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Fifteen minutes later, things didn’t look so easy peasy. Ryder couldn’t help but realize they’d walked into a shitshow of epic proportions. Oversized industrial pipes were built into the in-door swimming pool, and water filled the considerably large space at a swift pace. Ron Perry sat, chained to a chair in the middle of the deep end, with a look of absolute horror on his face. From where they stood, it looked like his feet were entrapped in cement blocks, keeping him affixed to the bottom of the pool. He would no doubt be screaming for his life, but when they arrived, only his nose was above the waterline.
“That motherfucking, shithead!” Jeremy spat in disgust as he surveyed the scene. “Good idea on bringing the scuba-diving tank, Remi. I bet dumbass Eric never considered that, did he?”
Remi had taken them to the garage to grab some diving gear that another one of Cassie’s roommates kept stored there. Thankfully, Jeremy knew how to operate the equipment, and he’d checked over everything during the drive over. Their rescue of Ron seemed simple enough. Of course, experience taught them that in simplicity, difficulties were always hidden.
“Stay right here, Remi,” Ryder ordered as both he and Jeremy quickly started removing their shoes, jeans, and T-shirts. “Listen for the police sirens and help direct them to where they’re needed.”
Remi gave him a weak salute. “Yes, Sir!” Then he grabbed Ryder and kissed him. “Be careful; there’s something amiss. Veronica and Gary are here, but they aren’t acting normal. You be careful.” He looked over at Jeremy. “You, too. Be safe.”
Remi stepped back as both men jumped straight into the deep end of the pool. Jeremy swam toward Ron and immediately started working to get the air tanks harnessed onto his back and the mask over his mouth. Ryder dove toward the bottom of the pool to check the state of Eric’s latest trap.
“Everything’s going to be fine now, Ron,” Jeremy told the younger man as soon as he had the air tank secured and in operation. “Don’t panic on me. We’ll get you out of this, okay?”
Jeremy watched as the most gorgeous man he’d ever laid eyes on nodded slowly at him. His warm brown eyes were still swimming in fright, but hope glimmered there, as well. As he held the back of Ron’s head, making sure he stayed steady and didn’t panic, Jeremy watched Ryder as he struggled to move the cement blocks. The water wasn’t very deep, only about four feet, but it was rising quickly.
Within seconds, Ryder resurfaced. As soon as his mouth was above water, a string of curse words echoed off the walls of the newly built swim and diving arena. “Goddamn! Not only are his feet cemented into the blocks, but the bastard has concreted the blocks to the bottom of the pool.”
They’d hoped they would be able to, between the two of them, just pull Ron and the chair to the shallow end and then work on getting him cut free. They should have known Eric would have made the rescue a near impossibility.
“Remi! There’s a tool bag in the back of my Jeep! Can you grab it and bring it in?” After Remi disappeared to grab his bag, Ryder told Jeremy, “We’re gonna have to take turns going under and chiseling away at the concrete before we can move him. How much air is in the tank?” Ron’s eyes were now completely submerged, and Jeremy could feel panic begin to overtake the younger man. Breathing into the tank’s apparatus was tough to get accustomed to, even when one had some training. Without training, Ron struggled.
“We’ve got about forty minutes of air in the tank,” Jeremy answered. “It should be plenty of time. We’ve got this.” Neither man was holding out much hope that the police would arrive with proper equipment to assist with this type of rescue.
Ryder looked down and saw that Ron had locked hands with Jeremy. He looked back up at his friend and asked, “He gonna be okay? I’m sensing some panic here.”
“Yeah, there’s definitely panic, but I’ll be right here. I’m gonna have to dive up and down once the water gets too high, but I’m going to be with him. You just may have to do most of the chiseling. Hell, how could he not panic? That son-of-a-bitch Eric is all about mental anguish before actually killing them.”
“No problem on me doing all the chiseling; I’m used to you leaving me with all the grunt work. On the other…that fucker needs to die…slowly.” They tried to joke, but each could hear the fear in the other’s voice.
Remi slid to a stop next to the edge of the pool and dropped to his knees. “What do you need?” He was already unzipping the bag and digging around. Without Ryder having time to answer, he pulled out a large hammer with a heavy claw on one end of it. “How about this?”
