Slight Left

     Downtown was the location but specifically where he had no idea. This wasn't his first trip to the Box but there was a bag over his head last time and the stress of death in mind. He couldn't go out at night since the abduction and became immediately suspicious of any vans as they passed him by on the street. When they dropped him off under a bridge near Acton he sat there four hours before taking off the bag. The thought of leaving home again and the guise of security was intolerable now but here he was two days later and determined to return. He knew what to do when he arrived but he would have to find it first. 

    Exiting the freeway he remembered them turning right and following the sound of traffic through a tunnel. He drove through every tunnel he saw but it was a blur from there so when he found it he was unaware and drove right by. He pulled over on Broadway and without regard for meters or red curbs would ask passers-by "where can I find the Box?". He heard them refer to the place this way many times though they never used anyone's names. Most of the locals ignored him or we're puzzled by the question. Some played along and gave false directions, perhaps to their place of business and others just begged for change. 

   Finally in a group, one young but formidable man stepped forward. He came right up to the passenger window and asked threateningly about his business there. Knowing little about the men who took him he was sure he couldn't pass for one of them. For all he knew, this was the gang that had taken him and held him in the dark for six days. He also had little confidence in his ability to smooth talk this gentleman. What he had now was nothing to lose and courage to tell the truth. He leaned over to speak to the young man in his window and told him this: "I am Jamal Sharif, I came here six months ago with my sister.  We came to be safe. Men took us and beat us. They brought us to the Box. I ran away but they still have her. I will find her. I will do whatever it takes. I will kill anyone who tries to stop me. I hope for your sake you will help me."

  The young man paused for a moment and looked around before responding. He pointed down the road and told Jamal to take a slight left beyond a red brick building and then he said, "I am Julio Jimenez. Find your sister and kill every one of those mother fuckers. Tell them I sent you." He stepped back from the car and joined his brood. 

    The directions brought Jamal to a place he'd past three times that day. The name brought him to his sister and the threat brought the peace he'd spent a decade to find.