Finding Olivia

Chapter 5: Broken

"Ladies and gentlemen," the captain's voice sounded through the cabin "Welcome to Portland Oregon. The local time is 5:30pm. The weather is sunny and the temperature is 52 degrees. Enjoy your stay and thanks for flying with us."

Elliot got off the plane with the rest of the passengers. He had only brought a carry on bag with him so there was no need to make a trip to baggage claim. He headed straight for the rental car counter and pulled out his wallet. Within minutes he was on the road in a silver Crown Victoria. It was apparently the only model of car that they had left but he didn't care.

He looked at the map that he had picked up at the desk. It would be a good two and a half hours before he got to the town where Olivia was. He only hoped that she would be back at her apartment by then. He couldn't shake the feeling deep in the pit of his stomach, that something was terribly wrong.

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Fletcher paced his small apartment, holding the phone to his ear "What do you mean there isn't enough evidence to arrest him!"

"He's not the only one we're looking at for this," the voice on the other end answered.

"It has to be him!" Fletcher said angrily "If I can't go there and arrest him, than at least let me report him to the police for attempted rape."

"If you do that," his boss advised "He could get spooked off and if he is our guy, then we might never get him."

"So I'm just supposed to do nothing!" Fletcher was incredulous "Say he is our guy, then you're saying that I should just sit on my ass and twiddle my thumbs while he tortures another woman for his own sick pleasure and profit! I'm reporting you to the head office."

"We're getting close," his boss reassured him "In a few more months-"

"In a few more months we'll have another dead body!" Fletcher screamed.

"When I say a few more months, I'm talking three or four," his boss said "We know that this guy uses his victims for at least ten months. If she's lucky, she'll last a year."

"If she's lucky!" Fletcher snorted "Just what do you call lucky about being raped and tortured for months on end for some sadistic pornography ring?"

His boss paused "I didn't mean it like that, I mean that the longer she can stay alive, the better."

"Have you seen the same tapes I have?" Fletcher asked, feeling the rage boiling over. He wished he had gone into a different line of work "The things he and his associates do to those women, she'll wish she was dead. If we get her out while she's still alive, her life will never be normal again!"

"You've been working too hard," his boss suggested "Maybe you should relax and take a few days off. Go back to visit your family."

"I can't do that!" Fletcher screamed "I know he's made his move! Didn't you say that we'd wait for him to make the first move and then we'd arrest him?"

"You know what this woman looks like, right?" Fletcher's boss asked.

"Yeah," Fletcher answered. He had a feeling he knew what his boss was gonna suggest and he really didn't want to explore that option.

"Wait until the next tape surfaces and if its her, then we'll move in."

"What!" Fletcher had been expecting this suggestion but nonetheless, hearing it out loud made him want to strangle his boss "There is no way that I'm gonna wait to see if my next door neighbor shows up on some sadist porno torture tape!"

"I'm sorry," his boss told him "But I don't see any other option."

Fletcher heard a click on the other end of the line and he sank onto the couch. There was no way that he could go down there without backup but there was no way that he was just gonna sit around and wait for another woman to be victimized in the way that he had seen so many others victimized before.

He'd been glad when no more tapes had been turning up but now the prospect of another one made him sick. It made it worse that he would know the woman who would be on the tape. He had such a bad feeling when he'd seen Moonshower in the stairwell that night. He'd gone back into his apartment and looked at the blurred faces from other tapes. The faces had been intentionally pixilated, all except for the face of the woman that they were torturing. He hated having to look back through those tapes but he had to if he was going to help Persephone.

She was his friend and he was letting her down with every argument he lost to his boss. He had been able to clean up one of the faces slightly; he was a techno wiz and that's one of the reasons that he'd been assigned to this case. The slightly cleaned image resembled Derek Moonshower. That morning he had just gotten up to go see Persephone and was ready to go so far as kidnapping her to keep her from going into work but he couldn't bring himself to use force on any woman. She had walked out of the building and when he had finally gotten over the slight shock of her determination in this matter, it had been too late to catch up with her.

He couldn't risk going to the store without backup; Derek didn't know his face but if any of the others were there, he was sure that at least one of them had spotted him in Phoenix the previous year.

He picked up his gun. It was a standard nine millimeter. He counted his bullets; there were four clips, six bullets each. Fletcher's problem was that he was more of a computers guy, he was lucky that he could fire a gun without shooting himself in the foot. He was no use to anyone going down there only to be killed and then no one would know about Persephone. He highly doubted that his boss even cared about the people who were affected by this sadist. Cooper only cared about getting his name in the papers. Cooper would probably be happy if there was at least one more victim because in the end, it would make him look better for taking down such an evil man. Fletcher down right hated his boss.

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Jeremy gathered his stuff together and prepared to head home for the night. On his way out, he passed Derek. He stopped and pondered asking his boss the question that had been bugging him since that morning "Hey boss?" he said timidly. Derek Moonshower was a very intimidating man in appearance and taller than Jeremy by at least a foot so Jeremy had a right to be timid.

"Yeah Jeremy?" Derek asked. He smiled at the other man but made sure to puff out his chest and try to look his most imposing. He knew that Jeremy was intimidated by him and he hoped to use that to his advantage.

"It's just," Jeremy found himself stumbling over his words "I haven't seen Persephone in a while and I… I was wondering," he gulped "Do you know… I mean have you… did she… uh…"

"Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy," Derek said jovially "Natalie isn't feeling well and Persephone offered to sit with her. I told her that we were all set down here. She's been up in the apartment all day," he clapped a hand on the shorter man's shoulder "Now," he through his head back with a loud short burst of laughter "Why don't you get home to that family of yours."

"Yes sir," Jeremy skittered out the door of the store, more than happy to be away from his bear of a boss.

"My best to Sally and the kids!" Derek called out after the swiftly retreating man. One problem taken care of, Derek headed back into the office where Rickie, Jack and Andy were waiting eagerly.

"Can we get started?" Andy asked. You would have thought that the thirty two year old was a little boy at Christmas.

"Calm yourself kid," Derek took a seat at his desk and looked up at the men who stood around him "Rickie, why don't you flip on the lights so we can see how our… guest is doing?" Rickie moved from where he was leaning against the wall and flipped a switch by the well hidden basement door. Derek opened his laptop, clicked open a program and the four men gathered around to see the live view of what the cameras were recording just below their feet.

"Right in view of the camera," Jack licked his lips "Perfect."

The four men stared at Olivia who sat against the wall to the right side of the bed. They watched as she slowly rose to her feet and inspected the room in the light cast by the bright florescent bulbs. Rickie moved to go down and stop her but Derek held out a hand "No, wait, let her see the kind of place she's in first."

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The harsh lights assaulted Olivia's eyes so suddenly that she had to shut her eyes for a few seconds until she felt like they had adjusted. When she opened them, she felt like closing them again. Actually being able to see where she was, she wanted to throw up. She stood and made her way to the far side of the room. She saw a small cage, as she drew closer to it, she saw a large blood stain on a filthy mat that lay on the floor of it.

She quickly returned to the bed, not bothering to notice that the mattress too was stained with blood in several spots and that a hook hung from the ceiling above it. She reached under the bed until her fingers came into contact with a whip. It wasn't much, in fact it was no match for a gun but it was something that she could use to defend herself.

She pulled it out from underneath the bed, making sure to keep her back to the recording equipment, just in case someone was watching she didn't want them to see what she was doing. She wanted the element of surprise. To cover up her reason for kneeling beside the bed, she pretended to say a prayer. Actually it wasn't really pretending, as she pulled the whip close to her body, she prayed that she would be able to get out of this place and away from those men. She was scared, there were just so many of them.

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"Aw, look at that," Jack said "She's praying. Oh come on, let's go get her now."

Derek smirked "Aren't you eager tonight? But okay. Rickie, go down there and get her ready."

"How come Rickie gets to have all the fun?" Jack wined.

"Because his balls have already dropped, now act your age, idiot," Andy smacked Jack on the arm.

"Shut up children!" Derek yelled at them "The two of you are grown adults," he was so frustrated with the two of them. They had always been like two horny teenagers as long as he had known them. Every mark that they subdued, they had to be told to keep it in there pants. Derek resolved that those two would be stuck standing guard duty and monitoring the video equipment while he and Rickie had the real fun, at least for the first few nights.

Rickie opened the door to the basement and made his way down the stairs. He left the door unlocked, knowing that if this woman tried to make a break for it, she wouldn't get very far.

Jack and Andy crowded closer to the laptop "What do you wanna bet that she makes him look like a complete idiot and he calls out for one of us to come save his ass?" Andy asked.

"He'll be rolling on the floor after five minutes," Jack laughed.

Derek ignored them. He didn't want to spoil their fun. They liked to feel like big men and he wasn't gonna kill their egos by telling them that he knew that the two of them combined hadn't been able to shut her up and that Rickie had subdued her in one fell swoop.

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Olivia heard the footsteps approaching and she shifted positions just slightly, getting ready to strike. She saw the man out of the corner of her eye. He drew closer, unaware that she heard him. She smiled slightly as she gripped the whip tighter. This man's brazenness would be his downfall. He was only a few feet from her when she sprang into action. She leapt to her feet, spinning around and striking him with the whip, hitting him across the chest.

Rickie stumbled back momentarily "You stupid bitch," he hissed as he lunged for her only to be hit once more with the whip. He lunged at her again and tackled her to the ground.

Olivia gasped as she was pinned under the man's full weight. She couldn't move her arm to strike out with the whip again but that didn't stop her from fighting. She tried to claw at him with her fingernails. After a minute or two she had to stop. He pinned her hands underneath her as he shifted her so that she was laying on her stomach.

"You just made a big mistake dearie," he whispered harshly as he pulled her head back by her hair and slapped her. He wrenched the whip from her hands and stood up "I'm gonna teach you some respect," he struck once, twice, three times.

Olivia struggled to her feet only to be grabbed and thrown onto the bed. She found herself laying face down again with Rickie lying on top of her. Her face was pressed firmly into the mattress. She could smell blood, urine and probably every other bodily fluid that existed. She tried not to gag. What kind of hell was this? How many women had met their fate in this very room on the same mattress where she lay now?

"You little whore," Rickie whispered as his hands roamed her body "Let's hear you scream huh?"

Olivia bit her bottom lip. She wouldn't scream, she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't give in to this. She felt his hands attempting to take off her shirt. She moved her hands to intercept the effort. For a moment, fingers grappled for supremacy before Rickie grew tired of her. Olivia felt her hands being wrenched above her head. Rickie reached below the bed and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He slapped them on her wrists and hauled her to her feet. With some difficulty he managed to loop the short chain that ran between the cuffs over the hook that hung over the bed.

Olivia found the toes of her shoes just barely grazing the mattress. She remained silent, refusing to look at the man who was inflicting such pain on her. The bones in her wrists were pleading for relief and it was a plea that was hard to ignore but she did anyway. She ignored it because she couldn't willingly grant the relief and she knew that the man wouldn't either.

Rickie tried to approach her again, this time aiming to remove her pants but he got a very powerful kick to the jaw which sent him reeling backwards. He landed on the cement floor and looked up at the woman who hung from the ceiling "I think I underestimated you," he muttered. He stood to his feet and picked up the whip again.

The whip struck blow after blow and still Olivia fought the urge to scream. A few tears managed to make their way down her face but still no sound escaped her tightly clenched lips. The fact that she was still wearing clothes did little to shield her from the stinging pain that Rickie inflicted on her.

"Let's hear you scream babe," he said sweetly as he brought the whip across her back again "Come on," his tone became harsher as he struck ever faster with the whip "Scream you little bitch. Tell me you want me and I promise I'll stop."

She knew he was lying but the pain just became worse and worse. She kept silent as best she could but she couldn't help a small whimper of pain that slipped out.

"Ah," Rickie smiled as he lowered the whip "I was starting to think that perhaps you were a robot or something like that," he approached her again, this time with another pair of handcuffs which with some effort, he managed to use to bind her ankles together "But you aren't a robot," he smirked as he grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him so that the chain that hung over the hook came off and she landed hard on the bed in front of him. He climbed on top of her again "You're just a filthy little whore aren't you?" She tried to turn away but he forced her to look at him "Aren't you?" he asked again more forcefully. Still she didn't answer. He threw her from the bed onto the floor where she lay face down. He pushed her face hard into the cement as his knee dug into the small of her back "Aren't you?" he asked again.

The pain was so intense, Olivia was losing control. It just hurt so much. She wanted it to be over. Without even realizing it at first she let out in a faint whimper "Yes."

"What was that?" Rickie demanded as he hauled her up by her hair and slammed her down again on her back this time "I couldn't hear what you said."

"Yes," she repeated as she tried to hold back a sob. It hurt so God damn much and with her arms and hands cuffed, she couldn't defend herself.

"Yes what?" Rickie asked forcefully as he leaned heavily on her stomach.

"I'm a filthy little whore," she choked out as she gasped for breath around another sob.

"Good girl," Rickie dragged her back to the bed and lay her down "Hmm," he said to himself as he noticed something "These could be a problem," he looked at the cuffs. He couldn't undress her with her hands and feet bound together and he still didn't trust her enough to release her if only briefly. He reached underneath the bed again and pulled out a pair of scissors.

Olivia's eyes widened when she saw the scissors "Please," she whispered "Don't."

"No worries dearie," Rickie assured her as he cut away he clothing, leaving her completely exposed on the bed in front of him. He stood up and was about to leave when he bent down again "I'll be back later and then we can have some real fun," he smiled and kissed her lips lightly.

Olivia listened to his footsteps as he climbed the stairs. She heard the door slam at the top and the lock click into place. She was alone, alone with the exception of the camera which still watched her. She had no doubt that all of those men were watching her. They probably wanted to see her cry. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction but she couldn't help it. She curled up on her side on the cold mattress that told the story of countless souls before her and let the tears come freely.

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Elliot had driven non stop to her apartment building. Something was tugging at his very being, telling him that something was wrong, terribly wrong. He pulled up in front of the building and almost jumped out of the car before he had even parked it. He ran up to the building and searched the names beside the buzzers. There were very few names compared to the number of apartments and he didn't have to look long until he found it. He fairly pounded on the buzzer with all his fear and nervous energy driving him "Please be there," he whispered.

A window opened above him and a young man stuck his head out "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Elliot looked up "I'm looking for a friend of mine," he paused, trying to think of what her undercover name was. It finally came to him "Persephone."

The young man paused before answering "She's not here," his tone was sad, regretful.

Elliot's world crumbled away in an instant "No," he whispered "No, no, no," he rammed his hand into the side of the building "I told you not to go into work Olivia, why didn't you listen?"

"What did you say?" the younger man asked, leaning further out of the window. He knew what he heard but there had to be some mistake.

"What?" Elliot was snapped back to reality for a moment "Oh, I didn't say anything."

"Yes you did," the man countered "You called her Olivia. Don't move, I'm coming down there."

Fletcher grabbed his gun and shoved it into the holster that he rarely used. Quickly he ran down the stairs, eager to find out anything that this new comer knew. He swung open the doors to find the stranger still standing there, looking utterly obliterated.

"I told you not to go," he murmured "Why do you always do this?"

"Sir?" Fletcher asked as he approached "I think we need to talk."

TBC

A/N: Ooh what will happen next? Please review.