JOSI

Things seem almost normal for Josi today. But in a life as uncanny as hers, there are bound to be mishaps.

It happens the afternoon after her meeting with Rand. With the two bonding over their fond memories of Annabelle, Josi finds that Rand is like any other man. He has devout love for his now deceased family. But what she can't figure out is why a man like him has sunk head deep into the mafia. What's even more puzzling is the fact that he's landed himself on Dami's hit list. He must have done something truly evil to have the assassin go through such lengths. But that part of the story will always remain a mystery.

"We cut classes sometimes for the nearest boutique." Says Josi. "We never really bought anything. We'd just walk around trying out clothes."

"So she ditched classes?" Rand asks.

"Yes, but she still managed to stay on top of lectures." Josi tells him. "She tutored me whenever I needed help. She even helped me cram an hour before a test. A Godsend, I tell you."

Rand leans back in his seat and loses himself once again in his thoughts. "How many social gatherings did she attend?"

Josi knows that's code for unsupervised parties. "Not many. There was this one time back when this guy. . ." She trails off, as though she'd revealed a bit too much.

But Rand has already caught on. "There was a guy?"

"They weren't really a thing." Josi says. "Just a couple dates, but it didn't go anywhere."

Rand exhales, a bit relieved.

There's a couple seconds of silence as the two reminisce over the old days, except Rand is the only one doing any sort of reflection here. Josi has never once set eyes on his daughter. These are all crafted tales spun from the memo Dami collected from Annabelle's nanny. And so far, every bit of that lie has seeped through Rand's defense.

"If I may ask," Josi starts again. "How did she . . . die?"

Rand sighs, as this topic certainly is too heavy for him. But he opens up and begins telling a recap of the story Croff already gave her. Josi sits still and listens, as though this was all brand new. Because that's what she does best. Pretend.

Later when the meeting has met its end, Josi makes it back to where her car is in the parking lot. The sun has begun setting, and now an ominous feel has taken over. Could be Josi's spider senses, but something doesn't seem to be quite right. Best not to question though. She pulls out her keys and quickens her pace towards the car in an attempt to escape whatever may be out there.

Except, that's where things end. She's caught in a trap; a white cloth induced with chloroform. Her throat burns from the chemical, arms flailing and calling out for help. But whoever has her in that position is far stronger, because Josi can't move an inch. And when her consciousness begins fading, she knows this won't end well.

__

When Josi comes to, she's tied up to a chair. She scans her environment only to find that there's no window, just a door. The room she's in seems like a box; a ceiling with a single light bulb, the floor, four walls, and nothing else. There's no telling what time of day it is either. For all Josi knows, she could be in the next town over.

In front of Josi is a tray stacked full of tools she concludes must belong to her kidnapper. There are two knives, a set of pliers, a couple of syringes and a pair of scissors. There's even a white rag as well that has yet to be used. Then it hits Josi. These are tools for torture.

The door opens, and in walks a man cladded in overalls. He doesn't seem to be that old, but his overgrown beard gives her that impression. His hair is buzzed short, eyes dark and grim. And from the way he looks at her, Josi can instantly tell this is her kidnapper.

"You're awake."

Josi brings her head up to get a better look at the man. He seems average height and isn't too big, but she understands that underestimating him won't do her any good. So she judges Kidnapper with an open mind. "Where am I?"

"Halfway between Earth and hell." He tells her. "But you'll wish you were already in hell when I'm through with you."

Josi is puzzled at first. What could she possibly have done to anger the man in front of her? Then she begins to think it may be the Tourlours. Have they come for her so soon? Is this it? Has her life come to an end? Josi takes a deep breath in and exhales, expelling only a fragment of the anxiousness within her. She has to first be sure of her circumstances.

"Can I at least know why you're doing this?"

The scowl on Kidnapper's face deepens, and Josi is sure she can see his face contort into an oni mask. If there's one thing for certain it's that the man isn't the least bit happy, which is probably why he made it his mission to kidnap Josi.

"You psychotic bitch," Kidnapper says, his tone overridden with enough venom to showcase his contempt. "Did you think you would get away with it after killing my brother?"

Now things become clear. Kidnapper is Eavesdropper's avenger, there to set the score even. Josi closes her eyes and exhales, more content that it isn't the Toulour family. "I didn't know he had a brother."

"Of course, you didn't. Why would that matter when it was so easy for you to gun him down?" He balls his fist. "So easily. You shot him so easily."

There's supposed to be a moment for sorrow here as Kidnapper mourns his brother, but it completely flies over Josi's head. Quite hypocritical of him to feel this dejected when he isn't any more innocent than she is. He probably has more blood on his hands than she can count, yet he stands there in front of her and preaches about murdering for no just cause.

But Kidnapper seems to have more to the story. "Ever since you stepped foot into that estate, I knew you'd be trouble. At first, I figured you killed him just because. But you're quite the manipulative bitch. You must have had some reason. So I started digging for that reason."

Josi's anxiety spikes. How much does he currently know? What if he's already derived some answers? She swallows hard, chest already heaving. No, she cannot break her calm. It will be as good as proving her guilt. She keeps her composure in check, although barely. She has to somehow figure a way out of this predicament.

"I don't know what the boss sees in that obnoxious mouth of yours." Says Kidnapper. "But don't worry," he then grins. "I'll make sure you never speak again."

Josi contains her fear and instead, adopts a new layer of determination. She will not allow herself fall prey to a revenge plot conjured up by a side character. She knows Kidnapper is planning on taking his sweet time seeing as he hasn't gagged or duct-taped her. This can only mean they're in a secluded area, so screaming won't amount to much. But she has to come up with something else quick because there's no telling how long Kidnapper is planning on prolonging the torture.

"So you're going to torture me on your brother's behalf?"

"Look, the bitch has a working brain." He picks up the knives and begins sharpening their edges. "Idris won't be able to recognize your mutilated corpse when I throw you at his doorsteps."

The image sends chills down Josi's spine. Still, she tries her best to stall while she comes up with an escape plan. "You won't make it out alive after this."

Kidnapper stops abruptly and sends a glare towards Josi's way. He pulls a handful of her hair into his fist and brings a knife up to her right cheek. The sharp blade cuts so deeply into her skin, Josi is sure it made it to her skull. "Do you think I give a fuck? As long as you suffer, then nothing else matters." He lets her go and goes back to his tray full of tools.

The pain stings harder than any other injury Josi has ever had. It even begins pulsing and spiking her body's temperature. She tries wiping the blood off on her shoulder, but it only seems to aggravate the pain. So she lets it bleed.

Kidnapper now has a syringe in his hand. "This will make sure you feel every single thing ten times over. It's like the opposite of anesthesia."

Josi's heart rate kicks up. Her time is running out, but there's still to be any solution. She surveys the cubic room once again, trying to find something-anything-that could be of help. Until finally, she spots her gun to the side. Then she glances at Kidnapper who now has his back turned to her, fiddling with the syringe. This may be the start of the plan.

She scans the chair she's been confined to and finds that it's a wooden one. To gauge its sturdiness, she begins rocking back and forth-subtle enough not to alarm Kidnapper. Just the weight she needs it to be. But things only come full circle when she takes notice of the fact that her feet haven't been bound to the chair like her arms have. This should surely work.

While Kidnapper is busy prepping for the first part of his torture plan, Josi stands with the chair still attached and jumps as high as she can. She hits the ground with just enough impact to break the chair into pieces, granting her instant freedom from the ropes. She heads straight for her gun.

Kidnapper turns to see what has just happened, but is met by a bullet to his right thigh. He screams and hits the floor with hands clutching the wound. He can't even think straight from the pain, so he goes with the only thing he can think of. "FUCK YOU!"

Josi ignores his tantrum and confiscates his weapons. "You still have time to apologize."

Kidnapper grits his teeth. "I'd rather die."

Josi is on board with the idea. She tosses a knife over to him. "Then get to it."

There's no response. No move to pick up the knife, not even the sound of his rapidly thumping chest. Kidnapper eyes the knife next to him and remains mute. He looks around like he hadn't just offered up his life a second ago.

"What's wrong?" Josi asks. "I thought you'd rather die."

Kidnapper throws her more glares, as if it will somehow still intimidate her. He's now on the receiving end, and nothing he does will revert that fact. Josi kicks him down to the floor and squashes her foot against his face, as though he were mere rubble. And therein lies the twisted satisfaction from seeing the man lying defeated under her.

"Why don't we go over how you were planning on torturing me again?" Josi asks with a smile meant to mock Kidnapper.

He curses for the hundredth time and tries moving Josi's foot away from his face, but is unfortunately yet again met by a gunshot to his shoulder. More curses pump out, except this time they're accompanied with streams of tears.

Josi decides she's had enough of this theater act. She moves the gun up to Kidnapper's head who begins trembling. Maybe he wouldn't rather die after all.

"When you see your brother down there, tell him Idris dumped his body into a lake." Then she pulls the trigger.

Kidnapper goes lifeless, eyes still open in shock. Another possible threat gone. Whatever Kidnapper had dug up on her — if he had anything dug up at all — will never see the light of day. Because Josi has made sure of that.

She tries wiping the blood away from her jaw once again, but it proves futile. The wound is too deep. How does she explain this fiasco to Idris? She plans on keeping this kidnapping a secret, because he will only take it as more reason to limit her time outside. So for now, Josi fabricates a story to feed him.

______________________________________