Chapter Summary: Lisa decides to take her rescue into her own hands.
A/N: Thank you so much for your patience! I'm so sorry it's taken this long to update. More coming soon!
The seconds ticked by slowly for Lisa. The dripping from a faulty pipe continued steadily, creating a rhythm that was driving her crazy. The only way to keep time was by keeping track of how often her captors took and sent pictures. By that measure, it had been five pictures and two and a half hours. They had removed her shoes, too. For what reason, Lisa was unsure.
Lisa was struggling being the hostage in this situation. She had never thought of herself as a victim - a damsel in distress, but here she was, waiting for her friends to come save her. What she was afraid of though was that they were walking into a trap. She knew that these criminals were not the most prepared ones they'd dealt with, but they were reckless and she was afraid that was more dangerous than anything. Lisa knew she had to help, but the only thing she could think of was a long shot. Lisa absentmindedly fiddled with the chain on her foot, feeling the impenetrable metal loop for the hundredth time.
"Unless you have American super hero powers, that chain isn't going anywhere." Jane smirked from her perch in the corner, flipping the corner of the magazine she was reading. Lisa couldn't remember hating anyone this much, ever. Her idiot brothers were awful, sure. Jane though, she had pretended to be Lisa's friend and now had her chained up like an animal in a musty old refrigerator.
"I need to use the bathroom, Jane. It's been almost a day. Maybe a whole day - hell I don't know." Lisa said, hoping her voice sounded subdued. She watched as Jane smiled and continued to flip through her magazine, not acknowledging Lisa at all.
"Have you done this before?" Lisa watched as Jane's smile flickered and she paused flipping the pages briefly.
"Have I served the cause before? Many times."
"But this is your first kidnapping, isn't it?" Lisa knew she hit the nail on the head as Jane's face twitched and she finally turned her gaze towards her.
"I complete the mission anyway necessary. Sometimes things get messy. I'm sure you and your seal brothers understand this." She answered sharply.
"Messy." Lisa scoffed. "I'd call this a little more than messy. The whole plan was absolute bullshit."
Jane stood up abruptly, moving closer to Lisa. "You don't know the half of what he have planned. This plan has been months in the making."
"That's really sad, Jane. I could maybe understand this epic fail if it had been thrown together, but you've had months to do better than this. No wonder your brothers don't think you can do anything right."
Jane glared, asking "My brothers trusted the most important part of the mission to me. I went undercover. I gained your trust. I put everything into motion. I provided the intel." She jabbed her finger towards herself angrily.
"That's not what Vasyl told me. He said that you can't do anything right, but that they had to use you because they needed a woman to infiltrate and gain our trust. He said he knew you would screw up, just not this badly. Hell, you let me escape within a few hours of holding me captive." Lisa knew she was taking a big risk by bringing up her brother, but the look on Jane's face confirmed Lisa's suspicions - she was afraid of Vasyl. Lisa had gotten the vibe before, like Vasyl was the one in charge and he trusted no one. Playing on her insecurities would be key.
"Vasyl would never confide in you, our hostage." She scoffed, moving closer and crossing her arms. Lisa stood up, walking forward as far as the chain would allow. Jane eyed her wearily but stood her ground.
"Vasyl doesn't plan on me leaving alive. He doesn't care what he tells me." Lisa said.
"Vasyl trusts me. I've proven my worth to the cause over and over! You know nothing!" Jane said, her voice rising in volume. Jane was reacting as rashly as Lisa expected - she needed to land the punch quickly.
"I know that he thinks your stupid. I know that he prides your idiot brother, Sergei, over you and he always will. I read people well, Jane. You learned this about me. Sergei will always come before you. Bratva will always come before you. You don't mean anything to anyone. You're just a fucking pawn."
Jane's face turned deep red as she brought her fist back and hit Lisa in the nose. Lisa barely stumbled as she grabbed Jane's hand as she withdrew and yanked her in. She turned Jane's small body quickly so that she had her in a choke hold. Jane squirmed fiercely, attempting to throw an elbow into Lisa's stomach. Several thrusts landed painfully, but Lisa tightened her grasp. Jane's struggle weakened as she slid to the ground with Lisa. She was out. Lisa began frantically patting her body, looking for the key.
"Jesus, where did you put it?" She mumbled, checking her front pockets and side pockets. Lisa felt the rough coldness of a barrel of a gun and she grabbed it, checking the safety and thrusting it into her waistband. She turned her over and checked her back right pocket and then left, feeling her heart accelerate as she felt the smooth metal of keys. Lisa kept her eyes on Jane as she frantically tried the various keys on the key ring on her shackle.
"Of course it's the last one." She muttered as the cuff sprung open. She glanced back at Jane, satisfied that she was still out. She looped the shackle over Jane's foot and grabbed her shoes, slamming them on her own feet.
"Serves you right." Lisa said as she tugged on the shackle, ensuring it was locked tightly. Lisa felt the trickle of blood into her mouth and she wiped it hastily. She was pretty sure Jane had broken her nose but she had no time to reflect. She crouched, running to the door but keeping low in case there was a guard outside the door.
She pulled the gun from her waistband as well as the key. She unlocked the door slowly, taking one more breath before she opened the door.
One person sat outside the door in a chair, a large gun laying on his lap and his head resting against the wall. Lisa knew that if she shot him now, everyone would hear and come running. Her best bet was to slip past him and run towards the direction of the stairs that she had taken during her previous escape.
She was near the end of the long hallway when she heard Jane yell and the guard jerk to life, his gun clattering to the floor. Lisa grimaced - she thought Jane would be out longer than that.
"Stij!" He yelled. "Stop!" Lisa ran harder, barely turning the corner before the sound of a gunshot echoed down the hall and a bullet whistle past her. Two men came running towards her and Lisa raised her gun, shooting without hesitation. They both seemed shocked to come face to face with her as she rounded the corner. She knew she was a good shot when standing still, but she had trained very rarely while running and was very impressed that her two shots made contact, albeit not in the exact planned location. Both men went down screaming, their guns slamming to the floor, one man grabbing his arm and the other his knee.
Lisa heard multiple shots further down the hall. She turned down a dark hallway instinctively trying to avoid the shooter but found herself at a dead end. She started jiggling the doorknobs of surrounding doors on the hallway frantically.
"Wait." She said to herself, stopping abruptly. Why would the men be shooting their own men? It had to be -
"I'm glad you stopped. Much easier than hitting a moving target. Put your gun down." Lisa cursed under her breath and she turned and saw Sergei at the end of the hall. He grinned and motioned with his gun for her to put hers down.
She shot immediately, the sound of his own shot one half second later. She dove out of the way, but not fast enough. She grunted as she landed and lay stunned, watching blood bloom from her side.
She felt nothing. She looked from her side to Sergei, but was stunned when she realized he wasn't moving forward. He still stood, looking towards her with a blank look on his face before crumpling to the floor.
"Oh." Lisa said simply, realizing she'd successfully shot him in the chest. Ray would have been proud. Two new men slid into the mouth of the hallway, cursing as they looked down at Sergei. They looked towards Lisa, reaching for their guns and she jerked back to life, looking desperately at her own weapon, several feet away.
"Fuck." She said. She closed her eyes, waiting. Two shots rang out and she opened one eye slowly. She patted her chest with the arm that worked, surprised that neither shot hit her. Suddenly, shooting pain ripped through her body as the adrenaline and shock gave way to the gunshot wound. She double over in pain but sat up abruptly, knowing she had to get out of this dead-end hallway immediately. Her brain struggled to make sense of why she had not been shot by the two men. Lisa willed her adrenaline to get her moving.
Lisa knew she was bleeding too much and she needed to stop it as best she could. She had never wished more for Trent than in this moment. She pulled off her shirt, thankful that she had an undershirt on underneath. Pressing the cloth firmly into her wound to stanch the bleeding, she cried out from the sharp pain. Bracing herself against the wall, she took a deep breath and started to move as quickly as she could down the hallway.
She stepped over the three men and looked left. What she saw made her want to cry.
Bravo One and Three stood at the end of the hall, guns raised. The moment they saw her, Lisa heard her name being called and watched as they ran towards her. Lisa felt overwhelming relief wash through her veins. She was no longer alone. Her eyes focused on Sonny and she watched him come towards her in slow motion, his gun on his side and his arms outstretched.
She reached for him, yelling or muttering his name - she wasn't sure which. She felt his arms grab her and her head swim, her eyes starting to lose focus. She knew they'd come - she would be okay. A warm peace settled through her. The last thing she saw before she slid out of consciousness were Sonny's frantic eyes and his mouth moving with no sound.