Chapter Five

Amanda thought her heart would stop as the key turned in the lock and then the door opened.

"Get in there!"

A blindfolded figure was thrust into the room, the forward motion bringing him to his knees before he crumpled unseeing to the floor calling out in agony as he did so.

Steve! She cried for him inwardly and tried to move forward, to at least inch herself a little closer to him, but it was impossible, the length of chain which attached her cuffs to the wall was already strained to its limits. The cry of pain tore at her heart and all her instincts willed her to move toward him but still she couldn't.

"Well, well, my dear, Lieutenant, this is so nice. I have missed your company."

He heard the voice again which caused his heart and pulse to race in fear and mentally tried to prepare himself for what was to come. The sound of the door being locked startled him and then he felt her soft hands as she pulled the fabric from his eyes. He blinked a couple of times to get used to the light before he looked up and saw her, standing over him, the gun, which he knew was his own, still in her hand.

He couldn't get up; the fall had sent a spiral of pain through him encompassing his ribs and right arm. Even a smart retort was beyond him and although he didn't want to show her any weakness he had no way to do more than just lie at her feet.

"Move back towards the wall." Her voice sent a shiver of fear through him but the pain was even stronger. It had only been a little over three weeks since she had dislocated his shoulder and broken his ribs. They still weren't healed completely and the fall had aggravated the pain more than he wanted to think about.

"I said move back towards the wall!"

"He's hurt, can't you see that?" The appearance of her friend, although escalating her worry ten-fold, had given her a little strength and Amanda fought back for the first time since the phone call.

"Amanda!" He hadn't seen her, hadn't realised that they were together, and the fear he felt was suddenly increased so much that it almost totally overwhelmed him.

Melosa moved towards her female captive and pointed the gun at her legs. "Get over towards the wall; otherwise I will practice my skills on your friend."

"No." The one word was hardly more than a whisper and, dragging himself up onto his knees, Steve crawled towards the other side of the room.

Melosa smiled, two hostages were going to be so much more fun than just one. The loyalty of the little group they belonged to was nauseating, but it could come in handy if she worked it right.

"Now, I think you know what to do. Stand up."

"No … please … not … not the chains." Already he was pleading with her but Steve knew that his resolve was nowhere as strong as it had been the last time. He also had all the fears and emotions resulting from his previous captivity to fight against and he was failing already.

"I have told you what I will do if you don't co-operate, my darling, now stand up." He heard the gun being cocked and knew that he had no choice.

Amanda watched in silence as Steve painfully got to his feet and stood shaking as his left wrist was forced into a manacle and then she saw their captor crouch down and put a pair of handcuffs similar to the ones on her own ankles onto Steve. Amanda gasped as her friend bite back the pain he felt as they were clicked into place and she knew that already he was weakening.

Melosa took two steps back and Steve saw her lick her lips. "There is something still not quite right about this, what can it be?" She looked thoughtful for a moment and then snapped her fingers, "I know. We don't need these." She moved forward and Steve could suddenly see the thin blade she had used before in her hand. Carefully laying the gun on the floor she raised the other weapon and sliced through his sling and, ignoring his cry of pain as its protection was removed, threw it to land next to his feet then, using the scalpel again, she cut through the thin material of his t-shirt before ripping it from his body and throwing it to the floor as well.

"I shall be back, my love, but until then," She leant in and, as he felt the blade rest against his chest through the fog his increased pain was causing, she kissed him brutally on the lips before turning to pick up the gun and leave them alone.

ooo

The smoke filled room had become like a prison. The tape played over and over again, first with Amanda's voice and then without, and still the sampler wasn't finding a match.

"It's there; the noises are there so the equivalent is in here someplace. I have 30,000 sounds in this computer, but I can download others. Go grab yourselves a coffee, guys, and I'll get busy." Doctor Bannerman ground the remains of his latest cigar into the ashtray and began tapping away at the keyboard of a secondary computer on the other side of the room. As he did so there was a commotion outside the door and Jesse opened it to hear the Tannoy, which was not audible inside the confined space, alerting staff to an emergency situation.

"Code Blue, in ER, trauma two, Code Blue in ER, trauma two."

He looked towards his friend, his loyalties impossibly divided, and Mark nodded but then spoke. "I'll be fine. Go, Jesse, see if they need you."

The voice was heard again as Jesse rushed out the door, "Doctor Martin to ER STAT, Doctor Alex Martin to ER STAT."

The elevator was sitting waiting for Jesse and he hit the floor level on the panel and waited for the door to close. Mark had been more receptive, more responsive, almost a little like the old Mark while they had been working with Bannerman. But he knew that if a match wasn't found soon then the progress could be lost.

Jesse came out of the elevator and headed into trauma two just in time to see Alex taking the chart off the chest of a young man on a gurney. "What've you got?"

"What are you doing here?" The younger doctor looked shocked and surprised; he had heard what had been happening to his friends and, knowing that there was no way he could help with the investigation, had volunteered to cover either Jesse or Mark's shifts until they could return, feeling it was the least he could do.

"I was in the building, thought I could help … oh, my God!"

"What? What's the matter?" Alex added confusion to the emotions Jesse had caused to run through him in an impossibly short period of time.

"What happened to him, and where's Steve?" Jesse felt his heart rate increase as he asked his questions.

"He was shot, out in the parking lot. But I don't know where Steve is. Does this guy have something to do with Steve?" Alex pulled on the latex gloves he was handed as he spoke. The figures on the machines being attached to the officer didn't look good. He really didn't have time to talk.

"He was Steve's guard. Save him, Alex, we need him."

"I'll keep you apprised of his status." Alex was already treating the patient and Jesse rushed out of the room with his own guard following him. He went up to the nurses' station where he grabbed the phone and punched in the digits for hospital security while speed dialling the precinct number on his cell phone at the same time and trying to work out what on earth he was going to tell Mark.

ooo

"Amanda?" His voice wasn't very strong but she heard him and looked up, the tears she had been hoping to hide visible on her cheeks.

He tried to ease his position, to somehow take the pressure off his feet which were causing him so much pain. They were healed now, the new skin pink and tender, but taking the weight of his body as he walked still made them ache and feel as if they were going to split apart. If he had been shackled by both arms he would have been able to raise himself up off the floor but with one arm virtually helpless by his side it was impossible. For a moment he laughed inwardly at the absurdity of him wishing for more, rather than less, restraint before he focused in on the sneakers which at least gave him some protection but then he heard Amanda take a tearful breath and he concentrated on her again. "Please, don't cry."

"How can I not? She's gonna kill us both, Steve. Not right away, probably not until she's tried to kill Mark and Jesse," she paused for a moment closing her eyes as she did so, "and Ron. I'm sorry; I know I'm not being very brave, but I'm scared, Steve." She said his name again, somehow gaining strength from being able to do so.

"So am I." The words tumbled out unbidden, he saw the surprise they caused written on her face, and he tried to keep the pain out of his voice long enough to finish what he had to say. "Remember what I said yesterday? That she wouldn't … beat us because together we are stronger than she will ever be? Well that's still true. Amanda, it isn't weak to be scared, in fact it's just the opposite. If you can face … your fears and still fight your demons then you are a very strong person. I have n … never doubted that you can do that." He took a painful breath in and tried not to think about the agony each word or movement caused him.

She was silent for a moment but then looked up and smiled. "Thank you."

"Oh, this is just so touching. I may have to put you in separate rooms so I don't throw up each time I come in here." The third voice split the air as surely as the whip she carried in her hand and she moved across to where Steve was held.

"So, how do you like your new room? It doesn't have the same features as the last one, but still, I think it'll do." She held the whip underneath his chin as she spoke and he tried, unsuccessfully, to turn his head away from her. Suddenly she moved her hand and the weapon flashed through the air striking him across the ribs and he couldn't hold in the cry of pain.

"Steve, no!" Amanda's cry was just as loud as his own and she strained against the chains which held her but couldn't prevent her from trying to get to him.

Tears flooded his eyes as the pain refused to go away. Again she brought the whip down and Steve felt sure that he would pass out from the agony it caused. Then, almost as if she had been reading his mind knelt down in front of him and, twisting his body to help her she, none too gently, removed his footwear.

ooo

Once Jesse had finished on both phones he made his way back into the elevator and returned to Bannerman's room. As he opened the door he heard the flick of the lighter and knew that yet another cigar had made an appearance.

"Jess, that was quick … Jesse, what is it? Is it Steve? Amanda?" The words tumbled out as Mark saw the look of despondency on Jesse's face.

"The code blue was Steve's guard. No one has seen him, Mark. He's just gone."

"No." Mark sagged back against the desk he was standing by. "We were supposed to be safe – what happened?"

Jesse came across and sat his friend down in the seat which Doctor Bannerman had quickly wheeled across. He was glad, for once, that the smoking chimney of a man was with him.

"I don't know. I called Cheryl, she's coming over. But," Jesse paused, not sure how his friend would take the rest of the information he had.

"But what? What do you mean, but?"

"Mark, he was shot in the parking lot of the hospital. Steve was on his way here."

Jesse wasn't sure what response he was expecting but one of pure fury wasn't it.

"This is a place of healing. People who come here, however they come here, expect to be safe. How dare she take that away!" Mark closed his eyes; again he had led his child, his only child now, into danger and worse than that he had led another young man into the same danger. Opening his eyes he looked up at Jesse. "How's the officer?"

"Not good, Alex was with him when I came back here. He said he'd keep in touch."

Mark nodded his head and then turned back to the other doctor in the room. "If it is her, and who else could it be?" He paused for a second, "Then this just got twice as urgent." Mark trailed off. He didn't want to be stuck in this small room for the rest of the day, he needed to get out there, find clues, do something, anything, to save his son.

"Well, you know, I'd work a whole lot better if I had my room back." Doctor Bannerman smiled as he said it and the two doctors, gratefully taking the escape route they had been offered, smiled back at him, gathered up their own guards and left him alone.

ooo

The phone call from Doctor Travis had come through just as Cheryl was handing out the photo fit picture of Melosa Arriaga. Most of the cops in the station who had attended a homicide had worked with Doctor Bentley, no one had a bad word to say about her and everyone wanted to get her back safely.

When word arrived that there was a chance that Lieutenant Sloan had been taken as well, by the same woman who had almost killed him the last time, there was an urgency and barely restrained fury amongst the men and women of the North Hollywood precinct which Cheryl could only sympathise with.

She filled her Captain in as quickly as she could on the current situation and then grabbed her coat and gun and headed for Community General Hospital.

ooo

He hadn't realised until his footwear was gone just how uneven and sharp the floor beneath his feet actually was. Where Amanda was lying it didn't look that way, although through the dust and debris it was hard to be sure, and he had a feeling that the place he was now standing had been prepared especially for him by his captor. His ankles, which had been protected somewhat by his socks, were being bitten into by the cuffs, which had looked suspiciously like his own and any movement only increased the pain he felt from head to foot.

Melosa had run her hands up and over his body in her gentle way which usually was a precursor for actions of violence and pain. Every muscle tautened in preparation for whatever form of torture she planned to practice next but when nothing happened he relaxed just a little but felt a blush of shame rush up his body as he realised that Amanda could see everything that this woman was doing to him, and that right now she was watching a very one sided form of physical affection which repulsed him.

"You seem so anxious, my darling. What can Melosa do to calm you down?"

"How about letting us go?" He found strength from deep inside himself and, willing his fear to stay back, looked into her eyes.

The laugh that escaped her almost tinkled in the silence. "Why, Lieutenant, and I'd heard you had no sense of humour!" She ran her hands over his chest as she spoke, and felt the muscles clench as they were touched. Steve turned an even deeper shade of red and Melosa realised that the presence of her other hostage was causing him to feel emotions other than those she had envisaged. He was embarrassed. For a moment she continued and then she placed a lingering kiss on his lips, rejoicing in his discomfort.

Steve tried unsuccessfully to move away from her but she kept her lips firmly against his until he became still again. Her fingers were making gentle circular movements on his chest and had to fight down the bile that the sensation forced into his throat, but then her hand strayed towards his right shoulder and, as she massaged the tips into the muscles there, he felt a cold sweat start as he battled for control of the agony she caused.

"Stop it! Can't you see what you're doing to him?" Amanda cried out as her friend swayed and she saw his eyes begin to roll in his head from the pain he was in. "How can you hurt anyone that way?"

Melosa immediately stepped back from Steve who slumped forwards, his left arm taking his entire weight as he did so. She walked across the floor and Amanda watched in fascinated horror as the almost impossibly high heels on a pair of black stiletto's made their way closer and closer to her.

"How can I hurt someone? Why, it is so easy. The gasp as they realise just how much business I mean is all I need to spur me on." Melosa had grabbed Amanda's hair as she spoke, forcing a similar gasp to escape as she felt her head being pulled back so that they had to look at each other.

"Leave her … alone. It's me you want … let her go." It had taken all of his energy to force himself back against the wall so that he could see Amanda after Melosa had finally stopped the probing and kneading of his shoulder. The pain was still there though and he fought through the fog it produced, knowing that he had to get her away from his friend.

"I didn't … realise …" He took a breath as he considered his words knowing that they would cause him pain. "You were that much … of … of a coward."

Slowly and menacingly she turned and once again crossed the floor towards him. His heart began beating hard and fast in his chest, his palms grew clammy but he knew he had to keep her with him, had to make sure that Amanda wasn't harmed so his dad, Ron and Jesse could find them.

"A coward?" Her hand flashed out and slapped him hard across the face. "What kind of coward is it who hounds a man who is only trying to protect his family?" Again she hit him, his head turning with the force. "What kind of coward is it who takes his father along with him on his cases? Who gets him shot because he can't work alone? How dare you!" The scalpel sliced across his chest and then he felt the riding crop as it descended on him in a fury. He tried to stay with her, tried to goad her again to keep her attention away from Amanda, but the pain grew to be too much and his friend's screams were the last thing he heard as he let unconsciousness claim him.

ooo

"And you were going to let me in on this latest development, when?" Ron Wagner's voice boomed across the doctors' lounge and it was all Cheryl could do not to cringe at the hateful tone he used.

"I was going to let you know once I had a bit more information to impart. But for once the Feds were up to speed and here you are, just a little ahead of me!" The words were flung back at the tall man who was standing, seething before her. "Now, are you gonna sit down and let me tell you what I have?"

Without another word Ron flung himself into a vacant chair at the table just in front of him. He stuck his long legs underneath the table and Jesse scooted backwards so that he wasn't doing something wrong as well.

Taking advantage of the silence Cheryl began to talk. "Ok. Steve finished his photo fit picture with Ann this morning. This is Melosa Arriaga." Three copies of the picture were laid on the table in front of Mark, Jesse and Ron and each of them picked one up.

Mark looked at the face of the woman who had twice taken his son away from him, at the woman who had this time also taken one of his closest friends and who had tried to kill him. He knew that he was still in danger, and he tried to imprint the face on his brain so that there was no possibility of him not recognising her.

Ron saw Jesse take in the picture in one glance and then look back to Cheryl anxious to carry on. But he kept his eyes on the face a little longer. This animal had taken the only woman he had ever loved away from him. He didn't think he had it in him to hate anyone but she came as close as he ever wanted to get and he knew that he would kill her to get Amanda back.

Gradually the conversation ceased and the four friends sat in silence. Mark and Jesse were both anxious to know how Doctor Bannerman was doing but they knew that he would contact them as soon as he had anything. Ron felt his mind wander back through the memories he and Amanda had made, he wanted to focus on the case, to work out where to go next, but his heart wouldn't let him.

Cheryl had kept up a constant liaison with the station but had refused to leave the hospital telling her Captain that any news that came through she would pass on, because she had a feeling that it would all be bad.

Finally though as the world grew dark outside and a chill pervaded the air the female detective spoke.

"Steve told me what happened in the elevator here earlier in the week."

"He did? Wow!" Jesse was amazed that his friend would have passed on something which showed his inner feelings so freely.

"The young woman's name was Janice D'Marco, she was twenty-one years of age, and she was found yesterday with a bullet in her back." Cheryl paused for a moment, "She was killed with Steve's gun."

Mark was on his feet in an instant. "If you're suggesting that because she scared him he …"

"No, Mark, of course I'm not suggesting anything of the sort! Even if I was, Steve doesn't have his weapon any longer. It was taken the first time and we didn't recover it." Cheryl cut off Mark's words angry that he would even think something like that.

He was about to apologise, about to ask for more details on the killing of Janice D'Marco, when the door opened and Doctor Bannerman walked in.

"I've got it. I've got a match on the noise."