Harrison, Huck, and Quinn stood staring at the front door for a few seconds before their collective attention was drawn back to the subject at hand by his violent hacking and wheezing as his body writhed in pain on the floor, still reeling from Fitz's blows.
Huck immediately dropped to his knees and popped opened his briefcase, withdrawing two pairs of metal fisticuffs and and tightening one set fast about Jake's wrists behind him and then securing the man's ankles in the same fashion. He rose quickly and went back to his luggage, pulling out a flour sack and the accompanying gag to silence and blind his captive for the time being to disorientate him.
After checking to make sure all restraints were properly in place, Huck turned back to Harrison and Quinn, "I need to take him someplace darker and start interrogating him. It's getting late."
"Why do you need someplace darker?" Quinn asked.
"For effect," Harrison spoke up on Huck's behalf. "Well that's all you, bro," Harrison offered apologetically. "You know that torture shit turns my stomach."
"I know the deal. Just help me carry him downstairs and then you and Quinn can start searching the house. Text me when you're finished."
"Alright, bet. Let's get moving then," Harrison answered.
"Can I help you, Huck?" Quinn piped up.
"I work best alone, and besides, you wouldn't like it. Help Harrison," Huck ordered her.
"Come on, Huck. Haven't I earned my stripes already? I have the heart for this and you know it! Give me a chance," she argued in a hushed whisper.
"Quinn, this is not some experiment, some test trial. This is the real deal. A man's life hangs in the balance right now, and potentially many others," Huck challenged her.
"Don't you think I realize that? At some point you had be a beginner, too. I have to start somewhere and what better learning opportunity than right here, right now?" Quinn goaded him, but Huck was still rather hesitant. Even with as much spy and detective work as the twosome had been performing together over the past several, Huck understood that physically harming someone in a premeditated fashion transported one to an entirely different realm of reality. Huck knew it would change her, how she viewed the world and the people in it, especially him, and he wasn't completely sure if he wanted to be the one personally responsible for that paradigm shift. He weighed the pros and cons silently in his mind before verbalizing a response.
"Alright," Huck relented, "you can help."
"Yay," Quinn squealed quietly.
"But," he stopped her, "you have to take this deathly seriously. This is not a joke - no smiling, no idle questions, and no matter what, be alert. Once we get him down into the basement, just follow my directions and do exactly as I say, no improvisations. If it gets to be too much and you can't handle it, remove yourself from the room, but you are expressly forbidden from asking me to 'stop,' at any time. Got it?"
"Got it," Quinn agreed somberly. "So, what are we going to do to him?"
"We're gonna roast his ass, now get into place," Huck demanded.
Clutching Jake's ankles, Huck backed his way down into the basement, sure-footed and careful, as Harrison held the man beneath his arms and Quinn held onto what Harrison had affectionately dubbed as "The Briefcase of Brutality."
"Perfect," Huck thought as he took his eyes off of Jake and spared a quick glance around him at the unfinished basement. The unrefined, concrete walls were a dingy, brownish gray, the rafters were still exposed, and the single source of light in the room dangled from a thin string in the center of the ceiling, illuminating the room just enough to give the space a grungy, almost haunted feel.
Yes, this will definitely do, he thought to himself.
The two men dropped their heavy load onto the unforgivingly hard floor thoughtlessly, regarding their captive as little as if he were an inanimate object instead of a human. Huck snatched the cloth sack from over Jake's head and removed the gag from his mouth. The man coughed and blinked incessantly for a few moments before spitting red on the ground beside him, "I know exactly who you all are and where I am, if you don't-"
Huck interrupted Jake's impending tirade with a swift kick to the chest, "Shut the fuck up and don't open your mouth again until you're asked a direct question. Understood?"
The man nodded and Huck turned to Quinn, "Briefcase."
Harrison took that very moment to make his wordless exit, the sound of his feet padding up the creaky stairs and the following thud of the door closing behind him reverberated throughout the basement with a looming sense of finality.
Huck rifled through his luggage until he spotted the box that he had brought along specifically for the Ballard bastard.
"Look," Jake's hoarse voice quivered, "I really didn't mean to hurt Olivia, this is just some big misunderstanding. I-"
Before Huck could respond, Quinn was beside Jake delivering a harsh elbow blow to his head.
"Christ!" The terrified man shrieked as he bowled over in pain, struggling against the restraints as he tried to to move his hands to his face to soothe the pain and Quinn gave Huck a quick smirk over his head.
She is enjoying the way too much, he thought to himself as he shook his head. He wondered if Quinn would find the next portion of the night's activities similarly enjoyable or if she would be the next one taking a trip out of the danger zone via the wooden staircase.
"Turn him over," Huck directed and the woman pushed Jake's limp body over with little effort. When she looked back to him for further direction he waved her over, wanting to allow her a closer look at his weapon of choice. Huck inspected the kit carefully, going over his mental checklist for the second time that night to make sure each piece of the apparatus was in place. He had tried a lot of different methods and mechanisms, but he had to admit that he enjoyed this particular one more than most others.
"What is that," Quinn whispered in awe, peering down over his shoulder.
"What we have here," Huck responded loud enough to make sure Jake could hear, "is our very own twenty-first century spin on Foot Roasting. A long time ago I was reading up on medieval torture methods and came across this blurb about a Christian Military Order called the Knights of Templar. Interesting stuff. Apparently their favorite way to wrangle a confession out of heretics was to put their feet to the fire, literally. It's really quite effective," he finished, making sure to emphasize te smile in his voice for effect.
Quinn raised her eyebrows and Huck continued, "Here, we have our electric hot plate with the temperature dial on the side, this knob allow us to reach heat of up to four hundred and fifty degrees. And these here," he lifted the iron shackles and they clacked ominously, "are our weights. Go ahead and fasten them about his ankles so that he can't thrash about," Huck directed as he stood and walked to tower over the man.
"Do you believe in God, Jake?" Huck asked inquisitively, but the man chose to stay quiet until a boot in his ribs jerked him up out of his sullen silence.
"Yes, yes, I do," Jake groaned out a hasty reply.
"Well, now might be a good time to send up a prayer, maybe he'll send me some divine pity for your tragic ass," Huck mused. "But it might actually serve you better to take your destiny into your own hands. Now, I'm going to ask you some questions. Answer them. Promptly and honestly."
Huck took a seat on the back of the man's thighs and he heard Jake inhale a sharp intake of breath, "Make yourself valuable, and maybe, just maybe, you'll earn the right to walk out of here and live to furnish this basement someday. However, if you don't...well, you'll see. It goes like this: each time I don't like your answer, I'm going to instruct my assistant to turn up the heat on your bitch ass."
Huck paused for a second, "Hey, did you guys know that the soles of your feet are covered by the most heat sensitive skin on your body? You, especially, Jake, should keep that in mind going forward."
Huck turned to observe Quinn and found her face deadly serious, but her eyes glittering with what Huck thought to be a healthy mix between excitement and anxiety. "Two hundred," he ordered and Quinn's hands deftly moved to the power button and then began adjusting the dial.
Maybe she is built for this, Huck thought to himself as he shifted his body back to look down at a trembling Jake. He wondered if that glimmer in her eyes would disappear once the pungent odor of burning skin began wafting up her nostrils.
Huck turned his tangential thoughts off and began his interrogation, "Why have you been following Olivia?" he asked, his voice strong but lacking emotion.
"I haven't, I just happened at be at the supermarket and saw her car!" The man lied pitifully.
Huck sighed, "Maybe you don't understand how this game works, Jake. Up!" he called pointedly over his shoulder to Quinn and he felt Jake struggle in vain beneath him.
"I'm going to give you another shot at this, different question. Why have you been in contact with Billy Chambers? What have you two discussed?" Huck demanded.
"PLEASE," he cried, "stop this, I know who you want! It's Charlie Glass, not me! I'm begging you, I'll do anything, I know who he is, I'll take you to him!"
Huck paused thoughtfully before looking back at Quinn, "Off. Tell me more, Jake and we'll see what this is worth."
Fitz tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "You should get some rest."
Olivia sighed and gazed up at him, "I don't want to rest."
"I can go to the nurse's station and get the cable cut on-" he started.
She grabbed the collar of his jacket before he could move from the bed, "No, you shouldn't. It's past visiting hours, they'll banish you to the waiting room-" she rushed out worriedly.
"Olivia, if the staff wants me out of this room tonight they will have to have security physically remove me. I'm going to sleep right here, with you in my arms. Honestly, with the way I'm feeling, they really don't want to try and stop me," Fitz assured her.
"Babe-"
He slid onto the bed and pulled her onto him, "Livi, I am not leaving your side tonight, hospital protocol be damned."
Olivia relaxed in his arms and rested her head on his chest, "I don't need the television, I just want to lay here, with you."
Fitz kissed her temple and slid a hand protectively down over her abdomen, "I never stopped looking for you, Livi. Even before I knew what happened, I promise you that."
She gazed up at him unwaveringly, "I know."
"Babe, there's just one thing I need to ask you."
"Anything."
"Livi...Are you pregnant?"
She sighed and closed her eyes, "Quinn spilled the beans, huh?"
Fitz grinned at her cheekily, "She did. But only because we were extremely concerned about your safety. To Quinn's credit, she tried to ask me without asking me, but I brow beat it out of her. I hope you won't be too angry with her...her heart was in the right place."
"I guess I can't be too mad at her," Olivia tried to be understanding. "Under any other circumstances I would be extremely pissed, but in this predicament I can see why she mentioned it. I know I should have been the one to tell you...but I had convinced myself, and I thought Quinn too, that it didn't make sense to mention it to you unless I was absolutely positive, and when I had the conversation with her I hadn't known yet," she explained.
"So I'm guessing you're not, then," Fitz filled in the blanks somewhat disappointedly.
Olivia stroked his chin, "No, babe...I'm not pregnant. The doctor said I was probably just late from overall stress and thinking about it too much, I suppose."
"Livi, how come you didn't want to tell me?"
She shook her head, "I really just couldn't stop thinking about how happy you looked when we talked about our children in the future and I didn't want to see that look of disappointment on your face, if I could avoid it. I figured it didn't make sense to get you all worked up over nothing... you already are dealing with so much, Fitz. I truly hadn't even planned on discussing it with Quinn, but we just kind of fell into it."
Fitz chuckled, "In a way, you're right, I probably would have been trying to pick out cribs and baby names if you had told me, even before anything was certain. And I won't lie, it is a teeny tiny bit disappointing, but Livi, I'm a big boy." He took her hand in his, "It would've been okay, it is okay, I can handle it. There are a lot worse things to be disappointed about."
"Are you mad at me for not telling you first?" she asked hesitantly.
"No, of course not, I couldn't even wrap my head around being upset with you tonight. Besides, the idea of being pregnant is something I could never fully understand and I can see why it might have felt easier to discuss it with another woman. I've watched enough movies to know that most women tell their girlfriends before their husbands," he joked and Olivia cracked a smile. "But seriously, I want you to know that in the future, if that's something that you're concerned about, about me being disappointed, don't be. You can tell me anything, sure or unsure, and there's nothing I'd love more than to find out about Baby Olitz together."
"Really?"
"Yes, most definitely," he reassured her.
"Babe...you know, we could start trying now...if you really wanted to," Olivia offered timidly.
Fitz raised one eyebrow, "Try now? For a baby?" he asked incredulously.
She smiled, "Yeah."
He breathed in deep, "Livi...while I'd absolutely love to have baby number one on the way as soon as possible, now is definitely not the best timing. With all the crazy stuff going on around us right now... and being that my health still isn't one hundred percent and you haven't even graduated yet. As I much as I want to..." Fitz shook his head. He knew he couldn't be selfish on this, no matter what he wanted he was certain that it wasn't what she needed.
"Baby...are you sure?" Olivia asked. "I know you really want to start a family, and even though I was worried initially, the more I thought about it the more I kind of really liked the idea. I think I could handle school and a baby, I could do both," she tried to persuade him.
"Livi, I know you could but the point is that you shouldn't have to. We should try to conceive a baby time at a time when we're both at a place where it won't be so impossibly complicated. You deserve that."
"Fitz, there's never going to be a perfect time, you know," she countered.
"I know that, and I'm not saying perfect, just better. I'm sure I'll still have baby fever in a few years when you're finished up with school. I absolutely refuse to get in the way of your dreams and I never want you to put yourself on hold to try to make me happy, seriously. For right now, this is enough for me, more than enough for me. You're more than enough for me. Why don't we wait to revisit the idea after you graduate, at least, alright?" he offered, feeling that this would probably blow over by then.
Olivia eyed him for a moment, stroked his cheek and then nodded in agreement, "Alright."
The couple crossed the threshold of their apartment the following morning after Olivia had undergone an extensive check up and was discharged. The doctor informed them that the three stitches that she had required due to the fall would dissolve, so unless she began experiencing migraines or other acute pain, she wouldn't need to return to the hospital and would be as good as new within days. After prescribing her a painkiller, the doctor promptly sent them on their way, but not before Fitz managed to put in a request for a wheelchair to transport her out to the car in, despite Olivia's insistence that she could walk just fine.
When the pair finally arrived in the building parking lot, Fitz had immediately draped his arms around her, an offering of wordless support as they made their way up to their love nest. As soon as the door closed behind him, Olivia felt herself being lifted off of her feet. "Baby, whoa, what are you doing?" she shrieked, pushing forward to stop him from completely taking her feet off of the ground.
"Carrying you," he grinned down at her as she resisted in his arms.
"Fitz, no," she warned him seriously, "you shouldn't strain yourself."
He kissed her temple, "Livi, I'm fine."
Olivia finally turned around his arms and took his face in her hands, "You're doing much better, but you're not completely fine yet."
He pressed his forehead down onto hers, "Baby, put your arms around my neck."
She sighed, but wrapped her arms around his neck, "Fitz-"
He interrupted her with a kiss. "Quiet," Fitz murmured as he scooped her up quicker than she could protest and moved them down the hall swiftly, stopping when reached the foot of the bed. He laid her on the bed gently and knelt down before her, taking off her shoes first, then her pants and top.
He kissed both sides of her head before pulling back to gaze down at her. "Don't move," he whispered as he moved to her dresser drawer across the room, opening the top most drawer before abandoning it in favor of his own. He rummaged through his dresser for a few moments before removing one of her favorite shirts, his huge, old blue t-shirt with the white NAVY insignia boldly emblazoned upon the front. Even though Olivia wore the shirt more often than he did, she liked to store it amongst his things where it would mingle with his other clothes, so that later she could revel in his scent.
"Is this one okay?" Fitz asked playfully as he walked over to the bed, already aware that it was her favorite.
"Perfect," she grinned as he handed it to her and crawled into the bed next to her, pulling her onto his chest.
"Aren't you going to get undressed, too?"
Fitz slipped his hand under the shirt to rest on her ass, "I'm thinking about going down to campus really quickly."
A puzzled look settled across Olivia's face, "What? Why?"
"I was actually thinking about it since this morning, before you woke up. I need to go speak with Eric, the president. He mentioned a lot of things at our initial meeting that I should have taken more seriously and I want him to expound on a few things. I have a distinct feeling he may just have some of the information we need," Fitz explained.
"So why did you take off my clothes? I'm going with you," she told him simply.
"No, you, my sweet baby, are going to lay in the bed and rest, just like the doctor ordered," he replied seriously.
Olivia pouted, "Baby, I think riding in the car hardly counts as strenuous."
"I know but things are just so unpredictable right now, I'd rather not chance it. Sleep for a bit, I'll call Harrison and ask if he can come over and chill out with you," Fitz offered.
"Oh, come on!" Olivia exclaimed, "Now I need a babysitter? Fitz-"
"It's just for in case you need something. Or if someone pops up here unannounced."
"He should go with you, if anything," Olivia countered.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I mean, what are the chances of me getting shot twice in the same year?" Fitz joked lightly and Olivia's face dropped.
"Fitz, that is so not funny, not even a little bit!"
"Okay, too soon," he admitted. Fitz realized that this was going to be his first time going out without her since the incident and she was probably more than a little apprehensive about it, and with good reason, so it wouldn't serve him well to poke fun. "I'm promising you, I'm not going to make any waves. I'm going to make it back in one piece. I'm just planning to drop by Cyrus' office since he's been asking to see me for awhile now and then head up to Eric's to have a little chat. That's it."
She furrowed her brows, "You think the president will see you without an appointment?"
"Shit, he'd better," Fitz grumbled.
Olivia nodded, "Just text me when you get there and call me when you're on the way back?"
"Of course," he kissed her forehead. "You don't mind if I take your car, do you?"
"Our car, and the keys are in my bag by the front door. Are you leaving now?"
"No, I'm not leaving until my beautiful wife falls asleep in my arms," he told her as his arms tightened about her waist and he gave her bottom a squeeze.
Olivia grinned, snuggled in closer to him and kissed his jaw, "I love you, more than anything, baby."
"I would tell you I love you more than everything, but you are everything," Fitz whispered just as he felt her leg being thrown over his midsection and her lips pressing impatiently against his mouth. Olivia's warm hands were suddenly snaking up under his shirt and the sensation of her fingernails dragging across his spine was enough to make him harden instantly.
"Hmmmm," Fitz moaned against her mouth as their hips ground together rhythmically.
When he felt her lithe fingers trail a path over his rib cage to pinch his nipples Fitz pulled back and peered at her through hooded eyes, "If you keep kissing me like that, I'm never going to make it out of here."
"That's the point," she smiled seductively, her eyes shimmering with mischief.
"Turn around," he breathed, knowing any more strategic movements of her body against his would cause him to have to delay his outing.
She brought his face down onto his and kissed him temptingly before suddenly snapping back out of his mouth's reach and swiveling in his arms, abiding his previously ignored request.
Fitz put his face in her neck and smiled onto her skin as he readjusted his hold around her middle, planning never to let go.
Fitz exited the apartment building and headed back out into the sunny, but brisk morning air. The sun shone brightly in spite of the chill in the air and as he crossed the parking lot in the direction of Olivia's car the bright, white vehicle gleamed in the light of the strong rays. He shot Harrison a quick text message before pulling off towards campus and deciding enroute that he would swing by the President's office first. Since Fitz didn't have an appointment he figured it would behoove him to get there as early as possible so that he could finagle his way into Eric's office before the day became hectic.
Within fifteen minutes Fitz was rounding the corner and encountering the president's secretary working busily at her post.
"Hey Mary, how are you?" Fitz started off casually, hoping it would lower the woman's defenses. "Would Eric happen to be available at the moment?"
Mary looked at him over the rim of her glasses, "I'm sorry, do you have an appointment Professor Grant?"
"Well, no," Fitz admitted glumly, "but I only needed to run something by him quickly, it's very important."
"The President doesn't take walk ins-" the older woman began to serve him the spiel.
"Mary," Fitz interrupted, not unkindly, "Eric and I have a special project that we're working on together and it's super critical that I update him on its development. City Hall stuff. I know you have a job to do, and so do I, and I'm certainly not trying to give you a hard time or get you in trouble, but would you mind at least giving him a little ring? If he declines to see me, I'll turn around and walk right out of here knowing that I tried, but I need to know if he might even have a slim chance of fitting me in. So please, would you be so kind as to call him and let him know that Fitzgerald Grant is here? I promise this isn't any funny business," he added with his million dollar smile.
Mary eyed him carefully for a moment before acquiescing, "Have a seat over there, I'll telephone him as soon as I'm done with this e-mail."
"Don't mind if I do," Fitz smiled gratefully as he seated himself.
Less than a minute later the previously shut door swung open, "Fitz! What the hell are you doing here, buddy?" Eric grabbed him in a bear hug, "I thought you were recovering!" Eric almost bellowed as he offered out a hand.
"I am," Fitz grinned as he shook his hand enthusiastically.
"Well Jesus, you look great. Did you get the card and flowers?" the man inquired.
"I did, and thank you."
Eric waved him off, "Don't mention it, it goes without saying. I only ask because some of those hospital guys are thieves in scrubs! My mother went in for surgery with thirty bucks and a stick of gum in her pocketbook, do you know they cleaned her out? Didn't even leave the gum for Christ's sake! Come the hell in!"
Fitz followed the man into his study and sat, "Thanks for seeing me, Eric, and on no notice at that."
"It's the very least I could do, Fitz. When I heard what happened to you I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. I feel as if we lured you into the devil's lair with gasoline boxers on," Eric replied apologetically.
"Please, don't blame yourself. There's no way you could have known. I made my choices as a man and I stick by them. I didn't only accept the task to stand up for Harvard in the face of greed for my own benefit, I also felt honestly moved when you informed me about the avarice and corruption that was influencing the agenda. I couldn't be complicit in their underhandedness," Fitz explain.
"I see that now, and it was for that very reason that your Co-Councilman Lewis moved to have the vote tabled until your return, and which man in the room could vote against that with you in the hospital? None. We still have a chance at this!"
"That's wonderful, and I fully intend to keep pushing for this initiative, but I do have questions for you Eric," Fitz countered.
The president sat back in his seat, "Questions like why, even with all the murmurings about the obvious connection between your political alignment landing you in the crosshairs of Chambers and McKinney, the police are refusing to explore that as a possibility? And questions like why, exactly, would the instruction to avoid going down that channel be given to Boston PD directly from the mayor's office? Questions like what exactly is the connection between Chambers, McKinney and Reston?"
Fitz was taken aback but did his best not to show it, "Yes, questions exactly like those."
Eric leaned forward in his chair again and dropped his voice to a lower tone, "When you have wealth, real wealth that comes with connections and all the trimmings, you can buy pretty much anything. Cars, yachts, planes...political candidates...vote rigging machinery."
Fitz gasped, "You're not saying..."
Eric nodded, "I know you're wondering how I know all this, and I'm going to fill you in. Just let me start from the beginning."
Fitz strode down the hallway feeling powerful. He finally seemed to have a leg up on Chambers and knew something so explosive that it could blow both Chambers and Reston away. The major questions were, how could they obtain the proof and what the hell were they going to do with this information? Fitz turned that question over in his mind as he mindlessly continued his journey to Cyrus' office. He was passing by the large glass window that peered out onto the green and also happened to offer of a view of the faculty parking lot when something caused him to freeze him dead in his tracks.
In the scene playing out below, two figures standing beside a cobalt blue Jetta seemed to be engaged in a heated argument. That alone was not what caught his attention, , though, even more interesting than that, something seemed oddly familiar about the pair.
Fitz stepped closer to the paned glass and squinted his eyes, finally realizing that the woman gesturing wildly was Professor Tanner, as confirmed by her recognizable stature, jacket and hair cut, even from the distance. The man's identity eluded Fitz for a moment, but his instincts were yelling to him that somehow, he knew the man with the bright blonde hair, wool coat and tailored black slacks.
"Billy Chambers?! What the hell?! How in the world do those two know each other?" Fitz muttered to himself incredulously.
"Fitz? What the hell, am I seeing things?!" a familiar voice called out.
Fitz pried his eyes away from the window just in time to face the direction it had come from, "I was just coming to see you Cyrus," he replied discontentedly. "Where are you coming from?" he asked, noting that he had rounded the corner that led from the conference room.
Cyrus' nostrils flared, "From hell! Interviews for a new addition to the law department for next year, and it's no fun, I promise you. I should be grading papers, I don't have time for this shit!"
"New addition? Already? Who's being replaced?" Fitz inquired.
"Amanda Tanner, " Cyrus replied simply.
Fitz raised his eyebrows in surprise, "She was fired?"
"Not exactly. It just so happened to be time for a review of her contract with the department and we decided not to renew it for next year," Cyrus explained with a wink. "You two asked me to handle the Tanner problem, and, voilá, it's handled."
A/N: This one is a bit shorter, but I hope you still enjoyed? What did you think of Liv's offer to start a family? And Amanda Tanner popping back up? Let me know what you guys think, thanks!