DR did not wake up suddenly. It was a slow process, assisted by awful, terrible pain. He has felt his share of hangovers over the years, but this one takes the crown. He drank an outrageous amount of alcohol, so much so that he doesn't remember very much from the night, including where he is and how he got there.
He wants to open his eyes, but his head hurts so much. He prefers to keep his eyes screwed shut, afraid of where he was. He tried to move his hands to rub his eyes, then realized that he couldn't move.
He really needed to open his eyes now.
At first, his vision was unclear, a gentle fuzz blanketed his eyes. One his eyes adjusted, the first thing he realized was that the room was dark. Some light peaked out from a window curtain, but it was still dark. The second thing he realized was that he was laying on his side, with his hands tied together and chained to the bed.
Kinky, was the first thing that came to his mind. Then he thought, Shit! How the fuck did this happen?
He shimmed himself to a sitting position. The chain relaxed, which gave him more freedom to move his arms. The first thing he did was try to break free. However, he soon gave up once seeing that the chain was attached to a lock that required a key he clearly did not have.
The next thing he tried was yelling into the void, "HELLO KIDNAPPERS! I AM AWAKE! I MAY THROW UP ON THE BED AND I ALSO HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!"
He gave it a second, not expecting his kidnappers to come right away. He himself has never been kidnapped, but The Company does teach its employee what to do just in case.
A few minutes later a man with tan skin, tattoos, and a buzz cut walks into the bedroom. Sadly, this wasn't Ross DeLuca. This was most likely a member of the gang meant to scare him. Maybe the goal was to get him to stop investigating. Either way, it made DeLuca look even more suspicious. An innocent man wouldn't kidnap another innocent man.
The man grabbed a wooden chair in the room and sat down. He was leaned back, legs opens in the typical "man-spread" fashion, and his arms crossed over his chest. DR was good at recognizing body language. This man was trying to show his dominance over him.
The man across from DR spoke first, "So, I hear you are going after one of our own? DeLuca, right?"
DR was in a horrible mood, especially with a full bladder, upset stomach, and raging headache all while tied to a bed. In response, he just shrugs his shoulders and looks around the room.
"You know," the man threatened, "I don't have to do anything. I can just leave you there. You can piss, shit, and vomit all over yourself and I will be sitting here doing nothing."
Now this threaten intimated DR. No one likes to be covered in bodily fluids. He started to talk with his bladder on his mind, "I was hired to find someone's murder. DeLuca is a suspect."
The gang member across from DR nods his head. This wasn't the first time he has come across someone like this. He has heard rumors of a powerful underground company. One of its most popular services was hiring hitmen to solve the murders of influential men, then kill the murders. The gang he is a member of, the Gallo family, was familiar with them. This company has tried to pin a few murders on them. Overtime, they have learned how recognize these people. The mystery man checks most of the boxes: no IDs, fancy clothing and cars, no internet presence, and an arrogant attitude. These men were trained in everything under the sun. They were dangerous. Now one of them was going after the nephew of the leader.
Ross DeLuca was actual in the house where DR was kidnapped. There was a hidden camera on the man that was sent in. He knows that DR was after him. He needs to know more about the man, to hurt those who he loves. He will not go down for the murder of William Marshall.
The gang member in the room with DR keeps talking, "Now, who do you think he murder? What makes this one so special?"
DR laughs to himself, "Because I am getting paid and getting rid of scum like you."
The man, fed up with the pompous-ass-attitude, delivers a swift and hard punch straight to DR's face. He has become so emotionally numb that he doesn't quite feel physical pain anymore. He starts laughing again as the tatted man storms out of the room.
Nothing can fucking break me, DR thinks to himself.
After a little while, a new gang member walks into the bedroom. He says nothing as he unchains DR from the wall and drags him to a bathroom with only one very small window that he would never get through. The whole time DR teases the man, saying how kink this is and asking if he would like to join him in the bathroom. The man just shoves DR into the bathroom and locks the door from the outside.
DR does his business in the bathroom: goes to the bathroom, throws up a little bit, splashes water around his body. He knocks on the door to let the man know he was done. DR moves fast enough before opening the door to hid.
The man opens the door to see nothing. He was still in the room, so he keeps his guard up. Once fully in the room, DR attacks the man.
Well, he tried too.
After a whole month of constant smoking, drink, and very little eating, he was weak. He tried to hit the man over the head with the hard end of a plunger, but he caught it easily. The gang member, who was far buffer than the skinny DR, quickly attacks, bringing him down to the floor. He pinned his chest down with one arm, using the other to choke him out. DR try to push, scream, and kick, but it was all pointless. He grew so weak over time that he can't protect himself.
I should always have a gun on me, he thinks to himself as his oxygen intake quickly decreases and he blacks out.
Once seeing the man passed out of the bathroom floor, Dominic (the gang member that choked DR out) threw him over his shoulder to take to the boss of the house.
DeLuca was in the living room, waiting for DR to finish in the bathroom. He wasn't prepared for one of his men to bring the man, passed out, and chuck him onto the floor in front of him.
"What the fuck is this?" He screamed at Dominic. "I want him alive."
"He's not dead, sir. He tried to attack me in the bathroom, so I took care of the situation."
DeLuca took the opportunity to see his chest rising and falling.
He knew what this man will do if he decides he killed William Marshall. All of the evidence points towards him. He had motive, opportunity, and means. However, it isn't the same as the police checking him. This man will take the law into his own hands and kill him.
He isn't dying for some pathetic shit like this.
Is it even worth going after the ones he loves?
At this point, it doesn't. The company he works for chooses its men and women carefully, making sure that they have no ties to family or loved one. DeLuca doesn't even know what this man is called to The Company.
DeLuca clearly wasn't as stubborn and persistent as his uncle. However, he was clever and smart. It was the only thing that has made him stay hidden for so long.
DeLuca was also a traitor. He may have promised someone one thing, but promises mean nothing to him.
"Dominic, Davey" he yells to the only other men in the house, "I have a new plan on what to do with him. Get the car ready." He looks down at the man a realizes that he is slowly coming too. "Also bring the chloroform."
***
DR started to come through a few hours after he chloroformed. He woke up in his own car in an unfamiliar location. To his right and to his left was just desert, and for what seemed like miles. Mountains stretched across the horizon and the car was parks on the side of a dirt road.
After looking at the location on his phone, it turns out that he is in Nevada, north of Reno. He hung his head back and let out a long string a curses.
He was livid.
DR used to be at the top of his game. He would solve murders within a week.
William Marshall's is starting to drive him crazy.
There are such clear suspects, but nothing tangible to pin them down, except for the mother.
Penelope Marshall has no alibi as well as the maid in the house, but she didn't have any clear motive. She is also too close to his family. If someone from the family makes the connection of him investigating the Marshall murder, he will be in big trouble with his family and The Company. His whole cover will be blown and his enemies could go after him and his family.
Ross DeLuca has everything, except no evidence or a confession to say that he actual did it.
He feels like he is going crazy.
He decides to call his boss to tell him how he was kidnapped and now in the middle of nowhere Nevada. He feels around in his coat for his phone. Thankfully that is still there. He reaches him, but feels something else in the pocket.
It was a piece of paper...
...which wasn't there before.
He pulls out the medium size piece of line paper. Scratched across it was messy handwriting, but still legible.
Let me start of this note saying, I did not murder William Marshall, but I do know who did. I am not loyal to anyone, especially not you. But I don't want to go down like this. I don't know who murdered William Marshall, but I do know the person that paid me to take the fall for it. At first, I was going to do it and then constantly be on the run from you until you drove yourself mad.
Then I got sick of running. I had a fun time watching you suffer as you tried everything to find me, but I was tired of hiding, so I decide to kidnap you and find out more about you to hurt the ones you love.
Let's just say, I am not a patient man. So, I am deciding to save my own skin.
But this person is still family. They are important to me, so I'm not going to give up the name (I want to watch you suffer). But here is something to help you:
They worked for William Marshall
They are a part of my family
They are Portuguese
Good Luck hunting!
Ross DeLuca
After reading through the note over and over again in the hot car, he felt like he was going to pass out again. He would usually never trust a gang member such as him, but his quest to find a murder was the only thing on his mind.
He pulled out his phone to call his boss, telling him the new lead he gather. He requested for all the workers under the Marshall employment to be pulled and to send all the information of Ross DeLuca The Company has.
After hanging up, he turns on the car and speeds away to Reno.
He finally has some work to do, and hopefully not follow a red herring again.