by Chandra Ryan
Jack could feel the person holding him down and could hear him clearly but he couldn’t see him. It wasn’t until his visor was removed that he could make out the black outline that held him. “Blocking armor.” Try as he might, Jack couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice. He hadn’t expected these radicals to have access to technology that advanced.
“Yeah.” The assailant snickered as he pressed his arm into Jack’s throat. “You aren’t the only salesman who’s made his way out to these parts.”
“Bad, bad things are happening.” Rowe’s voice was high with terror but his captor held him too tightly for Jack to be able to look over at her.
“You got that right, sweetheart.”
The world was starting to swim in front of Jack’s eyes. He needed oxygen and needed it now. He took what little strength he had left and pushed against the other man. It wasn’t much but it did allow him the chance to take a deep breath and gave him the room to move his head.
“If I were you, I’d conserve what energy you have left. It’s going to be a long night for the two of you.”
Rowe screamed. Not the loud cry of terror but the sharp and heartbreaking sound of pain. Real pain. It was the worst sound he’d ever heard.
His captor jerked him up and flipped him around so he was facing Rowe but his hands were behind his back. A binding strip was wrapped around his wrists and tied securely. It was tight. Too tight. And should hurt. But if it did he didn’t notice. He couldn’t process anything but what was happening to Rowe.
Her captor held her much in the same fashion as he was being held but the asshole holding her had such a tight grasp of her hair that her back was bowed. Her mouth was agape and her eyes sparkled in the moonlight with unshed tears. Every protective instinct he had reared to life at seeing her. But there was no way he could take these men. Not with his hands tied and his weapon out of reach. He’d have to try to reason with them. But when he got out of this predicament, and he would get out of it, he’d make sure they paid dearly for every second they hurt her. “You don’t have to hold her so tightly. You’re three times her size. She can’t get away from you.”
“We know she can’t get away, you dumb fuck.” He pulled harder on Rowe’s hair and she gasped. “But she’s so pretty when she screams.”
Rage deep and pure filled him. He had to protect her. It was his job. Hell, it was more than his job. He had to keep her safe. He could feel the need in his soul. He let out a guttural growl and then tried to break free from the man holding him. But a sharp pain burst through his head and brought him to his knees.
“You seem pretty fond of her for property.”
Jack tried to stand again but the guy behind him brought the butt of his weapon down on his lower spine. The pain nearly made him pass out. But he couldn’t give in to the urge. He had to stay awake to do whatever he could for Rowe.
The man holding Rowe smiled as he stared at Jack. “Yeah. Tonight’s going to be fun.”
Chapter Three
Rowe felt sick to her stomach. Every inch of her body hurt and her heart was beating fast with fear. But her stomach was the worst of it. It churned and cramped and rolled uncontrollably. Still she was forced to continue walking. The man behind her pulled her by her hair savagely every time she even slowed down. There was no way he’d let her stop. But that was what she really needed. Everything needed to stop.
She was on a bad path. The worst path she’d ever been on. And there were an infinite number of paths available to her. But they were all wrong. Different shades of danger clouded them. Some were lighter than others. At the end of the path, though, they led to a dark place.
The man holding her pushed her roughly and she felt some of her hair tear before he finally released it. She was free but it did her little good. She had no coordination left to fight or flee. It’d been replaced by fear and pain. She couldn’t even stop herself as she fell to the hard concrete floor. They were in a small shack due west of the cabin she and Jack had been given earlier in the night. It looked mostly empty but she couldn’t be sure. She hadn’t had much time to examine her surroundings before she was sprawled out on the floor.
“Get up.” Thomas’ voice filled the room with the authority of a natural leader. But she ignored both the tone and his words. She had to.
She was dazed. Her surroundings were out of focus. It took all her energy to force herself to take steady breaths while she regrouped instead of succumbing to the comfort of passing out. Even if she wanted to, there was no way she could obey the man. And she didn’t particularly want to right now.
“Are you deaf? I said, get up.”
“I heard you.” The only benefit to being captured was that she no longer had a role to play. Now she got to be herself. And if she was going to die, she was going to die on her terms. “I chose to ignore the request.”
She gasped as she was pulled off the ground by her hair.
“That wasn’t a request, bitch.”
The room swam around her as she fought to remain conscious.
“Get your fucking hands off her.” Jack’s voice sounded rough. As if he were struggling as much as she. It wasn’t a comfortable admission for her to make. But she wasn’t going to be able to come up with a plan if she wasn’t honest with herself.
“Or what?” Thomas pulled her close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his body and smell the alcohol on his breath. When Jack was silent, he laughed softly. “That’s what I thought.” He turned her around so she was facing Jack. His face looked swollen and his lip was split but his body was tensed as if he were waiting for the right moment to pounce. “You ain’t going to do shit to me. I’m holding all the cards.”
“Those are pretty big words for a man with such little rank. Don’t you have to check in before you make threats?” Jack sneered and his tone was full of scorn. He was baiting Thomas. She’d seen him do it to enough people to recognize the move.
“See, if she was a prophet, you would’ve known you was talking to the boss earlier. And you most certainly would’ve seen this coming.” He nodded and the man behind Jack brought the butt of his weapon into the back of Jack’s head. He collapsed like a rag doll under the force of the hit and he didn’t move again.
Her heart stopped and her breath caught in her lungs as the world blurred around her. Her body no longer hurt and she couldn’t feel the tight grasp Thomas had on her hair. She was completely focused on Jack. When his chest rose with a breath, her heart began to beat again.
“You’re wrong. I am a prophet.”
Thomas laughed loudly. “And I’m the prime minister.” He stopped laughing and pulled her tightly to him. “You’re with Special Investigations. I know a rat when I see one. I’m not an idiot, bitch.”
But he was. He’d proven his folly in her past. Or in his future. She shook her head as she tried to straighten out the timeline. In the end it didn’t make any difference. Whichever it was, he failed. There was an escape here. Some path that got her and Jack out of here and led to Thomas’ downfall. She only had to find it. Now was the time to test her theory. She had to try to focus on that one path and forget the others.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The fuzzy image of a nail flashed through her mind. It poked out of the wall as nothing more than a glint of metal in an otherwise dark room. Such a small thing. It was so insignificant her captors probably didn’t even realize it was there. But that one tiny glimmer of metal would save them both. She just had to find the track that would put her next to it.
She opened her eyes and shoved against Thomas as she brought one of her heels down on his foot. She didn’t weigh much but she hoped the element of surprise would work in her favor. Since she’d done little to fight back up to this point, Thomas had no reason to anticipate it now.
He cursed as her heel made contact and then stumbled as she continued to push as hard as she could against him. Her hands were still trapped behind her back but her shoulder provided a large enough surfa
ce for her to have an impact. Soon she was free of his grasp. Spinning, she ran for the nail.
A sharp pain erupted at the base of her skull and stopped her from reaching it, however. Her knees gave out from under her and her cheek hit the cold concrete floor. The air rushed out of her lungs and for one second she forgot how to breathe.
“Shit. You hit her too hard.”
Warm fingers brushed against her neck but she made herself stay perfectly still. They must have hit her with the weapon just as they had Jack. If he’d passed out from the blow it would only make sense she would’ve as well.
“She’s still alive.” The other man’s voice came from directly above her. He was so close she could smell the alcohol on his breath.
“You’re lucky. He would have your balls if you killed her,” Thomas said.
“Well I didn’t. So what should we do now, boss?”
The man’s mocking tone told her they’d been right. Thomas wasn’t the man in charge. But she guessed it was only fair that he’d pretended to be. After all, they were all playing a game right now. He needed his role just as much as she and Jack needed theirs.
“Post two guards outside the door. I’m going to go get the tools. When they wake up, I’ll get the answers we need.”
She waited until she heard them leave before sitting up. The room swam around her at the abrupt position change but she was able to steady herself. After she got her bearings she crawled over to the wall she needed.
She lay down on her side with her back to the nail and started to run the sharp point over the plastic band that imprisoned her wrists. She couldn’t see what she was doing though. As she worked the nail over the bindings she slipped a couple of times and embedded the tip of the nail in her skin. It was amazing how ineffectual the metal was against the plastic considering the damage it did to her.
After a few minutes her hands and wrists were slick with her own blood. But with each pass she was that much closer to being free. Jack had just moaned softly when the binding finally gave. She brought her hands in front of her and gagged from the smell of her blood. She’d really made a mess of her arms. But it was a mess that would have to wait. She had more important things to take care of first.
She crawled over to Jack and pulled on his shirt. “Wake up.”
After a couple of tugs he sat up and then grabbed his head. “Fuck me. I feel like I’ve been hit by a transport vessel.”
“It’s going to get worse if we hang around much longer.” She stood carefully and unbound his wrists before holding a hand out to him. He grabbed it but then immediately let go.
“What the hell happened to you?”
“It was a necessary evil. Come on.”
He stood this time but did so without touching her. “Here.” He pulled his shirt off in one smooth movement and then started tearing it into strips. “Use these on your arms.”
“Now’s not the time for that.” She would live without bandages. But they needed to get out of here. She walked over to the back of the building and started to press against the boards. It was a shoddily made building. One put up in haste. There was a chance that some of the boards might be loose.
“Over here.” Jack seemed to have the same idea. Only he had started on a different wall. And either he’d had better luck or he’d used more muscle when testing the boards as he’d already pushed one out of the way and was working on a second one. “Hurry. Somebody had to hear that,” he said as the board gave way. It was true. The boards might have given out but they did so with loud protest. He stood back and let her pass before he followed her out.
The gently rolling hills didn’t offer them any more protection now than they had earlier in the evening. And now they didn’t have the night vision to help. But she had something better. She faced each direction for a split second before grabbing his hand and setting off in a sprint in the direction that made her feel the best.
By the time they crested the third hill she was starting to feel more comfortable. Except for the lightheadedness. That was troublesome. “Blood loss.”
She stopped to gasp for air and wait for the sensation to pass. “Is now a good time to bandage your arms?” He’d redressed in the remnants of his shirt but the hem was noticeably too short and the arms missing below the elbows.
“It’s the right time.” She held her arms out to him and he quickly began wrapping the scraps of cotton around the wounds.
“It’s not good. You need water and disinfectant.”
“Not to mention three booster shots,” she teased.
“At least. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking of how much you’d owe me if I saved you.” She winked and then looked over his shoulder. “Speaking of which, we’re not done yet.”
He nodded and they started running again. They ran until they reached the edge of a forest. Once inside the relative shelter of the trees, though, they had to slow down to accommodate the shrubs and roots. The timing couldn’t be worse. She could hear dogs barking in the distance. No doubt they were on her and Jack’s trail.
She turned east and ran until she stumbled over something. It could’ve been a low-lying branch except it squished. “A deer?”
“Or a wolf.” Jack helped her get up. “Either way, it might distract the dogs long enough for us to get over the compound fence.”
The closest segment of the fence was to the south. She changed directions and started leading him that way. By the time they reached it the sound of the dogs was far off in the distance. But the corpse wouldn’t keep them busy forever.
“Would you look at that? You brought us right to an access panel.” He broke the lock and started to fiddle with the circuits in the small box.
She took a couple of deep breaths. “Gut.”
“You’d be dangerous if you could actually remember these visions of yours.”
“I’m working on it.”
He glanced up at her but then went back to the panel.
“Thomas isn’t the boss. I heard them talking when they thought I was out.”
“They thought you were out?”
“Not the time.” She handed him one of her earrings and then took two steps back.
“Thanks.” He put her earring in the panel and a shower of sparks flew out. “Stand back.” He looked back at her and smiled. “Never mind.” The grid of lasers flickered a couple times before going out. “My turn to lead.” They darted through the gap as he pulled his digital reader out of his pocket.
In a few minutes there were helicopters circling overhead.
“The cavalry has arrived.”
Thankfully they dropped a basket and not a rope ladder. She didn’t think she could climb anything in her current condition. But with the basket it only took a few moments and she and Jack were safely in the bird and being flown off to a secure base. She wanted to feel elated that they’d escaped. But she was more disappointed they hadn’t found out who was the head of the militia than anything else. She’d gotten them out safe and sound but she’d failed the mission.
As soon as the helicopter touched down a circus of medical personnel and men in suits surrounded them. Thankfully the suits seemed content to allow the doctors to work first. Now that the adrenaline was starting to fade she could feel each cut and every bruised rib.
When she was finally in a sterile room, the doctor unwrapped the strips of cloth that were around her arms to reveal the mess that lay under them. “You must have tapped out your reserves, young lady. You should’ve already started healing.”
“High-stress situation. It slows down the regeneration process.” Or at least that was what she’d been told.
“Must hurt like a bitch.”
She smiled. “Better than the alternative.”
“I guess I see your point. Here.” He handed her two pills. “These sedatives should help you stay comfortable until the healing process kicks in.”
“Don’t they need to debrief me?”
“They’re talking
to your partner right now. They won’t be ready for you for a while. You’ve got time.”
Her arms were starting to itch and her head hurt from the weapon strike. But there was one thing she wanted to know before she fell asleep. “Did they find anyone else? They were torturing someone. He was injured but he got away. I think.”
“They haven’t brought anyone else in for treatment. Your boss will probably know more though.”
“Okay.”
“Take the sedatives. Rest. You’ll feel better.”
The pills went down smoothly. And thankfully they took effect quickly. Within a few minutes she started to nod off. It felt good to relax as her aches and pains drifted with the artificial ebb and flow of the medication.
“Lie back. You’re safe now.”
But she wasn’t.
“They’re going to come looking for us.”
“A judge issued a search warrant when they were bringing you guys in. The camp has been cleared.”
“Not all the rats were on the ship when it went down.” She wasn’t sure why she said the words. Or even if she had. They sounded garbled even in her head.
“Shhh…”
Somehow she’d managed to lie back on the hospital bed. “There was another. He wasn’t there.” The words were said around a yawn.
Warmth surrounded her as the doctor pulled a blanket over her. “I’m sure you can tell them all about it when you wake up.”
“Rowe.” Jack’s voice seemed distant. Why was he so far away? “Rowe. Wake up.”
She was asleep? Why would she be napping? Weren’t they supposed to catch the bad guy? “I’m awake.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m good.” Her words were slurred. “Head is heavy.” She opened her eyes and blinked at the bright lights that surrounded her. “Where am I?”
“Someplace safe.”
“I feel weird.”
“You’ll feel better soon.” He brushed his hand over her forehead and the touch made her sigh.
“Have to.”
He laughed. “Yes you do.”
