David coughed and sucked in deep lungfuls of air. He was lying on a cream leather couch that ran along the plane’s cabin wall. The two men sat across the narrow aisle, facing him. The woman sat one seat forward of them, watching.

“What the Hell is this, Tom?” David asked, looking back and forth between them.

As he spoke, he heard the engines roar. They were all pushed backward as the aircraft took off and rotated upwards into the night sky. They were airborne. This was all happening too fast.

David was still on the couch, and the big guy was holding him as the aircraft angled up into the sky, making sure that David didn’t slide down and fall off. Tom leaned over and yelled above the noise of the engines. “I’m sorry Dave! This was the best way to do this! We had to make you disappear! Hey, promise me you aren’t going to cause a scene, and we’ll untie you and I’ll explain everything. Can you promise me that? Like I said, we are not going to hurt you. We’re on the same team.”

David was confused, but nodded vigorously.

Tom turned to the big guy next to him and motioned towards David. The man flicked open a pocketknife and hunched over David’s body. With one hand he held down his limbs, pressing a good portion of his easily 230-pound frame into David so he couldn’t move. A few quick slices cut open the zip ties, and then the man stepped back, watching to see David’s reaction.

Even if he had wanted to, David could barely move. He rubbed his sore wrists where the zip ties had left deep red marks on his skin. His legs were tingling and sore. He lay on the couch, propping himself up by his elbows. His ears popped as the aircraft gained altitude, and his body lurched in the turns. David repositioned himself to sit upright. The loud noise from the jet’s takeoff had subsided, and the three men sat staring each other down in the spacious cabin.

Tom said, “Are you alright?”

David nodded. He kept his guard up. He didn’t know what to do or say. He still wasn’t sure if his life was in danger. David didn’t know Tom too well, but he knew his reputation. Jerk was the single most-used description. He was supposed to be one of those guys that thought he was smarter than everyone else in the room, regardless of his expertise on the subject at hand. The result was that he tended to treat people like they were idiots. In an organization full of smart people, he was not loved. David had worked with him a handful of times, and each time he had used that condescending tone like the engineers and analysts were wasting his time. But he never had any reason to fear or distrust Tom. Until today.

Tom said, “You hungry? Thirsty?”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”