Vol 4 No. 47, Apr 22 - Apr 28 2004

...continued I spent the rest of the evening unfettered and un-blinded, as we talked about his ex-girlfriend and his past experiences with bondage play, which turned out to be pretty extensive. "On several occasions, complete strangers have come to my home for the sole purpose of being my captive," he claimed. "Soccer moms, business execs, school teachers, college girls, nurses, actresses, models--even an opera singer once." Over a bottle of white wine, he asked me for my opinion on prospective business ventures, and we compared opinions on films. We laughed about our correspondence, and his stalking maneuvers. I considered escaping, but what was the point? By around 2 am, I was nodding off in a chair. He insisted I sleep in his bed--with him--because I'd "be more comfortable." I relented, but told him if he tried anything I'd karate chop him. To his credit, he was a model of restraint (the moral kind) and didn't lay a finger on me. In the morning, we played a game. He tied me up in complicated poses, and left me alone to see if I could escape. When we tired of that, we lounged around drinking absinthe and looking at books. He kept repeating he had meant for the experience to be much more sinister, almost apologetically. I tried to make him feel better by saying that in lots of movies the kidnap victims end up palling around with their kidnappers. Eventually, he drove me to my neighborhood, where I had him drop me off on a corner less than 10 blocks from my house. I shook his hand, smiled, and thanked him. After all, it was kinda fun. FEAR IS FUN "You slept platonically in your kidnapper's bed and he was like, 'That's cool; I respect your space?!' That's not a kidnapping!!" My roommate Chelsea was cackling on the couch as I recounted my tale. I hadn't slept well or eaten, and my muscles were sore from being tightly trussed up--but otherwise I was in good spirits. After all the stress and grave consideration that went into the planning of the kidnap, I felt a renewed sense of luck it had turned out so ridiculously vanilla. A few days later, I emailed The Kidnapper, wanting to talk about our experience--what worked, what didn't, how he might do things differently given another chance. Would he take a cue from the gang in NYC, and start the West Coast ("laid back") version of a kidnapping business? I pitched the idea to him. "I would consider it," he said, "although I'd first have to overcome the uncomfortable image of it all. Telling friends and family what I'm doing would be rather awkward. But if it were profitable and enjoyable, why not? (Wanna be part of my team?) Personally, I have no interest in kidnapping guys. The kidnap thing is sexually based for me, so it just wouldn't appeal. However, if this were a business, and I was kidnapping for profit, absolutely [I would kidnap men]. I'd probably keep a couple of gay men on staff just for those abductions which required some sort of sexual play or touching." Okay, fair enough. But I was also curious as to why he was so polite with me, after I'd given him permission to rough me up a little and toy with me psychologically. "I do regret not being more forceful with you," he admitted. "Knowing that my actions would be put into the newspaper made me a bit gun-shy. Had I crossed the line and done something questionable, not only would it have created an awkward situation, but it would surely have made the paper as well." Between the two of us, The Kidnapper and I managed to over-prepare for the kidnapping in every respect, except for what we would actually do during the 24-hour window allotted. What was supposed to have been a scary, exciting experience degenerated into casual chumminess--which is presumably why people in New York are turning to professionals. And who's to say there isn't a market for this kind of adventure on this side of the country? As The Kidnapper explains it, "The fear of abduction is something most Americans experience daily, and the media tends to foster that fear. News reports focus on missing children and violence against women, television crime dramas use the same issues for plot scenarios--even our milk cartons remind us of those who have actually fallen victim to abduction. With so much pent-up fear over something, it's no wonder some people would eventually have an interest in facing that fear." Now that there are bondage clubs and amusement parks in every city--where people go to make toys of fears like pain and heights--perhaps kidnapping is the next level of entertainment. It could be a profitable enterprise, so long as you were convincing and organized. (If I'd paid money for my kidnapper's amateur performance, I'd be demanding a refund.) For the customer, there's a rush and a pleasure in being placed in harm's way and surviving it. Caught up in the materials and duties of our daily lives, we all too easily forget our basic sensations and instincts. Getting a thrilling, affirming blast of life is both invigorating and addictive. While I got a taste of that with my kidnapping, it also reconfirmed another basic fact of life. If you want something done right, hire a professional. Back to Nonfiction Section