As Barney and Victor looked over all of the documents and Toll Road was still working on pinpointing their location, Lee headed to his quarters. He walked over to the closet and retrieved a shoe box from the top shelf. He carried it carefully, as though whatever was inside was worth millions. He sat down on his cot and placed the box in front of him. He removed the top and took a pile of pictures out of it.
He flipped through the pictures with a solemn and nostalgic look on his face as he relived some of Kate and his best moments. Pictures that proved how happy and in love they had been with one another. A distant memory that he had carted away but had nevertheless held on to.
After having looked at them, he went back into the shoe box and retrieved a small velvet jewelry box. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before reopening them and lifting up the top lid of the jewelry box. He took out the engagement ring he had picked out years ago. It had been, what he'd had considered to be the perfect one for Kate. It was platinum framed by milgrain edges and bearing a 1 carat diamond.
Gunnar walked in and leaned against the door frame. He had known Lee for a couple of years now and he had never seen him so desperate and broken. Not even after multiple breakups over the years. It was obvious that he still loved Kate and it was also evident that all of his past relationships had failed because of it. He had given his heart to Kate and had never reclaimed it simply because for him, there was no other one he would have wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
Lee snapped out of his nostalgic phase as he put the ring back in the box and closed it. He lifted his head upon seeing Gunnar.
"Any news?"
Gunnar shook his head. "No. Barney and Victor are still going through the paperwork but Toll Road says he's almost done triangulating their whereabouts."
Lee nodded. "What about their so-called delivery?"
"Yang is at Victor's house, but nothing yet. Barney thinks we should move our operations over there otherwise they'll get suspicious if Victor is not home."
"That's a fair point. When?"
"Now. That's why I came to get you. Toll Road will stay here until he's got their location and then he'll join us with the rest of the equipment."
"Alright, I'll be right there."
Gunnar nodded and left the room. Lee stood from the cot and put the shoe box back in the closet and headed to the main room to haul out.
Kate, who had been coming in and out of consciousness was finally wide awake. Her headache was dissipating and not only were her mouth and throat dry but she was also hungry. She kept trying to use all of her senses to discover things about where she was being held captive and by whom but it was useless. She could see, hear, touch or smell nothing. She was completely cut off from the world, from reality.
Suddenly, she heard the metal door open and footsteps in her direction. When they stopped, she could feel a presence near her and as the lights in the room were turned on abruptly and brightly, she saw a blurry figure a few feet away from her. Having been in the dark for so long, it took a few minutes of blinking and adjusting for her eyes to see clearly the man standing in front of her.
She looked at him. He was about 6'1'', dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a suit and looked more like a businessman than a kidnapper. He was thin and from the looks of his smooth untouched hands, there was nothing about him that made her fear him.
"Hello again Kate. I promised your father a little delivery to entice him. So, I suggest we get started."
A delivery? She had seen enough movies to know that this could be a finger, an ear… In short, nothing good to look forward to. Her heart started thumping in fear. Maybe her assumption of him had been wrong.
Three men entered the room. They were definitely a different build then him. One of them headed towards the opposite end of the room and attached a chain to a hook hanging from the ceiling. As he let it drop, she saw two shackles hanging and swinging. The two other men came to her and cut the ropes from her feet and hands. She didn't make a move. There was no point in trying to escape and she had the feeling that she should spare the little energy she had.
"Stand up!", said the suit.
Not only did she not respond, but she didn't budge.
He smiled daringly at her.
"I said get up and I meant it!"
Kate still didn't move.
"Looks like we have a break in the communication. That's a pity." He turned his attention towards the back of the room and saw that the camera was ready. He mimed to the man near it to start rolling. He then looked at one of the guys who had released Kate from her hold.
"Please assist Miss Thompson, anyway you see fit."
Kate watched as he headed towards the middle of the room, a few feet away from the chain and shackles.
The man stood in front of her and towered over her. She caught a glimpse of his big, firm hand seconds before it slapped her violently across the face, sending her chair tumbling on the side to the ground and her along with it, dazed. As he leaned over her, she knew it was only the beginning.
At 7 am, Victor's doorbell rang. He looked at Barney in fear.
"Just go to the door slowly and open it. If they are smart, they used an external delivery service and gave the instructions to deliver to the doorstep, not in your proper hands."
Victor stood from the couch and walked over slowly to the door. His hand shook as he grabbed the knob and turned it. When the door was opened, he looked on the doormat and saw a small, flat carton package. He knelt down and took it. As he stood back up, he instinctively looked around, but there was no sight of anyone in the street. He stepped back into the house, closed and locked the door behind him.
Barney met him and took the package from his hand as he headed back to the den where they had set up operations.
Lee watched impatiently as Barney opened the package. "What is it?"
Barney took out what was in the package and revealed a disc in a plastic case.
"It's either audio, video or both.", he said as he handed it to Yang.
When the video started, a man was slapping Kate in a chair, sending her to the ground. He then proceeded to grab her by the hair and drag her across the room where two other men were waiting for her. Whereas Victor was already getting nauseous, Lee was enraged.
They all watched as Kate was shackled and beaten, in turn by the three men, for three minutes. By the time they were done, Kate had yelled, screamed, cried, bled and had her head and arms hanging lifelessly. They had beaten her unconscious.
"Greetings Victor, as I promised, your inability to deliver what is asked of you, will lead to consequences on Kate. She'll be fine, we have one of the best doctors here with us, who will make sure she recovers. But, don't let that rejoice you too much, because the minute she is back on her feet, we'll start all of this back up again and unfortunately, there will come a time when our doctor won't be able to save her anymore! We'll be in touch again real soon!"
The video ended and Lee went on a rampage. He turned towards one of the shelves next to him and sent everything flying into pieces. He then threw his fist in a mirror and yelled out all of the anger he felt. All the anger, despair he felt, were unbearable. They were nowhere… They knew nothing, had nothing, could deliver nothing. If things didn't start to change real fast, he was going to lose her and this time it would be for good.
Barney came to him once he had calmed down. Lee looked at him with tears in his eyes.
"Barney, when we find her, whoever that son of a bitch is, he's mine!"
Barney nodded and watched as Lee walked away.
