Good Deed Bad Deed

wondered if the bravado was for her benefit or theirs. At that moment her only focus was the terror she felt when he was in danger. One of the other young men could see that she was shivering, obviously shaken by the experience. He took her aside and asked if she wanted him to call 999, in spite of what Ben had said. She shook her head no, but then countered with her concern for whether Ben had any significant injuries. The miscreant had hyper-extended his arm, kicked him, and punched him once, hard. Blood was trickling from his nose and the side of his mouth, and his bleeding lip was beginning to swell. The sight of his handsome face in that state brought a lump to Ana’s throat. She revisited the need for medical assistance, but again Ben declined. The three men hung around for a short while, high on the excitement and mindful of the possibility of another try to abduct Ben. The resulting noise from the goings on had drawn a small group of curious minded pub-crawlers, and when they crowded in around Ben, Ana warned them off and asked them to disperse. Since there was no more excitement, they quickly lost interest and did as she had asked.
Within a few minutes a cab happened up the street, and in the hope of a fare, began to slow as it approached the group. The three men flagged it down and escorted Ben and Ana into the back seat. Ben asked for their names and addresses and couldn’t thank them enough. They declined, and because of the trio’s collective youth, tried to make light of what had happened, saying that it was all in a night’s work.
As the cab pulled away, the good Samaritans continued their evening, loping down the street, punching each other in the arm, laughing, turning to look at a pair of young women who were passing them by as quickly as possible. Ben and Ana settled back in the seat, both incredulous about what had just happened. He informed the driver that her hotel would be the first stop. Ana replied that she was worried about leaving him on his own, but told the driver the name of her hotel.
“So you don’t think I can take care of myself?” Ben sounded a bit offended, and Ana knew he was only half kidding. “You know, that guy took me by surprise. If it had been just one guy, he would be sporting more than fat lip and aching shoulder.”
“What in the world would they want with you? It was obvious that he wanted to get you into that car. Clearly, it was meant to be an abduction.” She paused then added, “They didn’t seem to have any use for me. It was definitely about you.”
“Thank God for that!” he said, shaking his head and reaching for her hand. Other than the assistance of his arm as she navigated the puddles, this was their first real touch. In spite of the fear and violence of the last hour, his warm hand on hers, the feeling of his fingers closing around it, the squeeze that was just strong enough, all served to send a different kind of adrenaline rush throughout her body. During the quiet moments that followed, Ben’s hand remained there, his touch easily taking away Ana’s fear.
As the taxi continued to jockey in and out of traffic, they both looked out the windows into the night. The streets were still wet, and reflections from the street lamps and lighted signs sparkled on the pavement. Eventually, Ben spoke. “The whole thing is odd. I may have sold a few books, but I’m a very unlikely candidate to bring a decent ransom.” He was quiet for a few minutes then continued to assess the incident. “But the strangest part of it is about the guy who was driving. It was that disheveled man in the wet wool coat. I couldn’t forget that smell. He’d sidled up next to me at the bar while I was waiting for you.”
“Oh my God… I saw him too, when I went to the restroom. I couldn’t help but overhear him talking to someone on his mobile. He was almost mumbling, definitely didn’t want to be heard, but I was in line rather close to where he stood, and I did hear part of the conversation. He said that some guy was at a table drinking with some woman. Could that man have been you?” Ben didn’t respond, waiting for her to continue. “Then he pushed an older man who was leaving the men’s restroom against the wall. Seems our smelly man was trying to get out of the hallway in a hurry. From his expression I thought the guy he pushed was going to go after him, in spite of his age.”
“While I was waiting for you to come back, I watched him at a table with some young guy— rugged type. He had his back to me so I didn’t see his face. I could tell they were arguing. I’m sure the young guy wasn’t the one who grabbed me. But it happened so fast that I didn’t see much before whoever it was punched me silly. All I remember is that he smelled of leather and fried fish.”
“I got a look at him. His head was shaved, and it had a black tattoo across the top.” Ana shuddered, made a sound of disgust, and added, “But it’s still not much to go on, is it?”
She pulled a handkerchief out of her handbag and turned toward Ben. There was a fair amount of blood on his mouth and chin. A small amount had dripped onto the blue sweater, the whole scene making it look as though his injuries were more severe than they actually were. Ana dabbed at the blood on both his face and sweater, but it had dried. When Ben saw the nurturing look on her face it