AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Howdy readers! I'm excited to be posting this chapter just 26 hours after the previous one! Not that I wrote this chapter from scratch in less than 26 hours - no, the way I usually write is to put basic ideas down, then refine and refine again and refine some more until I'm happy with it. This chapter was actually months in the making.
I will include my shoutouts of thanks to the Chapter 44 commenters when I post the next chapter.
The chapter below includes an Easter egg relating to Ninjago Episode 41, The Forgotten Element. See if you can spot it!
In the chapter below, Sam discovers the awful plans in store for her...
Chapter 45 - Christmas Day Ends Badly at the Ranch
"Why does General Chen want to see me?" Sam asked nervously. "And why can't he just talk to me at the main house?"
Jake braced himself for her reaction as he said, "He wants you to be his...companion this afternoon. His...female...companion."
Sam's eyes widened as the meaning of his words sank in.
"You bastard!" she spat out as she turned toward him and backhanded his cheek with all her strength. "You tricked me into coming with you!"
While he held the horse's reins with one hand, Jake caught her wrist with the other hand and squeezed as hard as he could in order to stop her from attacking him further.
His action was effective. She winced in pain.
"Listen to me, Sam," Jake hissed at her. "I had to get you to come with me somehow! Kai will be tortured if you don't cooperate!"
"Wha-at?" she exclaimed through gritted teeth, still enduring his strong grasp.
"There's a colonel at Kryptarium Prison who's known for his cruelty to prisoners. But he and General Chen are friends, so Chen is having him leave Kai alone as long as you...keep Chen happy. If you don't cooperate, Kai won't be safe!"
Jake let go of her after a few seconds. Stunned at what he had just told her, Sam sat back in her seat, nursing her wrist.
It suddenly dawned on her that they were heading in the direction of the cottage which Kai and Sam called their home before Kai left to go to war and Sam vacated it.
Sam recalled how, on the day Kai proposed marriage, he had said he couldn't wait for her to see the plot of land he had chosen for their little house to be built on. "Pretty little area right by the Ninjago River" was how he described it. He had liked the secludedness of the parcel.
Today, secludedness was not a good thing.
"Where are we going?" she asked Jake in a low, quiet voice.
He knew that she knew what their destination was. "A scout found your house," he answered. "The name 'Smith' carved above the door made it easy to figure out whose cottage it was."
Then he chuckled. "Looks like you folks were using it to hide some of your things. Chen especially likes that one oil painting with the colors of red and purple."
Sam didn't respond. As she subconsciously fidgeted with her engagement and wedding rings she wore under her glove, she was frantically racking her brain, struggling to think of a good way out of this bad situation.
Unfortunately, she could not do so.
Minutes later, they reached her cottage. Jake guided the horse to the front door, quickly stepping out of the cutter and around to grasp Sam's upper arm. He really didn't think she would try to escape, when her husband's well being was at stake, but he wanted to give the appearance of being a good soldier in front of his future father-in-law. He depended on Chen's approval of him in order to be promoted to the rank of colonel.
He escorted her to her own front door. Her shoulders were slumped and she offered no resistance. She reminded him of a lamb being led to its slaughter.
Jake knocked on the door. Chen opened it, chomping on a cigar.
The Purple major saluted his superior officer. "Mission accomplished, sir."
Beyond the general's shoulder, Jake could see into the room he had helped Chen set up yesterday, but now there were additional touches. A warm fire burned in the fireplace. A wine bottle, flanked by two glasses, sat on the small table near the parlor sofa. A framed wedding photograph of Sam and Kai sat on the mantel.
Chen probably brought that photograph from the old rancher's office and put it there on purpose, Jake thought.
Chen saluted back. "Good work, Major!" He reached into his pocket and handed the subordinate officer a cigar.
Then he turned his attention to Sam. "Come in from the cold, dearie," he said with a fiendish grin on his face, guiding her into the house. "I'll make sure you're nice and warm in here!" And with that, he closed the door behind them, leaving Jake standing outside. Jake turned and took the horse and cutter to the stable.
Trying to keep warm while he waited in the stable, Jake stomped his feet and breathed on his hands and rubbed them together. The surrounding woods were quiet, save for the occasional bird call and the gentle rush of the nearby Ninjago River, which was not quite yet frozen over with ice.
But eventually Sam's wails of terror punctured the tranquility of the winter soundscape.
Jake, though he had killed a few men in cold blood without a second thought, winced a bit upon hearing the noises coming from inside the cottage, so to distract himself, he pulled his hat down tighter over his ears, briefly rubbing his sore cheek where Sam had struck him. He lit the expensive cigar Chen had given to him and played a game with himself to see how long he could make the cigar last before he was finished with smoking it.
About two hours after he had delivered Sam, Jake heard Chen shout out "Clouse!"
"Coming, sir!" Jake shouted back, hustling to heed his superior's call. He stepped into the cutter and guided the horse to the cottage's front door. Chen was standing just inside the doorway, his shirt half buttoned, revealing his hairy chest. He was holding on to the upper arm of Sam, who was standing just outside the doorway clutching her coat around her shoulders. Her hair was disheveled. Her blue eyes had a sunken, hollow appearance. She looked at Jake lifelessly.
"I'm done with her for today, Major Clouse. Take her away now."
Addressing Sam, he cheerily said, "I thoroughly enjoyed your company this afternoon, dearie. I'm looking forward to next Sunday! And remember, this is our little secret!" He let go of her and closed the door.
She said nothing as she stepped into the cutter, refusing Jake's assistance.
In the dimming late afternoon winter sky, Jake took occasional sideways glimpses of her as he guided the horse. He saw that she was staring at her lap, avoiding eye contact with him. They traveled in silence during the entire ride back to the main house.
Finally they arrived at the front porch of the stately two-story red brick mansion. She stepped out of the cutter, then looked him in the eye and finally spoke to him.
"Bastard!" she hissed.
As she turned to walk away, he said the only thing he could think of at the moment.
"Merry Christmas!"
She kept walking.
She walked up the porch steps, through the front door which the sentry on duty had opened, and up the stairway to her bedroom. She was thankful not to have encountered her loved ones on the way.
But when Sam entered their shared bedroom, Nya was standing at EJ's bassinet, straightening the sleeping baby's covers. As Sam closed the door behind her, Nya noticed the blonde woman's disheveled appearance. Mainly she noticed Sam's sunken, hollow eyes.
As Sam slowly sat down on her bed, woman intuition told Nya exactly what had happened to her. Nya immediately sat down next to her and put her arm around her friend.
"Was it Jake?" she asked in a whisper.
Sam turned to the raven-haired young woman. "Chen!" she spat out before burying her face in her friend's shoulder, sobs racking her body.
Nya hugged her tightly and cried along with her.
The letter to Kai, telling him about Christmas Day at Garmadon Ranch, remained unfinished at the writing table.
