Chapter 6:

Nathan knew once he saw the caller id that it had to be Sinclair.

"It's him. Please let me do all the talking."

Everyone else nodded and Nathan pressed the receive button. The screen turned on and everyone in the room stood in shock at the scene before them. Kristin was laying unconscious on an examination table across the screen. Nathan stared at her, realizing how much he truly missed her, and how beautiful she was even though she was strapped down by her arms and legs. She had various wires attached to her arms, chest and legs, which connected to a separate machine. This was similar to a heart monitor, except it also had a voltage meter attached to it. Before any of the crew could decipher what was going on, Sinclair walked into view behind Kristin.

"Why hello, Bridger. So, you've made it back home. And you already have a welcome party to greet you, I see."

Nathan hesitated for a second, trying to ignore those words, and feeling frustrated.

"Shut up, Sinclair. You've caused enough trouble already."

"Oh my, Nathan. Aren't we touchy? I simply wanted to know how your boy was doing. I hope we didn't bruise him too badly," he sarcastically spit out and chuckled. He looked at the crew and then at Nathan with a disappointed face. "I do hope you're not planning some sort of rescue party. I would really hate to do something drastic, like hurting my beloved Kristin, in order to stop you." He gently caressed Kristin's hair as he spoke.

"What are you doing to her? Why is she strapped down?" Nathan was confused and worried.

"Well, let's just say she's been less than compliant"

Nathan and the crew smiled inwardly as they all knew of Kristin's fiery spirit. She would never give up without a fight. Sinclair sensed this and quickly continued.

"I do not take kindly to disobedience. She must realize that her actions cannot go unpunished. She will learn she is mine. And you will be the one to tell her." With that last sentence he smiled at Nathan, knowing how much it hurt him to hear those words. He looked horrified.

"I can't do that, Sinclair. I can't and I won't."

"I knew you would say that. Which is why I set up this lovely device in order to make it a little easier for all of you to comply." He pulled out a small remote control from his pocket. "You see, every time I press this button, Kristin receives an electric shock. It's very painful, I assure you. If you don't do as I say, I will not hesitate to press this button."

The room went silent as Nathan shook his head in disbelief. He slowly turned his head down in acknowledgment, and faced Sinclair with a resigned look.

"All right, Sinclair. I'll do whatever you want."

Sinclair smiled, knowing he had so much control over the UEO's golden boy.

"Well, why don't we wake up our guest of honor, then, shall we?"

With that he pressed the button on the remote. Everyone in Nathan's house stood frozen, some covering their mouths in horror, as Kristin's body was shocked and she lifted about half a foot of the bed. Her shriek of pain was the only sound. Nathan's cry was lost as a whisper as he called out her name, hoping to soothe her pain. The shocks stopped after about five seconds and Kristin gasped for air as her body recovered. Her face had contorted in pain and she slowly opened her eyes and regained consciousness, taking deep breaths and feeling nauseous.

"Welcome back, my dear. I have someone here who wants to talk to you." He spoke to her as if nothing had happened...as if he were talking to a small child. Kristin tuned her head over to the vidphone and forced a smile as soon as she saw Nathan.

"Nathan...Lucas?" She called weakly.

Jonathan, Katie and Ben were holding back their tears, but none of them could stop a few from escaping as they witnessed the horrible scene. Nathan choked out.

"Kristin, sweetie. Lucas is going to be fine. Are you all right?"

"I'm okay." Her words were barely a whisper.

At that point, Sinclair interrupted.

"That will be enough. Now for the real reason I'm letting you talk to her, Bridger."

Nathan hesitated, loathing this man more than ever before. He was forcing himself to say those words.

"Kristin...I...I need you to do whatever Sinclair says." He was sobbing a bit at this point, unable to stop some tears. "Sweetheart, I can't...I can't bare to see you get hurt...please...promise me Kristin...promise me you'll behave!"

He wanted her to listen to him, but he wished she wouldn't. Who knew what this man asked of her. Kristin was too strong to let anything happen to her without her consent. She didn't deserve that. And to have to tell her to comply was heartbreaking. Nathan knew she wouldn't listen, and he was grateful for that. But he had to convince Sinclair he was playing along. They both had to convince him he was winning. Kristin knew she wouldn't ever be under Sinclair's complete control. And she knew Sinclair had forced Nathan to tell her to behave.

"I promise, Nathan." She took in a deep breath. "But know that I will always love you...no matter what he does to me...just...take care of Lucas...and yourself."

Sinclair looked rather pleased with himself. This little vidphone chat was going better than he expected. Now Kristin knew she should comply with his requests or suffer the consequences...and have Nathan suffer by watching her. And Bridger wouldn't dare try and save Kristin, or she would be tortured for sure. Sinclair knew he had the upper hand.

"Well, this is all rather touching, but I'm afraid Kristin needs to get her rest for tomorrow. She's had a very rough day. Say good night and goodbye, sweetheart." He took a nearby cloth and placed it over her nose and mouth before she had a chance to react. Within seconds, she passed out from both the chloroform and the exhaustion of the shocks.

Sinclair looked off the screen to his men. "Take her to my quarters. I will be the first and only person she sees when she wakes up." He glanced mischievously at Nathan, who was sickened by all of this. His legs were barely holding him up. Four men walked on screen and unhooked and untied Kristin from the table. One of them swung her over his shoulder and walked away. Sinclair looked back at the screen.

"Don't bother tracing this call, Bridger. And don't even think about trying to find your way back here. There's no way you'll get her back. She's mine. Not even the SeaQuest is enough to save her now." He chuckled as he continued. "I can't wait to get back to my room and find her, helpless, on my bed. Now that she has experienced what it's like to disobey me, I feel she will be more...accepting...of my advances. I only wish you could see the look on her face when she wakes up with me. But I'll leave that to your imagination...or maybe I'll tape it...and force you to watch it." He laughed mischievously. "Goodbye, Nathan. Say hello to your son for me...and let him know he'll never see his mother again."

With that he briskly cut off the connection, leaving Nathan to collapse on his knees in despair. The whole gang was finding it hard to stay strong in that situation. Nathan collected himself after a few seconds and got up, wiping his face and taking a deep breath.

"All right guys. We have work to do. We are not giving up without a fight. We're getting her back."

Jonathan, Katie, and Ben all nodded. Katie spoke up on behalf of all of them, wiping the last of her tears.

"She's going to be fine, you know. We need to be strong for her. Whatever you need, Captain. We're here for you."

Nathan smiled briefly, thankful to have such wonderful, loyal friends.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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