Taken
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“Yeah, Ma,” Tobin says, giving a nod and flashing a peace sign to the security guard at gate of the players’ lot as she drives in, “let’s start thinking about Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years’ okay? Chris is stressing out about it,” she sighs, “I think it has to do with her Mom,” she adds quietly.
“Honey,” her Mom says sympathetically, “it’s going to take some time,”
“I know,” Tobin says, her voice low and laced with hurt and worry, “it’s just that she couldn’t really explain it and then she jumped all over me about it,”
“Sometimes we can’t articulate those feelings, sweetie,” Cindy advises, “grief does funny things to people,”
“I know,” Tobin repeats, “and I understand, I mean I try my best,” her voice softens as she parks the car, “I just feel bad that Christen is so anxious about it,” she says, “I just… feel like I’m failing her,” She shuts her car off and unbuckles her seatbelt.
“Tobin,” her Mom gently chastises her, “you’re not failing her,” she says earnestly, “you’re just struggling to understand and read her signals, it happens. You’ll be fine,”
“You’re right,” Tobin sighs again, “I gotta go,” she says hurriedly, “meeting’s in five,”
“We can be flexible and do whatever you think Christen needs,” her Mom offers sweetly, “holidays are hard, we understand.”
“Thanks ma,” Tobin says heartfully.
“Love you honey and I’ll talk to you soon,” her Mom says sweetly.
“Love ya, Ma,” Tobin signs off and moves to exit her vehicle. She hears a soft slap and looks down to find her wallet has fallen out of her hoodie pocket. She picks it up and leans into the car and flips open the center console and drops it in. She shuts her door, clicking her remote to lock the vehicle as she walks towards the entrance. She puts on her facemask, scrunching her face at the acrid scent of smoke in the air from the forest fires. The sky is a hazy orangish glow at this time of the day. It never truly gets dark anymore and the game on Sunday is subject to being cancelled if they don’t get the rain that’s been forecasted for tonight. She hopes they play but hopes the rain comes even more.
She wishes Christen had waited to bring this whole holiday thing up after her meeting, she frowns, not five minutes before she had to leave. It was just really poor timing and it caught her off guard and she hopes Chris doesn’t think she was blowing it off. She prays Chris isn’t at home worrying about it right now, but she feels like she is. She’s probably out on the balcony, trying to calm herself now.
She’s not a third of the way to the building when she’s approached by a women, who is waving as she walks up.
“Hi, Tobin?” she asks rather timidly.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Tobin nods, slowing her walking pace and wondering how a fan got in here.
“You need to come with me,” the woman states with authority.
“Uh, who are you?” Tobin questions, stopping to look at her. She was much shorter than her, maybe just five feet tall and dressed in jeans and an older style Thorns hoodie. Her mask doesn’t let Tobin get a good look at her and she’s wearing a black Re beanie. Tobin gets the impression she’s pretty young, maybe in her early twenties or so.
“I have Christen and if you want to see her,” the woman says succinctly, pulling a pistol from her hoodie and keeping it close it her body so it’s not obviously showing if someone were to look, “you need to come with me.”
Tobin blinks, “What?” she repeats in shock, as if her ears didn’t catch what she just said.
“If you don’t come with me,” the woman repeats sharply, “you’ll never see Christen again.”
“I just left her a few minutes ago,” Tobin is confused. What is she talking about, she wonders.
“That’s where my partner comes in,” The woman smiles slyly, “the more you wait, the worse it will be for her,” she says, “my partner isn’t very patient and doesn’t listen to
directions very well,”
Tobin’s mouth goes dry, “What do you mean?” she questions, feeling the blood rush from her face, a knot forming in her stomach as she fills with a sense of dread.
“I mean,” she gestures with a flick of the gun, “we go back to your car, “she says menacingly, “and if you don’t, I’ll shoot you right now, here, in this parking lot,” waving it towards her again, “and Christen will suffer a horrible, painful death.”
Tobin is frozen in place, unsure what to do. She glances around the parking lot, looking for security but she’s too far from the entrance. There’s nobody walking around.
Tobin swallows and nods, turning as the woman follows her. “I’m driving,” the stranger states rather coldly from behind her, “get in the passenger seat.”
Tobin nods, pulling her remote out to unlock the black Audi. They get in and Tobin hands the keys to the woman who starts the vehicle, puts it in gear and pulls out of the lot.
“Give me your phone,” she orders as she drives, the gun in her left hand that’s resting on her lap with the barrel pointed at Tobin. “Slowly,” the woman orders as Tobin reaches into her pocket.
Tobin’s mind is spinning as she tries to figure out is going on. “Where is Christen?” she asks.
“No questions,” the woman states, dropping the phone in between her legs, “no talking.”
They exit the lot swiftly and drive in silence, entering the expressway quickly. Tobin removed her mask and has her hands locked together in her lap, praying fervently for Christen. When she’s finishes pleading with God for Christen’s safety, she wonders how the partner of this woman next to her in the car could manage to convince Chris to leave the condo.
Tobin doesn’t have answers and she feels as if she may never get them.
That terrifies her.
XXXX