Robin sighed as she closed her cell phone again, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor of Barney's apartment and staring at the front door, as if she could somehow will him to walk through it at any moment. Ted sat on the sofa, staring at Barney's enormous television screen, which was currently tuned to ESPN – nowhere near concerned enough, as far as Robin was concerned.
"Okay, I'm really starting to worry, here…" she informed Ted, hoping he would take the hint and direct his attention away from the television. It's nearly four o'clock, and I would think he'd have returned our calls by now…"
"Unless he's off with some girl." Ted shrugged. "It's Saturday, it's not like he has to work – or has any other obligations to keep him from doing whatever he wants. Maybe his phone is turned off."
"His phone is never turned off," Robin countered. "That thing's like… the air he breathes. Besides… if it was turned off it'd be going straight to voicemail."
"Okay, yeah… and, yeah," Ted agreed with a sigh, at least going so far as to mute the television, leaning back and frowning with concern at her troubled expression. "Those are both true. But… maybe he's someplace where there's no reception. You said this girl he left with was someone he'd screwed over before, right? Maybe she stole it or something. You know, as payback."
"After taking him home and sleeping with him again first…" Robin sounded doubtful – then considered her words with a sideways half-shrug. "Okay, maybe not so ridiculous…" She opened the phone and dialed Barney's number again.
"I'm sure we'll hear from him by tonight," Ted assured her. "And then we'll both feel really silly about…"
"Wait." Robin's tone was sharp, and she held up a finger as her brow creased in a troubled frown. She removed the phone from her ear, her frown deepening as she closed it and turned to face Ted again. "It just went from ringing to going straight to voicemail between those last two calls. So…"
"So he turned his phone off," Ted concluded. "Which settles it. Clearly, he's off on one of his exploits and doesn't want to be disturbed."
"It does look that way, doesn't it?" Robin sounded distracted – and maybe a little hurt – as she put her phone in her pocket.
"So… you wanna just go home?" Ted suggested, his tone cautious and gentle.
"Not yet," Robin decided with a sigh, as she sat down on the sofa beside him. "Let's wait just a little longer."
*************************
"You really think a single, stupid apology could make up for the way you used and humiliated me?" Allison continued ranting angrily, and Barney could hear the sound of her pacing footsteps on the floor in front of him. "You really think a few meaningless words could undo the damage you did? That's your problem, isn't it? You think the things you do don't matter – think you can do whatever you want, regardless of the consequences for the people you hurt…"
"Are you going to shut up anytime soon?" Barney cut her off, a show of defiance in his voice to cover his rising fears. "Because I'm pretty sure I'd prefer torture to the sound of you constantly running your mouth." Even as he spoke, he was sure it was a foolish thing to say, but he couldn't resist his natural impulse to hide his fear under a false front of bravado.
He couldn't allow her to see how scared he really was.
He winced as Allison grabbed him by the throat and slammed his head back against the wall, his body tensing at the sound of the switchblade in her hand opening again – a mere instant before he felt it jabbing into his ribcage. He held his breath, trying to prepare himself for the pain – but before she could strike, Barney heard a second set of footsteps approaching, heavier than Allison's.
Allison let out a harsh laugh, removing the knife from his side. There was smug satisfaction in her voice as she retorted. "We'll see, Barney. We'll see which one you really prefer soon enough." She finally released her grip on his throat, standing up straight again and moving away from him a little.
The footsteps made Barney remember the man who'd helped her take him, who'd grabbed him from behind so that he hadn't seen his face. He felt his fears churning in his stomach, rising up within him with the realization that whatever chance he had of escaping nearly vanished with the addition of a second captor.
Barney tensed when he felt strong hands on his arms, pulling him to his feet and holding him back against a broad, muscular chest. His hands instinctively strained to escape the cuffs – but to no avail.
"This is my boyfriend," Allison explained, her tone smug and filled with cruel amusement as she added, "And that's really all you want to know about him, Barney. He's very well-known in certain… less than respectable circles… and what's more…" Her voice lowered to a soft, chilling whisper that sent a shiver down Barney's spine. "… he's a very dangerous man, to anyone who crosses him… and especially to anyone who crosses him… by hurting me."
As she spoke, the man behind Barney slid an arm around him to hold him in place, his free hand trailing slowly, suggestively, down his side. Panicked by the implications of that touch, Barney struggled instinctively, kicking blindly backward in a vain attempt to free himself.
His captor responded to his attempts with a brutal kidney punch that would have sent him back to his knees, had the man not been holding him up. A moment later, a hand that was much stronger than Allison's fisted in his hair, violently jerking his head back painfully far.
"You try to kick me again, you little bitch…" the man hissed in his ear. "… and I'll break your neck. Do you understand me?"
Barney went perfectly still in the larger man's grasp, his breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps as he wrestled with his own panic at being so trapped, so utterly helpless. He nodded hurriedly, not trusting himself to speak.
"Good," the man murmured with chilling softness. "Good boy. Now you're gonna do exactly as you're told, and you're not gonna move… are you, Barney?"
Barney shook his head, terrified, then froze completely as he felt the now-familiar cool smoothness of the blade Allison wielded – only this time, pressed against the inside of his thigh, mere inches from his exposed and vulnerable genitals. Allison's free hand rested on his hip, and he could feel her clothes brush against him as she moved in close in front of him, tracing the tip of the knife slowly back and forth.
"If you ever try again to fight him," she softly warned him, "I'll make sure it's the last time. Is that clear, Barney?"
He nodded hurriedly, barely able to focus on her words with the overwhelming sensation of that menacing blade against his skin, so near to his most vulnerable parts. "Y-yes," he whispered, his voice trembling with fear. "Yes, please… please, I won't, I'm sorry, don't…"
"Shut up."
Barney bit his lower lip in an attempt to stifle his own panicked babbling, flinching but fighting to keep still as Allison slowly slid the blade from his thigh to rest directly behind his balls. As she pressed slightly upward, he bit back a frightened cry of pain, struggling to keep himself from doing anything to further anger her, while he was in such a precarious position.
"You can make it up to me, Barney," Allison offered, subtle mockery in her voice. "You can prove your respect for my boyfriend, and make up for trying to kick him."
Barney kept perfectly still, trembling, not daring to make a sound, as he waited for her to continue. He couldn't hold back a panicked cry as the man who held him abruptly shoved him to his knees – only realizing once he was kneeling, shaking with fear, that Allison had moved the knife in the bare instant before he'd been forced to the floor again.
He was still recovering from the momentary horror of what he'd thought they'd done to him when he heard the man move around to stand in front of him – and then heard the sound of his zipper coming down. His stomach lurched with fear and revulsion as he realized what they intended.
"No," he whispered, shaking his head, trying blindly to draw back away from them. "No, I won't…"
His words broke off abruptly as he felt the blade against his balls again, and Allison's hand running through his hair in a parody of soothing gentleness.
"Oh, come on, Barney," she sneered. "Don't try to tell me you've never done this before. I know you have, you little slut. You ought to be good at it by now."
"No… no, I…"
His words broke off in a shuddering gasp as she pressed harder with the blade, silencing him with the wordless threat. "You're going to do as you're told, Barney," she stated softly. "And if you try anything… try to bite him… do a bad job… hell, if he just isn't satisfied for any reason…" He felt her breath against his ear as she whispered, "I'll turn you into the little bitch you already are. Understood?"
Barney nodded desperately, his heart sinking with despair at the knowledge that he had no choice. He had no way of knowing how far these two were willing to take this, but they were clearly out of their minds. These were very dangerous people with no inclination toward mercy or pity. The thought of submitting to what they wanted him to do was humiliating to him, but not as terrifying as the other, very tangible threat currently pressed against his body.
"Yes," he whispered. "Please, don't… please…"
He cringed as he felt a strong hand gripping his hair, yanking him up higher on his knees, and Allison's boyfriend commanded in a low, growling voice of menace.
"Open your mouth, slut."
Barney obeyed, trying to brace himself, yet still unprepared when the huge man shoved his cock past his lips. He tried not to gag, tried not to pull away, remembering Allison's threats – but in the end, there was nothing about the entire encounter that was at all within his control. His captor held his head in place, slamming violently into his mouth again and again, so that Barney really wasn't doing anything but allowing the monster to rape his mouth.
When the man finally withdrew, letting go of Barney's hair, Barney turned away, retching and coughing, gasping for breath – utterly devastated and revolted by what he'd just been forced to do. His face was aflame with humiliation, and his entire body shook, overwhelmed by the trauma of what was happening to him.
But he was allowed no time to recover from the brutal assault.
Allison grabbed the back of his head, holding him in place as she pressed her tongue past his trembling lips in a harsh, dominating kiss. He did not by any means return it, but he did not resist, allowing her to plunder his mouth without trying to pull away. Finally she withdrew, leaving her hand tangled possessively in his hair, tightening slowly until he winced in pain, his head drawn back so that his convulsive swallow of fear was clearly visible in the taut lines of his throat.
She spoke again, her voice a hushed, intimate whisper that sent a shudder down his spine.
"My boyfriend's name is Ryan Gould. He lives in the city, a few blocks from where you live." She gave him the specific address before adding, "He's currently wanted for grand larceny, extortion, terroristic threatening… and murder. He's killed before, Barney. And now… I've told you all about him. Now, think for a moment, and then tell me why you think I'd tell you all of that."
Barney was trembling in a combination of shock from the violation he'd just endured, and dread – because he knew exactly what she was getting at, why she'd chosen to tell him about her boyfriend's criminal history. He just couldn't bring himself to say it aloud.
Allison said it for him, answering her own question
"I have no problem whatsoever telling you all of that, Barney," she whispered, her breath warm and tickling against his ear as her fingers played idly through his disheveled hair, "because you are never going to leave this house alive. We're going to kill you, Barney… but not anytime soon."
His heart sank with despair as she continued, soft malice in her all-too-descriptive words.
"We're going to take our time… enjoy playing with you as long as we feel like it… until you break. And you will break, Barney. You almost have already. Pathetic little bitch. You think you're all strong and tough and invincible? Whatever. I know better."
She laughed harshly, and Barney felt his face flush with the painful knowledge that she was right about him. He wasn't brave or strong or courageous. If they'd been torturing him for information of some kind, instead of just for their own sick, twisted pleasure, he had the terrible feeling that he'd have already given whatever it was they wanted up to them long ago.
"And once you're broken, Barney," Allison continued with cruel pleasure in her words, "we'll keep playing… until we get bored. You're ours, now, Barney… our little toy… and you will be… until you die. And you'd better hope we don't get bored all that easily… or that could be very, very soon."
****************************
"Damn cell phone keeps ringing off the hook…"
Allison muttered as she closed the bedroom door behind her, going to the pile in the corner of the room that was Barney's belongings, which they'd removed from him while he was unconscious. She removed the cell phone from the pocket of the tan suit he'd been wearing, glancing at the screen with mild curiosity before pushing the reject button.
"Robin, huh? And… whoa. There's like, thirty missed calls here. Guess our little playboy's more missed than we thought he'd be."
She switched the cell phone off before it could begin to ring again, smirking as she tossed it back down onto the crumpled pile of clothes.
Trust me, Robin… whoever you are… I'm doing you a favor…