by Sharp, Tracy
“It’s just better that way,” she said. “Any decision Gabriel makes is for the good of the family. If you’ve never really had much of a family it might take some getting used to, but you will. Most everyone does.”
I wondered what happened to those who didn’t.
***
Gabriel decided that I would be allowed a shower. I promised to make it quick. When asked if I could look through the boxes of clothes, Gabriel frowned a little and said that Ivy would find something for me to wear. I was to simply give Ivy my size and she’d dig up a couple of shirts and pants for me. I requested jeans.
I followed Meredith downstairs to a long room which was the shower room. There was a long and narrow open stall with five shower heads attached to the tiled wall. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. The compound was dehumanizing. You were not a person here. You were merely part of the group.
There were no bottles of shampoo or conditioner, only large bars of soap. I looked back at Meredith. “I can shower by myself. I’ll be fine.”
She opened her mouth to argue, then nodded and said, “I’ll be right outside the door.”
Wonderful.
A frosted glass partition came outward part way across the room, but not far. It would afford just the slightest bit of privacy if I chose the shower head closest to it.
I undressed quickly, careful to hide the bug under my top. I leaned in close and whispered, “God Jack. This place is fucking horrible. Just a little longer, though, okay?”
I knew he couldn’t be too far, probably parked right down the road. It gave me just a small bit of comfort knowing that I wasn’t completely alone in this madhouse.
The shower lever groaned as I turned the water on. It took a long time before the water turned hot. I shivered as I stepped under the steamy spray. The heat felt lovely. I used the bar soap, yellow, it was, to lather my entire body and hair, and rinsed myself off thoroughly. The smell of the soap turned my stomach. It smelled like dishwashing liquid. Shampoo must be for the evil rich. An unnecessary, decadent luxury.
I lingered just a moment longer under the steaming spray, letting it run over my neck and down my back, my eyes closed tightly.
The steam stayed in the room after I turned the shower off. I’d forgotten to ask for a towel. When I turned around I noticed a white one hanging from the end of the glass partition, I felt slightly alarmed. I hadn’t heard anyone enter. It was a creepy feeling knowing that they were watching me even when I wasn’t aware.
I dried off quickly. The rough texture of the towel felt good on my skin. I guessed that they didn’t invest in fabric softener.
I came around the partition, looking for my clothes. They were no longer there. In their place was the fresh pair of jeans and long sleeved waffle top someone had folded neatly and placed on the floor for me. My stomach turned to ice. Did they touch my bra?
I lifted the top. A sports bra I’d never seen lay there. My bra was gone.
And so was the bug that had been attached to it.
***
Within moments number seven walked into the room. She was followed by number nine, and various other numbers.
I held the towel up to myself, covering up what I could.
Gabriel’s first lieutenant, number one, pushed past the women, gun trained on me. “Get dressed.
“Get out of here and I will. I’m not giving a free show for you, pervert.”
He smirked. “You don’t have a choice.”
I glared at him, grabbed up the clothes and backed up behind the frosted glass. I pulled the clothes on, all which were a little big. It didn’t much matter, except that it pissed me off that these were the clothes I’d probably be shot dead in. Strange, the things you thought of when you had a gun pointed at you.
I was in trouble. No doubt about it.
But Jack and Declan would know that something had happened, that I didn’t have the bug anymore. They’d be storming the place any moment, right? Wouldn’t they?
My mind was spinning. Not knowing what else I could do, I came out from behind the glass partition and stood, staring Number One in the eye.
I tried to convey my message. I’m not afraid of you, asshole. I straightened my back, made sure my shoulders were squared and Tilted my chin up. Fuck you.
He chuckled. “You won’t be so tough when you discover what Gabriel has in store for you. We’re going for a little ride.”
A ride could be bad. “I can’t wait. This place is boring as hell. Anything would be preferable.”
“We’ll see.” The smirk widened. “I can’t wait, either.”
Oh shit.
My gaze flicked to Meredith. Her expression was disgusted. I was a traitor. A spy. I deserved what was coming to me. All their expressions were the same.
There was no mercy for me here.
Number one stepped to the side and gestured with the gun for me to move.
As I walked toward them, the other numbers moved to the sides, clearing a path. I was outnumbered, literally, and Number One had a gun. I wouldn’t be running away from this.
This had been a bit of a bad idea. I hoped that Jack and Declan were on top of it, ready to storm in with guns, every friend we had right behind them.
As I approached the stairs, I saw Gabriel standing at the top , legs spread slightly, arms crossed. He was wearing a wide smile. “Well, well. There’s more to you than I thought, Leah.” He turned his head, keeping his eyes on me. “See, my children? The enemy comes wearing my disguises.”
I climbed the stairs purposefully, not shying away from him. When I saw the faces of the other members, I couldn’t help myself. “Yes, and sometimes the enemy will come as a cult leader with the face of an angel. Who impregnates his members and then steals their babies, telling them that the babies died and then selling them to the black market.”
It had been a hunch, but as far as hunches went, I was pretty damned talented.
I turned and looked at Gabriel’s face. The self-satisfied smile was gone, replaced by a vicious scowl. “You think you’re smart?”
He grabbed me by the arm, digging his steely fingers into my flesh, and dragged me into the kitchen, throwing me into the middle of the room. He pointed to the monitor hanging in the corner of the kitchen.
I looked up at the screen and the breath went out of me.
On it Jack and Declan were pacing in what looked like a concrete room.
“We’ve been seeing those two driving around the property. Two of our members saw them hiding in the woods and quietly came to inform me. We had no idea they were connected to you.”
My mouth had gone cotton dry. I looked back at Gabriel.
“But when Number Nine found your bug, we figured it out pretty quickly. Of course, by then we already had them in the bunker.”
I looked back at the screen, my heart sinking.
“You see, your two nosy friends are in an underground bunker on the property. You can’t be surprised that I’d have one. The end of the world is coming, and we have to be prepared. But for right now, the bunker serves nicely as a prison for them.”
I wondered how anyone got Jack to follow them into that thing willingly. He’d prefer to be shot.
But then it came to me. It was for me. It wasn’t the gun pointed at his head. It was the gun he had known would be pointed at mine.
“Good friends you have there, Leah. I have a few questions for all of you. But I think we’ll keep you separated. I’m sending One and a special member of mine down into the bunker to ask some questions.” He’d stressed the word ‘special’.
White hot fear clawed at my stomach.
He walked over to me, grabbed me by the hair and yanked me up. I bit my lip so that I wouldn’t scream.
“I have another place for you, a special place. You’ll be able to see them, and they will be able to see you. But they can’t help you. Nobody can. Won’t that be cozy?”
This wasn’t going at all well, and it was going to get worse.
***
They shoved me into the back of a truck equipped with a dog guard. I heard a key turn in the lock, and took note that there was no door handle on the inside. . I wasn’t getting out of there.
I sat up, looking out at the dusky, fading daylight. My heart drilled against my ribcage and my breath came out in short little gasps. I tried to slow my breathing. Hyperventilating wouldn’t help the situation.
We drove for a good twenty minutes. The van finally stopped in front of a cabin. I heard the truck doors slam as I tried to take in our surroundings through the window glass, and then the key in the lock of the back door.
Number One motioned me out with the gun. He wasn’t letting go of that thing. Too bad. Without it I might have a chance at wounding him and the specialmember, who was a big, hulking, deranged looking man, who made strange sucking sounds through his lips every few minutes. At first I’d thought he was being lewd, blowing me obscene kisses, but when I saw the blank look in his eyes as they stared straight ahead at the road, I realized he was just bug shit crazy. Not a good scene.
I couldn’t make a move. If I got myself shot now, then Jack and Declan would be in an underground bunker for nothing. I had no options.
The helplessness I felt made me want to scream like a banshee, but I swallowed it back and bit my tongue hard enough to draw a little blood.
I climbed out of the van, feeling the damp cold seep into my skin. Hard little bits of icy snow were spitting from the sky now, biting into my face and hands. The air seemed to be getting colder by the second. I had no jacket now, and no shoes. I only had the socks that Number Nine had dug out of the box for me. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and I hadn’t had anything to drink, either. I was in no shape to fight or to try to escape.
But for the moment, anyway, I wasn’t drugged. Though that could change in a hurry. They didn’t have to try to hide the drugs in food or drinks anymore. They could just jab me with a needle if they wanted to.
Mr. Special unlocked the cabin door and shoved me through it, and I caught a whiff of something rotten as I stumbled away from him. Christ knew when the last time this dude had bathed , or what the last thing he’d eaten might’ve been. I tried to shove these thoughts away.
“Hello Leah.”
I scanned the room but saw no one.
A gleeful laugh erupted within the room, sounding slightly tinny. “Here, Leah. On the monitor.”
Gabriel was standing within the frame of the monitor screen, arms crossed. The wide smile was back on his face. “Nice of you to join us,” He was enjoying the hell out of this.
I forced myself to appear calm. I stared at him, crossing my own arms over my chest.
“I see you’ve met my special member, Mr. Bones. I only bring him around for special occasions. I won’t tell you why we call him Mr. Bones, but you may find out before the night is through.”
I didn’t look at Mr. Bones, and swallowed down hysterical laughter. I was beyond scared, and the urge to laugh my ass off was overwhelming.
“Now let me make myself clear. Number One and Mr. Bones are going to ask you a few questions. If you don’t answer truthfully, I will know it. See that monitor to your left over there?”
I looked to the left of the room and spotted the other monitor. Jack and Declan were still scanning the bunker for a way out. I knew Jack wouldn’t give up. They were also looking for objects that could be used as weapons.
“They will be able to see you shortly. If you don’t answer truthfully, you’ll be beaten. If you continue being insubordinate, other nasty things will happen to you. Number One and Mr. Bones have been very loyal and faithful members of our family. If it comes down to it, I will allow them to do whatever they’d like to you.”
I kept my face as expressionless as I could, but I felt my teeth grinding together.
“And Leah, Mr. Bones has some rather…exotic tastes. Trust me. You do not want to find out what they are.” His face was serious on the blue glow of the screen.
I heard the odd sucking sound come from Mr. Bones but didn’t look at him. I resisted the urge to shut my eyes and cover my ears with my hands, and scream until I had no voice left.
When the sucking sound stopped, I glanced at his lieutenants. Both were grinning, but Mr. Bones wore the most obscene smirk on his face that I had ever seen.
“Okay, let’s get started, shall we?” Gabriel said. “Mr. Quick, Mr. Manning. Are you both with us?”
I looked at the monitor to the left. Jack looked straight at me. I wanted to apologize for my stupid move, but I didn’t have to. He saw it on my face, I was sure.
“Mr. Quick. Who sent you? What organization are you with?” Gabriel asked Jack. “Mr. Manning, you can choose to answer this question if you like, as well.”
“We’re not part of a group.” Jack continued to watch me.
“Yes. That’s what I thought you’d say. I’ve decided to shake this up a bit.” Gabriel tipped his head back and laughed. “This is going to be fun. For every untruth you tell me, Mr. Quick and Mr. Manning, Leah will be punished. The same goes for you, Leah. If I think your friends are lying to me. Is that understood?”
Jack’s jaw tightened. I could see it from where I stood, even on a monitor. “I’m not part of a group, Gabriel. I’m a mercenary. I work for myself.”
Gabriel watched Jack from his own monitor. He caressed his chin. “I don’t believe you. Number One, if you’d be so kind.”
Gabriel’s number one lieutenant came at me in one swift motion, backhanding me so hard that I flew backward, falling to the hard wood floor.
“You fucker! I’ll kill you!” Jack screamed at the camera. I looked up at the monitor to see him standing directly under it, his face tilted right up at it. His eyes were wild, his face stony with rage. “I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Mr. Quick, you’re not exactly in a position to make threats,” Gabriel said, truly enjoying the entertainment.
Jack glared at the camera, his eyes deadly serious. “Oh, don’t you worry, you fucking loony tune. I’ll get out of here somehow, and when I do, I’ll rip your fucking head off.”
Gabriel’s laugh sounded pleased. “I’d like to see you try.”
“You’ll see it. Soon.” Jack turned his back and paced toward the back of the room. Declan stood back, his arms at his side, watching the camera. His chin was slightly tilted downward. He was assessing the situation. Each response somebody told him how much trouble we were all in, and whether or not there was a snowball’s chance in hell of any of us getting out alive.
“Number’s Three and Four, tie Mr. Quick and Mr. Manning down, please. They shouldn’t give you any problem, knowing that their dear friend is in the hands of my lieutenants.”
I watched as Jack and Declan allowed themselves to be tied to steel chairs. Jack was a very big boy. But handcuffs were used. He wouldn’t be getting out of those restraints without help.
“Leah. Your turn, same question. What organization are you affiliated with? Who sent you to spy on me? And please. Don’t try to say you weren’t spying. I believe we’re well past any charade that you weren’t. Your bugs are proof of that. And yes, we did find the others.”
“I’m not part of an organization, and I wasn’t hired by one. I was hired by the husband of a missing pregnant woman. Alexia Clemmons.”
Gabriel frowned. “Why would you think I had anything to do with her disappearance?”
“It’s come through the grapevine what you’re involved in, Gabriel. It’s just a matter of time now before they close your little business down.” I was using my smart mouth because begging and pleading sure as hell wasn’t going to work with a no conscience narcissist, and besides that, I didn’t have it in me. But I feared for Jack and Declan, and the only thing I could do was tell at least a portion of the truth.
“Who is the grapevine, Leah?” Gabriel asked.
I was afraid he’d ask me that. I said nothing.
“Leah, who
is the grapevine?”
Gabriel turned to a monitor with small images of Jack and Declan on them. A monitor within a monitor. It was all too strange.
“Number twelve,” he said.
“No,” I said.
I watched as one of the goons walked over to Jack and booted him in the jaw. His head snapped back, blood flying around him.
“Jack,” I whispered. In that moment I made a promise to myself. I would get out of this. I’d find a way, and this motherfucker would pay.
After a long moment Jack lifted his head. He blew number twelve a little kiss through a bubble of blood, and looked at the monitor, winking at me.
I couldn’t help but laugh. He was one tough son-of-a-bitch.
“Leah,” Gabriel said. “Answer the question.”
“There is no grapevine. It was a hunch.”
“Really. Number Thirteen. I think Mr. Manning is feeling a little left out over there. Give him a little love, would you?”
Another of Gabriel’s men walked over to Declan, something in his left hand. I squinted to see what it was. Duct tape. I heard the ripping sound as he tore a piece off the roll. Dread filled my chest as I watched him roughly slap a piece over Declan’s mouth. He then used his thumb and index finger to plug Declan’s nose.
At first Declan did nothing. He had to be holding his breath, having anticipated what the man would do. But then he slowly started moving his head back and forth.
“Stop,” I said. “Stop!”
Declan was bucking in his chair now, his movements frantic. His feet pummeled the floor.
“Stop! Stop it!” I was screaming now.
“You can stop for now, Number Thirteen.” Gabriel’s voice was cool, and I could hear the smile in his voice. Briefly I wondered who had fucked him up so badly. When the exact moment was that his sanity snapped. At what point had his conscience been severed as a child.
I watched as Declan took a large breath through his nose, then several more, hanging his head so that his chin rested on his chest.
This had to end, and I had to end it. This was torture, and Gabriel, was loving it. He was probably sporting quite an erection.
