Friends Down Low (ONC2022)

Chapter 4 - The Man in the Woods

"Hey, pal," Baldie said to the newcomer. "We already asked him that."

The woodsman's gaze drifted slowly from me to him. "Maybe you did, but now I'm asking him. And before you protest, just know that, however you're regarding this situation, I am far more important than you." He turned to me. "Now then stranger, without answering their question, kindly answer mine. Are you Finnigan Walsh?"

I froze. This gigantically intimidating fellow had literally just told me to speak while remaining silent. I had no idea what to do, so what escaped my lips was a dull sounding, "Uhhhhhhh".

Baldie and crew grew increasingly frustrated with the interruption of their kidnapping. "We know this is Finnigan Walsh. We were sent to fetch him and that's exactly what we're going to do. He's coming with us."

"Coming with you?" the woodsman asked with a surprise that struck me as ingenuine. "How could he possibly decide to go with you? He doesn't even know his own name. He's either really drunk or dimwitted. In either case, he doesn't possess the cognitive ability to make such a foolhardy decision." He turned back to me. "Regardless, you're not going anywhere until we establish your identity. So, once more, answer me but not them. Are you Finnigan?"

Again, I had no recourse. Too terrified to state my name aloud, I certainly wasn't going to whisper in this guy's ear, even if I had a step stool to reach it. "I'm...my name is...not...Fin..."

"Quiet," the woodsman hissed with an intensity that silenced me immediately. "Don't state your name aloud." He pointed at the trio. "We don't want these assholes to know that you're Finnigan Walsh. We gotta keep a low profile here."

Baldie glowered at the insult. "This is your last warning mister. Walk away now and no harm done. If you keep sticking your nose in our business with Finnigan then someone is definitely going to get hurt."

The woodsman's eyes narrowed. "You're right about that."

Throughout the tense interaction, I slowly shuffled in the woodsman's direction. I certainly wouldn't say that I had any trust in this man, but he hadn't openly presented a plan to stuff me into a car trunk either. I supposed he might be able to squish me small enough to fit into one of his duffel bags but that seemed more unlikely.

One of Baldie's companions finally spoke up. "In case you can't count big fella, there's three of us and only one of you."

That he failed to include me in the tally for either side tweaked my ego and led me to officially declare my temporary allegiance with the woodsman. I stepped more boldly until I stood next to him, but still out of reach of his tree-trunk arms.

Baldie's companions continued to slowly flank us until we stood in a triangle of my kidnappers. The woodsman seemed unconcerned and calmly rolled up his jacket sleeves.

"Last chance to walk away, big man."

"Nah. I'll walk away quite calmly later."

Baldie pulled something from his pocket. It was one of those extendable batons used by police and he snapped it open with a crack. "Fine by me. We'll have no problem tearing through you to get to Finnigan." His companions both pulled knives from sheaths and the dim light from the bar shone off the blades.

Still, the woodsman remained indifferent. "Before I get started and you get ended, I just want you all to know that years ago I made a non-violent resolution, and I haven't hurt a soul since." The trio exchanged cocky grins, considering this statement a declaration of weakness. The smiles faded when he continued with, "But I was also living alone in the woods, so I never ran into any unimportant assholes with big mouths, much less three at once. It's easy to not hurt assholes if you never see assholes. But now, unfortunately, I'm seeing you."