A/N: This a mild prequel piece to COL's Tortured Soul. It follows Pride (and Brody's) POV on LaSalle's abduction and explores the emotions of the team as they search for their missing team mate (and later deal with his resurfacing). This story is rated "T" and contains mild references to torture and abuse as well as comfort and fluff too (Cherrish and father/son references). In other words, if you desire the all of the gory details and explicit Cherri scenes read Tortured Soul ;).
Warning: Mild Language and dark themes
Prologue.
'Tom' as he was known on the Internet and to clients, grinned with satisfaction as he hefted the Chris LaSalle's limp body and tossed it into the trunk of his Dodge Charger. He'd first read about LaSalle in the newspaper, after the agent had become the target in a plot of revenge that had left his girlfriend and two NOPD officers dead. Acquiring a Federal Agent had not been an easy feat. In fact, it had taken some masterful planning on his part, to learn the agent's habits and social patterns. Always a solo act, Tom stalked the agent waiting for the perfect opportunity which had taken longer than usual due to the agents unpredictable work schedule and ever changing routines. There were some nights when LaSalle would just sit talking with a pretty girl on other nights he'd leave with said pretty girl to go hook-up. Only on occasion did the agent get stupidly drunk where he wouldn't notice a tail
This night was such a night with LaSalle's drink of choice being straight whiskey. Tom had actually taken a risk and got close to the agent striking up a conversation about Alabama football. All night long he made sure his best girls plowed his intended with a steady stream of drinks. Like most of his victims he waited until LaSalle let his guard down and then masterfully slipped rohypnol into his drink, followed him around the block to the public parking lot and jumped him. Given the agent's inebriated state the struggle had been brief.
An NCIS agent would fetch a nice price. Young, attractive and in his prime, Chris LaSalle would indeed be worth more than the typical sorority girl, or runaway. Vulnerable, and full of fight, Tom hoped his client would be intrigued enough to make a purchase. Yes, sir, he had a special client all picked out for the agent, one that was into darker and methodical methods of torture.
6 Hours Later...
There was an ache in LaSalle's arms as he came to and it was easy to figure out why. He was suspended from the ceiling, his wrists in chains and toes teetering about an inch from the floor.
For several seconds he stared down at his shoes, trying to get his eyes to focus. Nothing was making sense, his head hurt unmercifully, and his mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. But in reality it was a piece of sodden gauze, covered by duct tape to keep him from calling out. He clearly remembered tying on a good one with a pretty girl at the Avenue Pub and then bidding her adieu but the rest was blank.
The idea that he'd most likely been ruffied came to forefront of his mind as two blurry figures started toward him: one average height and the other over six feet tall. Chris could tell that they were speaking but whatever messed up drugs he'd been given made it hard to comprehend, other than he was in deep shit.
The smaller of the men grabbed him by the chin lifting his head up.
"Was I wrong?" Tom grinned at his best client, (Gabriel as he was known by his business associates). "Strong, lean, great muscle tone, nice looking and a cop."
LaSalle conjured a low growling noise from deep inside his throat as Tom proceeded to sell him to his client like he was some sort award winning pedigree.
Tom glared at the agent's meager attempt at a protest. "Oh, excuse me, Federal Agent." The trafficker sneered, averting his attention back to the client. "Would you like to see his teeth? He's got real nice ones on top. The bottom not so much."
Gabriel gave a subtle nod. Though he liked what he saw he wasn't quite sold on the idea of bringing a federal agent into his den. The liability alone was enough to make him pass up the pretty trussed up man. But then he saw something.
"C'mon smile for the man," Tom sneered as he ripped off the gag and pulled out the gauze.
"Go tah hell!" Chris snarled nailing the trafficker with a swift kick, that sent the man sprawling to the ground. Defiant, blue eyes looked down upon his captor, daring him to fight back. It was the kind of defiance that said he would use every fiber of his being to fight and ultimately die before cowering and relinquishing his soul.
So, the pretty boy had fight. Gabriel liked that. In fact, he was so intrigued by it that he prompted Tom to discipline his newest prize. Not that Gabriel wouldn't let any actual harm come to the handsome man with the striking blue eyes. But he needed to see just how long the agent's fight might last. If his hunch was correct he was about to gain the prize of a lifetime. Now normally, the sadist preferred to inflict his pain on defenseless woman and an occasional mouthy dock worker, both of whom always ended up being sniveling wrecks by the end of the first round. But a federal agent, well, that might just be a nice change of pace.
"You stupid son of bitch," Tom snarled climbing to his feet, his fist curling. In one fluid movement he clocked the agent with a solid to the jaw. "You just sealed your fate." Looking around, the elite human trafficker of New Orleans picked up a two by four, preparing to crush the agent's skull. A sadist such as Gabriel might enjoy watching the light go out of the agents eyes before he dragged him off to do God knows what. Hell, he might even being LaSalle a favor.
"I don't like bruising." Gabriel said, earning a hard glare as Tom tried to marshal his anger.
"No guarantees," Tom hissed, knowing the deal would go sour if he damaged the merchandise too much.
Chris let out a groan looking heavenward as the two-by-four struck him hard in the left side of his rib cage, but didn't waver. Still holding a hard gaze of his own, he waited for Tom to try again, but this time he was ready, steeling himself from crying out. The second blow was much harder than the first, this time it felt like it had perforated a lung. If that were true it would get very hard to breathe, as it was his heart was already thundering in his chest trying to compensate for the additional adrenaline that his body was creating in order to deal with the fear. He'd been in tough scrapes over the years but never a dire as this.
Tossing the two-by-four aside, Tom went for the agent's gut with a closed fist, earning the tip of Chris' steeled toed-boot to the forearm. It wasn't enough to stop the man who dealt in selling human beings as if they were some sort of sport. But it did make him back off for the moment.
"Excellent," Gabriel hissed under his breath before waving Tom away. Keeping at safe distance, he took a moment to look over the fine specimen he was about to acquire from all angles. Slowly, he circled around the bound agent making a mental list of LaSalle's best assets. Physically the agent was perfect, no doubt about that it. But in the end it was Chris' eyes and outright defiant attitude that won him over. Gabriel had grown bored with his usual stock of playthings and was looking for something new, something that presented a bit more of a challenge and excitement.
That hard sexy f- you gaze would be worth every penny.
But there was much work to be done with this one before he would submit. Tendrils and layers that society had planted needing tearing down so that agent might find his true self. The true self of humility and fear that all human's were originally given, a clean slate, a new beginning to wipe away the arrogance that LaSalle had acquired from years of pretending would definitely take some effort on creativity on his part.
"I assume you'll be wanting the usual price?" Gabriel asked when it was clear he wasn't going to win the staring contest he had started with LaSalle.
"Actually, the price just went up ten-thousand," Tom said. "Being that he is a federal agent, he was difficult to acquire."
Gabriel stroked his chin. Usually he wasn't one to barter but Tom did have a point. This time instead of the usual whimpering, sniveling college girl, he was offering up something special, for the sadist, something that would challenge his mind as well as his worldly needs.
Turning back to LaSalle, he lifted the light grey Henley inspecting the agent's left side where Tom had struck him with the two-by-four and as expected, Chris jerked and twisted away when touched.
"It's most likely fractured." Gabriel said suppressing a grin as he made eye-contract with what he considered to be his new pet. Normally, he would never accept damage goods no matter how slight the flaw. Christopher LaSalle would be his first exception. He could live with a bruised and/or cracked rib, if it didn't take away from the agent's resolve to fight.
"Only five thousand more then," Tom crossed over to the agent, grinning. "This bastard here, he's gonna fuck you up real good." He sneered replacing the gag before injecting him in the neck with a hefty animal tranquilizer.
LaSalle's upper lip curled with continued defiance as two men completed their so called business deal with cash. A mere fifteen thousand is what the agent's life was apparently worth.
"You want him packaged up in the usual way?" Tom questioned, stuffing the cash into a lock box.
"I think I'll do it myself," Gabriel answered looking back at the pretty agent one more time before shaking hands with the trafficker. "Oh there is one more thing."
"What's that?" Tom asked, unsuspecting of what was about to happen. The monster and the trafficker had been doing business for years. He had just given the sadist the plaything of a lifetime. There was no reason to think their business relationship wouldn't continue.
Gabriel's hand fell to the smaller man's shoulder. "I like you, Tom but unfortunately we can't do business anymore." Kidnapping a federal agent would leave too many loose ends. Where normal law enforcement would give minimal attention to the missing co-ed or housewife, a missing federal agent would bring out the bloodhounds and additional manpower to no avail. So, Gabriel had to be extra careful not to leave any bases uncovered. His tracks needed to be covered completely which usually wasn't too hard, being that he wasn't in any federal system that housed fingerprints, DNA or photographs.
Gauging Tom's expression, he waited until just the right moment and then expertly clutched the man's jaw with his giant paws, snapping the man's neck like a twig.
LaSalle's stomach twisted with gut wrenching fear as he watched the dead trafficker's body slump to the hard floor with vacant eyes. No longer was he grinning over his latest business transaction.
The giant of a man killed him with his bare hands.
Before Chris could take in his next breath, the monster of man, had his hands on him. One clutching LaSalle's jaw and the other anchoring the back his neck.
For a moment, Chris thought he was about to suffer the same fate, until the monster leaned in whispering in his ear, right before his world went completely dark. "When I finish with you Pretty Boy, you're going to be begging me to break your neck too."
A/N: Ok, so if you can handle this chapter. You'll probably be good for the rest as the story mainly deals with the emotional trials of LaSalle's abduction.