So in this version Mal kills Natara…I don't know what my obsession is with making them kill each other is maybe I'm just messed up. Anyways, hopefully your not sick of me making them die. Because seriously someone needs to call child protective services because I'm abusing the characters. So far, of the four fanfic's I've written I've killed Jacob Fallon, killed Margot (a character I made up) killed Mal and (spoiler alert) Natara in version one of this and blinded Natara. So, I'm an 'abusive author' according to my friend. But sometimes the characters talk to me in my head (whether my characters or not) and I swear their suicidal. Please don't call me crazy for that. It's just sometimes I feel like I have a whole world up there. So, I'll shut up about my character murders.
Prologue
Mal knew when that that shot sounded, that the bullet ripped through Natara's body, that it was over. It was all over.
Natara has eight hours to live
She walked out of her long-term hotel building, opening the door of Mal's car and sliding into the front seat, almost dropping one of the many files and her laptop bag as she got in.
"Think you have enough stuff there?" asked Mal sarcastically as Natara got situated.
"I told you I think I have a break in the Genevieve Collins case."
"What brought this on? You had nothing earlier." he asked as he made his way to the station.
"Amy heard the Flores Cartel headquarters in Mexico was raided. Someone found some of her 'souvenirs'". The word souvenirs sent a chill down both of their spines, they knew all to well what kind of sick objects her 'children' crafted out of human suffering. They pulled up to the station, Natara getting out first and impatiently waiting for Mal. Mal slowly got out knowing he really wasn't particularly exited about a lead to Genevieve. Finding her meant Natara would leave, and he would never see her again. They walked inside, finding that Captain Yeong was waiting for them with a odd and unreadable look on her face. Seeing them, she rushed forward as if the whole world depended on her getting to them.
"Agent Williams, were you contacted by a confidential informant about the Genevieve Collins case?" she asked without a greeting.
"No, I had been looking over several files from the case though, why?" she asked.
"I was told to give you this, and no one else." She handed her a sealed envelope. Natara took it, and saw written in blood red ink 'For Natara William's eyes only' written on the front. She slowly opened it, the suspense rising as the they craned their necks to be the first one to catch a glimpse at the mysterious letter. Natara read it out loud in a hushed whisper. "Dear Agent Williams, I have information on Genevieve Collins. I wish to remain anonymous. If you want the information I have to offer you will show up at a small red boathouse out by the docks in the south side of the city. Section 13C. Come alone". At the ominous ending the three looked up at one another, each searching for another person who had gotten more out if it then themselves. "Well that was dramatic" said Mal sarcastically. Captain Yeong glared and Natara smiled. "Think we should go?" asked Natara.
"I don't think we can afford not to" answered Captain Yeong. She turned to Mal "There's a chance its an inside informant and wants to help but is controlled by fear. Go with her, it could be a trap. Keep hidden". She walked off at the sound of a phone from her office without another word.
"Guess that's decided" said Mal.
Natara has seven hours to live.
A half and hour later they pulled into a small and cheaply paved parking lot. Natara got out, making herself clearly visible as she walked to a small red boathouse on the outskirts if the docks. The docks themselves looked old and abandoned, like the waves had worn away the wood itself. She walked slowly in the building, and after the pre-arranged one minute waiting period, Mal followed, gun drawn. He got out, not closing his door for the noise. He quickly crept closer, his left shoulder on the wall, he waited for any noise. He was so concerned with the sound that could come he never heard someone come up behind him. He never heard the small footsteps from behind. But he felt a cold and small hand hit his neck with a sharp blow. He felt disorientation as his vagus nerve filled with blood. He heard, as the last thing before everything went black, Natara's scream.
Natara has three hours to live.
Mal woke up to a small and dingy basement. Water dripped from the ceiling. Cold chilled in the room, and Mal could feel a tingling pain in his neck. He tentatively sat up, leaning back in the wall. He suddenly remembered Natara, her piercing scream. "Nat…" he attempted to yell, but found his voice low and raspy, finding it painful to speak. He paced the room like a tiger, running his hands along to walls for any form of escape. But wherever the door was, it affectively melted into the brick. He pounded his hand in various places, trying to find a hollow noise. Finally after what felt like day, but what was really a few hours, he sat down, his head in his knee's. Then he heard it. Natara, screaming again. And she sounded like she was in terrible pain.
Natara has one hour to live.
Mal couldn't bare it, hearing anyone, especially someone he cared about, scream in that way. Hours passed, but to him it felt like years. Situations played in his head, horrible things they could be doing to her. Each one worse than the last. Eventually the screams resided, and Mal's mind jumped to the worst. Eventually the door, a small one that melted into the wall, opened. A sack, or at least that's what Mal thought it was, fell through, brief light filling the room then disappearing. When he saw a flash of coffee colored hair, he knew what it was. "Nat!" said Mal, his voice somewhat better. He ran to her body, finding it was still warm, that her heart still beat. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, her eyelids spasmed over her eyes. She moaned weakly. Picking her up like a small child, Mal carried her to the opposite wall, propping her up against her shoulder and cradling her limp body. He looked, she had no wounds and could only imagine what they had done to her. He felt something hard at her side, in her jacket. He reached in, pulling a scrap of paper out and a gun. He replaced the paper and looked at the gun, one bullet. And he knew what it was for. Natara's eyes widened, and seeing Mal she instinctually cringed in pain. "Nat, are you alright?" he asked. She had jumped away, sliding away from Mal with unexpected speed. He could see her eyes in the dim light of the single yellow lightbulb above, they were wild and have lost a layer of sanity. Her hair was singed in places and was wildly messy around her face, giving her the look of an untamed animal. She was muttering to herself, saying unheard words. "Nat, Nat it's okay" said Mal, approaching her.
"Get away from me!" she yelled, screaming. Her eyes were almost popping out of her head "Don't touch me!". Mal slowly got closer to her, not meeting her gaze. "Kill me" she whispered, her voice suddenly calm and steady. Mal almost didn't hear her. He looked up at her, expecting to see insanity in her eyes. But they were normal now, wide and fearful, but sane. And in a way that was worse.
"No, Nat. I don't care what they did to you. We're going to get through this" said Mal firmly.
"Kill me!" she yelled. She leaned in, pulling him into an odd sort of hug. She felt her hand go in his jacket, and felt a paper slip in with it with it, just near his chest. She slipped tbe paper into a hidden pocket of his jacket. "If you love me you'll kill me" she whispered "it's me they want…they don't need you…you don't know who they are…they'll let you go…" she almost whined. "I heard them…I know…"
"Nat don't make me…" he started, but she quickly pulled away from him. She backed against the wall, trying to get away from him. Her body language suggested she wasn't in the right mind, but her eyes knew what came out of her mouth "KILL ME!" she screamed. Mal picked up the gun. He knew one bullet would do him no good against who knows how many of his captors. There was only one use for it. He raised it, and wanted to look away. He knew Natara knew what she was saying, and it was her decision. That he had to do it, that she was begging. He heard a bang, but was not aware that he had pulled the trigger. Mal knew when that that shot sounded, when the bullet ripped through Natara's body, that it was over. It was all over.
