Hello, guys. I'm still working on the plots for the sequel to 'The Lie'. For now, I present to you the latest Sam-centric fic. Do enjoy.
Summary : Sam is in big trouble. No one is aware that he has gone missing until four days has gone to past. Would it be too late to save him then?
"Jules."
"Go away, Sam. I've done talking to you," was Jules' irate reply as she rushed across the HQ parking lot towards her jeep.
"I said I was sorry." Sam had no problems keeping up with her angry pace, much to her disgust. Of course. He had longer legs.
Fuming, Jules walked faster. "You don't sound sorry at all. In fact, you're enjoying this!"
Sam just grinned. "Well, who wouldn't? Arguing with you is pretty exciting. You look hot when you're mad."
"You're gonna use that line with me, Sam? Seriously? Real lame." Reaching her jeep, she turned to jab a finger against his chest. "Go get yourself another ride, cowboy. My car can't accommodate both you and your ego."
"Aw, come on, Jules."
"Can't hear you," she shot back with a hand behind her ear as she unlocked the car door, elbowing him out of the way for added measure.
"Okay, sweetheart. Fine. I'll see you at home then," he relented. What else could he do, wrestle her to the ground?
"No you won't. I'm driving straight to my Dad's tonight. So, have fun spending the weekend all by your lonesome self."
Sam began to think that he had pushed her button a bit too far. "Babe, are you having PMS? Is that it?"
Jules stiffened. And then, without warning, she whirled around and kneed him in the groin.
"Ooff!" Sam grunted, bending over. She didn't really knee him all that hard, but it was enough to enable him to sing falsetto for a week. Not sparing him another glance, Jules leaped into her jeep and slammed the door shut. Seconds later she gunned the engine, leaving a strip of rubber on the tarmac as she sped away.
Sam was still kneading his most vulnerable anatomy, reeling in her dust, when Ed's car pulled to a stop beside him. In the passenger seat sat Sergeant Parker. Both men were grinning wide. Obviously, they had seen everything.
"Hey, Sam. Is everything okay?" Parker asked, slightly concerned.
"Trouble in paradise, Samo?" added Ed, one corner of his mouth angled upwards.
"This is paradise?" Sam retorted with a rueful smile, his head shaking.
"You guys fighting?"
"Nah. More like having a disagreement. God, she's so damned sexy with her furs all ruffled."
"What did you do to piss her off like that?"
Sam easily shrugged. "As I said, we had a disagreement. I said something she doesn't agree with."
"What do you mean?"
"She asked me earlier, who will make better team leader? Me or her?"
"And what did you answer?" Ed asked, even though he could already figure it out.
"What do you think?" Sam chuckled. "She completely flew off the handle when I then told her that men are more level-headed than women in highly tense situations."
Parker groaned. "Can't believe you said that, Sam. What are you? Sexist?"
"Not sexist. I'm a realist."
"Know what? My Soph would love to hit you over the head if she hears that," Ed dryly commented.
"I wasn't being serious, guys. I enjoy pulling her chain once in a while. Make her all angry and fierce," said Sam, smiling lasciviously. "They said make-up sex is incredibly phenomenal."
"Whoa! Too much information there, Samo," they both cried out, aghast. Sam just laughed.
Shaking his head, Parker then asked, "And she kneed you in the nuts for that?"
Looking slightly sheepish, Sam responded by telling them about mentioning PMS to Jules, causing Parker to wince. Ed slapped himself on the forehead, saying. "God, Sam. You had a death wish or something? Don't you ever, ever, say the three-letter word to a woman."
"Right. You're lucky she's not carrying a gun. Or anything sharp," said Parker. "Instead of bruised balls, you might have lost them entirely!"
Sam rolled his eyes as both men laughed uproariously.
"Hey, you need a ride?" Ed asked after their laughter died down. "I can drop you off before I drive the Boss home."
"No, I'm okay. Thanks anyway."
"You're sure? But Raf and Spike have already left if you want to hitch a ride with them."
"I think I'm gonna walk."
"Walk?" Their eyes widened in surprise.
"But, Sam, your apartment is over ten miles from here," Parker pointed out.
With a shrug, Sam said, "I've walked further than that. In the desert, no less. Besides, the long walk can be my penance for making Jules angry. I'll apologize to her later."
Ed scoffed. "This is Jules we're talking about, Sam. Simple apology is not gonna be enough with her. You have to grovel at her feet."
"Yeah. Grovel till you have no dignity left," added the Sergeant with a straight face.
Their boisterous laughter still rang in Sam's ears even when Ed's car cleared out of the parking lot moments afterwards. Smiling, his head shaking, Sam began walking towards the main road. Despite his bragging earlier, he didn't intend to walk all the way home, not after the rough shift he and his team had had that day. He was tired, his muscles felt stiff and rubbery. Besides, it had already turned dark and looked as if it was about to rain. If he were lucky, he could easily flag a taxi.
Minutes later, Sam was swearing. The rain fell heavily soon after he got to the main road. Adding to his predicament, all the taxis he flagged down were either occupied or on call. He spent several more minutes frantically waving his arm at the traffic like a mad man.
Thoroughly drenched, he was thinking of running back towards the HQ when a taxi finally pulled over. Sighing with relief, he pulled open the back door and dived into the seat.
"Sorry, sorry," Sam muttered over the wet mess he was creating on the cushion.
"No problem, man," the taxi driver, a man in mid-forties, responded with a knowing grin. "Where to?"
Giving the man his address, Sam laid his head back. He wiped the excess moistures off his face and looked out the window at the pouring rain, longing for a hot shower and warm coffee. Already half drowsy from exhaustion, the sounds of the rhythmic whoosh off the wipers and the pelting raindrops against the roof quickly lulled him into a stupor. Without knowing it, his eyelids grew heavy and he fell into a doze.
Sam was jerked back to awareness when the taxi hit a slight bump. Blinking rapidly, he looked around him in confusion. The route they were taking was the opposite direction to his apartment complex.
"Hey, man," Sam said, leaning forward. "Where are you taking me? This isn't my way home."
"Have to take a detour, sir," responded the taxi driver.
"Detour? Why?"
"The St. Patrick Street is blocked due to a road construction."
Sam frowned. What road construction?
"There's no road construction on St. Patrick Street," he said, getting highly annoyed. "I was there just a couple hours ago. Are you trying to con me here, milking out the meter?"
The taxi driver sighed. "Okay, man. Okay. I'll take you back this instant."
Pulling over to the shoulder of the road, the driver turned in his seat and looked at Sam. "Sorry, sir. But I have to do this."
"Do what?"
The man then raised his arm, aiming a rectangular small box at him. In reflex, Sam leapt to one side.
But he was not fast enough. An arc of blue lightning jumped from the box through a pair of wires and latched onto his chest. Sam instantly crumpled, twitching spasmodically as if he were having an epileptic fit. His every thought just disintegrated, filling his mind with pain of epic proportion. His muscles turned to jelly, his head near to exploding. He fought hard to stay awake, but the taxi driver pressed the button once more.
Another wave of paralyzing agony ran through Sam's body, rendering him unconscious.
It had stopped raining.
After what seemed like hours, which in truth was only minutes, Sam came around. Moaning, he tried to move but found himself couldn't. His arms were bound behind him, and a gag was tied over his mouth.
Aw, crap.
As he lay there in the backseat, gathering his bearings, he saw the taxi driver standing right outside the opened door. The man was bending over Sam's feet, tugging at his boots. And then he noticed that he no longer wore his expensive leather jacket, where he kept his wallet. His wristwatch seemed to be missing too. Putting two and two together, Sam quickly realized what was happening.
He was being robbed!
Growling in anger, Sam lashed out his foot and kicked the taxi driver in the face. The man stumbled backwards with a grunt. Wriggling forward on his ass, Sam then bounded out of the vehicle in one smooth move. He rushed over to kick the driver again, but the man took out the damned taser and zapped him.
Sam screamed through his gag. Jerking and shuddering, he dropped like a stone.
Wiping blood off his nose, the taxi driver glared down at his victim. "You just won't give up, would you, kid? Who are you, anyway?"
As Sam lay almost senseless on the muddy ground, the man went to retrieve Sam's jacket and took out his wallet. Upon finding Sam's SRU identifications, he went absolutely still. "Shit. You're a cop?"
Rolling weakly onto his side, Sam tried to push himself up, only he had no more strength left. He couldn't make any of his limbs to work. Yes, he had been tasered a few times before, but those were for fun. But this, this was purposely incapacitating.
During his Special Forces days, living with other alpha males in close quarters in the middle of a desert could be incredibly tedious. Tempers were high, and fights erupted as easily as bushfire. So they made up some stupid games to cheer everyone up. Finding out who dropped first from taser shots was one of them. To his own disgust, Sam had always lost.
And this time, he had lost again.
"Damn, damn, damn," the taxi driver was cursing as he walked back and forth, thinking things through.
Sam looked around him, hoping to see anyone coming to his aid. To his dismay, he saw that they were in the middle of a dirt road, far away from the busy traffic. Everything around them was dark. The beaming headlights of the taxi was the only source of light.
Crouching over Sam, the man said, "Sorry, mate. I thought to release you soon afterwards but…now that I know you're a cop, things have changed. I must make sure you'll never come after me."
A sense of foreboding ran over Sam. He yelled at the taxi driver, his words muffled by the gag, "What the hell you're gonna do? Release me now!"
The man responded by zapping Sam with the taser. Again.
When Sam gathered his consciousness the second time that night, he thought he could hear the roaring sound of a waterfall. But it was only in his head. Being tasered four times within minutes could scramble your brain, not to mention your eardrums.
Not surprisingly, the taxi driver was gone. Sam found himself completely alone, tied to a tree in the middle of a strange dark woods. His arms were wrapped around the tree trunk behind him, his legs splayed in front of him and bound at the ankles. Adding to his discomfort, the gag was still stuffed inside his mouth. Not a soul would hear if he cried for help. He had to get himself out of his bonds but no matter what he did, he couldn't get free. The man was very good at tying knots.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Sam repeatedly hit the back of his head against the tree trunk, mad at himself. He had heard in the recent news about the infamous 'Taxi Bandit', the notorious taxi driver who robbed his passengers off their valuables before leaving them by the side of deserted roads. Never had he thought that he would become one of his victims.
Sam grimaced. His chest was terribly sore from the taser darts, and his head felt twice its size. But his real problem was not those small injuries. What worried him the most was his total immobility, with no one knowing where he was. Heck, even he didn't know where he was.
It was the first Friday in April. His team was off duty during the whole weekend and also on Monday. Back at her father's house, Jules would not be expecting him tonight. Besides, she was still pissed and most probably would not ring him up until she had cooled down, which could take forever. His phone was also stolen, so no chance for his team to track him through the GPS. In fact, from the look of things, he could be tethered to the tree for four whole nights before anyone would realize he had gone missing. With no way to trace his whereabouts, Sam could be left stranded there forever.
In short, he's totally screwed.
Can't this night get any worse? Sam thought, with a weary shake of his head.
He should have kept his mind shut because, moments later, the sky opened up and let down the rain. Sam groaned out loud.
Aw, crap.
TBC...