Part 2: The Road

The smooth and relaxing rhythm of the road seemed to be at complete conflict with the tension that continued to build within the car. Joe stared at the road, trying not to make too much eye contact with the already distressed man that had just kidnapped him. Joe was in a constant internal debate on what to do next. Out of the corner of his eye, he kept looking at the rather large handgun sitting in the man’s lap, the darkness of the barrel pointing his direction. Joe felt a cold shiver down his spine. Unable to wait any longer, he thought it would be best to try and make himself more human to the man. Maybe if he could slightly endear himself, the man would let his guard down and he would have a shot at getting control of the gun.

“I’m Joe.”

The man jumped at the sudden break in silence. He restlessly caressed the gun with this thumb and nervously stared at Joe then back at the road.

“Scott.”

Joe forced a friendly smile and rubbed his sweaty palms together and then placed them back between his legs. That January morning was one of the coldest on record. While Joe shivered, he remained as still as possible. He wouldn’t dare reach towards the temperature controls for fear of Scott coming unhinged.

“Scott, you can have my car. I don’t care. You can drop me anywhere. ” Joe tried to keep a “matter of fact” tone, not pleading but straightforward. It wasn’t like Joe to ever plead with anyone, not even for his life. If he was going out, it was on his own terms. His words seemed to hang in the air for years before Scott finally answered.

“I can’t do that.” Scott wiped the beading sweat from his brow with the gun in his hand.

About every two or three seconds, he would nervously peer into the rearview mirror then back to the road. Joe made a mental note of this pattern that had been rather consistent the last few hours. Joe again looked down at the gun, playing different scenarios in his mind of how and when to grab it.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” Scott turned and made complete eye contact with Joe for the first time in hours. While he still looked panicked, the truth in his eyes put Joe more at ease.

“Where are we going?” Joe had never been out this far west. The familiar street names had stopped about two hours ago.
 
 Scott lowered his brow and tightened his grip on the steering wheel “I need to show you something.”