who took him and was now driving. The man holding him squeezed Ben's arm.
'Can you breathe? Grunt or nod or something to let me know.'
Ben was too scared to do either, but the first man answered as if he had.
'He's fine. Christ, you should feel his heart beating. Hey, you were supposed to leave his shoe. He still has his shoes.'
'He was playing one of those Game Boy things. I left the game instead. That's better than a shoe.'
They drove downhill, then up. Ben worked his jaws
against the tape, but he couldn't open his mouth. The man patted Ben's leg. 'Take it easy.'
They drove for only a few minutes, then they stopped. Ben thought they would get out, but they didn't. He heard what sounded like a power saw in the distance, and then someone else climbed into the van.
The third man, one who Ben hadn't yet heard, said, 'Heez owt on heez dek.'
Ben had heard Cajun French and French accents for much of his life, and this was familiar, though somehow different. A French man speaking English, but with some other accent under the French. That made three of them; three total strangers had taken him.
The man who had taken him said, 'Roger that. I see him.'
The man who held him said, 'I can't see shit from back here. What's he doing?'
'He's moving down the slope.'
Ben realized that they were talking about Elvis. The three men were watching Elvis Cole. Elvis was looking for him.
47
The man with Ben said, 'This is bullshit, sitting back here.' The rough voice said, 'He found the kid's toy. He's running back to his house.' 'I wish I could see.' 'There's nothing to see, Eric. Stop bitching and settle down. Now we wait for the mother.'
The Abduction: Part Two
When they mentioned his mother, Ben felt an intense jolt of fear, suddenly terrified that they would hurt her. His eyes filled and his nose clogged. He tried to pull his arms free of the tape, but Eric weighed him down like a heavy steel anchor. 'Take it easy. Stop it, goddamnit.' Ben wanted to warn his morn and get the police and kick these men until they cried like babies, but he couldn't do any of that. Eric held tight. 'Jesus, stop flopping around. You're going to hurt yourself.' They waited for what seemed like hours, then the rough voice said, 'I'll make the call.' Ben heard the door open and somebody get out. After a minute, the door opened again and whoever it was got back in. The rough voice said, 'That's it.' They drove down out of the hills, then back up again on winding streets. After a while, the van braked. Ben heard the mechanical clatter of a garage door opening. They eased forward, then the engine shut off and the garage door closed behind them. Eric said, 'C'mon, kid.' 48
Eric cut the tape holding Ben's legs, then Ben was jerked by his feet. 'Ow I' 'C'mon, you can walk. I'll tell you where.' The man held tight to Ben's arm. Ben was in a garage. The hood pushed up enough for him to glimpse the van--white and dirty, with dark blue writing on the side. Eric turned him away before he could read what was written. 'We're coming to a step. Step up. C'mon, lift your goddamned feet!' Ben felt for the step with his toe. 'Shit, forget it. This is taking too long.' Eric carried Ben into the house like a baby. Being carried made Ben mad. He could have walked! He didn't have to be carried! Ben glimpsed dim rooms empty of furniture, and then Eric dropped his legs. 'I'm putting you down. Stand up.' Ben stood. 'Okay, I put a chair behind you. Siddown. I've got you. You won't fall.' Ben lowered himself until the chair took his weight. It was hard to sit with his arms taped to his sides; the tape pinched his skin. 'Okay, we're good to go. Is Mike outside?' Mike. Mike was the man who had taken him. Eric had waited in the van. Now Ben knew two of their names. The third man said, 'I want to see heez face.' Eye- wahnt-tu-see-heezfehss. His voice was eerie and soft. 'Mike won't like it.' 'Stand behind him if you are afraid.' Stand-beehighndheem. 49
The voice was only inches away.
'Christ. Whatever.'
Ben didn't know where he was or what they were doing, but he was suddenly scared again, just like when they talked about his mother. Ben had not yet seen any of the three men, but he knew that he was about to, and the thought of seeing them scared him. He didn't want to see them. He didn't want to see any of this.
The hood was pulled off from behind.
An enormously tall man stood in front of him, staring down at Ben without expression. The man was so tall that his head seemed to brush the ceiling, and so black that his skin drank the room's dim light and glowed like gold. A row of round purple scars the size of pencil erasers lined the man's forehead above his eyebrows. Three more scars followed the line of his cheeks below each eye, each scar a hard knob like omething had been pushed under the skin. The scars terrified Ben; they looked creepy and obscene. Ben tried to twist away, but Eric held tight.
Eric said, 'He's an African, kid. He won't eat ya until he cooks you.'
The African carefully peeled the tape from Ben's mouth. Ben was so afraid that he trembled. It was dark outside; full-on night.
'I want to go home.'
Eric made a soft laugh like he thought that was funny. Eric had short red hair and milky skin. A gap showed between his front teeth like an open gate.
Ben was in an empty living room with a white stone fireplace at one end and sheets hung over the windows. A door opened behind them, and the African stepped away. Eric spoke fast as a third man came into the room.
'Mazi has the African thing goin'. I told him not to.'
Mike slapped his palm into Mazi's chest so fast that the African was falling back even before Ben realized that Mike had hit him. Mazi was tall and big, but Mike looked stronger, with thick wrists and gnarled fingers and a black T-shirt that was tight across his chest and biceps. He looked like G.I. Joe. Mazi caught himself to stay on his feet, but he didn't hit back. Mazi said, 'Ewe ahr dee bawss.' 'Roger-fucking-that.' Mike pushed the African farther away,
