The silence grew as Kim continued to study her nail, unsure of where to start but afraid to ask.
"Go on," Heller said nudging her slightly, snapping her out of her trance.
She cleared her throat before speaking, trying to banish the terrible memories which flooded back each time she thought about what went off inside the small cell.
"He was on the floor when they led me into the cell. They shut the door behind me and let me see him alone. I… I didn't know what to expect but… it all seemed worse than I though possible. He was really still, but I could see he was in pain. He looked so thin and frail too, for a moment…" she paused as she rubbed at her eyes before taking a deep breath, "for a moment I thought they took me to the wrong cell. I didn't know that my father could ever be so fragile and… weak. But he was. It scared me."
She took another sip of her drink as she continued to look down at her feet. Heller wanted to look away but he couldn't break contact with her, he owed it to both of them to listen intently and help them each as best as he could.
"He was scared, I could tell. He stayed as still as possible, so I took a moment to look him over. His face was battered but you could see it was him, even though I had worried it was somebody else earlier. They had him in a jumpsuit, blood had soaked through it in places. Then I saw his foot and his leg and," she broke off as a shudder ran through her, "it was just so horrid, what they had done to him. I just fell to pieces. I ran over to him but he wouldn't open his eyes. I wanted to try and comfort him but I was afraid to touch him. He came round after he realised it was me," she said as a sad smile took over her face, before her voice changed again, deeper, angrier, "but then the men came back."
"I can't remember what happened too clearly, I was scared and my dad, I could see him change as soon as the door opened. He knew they were coming back and he was trying not to panic. But he was scared, fear just seemed to come off him. After what they did to him I don't blame him," she broke off to stifle a sob. "It was so unfair, all they wanted to do was hurt him and there was nothing either of us could do to stop it."
Heller swallowed, his throat hurting from the effort. He hadn't realised he was clenching a hand under the table, or how he had snaked his other arm round her shoulder, gently squeezing her own arm trying to comfort her. Kim was leaning on his as a tear trickled down her face, he realised he must be helping her and felt a little better.
"Why don't we take a break, you can get your head together and we'll do a little more later."
Kim closed her eyes. She wanted to be brave and tell him she would finish it now, but she couldn't. Truth was she didn't want to have to say anymore, it was hard and seemed to make the memories more painful as she recounted them.
Trying to smile she pulled out of his grasp, embarrassed that she hadn't even noticed what she was doing. The look on Heller's face put her at ease and she nodded her head at his plan.
"I'm going to go and sit with my dad. We'll do this later, if that's okay? I need to get my thoughts together," she let out a slight chuckle, "my heads in pieces."
"Of course Kim, take as much time as you need." He paused as he looked at his watch. "I need to make a call anyway, mind if I use your phone?"
"Of course not," Kim laughed as she sauntered out of the double kitchen doors towards Jacks room. Being with him made him feel better, even in his poor state. At least he was alive, the Chinese had broken him but he could be fixed.
Heller smiled to himself watching the girl leave before rubbing off more sweat from his face, realising how tense he was as he felt the stiffness in his back as he did so. He grabbed the cordless phone and moved outside into the back yard to make the call. He dialled the secure line and gave his clearance codes before getting through to the man he wanted to speak to.
"Mr. President, James Heller here."