Chapter 2

When the idea finally came to me it had the benefit of utter simplicity. All I had to do was act normally and let the pieces fall into place.

It had been three weeks since I had walked out of the house and I had not spoken to Alana in all that time. Not because she didn't try to get in touch with me, but because I wanted nothing to do with her. I came home at three in the afternoon when I knew she would still be at work and moved myself into the spare bedroom. I was in the kitchen making myself a sandwich when Alana came home. Having seen my car in the garage she knew I was there and she came running into the house calling out my name. I ignored her as she went through the house calling out for me. She finally came into the kitchen, saw me and then she ran to me and threw her arms around me.

"Oh God baby, you're home. I've missed you terribly and I've been so worried about you."

I put my hand in the middle of her chest and gave her a hard push and she stumbled backwards into the wall.

"Just keep away from me you disgusting piece of shit."

"But you ca..."

"The only reason that I'm here is that I can't afford a divorce right now and I can't afford to make the mortgage payment on this place and keep an apartment too. Until I can find some way to financially do what needs to be done I'll be staying in the spare bedroom. I'll stay out of your way and you stay the fuck out of mine. Don't even look in my direction. The only thing I want from you is advance notice whenever you bring those two assholes over. I want to make sure that I'm not here because the temptation to do them great bodily harm would be just too great. The last thing I need is to go to jail over what I might do to them if I got my hands on them."

Baby, I love you and you know that I do. We can wo..."

"Don't make me laugh Alana. No way anyone could do to me what you did if they loved me. If you could love me and do that I shudder to think what you might be capable of if you hated me. Just keep away from me Alana. I don't want a fucking thing from you except to be kept up to date on your schedule where those two assholes are concerned."

It wasn't that easy of course. Alana just knew that I still loved her as much as I always had and that I was just going through a period of being mad. She left little love notes lying around the place for me and she bought me presents and left them on the bed in the spare bedroom. For the first two weeks I was back Alana didn't have Todd and Tim over. I don't know if she saw them someplace else or not, but they didn't come over to our house. Alana finally accepted that I wasn't going to have anything to do with her and soon what I had been waiting for happened.

"Todd and Tim are coming over at seven-thirty tonight."

At seven I left the house, got in my car and drove off. I circled the block and parked on a side street where I could watch the front door of the house. The two of them showed up at seven-twenty and left at eleven and at one-thirty I went home. Three days later they came over and again I left and didn't go home until they were gone. I let it happen two more times to let them get over their worries that I might be waiting for them with a gun. I wanted them to feel comfortable about Alana's wimpy husband being afraid to be there when they came to visit.

Thursday night Alana let me know that they would be over at seven on Friday. I already had things arranged so at six I left the house and parked on the side street and waited. They showed up at six-fifty and I gave them twenty minutes to get to the bedroom, get naked and get into Alana and then I went back to the house and let myself in. I could hear them talking as I moved quietly up the stairs.

Tim was speaking. "And just where is the gutless wonder tonight?"

"Must you talk about him that way?"

"Hey sweets, I'm only telling it like it is. He is gutless. He let us do what we did and now he's afraid that I'll hurt him if he gives me any shit."

"He didn't let us do anything. He was already blindfolded and tied to the chair when it happened. I doubt very much you could have held him down and done it if he knew what was coming. He would have hurt you and I know it."

"All I know is that if somebody did that to me he would be buried by now."

"That's beside the point. I love him and I don't like listening to you talk that way about him."

"You love him huh? Then why do you have both hands around my cock and why are you letting Todd lick your pussy?"

Alana never got to answer that question because I stepped into the room and the three noticed me all at the same time. My sudden appearance seemed to render them speechless. Then again, maybe it was the Colt 1911-A1 that I had in my hand that grabbed their attention. I looked right at Tim and I said, "I'd have gotten to you sooner ass wipe, but it takes time to find the right gun, learn to use it and then practice enough to get good with it. But I'm here now and that's what counts, right? What were you saying about being buried by now?"

At that Tim appeared to be just a little shaken up. Alana was sitting on the bed her face pale as a sheet of paper. Todd was shaking so badly that he looked like a naked man outside in a blizzard.

Todd gulped and his voice quavered when he said, "Wha ... wha ... what are yo ... yo ... going to do?"

"You ever hear the saying that "Paybacks can be a mother fucker?" Well that is just what this is — payback! Let me explain to you how this is going to work. You are going to do what I tell you or I will use the gun on you. This is the way I see it. If I kill you no judge or jury is going to let me skate. When they find out why I killed you they might be sympathetic and let me plead down to a lesser charge, but I'd still go to jail and I don't want that. On the other hand I have every reason to believe that a jury will find me not guilty or at least let me walk with minimum penalty if all I do is fuck you up. You said it yourself Tim. If anyone had done to you what you did to me they would be buried, right? The jury will think the same way so when they see you on crutches or in a wheel chair they will just think that you got what you deserved. Paying court costs and doing 500 hours of community service in exchange for crippling you for life doesn't sound like a bad deal, now does it?"

"I don't know what you are planning, but you won't get away with it" snarled Tim.

"I just told you that I don't plan on trying to get away with it, I just plan on not paying too high a price. Here is the menu of choices. I blow away one kneecap and put you on crutches for the rest of your life. I blow away both knees and your future is a wheel chair. In addition to crutches or a wheel chair I could also blow away an elbow and make that arm useless for the rest of your life. I'll naturally pick the right one if you're right handed or the left if you are a southpaw. Are we clear on this? I don't want you dead, but I would love to have you spend the rest of your life wishing you were. So, do what you are told and survive or give me a ration of shit and don't — your choice."

Alana had tears running down her cheeks and Todd was still shaking. Tim was looking at me defiantly which is about what I had expected the arrogant asshole to do.

"Todd, go over to the closet, get the green backpack on the floor and dump the contents on the bed."

He did what I told him and three pair of handcuffs and several sections of rope cascaded down onto the bed.

"Take one set of cuffs and cuff Alana to the chair in front of her makeup table."

He did it and then I told Tim to lie down on his back on the bed.

"And if I don't?"

"I'll make you a cripple and it won't bother me a bit."

He got on his back and I told Todd to tie his wrists to the bedposts.

"That's to keep you alive Tim. I figure that you are stupid enough to try and rush me and I'd be forced to kill you. Jus lie there and let Todd secure you. And Todd? I'll be checking the knots so make sure you do a good job."