Some Men...

"Some Men..." is the 6th episode of Sweet Escape.

Plot
In a flashback, Ben is sat in the back of a luxurious black limousine drinking his MacCutcheon whiskey and smoking an expensive cigar as he is driven down the coast of California to the top of some hills, where the Nuclear Power Station he owns resides. The limousine is parked in a special reserved area, just for his car, and then his chauffer opens the door for him. They walk towards an office type building, the chauffer opens the door for Ben, and then they both enter. The finally arrive at a lavish office with a sparkling glass desk, a cabinet full of nearly a hundred different bottles of expensive alcohol, a giant stuffed bear and a flat screen TV which covers almost one whole side of the room. The desk sits next to a giant window, which looks down on the power plant around him. An unsatisfied Ben moves towards his desk and then grouchily sits down at it; he sighs. “I-Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?” his chauffer asks. “Yes,” Ben huffs, “You work for me now. You’re my personal assistant” he states. The chauffer is overwhelmed, “Oh, thank you, sir” he says in shock. Ben doesn’t respond, instead he begins to fill in some paperwork. The chauffer is left standing awkwardly in silence. Ben looks up from his paper and gives his new assistant a baffled stare, “What’re you doing?” he asks, almost angrily. “You didn’t tell me what you want me to do, sir” the chauffer explains. Ben is enraged “I shouldn’t have to tell you to do things, you should just do them” Ben growls. “What things?” the assistant asks. “Take my calls, do my paperwork, take me where I need to go, open the door, scrub the floor” Ben begins to list, frustrated. The assistant sarcastically opens the door to the office; Ben glares at him. The assistant begins to walk over to Ben’s desk and then picks up the paperwork, Ben is shocked, “What are you doing?!” he asks. “You said to do…” the assistant begins to explain before being cut off by Ben “Not now!” he yells. He looks at the phone and obviously points out that nobody is ringing it, so Ben angrily instructs his assistant to clean the table. He does as he’s told and clumsily begins to clear up the table. “Have you ever been a personal assistant before?” Ben asks the man condescendingly. “No… you JUST hired me after having me as your chauffer” the assistant points out. “Well I don’t know how they did things in chauffer school, but here, people like you wait on people like me, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! And I don’t have time to answer a thousand questions and teach you how to do your job” he snaps. There is a moment of silence, “Do you want me to leave?” the assistant asks. Ben shakes his head, “Just close the door” he sighs.

In the present day, the fugitives run out of the car simultaneously, heading towards the sound of the gunshot. They look around the vast empty desert and see no sign of Mary. “Where is she??” Josh asks in a panic. Liz lets go of Rocky’s collar and he begins running around the area, sniffing the ground. “Is she dead?” a scared Joe asks. “How the fuck are we supposed to know, kid, she’s nowhere near!” an agitated Ben snaps. “Maybe it was aliens” Joanna suggests. Rena gives her an offended look, “NOOO! I mean the slimy green ones” she explains. Everyone rolls their eyes at her insensitiveness to the situation. Suddenly, Rocky begins to bark, having found something, so the group rush over. They see footsteps in the ground, “Mary was here” Josh states as he begins to follow them, “There were two other people here…there was a struggle. She was dragged over here” he says, following the tracks. “It looks like a car was here… they put her in the car” he finishes. “She’s been taken?” a scared Liz asks, “By who?” Joe wonders. “How the fuck are we supposed to know, kid. God you’re a fucking moron” Ben moans. Liz slaps him. He punches her. “Enough!” Alison calls out. Josh’s panicky face suddenly changes to a look of realization, “I know where she’s been taken” he states. Alison asks where, but he tells the group that there is no time to explain before ordering them all to get back to the van. They do as instructed. “Your turn to drive?” Joe asks Ben, who scoffs at the question, “Kid, I don’t do that, people drive me!” Joe rolls his eyes at yet another douchebag comment. They all enter the car and Josh drives them down Route 66 to find Mary.

A short while later, Valentina is walking down the white corridor once again, this time in a different part of the facility. As she’s walking down the corridor, she looks to her right to what looks to be an area under construction. She then passes a closed off room where a young blonde woman, dressed in all black, is seen practicing fighting techniques against plastic dolls with a long double sided sword. She woman is impressive with her moves, jumping high in the air and doing flips too. She is able to swiftly use the sword fight off two people at once. Valentina smiles at how good the girl is before continuing her walk. She then comes across a large hole in the raw earth, leading almost like a tunnel further underground. Once she’s passed it, she enters a room to find Matthew and Noah standing beside an unconscious Mary Castillo, who is tied down on a metal chair. She gives them a confused look, “What the fuck is this?” she asks, pointing at the unconscious girl. The two men give each other a quick glance of fear before Noah timidly says, “I-It’s the g-girl you wanted”. “No!” Valentina yells, almost shaking the room. The men step back slightly, “Did you even look at the girl I need?!” she asks, enraged. The men don’t answer. “My god, you are the two most incompetent people I have ever come across in my life time” she growls, “Why can’t you be more like Justine?!” she asks before pushing a button on a small device. Within seconds, Justine, the blonde woman who was training with the double sided sword, enters the room and stands beside Valentina. “Yes, ma’am?” she asks. Valentina points her hand in the direction of Noah and Matt. “These two have failed me one too many times” she explains, “Please dispose of them”. Matt and Noah begin sweating with fear, “No, please! I beg! Have mercy!” Matt cries out. Noah silently accepts his fate. “I’m done with you” Valentina tells them, pointing her gun at them, “Now follow her” she orders them. The men reluctantly follow Justine out of the room and into the training room she was previously in. The blonde grabs her double sided sword, standing Matt and Noah either side of her. She then leaps into the air, spinning rapidly while holding the weapon. The sword swiftly slices through both of their heads at the same time. Justine lands perfectly on her feet and looks towards the window that looks out onto the corridor. She sees Valentina stood watching her with crossed arms, smiling.

The group are speeding down Route 66 as fast as they can, leaving the state of Oklahoma and entering Kansas. So far, the whole ride has been silent as everyone, or at least most people, seem determined to get Mary back to safety. The silence can last no more as Joe in unable to keep his, bursting out crying. Everyone looks at him with shock. “Joe…?” Ali asks, confused as to why he’s crying. “Don’t worry, we’ll get Mary back” Josh tries to assure the child. “No, it’s not that. Well…it is…but that’s not why I’m crying” he explains awkwardly. “Then what?” Ali asks sweetly. Joe looks down at his twiddling fingers, “I was nearly hurt too! That man tried to rape me” he shouts. “Oh, for GOD’S SAKE! NOT YOU TOO!!” Ben roars. Everyone looks at Ben with shock, including Joe, whose tears are stopped by the shout. “Excuse me?” Joe asks, offended. “I’m sick and tired of you people complaining about everything and anything!” the middle aged man rants. “What, and you haven’t complained?” Josh asks sarcastically. “No! In fact I’ve probably complained the most, but do you know why? BECAUSE I’VE BEEN STUCK WITH YOU PEOPLE FOR ALMOST A GOD DAMN WEEK” he replies. Joanna nods her head in agreement, “I gots to agree with him. Ya’ll are a real buzz kill for this holiday” she adds. By now the group have just learned to ignore Joanna’s obnoxious comments, so that’s exactly what they do. “What is wrong with you, Ben?” Liz asks him quietly. The middle aged man looks at her with an angry scowl, “Why is it so hard to be nice? Why are you so mean?” she asks him.

In a flashback, Ben is sat in his exquisite office, slowly spinning around in his desk chair when his assistant enters the room carrying a mug of coffee. He places it on the table, “Damn it, Kerwin! I told you I only drink tea!” Ben yells, grabbing the mug and throwing it against the door, “Can you not get anything right?!” he adds. Kerwin looks nervous, “S-Sorry, sir” he stutters. “S-S-S-SORRY” Ben yells mockingly. Kerwin proceeds to leave the office, “And clean that up!” Ben orders, pointing at the smashed cup. Once Kerwin has gone, Ben leans back in his seat and sighs. He then turns to his large television and turns it on, watching his employees through security camera feed. Bored, he flicks through them all until he suddenly comes across one worker. The employee is sat on the chair in his station, sleeping. This sight infuriates Ben. Kerwin re-enters the room with a cloth to clean up the spill, but he’s instructed by Ben to bring the employee on his screen to his office, “Right away, sir” Kerwin says, leaving the office without cleaning the stain. A short while later the employee is brought into Ben’s office by Kerwin, looking very nervous. “Leave” Ben tells Kerwin, who obeys. The employee stands before Ben, shaking with fear, “You wanted to see me, sir?” he trembles. “What’s your name, son?” he asks the employee, “Julian” he replies, “And yourself?” he asks in return. Ben laughs, “Is that a serious question?” Julian doesn’t reply, “I’m Benjamin Wheeler” he begins to explain, Julian’s eyes widen, “I own this place” he finishes. Julian is speechless and even more nervous than before. “How do you think it makes me feel when my workforce disrespects me?” he asks Julian, “I wouldn’t imagine it to be very pleasant, sir” Julian responds. “Right!” Ben smiles before pointing to the coffee stain in the corner of the office, “You see that stain?” he asks. Julian nods. “That’s you. And I am this room. This beautiful, extravagant room” he begins, Julian can’t help but sweat with fear, “You are a tiny piece of dirt in my life that can easily be cleaned up in no time…and it shall be cleaned up” he says intimidatingly. Julian asks what he means by that, so Ben explains that he saw Julian slacking off at work and states that he won’t stand for it. “I-I am so sorry sir… but I was up all night…I have a family, my daughter was ill. She was up all through the night and I stayed up with” he begins to cry, “Do I care for your excuses?! Do you think I care?!” Ben roars. Julian shakes his head. “Good. Because I don’t” he snaps. Julian begs his boss not to fire him, reminding him that he has a family to care for. “Oh, I’m not going to fire you” Ben assures the man, “But you better be careful…because if I catch you slacking off again, even for a second…you’re gone”. Julian sighs with relief, “Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down again. And again, I’m sorry”, Ben sighs “Leave my office” he says bluntly. Julian does as he’s told.

In the present day, Josh is driving the van down Route 66. They exit Kansas and enter the state of Missouri, their final destination. “Okay, not long now” Josh explains to the group. Nobody replies as most of them are either scared for Mary’s safety or they just don’t care… Once again, there is an awkward silence in the car…until Liz breaks it, “Why are you such a cunt, Ben?” she asks. Ben is offended, “Excuse me?!” he gasps. “Please, save it. Don’t try to act all high and mighty. You know you’re a major douche bag…so why? Huh? What is your problem?” she asks. Ben looks around and then shrugs his shoulders, unsure how to respond, “Why you all ganging up on me? Joanna is much worse!” he says, pointing at the fat black woman who is stuffing her face with a Twinkie. “Hey!” Joanna yells, offended, spitting crumbs everywhere, “Anyway, I’m black and fat…it kinda comes with the package” she explains. The group ignore her once again. “Seriously, Ben, why? Is it your parents? Are the parents the source of your problems?” Liz asks, hoping to get to the root of it, “Yeah, did they like spank you with knives like my ma’ and pa’ did?” Joanna wonders. “No, my parents were decent people” Ben replies. “So…was it some sort of traumatic event?” Liz wonders. This triggers a response in Ben, who looks slightly uncomfortable going into this topic of conversation, “I’ll take that as a yes?” Liz asks. “I don’t want to go into it” Ben says timidly. Liz shuffles towards the middle aged man and puts her hand over his shoulder, “It’s okay, tell us” she smiles. Ben sighs, “Fine” he huffs. “Well I guess it all started when I was ten… me and my parents were walking home from the theatre at night time” he begins to explain.

We see a flash of Ben and his parents down an alley near their local theatre at night time. A rough looking man walks past them and grabs his mother’s purse before sprinting off. Ben’s father chases the man and tackles him, but ends up getting shot in the gut. Ben’s mother howls with fear, but she falls silent when she’s shot in the head. A terrified Ben watched the murderer run away and then he rushes over to his dying father. Before they can say anything, his father drops dead. Ben breaks down into tears.

Back in the present, Ben continues his story, “From that day on, all I wanted to do was help people. Help the less fortunate so something like this didn’t happen again... But people are selfish and time after time after time I was hurt and betrayed. I tried to help people but all they wanted was money. One day I had enough. I stopped caring. My hatred for those low life scums only grew over time” he explains. Liz is unsure what to say, so simply thanks him for sharing that story with her. “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain” Joanna states. Everyone looks at her with shock, “That’s deep…” Rena comments. Joanna smiles, “Thanks. I got it from batman” she sings with glee. “The black knight rises!!” she yells, raising her fist into the air like a superhero. The group go back to ignoring her.

Back in Valentina’s base, Mary is awoken by a sudden gush of water that is thrown over her face. She awakens to find herself tied to a metal chair in a small room. Valentina Morales is stood before her, holding a knife in her crossed arms, smiling. Mary’s eyes open wide at the sight of the weapon and she begins to struggle, attempting to break free from her bonds. “Hello, sweetie” Valentina smiles, “Who are you?!” Mary demands. Val begins to pace around her prisoner, introducing herself as Valentina Morales. “And what do you want with me, Valentina Morales?” Mary asks. Valentina stops walking when she comes to the front of Mary and then she punches her in the face. Mary groans in pain and spits blood from her mouth, “What the fuck…?” she asks. She is punched again, “Why are you doing this?!” Mary yells in pain. Valentina takes out the knife and holds it near her captive’s hands. Mary watches the weapon with hawk eyes and she attempts to pull her hand away, but she’s unable to. “You friends will be here soon… I need them to do something for me” she explains. “Do what?” Mary asks, crying with fear. Val ignores the question, “And I don’t think they’re gonna be too cooperative when I ask for their help… so they’re going to need a bit of convincing” Val explains before cutting into Mary’s hand. She screeches with pain.

In a flashback, we are shown a montage of some of the horrible things Ben does to Julian, starting with enlisting help from Kerwin to vandalize his car. The two men scratch Julian’s car with knives before slashing the tires.

We see Ben ordering Julian to do extra work and giving him smaller deadlines to finish it.

We see Ben keeping Julian behind to work extra hours, despite Julian’s personal/family life.

And then we see Ben sat in his office, alone, looking at several paperwork documents. The documents show Ben deducting money from Julian’s wages and transferring it to an offshore bank account.

This happens multiple times, and over time, this sends Julian and his family into bankruptcy, so they’re forced to live in a small, cheap motel.

Finally we see Ben arrested and taken into a police car by several officers. Kerwin watches from the window in Ben’s office as his boss is taken to jail for his crimes. He can’t help but smile.

Back in the present, Josh pulls up the van as they’ve finally arrived at the base. Everyone is speechless, as it doesn’t look anything like they expected. They all stare at a giant, pure white pyramid shaped object sticking out of the ground. “This is it?” Rena wonders, “It’s kinda underwhelming” he adds. “This some real illuminati shit right here” Joanna says with fear, “Don’t they kill my people?” she panics. “Oh, that’s not all of it” Josh says in response to Rena, “This is the tip of the iceberg” he smiles. “It’s an underground base?” Liz wonders, so Josh nods. “Well, how big is it?” Rena asks, Josh smiles again, “Big”.