A/N: This story WILL be short, and just cover what happened to Serena and Peter after the assault on the ship. With the series returning this weekend (finally!), I should be back to regular storylines as soon as this is dealt with.
Legal: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers or the characters, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – there will be adult themes, including torture.
Serena was sitting in the corner of the room, hugging her legs for comfort in the pitch black room. She had no idea where she had been taken, or why. The only thing she knew was that the people who had taken her were being incredibly careful to ensure that she would receive no opportunity to escape, and that she had no idea where she was.
When they had arrived by helicopter, she was in a hood, completely blocking out her vision. Since she and Peter had been gagged, she didn't even know if he was still with her. They had been separated when they arrived, and she hadn't seen or heard from them. The hood was only removed once they were both inside the compound.
She didn't even have any idea what this place was. They had never taken her near a window, never mind a door to the outside. Indeed, so far she had only seen the inside of this cell. It was completely made of steel bulkheads, riveted together with massive rivets. The door itself looked like it had to weigh close to two hundred pounds, and completely blocked out the light from the outside, with the exception of a vision slit that was no more than two inches high, and twelve inches wide. They had mercifully left it open, having sealed her completely in darkness when she first arrived, before opening it after what felt like hours.
She had tried to sleep when she could, but despite her exhaustion, the pain in her body together with the uncomfortable cell, she just couldn't bring herself to sleep.
She didn't know what happened to Peter. Her captors always refused to answer any of her questions whenever they brought her meals. Fox, Jarvis or Kirk would bring her a tray with plastic cutlery, and a basic, though unappetising meal, take a mouthful to show it was edible, and leave, shutting her back into darkness, only returning to collect the tray. She had no idea how long she had been here, and she didn't really want to think about it anyway. All she could consider was that Peter wasn't with her, and she had no indication what had happened to him. Was he here? Had he been taken somewhere else? Had he been released? Was he even still alive?
She heard some footsteps coming to the door, and the light was blocked slightly as a pair of eyes appeared in the doorway. Just then, the lights came on. After so long in the dark, the harsh light blinded and disorientated her, leaving her reeling in the corner, shielding her eyes. The door was opened, and Jarvis stepped in with Fox, who seemed to be carrying some form of weapon.
"We want to talk to you." Jarvis said in his deep, loud voice. He came towards Serena, pulling out what she presumed were handcuffs.
"Just try something sweetheart." Fox stated, levelling the weapon at her. "I'm begging you."
Nothing was further from Serena's mind than attempting to escape. She was weak, and disorientated as a result of her captivity, something she was sure was her captor's intent. Even if she was in any condition to fight, she doubted that she would get far anyway, considering the fact she had no idea where she would go once she was out of the cell. Jarvis secured her hands behind her back, before pulling the bag over her head, blocking out her vision again.
She was taken by the arm, and led from the cell to another part of the complex. The sound her feet made on the floor indicated that it was made of the same steel as the floor of her cell, but other than that, there was nothing she could ascertain.
When they got to her destination, indicated by the sound of another heavy door opening, she was brought inside, and forced to sit down on a chair. She felt straps being secured around her legs and waist, before her hands were released and secured to the arm rests. The hood was removed, light once more assaulted her eyes. She blinked a few times as her vision started to blur back into focus.
She saw that this room was different than her cell, being lit for a start. There was a heavy metal table in the middle, and her chair was on one side of it. Her chair and the table were bolted to the floor, though another chair was on the opposite side. Kirk was sitting in the chair, giving her a taunting little smirk as he contemplated her.
"How have you enjoyed your first night?" He asked her. Serena had to stop herself from protesting. She had only been there one night? Since she had no clocks, and no source of natural light to go by, she had no indication of the passage of time, but she couldn't believe it had only been one day.
"I'd like to complain to the manager." She responded sarcastically. "There was no welcoming mint on my pillow."
Kirk just shifted a little in his seat, and looked her in the eyes.
"So, what do I call you?" He asked her.
"Felicity Lancer." Serena replied, giving him the false name she had been using on the ship. Kirk just shook his head.
"I can see we're going to have to be more persuasive." He told her, nodding behind her. She felt her head being pulled harshly to the side, and something pressed against her neck, just behind her ear. With a hissing sound, something was injected into her.
"It'll take a moment to work, in the meantime, perhaps you'd like to reconsider your position." He continued. Serena could feel something starting to affect her, dulling her senses. She had never been a fan of spy films, but given the context, she presumed that she had been injected with some kind of truth serum. She focused as much as she could, hoping that she could keep enough of her faculties not to say something she shouldn't.
"I think we both know that isn't true." He told her. He snapped his fingers, and Fox came back into view, carrying something in a plastic bag. As he laid it on the table, Serena looked at it, her vision finally clearing enough to see that it was a golf club.
"Do you know what that is?" He asked her.
"It's a golf club." She responded, feeling the drugs starting to work their way through her system. "It's a nine iron to be exact."
"Very good." He said, picking it up. "It's also something that we'd like you to tell us more about."
"You hit golf balls with it?" Serena said, blinking a bit more. It was becoming harder to focus on what she was doing. Whatever they had shot her up with was obviously strong.
"Yes, but it looks like you hit other things with it too." He replied. "There are marks on it, that look like it was struck with a sharp, metal object. We found it on a flight on which there was a suspicious incident."
Serena realised what they meant. On her flight back to the US from London, she had used a golf club to defend herself when Kenzo attacked her.
"Your fingerprints are all over the club." He told her. "When I ran the prints from your glass through our database, it flagged a file on you. We were eager to get some answers."
Serena didn't know what they were getting at, but she supposed it wasn't good. After all, she had ended up landing that flight by herself. He put some photographs down in front of her.
"Your fingerprints were also at the site of a violent incident on a hunting estate a little way from London." He continued. "And finally, your fingerprints were found at a museum heist in the US. Do you know what connected all three sites?"
"Not really." Serena mumbled. "I want to know what happened to my husband."
"Spare me the husband line, we both know you're no more married to him than I am." Kirk snapped in response. "What do you know about swords?"
"Swords?" Serena asked him. She was finding it harder to concentrate, figuring that the drugs were really starting to kick in. She had to draw on every ounce of her mental training to keep her head clear enough to think of answers instead of just blurt them out. "Where's...?"
"Your fingerprints were all over swords at all three scenes! In the last heist, you tried to replace a multi-million dollar sword with one of equal value!" He interrupted her. "Why?"
"Where's my friend?" Serena asked him again.
"I'd be more worried about my own predicament if I were you." He told her. "You've been found at the site of a terrorist incident on an international flight..."
"Hold up, terrorist?" She asked him. He just ignored her.
"You were at the scene of a mass-murder in England, and you broke into a government building!" He snapped at her. "You've used at least two false identities that we're aware of. You have to admit, it all sounds rather suspect."
"You think I'm a terrorist?" Serena asked him, letting out a little bit of a laugh before she could stop it as a result of the drugs. She had to reel herself back in and concentrate on her meditation techniques to focus.
"Have you ever heard of the Patriot Act?" He asked her. "I can throw you back into that cell and hold you there, no access to the outside world until you grow old and die! Now tell me what I want to know!"
"Tell me what happened to my friend." Serena reiterated. He just smiled at her. This was all part of the process, getting her on her own. He wanted her to realise she was on her own, to really believe it, so she would see her situation as helpless. He just took a sip from a bottle of water slowly.
"All in good time." He reiterated. "Now, what do you know about swords?"
Serena was finding the drugs testing the very limits of her mental faculties. She knew it wouldn't be long until they forced her to blurt something out. She just made a motion with her head indicating she wanted him to come closer.
"It's a secret." She whispered. Kirk came over, and leant down to hear her answer.
"You stick the pointy end in the other guy." She whispered. She started to giggle uncontrollably as Kirk just shook his head in disbelief.
"She's not ready yet." He told Fox. "Get her back to her cell, dose her up once every three hours for the next two days. She should be willing to spill her guts by then."
"You should have just given it up." She told Serena, unstrapping her from the chair and cuffing her hands behind her back again. "Amnesty International has no idea this place exists. Have you ever heard of waterboarding? Some of the methods we have at our disposal, it'll seem like a nice shower by comparison."
"That's enough Fox." Kirk told her. He opened the door, but as the handle triggered, he heard something metal hit the floor. He opened the door a little, seeing a grenade on the floor, the safety pin removed, and the spoon a little way from it.
"Get down!" He screamed, but it was too late. It went off, sending all three to the floor. A man in black ran in, looking around before finding Serena and coming to her side, unlocking her handcuffs. It was hard for her to see given the flash, and the drugs in her system, but she finally figured it out.
"Peter?" She asked. Like her, he was covered in bruises, and given the jerky way he was acting, he seemed to be running on pure adrenaline. He released her hands.
"Serena, we need to get out of here!" He told her. She just held her head, trying to get her bearings, but was barely able to even sit upright of her own volition.
"Uh...sorry maybe next month." She commented. Peter left her for a moment, before coming back to her.
"You can kick my ass later." He told her.
"Kick your ass for what?" She asked. With that, he threw a bottle of water in her face. Before she could react, he slapped her hard across the right cheek, before doing the same to her left. "Peter!"
"Hey, it's not scientific, but its the best I could come up with on a truncated timetable." He told her, helping her to her feet. He handed her an asp, before taking one from Fox. "Come on!"
"Where?" She asked. "I haven't seen..."
"I have a great sense of direction." He told her. "I can quite literally remember where I've been blindfolded."
"I hope so." Serena replied. "So how did you get out?"
"Jarvis underestimated me." He told her with a little smile. "Never leave a nerd alone with a paperclip."
As he ran out of the room, Serena followed him, seeing some guards running towards them. Peter held his asp, ready for action.
"Sorry Serena, but my skills are a little basic in this field." He told her. "This is where you take the lead."
"With pleasure." She remarked, twirling the baton in her hand in anticipation, before ploughing into the guards.