When Opportunity Knocks - 18. Chapter 18

Kyle opened his eyes. The world was fuzzy. Blinking rapidly, he shook his head and instantly aborted that effort when it caused blazing hot needles to pierce his skull. He immediately closed his eyes again.

He breathed in slowly, trying to remember what was wrong with him.

Kim.

Kim was tied up. His eyes shot open and this time the images around him were clearer. His gaze darted around until it landed on Kim’s prone form laying a few feet away. Kyle attempted to move and discovered his efforts were thwarted by restraints. He was on his side on a carpeted floor, hands tied behind his back and he quickly figured out his feet were tied together too. There were stairs on the far side of the room and he deduced that they had to be in a basement. The room had three small windows near the ceiling along one wall, all of which were covered securely with bars and blacked out. One bare bulb hung from a fixture on the ceiling, its light too dim to reach the further corners of the room.

“Kim! Pssst, Kim!” Kyle called, keeping his voice low, not knowing if anyone else was nearby. He painstakingly shuffled his body across the carpet until he was next to her. Using his shoulder and aching head, he managed to nudge her a few times, hoping it was enough to rouse her.

It was.

The relief he felt was palpable as she stirred.

Kim was tied up too, and she struggled for a brief moment as she came back into consciousness. Kyle could only watch as she opened her eyes and became aware of her surroundings.

Kim looked around and then her eyes landed on him. “Oh shit.”

Kyle’s voice was gravelly as he replied, “Oh shit is right. I think we might be in a little bit of trouble.” He shuffled around and managed to get himself into a seated position with his back against the wall. Kim did the same, leaning on him for support.

“What the hell happened Kyle?” she asked.

“I’m not really sure, but tell me what you remember and I’ll tell you what I can recall.”

He saw Kim’s face scrunch up as she tried to recollect the details. “I went out early to do some errands before the snow got too bad. Me and the rest of Anne Arundel county it seemed like. The stores were packed and it took longer than I planned on being out. I didn’t get home until a little bit after two. I let Tater out while I got my groceries from the car and put them away. He started barking and the second I opened the back door something slammed into me. That’s the last thing I remember.”

Kyle nodded. “I got to Jett’s just before three I think. Rosie bolted for the back door and that’s when I noticed Tater outside, covered in snow. I went over to check on you. Your slider was opened a crack so I called out to you and went in. I got as far as the threshold between the living room and kitchen and got a glimpse of you tied up. Then everything went black. It’s Greene isn’t it?”

The haunted look in Kim’s eyes gave the answer, there was no need for her to say it out loud.

Kyle tested the ropes that held his hands together. They were tight and from what he could feel, intricately woven together. Recalling the times that he and Noah had played ‘escape artist’ when they were kids, he knew that he could get out, but it was going to take a while. He was working with a handicap now, he no longer had the thin fingers that he had when he was ten. Back then, it had been easy to wiggle his skinny fingers into the spaces that Noah had created when he pulled the knots tight. They had been in the Boy Scouts together for a few years, as well as taken sailing lessons during several summers. Learning how to make knots was something they had both picked up easily. He had never told Noah his secret for escaping, he liked winning their little game. He vowed when he got out he would confess to his best friend. Not getting out of here was not an option. Kyle’s thoughts went immediately to Jett and he hated the knowledge that his boyfriend must be beside himself with worry. He knew he would be if the tables were turned.

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this Kyle.”

“It’s not your fault Kim. It’s Greene’s.”

They were both startled when a door banged open and two sets of heavy footsteps thudded on the stairs. Kyle had to blink hard several times and he couldn’t miss the sharp intake of air that came from Kim. He thought he was seeing double. There were two Marc Greenes at the bottom of the stairs. Creepy versions of Thing One and Thing Two.

The two men came over and one stopped in front of Kim and the other in front of Kyle. Up close Kyle could see some very subtle differences, he was trained to look for things out of the ordinary that pet owners might not notice. The one in front of him had a harder look about him. His eyes had a few more creases in the corners and there was a more rigid look to how his mouth was set. He also looked like he was a few pounds lighter than his counterpart. This was the man they had seen at the parole hearing. Who the fuck was the other one?

“You son of a bitch. Heather was right, wasn’t she? All these years, Nikki and I believed she was delusional, but there were two of you all along,” Kim spat out at the man in front of her.

She flinched as the man squatted down in front of her and touched her cheek.

“Always the feisty one, weren’t you? You have no idea how you affected me those first few days when you were all claws and hissing at us. I wanted to keep you forever. I wanted to break you. Hmmmmm,” he drawled creepily.

Kyle struggled against his restraints as Thing One caressed Kim’s cheek. He was rewarded with a backhand across his face from Thing Two.

Thing One turned his attention to Kyle. “So, you’re the cop’s boyfriend. I wanted my brother to grab him, but you’re much, much better. An added bonus. You look so much like her, did you know that? The resemblance is remarkable.”

“Fuck you.”

This time Thing Two’s fist drew blood. Kyle felt it drip down his face.

Thing One chuckled and turned back to Kim. “She died in my arms, you know. Her and that abnormal abomination she gave birth to. It hardly had any brain. I know because I crushed its skull. It was a mercy killing. Heather, well she was just unlucky. Pity too, she was a good breeder. Almost as good as little Kimmie here.”

Kim choked on a sob at his words. She had always known in her heart that Heather was dead, but to hear the actual confirmation was akin to ripping the wound wide open again.

Kyle needed to distract him. “Did you plan all this?”

Thing One gave him an evil grin. “It’s been in the works for a while, a long, long while. I guess it doesn’t matter if you know the whole story now. After all, by the time all of this ends, you’ll be dead. Let’s get you more comfortable shall we?”

Thing One nodded at Thing Two who replied, “Certainly.” Jesus fuck, they even sounded alike.

Kyle was hauled up and placed in a chair that he hadn’t noticed before. Thing Two busied himself shackling Kyle’s feet to bolts in the floor that he hadn’t noticed either. So much for his power of observation. “Well, shit’, he thought. This complicates matters. Kyle’s hands were untied and he was allowed to rub them before cuffs were put on him, this time with his hands in front of him and then connected to the chain between the foot shackles. He could raise his hands about mid-chest, but that was it. Kim was similarly restrained as well.

“Let’s start with introductions, shall we?” Thing One smirked as he spoke. “This is my brother, Marc Greene. Ah, I see the confusion. Yes, we both have the same name. For all intents and purposes, we are the same person. You see, our mother got pregnant when she was thirteen. Back then it was scandalous to be unmarried and pregnant, not to mention most girls’ parents would be shocked. Not our grandfather. You see, he was the one who got his daughter pregnant. It was a complication that apparently he tried to avoid, but let’s face it, we all know how babies happen. He got careless. He was a doctor and thought he had taken precautions. Birth control pills didn’t exist until much later, so whatever method he used, obviously didn’t work.”

Kyle immediately got a case of the willies as the man talked.

“Now our dear Papa, or should I say Grandpapa? For the sake of continuity I’ll call him Papa. Now he was a very, very controlling man. His wife was a meek little titmouse that could barely make a squeak without his permission. He announced to their families and friends that she was the one who was pregnant. He faked a baby bump and put her on “bed rest” for the latter part of her so-called pregnancy. As for my dear teenaged mother, she was confined to the house while the rest of the world was told she had been accepted at a girl’s finishing school out of state. Papa and his wife were going to raise me as their own child.”

Greene paused and sat on the couch that was there, partially obscured in the shadows. He steepled his fingers together and let the information sink in before continuing. “What they didn’t count on was Mommy Dearest having twins. Papa was caught by surprise when she went into labor and after delivering me, he discovered my twin. It caught our mother-slash-sister by surprise too. It was also too much for her body to take. Much like our dear Heather, she hemorrhaged and died. So I guess you could accurately say that the first person we ever killed was our mother.’

Kyle heard a gasp and it took a moment before he realized the sound had come from himself. These men were monsters, true to life, real monsters.

“Papa reminded us of that fact often. We were the reason our real mother was dead. The rest of the world believed she died in a car accident. Now, as far as how he raised us, he treated us as if we were one person. He made his wife do the same. We had one name, we wore identical clothes, we ate from one plate. When one spoke of the other the pronouns we used were me and I. It wasn’t until much later that we learned this was not the normal way of doing things. When it was time for school I was the one who went every day. When I got home, it was my job to teach my brother everything I had learned. Mama would stand over us, making sure we learned our lessons well. When there was any sort of function outside of the four of us, my brother was the one who went. I would be told the details of whatever excursion they were on when he got home, every conversation, everything that was seen, heard, eaten, whatever. I can see the shock in your eyes, yes?”

Kyle felt nauseous. The whole family was fucked up.

“I graduated high school with honors and Papa directed me to go to college. That, at least, was the plan. As sometimes happens, plans go awry. Papa and Mama were killed in a car accident during the summer between high school and college. Appropriate, don’t you think? Everyone felt so sorry for me, losing my parents in the same way as my ‘sister’.” Greene winked at them.

“Papa had one sister and Mama was an only child. Needless to say, our aunt was quite shocked at discovering there were two of us. Her husband recognized the difficult situation and the possible repercussions and negative fallout it could cause. Believe it or not, Papa had a stellar reputation amongst his colleagues. A reputation no one wanted tarnished.” Greene looked pensive. “It’s too bad.”

“Now keep in mind that this was 1968 and record keeping could be manipulated much easier than it can today. Our uncle called in a few favors in the medical community, he was a doctor too, and a new birth certificate was created. It was decided that Paul Romano would be a cousin, both of us favoring our great-grandfather, who supposedly looked just like us. Paul here, got a whole new set of school records, he grew a moustache and beard, changed his hair color and when they became popular, wore colored contacts. It was enough that it threw people off of the fact that we were identical.”

“Paul didn’t want to go to college. He had never been in a school setting before and wasn’t as socially adept as myself. That had to change and I made him go out with me to parties and such. He got into construction and was hired at a company near my school. I went to UConn for my undergraduate degree and then applied to Georgetown University for med school. Paul followed me to DC. While we were there, I met a lot of fellow classmates who were from privileged families. Our own father had left a sizable estate for me. Paul didn’t exist, don’t forget. I made sure he was taken care of though. I introduced him to the right people, letting them know that Paul chose to do something he enjoyed. He played the part of an eccentric rich young man quite well. He was smart enough to be a doctor or a lawyer or any other successful businessman, he just didn’t like being tied down to a career like that. He picked up on things very quickly. The only time he ever made a mistake was when he wasn’t paying attention while cutting some lumber and got hit on the head by a piece of debris. It wasn't a major injury, in fact, the cut was less than an inch long. However, it left a tiny scar along his hairline behind his left ear. Ring any bells, Kimmie?” He got up and stood in front of her.

Thing Two pointed at a spot behind his ear and grinned.

Kim made to speak, but Greene held his fingers to her lips, effectively shushing her. His brother looked amused.

“So, as I was saying, Paul got accustomed to a certain lifestyle, as did I. We realized that we needed to……. divest our interests so to speak. Expand our portfolio. I built up the stellar reputation of Dr. Marc Greene and my brother learned how to invest wisely from our upper crust friends, who all had savvy financial managers, and were more than willing to carouse with a mere construction worker who had an inheritance to play with. The would-be lawyers and politicians in our group saw a potential cash cow for the future. Over the years a few of our friends have benefited greatly because of our generosity. It paid off in spades when it came time for our sentence to be reduced. It’s astonishing what a few well placed dollar bills will get you. That, plus the knowledge that certain well-known public figures have a penchant for such atrocities as underage girls and boys, you can see why we got our way.”

The depths to which these two sycophants stooped knew no boundaries whatsoever. To have confirmation that others were complicit and knowingly took an active role in allowing such barbarousness to happen made him physically sick. Kyle felt like puking and probably would have if there had been anything substantial in his stomach.

Leering at Kyle condescendingly, Greene continued his litany. “Paul was a quick study, he not only learned how to make money, more importantly he learned how to hide it. We lived quite comfortably. We both owned modest homes, enjoyed travelling, fine dining, a little gambling at Mohegan Sun, concerts, theater, you name it. We also both shared a certain proclivity for young girls. We had lost our virginity when we were fourteen. We shared a girlfriend for a while, although she didn’t know it. She was twelve and quite the little slut too. Those were fun days.” A malicious smile spread across his face.

Green stopped to take a drink from a bottle of water before going on with his macabre recollections. “We discovered a group of like-minded friends who introduced us to, ummm, the shady side of the sex industry. Orgies with girls, or boys, whatever age you preferred. There were themed nights too, when certain ethnicities were plentiful, if that was your kink. It was during one of these parties that we got the idea to obtain a few girls of our own and breed them. Black market babies were in high demand. We made our plans meticulously. ‘Paul’ was going to get a job offer overseas. There was a lonely strip of desert in the United Arab Emirates that was on the precipice of becoming the biggest building boom in the world. After he supposedly left, Paul transformed back into ‘Marc” so we could once again be the same person. We had spent half our life living as one and it was easy to slip back into that role. He dyed his hair back to our original color, shaved the beard, and ditched the contacts. I am delighted to say that we had both aged the same and still could be mistaken for one another. When we were ready, he went out hunting for a little girl to bring home. Much to my delight, he found three little wayward girls, ripe for the picking.”

Greene was looking directly at Kim, as if taunting her. “You, my dear. You were such a special challenge. I wanted you all for myself. I made a deal with my brother. He could punish you by popping your friends' cherries and I would get you. Mmmmhmm, Sinking into your tight little snatch was exquisite.”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!!” Kyle roared, straining violently against his restraints.

Greene and his brother chuckled.

“Kyle, it’s okay. He’s trying to get us riled up. Don’t let him get to you,” Kim said vehemently, her words somehow sinking in.

Kyle sat back, still breathing hard. He vowed to himself right then and there that when he got free he was going to kill the bastard. Damn the consequences.

Greene directed his attention to Kyle. “Did she tell you that she traded her virginity for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for her and the other two? I enjoyed making her my little whore. She learned how to suck cock like a pro. I can still feel how good her mouth felt, wrapped around my dick. Wonder if it still feels that good? You wouldn’t know though, would you Kyle? You’re probably good at sucking dick though. I bet your cop loves to have your lips wrapped around him.”

Kyle glared at the bastard.

“I was so delighted when I realized Heather was pregnant. You following her footsteps so soon was a bonus. Nikki, now she wasn’t as quite ripe for the picking. She came through in the end though, made up for Heather after she was gone. So many beautiful babies. So much money they brought us. It was easy for my brother to multiply that money many times over. Your investigator friends only found what we wanted them to find.”

“Why did you threaten my parents?” Kyle demanded.

“Ah, yes. The Bentons. Pleasant enough couple. So I guess they finally came clean and told you all about the circumstances surrounding your adoption, hmm? Well, at the time that you and your sister were born I only worked for the fertility clinic. The Bentons had legitimately applied to become adoptive parents directly with the clinic. When I discovered myself with two babies to get rid of on the same day instead of one, well, things got complicated. Falsifying paperwork when you’re not the one in charge isn’t easy you know. As far as the clinic manager and director knew, the Bentons were still several rungs down on the waiting list. I chose them for exactly this reason.”

Greene paused and gave Kyle a benevolent smile, as if he was bestowing this knowledge on him like a gift. “By plucking them out of the obscure middle of the list it would be quite plausible if they, and by they I mean I, removed them from consideration. Prospective parents back out for many reasons, and it’s quite common. Once they were off the clinic’s radar it was simple enough to get them to agree to take two little whelps. The mistake I made with your parents was being accountable to a few higher ups on the clinic food chain. I realized this mistake and rectified it shortly after. A group of investors made the owner an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

“Let me guess. The group of investors were you and your elitist friends using a shell corporation?” Kyle mused.

“My you are a sharp tack aren’t you? Must take after your father.”

Thing Two barked out a laugh at his brother’s wit.

“But yes, subsequent adoptions were screened through me personally. I easily buried any paper trail and made sure that all of the rest of the adoptions looked completely on the up and up. I had to resort to threatening your adoptive parents because they were asking too many questions. Tell me something Kyle, did your parents ever tell you what happened when your granddaddy almost lost his veterinary practice?”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed.

“I guess not. As you know, your father and mother were moving back to Maryland so your dad could join the family practice. Well, a few days after they brought you and your sister home it seems the IRS got wind of some fraudulent billing practices your grandfather was involved with. There was a lot of income that hadn’t been claimed. He could have lost the practice. Your dad was beside himself with worry. Imagine his relief when a few weeks later it was discovered that their accountant had inadvertently transposed some numbers on the tax return. I, of course, called them frequently to check up on them to make sure they were handling two newborns and the government breathing down grandpapa’s neck.”

It took everything that Kyle had in him not to explode. This mother fucking, narcissistic, self-centered, douchebag of an asshole in the first degree had nearly ruined not only his dad, but his grandfather as well. There really was no end to the path of destruction he created wherever he went. Kyle was positive that one of Greene’s so-called friends held a high position within the IRS.

“Too bad getting caught threw a monkey wrench into your plans huh?” Kim said,her tone completely snarky. Kyle guessed that her inner, sarcastic, free-spirited thirteen year old self was making a long overdue appearance.

“Yes, that was rather unfortunate. A fatal error that killed our future plans. My brother paid a dear price for his mistake. You see, I was out of town, incognito you might say, enjoying a little vacation in Malaysia that had been long overdue. My brother had stepped into my shoes and got called away for a little problem we had been dealing with. I was quite distraught to get a call from him saying he needed a lawyer. It took one phone call and a sizable dent in one of my investment portfolios to convince a business associate to represent him. It took a little longer for me to transform myself into Paul Romano so I could supposedly come back from abroad to sort out my cousin’s indiscretions.”

Kyle felt like his jaw had dropped to the floor.

Kim looked incredulous as well. “So you switched personas?”

“Give the young lady a prize.”

Something clicked in Kyle’s head. “You were the lawyer that visited him in jail, weren’t you?”

“My aren’t you two absolutely fucking brilliant,” Greene answered sarcastically. “Yes, you see, the older we got and the years spent locked up meant we weren’t completely identical anymore. You can see the differences if you look close enough. Paul here is somewhat leaner and he has a few more wrinkles than me. It was easy enough for me to grow a moustache when I needed to, and I learned a few movie calibur makeup techniques. False teeth, colored contacts, glasses and a padded Armani suit and voila! I became a representative from the law firm representing Dr. Marc Greene. Of course we never discussed anything remotely relating to law during our monthly meetings. The law firm that I hired to represent him initially still handled all of that. My contact there did all the leg work for the parole hearing, and submitted all the paperwork. I just showed up and vomited out a bunch of bullshit that I memorized.”

“That’s how you disappeared too. No one knew you were twins so no one looked for you. Son of a bitch.” Kyle muttered. He had to admit, while the whole thing was creepy, slasher-movie crazy, at the same time it was brilliant, as evidenced by the fact that they had gotten away with it for so long.

“Did you plan the escape?” Kim asked.

“Of course, dear. It wasn’t easy, because of the damn storm. As soon as I found out I was being transferred I set the ball in motion. I lucked out when they moved the transfer time up. I followed the prison van until we got to right outside of Danbury. I had a nice big Ford F-350 with a pushboard. Hit a van just right and it flips easily. From there it was easy to make sure the guards weren’t an issue. Luckily, my brother insisted they secure his seatbelt properly, only a few bruises for his troubles. I drove him to a parking lot so he could steal a car and gave him a phone and the location of two other cars I had planted for him to swap out. He made one swap on the way down to you and the other when he ditched your car. It’ll take forever for the police to figure it out when they don’t get any viable stolen car reports.”

“What’s next?” Kim prompted.

Greene clicked his tongue and hissed. “Tsk,I really can’t tell you. It would spoil the surprise. I doubt it's going to have a happy ending though. I do hope you both have someone to take care of your dogs for you.”

“You better not have hurt them, you ugly asshole!” Kim growled.

“Brother? Did you hurt the dogs?” Asshole’s eyes held Kim’s glare.

His puppet answered, “Probably not. The little pupsicles may have gotten a little frostbite on their tails. Who’s to say how long it took the cop to get home?”

Kyle let out a sound frighteningly similar to a snarl and renewed his resolve to kill the two sons a bitches.

Thing One and Thing Two both laughed, then stood up. “As enlightening as this conversation has been, we have things to do. Do either of you need to use the bathroom? We won’t be back down for a while. I wouldn’t want you to soil yourselves.”

Kyle and Kim both had to go. Thing Two came over to Kyle and fastened something around his neck. Kyle felt a sharp zap and realized that it was a dog shock collar. His hands and feet remained shackled together and he had to shuffle over to the door that was indicated. Thing Two watched him the entire time. Kyle was uneasy having his privacy violated, but he had no choice. Kim had to suffer the same humiliation.

Before leaving, Kyle’s restraints were secured to a thick bolt in the wall and as was Kim’s. The chains that held them were not long enough for them to move very far, certainly not long enough for them to reach each other.

Kim gagged when she saw the plate with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that Greene had placed on the floor between them. The subtle jabs just wouldn’t stop.

The two monsters turned to head up the stairs.

Kim’s voice stopped them. “Why?”

“Why what, my dear?”

“Why get the ball rolling in the first place? Way back when. Why did you choose this path?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘When opportunity knocks, you open the door’? Well, opportunity knocked and we threw the door wide open.”