The screen flickered as the tape kicked on in the VCR. The screen remained blank for a moment before a lens cap is removed and the image focuses. A filtered voice came over the speaker in a deep and threatening tone.
"You may have noticed one of your group is now missing. If you don't know which once, it's clear this won't be as difficult of a job as we had intended. Yes, I said we. Totally more than just me in this operation." The voice changes slightly as the man speaking makes his voice higher pitch. "We will do horrible things to your friend if you do not listen to us now and obey our demands."
The lower voice returns, "Yes, horrible things. Let us show you our power. Behold, Jack Swanson!" The camera zooms to a man strapped to a lounge chair with the words Bellagio on it. Behold, your friend is in grave peril...wait." The camera zooms back to the darkness and the voices argue.
"I told you to put a towel over the chair!" The lower voice scolds.
"Oh, please, that camcorder is so old, the resolution can't even make out the word Bellagi..." The higher pitch voice cuts off for a moment. "Bell Lodge and Camping Resort. Yes, I accidentally just said that it was Bell Lodge and Camping resort. But which Bell Lodge you may never know!"
The lower voice grumbles. "Just put the damn towel down."
The camera pans quickly to Jack again as the person recording has walked past accidentally turning the camera with a full view of Jack and Chaz Parson walking towards him. "Lean up." The lower voice says to the blindfolded Jack.
"Yeah, lean forward or we'll do terrible things and your friends will watch." The high pitch voice coming from Chaz says to Jack after Chaz jumps to his other side first.
Jack leans forward as Chaz places a towel that obviously has Bellagio written on it in larger letters than the chair. Turning back to the camera, Chaz freezes realizing he is now within full view of the camera.
"OH...Oh my God! I've escaped my binding ties! I will over power you...both of you and get away." The camera watches as Chaz runs towards the camera and tips it to the ground. The voices can be heard, one at a time, yelling that they did not intend to hurt him before a bang like a crushed soda can is heard.
Chaz is heard groaning in pain. "I'm..dieing. And dead..." A loud breath is heard in the camera and the lens is turned to show a pair of legs as if to imply Chaz is now dead. The camera obviously is being held by the legs' owner.
"That is what happens when you mess with us. This is what you get...when you meeeess with us!" The lower voice starts, the higher voice takes over midway signing the second part.
"Is that Radiohead?" Jack is struggling to shake down the blindfold, but it is too tight.
"No. Shut up! You try holding a kidnapping and managing a decent bad guy dialogue, ass!" The higher voice has taken over now and sounds much closer to Chaz's real voice. "Now your fiends shall feel our wrath. We demand you let Chaz Parson stay with you in the suite that we witnessed the black jack pit boss comp you or..." The camera turns again and a high pitched scraping sound is heard.
When the camera is turned back, a large oscillating fan is seen in front of Jack. "Take these orders and obey or I...we. r we shall turn this fan on your friend Jack who we know has acute sinus problems and will suffer stuffiness and runniness without relief. CHOOSE!" The lower voice comes back in to finish out the threat.
"How did you know I had sinus problems?" Jack turns his head listening more closely to the tone and familiarity of the voice now that Chaz's name has been brought up.
"We know all!" Silence takes over the tape as Jack sits quietly placing the sounds.
"Chaz, you idiot! Untie me or I will brain you into next week and make you bet on the Falcons on Sunday!" Jack's voice turns far more frightening than any faceless voice before him.
"No." Chaz's voice is clearly heard with no effort to disguise it. He walks into the camera frame and flips on the fan. The wind speed picks up and Jack's hair is visibly tossed about as he begins to sniff.
"I will snot on your dead corpse if you do not let me out right now!" Jack's rage is picking up. He feels he has control of the situation. His lines are directly aimed at Chaz as he shakes his head further and the blindfold slips from one eye.
"Good luck with that, pal. I'd hate to know what you'd do to my live corpse. See you at breakfast tomorrow." The camera turns away and returns to static. Chaz sits beaming on the witness stand as the defense attorney walks to the witness stand.
"So that is when the defendant rolled off the chair and kicked the fan to the floor?" Peter Jenson straightened his tie attempting to look studious in his first year of law school. He needed to portray himself as dashing and compose or he would be ripped to shreds by the plaintiff.
"Yes. I mean, I assume so. I wasn't there. Those guys sounded menacing. I see Jack got out alright though." Chaz beamed to the defense's table where Jack sat with his arm in a sling.
"Alright? Do you call having a 200 lb circulating fan designed for the pools at the Bellagio tipping on him as he rolled away and breaking his arm alright? He's suing you for damages in the ball park of $3000 for his medical bills and and additional $5000 for the extra nights he had to stay in Vegas and miss work nearly costing him his job. What do you have to say to that?"
"Jealous." Chaz's only word stood in the courtroom untouched for a moment until the lawyer took the bait.
"'Jealous? What are you talking about?" His composure is faltering, but he does not feel it shows.
"Yes. He's just jealous that his payback turned on him and Joey Harrington was on fire that Sunday I made roughly $10,000 on that bet. Thanks, sucker."
Jack leaped to his feet, but the judge banged his gavel quickly and returned order to the room. "This is an obvious case of friends doing stupid things to each other that eventually gets someone hurt. I'm dismissing this case and feel these two men will work things out on their own. Beatings and all. Next case!"
Chaz leaned towards the judge and whispered something in his ear sending the judge into a fit of eye rolling. "What did he say!" Jack was standing again and obviously fuming.
"He asked what I thought of the cinematography. Feel free to beat the hell out of him right on the stand. I'm taking a ten minute recess and a nap."
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I apologize for this posting. I'm not thrilled with the story that went nowhere and had no point. I will only explain that I was sick Friday evening when I wrote that and exhausted from a late night of packing for our Greece trip. I have set up scheduled postings for the Essense storyline for this week stating Tuesday.
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