Joseph snarled at the junkie bitch to get into the car, and when she had, he shoved Obsidian into the front seat between them. He slid in behind the wheel and started up the small car, pulling off into the road and gunning it. He smiled as he checked the rearview and realized that one of the fortunes was with him that day, Spike hadn't noticed the gray car speeding away. Five miles later, he pulled into a sleazy motel lot.

Mary looked at Joseph with a bored expression on her face, "Now that you have the kid, when are we gonna get our money?"

"Soon." He replied in a tone that Obsidian knew only too well.

Joseph grabbed Sid roughly by the back of her neck and dragged her from the car. She didn't fight him, it would only make it worse, besides, it was too early to do anything yet. She needed to work out her plan, she still had a few holes in it that she needed to patch up. The make-believe 'family' walked to a room that Mary unlocked the door for. Obsidian was shoved through the doorway and the force of it threw her to the floor. Joseph smiled cruelly as he saw her find her feet.

"Get the rope." He told Mary.

***

Faye was still shaking as Spike walked back in fifteen minutes later. He was still angry, but the dark circles under his eyes told their own tale of stress and sleep deprivation. She had never seen him like this before, and she hoped to hell never to again. Edward had run off to where ever it was that she used as a hidey-hole on the ship. Spike walked past Faye, not even seeing her, and into the kitchen. A few moments later the sound of the refrigerator opening and then slamming shut was heard.

"Where the hell is my gun?" He asked Faye quietly.

"I don't know." She was still shaken by the earlier events, and her whole pushy, angry girl routine had yet to resurface.

"Faye, do you understand how bad this is?" He still wasn't looking at her, staring instead at the knocked over bag of Obsidian's clothes on the floor.

"Some jerk took her."

Spike gave a small cold laugh, "Some jerk. That doesn't even begin to describe Joseph." He looked at her for the first time since he came back in. "He's a pedophile Faye. He gets off on beating her to the edge of death and then raping her. You just gave him his favorite toy back."

Faye shook as the realization of the full extent of what she had done hit her. "We can get her back Spike. They didn't leave that long ago." She ran for the key to the Redtail. "She'll be ok."

***

Obsidian got to her feet and stared at Joseph. She felt the gun pressing gently against her spine, cold steel on warm flesh as a reminder that she could end it. He lunged for her, and she dodged to run around him. His fingers grabbed the back of the collar on her trench as she went past, and he whipped her around and into the wall, pulling her coat free as he did. Her head impacted the wall with a cracking noise and a flash of ultra-violet light exploded in the back of Obsidian's eyes. His eyes widened as he saw the gun on her back as she lay dazed and sprawled on the floor. Quick as lightning, he grabbed it and flung it. The Jericho 941 bounced against the wall and slid across the floor onto the cold tile of the bathroom floor.

"A gun? You had a gun?" His eyes were cold and dangerous, and his tone foretold a great deal of pain in her future. "You were going to try and kill me. Weren't you? You ungrateful bitch!"

He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. Obsidian's dizzy mind was muddled by the massive concussion that was forming, but she still had enough left to snap out her foot and make a solid connection with the side of his knee. Joseph howled in pain and slammed her head against the wall three or four times. Obsidian fought for consciousness as Mary handed him the rope. The woman looked worried, she was sober for the first time in years and the withdrawals were starting to wear off.

"If you hurt her, we might not get any money for her." She warned him, worried more about the kid than the money.

He glared at her as he snatched the rope from her hands. Mary backed away and into the corner by the bed. She huddled in on herself, terrified of the obviously unbalanced man before her. He grabbed Sid's arm and tightly tied the rope around her slender wrist. Joseph had completely snapped, insanity shown bright in his eyes as he ripped Obsidian's shirt over her head.

"You want to fight me? I'll make you sorry I didn't cut your throat and dump your worthless carcass years ago." He screamed at her as he grabbed her hair and dragged her to the clothes bar by the bathroom door.

Mary was crying and screaming in the corner, too scared to run she watched the nightmarish scene play out before her. Joseph strung the limp child up by her wrists to the steel bar on the wall. He spun sharply and turned on Mary.

"Shut up! Shut up!" He railed as his fist impacted on the side of her face over and over again until the only sound was his ragged breathing.

Obsidian knew this was not the way she wanted to go, but unless she did something soon, she was going to die in this dirty motel room. She'd be bloody, raw, and alone. Fear curled into her stomach and it tightened it's fist on her heart. When Joseph turned back to her she was fighting against the ropes in a futile attempt to get them loose. He grinned evilly as he watched her straining and pulling against the knots he had made. The belt he wore made a bone-chilling hiss as it cleared the loops on his slacks.

"I finally made a decision. I know what I'm going to do with you now." His voice was cruel and unhinged as he walked toward her. "It was so sad. When I found you, you were so horribly mangled by the torture that Spike had done to you, that you died in my arms on the way to the hospital."

Obsidian's eyes widened in fear as the belt cut a wide loop in the air before slashing down and cutting into her unprotected skin. She screamed in anguish as the fiery pain licked across her back. Joseph smiled at her as he brought the impromptu whip down against her flesh over and over. When he finally stopped to catch his breath Obsidian felt the agonizing wounds oozing blood down her torn back. Her struggles to avoid his blows had only ripped the rope across her delicate wrists, blood dripping slowly down her arms.

"Vicious... is going... to... kill you..." She coughed out through the pain.

Joseph came unglued. "You think he cares? You stupid fucking bitch! You think your little mark means shit to him?" He screamed, spittle flying from his lips. "I'll give you a fucking mark you'll never forget!"

He rummaged through her pants pockets until he found the object of his desire, triumph on his face he pulled her disposable lighter out and flicked it on. Obsidian fought the fear, the sweet welcome relief of passing out, of succumbing to the pain. Her only way to stay alive was to stay awake. She focused on the pain, used it to fuel her anger and made herself hang tightly to the ragged edge of consciousness. The now heated metal edge of the lighter was glowing with a slightly white tinge and he grabbed her hair forcing her head forward and locking her still with his tight grip. The metal seared into her skin melting the flesh in a crescent shaped scar just below the tattoo that her beloved benefactor had given her.

Pain tore through her and into the air riding on her hoarse screams. Her hands gripped the short length of rope that separated them, the touch of the rough material the only cord that she had left to cling to sanity. Mary stirred in the corner, coming back to life after her stint of unconsciousness. Screaming, she crawled to her feet and ran for the door. Joseph quickly overtook her, dropping the lighter in the process. He slammed her down on the bed and climbed on her struggling form. His hands wrapped around Mary's throat and he squeezed, cutting off her screams along with her air. He looked up grinning manically.

"You're next bitch." He laughed.

***

Faye and Spike searched for three hours before realizing that Joseph was long gone to whatever rock he had found to crawl under. Dejected and tired they both returned to the ship. Their only hope, as well as Obsidian's, rested with Ed. It took only seconds for Faye to explain her plan to the young hacker, before she was typing away furiously on her computer. Within minutes she cried out excitedly. Both Spike and Faye snapped to her side as Edward pointed at the screen.

"Ed found him!" She exclaimed. "Crandon Motel! Hurry hurry!"

Faye and Spike didn't reply, they simply ran for the door.

***

Obsidian struggled hard, her blood soaked wrists slick against the ropes as Mary began to cease her fighting and fall limp in Joseph's hands. Obsidian's resolve doubled and she yanked hard downward putting all of her weight into it. She dropped to her knees as her right hand slid free of it's confinement. Joseph leapt off the bed as she dove into the bathroom reaching for the gun. He grabbed her ankle has her fingertips brushed the butt of the Jericho 941 pulling her back toward the door and her certain death. Obsidian screamed as she twisted onto her back and kicked him full force in the face with the heel of her free foot.

Joseph roared out in pain and momentarily let go. She dove for the gun again painfully stretching the muscles in her already abused back. He sprung for her, dragging her back against the tile as he wrestled for the gun. Obsidian reflexively pulled the trigger, shot going wide, and the recoil loosened Joseph's grip slightly. She squeezed the trigger again, and this time, the bullet found it's mark under her tormentor's chin. His head rocked with the force of the exit wound sending blood, bone fragments, and gray matter everywhere. Joseph fell lifeless to the ground and Obsidian cried with relief.

She couldn't waste any time in her newfound and hard won freedom, gunshots meant cops and lots of them. She pulled herself slowly and painfully to her feet and out into the room. Gingerly she pulled her babydoll t-shirt over her head and down her torn and bloody back. Next came her jacket as she readied herself to run, or rather limp, away. Unwilling to leave behind her best method of defense, she picked up Spike's gun and turned to the door just as it crashed open. Standing in the doorway, between her and her escape, was the bounty hunter from the park and a tall auburn haired man. Obsidian glared at them, bringing the gun up. She was going to get out of here, no matter who she had to kill to do it.

***

After breakfast, Toshi and Ian were off and running to catch a new bounty on the list. It wasn't much, he was just wanted for information theft, and the pair had tracked him the night before to the little no-tell motel just past the edge of the warehouse district. They had given up on the girl, Toshi insisted that she was more trouble than she was worth and Ian was still giving him shit about it. They had just walked into the parking lot when the first shot fired through the morning air. Reflexively, both hunters ducked for cover behind a car until they could figure out where the shot had come from. The second shot sounded from one of the rooms that lined the row behind them. They spun, looking at the numbers on the doors, hoping that room 23 wasn't the origin. Ian cursed as he realized that it was, and their target was armed now, just what they needed.

The pair got carefully into position, one on either side of the door and Ian turn, kicking in the door. The both froze when they saw her, blood matting her hair and dripping from her fingers as she raised the large gun and trained it on them. Both Ian and Toshi dropped their guns immediately and put up their hands. A piece of rope hung from her left hand blood dripping off of it and too the floor. She wobbled dangerously for a split-second, and then caught herself.

"Ok, both of you out. You're not stopping me, I'll fucking kill you first." Her voice was ragged from screaming her pain to an uncaring audience. She gestured with the gun for both of them to stay on the left side of the door. "Out!"

Both men backed slowly from the room and out to the left of the door. She reached the door and braced herself on the doorway with her left hand before walking out the door. Ian had seen the woman in the room, there was no gunshot wound on her, but her lips were a disturbing shade of blue. He did as he was told, as did Toshi, neither of them knowing how many bullets the kid had left in that hand cannon she was holding.

"I'm going to walk out of here, and you two are going to let me." Obsidian's eyes had a wild gleam in them that the bounty hunters weren't willing to test. "I don't care where you go after I leave, but it better not be after me."

After she went around the corner, Toshi and Ian dashed back into the room. Toshi ran to the bathroom where he could see a man's foot sticking out, as Ian checked the woman on the bed. Seconds later Toshi turned and began retching into the sink.

Ian looked up from the woman on the bed, "Is it him?"

"No, I..." Toshi couldn't speak anymore, he just emptied his stomach into the sink.

"Where is she?" A male voice spoke coldly from the doorway.

"Oh god. Spike, Look!"

Ian turned and saw them standing there, the purple haired beauty and the tall green haired man. The woman was staring horrorstruck at the small bloody handprint on the doorframe. Spike stared at the print in shock before he turned back to the two men standing in the room.

"Where is the fucking bastard?" Spike yelled. "I'll murder him!"

Toshi looked up from the sink, his eyes seemed haunted. "Too late."

Faye looked mildly relieved. "It's probably not her blood then Spike."

Spike walked back to the bathroom, Jet's Walther P99 in his hand, and stopped as he stepped on something. He bent down to inspect the item carefully before continuing. His mind rapidly put together the events that had transpired as he stared at the thin leather belt then at the wall both were splattered with small drops of dull red blood. Spike dropped to his knees.

"Yes it is Faye." He said with a hopeless tone.

"I hate to bust this up," Ian interrupted, "but we need an ambulance. This one is still alive."