“Alison. Alison, wake up.”
All the commotion and scheming had exhausted me. I laid down thinking I would just rest for a few minutes but before I knew it, I was being woken up by Christopher from a very deep sleep.
“What? What time is it?” I bolted up in bed, feeling betrayed by my body for putting me in such a deep sleep.
“It’s eight o clock.” Christopher sat on the bed next to me as I got my bearings.
“At night or in the morning?”
“At night. You were asleep for a few hours.”
“Oh my god. What happened. How is Mac? Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” I tried to get up but Christopher gently put his arm up to stop me.
“Shh, it’s okay. Mac is fine, he’s downstairs. I let you sleep because you need the sleep. You are still healing, don’t forget that. It’s important you don’t forget that, especially with a neck injury.”
“No, I have to get up. Christopher, please let me see him.” I pushed myself out of his arm and got my legs over the edge of the bed. Christopher looked down and realized that he couldn’t keep me here anymore. He nodded his head and I stood up to get dressed again.
“Listen. I talked to him.” He put his hand up to let me know it was okay as I flashed him a worried look. “It’s okay, I didn’t mention anything to him about what you told me.”
“So what did you talk to him about?”
“I let him know that the doctor was coming tomorrow and asked him how he was feeling.”
“What did he say?” I listened intently as I got dressed in what I had worn earlier.
“He’s fine. Of course, he continued to act as if everything was fine but I could sense his restlessness.”
“Okay, let’s go.” My anxiety was already high. I had to get out of that bedroom.
Christopher nodded slowly and we left the bedroom, both saying hello to Igor. I was in such a hurry that I almost ran before Christopher pulled me back.
“Don’t show him you’re stressed. If you look too worried with me around, he’ll know you told me.”
I nodded. Christopher was right. Mac was a smart guy and he would absolutely be able to tell if my energy was too hyped up around Christopher. I had to pretend I was still in this with him.
We entered the living room where Mac was still in his hospital bed. I hadn’t seen him in days and even though he was still worse for the wear, he looked a lot better. I know I did too and I sat down next to him, grabbing his hand as hard as I could.
He looked at me and smiled a pained smile as he squeezed my hand. I wanted to cry.
“Alice. How is the looking glass treating you?”
"Better than it's treating you." I laughed; a quiet and sad laugh. We both looked at each other for a few minutes and for a second it felt like we were teenagers again, going through the trauma of our parents’ death.
“Christopher, Sir. Thank you for looking after my sister. May I have a moment with her?” Mac looked up and gave him a confident but pained smile. He was so good at playing it cool even when he was all banged up.
Christopher smiled confidently and put his hand on my shoulder.
“It was my pleasure, Mr. Dunn.” He winked at me. I gave him a look before turning back to Mac, laughing, trying not to make the laugh sound nervous. “I’ll leave you two siblings alone, I have a call with China.” He said his goodbyes and as soon as he left, Mac’s eyes got serious and he looked at me with concentration.
“You said you were going to come down sooner.”
“I tried, Mac. They didn’t let me because of security.”
“Ha, yeah, some security.” Mac turned around and looked at the nurse. “Pain medication time!”
“Oh, yes it is.” She looked up from what she was doing and smiled sweetly. She got up to a little station she set up in the corner of the living room and while she had her back to us,
Mac leaned towards me as much as he could and lowered his voice. “We have to be careful about who hears us but I just want you to know before I disappear that everything is going to be okay. I promise.”
“Mac. Where would you go? How? You can barely walk.” I tried to get him to see reason as much as possible.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got that covered. Speaking of being wounded, take your scarf off, I want to see your neck.”
“Mac, I have to ask. I told them not to worry you and to say that I was sick, how did you know about my neck?”
“The nurse let it slip. It’s no big deal. I wasn’t surprised. That’s why I need to get to the next part of my plan as soon as possible.”
Before I could say anything the nurse was finding her way to us. We had to act more normal and not so secretive, so I wasn’t able to ask him more about his plan.
“Looks like you two are in a huddle over here.” The nurse gave Mac his pills with a glass of water.
“Just catching up. We like to be private.” Mac looked slightly nervous. Nobody else would have noticed it but I knew him well enough to notice that hint of nervousness. My curiosity was piqued and I looked at the nurse and noticed how strange her eyes looked.
“Well, that’s fine, just be careful of your ribs, Mr. Dunn.” She gave him a look and he handed the glass back to her and she went to sit on the loveseat she had been sitting on.
“Always, Nurse Nancy. Always.” He tried to be his jovial self but I still detected that nervousness.
I looked over at the nurse who was on her computer again. I took note that she hadn’t been in with the doctor to see me and I wondered if she even knew. There was definitely a weirdness here but I didn’t feel free to press it.
We lowered our voices and huddled together a little more tightly this time.
“Okay, Mac. Can you at least wait until the doctor sees you tomorrow? Let’s get clearance that you’re getting better and there isn’t any unseen damage that could get worse if you leave.”
“I’ve got plenty of medical care waiting for me where I’m going. You don’t have to be a billionaire to have things like that. I’ve got money too, Alice.” He laid back exasperated.
“But how will you make it to wherever you’re going?”
“Alice, just stay observant, okay? Don’t let your concern for me take your attention away from protecting yourself.”
“I just don’t understand the urgency.”
“Just trust me, Alice.” His eyes started to get heavy and I realized that this was futile as his drugs started to take effect.
“It’s time for him to get some rest Miss Bishop.” The nurse called out from her loveseat. She was a bit controlling and I did not like her.
“Yes, ma’am.” I called back to her. I looked at mac and squeezed his shoulder.
“Please be careful.”
“I got this, Alice. I’m the Cheshire Cat. I’ve always got something up my sleeve.”
** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
“He wants to get out of here by tomorrow, maybe eve tonight. He didn’t tell me when exactly. It’s pretty worrisome. I have no idea what he’s planning and I have no idea what that means for you.”
Christopher and I sat in the dining room as I was blissfully able to eat my dinner like a normal human being at the table. I was speaking in low tones so that nobody could hear me because I wasn’t sure who was compromised and who wasn’t.
“What that means for me? I’m fine. My security team is watching him, don’t worry.” Christopher smiled and looked so relaxed for somebody who had moles and was dealing with a sociopathic, homicidal father on the loose. “We just need to make sure your neck is okay and that you stay safe.” He moved his hand to grab mine. It startled me for a second but what startled me more was how much I welcomed it after our hands touched.
I finished my dinner and we both had a drink on his grand terrace. It was a beautiful night in New York and fall was just around the corner. I took in the summer night air as I drank my vodka and soda and I tried not to think about anything else. My brain needed a break. All of me needed a break.
“Mr. Ward, can I talk to you in your office for a few minutes?” Gloria interrupted our break sounding much more professional than she had in recent days. She didn’t look at me and she had a somewhat worried look on her face. I stopped taking her personally and just kept drinking as I nodded my head to Christopher when he looked at me.
“I’ll be okay.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Christopher, it’s okay. I have an army watching me right now.” I gestured towards the multitude of security guards that were around us. “I’ll be fine. I’m enjoying this. I’m just going to sit here and keep pretending that everything is normal.”
He got up to leave with Gloria and I watched them talk in whispered hushes as I shrugged my shoulders and went back to looking at the stars. A few days ago, or earlier today even, I might have been curious and wanted to know what they were saying but I just couldn’t care what was happening anymore. I was feeling the effect of the vodka and that was all I needed in this moment.
I started to feel my eyes droop and the sky seemed to have a heartbeat. Everything lost its focus and I felt panic rise in me as I realized I was feeling more than the effects of alcohol. My body wouldn’t respond to my brain telling it to move. I wanted to scream but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate.
I tried to get up but my arms were flimsy and I couldn’t support myself. Blackness crept into my consciousness and right before it went completely black, I saw the chef who had been preparing something in the outdoor kitchen on the terrace wink at me. Then I was out.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
I woke up with a pounding headache. Looking around, I seemed to be in the bed of the guest room in Christopher’s penthouse where I had been staying. What had happened? As my vision became more clear, I saw the doctor and Christopher talking by the door of the bedroom.
“Hello?”
They both turned to me immediately. The doctor took out a notepad and looked at his watch as he noted the time. Christopher came over to me immediately.
“How do you feel? Are you okay?”
“Water. Ibuprofen.” I croaked out through my dehydrated mouth. “I feel like hello. What happened?”
Christopher immediately got up to get some water and the doctor handed him some ibuprofen he had handy in his bag. I was handed the water and the pills and immediately took them as I chugged down the water.
“Don’t drink too fast, Miss Bishop. You don’t want to puke it up.”
I didn’t care what he said, I was so thirsty, I thought I was going to die.
“Alison, listen to the doctor, please.”
I stopped drinking and held the glass to my lips and took the water in ridiculously slow, looking at them with a sarcastic look.
“There, is that better?” I was annoyed. This was becoming like an action film and I was getting tired of being the damsel in distress. I signed on to this thing as the action hero, dammit.
Christopher ran his fingers through his hair and looked worried. The doctor gathered his stuff and looked ready to leave.
“We don’t know what knocked you out but you will probably feel pretty bad for a few hours at the very least. Drink lots of water. Mr. Ward, make sure she drinks a lot of water and drinks it slowly.” He seemed unamused at my display of drinking slowly earlier. Christopher nodded his head and I continued to drink my water at a decent pace, feeling like I was nursing the worst hangover ever. “The good news is that your neck is healing well and you aren’t going to have any permanent damage.”
“Wait! What about Mac? Did you see him? How is he?” I stopped the doctor as he turned to leave.
Dr. Rickard and Christopher looked at each other before the doctor looked over at me.
“I’ll leave you two to talk.” With that, he left and I looked at Christopher, dumbfounded. How was this my life?
“Alison…”
“Christopher, what happened to Mac? Tell me right now.” I felt sick. I needed to puke but I had to make sure Mac was okay.
“Mac is…well, we can’t find him. After you passed out, there was a loud crash in the kitchen and all of the guards went to check it out. Igor decided to come back quickly to where you were as he didn’t want to leave you alone and saw that there were enough guards to handle the kitchen. He saw my chef lifting you out of your chair, that bastard.” Christopher’s eyes went dark and he was angrier than I had ever seen him.
“Wait, what? The chef? But why? What happened to Mac?” I started to remember the chef winking at me as I blacked out. He was the mole. That’s how the diversion was made in the kitchen. It was making more sense, but what happened to Mac?
"I'm getting to that. The chef saw Igor and put a kitchen knife to your neck, telling him to back away and let him leave, otherwise, he would slice you open. Igor backed off knowing that there was another guard right behind him and he assumed the other guard had seen what happened and was waiting to make a move. He assumed correctly. The chef was shot in the leg and Igor moved quickly to take the knife and set you back down."
I sat there feeling my mouth go more agape as he filled me in on what happened. It wasn’t just the chef, Mac had been helped out by somebody during the commotion and they couldn’t figure out who because all the guards were accounted for.
“What time is it?” I cringed as I spoke, I could feel the urge to vomit was not going to go away and it was only getting stronger.
“It’s seven in the morning. You should get some more sleep. I have some things to take care of at work and we have Serge, my head of security looking into the details of what happened last night.”
I shook my head. I had to get up. I had to go find Mac. But first, I had to run to the bathroom and let the contents of my stomach come up. My stomach pushed everything out and my eyes watered with the pressure of it all. As soon as I finished one purge, another one followed soon after.
I must have been in there for a good half hour. Once I felt more stable and like I wasn’t going to need to be a slave to my stomach anymore, I shakily got up and made it to my bed before collapsing. I was not feeling well at all but I had to find Mac. I couldn’t let this go too long but I didn’t think I had a choice.
“Alison, please, get some rest. I will be home soon. I just have to take care of a few meetings and contract negotiations that can’t be put off, then I’m right back here.”
I laid down in the big, huge soft bed that was calling to me and weakly pulled up the lush blankets and sheets that felt like I was embraced in a cloud. I had to admit to myself that nothing was going to pull me out of this bed right now.
“I really have no choice, Christopher. I’m weak and not functioning well.” My voice was losing its strength, too. Christopher looked relieved. I saw his shoulders visibly relax.
“Okay, I’m going to have the nurse come in here and make you keep up with your water intake. I’ll be back sometime after lunch.”
I felt him brush my shoulder but by that point, I was blissfully succumbing to sleep. I couldn't stop myself but as I fell into a slumber, I tried to remind myself of something that was eating away at me. The nurse. There was something about the nurse. She had been there for everything and Mac mentioned her talking to him about my neck. I tried to claw my way back to this realization and say something to Christopher before he left but sleep won out and I couldn’t stop it.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
“Mrs. Ward. Oh, Mrs. Ward. Wakey, wakey.” My eyes fluttered open and I couldn’t focus right away. I could feel somebody on the bed with me, though it was a light feeling, definitely a woman. Why was she calling me Mrs. Ward?
I immediately took stock of how I felt and was relieved that the nausea and headache had lightened up quite a bit. I moved myself up on the bed and focused on the person sitting next to me as I came out of my very deep sleep.
“Good morning, sleepy head.” The nurse that had been sitting by Mac’s hospital bed every time I went to visit was smiling at me. She handed me a glass of water with a cat-ate-the-canary look that I couldn’t quite focus on yet.
“You’re the nurse that took care of Mac.” My voice wasn’t as hoarse but I was still very thirsty and took the water from her as I started to chug it hungrily.
“Ah, ah, ah. Slowly, Miss Bishop.” She brought her hand up to pull the glass away from me so that I wouldn’t chug it so fast. I didn’t care, I let her do it, I just wanted that sweet water that my body was craving so badly. I let her set the pace so I could just keep drinking.
“Did you call me Mrs. Ward before?” I asked her between sips that I was taking more moderately now.
“What? Why would I do that? Now, Miss Bishop, we have to get you to get your strength up. There is a lot to do. I’m Nancy, by the way.” In one swift movement, she quickly took the glass out of my hand, brought a syringe to my arm and held it firmly as she shot the fluid into a vein. She used a practiced precision and skill. I would have been thoroughly impressed if she hadn’t shocked me with a surprise injection into my arm.
“Hey, what the hell?” I drew my arm back as soon as she took the needle out. “I didn’t give you permission to do that!”
“It’s to help you, Miss Bishop.” She smiled sweetly and stood up, walking towards the dresser I had been using and opened the drawers to look at my stuff. “I don’t suppose you have a lot of stuff here but that’s okay, it’s enough.”
I tried to focus on what she was doing but I couldn’t quite get to a full state of awareness.
“What time is it? What are you doing?” I tried to get up but my legs were very shaky and I couldn’t seem to stand without holding onto something.
“It’s 9 ‘o clock. I told Mr. Ward I would bring you fluids every two hours. Don’t get up. You’re going to need my help.” She rushed over to me and grabbed my arm to make sure I was more steady. “Do you you have to go to the bathroom at all, Mrs. Ward?”
I let her steady me as I sat back down on the bed and tried to get myself to focus. What was happening? I was able to focus and walk just fine a few hours before. Yes, I had been weak and sick but I had motor skills.
“Why can’t I walk? I was fine before, what’z happening?” My words were slurring and it was a big effort to get them out. I wanted to call her out on calling me Mrs. Ward again because I was quite sure I hadn’t imagined that one but it was so draining to talk that I just let it go.
"It's okay, you're fine. I just gave you a little something to help you relax. I figured it would make it easier on you to deal with that horrible sick feeling that Rohypnol gives you.
She smoothed my hair away from my face and I noticed a gleam in her eye. It didn’t take long for me to realize that she was another mole. The realization hit me quickly but my reaction time was zilch. I tried to move away from her but my ability to move was rapidly decreasing. I wasn’t sure what she gave me but whatever it was affected my muscle function more than it did my cognitive function. I was going to be completely aware and conscious for all of this. I was terrified. I tried so hard to move but I couldn’t. I tried to scream but all that came out was a pitiful little moan.
“Shh, don’t worry Mrs. Ward. You are going to be just fine. We are going to go on a little trip but once we get there, you’ll be able to rest again. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She was talking to me as if I were a child. I could feel her petting my hair. I could feel everything; I just couldn’t move. This was diabolical. “Mr. Ward suggested that we use this drug that would allow you to experience everything but wouldn’t let you interfere. It’s quite genius, no?” She clapped her hands together excitedly and making sure that I was going to stay in bed, got back up to go back to what she was doing.
She was folding clothes and stacking them on the chair next to the closet. While she was doing it, she was humming a tune that I recognized but couldn’t place. I was now completely unable to move or talk. I laid in bed and watched her as I struggled with what was happening to me. It was an odd experience to not be able to do anything. I would try to move anything, even wiggle my toes and I could feel the signal go from my brain to my toes but nothing would happen. I had never experienced anything like it.
“Oh, we definitely must bring this dress. I bet you look radiant in it.” Nancy was still gathering things around the chair. After a few minutes, she stood there and looked at everything and seemed to be going through a list in her head as she made sure she got everything. She was an older lady, most likely in her late forties but took very good care of herself. She had a few lines on her face but her eyes, if they didn’t have such a crazy look to them, were a pretty shade of light brown. It matched her wavy light brown hair that went just past her neck with a few streaks of white hair.
It was nine in the morning. Christopher wouldn’t be home for hours and I couldn’t move. I wondered if Igor was out in the hallway but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t do a thing to get his attention. Nancy was now putting everything into my suitcase and I felt alarms going off everywhere in my head and my body. Inside my head, I was panicking but outside, not a muscle twitched. I was truly stuck and it felt horrible. The terror continued to grow as she started to tell me more about her plans.
“Okay, so, we have you all packed and ready. We won’t be able to take the suitcase with us right now but don’t worry, I’ll be able to have somebody get it later. So, now we have to get Igor to see that you need to go to the hospital.” She came over and sat next to me as she lifted my arm and let it drop like the dead weight that it was. “I don’t think that will be a problem, do you?” She laughed and tweaked my nose between her fingers playfully. I wanted to kill her.
As she prepared things around the room before we made our grand exit, I noticed that her eyes had that same kind of mesmerized look as Mac’s. Hers was a little more focused and less confused but it was definitely a look of being mesmerized. There was a glassiness to them that didn’t feel right. However, her cheerful demeanor and condescending treatment made me not feel a bit sorry for her. This woman seemed very dangerous and I wasn’t sure if the look in her eyes was mental illness or some sort of brainwashing. It’s possible it was a bit of both but that didn’t make me feel any better.
“Okay, let’s do this, lady.” She winked at me as she went to the door. She stopped just as she was about to open it and took in a breath, preparing herself. Then she made her way into the hallway and became frantic, telling Igor to get an ambulance because I was unresponsive and it was a bad reaction to me being drugged the night before. She screamed for them to bring a respirator. Her performance was over the top and if I could have rolled my eyes, I would have but Igor, bless him, was so beside himself that he didn’t notice.
A stretcher came into my room not long after. Apparently, there was an ambulance in the parking garage on call in case something happened. How convenient. I’m sure they weren’t working with Nancy at all.
She was still playing up her freak out and I still wanted to roll my eyes. The paramedics strapped me in and propped up the stretcher so that they could push it out. Nancy told Igor to let Christopher know that I would be at Lenox Hill Hospital. When Igor tried to tell her he was coming with, she said there wouldn’t be room, they needed all the room they could get to keep me stable.
Igor made a compromise, saying he would follow behind in his SUV. Nancy couldn’t say anything to that and I felt a little bit of hope. You could tell she didn’t like the idea but had no argument for him, so she nodded her head and just focused on getting me into the ambulance.
Igor was on the phone with Christopher and I could hear him say that Christopher should go straight to Lenox Hill. I wanted to scream and yell. I had a feeling that Nancy had a plan for losing them and I felt so helpless. Every bump and every scuffle against the wall was felt by my body and yet I couldn’t move it. I was a little bit in awe of the sensation but mostly terrified.
As I was loaded into the ambulance, I got a look at Igor’s face. He looked so scared and so concerned. I felt a tear roll down my face as I wished I could tell him what was happening. Well, at least I could still cry, kind of. The tears came out but I couldn’t do anything with my face or my expression. It was maddening.
After the ambulance doors closed, the paramedics took my vitals and Nancy sat next to me, grabbing my hand. She smiled as she wiped the tears that were now coming down in multiples off my cheeks.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Ward. You’re almost home.” She smoothed my hair out of my face and smiled what she probably thought was a comforting smile. All it did was terrify me. “Record her vitals. She is in great health but we all know how this can go south quickly. We have to keep her monitored until we get her to Mr. Ward’s.” She looked at the paramedic standing right above me, checking my pulse. “Keep the respirator handy, remember what happened last time.”
I didn’t like the sound of any of that.