Warning: This chapter contains excessive violence, foul language, and graphic descriptions. If you don't want to read it, I'll put a quick synopsis at the bottom.
Many thanks to Vayluh Arwen, DCMarvelFan, and Horsewhisper3. You all keep me writing and make it all worth the while. ^_^ And many thanks to everyone who reviews.
Kay's world was dark and filled with nothing but the bumpy rumbling of the van. The blindfold gave no sign of slipping, or letting even the slightest morsel of light in. The gag nearly choked her, and filled her mouth with the dry, cottony feel one gets after letting one's mouth hang open for a long time.
Her heart drummed a fast, horrible tune against her chest.
Thumpa thumpa thumpa.
Adrenaline poured into her stomach, and her breathing hitched every time they hit a bump. The force of the van turning a corner knocked her over because she couldn't use her hands to stop herself from falling, what with them being tied up and all.
"Shit." She thought. "I never thought I'd live to see the day when I'd much rather be back with Crane."
She took slow, measured breaths to calm the thrashing of her heart.
With no warning, a boot connected with her ribs, knocking all of that well measured breath out.
"Oof! Wha' th' hew wav tha' for?" Kay muffled out angrily through the gag, striving to see underneath her blindfold.
"Stay still, bitch." came the angry reply.
Against her better judgment she growled back, "Make me, whore." This little sentiment earned her a stamp on her hip. She groaned, but lay still.
The van came to a screeching halt, tossing Kay's body forward so her head connected painfully with the metal leg of the chair in front of her.
"Dammit." she growled to herself, making sure her oh-so-kind captors couldn't hear her. The same strong hands as from the supermarket grabbed Kay's waist and dragged her out into the open, slinging her over his shoulder.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me. I don't know whether to be angry or actually embarrassed that I'm being carried over some bastard's shoulder with my ass in the air." Kay thought, incredulously. A large door opened somewhere close to her, and she was surrounded by cool, dank air as they moved forwards.
"The hell am I?" She paused and ran through her possible options. "Cellar? No, no stairs…. Abandoned house? No, too cool… Oh. Goddamn. Fuck my fucking life." She recognized the smell from a service project she had done with her school.
"Warehouse. There isn't a chance in hell of Crane finding me here."
There was a brief moment of terror as she fell through the air, but then the sharp pain of concrete against her skull let her know that under no circumstances was she going to be treated nicely.
"Then I may as well give them hell." She thought, dryly.
Her blindfold was torn off and tossed to the ground beside her. The sudden exposure to light momentarily blinded her and sent daggers through her eyes to the back of her aching skull. Her jaw was wrenched opened as the smaller man pulled the gag out of her mouth. Kay ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth to try and get some moisture back.
The small guy was growling in her face as he yanked her up by her collar. "A'right, bitch, here's the deal. Maroni wants 'is money. No one steals from Maroni and don't get caught, undastan'?" He had a strong New York accent.
"What money?" Kay demanded angrily.
He placed his boot on her shoulder and shoved her back down to the floor, leering over her. "Da drug money, bitch. Thought ya could sell da drugs and then take da money? Think again, fucker."
Kay just lay there, glaring at him with all her might before saying calmly, "I still have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. I didn't have any drugs to sell, and it's not possible to sell something you don't have." She paused. "Well, I supposed it technically is… but it'd be hard to do with drugs…." She trailed off, glancing back up at her current abuser (who she had already mentally started referring to as Steve).
Steve looked seriously pissed.
Before he could do anything she asked, "Who told you it was me? Because I'm not exactly popular at school."
Steve took this as sarcasm, -Which it wasn't for once."- and slapped her.
"Don't sass me, bitch. It was ya lil' frien' Ty Strobridge, but I think ya know that."
Kay peered at him like he was deranged, cocking her head to the side. "No… no, I don't know that." She said slowly.
Steve appeared slightly put-off by this information and crossed his arms. Kay managed to pull herself upright, and this time he didn't push her down.
"We gave Ty da drugs ta sell at'cha school. He said he 'ad given'm ta you, and you 'ad never given'm the money." He spat down at her.
"Ty? He told the fucking mob that I had stolen their money so that he could steal it? God fucking dammit! Wait… Ty was dealing drugs?" The confusion hit Kay's brain like a boulder. A big boulder that had been push off of a cliff.
Her eyes narrowed and her mouth dropped open. "And you believed him?" She cried, frustrated beyond belief. "You idiots! I've never touched drugs in my life, much less sold them!"
Steve knelt down so his knee was pressing into Kay's stomach. He may have been a little man, but Kay was a little woman. The pain was excruciating and radiated throughout her body. He took a breath as if he was going to say something, but abruptly shut his mouth and stood up.
Kay coughed and rolled into as much of a ball as she could, pressing her forehead to her knees. Steve whirled around to face the other kidnapper, fuming. With one wave of Steve's hand the big guy came over, lifted Kay off of the ground, and proceeded to drag her, screaming, backwards across the room to where two chains that were hanging from the ceiling.
Despite her considerable struggles, the big man succeeded in untying Kay's wrists, and then padlocking the chains around her wrists, tight enough to dispel any hope of her being able to slip out. The height of the chains forced Kay's arms to be suspended in midair above her head.
"I feel like one of those prisoners you see in movies set in the medieval ages, in the dungeons. The ones who are shackled to the wall." Kay thought, too annoyed and angry to be terrified yet.. "Great. This is fucking faaantastic."
Steve strolled over to stand directly in front of Kay. "A'right, here's the deal." He growled menacingly, shoving his unshaven face close to Kay's.
The stink of his breath wafted over her face and invaded her nostrils like a swarm of garlic-scented fire ants. Kay coughed and turned her head to the side in an attempt to escape the stench.
Steve paused. His eyes clouded and his hairy brows drew together. One hand darted out and grasped Kay's face between two sweaty fingers, yanking her head back around. "There a problem, missy?" He asked, dangerously quiet.
Kay started to shake her head, but the fingers stopped her. "No." she gasped.
"Good." Steve responded with a nasty little tip of his head. His finger slid off her cheeks.
"Goddamn, it feels like he left little grease streaks." Kay thought miserably, trying not to gag.
"Now, here's the deal." Steve began again. "Until you give us the money you're going to stay right here. Robbie here is great company." He gestured to the muscle man.
For the first time Kay absorbed what he looked like.
Robbie was a mountain of a man. He was one of those guys who look like they could rip the arm of their shirt just by flexing, and they can't touch their legs because their muscles get in the way. He had a smooth, shaven face, and the baldest head Kay had ever seen. It practically glinted in the wear house lighting. He stood impassively, his hands crossed in front of him. The only acknowledgment he gave that Steve had talked about him was a small nod of his head, almost imperceptible.
Kay looked up at him and made a face. "Yes, he looks very friendly." She replied, drolly.
Steve started to chuckle but stopped when he realized what he was doing.
Kay sighed and pursed her lips. "As much as I'd love to spend some quality time with Robbie here, I'm afraid you've kidnapped the wrong person. See, I've never talked to Ty in my life. Wanted to, sure, but never actually done it. So there is no way that-"
Steve's hand moved so fast Kay barely saw it coming. Her head snapped to the side, her cheek burning with the imprint of his palm. Anger started to rise in her as she stared furiously at the floor, but years of training kicked in almost immediately. It never worked well to get angry with the bullies.
She took a deep breath, thinking, "Oh, calm down. You've gone soft living with Crane. How much worse has Mother done to you? Suck it up, buttercup."
"Don't tell me ya don't have the money, whore. Ya took it, and Mr. Maroni don't take kindly ta thieves."
Kay shut her eyes, trying valiantly to come up with some sort of escape plan, as half-assed as it might be. Nothing came to mind.
"Give me one good reason you think I took the money. It's completely illogical to think that I would have taken it. Do you think I wanted to end up here?" She finally announced.
This time the blow hit her jaw where Scarecrow's gash was still healing. A few scabs ripped off and started to bleed anew. One drop of crimson dripped from her chin, staining her new white shirt.
Kay winced, not at the stinging, but at the fact that she probably wouldn't be able to get the stain out.
"I know you took it because Ty told us so. He's a trustworthy kid." Steve spat viciously, almost defensively. His little piggy eyes had narrowed, and his hairy arms had crossed.
"What? Trustworthy? He's a fucking drug dealer!" Kay exclaimed indignantly.
Steve moved as if to strike her, and Kay tensed herself for the blow. But instead Steve gestured for Robbie to come forward. "Your turn." Steve to said to the huge man as he passed him, walking to a small table on the other side of the wear house.
Kay watched as he plunked himself down and pulled out his cell phone. Her attention was jerked back when a low voice rumbled its way out of Robbie.
"Will you give us the money?"
Kay eyed him up and down and replied, "So, Robbie, huh?"
He nodded silently, still expecting an answer to his question.
"You just seem like a barrel a' laughs. Your name fits you." Kay said, lifting an eyebrow.
Nothing from the mountain.
She sighed, and let her head hang low, her eyes drifting closed. "You're not going to go easy on me, are you?" She said weakly. It was barely even a question.
"Nope." Came the monosyllabic answer.
She sighed again, and shifted so she was standing more squarely on the concrete. "I didn't take the money." She said, knowing full well what was going to happen next.
Adrenaline shot into her bloodstream as his fist plowed into her stomach. The momentum sent her sprawling backwards, but the chains around her wrists prevented her from falling, tearing at her shoulders.
Kay bit her lip to keep from screaming, and blinked her eyes hard. "Goddammit, Robbie, you're going to give me internal bleeding." She groused, pulling herself back onto her feet.
"The money?" Robbie asked.
Kay shook her head. The momentum sent her sprawling backwards again. This time a small yelp came out of her.
"Fucking hell, I'm going to be bruised." Kay thought, and then paused. "That is, if I make it out of here alive. Which, the way things are going, I might not."
The gravity of her situation crashed down on Kay, causing her to gasp. She thought back to school and all the hours she had spent staring at and daydreaming about Ty. And now, it turns out, he had been the cause of this whole misadventure, all the pain she had suffered in the last week.
"Hey, at least this means he knows my name." She thought, bitterly, fighting back tears. The pain of this new realization tore through her body, overriding the physical pain she felt.
"Money?" Came the deep voice.
Again, Kay shook her head.
This time the fist slammed into her cheekbone. It started to swell immediately, the purple-black color rising to the surface.
"Money?"
Again, a shake of the head. With this hit, her lip puffed up and started bleeding. Unable to wipe it off, the blood dripped down her face and down her neck, staining the color of her shirt.
The physical and mental pain was immense. It absorbed all of her senses, swirling around her head until she thought she'd go mad. Tears dripped in steady streams down her cheeks, blurring her vision and blending in with her snot. Small sobs wracked her thin frame.
Crunch.
"Fuck, I think that was a rib." Kay thought, dazed by the pain. The only lucid thing in her life was the pain; the sharp, clear torment that radiated from her newly cracked rib. That, and the fact that there wasn't a single person in the world who cared that this was happening to her.
"Eh, who gives a fuck? There isn't a single person in this whole fucking crazy world that cares about me. Not a single fucking person. Well… except Kealy, I guess. But he's not much help."
Blood started to meld with the snot and tears.
Pop.
"There goes my shoulder." Kay screamed in agonizing pain as her shoulder dislocated, her good eye opened just enough to see Steve look over and wince. He got up and left the room with out looking back, his shoulders hunched.
"I bet Crane isn't going to bother looking for me."
A fresh, new pain tore its way through Kay's heart with this thought. Another anguished scream shot from her as Robbie's fist broke another rib.
Despair flooded through Kay like a torrent of icy fire.
"Not a single fucking person. Not even Crane." Was Kay's last thought before the pain became too much and she blacked out.
Robbie observed the girl as she collapsed, her dislocated shoulder allowing her right side to hang down much lower than it should have. Her feet dragged on the ground, her knees no longer holding her up. Dark blood trickled down her face from various wounds he had inflicted. Her left eye was to swollen to see out of, if she had been conscience. Her lower lip was crusted in blood and dried snot and had the shininess granted to lip injuries.
"Over all she's not bad looking." He thought, watching as a strand of wavy brown hair swung to and fro in front of her face. "It's a shame I had to rough her up like this. Women shouldn't be hurt, not even if they took Mr. Maroni's money."
He paused for a moment, thinking over her various protests.
"I don't think she did take the money. Poor thing."
He tucked his hands into his pockets as he surveyed her broken body. "I think I broke two ribs, dislocated her shoulder, and gave her quite a few scrapes and bruises, all for something she didn't do. The least I owe her to is to get her down from there."
With this thought he drew a key out of his pocket and unlocked the padlocks holding her bruised wrists captive. She fell to the floor, her head slamming into the bloodstained concrete. Robbie winced. As he lifted her up, marveling over how weightless she felt, he was sorry to see that the whole right side of her face was now covered in her own blood, some of it fresh and some of it from the puddle on the floor.
"I'm real sorry about this, Kay Chapman. I'd help if I could, really."
He lay her down on the recently vacated table. Her arm lay out at an unnatural angle, due to her shoulder injury, and her shirt collar was a deep red. A pretty color, had it not been blood.
The crazed look that came into Crane's eye scared the living fuck out of Schuster.
"What?" Crane asked quietly.
"What's that called again… er… oh, that calm before that storm, that's what it is." Schuster thought. Out loud he said, "She got kidnapped. At Target."
Crane turned to fully face him. "Exac-tly how did tha-t happen?" His constants were crisp, as they became when he was livid.
Schuster could see the anger swelling behind Crane's electric eyes, now a furious ice blue.
"Er… Well, ya see… We had already checked out 'n Kay wanted ta change her shirt, see. So she went into the lady's room to change. I was jus' waiting outside when these two guys walked towards the bathroom. But, see, the bathrooms are in this lil' hallway, so I jus' thought they were going to the bathroom, ya know?" He babbled nervously.
The look in Crane's eye told him to get to the point. He rubbed the sweat off of his face onto his shirtsleeve, and ran a hand through his greasy hair.
"But they stopped in front of the lady's room 'n then Kay came out and they grabbed her. I couldn't stop'm, so I jus' came back here to tell you. I'm jus' the messenger." He shrugged and looked away, unable to stand Crane's seething gaze.
"What did these men look like?" Crane probed.
"Kinda Italian. One was big and bald, real muscular type, and the other was a little guy, kinda hairy. Looked like Maroni's men."
Crane glanced up at the basement door, thinking. He began slowly. "So… what you're saying is Kay was kidnapped by Salvatore Maroni's men?"
Schuster nodded.
"And how do you know this?" Crane inquired.
Schuster's brain whirred, trying to come up with a suitable lie. Eventually it gave up and spat out the truth. "I talked to'm."
Crane stared at him incredulously. "You wha-t? What did they say?" He looked rather alarmed, his eyes wide.
Schuster shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable with so much talking. "Well, I asked'm what they was gonna do, and they said, 'Is that Kay Chapman?' and I says 'Yeah, it is.' And then-" He stopped, realizing how he had trapped himself. He turned his gaze back to Crane, who was practically trembling with anger.
"Go on." Crane hissed, his mouth curving into a snarl.
Schuster finished his story in a rush. "Then I asked, 'Where you guys from?' And the little guy said, 'Maroni' and then they took Kay. Nothin' I could do, Boss." He claimed, frightened by Crane's expression.
Crane turned around to survey the table behind him. He deliberated, his slim fingers moving slightly in the air, before lifted one of his larger toxin canisters and slipping a surgeon's mask over his face. He turned around to face Schuster, who it had just dawned on that he was in serious trouble, his blue eyes lighting up. Despite Schuster being a much bigger man generally than Crane, they were about the same height.
When Schuster saw the canister, his eyes went wide with terror. "No! Oh Jesus, no! Please, Doc, please no, please no, please no, please!" He practically screamed, dropping to his knees.
Crane's eyes were cold as he pressed the trigger.
A steady stream of toxin sprayed directly into Schuster's face, surrounding him like a cloud. He hacked as it filled his lungs, his eyes clenching shut.
Savagely, Crane jammed the nozzle into Schuster's open mouth, ramming the toxin down his throat. The larger man gagged and made a horrible noise of failed inhalation, his eyes rolling open.
Finally the can was empty. Crane tossed it back onto the table to be refilled.
Schuster's eyes were rolling around in his head like wild things, overtaken by his most terrifying nightmares. He clawed at his face, his nails leaving long, bloody streaks. He struggled to inhale, his brain so enveloped in its fear that it could no longer function. He collapsed, writhing on the ground. Slowly his movements became less and less violent, becoming lethargic, like one who is just about to reach sleep.
After struggling weakly for a few moments more, he fell still.
Crane observed all this coolly while Scarecrow chuckled.
" Heh. Scared to death, eh, Jonny-boy?" He asked rhetorically.
"Shut up, 'Crow, I've got work to do." Crane responded snippily, whipping out his cell phone. He ran down his short contact list, pausing on one number.
"You gonna save lil' Kay, Jonny?" Scarecrow asked. "You in love with her? That's kinda sick, you know. She's only sixteen, and you're twenty two."
Sometimes Crane wished he could shut 'Crow up.
"No, you bastard, I'm not in love with her, or anything like it. You know that as well as I do." When he thought about it, he was pleased to find this was true.
"That's because I am you!" 'Crow cackled.
"I need her back because I've already started experimenting on her, and she cooks good food." Crane explained, as much to himself as to Scarecrow. When he thought about this, he found it to be not entirely a lie, but not the whole truth. Unfortunately he didn't have time to stop and admit to himself that he enjoyed her company.
"And besides, I owe her one." was his excuse. He narrowed his eyes and shot a mental glare at Scarecrow. "So shut up and let me talk." He pressed the button and the highlighted name became a phone call.
"Yello?" came a nasally voice through the speakers.
"It's Crane. I need a favor." He explained the situation.
"Oh, okay, so you need me to help get your little, ah, girlfriend back, is that it?"
Crane confirmed this, but denied that she was his girlfriend, already piqued from 'Crow's earlier teasing.
"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much!" Insane giggling could be heard from the other side of the phone.
Crane ran a hand over his face.
"Alright, alright, I'll get the girly back. Meet me at 1351 Loburn Street, at ah… at 7:30 tonight. Okay?"
Crane checked his watch. 5:30. "Okay. Thanks for this, Joker."
A mad cackle came from the speaker. "No problemo, Jonny."
Crane winced.
"I do owe ya one. And besides, I don't like Maroni. He's got almost as many rules as Batsy-poo."
((WOAH THERE. Okay. *breathe out * No, for those of you who are squeamish, don't like violence, or for some other reason did not read this chapter, here is a quick synopsis:
Kay gets brought to a warehouse. She makes fun of the smaller goon, who she names Steve for no good reason. She is told that Ty Strobridge (Remember him? First chapter? Kay's crush?) is the one who told them the awful horrible lie that started all of this: Kay stole the mob's money when she sold their drugs and kept the profits. LIES. Then they chain her up and she makes fun Robbie, the muscle man (clearly the brains behind the organization.) Then Robbie beats her up until she is in such physical anguish and mental anguish over the fact that she thinks not a soul in the world cares about her (which is wrong, Crane is callin' in the big guns to get her ass back) that passes out. Robbie feels bad about it and unshackles her. We then switch to Crane and Schuster. S-man is tellin' a seriously pissed off Crazy man that he got Kay's ass kidnapped. Crazy dude ain't happy. He figures out it was Maroni's men, and it's mostly Schuster's fault Kay got kidnapped. He then kills S with an overdose of fear toxin. NARSTY. Then Scarecrow is obnoxious, and Crane calls in a favor with the Joker to get Kay back. They agree to meet at some street I made up at 7:30. So that's where this chapter ended.
Next chapter won't be quite so violent, but it has the JOKER IN IT (Insert awesome smiley here) so it will have some violence. But also some sweet moments. ^_^ Hokay, sorry for the long, rambling synopsis. Its late, and I'm tired. ^_^ Please review! :D Much love to all my readers! –Archaic))
