the necessity of moving and glanced at the rundown apartment building that was to be their temporary home. How it hadn't yet been condemned by the city was anyones guess, but a few phone calls and the exchange of cash had made it available. He surveyed the neighborhood, batting away a tattered newspaper that blew towards his face. The area looked like a war zone. Half the windows were missing from the buildings and grass was a luxury the street couldn't afford. Front stoops crumbled onto muddy patches of bare ground littered with broken bottles, pop cans, and paper. The few trees and bushes were decorated with twisted plastic shopping bags that snapped in the stiff wind.
At least it was only temporary. His followers had balked, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about nosy neighbors. In this area, nobody paid any attention to what happened to others. It was just what Adrian needed right now.
How the police had found them at the warehouse so quickly still mystified him. The most dangerous part, the actual abduction, had gone without a hitch. Once at the warehouse, they should have had all the night to complete the ceremony. Taylor shouldn't have been reported missing until morning, but when the police scanner started buzzing with activity at Taylor's loft, Adrian had set lookouts with instructions to report back any suspicious vehicles. It was the only thing that saved them.
Taylor had been in bad shape when they'd left, and Adrian had held out hope he would die from his wounds, but it wasn't to be. He shrugged it off, it wasn't worth second guessing his restraint when he'd stabbed the man. At the time, it had added necessary drama. He hadn't missed the morbid fascination of many in the guild, and had overheard several talking about that moment.
Besides, he could never let his doubts show in front of his followers. Instead, he took credit for the media frenzy. He had put the Guild of the Rose on the radar. Every news outlet in the country had run a story on them. Adrian chuckled, loving the comparisons to Jim Baker's cult. What he wouldn't give to have the number of followers Baker had, but as usual, the press had stretched and exaggerated the truth. While the attention increased the risk, it also catapulted Kern to the front pages of the news and he basked in the notoriety.
As the last of the boxes were carted into the building, Adrian followed his members inside. He strode into the lobby of the apartment complex. He'd instructed everything to be unloaded there first so that it could later be distributed among the four apartments in the building.
'Everyone, please find a place to sit.'
Some of the women glanced at the floor with their noses wrinkled and remarked about sitting on mouse droppings and cockroaches. Adrian narrowed his eyes. 'Sit!'
Startled, all of the members sat without another word of protest. He pinned each one with a look until they squirmed and glanced away. 'I will not hear another word about the condition of this building. Even as you all are bitching about bugs and rodents, I am making plans. Plans like you have never imagined. The Guild of the Rose will become known throughout the world.'
He surveyed them, relishing how their shock turned to curiosity as he allowed the tension to build.
'We did not fail with Mark Taylor. Instead, he is even more famous than he was before, and that was our doing. We have that kind of power. When we bring him down for the final time, our power will be immeasurable. People will flock to our guild hoping to become members.' He pointed at them. 'As senior members, you will all be bishops when that happens. My inner circle. Think of the power you will have.'
He swept an arm out, and said, 'All of this is but a minor inconvenience, a small price to pay. Soon, we will have a complex to rival any on earth. It will have fountains and statues. There will be private apartments for all of you, and all of your needs will be taken care of. You will want for nothing.'
Their eyes lit up and he let it sink in for a few moments. 'These things take time. For now, we sit tight while I lay some groundwork. I'll have to leave the country for a short time to make some arrangements. In the meantime, Judy Medea will be in charge. She's proven herself worthy. You will obey her as you would me.'
Judy's head came up in surprise as she gave a tentative smile. He still wasn't sure of her loyalty, but he was positive of her fear. She would do whatever he told her to do.
Mark awoke and his eyes went to the chair beside the bed. It was empty and he felt a pang of disappointment. He hadn’t been very pleasant to Lily and it was no wonder she had left. He looked at the big clock on the wall, surprised to see that it was late afternoon.
Brenda entered carrying a dinner tray. “How about some real food? Feel up to it?” She set the tray on his table and removed the lid from the plate. “You were sleeping so I ordered for you. I figured a hamburger would be a safe bet. Is that okay?”
Mark nodded. “Sure. That looks good.”
A nurse appeared at the door and spoke to Brenda about a patient in another room. “Okay, Mark. I have to go, but if you need anything, put on your light.”
“Thanks. I should be fine.” Mark sat up on the edge of the bed and pulled the table closer, scanning the tray for ketchup packets. He spotted several next to the ever-present green Jell-O and reached for one. Realizing he couldn’t open it with his hands, he put the edge between his teeth and pulled. The packet ripped open but flew out of his hand and slid across the floor towards the door. “Dammit!”
“Lose something, Mark?”
He looked up from the smear of red on the floor to see Jessie step into the room and bend to pick up the errant packet.
“Whoa!” Jim sidestepped to avoid running into her backside. “Maybe you shouldn’t do that, Jessica.” A wide grin split his face.
Jessie straightened and raised an eyebrow at Jim. Mark almost felt sorry for the other man being on the receiving end of the look. Jim's grin dissolved. Jessie tossed the packet in the garbage can then approached the bed, her expression softening.
“How are you feeling?”
Mark put the lid back on his dinner. “Okay.” He looked between the two. Was this a social call or did they have news for him? What little appetite he’d had dwindled to nothing.
“You’re looking a lot better than you did the last time we saw you.” Jim leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets as he appraised Mark.
Mark couldn’t remember them visiting, but maybe he’d been out of it when they had come by. “I was probably pretty sedated then. I don’t remember much about the first few days I was here.” He reached for his juice. His appetite was gone but his mouth was dry as a sandbox.
Jessie looked confused and glanced at Jim then back to Mark. 'I think Jim meant at the warehouse.”
Jim nodded, his expression grim. “Yeah, Taylor, that was pretty…bizarre.”
The bottom dropped out of Mark’s belly and his ears began to buzz. In some part of his mind, he was aware that someone had rescued him but he hadn’t thought that part through yet. They had been there? Jim and Jessie had seen him like that? He couldn’t look at them as he imagined how he must have appeared to them. He swallowed bile. He’d been hanging there in the warehouse like a side of beef.
For the second time that day, he felt like vomiting. It was bad enough knowing that others knew of his humiliation, but to have someone he knew witness it firsthand was like a kick to the gut. Mark closed his eyes and leaned his head on his hand, his elbow propped on the table. He wished Kern would have just finished him off. It would have been a lot more merciful than letting him die of humiliation.
“Damn, Taylor! What’s wrong?” Jim was beside him, his hand on Mark’s right shoulder. “You just looked like someone drained what little color you had right out of you.”
Jim moved the table out of the way and tried to urge Mark back in the bed. “Lie down before you pass out.”
Jessie pushed the nurse call light and when it was answered, barked out, “We need some help in here!”
Mark, cradled his head in his hand, his eyes shut, while he mustered the last shred of dignity he had left. “Get out. Just leave me alone.”
