The Next Anniversary

Alisha leaned forward and started searching through her bag in front of her feet. She grabbed out a small bag then sat back out of sight. Tyrone removed his hand from my shirt and placed his arm across my chest holding me tight. Ahmed grabbed my arm, lifting my sleeve exposing my bare arm. He grabbed tightly around my bicep, interrupting the blood flow thus making my veins stand up. I struggled but they were holding me too tightly, Alisha sat forward again, this time she was holding a syringe. I redoubled my efforts to break free without success, the needle hovered over the soft flesh inside my elbow. Alisha pushed at a couple of veins then after she had decided on one she inserted the needle. Blood rushed into the syringe mixing with the drug before Alisha pressed the plunger home. A buzz moved up my spine and exploded into my head, all my problems melted as an incredible high took over. My vision blurred and the car seemed to spin, bile rose in my throat. I dropped my head and vomited into a bag that Ahmed was now holding open in my lap. The last thing I heard was Tyrone's voice.

" That's it Jenny, you're flying now."

* * * * * *

Dave:

What a fucking time to piss off to Sydney, I thought as I sped into town to get my daughter from school. The principle had called just as the guy I had organized to help me with the spraying showed up.

"Lilly isn't well and seems to be having a little trouble breathing. It might be best if you come in and get her. I tried your wife but she is not answering the phone."

Of course, she wasn't fucking home! She was off to help the hopeless Sue! For fuck sake if you are going to have kids surely you can organize yourself a bit better than her.

"Ahh Mrs. Blake I'm just in the middle of something. Ummm could you just keep an eye on her for a bit and I'll be in as quick as I can."

"Mr. Stokes! It's school policy that sick children cannot stay at school. It's an OH & S issue." She barked, Mrs. Blake was not used to being talked back too.

"Alright, umm, well it will take me twenty minutes to get there."

"I will see you in twenty minutes then." she said then she had disconnected.

I had pointed my farm hand in the direction of the field to be sprayed then jumped in my truck. Lilly hadn't been able to shake the flu this winter. As well she got a touch of asthma sometimes so I had bought in her puffers. The only trouble was there were two and they were to be used at different times. One was a preventer to be used morning and night, while the other was for acute symptoms to be used when needed. I tried to get Jenny on the phone all the way in with no success so I detoured via the chemist for advice.At the school I picked up Lilly under Mrs. Blake's stern gaze.

"I think it might be best if Lilly has a couple of days at home." she said as I closed the passenger door after strapping Lilly in.

"Yeah, sure." I muttered, jumping in my truck and heading for home.

I went straight to the farm, Lilly had perked up with a cuddle and hit from her puffer so I left her in the truck while I organized the next job for the sprayer. Once I had done that I went home to get some of Lilly's things so I could drop her at my mothers. I tried Jenny again but still couldn't get her so in frustration I went through her address book and rang Sue's home number.

"Ello?" a woman answered in foreign accent, southern European or maybe South American.

"Is this Sue Elk's number?" I said, thinking I had miss-dialed.

"Mrs Sue not here, she gone," was the heavily accented reply.

"Is Jenny there?"

"Mrs. Sue not here she at work!" I could see that this was going nowhere.

"Can I get Sue's mobile number?" I said as slowly and clearly as possible.

"Si," There was a long break and I almost hung up then she came back on and gave me the number. I dialed the number.

"Hi Jenny, long time no see!"

"It's not Jenny, its Dave."

What did she mean long time, no see?

"Oh sorry Dave, it's just Jenny's name came up on my mobile."

"No worries, I was just talking to some crazy Colombian lady at your house."

"That's Magda, she's my nanny. She's really good except for the language issues. Not as good as Jenny but I couldn't keep dragging her to Sydney whenever I had a crisis."

What the fuck?

"How long have you had her?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light.

"Umm it must be about four months now. I felt so guilty when I dragged Jenny down here for a second time."

Second time? Jenny had been to Sydney about six times more times since her second visit four months ago.

"So you haven't seen her then?" I asked bewildered.

"You haven't lost her have you?" Sue asked laughing.

"Well errr actually she told me yesterday she was going to Sydney to help you!"

The laughter died, there was a long pause then Sue spoke again.

"You're serious aren't you?" she asked quietly.

"Yes and I'm also curious about the six times she has supposed to be in Sydney! At your house! Looking after your child! In the last four months!"

"Ohhh ummm look Dave I don't know what to tell you. Ummm I haven't seen Jenny for the last four months. I've only talked to her twice and she hasn't mentioned coming to Sydney!"

I could feel my world crumbling.

"Dave, Dave? You still there?"

"Yes, sorry to have troubled you."

"I don't know what to say Dave, umm I don't know anything."

"It appears neither do I!" I hung up.

Lilly came in with her teddy bear and favorite book.

"Are we going to Nan's soon?" She enquired, tears filled my eyes as I looked at my child's face.

"Soon honey, dad just needs a couple minutes alone."

Lilly's face show her uncertainty, she had never seen me cry before.

"Why are you crying Daddy?" Tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"I just kicked my toe, that's all. You go and get some more books, you know how Nan likes to read you stories." Her face brightened again at the mention of my mother and she bolted out of the room.

I sat and contemplated what to do, what the hell had Jenny been up to? How would I find out? My thoughts were going around in circles but they always came back to one person, Lisa. Jenny's first visit to look after Sue's kid had led to me and Lisa hooking up. At that time we had sworn to each other that it was a one off but the third time Jenny went away Lisa had called me to come over and help her with her garden.

I had taken the kids over with me and mowed the lawn, trimmed some shrubs and done some weeding. It was a long day and she had invited me to stay for dinner. After dinner the kids went into the lounge room to watch a movie while I helped Lisa cleaning up in the kitchen. It wasn't planned, at least not by me but we were soon fucking like rabbits. I ended up staying the night with Lisa, setting the alarm early so I could slip into bed in the spare room with the kids before they woke.

Since then we had got together a lot, usually when Jenny went away. A couple of times I had to get a machinery part or some spray in the town Lisa lived in so I would call and meet her for more sex. Now I was wondering if Lisa was part of this, was it just a diversion to keep me off Jenny's back? Recently I couldn't wait for her to take off so I could have another night with Lisa. There was one way to find out, so I dialed Lisa's number.

"Hello there farm boy, I've been waiting for your call!"

"So you know Jenny's gone to Sydney early?"

"Well yes, I'm covering for her at a fundraiser tomorrow. Are you going to be home in the afternoon maybe we could have a quickie before your kid's school bus gets there?"

Normally I would have been getting aroused just talking about getting together but not today.

"Did she tell you where she was going?" I asked innocently.

"Same place as always, why do you ask?" Lisa was putting up her defenses.

"Well, I spoke to Sue and she isn't there, in fact hasn't even there for at last four months!"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Lisa! What the fuck has been going on!"

"I don't know Dave." her reply wasn't very convincing.

"Don't lie to me Lisa, surely you owe me the truth."

"Ummm, there's no good way to put this. She has been seeing James." she said her voice no more than a whisper.

"James? ... James! The black bastard that fucked her in Canberra?" I exploded, " But he is from America!"

"Apparently he had to move out to Australia for work."

"How long has this been going on? How long have you known?"

"I'm not sure."

"Lisa!"

"Alright, she got together with him the first time she went to Sydney."

"So you fucking me was just a diversion!"

"No! No I didn't know until she got home that anything had happened."

"You didn't think to tell me?"

"Jenny told me in confidence!"

"What are you a fucking priest! So the time you spent with me meant nothing?"

"Don't swear at me! You don't seem too concerned about Jenny when you have got your cock in me! If you must know I told her she had to work her shit out the last time I spoke."

It was my turn to be quiet, my double standards were obvious when Lisa pointed them out.

"Why did you ring Sue?" Lisa enquired quietly.

"Lilly was sick and I had to pick her up from school. I had been trying Jenny's mobile and I couldn't get on to her. I rang Sue's home and got her new Columbian nanny."

"I've been trying to ring her too, I can't remember what time she said for the stall."

We were both quiet, my initial wave of anger had subsided. I just felt gutted.

"I have James number if you want? I ...er..... got it when Jenny rang on his phone once."

I didn't reply then Lisa continued.

"It's not like Jenny to not answer her phone or send a text to say she is ok. I'm a bit worried."

"I don't know what I want to do, umm I going to take Lilly to my mums. Can you come over? I need to think this through before I ring that cunt!"

"Ok but don't do anything silly. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Lisa disconnected and I went zombie-like to take Lilly to my mothers. I had printed out a farm map with the paddocks to be treated shaded which I gave to the spray contractor, then I headed back home.

Back at home I tried to nut out how to play this. Ringing James was going to take me to places I didn't want to go. Would he deny it? Would he be arrogant and brag about his exploits with my wife? Perhaps most troubling of all, had they run away together? Could she not face me and tell me it was over? Could she just walk out on the kids?

I tried her phone a couple more times but got her voice mail message. Lisa arrived about forty minutes after our phone call. She entered the kitchen where I was sitting with an uncertain look on her face. I'm glad that she didn't come around to kiss me, I was still unsure of her involvement. She simply sat opposite me at the table and handed me her phone. A number was highlighted in her received calls list.

"I don't know for sure that it is his." Lisa said as she handed it over. "Also it might not do much good, Jenny got a text from one of James friends to say he was in an accident and was in intensive care."

"Well I guess I'll find out," I punched the number into my home phone. It rang.

"Who's a naughty girl, ringing on her home phone!" James's deep voice boomed out of the phone which was on loudspeaker.

"Wrong person dickhead!" I spat.

"Who is this?" James queried.

"The husband of the bitch you've been fucking! Can you put the slut on the phone!"

"Dave?" The surprise was obvious in his voice.

"Give the man a prize! You don't sound too sick to me, now put my wife on the phone."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me, I know she's been going to see you in Sydney!" I was starting to get angry. There was a long pause before he replied.

"I'm not denying that, but she is not with me, I'm in America and have been for four days. What did you mean about me being sick?"

Now it was my turn to be surprised. Lisa intervened.

"Jenny told me you had been in an accident and were in intensive care."

"Who's this?"

"I'm Lisa, Jenny's friend."

"Not much of a friend!" He must have realized that Lisa had ratted them out.

"I'm worried about her, and so should you be. She's not answering her phone and if you aren't in Sydney who would want to lure her there." Lisa countered

"When did did she leave?"

"This morning."

"Little bit early to start worrying yet isn't it?"

I took over again, "Jenny's mobile is like an extra hand attached to her wrist. It's always there! She charged it last night so it should still be working. Aren't you the least bit curious who set this up?"

"I'll make some calls and get back to you. What's your mobile number?"

"I'll send you a text so it's on your phone. When you find her, tell the slut to give me a ring so I can get an address to send her shit too!"

"Dave, we never meant for this to happen."

"Tell someone who cares!" I disconnected then threw the cordless phone against the wall smashing it to pieces.

* * * * * *

James:

Dave's phone call was very disturbing, I didn't want to appear as alarmed as I was until I was sure what I was dealing with. My flight back to Sydney was leaving in 30 minutes so I didn't have much time. Hopefully an old friend back there could get me the information I needed while I was in the air. Scrolling through my contacts I found Benito's number and pressed call.

Benito was as close as Sydney got to a godfather, when we had first started BCL Escorts back in 2000 he had been the guy we had to pay protection too. My first partner and I had always got on well with him and were frequent visitors to his house. He was getting old now, must be pushing eighty, but he still had a firm grip on his family business. When Tyrone and Ahmed had approached me to buy me out, I went to see him to tell him the Jokers were taking over the protection. He had been good about it, wishing me well in the future. He didn't want any friction with the bikers so he let the protection go.

"I'm too old for a turf war, they put up the money, they can do the job."

I was hoping that he could do me a favour and see if his network had heard anything about Jenny. I had a bad feeling Tyrone or Ahmed or both were mixed up in this.

His grandson answered the phone but was reluctant to put me through, I asked to speak with his dad and once I spoke to Tony he gave the ok. It seems old Benito had got married again, his wife of fifty years had died three years ago. Since then he had taken to the single life with the gusto of a man half his age, and was now married to a thirty nine year old Swede. She was a girl who had worked for me for a time and I had introduced him too.

"Hello Benito, sorry to interrupt your honeymoon."

"No problem Jimmie," he always called me that. "When you get to my age you need plenty of rest time between strenuous exercise." He laughed at his joke, "Tony tells me you have a problem and you need some information?"

"Yes, a friend of mine has gone missing."

"This must be an important friend to be ringing me Jimmie!"

"She is someone who I have grown very close to Benito." My voice caught in my throat, that was only the second time I had admitted that to another person.

"Ahh! A woman Jimmie, she must be special to hook you old friend."

"Very special!"

"And why haven't you bought her to see your oldest friend? Heh."

"I couldn't have handled the competition from a man such as yourself." A little flattery always helps when you're asking for a favor.

Benito chuckled, "Ok I help you because I like you and you found me Elka. Do you know where we should start our investigation."

"I think Tyrone and Ahmed may be involved."

"I see, how far do you want us to take this Jimmie?"

"Just find out if they have her, I'll be home in 16 hours and I'll take it from there."

"How persuasive do you want us to be?"

"Err.. Just watch, I don't want you to get on the wrong side of the Jokers."

"Fuck the Jokers, they are starting to get too big for their boots! We are discussing with some others how to cut them down to size." The menace in his voice made me glad I was on his good side.

"Just get the info and I'll talk to you when I land."

"Consider it done my friend, on one condition."

"Name it?" I replied with some apprehension.

"I get to meet this special girl who has melted your heart!"

"You can be best man at the wedding if she says yes!" My trip to the US had been to pick up my grandmother's engagement ring that had been bequeathed to me.

"Surely a man like yourself couldn't have any doubts?"

"It's complicated Benito, there are other parties involved."

"Ahh, Well my friend good luck, I shall talk to you soon heh. I'll put you back onto Tony, you give him the details you know and we will see what we can find out."

I said thanks but he had already gone, I gave the details to Tony and sent him through a picture of Jenny. Then I sent Dave a text saying I had someone doing the legwork and I would let him know the result when I landed.

The flight was nerve racking, my thoughts constantly returning to Jenny, what was she going through? If Tyrone or Ahmed had done this, why? One thing I was certain about, I was glad I was getting to Sydney one day earlier than planned. If Jenny had found herself in trouble, what would have been waiting for me?

* * * * * *

Tyrone

I was surprised how smoothly things had gone, I had got Jenny out of the airport avoiding most of the security cameras. Ahmed's hand was still swollen but I don't think anything was broken. We had gotten the drugged Jenny up to my place without being seen and she was now in my spare bedroom. The full drug stupor had worn off by then so she was able to stand while we undressed her. Heroin is an amazing drug, it takes away the users fears and anxiety making them feel safe and comfortable even in the most stressful situations. I guess that's why it's used by so many in the sex industry.

As Alisha and I had undressed Jenny she had become aroused, her nipples hardening and when I removed her panties they were damp. I couldn't help myself, here was James's slut nude before me. She had always looked down her nose at me. I stripped and climbed onto the bitch, she was more than ready as I plunged in to the hilt. Even drugged she was a good fuck. No wonder Stephan had raved about her.

Once I'd finished I left Alisha to clean her up, it was her job to stay with her and keep an eye on her. She would tell us when she was coming out of the drug's effects and we would shoot her up again. Not much, just enough to keep her calm and compliant, I would probably fuck her a few more times. It helped to get them hooked on the sex and drugs together.

Out in the kitchen Ahmed had his hand in ice, it never ceased to amaze me that these big muscle bound types were such wimps.

"How's the hand?" I asked smirking.

"It fucking hurts you know!" He held it up but I didn't think it look any different.

"Have your mates got James' reception committee organized?"

"Yep, Jake's brother-in-law has a tow truck. He towed the car next to James away in the long term parking at the airport. There is a big van there now and when James goes to get into his car, the big sliding door will open and he will be dragged into the van."

"Then what?"

"Let's just say he will be evenly distributed throughout Sydney's landfill sites! Then we chop his car, clean out his apartment, it will be like he vanished into thin air."

"Good, I don't want any of this going public. You sure you gave them the right flight and time?"

"Yes, I faxed them a copy of his travel itinerary we swiped from his apartment.

I was going through Jenny's handbag, I grabbed her wallet and when I opened it I let out a low whistle.