Mandy- Part 4

    Sherry had taken her “evidence” to HR but they were no help. She tried calling the police but they were even less useful than HR. They actually had the nerve to suggest that her cat photos were just a symbol of someone’s unrequited love. More than anything, I wanted to tell that she wasn’t being ignored and just because the authority figures hadn’t helped her, didn’t mean no one would. Instead, I had to keep my mouth shut and watch her swallow her tears. It broke my heart. 

    That Friday, Cory asked me to join him and Sherry for a night out. I was tempted to give Mandy a reprieve but I didn’t. Knowing Cory and Sherry were going out meant I didn’t have to worry about them seeing what I was up to. I drove over to Mandy’s house right around the time he normally called to order delivery and waited. My car was hidden in the back alley behind Mandy’s house and I lurked behind a tree, waiting to make my move. As soon as the delivery guy showed up, I ran to meet him at the door. I paid cash and gave him a decent tip- nothing too flashy; I wanted him to forget all about me. With the pizza box in hand, I went around to the back door and knocked. I could hear the torrent of profanities drawing closer and I pulled my baseball cap down to cover my face.

            “Why in the hell did you come to the-”

That’s as far as he got. I hit Mandy with a Taser and he went down like a sack of potatoes. I charged inside, turned off the porch lights, and got to work. It was hard to keep my latex gloves from slipping off as I worked; my palms were slick with nervous sweat, but I managed. While our tormenter was incapacitated, I bound his hands and feet in zip-ties and used a triple layer of duct tape to keep his big mouth shut. For good measure, I zapped him again with my Taser to make sure he didn’t try to roll away. With the door closed and his hands and feet bound, I doubted he’d be able to go anywhere but I wasn’t interested in taking chances.

    My heart was pounding so hard I thought for sure the entire city would hear it but I ran through the house gathering Mandy’s things. I took his gym bag and filled it with clothing, shoes, makeup, and his hair stuff. It had to look like Mandy decided to go on a little trip if anyone decided to look for him. Lastly, I added his wallet and grabbed a few slices of pizza for the road. With the gym bag slung over my shoulder, I hoisted Mandy to his feet, dragging him to my car under the cover of darkness. I tossed him in the back seat and threw a blanket over him. 

    I drove carefully across town to my house, munching pizza on the way. When I finally pulled inside the garage, I let out a sigh of relief. It felt like I’d been holding my breath the entire drive. I kept the lights off as I lugged my cargo into the house. Now that my captive was completely at my mercy, I rolled him down the basement stairs. He landed with a thud at the bottom and for the first time he looked up at me. A flicker of recognition registered in his eyes and I couldn’t help smiling. The fear radiating off our big bully was downright intoxicating. Drunk with power, I lifted the big lug as if he weighed nothing and hauled him into the root cellar. Secretly, I was thanking the nameless builder of Grandma’s house. The root cellar had hooks embedded in the mortar, presumably for hanging baskets or dried herbs. I used those hooks to tie my captive, spread eagle, to the walls.

    Once he was secured, I ripped the duct tape from his mouth and relished Darren/Mandy’s screams. At first, he tried to play tough, threatening to kick my ass and other nonsense. When the threats didn’t work, he backpedaled and tried bribery. The begging and pleading continued until I held up another roll of duct tape. For the first time since I met Mandy, I’d finally found a way to get him to shut his mouth.

            “What happens next depends on your answers to my questions. Do you understand?”

My voice rang with authority and he nodded his head to prove he understood. 

            “Why don’t you dress in drag all the time?”

            “What’s it to you?” He sneered.

I hauled off and punched him in the face as hard as I could. Blood gushed from his swollen lips and dribbled down his chin.

            “Wrong answer. Care to try again?”

This time, I didn’t wait for him to give me an answer. My fist connected with his jaw just as he called me derogatory name for a certain part of the female anatomy. Before he could try again, my left fist landed an uppercut, slamming his mouth closed so fast his teeth nipped off the tip of his tongue.

            “Okay! I’ll tell you anything you wanna know!”

The resignation in his voice confirmed it. He was done playing the tough guy role but I was just getting started. 

***Be sure to return Monday, June 9th for next installment of Mandy***