Victor jumped in his couch as the phone rang.
Tools looked at Victor and nodded, indicating that Victor take the call.
"Hello"?
"Hello Victor. I do hope that you are well and that my package has given you the incentive to work on the device".
"Please, I beg of you, don't hurt Kate anymore. I'm working on the device, it needs a bit more time".
He heard the man sigh on the other end of the line. "Victor, Victor, Victor. When will you understand that time is not your friend right now, nor Kate's. I made it very clear that I needed the device yesterday and you're telling me it's not ready yet"!
"Please, I'm doing the best I can, don't hurt her"!
"Then, I'll do the best I can not to kill her".
The line went dead. Tools who had listened in on the conversation watched as Victor cradled his head in his hands. Even if over the years, he was used to violence, he hated the fact that a young innocent woman, had to endure its hard reality. Tools stood and left Victor alone. He headed for the kitchen so that he could call Barney.
Inside the plane, all were quiet. Generally, they would joke around, but here, this time around, the atmosphere was different. It was hard for them to know that Lee was suffering. Gunnar grabbed the satellite phone and picked it up.
"What you got Tools"?
"Give me Barney".
Gunnar stood and walked over to the cockpit. He handed the phone over in Barney's direction.
"It's Tools".
Barney handed the commands to Lee as he took the phone from Gunnar's hand.
"Talk to me", he said as he put the phone to his ear.
"Stalling didn't work", said Tools.
"What do you mean"?
"He told them he was working on it and that he needed a bit more time and that he was doing his best".
"What did suit say"?
"He said he would do his best not to kill the girl".
Barney could feel the muscles in his jaw tighten. "We're two hours away from Budapest. Send Dominik a picture of the guys in the video, maybe he'll be able to identify them through his network. If he's operating out of Budapest, someone must know who he is. And if you get the info, I want to know everything about this guy".
"Got it".
Barney hung up and handed the phone back to Gunnar. Gunnar returned to his seat as the others looked at him. Gunnar had clearly understood what the situation was, he had heard it in Tools voice, so when the guys looked at him, he shook his head and they all knew what that meant.
"Barney? Talk to me", said Lee.
"Everything's good Lee. We're almost there".
"Oh, don't bullshit me Barney. I know you. You tightened your jaw, you only do that when you're angry. Tell me what's going on! I have, more than anyone on this plane, the right to know"!
Barney took the commands back, it was best to do it, because he had a feeling that Lee would go into a rage. "Victor tried to stall them, it didn't work".
"What did the guy say Barney"?
"He said that he would do his best not to kill Kate".
Just as he expected, Lee went off on a rampage, even though he was smart enough not to do it in the cockpit. Lee stood from his seat and walked into the main cabin of the plane. He started kicking into things and punching into the metal interior of the plane. He knew it meant that Kate would have to go through another round of torture and he wanted to suffer instead of her. Caesar walked over to him and grabbed one of his punches in mid-air.
"I know you're pissed right now bro but save it for the suit, man. If you mess up that hand, it won't help".
Caesar let go of Lee's fist and Lee put his hand down. He put his back to the wall and slid down it until he reached the ground. As Victor had on the other side of the ocean, he cradled his head in his hands. He recalled how Kate had screamed and cried in pain on the video and for the first time, since she had left him, he found tears welling up.
One of the guys had come to fetch Kate from her bed. She had looked at the doctor as she had seen him walking into the room, to give her a sedative, but the medic had done nothing except walk away and out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Kate knew she was weak, that even if she tried to make a run for it, the guy would catch her, and she didn't know what was on the other side of the door. But survival instinct is an amazing thing. It gives you the strength and the will to fight.
Flashback:
"Okay, what are we doing here"? asked Kate as she and Lee walked into one of the army training centers. It was a Saturday and Lee had gotten the permission to grant her access for the day to the base. They'd been dating for 6 months and he couldn't have been happier about it.
"I'm going to teach you how to fight".
She raised an eyebrow. "Fight"?
"Ok fine, defend yourself, if you prefer that term".
She came closer to him. "I have you to protect me Corporal".
He kissed her. "I know, but I won't always be here".
She looked at him gravely. She knew what he was talking about. He was one week away from being deployed. It would be the first tour, she would live through with him. She knew he didn't want to go, but he had to. Even though she hadn't said anything, she didn't like the idea either. He had become such a big part of her life, she couldn't imagine spending, God knows, how many months without him or imagining him not coming back at all.
"I know. Ok. Show me".
They had walked over to the ring and he had showed her some defense moves.
"Babe, you've got to put the whole weight of your body into the move. Now try again".
Kate nodded and repeated the move.
"Good. Now remember, you often don't get a second chance to take your attacker by surprise and make a run for it. Don't ever forget that. The element of surprise, along with the strength you put into it is key".
End flashback
Lee's words resonated in her head as the guy momentarily removed his hold on her as his phone rang and he went to grab it from his pocket. With the little energy and strength, she had left, she used the heel of her palm, threw the whole weight of her body in and struck up under the guy's nose. The guy's head flung backwards, and he dropped his phone as his hands went for his nose. She lifted her leg, tightened her toes and kicked the guy forcefully in the side of the knee. The guy cursed and yelled in pain as he fell to the ground, his knee having buckled. She looked at the door and made a run for it. The only thing she didn't expect, was the element of surprise on the other side. When she opened the door, she found herself face to face with the second guy who had heard the commotion. Before, she could turn away, a full-frontal punch headed her way. As everything started to darken around her as she collapsed to the ground, she thought about how Lee had been right… the element of surprise and strength were key. She had been no match for her attacker.
She was awakened by cold ice water being splashed over her body. Her eyes flew wide open even though she was still a bit fuzzy. She was tied again to the shackles and stretched out. The suit walked in and looked first at her, then at the guy she had attacked.
"I'm sorry boss. It won't happen again".
"You're right, it won't happen again", said the man in the suit as he pulled his gun out and shot a bullet into the guys head.
Kate had been startled by it. She had never seen anyone get killed in front of her. The guy wiped a bit of blood from his face before he set out towards Kate.
"Your father is testing my patience, Kate. What do you think I should do"?
"Go hang yourself, put a bullet in your own head".
The guy smirked. "Ooh.. I love the violence Kate. But do you? You don't seem like you do".
"You're right. I don't. I think violence is for the weak, for cowards. And you're obviously a coward. You hide behind a gun and have your guys do all the dirty work".
The guy walked up to her and handed his gun to one of the guys. He then removed his jacket and handed it to the other guy. He undid the buttons on his cuffs and rolled them up until they were half-way up his arm. He then circled Kate and stopped right in front of her. He looked her over. The button-down shirt she was wearing, a change of clothes after hers had been soaked in blood, was so engorged with water, that it was now transparent, completely see-through. He could see her hard nipples push through the fabric. He turned towards the guy he had given the gun to.
"Start the camera rolling".
When the guy nodded that it was done, he circled again around Kate, except this time, he stopped when he was behind her.
"You know why I love violence Kate? Because it excites me".
His hands reached from behind Kate to the front of her shirt. He started to unbutton a button.
"You want to know why I have my guys do the dirty work for me? Because, I'm afraid that if I start I won't be able to stop".
He undid another button.
"it's very much like sex.. the touch of skin on my fist, the moaning from pain, it all builds up the excitement and I don't stop until I've reached my orgasm! Sometimes I lose control and oops… too late, I went too far. You're dead"!
He undid another button.
"Now imagine me accumulating the violence with the fact that you are an attractive woman, at my mercy".
"You make me sick"! said Kate as she tried to free herself by shaking her entire body from left to right.
Three hours after Tool's call, Barney, Lee and the others arrived at the operation headquarters that Dominik had set up for them.
Dominik greeted them and showed them around.
"Everything you asked for is here".
"Thank you, Dominik. Any word out on our John Doe"?
"Not yet my friend, I'm sorry, but my guys are still working on it".
Dominik looked at Lee. "I'm terribly sorry about what you are going through. I have all my men on it".
"I appreciate it".
Dominik looked at them. "There have been new developments".
"What do you mean", asked Lee.
"Tools sent me fifteen minutes ago, a video. It's not good".
They walked towards the monitor and Dominik looked at Lee. "She's your girl, is that right"?
"It's a long story Dominik and I don't have time for stories", said Lee.
"Not what I meant. You care about her still, yes"?
"Yes".
"Then maybe you shouldn't watch this", said Dominik stepping between Lee and the monitor.
"There is nothing these guys can do to her, that I can't handle, you've got that"! said Lee angrily.
"Ok, but you can't say I didn't warn you".
Lee pushed him away and pressed play on the screen.
At first, he said nothing as he watched the guy unbutton a few buttons from Kate's shirt. He knew guys like that and their tactics, it was merely a way of making your victim afraid, to show that they were in control of the situation and not the other way around. His view of things changed progressively.
"Let's see if I can get to the apex of my pleasure before killing you".
The guy circled again Kate and stopped in front of her, slightly to the side so that what he was about to do next was visible to the camera.
"Let's start with some preliminaries, shall we"? As he said that, he undid the last button on her shirt, then grabbed each side of the front placket and pulled them wide open, revealing Kate's bruised torso and bare breasts. He pulled the shirt back over her shoulder and down her back until it couldn't go any lower, due to the shackles.
Lee tightened his fists. He watched as the guy circled again and stopped in front of Kate. Lee could tell she was trying to be strong, but he knew it would all change with the right blow. The first blow inevitably came, right between her breasts on her sternum and the son of a bitch hadn't been gentle. Another came on her right side, then on her left. He then punched her in the abdomen and then face. Lee could see the blood dripping from her mouth and realized she was losing consciousness.
The guy smiled. "Stay with me Kate, I'm not quite there yet.. I need a bit more".
Lee hated this man with all his might. He hated that he was using Kate as a punching bag. He watched helplessly as the guy undid his belt and removed it from his pants. For two minutes straight, he whipped every part of Kate's body with it until he let out a yell of pleasure.
"Yes! That's it, Kate"!
He knelt down to reach her abdomen, he placed his tongue on her navel and worked it all the way up zig zagging from side to side, making sure he passed over each breast, then up the side of her neck to her mouth where he licked the blood from her lips.
"I hope it was as good for you as it was for me".
He then walked over to the camera and looked straight into it. "Victor, if this doesn't spark in you the urgency of the situation, maybe I'll have to violate your daughter in a different way. You've got five hours. If you don't delivery the device at the address that accompanies this video, I'll get my pleasure the other way I know how"!
The video ended, and the screen went black.
Lee took a step back. "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch with my bare hands and I'm going to make it last".
Dominik looked at Barney. "I told him, he shouldn't watch".
Lee took a violent step in Dominik's direction. "No, I should have been the only one watching"!
Barney looked as Lee stormed out of the building. He knew that Lee was right. Dominik had seen the video and knew what was on it. Lee had only wanted to preserve Kate's integrity and here all the guys had seen her half naked. He knew the guys well enough to know that they would never mention it, but up until that day, the privilege of seeing Kate that way, had been solely Lee's privilege and that suit, had just taken that away from him!