Chapter 1
The first thing Jay Jones noticed when coming to his senses was a thundering continuous noise with no origin and no direction. He was encompassed by this annoying din as if it was a part of him. Next conscious sensation was a huge whirl he floated amidst. It was as if the world had liquefied and was spinning altogether with elusive shapes and no definite form. Gradually, the whirl become smaller and smaller until was confined to Jay’s head only. He started to feel the hard surface he was lying on face down. The noise also subsided to a bearable level and sounded like an engine purring. The world swirled no longer with him but the floor wasn’t still, it swayed and wobbled. It moved and so did Jay with it. Occasional bumps and turns here and there suggested to Jay he was in some kind of motoring vehicle traveling at moderate speed. No flashlight stops, no sudden stops: they must have already left the town and be in the countryside. He carefully opened briefly the available eye; yes, it looked like he was on the floor of a moving van. Pairs of feet in shoes, socks and trousers fringes were ranged just in front of his eye. The other eye touched the floor and couldn’t be opened without changing his body position. Jay didn’t try to. His hands were cuffed at the back and he knew the visible feet belonged to the men who attacked him. His nape was still sore.
He recalled hazily that he felt a blow to the back of his head out of the blue. They must have waited for him in the street when returning to the hotel. As soon as Jay passed the newsstand they attacked from behind, unnoticed and silent. ‘They are pros’, thought Jay. The poorly lighted street, the late hour with but a few of the passersby, the van already ready near the curb, chances were nobody saw the kidnapping. He wouldn’t be looked for the next few days and the only person who would be reporting to the police would be the hotel owner thinking he skipped the bill. Nobody talked in the van. If they saw him opening his eye, they didn’t care and said nothing.
