Queen of Blackmail

Natasha frowned with confusion as the car slowed to a stop and pulled over at the side of the road. "What's wrong? Why are we stopping?" "I'm hearing a funny sound," said Marion. "What sound? I don't hear anything funny." "You don't know my car as well as I do.” “What do you think is wrong with it?" "I'm not sure. Let me text an old friend who would know more about this than I do." Natasha watched Marion as she texted her friend. "Your fingers are so shaky." "Yeah, I'm worried something is really wrong." "At least we didn't get too far from your place if there is." "Might as well get out and stretch our legs," Marion said, getting out of the car. "It's chilly." "I know, but come on out anyway. I need you to look under the hood with me." Natasha exited the blue vehicle. "Well, OK, but I don't know what I'd be looking at." They stepped out of the car and closed the doors after Marion popped the hood. She pulled it further open and glanced down at what was a maze of metal, plastic, and rubber that Natasha could only guess about. "Well, at least it's not smoking," said Marion. "That should be a good sign, right?" said Natasha. "I don't know much about cars, so I really couldn't say if anything looked off or not." "I don't know either, but my friend should be here soon." "Who is this friend?" "An old co-worker. Went to work for a private company last year." "What's his name?" Marion hesitated. It hit her that she didn't know the guy's name, and it was probably supposed to be that way. "Well?" "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just so stressed out about the car. Vicente." "Vicente? That's an interesting name. Is the guy Italian?" "Partly," Marion said, not even knowing what the guy coming to take Natasha even looked like, let alone his nationality. Natasha began to slowly pace back and forth by the car, shoes gently kicking up the dirt around her. Marion sensed that Natasha sensed that something wasn't right. She had always seemed to be a very perceptive person. Guilt clawed at her heart. A part of her wanted to text the guy and call things off, but she knew it was too late. She was in too deep. There was no stopping now. While they waited for the guy, she decided she would make one last-ditch effort to try to get Natasha to change her mind and stay with her. If she could do that, she would have them both jump in the car and get out of there as fast as they could. But before Marion got a chance, a black van with tinted windows pulled up. Marion's heart started thumping wildly in her chest. A description of Natasha had been provided so the guy would know who he was to take. "Hello, Vicente," Marion said, trying to put on an air of friendliness. She wanted to address him as Vicente in case he used a different name, something that would cause confusion and potential alarm in Natasha. And then it all went down according to plan. It was cold and professional as ever.