The Cage Read Online Free Page B

didn’t move. “You…you’re not gonna kill me, are you? I’ve done everything you asked.”
    “I want you to show me how to turn the satellite off. Then I want you to switch all of the televisions over to broadcast, and the audio over to AM.”
    “S-sir…there’s nothing on the broadcast channels anymore. Everything has converted over to digital.”
    “I know. That’s why we’re doing this. Digital broadcast is no good.”
    “And I don’t know if we can get AM radio in here.” Carlos’s tone was apologetic and plaintive. “There’s no antennae. And with these thick walls, we won’t pick up any signals. All you’ll hear is static.”
    “All I want is static. And all I want from the televisions is an empty broadcast channel. I want no signal, whatsoever. No signal from the televisions. No signal from the stereos. No signal from anything. Understand?”
    Carlos nodded. Jeff saw the confusion in his eyes. It mirrored his own.
    “Good.” The man motioned with the pistol. “What’s your name, again?”
    “Carlos.”
    “That’s right. Excellent. That’s a good name. Full of power. Now, come on, Carlos.”
    Carlos shuffled out of the cage. The man placed the pistol barrel against his head, and then closed and locked the cage. Then he turned back to the others.
    “Remember. That security camera is watching everything you do. That means I’m watching, too. I found your little security monitors behind the sales counter. Don’t get any ideas. Work with me, and this will all be over soon.”
    He marched Carlos out of the warehouse. As they left, he began humming the same tune Jeff had heard him whistling earlier. Jeff still wasn’t able to identify it. As they walked through the door, the gunman stopped humming and sang a snatch of lyric.
    “You don’t have to be a Shtar, baby, to be in my show.”
    Then he began humming again. He guided Carlos through the door and out into the store. The door closed behind them, and the noise from the televisions and stereos settled back down to a dull roar.
    “Well,” Clint muttered. “That right there just proves how crazy he really is.”
    Roy nodded. “I would have never guessed that guy was a fan of Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.”
    “What?” Jeff frowned. “Who are they?”
    Roy shook his head sadly. “You kids. If it’s not Guns n Roses, you don’t know about it.”
    “I was six years old when Guns n Roses came out, Roy. Appetite For Destruction was the first cassette I ever bought. How about you get with the times? Guns n Roses are classic rock, now.”
    “Well, even still…”
    Jeff rolled his eyes. “Who are Billy Davis and Marilyn Mc-whatever?”
    “I know,” Scott said. “Billy Davis is the guy who played Lando in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi .”
    Clint groaned. “That’s Billy Dee Williams, you dip-shit. Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo were one-hit wonders in the Seventies—back when Roy and I were your age and dinosaurs still walked the fucking Earth.”
    Jeff snapped his fingers. “You don’t have to be a star, baby, to be in my show!”
    Roy nodded. “That’s it. That’s the song he was humming.”
    “But that’s not what he said.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “He sang something else. The words were a little different. He didn’t say star.” Jeff frowned, trying to remember. “Scar? Spar? Shtar?”
    “I think it was Shtar,” Scott said.
    “Yeah,” Jeff agreed. “That was it.”
    “So not only is he crazy,” Clint said. “He’s got a speech impediment, too.”
    The noise from the store continued for another minute. Then it began to slowly fade.
    “Carlos must be switching everything over for him,” Roy said.
    The others nodded. They waited for Carlos to return, but he didn’t. There were no gunshots. No screams or shouts. The store was silent.
    They waited, wondering what time it was, wondering if anyone would find them, and wondering what was happening out beyond the cage.

“I’ve got to