft-spoken and slightly refined in her way of expressing herself, while Sylvia had a crude coarseness that bluntly branded her as coming from the lowest segment of society.

The dishes complete, the blonde hostage turned to help Sylvia who was slicing pieces of ham onto plates for the men in the next room, but she was stopped when the sharp tip of the knife was pressed against her breasts. "Ya keep your hands off the food, I'll take care of that; and you finish cleanin' up in here," Sylvia scolded, as though Ellen were a small child. "I'm gonna take this stuff out to them. Ya just stay put, and get your ass busy and clean up the rest of the mess."

Ellen felt a surge of relief race down the length of her spine when the other girl left the kitchen. Yes, she would just as soon remain here throughout eternity than be abused by the four convicts again. So much depended on how she handled herself during the next few hours; if she irritated Sylvia unnecessarily, or brought the conflict between Billy and Vito to a head by her presence, she would be the one who would ultimately suffer. Her best chance would be to remain as inconspicuous as possible, and wait until her chance arrived to run away again, if it ever did. It might not be too difficult, since their attention was diverted from her for the moment. But when the opportunity came, she must be successful this time. Their revenge would be vicious and complete, and she just couldn't risk pushing them to the point where they were forced to get rid of her for good... if they weren't already planning to kill her. No, she would wait until she was absolutely positive that her escape would be assured, and then she would make her attempt.

"Ya finished in here?" Sylvia suddenly said from the door.

Ellen turned and nodded limply, feeling a sudden surge of hate from the gang girl that she couldn't understand.

"Then get your ass in the next room quick. Billy don't wanta have ya sittin' here by yaself when he can't watch what you're doin'."

The ugly sound of her menacing voice sliced through Ellen, and she realized that the gang girl's first confused and jealous attitude toward her was turning into one of reviling contempt that was bound to burst into an open violence soon. What the girl was and who she was no longer had any importance to Ellen, as all she could feel was Sylvia's deep enmity coming from so deep within her that the brunette's strikingly pretty face was transformed into an expression of animal loathing.

The voluptuous young blonde paused in fear and confusion, not really wanting to go out, then walked a few steps from the sink. Suddenly a flash of pain struck her face and sent her head reeling. "Ya didn't hear what I said?" Sylvia gritted her teeth and slapped her open hand hard against Ellen's face once more. "Get it moving!"

The blow had brought Ellen to her senses, and for one split second she surveyed the gang girl with equal enmity. She forced herself to turn away from the girl and turned impassively to the door. As she tried to step into the next room Sylvia's taller frame moved out from the doorway and partially blocked her. She could feel the brunette's hot breath against her cheek and could sense electric shocks of hatred radiating out from her tensed body.

"You mess with Billy, and it's the last time ya mess with anything, do you hear me?" Sylvia said in a whisper so that the others couldn't understand. "I had him before ya even laid eyes on him, and I'll cut your tits off and shove 'em up your cunt if I have to to keep him," she hissed, inching past the girl and through the door.

"All right, what's goin' on?" Billy demanded as the two women entered the living room. When neither answered, he said, "Both of you--over there where I can keep an eye on you... and keep quiet."

Ellen brushed the tears of rage from her eyes and sat down on the bare mattress behind the table. She watched Sylvia cross the room and stand next to the window. She noticed that the girl's eyes still glowed with the reviling contempt that had sent her into the tantrum a moment before, and Ellen turned her head towards the men seated around the table.

"We got a little plan that's real interesting," Billy said, staring at Ellen, a half-grin of obvious pride on his face.

"I'd like to know what the girl has to do with the plan," the older man at the head of the table said sharply. "After all, there is a certain amount of risk involved in a venture of this nature. The greater number of participants only increases the probability of something going wrong."

"Ya keep your big words to yaself," Billy said. "She's here and she's going to be part of it."

Suddenly the large German Shepherd rose up from his prone position on the floor and came to attention next to his master's side as though he had sensed a note of urgency or danger. Billy ran his hand nervously down the animal's back, and shifted his eyes from Ellen back to the angry face of the man who pulled out some papers from his briefcase, setting them on the table before them.

"Alright, Billy," the man said condescendingly. "But let us keep in mind that you are putting yourself into a jeopardizing position. There are men higher up who won't appreciate your methods."

"Thanks for the advice fella," Billy said and slapped the dog affectionately on the rear. "But let's get on with it."

Ellen tried to appear disinterested in what was going on around her, but she found it difficult not to follow the discussion. It was obvious that the men were planning a murder that would effect the political and social life of the entire area, if not the whole country, but it was still impossible to discover the reason for the assassination or who was to be shot. Ellen almost didn't want to know, as she was aware that the very possession of such knowledge would make things increasingly hard for her. She also felt that Billy had little, if any, understanding of the implications of the horrible act he was about to commit, yet he appeared to rush headlong into the plot like a blindfolded animal being led to its slaughter.

"I want you and your friend here," the man said, pointing to Cash, "to be at the entrance to the rally before the parade begins. This will give you the opportunity to survey the area. Our men will be waiting at the first exit to pick you up after the job is completed. The Senator should be the first speaker on the program, and you'll have a perfect vantage point to get a bead on him from behind his head."