“Alright, alright, fine, you’ve got me,” Ari shouted defeated. The woman put a gun in his face and shoved him in the trunk of her vehicle beside Edward. This was the second time this week he and Edward had been abducted together. The first time they had been Displacered right off their bikes during a race. One second they were fighting for 1st place on their grav-cycles, the next they were sprawled on the floor hog-tied and being dragged away by a group of 3 bounty hunters.
"Watch this, it'll be good." Edward said cooly as he was being carried by over the should of a large burly man.
"Shut your mouth!", the bounty hunter yelled at his quarry just a moment before he was swept off his feet.
A skinny green haired person in a black body glove had come seemingly out of nowhere and knocked the would-be kidnapper to the ground. The two other bounties hunters that had been dragging Ari let him go and turned their attention to this new threat.
Ari did what he knew he had to, he writhed and tugged at his hastily tied bonds to free himself, and a few seconds later while everyone else was still fighting amongst themselves Ari got to his feet and bolted, leaving his attacker, his rescuer and Edward behind without a second thought.
Ari had run until he made his way back to the street, where Grant had coincidentally been coordinating a rescue operation.
"BOSS! Oh thank sweet baby Christ! Are you ok?" Grant looked more than a little relieved to see him.
Ari stumbled and fell to his knees next to Grant. A crowd started to gather at the commotion. "Get me out of here!" Ari barked at his bodyguard.
He'd been rushed from the scene to an apartment he was told was a safe house. Grant had spent the next day on the phone handling things Ari didn't have the presence of mind to think about.
Finally, after about 24 hours Ari had calmed down enough to tell himself it would be best if he just got some sleep. It turned out that wasn't a great plan either.
When he heard the rifle fire he just ran. It didn't help much.
Now he was stuffed in a trunk. Edward pressed up uncomfortably in the close quarters. Ari banged on the trunk for a few moments hoping for a miracle but soon stopped. Eventually the car stopped, Ari waiting for the woman that kidnapped him to come for him. After what seemed like an eternity Edward broke the silence.
"You've had a shitty week haven't you Ari?"
Ari's stomach clenched. Why did Edward seem to damn calm. Just like when they were kidnapped a few days ago. Could Edward be involved in this somehow?
"Yah, I've had a shitty week Ed. What the fuck do you want?"
Ari felt Edward reach around his body in the dark space. As he did the trunk popped open to reveal the smoggy night sky and Edward's hand pulling on the emergency release bar that all vehicles had in their trunks.
"Going to bolt again this time? I wouldn't blame you."
Ari pushed Edward's arm away from him and climbed out of the trunk. They were in an area he didn't recognize. Running it seemed, wasn't the smartest idea. He sparred a look at the driver who had face planted into the steering wheel. Ari couldn't tell if she was dead or alive.
Edward climbed out of the trunk after him.
"Well Ari, what's it going to be?"
"The fuck do you mean man? What's your deal? Are you doing this? What do you want from me?", the empty streets echoed Ari's frustration but no one else seemed to be around to hear them.
"Oh, I no more responsible for this than you are Ari. If I'm being honest I am kind of enjoying it all now. So what's it gonna be? Seems like the car is still running. We can probably get back to town before the bars close. We could have a few drinks, reminisce about old times. What do you say?", Edward might have been high, or just nuts. Ari couldn't read him at all. It seemed like he was almost excited. Ari looked back at the driver.
"Is she dead?", he asked meekly.
"Dunno", Edward responded, "let's check!", he walked around to the front of the vehicle and opened the door. "JANE!" he screamed at the woman. Edward apparently knew her. At the sounds of her name Jane moved ever so slightly before slumping back over.
Edward reached into the driver side and pulled out what Ari assumed their abductor's phone. He grabbed the unconscious woman's hand and used the finger scanner to unlock it. He then dialed a short number and calmly as ever placed it to his ear.
"Hi, I need an ambulance... Yah, I think this lady's having a heart attack..."
"Why are you helping her!", Ari lost it, "she fucking kidnapped us at gun point like 5 fucking minutes ago!"
Edward ended the call. "She's not so bad Ari, she's just in a tough spot. We've both been there, you can do some scummy things when its life or death. I don't need to remind you do I?"
Edward casually bringing up their shared past was more than Ari could handle right now, "Fuck you man", Ari turned around and started walking, still in his boxers.
"Let me call us a cab Ari, it's a long walk.", Edward called after him.
Ari didn't even look back. He just started to run back in the direction he assumed was home.
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