CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The lovely summer weather continued in Seattle after they had returned
home. They were both excited about the prospect of living together
and they decided that Monica should start moving some of her things
into the house. Removing both rear seats from his minivan converted
it into a passable moving van. Over a period of days, they used it to
transport various items of furniture that would no longer be needed in
her apartment.
As the end of her downtown job came closer, they began to make plans
"Since Friday is my last day, I'll have to clean out my office,"
Monica said. "Do you think you could come down after work and help me
with some boxes and stuff? There are a couple of big potted plants
that won't fit in my car."
She asked him to meet her at her car at 7 PM. He could help her carry
things down in the elevator and his larger vehicle would easily carry
anything that wouldn't fit in her Miata. After loading up, they would
drive both cars back to her Capitol Hill neighborhood, where a trendy
new restaurant had recently opened. It was reputed to have the best
exotic Asian food in the city. They made reservations for 8:30.
They both grew more excited as they counted down the days. Having a
great new job and living in a wonderful house with her dominant
soulmate sounded like heaven to Monica. Her only worry was that
something would happen to end what seemed like a wonderful dream.
Cole thought that having her with him every day and snuggling together
every night would be the perfect life. Neither thought much about the
kinky sexuality they both shared. They took it for granted that this
was a basic part of their lives. Their concerns at this point were
exactly the same as those of any vanilla couple in the same situation.
The final day at her old job was a Friday. She went through her files
and discarded large quantities of old papers. Several documents and
books were given to her replacement, who had the new responsibilities
added onto his existing job. There was the usual little office party
with a supermarket cake that tasted like cardboard and shortening.
Everyone signed a going away card and a few people said they envied
her for being able to leave. At 5 PM, she started a major effort to
pack her personal items into several cardboard boxes.
Cole called her from his office at 6:15 and told her that he was on
his way. He would look for her Miata in the garage and meet her there
at seven. As he drove into downtown Seattle, he noticed that the area
around the tall office towers seemed to be nearly deserted on this
Friday evening. No doubt the office workers couldn't wait to leave
and start their weekends, he thought. It was a beautiful, warm early
August evening that he hoped heralded an equally nice weekend.
He drove into the seven floor parking structure and pulled a ticket
from the machine that demanded his attention with an obnoxious buzz.
The yellow crossbar lifted and he proceeded up the ramp with his eyes
scanning the parked cars. The garage was well lit as a security
measure, so he had no doubt that he would easily spot Monica's car.
Cruising slowly, he drove quietly up to the second floor, then the
third. He noticed that the parked cars became less numerous as he
went higher. The fourth floor had only a few cars. Still no sign of
the little Miata.
The fifth floor was also nearly deserted. As he neared the area where
the only cars were parked, he suddenly noticed something in the
traffic lane that would require him to slow down and maneuver around
it. The object appeared to be a cardboard box of the type that was
used for storing documents. A common sight around any office
building. The top had fallen off and some of the papers were strewn
across the dirty concrete. Perhaps someone had placed it on top of
their car and driven off? The vehicle nearest the box was a large
sport utility wagon with no sign of a driver.
Moving slowly up to the fallen box, he could now see past the large
vehicle and noticed the rear of Monica's little sports car parked with
its nose against the wall. Something inside him suddenly sounded an
alarm and he stared intently between the cars looking for movement.
There, on the driver's side of the sports car, a man stood between the
two vehicles. He was looking down at something with his back to Cole.
The minivan rolled forward just a little more and it was possible to
see that someone else was down between the vehicles against the
concrete wall.
Fighting for calmness against an adrenaline surge, Cole allowed his
van to roll back several feet before putting it in Park and stepping
out with the keys in his hand. He pressed the lock button on the
remote and moved forward to confront the unknown man. Walking up
quietly, he could see that the person on the floor was Monica. She
was terrified. The man had completely ignored Cole's approach and was
talking to her. There was no way to make out what he was saying, but
the tone was obviously threatening.
Cole stopped several feet away from the parked cars. He realized that
he needed to get the man away from Monica and out from between the
vehicles.
"Hello!" no response. "Hey Buddy, whatcha doing back there?" he
shouted, in a non-hostile voice.
Finally the man turned around and looked at Cole. He saw a bearded
guy dressed in an expensive suit and wearing little round yuppie
glasses who did not seem to be a threat. But, "he could call the
police and spoil my fun", the man thought. He turned away from the
cowering woman and stepped out to meet the meddling stranger.
Cole saw that the man was in his twenties and powerfully built.
Stepping back slowly, he drew the man farther away from Monica.
"That's close enough," he barked in his command voice. "The fun's
over. Get lost before I call the cops."
Although he was under the influence of various street drugs, the man
realized that he may have misjudged the wimpy guy in the suit. This
would call for stronger measures, he calculated. Reaching into his
pocket, he pulled out a folding combat knife with a five inch blade
and displayed it to frighten his intended victim.
Cole's vision centered on the knife and he knew he had to act quickly.
Before he could consider his options, his hours of practice came into
play and his pistol appeared in his hand as if by magic. He took
another step backward to maintain a safe distance from the knife
wielding thug. He knew that a man with a knife could deal him a fatal
wound if he was allowed to come within roughly twenty feet. The
assailant could cover that distance in the time it took the brain to
make a decision and send the proper instructions to the trigger
finger. He was prepared to fire if necessary. Monica was safely on
the cement floor between two parked cars and the rest of the parking
level was deserted.
His voice was calm and coldly rational, "If you come within twenty
feet, I'll have to kill you. Why don't you leave now while you still
can?"
The man hesitated for a moment, then took one step forward. He
blinked and shifted his eyes from side to side as if trying to clear
his vision. Cole noticed that the man was too well dressed to be a
homeless vagrant. Fresh haircut, clean blue jeans, white running
shoes and a T-shirt with a baseball team logo. Perhaps someone who
works in the mailroom of a company in the area, Cole speculated.
In a macho, hostile tone, the man said, "You won't shoot me, sissyboy.
You wouldn't dare."
Cole replied quietly and precisely, "Do you want to bet on that? At
this range I can put a forty five slug through each of your eyes
before you can blink. Just think of all the nice recreational drugs
you'll miss out on. You can't do drugs when you're dead."
Cole watched every detail with hyper-alertness. He saw the knife
being shifted in the large, meaty hand and the film of sweat on the
man's face. His vision narrowed to a tunnel focused on the
assailant, his hearing excluded all unimportant sounds and time seemed
to slow down.
Something must have penetrated into the man's brain and changed his
plans. The sissyboy's bearded face seemed to have taken on a
distinctly devilish appearance. The would-be killer's attitude
changed from one of hostility to fear. He backed away for several
steps, then turned and ran for the stairway.
Cole returned his pistol to its holster inside his waistband and
rushed over to Monica. She was already standing up and reaching out
for him. "Thank you," she said before bursting into tears. His
senses were now returning to normal and the sudden reorientation was a
most peculiar sensation. He forced himself to calm down and think
about what he should do next.
He comforted Monica for a minute while keeping watch for the possible
return of the thug. There was no way of knowing if he might have some
friends to act as reinforcements.
He made a quick survey to see if Monica had been injured. The jacket
of her expensive gray business suit was missing. Her white blouse had
been ripped completely open and there was a long tear in the front of
her skirt. He breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of serious
injuries.
He checked to make sure that her car was locked and led her over to
the minivan. After she was safely inside, he picked up the fallen box
and papers, which he placed on the floor behind the driver's seat. He
briefly considered calling the police, but the assailant would be long
gone by now and it seemed more important to get Monica home where she
could recover emotionally. Continuing to keep a tight rein on his own
emotions, he drove quickly and precisely home.
Safely at home, Monica got undressed and checked to see if she was
injured. The only casualty was a skinned knee, which he offered to
bandage after she showered. She stepped into the shower while Cole
fixed her a strong Irish coffee in the kitchen.
Relaxing in bed later, she was able to recount the events that
happened before Cole arrived at the scene. The man had entered the
elevator where she was struggling a bit with a heavy box of papers.
She thought he was drunk or high. When she refused his offer of help,
he followed her to her car, then grabbed her purse and pushed her down
on the floor of the parking structure. Unsatisfied with the contents
of her purse, he proceeded to threaten her with various types of harm
including rape. As the endless minutes wore on, it became apparent
that rape had become his primary desire. The thought that Cole would
arrive soon and that he would probably be armed helped keep her from
collapsing completely
"Why couldn't the building management provide a little security?" she
asked. "They installed video cameras last year, but I guess they
aren't being monitored. I guess the appearance of security is what
really counts. As long as we feel safe, that's the important thing,"
she said bitterly.
"Welcome to the nineties, Monica. Feelings come first. Look who we
elected president," he said with a raised eyebrow.
Then she told him the one thing that bothered her the most. "I don't
know if I should tell you this, but when I realized that I couldn't
escape, I started to feel submissive. I guess it's my natural state
or something. Even though I was trying to remember those self defense
classes, some part of my mind kept telling me to let him do whatever
he wanted. I was ready to give in and let him rape me without a
fight... I might even have enjoyed it," she sobbed.
"Don't worry about it Little One, it sounds pretty normal to me.
You've had a big emotional shock and you probably aren't thinking too
clearly right now. Let's talk about this some other time."
Her tears flowed freely, as her words spilled out rapidly, "You don't
understand Howard, When he started ripping my clothes, I got turned
on. I couldn't control it. What if it happens again? I'm such a
slut I can't even take care of myself."
"Here, finish your drink, you earned it. I think you were very brave
and I'm proud of you for holding him off until I showed up. We'll go
back and get your car tomorrow. If you want, we can call the police
then. Maybe those security cameras recorded something and they can
catch the guy."
When her mug was empty, he tucked her into the large bed and got in
beside her. Monica was asleep in minutes, but he stayed awake most of
the night, replaying the events in his head over and over.
