Gael rang Tony to tell him that they'd brought the Doctor in to see to Jack. He hadn't picked up Jack on camera for more than a few seconds since he'd been treated so he couldn't answer Tony's only question about how he had looked. He replaced the phone in the receiver and looked around at the three screens. He noticed that he had Jack on the screen to his right now but he was stretched out shirtless on his bed and seemed to be sleeping. He looked battered but peaceful enough. The other two screens showed empty rooms.
A buzz of static alerted him to movement in the kitchen, where Jack had managed to install only an audio feed. He quickly switched the button to record. And, deciding there was no reason to alert Tony immediately, he bent his head to concentrate on what Hector was saying.
'So – are you happy now?' Hector asked
'Yes. I am happy now' Ramon replied, pronouncing each word carefully. He paused, before replying further. 'From now on, we treat him like a brother, Hector – let him know that he's important to us. We'll show him that we recognise that he's better than the rest.' He sighed, obviously contented with the way the events of the day had played out, 'He's going to take us to the top of our game, Hector. Right to the top.'
"We can celebrate tonight' Hector said, apparently feeling equally satisfied with the day so far. 'You're not gonna let him sleep all night are you?'
'Not for too long, Hector. But he deserves a bit of rest now, I think...' He hesitated, 'Anyway – if you're OK with it, I've got another surprise lined up for him later so he'll need his energy'
'Yore not planning to hurt him again surely?' Hector asked, sounding, Gael thought, just for once as if he didn't think that would be such a good idea
'Not much' Ramon replied. 'I thought maybe something like this...'There was a silence and Gael strained to hear what was happening. Certainly nothing was being said. And then he heard Hector's voice again,
'Ha' Hector laughed, 'yes, it's an excellent idea Ramon. It'll be a reward that actually means something. Will the other men be OK with it do you think?'
'I think so. They already respected him. They've seen what he's capable of - he's a born leader and he's been trained well. And after today...' Gael could imagine Ramon nodding towards the barn, 'Well – there's not many of them could take that. And they know it.' He laughed again, 'You won't see them lining up to go through the same – just to prove their loyalty to us. No, Jack's the best. I'm gonna let him sleep for another hour or two then we'll get the party started'
The voices faded away as the brothers moved out of the kitchen and Gael lifted the phone to call Tony. As he raised his head, he glanced up at the room where Jack had been sleeping and was shocked by what he saw.
'Tony, I think you'd better get back here now. Don't call the others in yet'
By the time Tony arrived in the room, Jack was sitting on the bed facing the camera. His bandaged hand lay inert on the bed next to him. But his right hand encircled the waist of a clearly topless Claudia who stood between his legs stroking jack's shoulders and neck.
Tony looked at Gael, one eyebrow raised.
'Hector's wife.' Gael confirmed, answering the unasked question.
'Sonovabitch, Jack' Tony responded and clasped his head with both hands,
'Sonovabitch' he repeated, shaking his head as if to rid himself of the image in front of him. 'He's gone through so much out there. What the hell does he think he's doing with her? He'll get them both killed'
Claudia leaned forward towards Jack's lips and Tony saw Jack frown and glance up in the direction of the tiny security camera. Jack pulled Claudia closer to him bringing his left arm off the bed to hold her securely against him. His right hand slipped lower onto her jeans and he stood up lifting her off the ground. She gripped his hips tightly with her thighs and he carried her out of sight of the camera.