Luke woke up in the comfort of his bed. He blinked away the tiredness that enveloped him before he lifted his head. He looked around the room for a moment before he took a look behind him. Val was already up for the day. On her nightstand was a couple framed pictures. One was of Val and Sam floating around the swimming pool with each other. They had their arms linked together like little otters while they soaked up the sun's rays. The other was of her and Luke. It had been a candid picture that Letty had taken of the two of them. They were facing each other. Luke's hands were on her waist while Val's hands rested on his biceps. Val's head was leaned back in laughter while Luke smiled down at her.
He couldn't remember that day. He couldn't remember what they were doing whenever that picture was taken. He couldn't remember where they were. That really didn't matter, though, since Val looked stunning in that picture.
He sat up in bed then stretched his arms around. He heard giggling through the bedroom door. It sounded like Sam. He grinned to himself once he heard the giggle turn into full blown laughter. He reached down and grabbed his pants off the floor and pulled them on. He walked into the bathroom so he could go through his morning ritual.
He didn't worry about changing clothes. He stepped out into the hallway and made his way into the kitchen. Val was standing at the stove trying to flip a pancake without using a spatula. She was gripping the handle of the pan then edging the pancake to the edge. She jerked the pan upwards to send the pancake flying through the air, but it didn't land back in the pan. Instead it landed in the floor at Thor and Loki's feet where they immediately started chomping down at the now useless pancake.
"Hi, daddy!" Sam greeted him cheerfully. Luke grinned at his daughter then kissed the top of her head.
"Hey, baby girl," he said. Val poured him a cup of coffee and waited for him to come to her.
"Good morning, sleepy head," she said as he took the cup from her. He sat it on the counter. Val gave him a strange look, but it turned into a smile once he cupped her face and kissed her lips gently. Val giggled against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Luke broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. He winked at her before pulling away from her and grabbed his coffee cup.
"What's going on in here?" Luke asked as he leaned against the counter. He sipped his coffee as Val turned back to the stove so she could continue cooking.
"Val said she could flip pancakes without a spatula," Sam said cheerfully. Luke chuckled and looked to Val.
"And how many pancakes have the dogs gotten this morning?" Luke asked. Val gave him a flat look.
"Just two," she said turning back to the stove. "A piece." Luke shook his head. Luke took a look around the kitchen and frowned. Something was different. Something was off. The kitchen seemed to be brighter than usual for the time of day and there was a slight haze on his vision. His body felt weird as if he wasn't even there. Like he was numb. Like it was a dream.
Val placed her hand gently on his cheek. Luke looked at her. She gave him a curious look.
"You okay?" she asked. Luke grinned and nodded his head. Val narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to decide whether or not she believed him before she smiled her beautiful smile.
"Well, breakfast will be done soon. Do you want to set the table?" she asked. Luke nodded slowly. He pulled down plates for the three of them and carried them into the dining room. Luke had tried to focus on his task, but he wasn't able. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
He turned to see Thor and Loki standing there looking up at him expectantly. Thor had his mouth open and was panting away while Loki stood proud as ever.
"I don't have anything for you," he said with a grin. He reached out and patted them both on the head before heading back into the kitchen to grab the orange juice and coffee pot. By then, Val had switched from the stove to the griddle so she could cook more in a less amount of time. She had a small stack of pancakes sitting on a plate while she was fixing another batch.
"There's a bowl of mixed fruit in the fridge if you can grab that too," Val mentioned without turning to him. Luke nodded. He grabbed the bowl of fruit from the refrigerator then set it on the counter. He wasn't paying much attention where he had set it and the bowl fell off the counter and shattered on the floor. Bits of various fruit scattered across the floor.
"Son of a bitch!" Luke grumbled as he looked down at the mess he had made.
"It's okay," Val said quickly as she finished getting pancakes off the griddle. She picked up the plate and walked it over to Luke. "Go on and start eating. I'll be in there in just a bit." Luke grabbed the plate from her and gave her a nod. Luke stepped through the glass hoping that he didn't step on any of it and grabbed Sam around the waist. He lifted her up easily and carried her out of the kitchen and into the dining room.
He sat Sam down safely on the ground then put the plate of pancakes in the middle of their plates. He could hear the sound of Val sweeping up the glass in the kitchen while the dogs ran around the kitchen to avoid the big scary broom. Soon enough, the two so-called "guard dogs" went running by with looks of utter terror in their eyes. Luke huffed at the cowards as they disappeared into the living room. Val was laughing at the two in the kitchen.
Once Val was done cleaning up the mess that Luke had made in the kitchen, she joined the two at the dining room table. She had brought Luke's coffee with her. She sat down to Luke's right and poured herself a fresh cup of orange juice first before piling some pancakes on her plate.
"Shana called earlier," Val said as she cut into her pancakes. "She said she's going to be here in the next little bit to pick up Sam." Luke took a bite of his food.
"What for?" he asked. It wasn't really any of his business why Shana wanted to come pick Sam up. Sam was her daughter just as much as she was Luke's.
"Uh, daddy, it's my birthday weekend," Sam said as if it was the most obvious thing. Luke frowned looking at his daughter then looked to Val who was giving him a "duh" look.
"Birthday?" he asked. "It's already time for that?" Val grinned at him before reaching over to pat his hand.
"Yes, babe, your daughter is going to be a whole year older Sunday," Val said cheerfully. Luke looked down at Val's hand for a moment. That wasn't right. Sam's birthday wasn't for another couple months. Wasn't it? He hadn't missed that much time had he? He looked to Sam who had become engrossed by her pancakes. He couldn't have been gone that long.
Luke reached for his coffee and brought it to his lips. Just as he was going to sip his coffee, the cup slipped from his fingers and fell to the table. Val and Sam gasped as the hot coffee splashed towards them.
"Dammit!" Luke spat. What the hell was wrong with him? He was all thumbs. He was distracted. Nothing around him felt right.
"It's okay!" Val said quickly as she stood. "I'll go grab a towel and I'll make you a new plate." Luke pushed away from the table and stood quickly.
"Don't bother," Luke said angrily. Val looked up at him with wide eyes. The words had come out a lot harsher than what he intended. "I'm going to go take a shower." Luke stomped out of the dining room and into his bedroom.
"What's wrong with daddy?" Luke heard Sam ask just as he closed the bedroom door. Luke sighed as soon as he heard the click. He wasn't sure what was wrong. He just knew something was off. Maybe it was him. Maybe it was all in his head.
He walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on. He dropped his pants and stepped into the hot water. He stood under the spray of the hot water staring down at the bottom of the tub. The water slowly made its way to the drain where it spiraled down.
"C'mon, Luke, get focused," he scolded himself. He turned towards the shower rack that Val had put up in their shower. It was filled with all the ridiculous ritualistic cleaning supplies that Val used. He had never owned enough to merit a shower rack. He hasn't even realized there was that much to cleaning oneself.
He grabbed the shampoo that he used and washed the top of his head quickly. He stepped under the spray to wash it away. He reached for his soap, but as soon as he lifted it out of its place, it slipped out of his fingers and hit the bottom of the tub. Luke huffed as he glared down at the soap.
"Get a grip on yourself, Hobbs," he grumbled as he bent to pick it up. He washed his body quickly then sprayed off all the soap. He turned off the shower. He grabbed a towel and dried himself off before he stepped out of the shower. He wrapped the towel around his waist. Instead of getting ready for the day, Luke decided to put his pajama pants back on that he had wore to bed the night before.
He stepped out into the hallway. He could hear Thor and Loki's claws scratching as the moved around the kitchen. They almost drowned out the sounds of Val's footfalls. It was time to get their nails trimmed. They were inside/outside dogs, but they spent most of their time following Val around until Sam came around then they were her shadow.
"Watch out boys," Val said then the sounds of dogs scurrying to the other side of the kitchen filled Luke's ears. He walked into the kitchen. Val was standing at the sink running water so she could wash the breakfast dishes. Luke walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist then buried his face in her shoulder.
Val chuckled as she kissed his temple.
"Shana came while you were in the shower. She would have stuck around but she had an appointment to keep," Val told him. "Do you want to talk about it?" Luke lifted his head and looked to Val.
"About the appointment?" he asked though he knew that wasn't what she was talking about.
"No, about what's wrong with you. You've been acting weird all morning," Val mentioned while she washed up the dishes. Luke slipped in next to her so he could help her with the dishes a little.
"I'm just having an off day, that's all. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed," he said passively. Val looked up at him with a worried look on her face. She bit her lip before she looked back down at the water in the sink. "What?" Luke pressed.
"It's just not like you to have an off day or anything. Are you trying to get sick? Are you feeling feverish?" she asked. Luke chuckled and shook his head.
"Quit treating me like I'm one of your patients," he scolded her. She rolled her eyes.
"I'm allowed to worry about you," she said looking up at him. Luke placed a plate in the dish drainer.
"You're wasting your time. There's nothing to worry about," he said looking down at her while he rinsed another plate. Val watched him for a moment before she finally smiled, but the smile never reached her eyes. She washed the last of the dishes while Luke finished up rinsing. Val was quiet. Just like she always got quiet whenever she was worried. Luke put the last of the dishes in the drainer and turned to Val just as she was walking to the living room.
Luke turned quickly and grabbed her arm. Val turned back towards him. Luke placed his hand on her cheek gently.
"Really, Val, I'm okay," he said. Val's eyes slid closed as she put her hand over his. She smiled again. "I love you." Val opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"I love you," she said. Luke leaned forward and kissed her lips gently.
"So, you said we're alone now?" Luke inquired while he took a quick look around before he let his gaze settle back on Val. Val laughed.
"That's right. Until tomorrow," she confirmed.
"Well, in that case," Luke said as his hands gripped at her waist. He lifted her up easily making her squeal. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. She kissed his lips sloppily as he walked them through the house and into their bedroom. He laid her across their bed and started kissing at her neck.
Luke heard her release a shaky breath.
Luke was suddenly on his back. Val straddled his waist and rested her palms on his chest. She looked down at him seductively. Luke slid his hands up and under her shirt and rubbed his fingers across her skin.
"I want to try something new," she said with a gleam in her eyes. Luke smirked as he raised an eyebrow at her.
"What did you have in mind?" he asked. Val smiled down at him while she raised her hand. Clutched in her fingers was a butcher knife. The blade gleamed in the light dramatically. Luke tried to raise his hand to grab her, but he was unable to move. There was something stopping him.
"Val, what are you doing?" Luke asked eyeing the knife in her hand. The glint in her eye grew dark and her smile grew evil. She lowered the tip of the blade to his chest just below his shoulder. The blade slid into his skin without much resistance. Pain shot through Luke's entire being as he arched his back and screamed.
There was a flash of white light. Val was gone. His home was gone. The comfort of his bed was gone. The pain, however, remained. It multiplied. He felt it in his right arm and in his feet. His body felt like it was on fire, but at the same time he could feel his body shaking as if it were cold. He felt some type of liquid pouring down his shoulder.
The white light started to fade. His vision was blurry. All he could see was gray. Wherever he was, it smelled old, damp, and moldy. He could hear water dripping somewhere nearby. The drip was consistent. His eye caught something that sat at his side and he tried to focus on it. It was metallic and flat with some tools spread out on top of it.
That was when it started to come back to him. The mission that led them to an island somewhere out in the middle of the Atlantic. The airdrop in. No extraction. Black ops rules. If captured, the American government had no knowledge of their presence. The trap.
"Welcome back, Mr. Hobbs," a thick accented man said somewhere outside of his vision. "I was afraid we lost you that time. Glad you could rejoin us."
It was him.
His target.
Emiliano Otero.
He was one of the most successful arms dealers in the world. He supplied very bad men with high powered rifles all over the world. Luke had seen what his dealings had led to. Villages completely obliterated. Mothers holding their children, trying to protect them, but all in vain. He had seen the raping, the pillaging. The mindless destruction.
His guns had been linked to multiple assassinations across the globe; political and otherwise. They had been traced to various third world countries that were ran by tyrannical leaders. They had been linked to multiple murders of innocent missionaries. Emiliano had to be stopped.
Luke looked down to his right arm to see it mangled. It had been broken. They had taken a miniature sledge hammer to his bones numerous times. He felt his bones break with each drop of the tool. His bones had been shattered. He didn't even bother trying to flex his hand. He was in enough pain.
He looked at his shoulder where he felt the liquid still running. He still had a knife sticking out of his chest. Every time he breathed it cut a little more into his flesh so he breathed easy.
"You're probably wondering why I have left you alive, Mr. Hobbs," Emiliano said as he walked around from behind Luke and into his field of vision. He wore a three piece tan suit that was covered in a plastic body suit. He wore booties over his shoes. He had a square jaw, black hair that looked like it had been professionally done. He had a square jaw and a comfortable demeanor about him. Like it didn't bother him in the least that he had a man tied up in his basement getting tortured.
Sadistic ass hole.
"I figured it was because you had a thing for large men tied to chairs," Luke quipped even though he knew he was going to regret it. Emiliano paused for a moment while he looked to Luke before a smile spread across his lips.
"You are an attractive man, Mr. Hobbs, but no," he said waving a finger at Luke. "You are hardly my type." Emiliano made his way over to his tray filled with various torture tools. He started running his fingers over each one slowly. "I'm aware that you have been working your way up to me for years. You've been hunting down my men one by one hoping that one of them would lead you to me." Emiliano picked up one of his tools and examined it.
"I suppose it was only a matter of time before you came after me," he continued as he tested the sharpness of his tool.
"I know why you're keeping me alive," Luke spoke up suddenly as his head fell backwards. Emiliano tilted his head curiously at his prisoner. "It's so you can bore me to death with your stories." Emiliano tilted his head back and laughed.
"Mr. Hobbs, you are funny man. I had no idea!" he said delightfully. He moved around to stand in front of Luke. He held a small knife in his hand. "I have tortured and killed many,many men in my day, but you," he pointed the tip of the blade at Luke. "You are my favorite." He let his hand fall back to his side.
"Back in my younger years, I had a son." Luke took note of the sparkle of pride that only a parent could have for their child. "He was my only son. My only child. Unfortunately, his mother castrated me after she drugged me one night."
"Sounds like a delightful woman," Luke commented letting his head fall forward. Luke wasn't going to last much longer. It could have been blood loss or just sheer boredom of the story, but Luke felt like he was about to lose consciousness again.
"I slit her fucking throat!" Emiliano hissed. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "My son, Emilio, was my world. He was the only thing on this planet that I cared for more than myself." He began to pace in small turns in front of Luke. "I raised him right."
"You raised him to be a psychopath," Luke grumbled. He didn't know much about his son, but what intel they had on Emilio, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. He had no idea that he had been in Qatar at the time. A sudden strike from Emiliano's hand hit the side of Luke's head.
"You will never disrespect my son!" Emiliano screamed. He took another deep breath to calm down again. "It was more than a year ago, but not quite two. You and your team were in Qatar."
"I recall," Luke said nonchalantly. He really did. He had spent a month there. It was just before he and Val had started dating. The mission had been successful, but he had come home with a bullet wound.
"My son was in Qatar. He was there when you and your team attacked." Emiliano knelt down in front of Luke so they could be eye level. He pointed the tip of his knife towards Luke again. "You see, Mr. Hobbs, you killed my son. Destroyed my legacy." He let the knife drop. "So I'm keeping you alive because you're going to tell me where your family is. Then I am going to collect them. And I'm going to make you watch while I slowly take their lives." Luke's eyes widened as he bit his tongue. "And you're going to mourn, just as I have. You're going to feel the emptiness I feel. The loss knowing that there will be no one to carry on your bloodline. Then, and only then, will I take your life."
Luke started fighting against his restraints. He growled at Emiliano wishing that he could just wrap his hand around his throat. Luke wanted to watch the life leave his eyes. Emiliano took the knife and stabbed it hard and quick into Luke's foot. Luke groaned loudly and leaned back into the chair he was tied to.
"So if you could go ahead and just tell me where they are," Emiliano said with a sadistic smirk. Luke glared at him. The darkness that settled over him was biblical. He was going to end that man. And he was going to love every second of it.