***
Abruptly, she was shaken and pushed the hand away in disgust. “I’m up!” she snapped when someone shook her again.
Her hand was grabbed, and a larger hand repeated motion. She couldn’t understand what the motion meant until she was tugged on her feet and the motion was made again to her hand.
Smiling as she realized what he was saying, she guessed, “Stand up?”
Another motion of approval was made on her palm, and she asked, “Yes?”
The second motion was repeated.
Her stomach growled, and her muscles protested at being used. Stretching she dropped her towel and soap, but immediately bent down to pick it up. She was yanked up and guided somewhere else. She wasn’t sure as to where she was at, and she had been taken, but she obediently went wherever he yanked her without resistance.
“I take it your talker is gone,” she said and outstretched her hand to feel what he was going to say.
After a moment as if he had to think about touching her, she felt the “Yes,” motion in her hand and smiled to herself. This was her first experience speaking to someone with a handicap, and she was amazed at herself for being a fast learner and being able to adapt to how he spoke. She wished she could see his face.
A door opened and quickly closed behind her, and the small man came in. “Sorry, man, I had to go a long way to get rid of that stuff. Why is she out?”
Tanae could hear the hand gestures, and then the small man said, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell her to wash up man. I was so out of it after I saw…well, you know.”
More hand gestures and then she could hear the large one walking away, and a door slammed.
“Is he upset?” she asked.
“A little, Ms. Jenkins. He doesn’t like being in a room where he can’t communicate,” the small man said.
“How long will I be in your company?” she demanded to know.
“I don’t know. All I know is that we’re supposed to wait for a call, and we haven’t gotten a call.”
Tanae couldn’t understand this. Her father would pay anything to have her back unless there wasn’t a ransom offered. “Have you offered my father a ransom?” she asked to be sure.
“Look, all I know-“
“I don’t care what you know. I want to know what’s done!” she said becoming angry.
A door opened, and she could hear the heavy step of the larger man. Hand gestures were made, and the small man took that tone he usually took when he was interpreting for the larger one.
“You are not in the position to make demands. What we want your father to do, will take more than just a payoff. What your father has to do is none of your business.”
She turned to where she heard the heavy footsteps stopped. “My father’s business is my business, you idiot!”
The room was deathly quiet. Suddenly she heard some shuffling and the smaller man was trying to hold back the larger man.
“We can’t hurt her, Lynx! Dammit, you and your damn temper is going to get someone killed!”
Tanae stepped away not at all feeling safe anymore. “I want to go home,” she demanded.
“No more demands!” the smaller man said again speaking for the larger man. “No more demands and no more talking.”
She started to say something, but suddenly a gag was over her mouth. She started to yank it off, but her wrists were tied, and she was forced to sit down on the filthy floor. She groaned in disgust.
“Alright!” the smaller man said. “But you got to stop losing that temper, Lynx.”
Tanae made the determination that the larger man went by the name Lynx. If she lived through this at least, she would be able to identify him.
“Ms. Jenkins, we have to move you,” the smaller one said, pulling the gag slightly out of her mouth. “But you’ve got to give us your full cooperation, or we’ll knock you out again.”
“Only if you answer me one more question,” she said and heard a sharp huff. “Will I live through this?”
There was a pause before she heard hand gestures again. The small man spoke for Lynx. “That depends on how bad your father wants you back.”
Tanae only nodded and allowed them to wrap her up in a blanket. She was carried over Lynx’s shoulder down some steps and placed into a vehicle. Assuming she was in the back seat, she counted to five thousand before she was picked up and carried over his shoulder again up at least five flights of stairs and into someplace.
He rolled her out the thick blanket, and she could feel that the floor was carpeted and soft. The surroundings didn’t smell old and dirty, but she could tell a fresh coat of paint had applied somewhere. He yanked her by the arm and motioned for her to stand up again.
She obeyed and was led, or more so dragged to a room.
“How do you feel, Ms. Jenkins?” the smaller man asked as he took off her gag again.
“How would you feel being carried around like a sack of potatoes and rolled out like that? Couldn't he be gentle? Even a little?”
“As I said before, he doesn’t feel comfortable around people who he can’t communicate with.”
“Oh I’d like to communicate with him alright,” she grumbled turning her head behind her feeling the larger man’s presence there. Her senses other than her sight had increased, and she could hear his relaxed breathing.
“He wants to know what do you have to say?” the smaller man asked handing her back a towel and a bar of soap.
“A lot of things, but not with my mouth,” she grumbled. “When can I use the bathroom?”
“Now,” the smaller man said guiding her over to a doorway. “You keep that over your eyes.”
“But the door will be closed,” she insisted.
“We don’t trust you yet, Ms. Jenkins.”
Incredulously, she said, “You expect me to use the bathroom while you two perverts watch?”
“As I said, we don’t trust you, but you’re going to have to trust us. We’ll give you our backs while you… take care of your business, and in turn, we will later allow you to take a full shower.”
Tanae didn’t want to agree to this. She wanted her way or no way, but her bladder didn’t care, and a chance to wash her face at least was a nice gesture.
Feeling her way to the bathroom, she found the toilet. She couldn’t get her pants down fast enough but made it in time to empty out her bladder and then wash herself up praying they weren’t looking.
She straightened herself up as best she could without seeing what she was doing and then decided to stand there for a moment and listen. She could hear they weren’t that far away from her, but they were talking with their hands. Lynx movements were very direct.
“Are you done yet?”
“Almost,” she said.
Both men could be heard huffing in impatience. She waited a few more minutes just to get on their nerve.
“Alright I’m done,” she said feeling her way to the door.
She was led to another room near the bathroom.
“You’ll be in here the majority of the time,” the smaller man instructed her. “Depending on your behavior will determine whether you’ll be served the two meals a day with a snack. Do you understand?”
“What? No tea?” she asked sarcastically.
He ignored her humor and continued. “We’ll allow you to take the blindfold off, once we leave out the room, but we’ll knock when we come in, and we expect you to place your blindfold on and stand with your back to the door. Before you can turn to us, you’ll allow us to check your blindfold. Do you have any questions?”
“Only how long will I be forced to behave like this?” she asked impatiently.
“As long as it takes for your father to do as he is told.”
She only huffed because she had a feeling the answer to her question would be evasive. Whatever they wanted her father to do, she couldn’t understand why her father couldn’t do it quickly and get it over.
>
They left, and she immediately took off the blindfold once she was alone to see she was in the white padded room with a cot in the middle. There was a table and chair in the corner and another opposite to the bathroom, which had no door on it. She tried that door to see it nailed shut.
What was strange about the room was that there were no windows. Going over to the other door that she was positive led out of this room she tried the doorknob to see it was locked. She sighed in disappointment and leaned against the door praying her father would do whatever it was to get her back home.