A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 12 (Negotiations)

Trina paced the cell, her parents and sister looking at her with worry. Gary lay on the ground, their abductors purposely keeping him drugged up. Perhaps they were afraid what a Navy Seal could do, Gary had won an award for escaping captivity during his time in war overseas.

"Are you sure about this?" Tori's voice trembled and her hands were shaking. "You really want to talk to him?" Trina brought her hands to her face, tapping her fingertips and positioning a triangle over her nose and mouth. She closed her eyes and swallowed the disgust and fear growing inside of her.

"If I can make some kind of deal. If I can save anyone, I'm going to. I'm not going to let you guys suffer." Trina breathed in shakily as the tears fell from her eyes. "I'll do anything to save you. You know I will. I will always protect you, to my last breath." Tori scrambled to her, grabbing her hands and shaking her head vigorously.

"Don't do it Trina, please." Trina bit back the anger and grief, unsure what choice she had, if any. "We'll find another way. The police are coming, they have to be." Trina scoffed, knowing full well the police weren't going to come.

"The police don't give a shit." She lowered her voice to a whisper, narrowing her eyes. "Mom and dad have caused this, but we're going to get them out. I'll get all of you out, even if it kills me."

"Kills you? Trina…" Tori's eyes welled up with tears and the girl hugged her tight, gasping softly. "Please no. No, don't do it. Don't do anything. They'll let us go, right? I mean, what could they possibly do to us?" Trina turned her eyes to the speaker in the corner of the room, glaring at it and wondering how much the man was listening to. "Trina, I love you."

"I love you too." She glanced back, her heart breaking as she knew what she needed to do. "That's why I have to talk to this man. I have to negotiate something. Surely he'll listen to reason?" She didn't know what would happen, or if she could free anybody. She was going to try and get her sister freed, but if she couldn't get that, she'd try for one of her parents. "I hate him, but that won't stop me."

"I'm scared for you, Trina."

"It'll be okay…" She hugged her sister, holding her close for several minutes as she could feel the frightful beats of her sibling's heart harmonizing with her own terrified heart. "I'm strong, Tori. Don't you worry baby, you're always going to be my first concern."

"What if he hurts you? I won't forgive myself."

"He can't do anything to me that would be worse than what's happening right now." She groomed back Tori's hair and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Absolutely nothing…I told you, I'll protect you to the end of my life."

The door to the room opened and Trina turned her head, scowling at the two men walking in. Jesse looked angry and Sinjin seemed positively horrified, as if they had to lead her to her execution. "Are you ready?" Sinjin inquired. Trina stepped away from Tori and walked forward.

Tori grabbed her arm and moved behind her, peering over her shoulder and muttering curses towards Sinjin. David raised his head, growling like a demon at the men. "You hurt my daughter and I'll kill the both of you." Sinjin flinched and Jesse shook his head.

"We wouldn't harm her," he replied, "But it's not in our realm of control. I'm sorry, sir."

"I'll kill you. I'll kill every one of you!"

"Stop it dad." Trina snapped at her father, her glare silencing him. "You don't need to get tough. We're not in the position…" She straightened herself and nodded at the two men. "I'm ready. If he's willing to listen to reason, maybe he'll let someone go."

"Not something I would recommend," Sinjin whispered to her. "You don't know what he'd consider negotiation." She swallowed the heavy lump in her throat and nodded.

"I know." They opened the cell door and Trina stepped outside, breathing in deep as she waited for them to close the cell door. Tori cried out, still pleading and begging her to reconsider her course of action. Still she'd resigned herself to confronting the man, praying she could talk him to letting someone go free. This man was the one person that she was afraid of, and her family knew it; but that didn't matter to her. Her fear was nothing compared to the desire to set her family free.

As the two men guided her out, she whispered to Sinjin. "What's it like outside?" Sinjin frowned and looked away shamefully. "Have you happened across any of Tori's friends? Do you know how they're doing?" Sinjin glanced back and raised his eyebrows.

"You care how they're doing?"

"I want my sister to know if they're okay." Trina bowed her head and narrowed her eyes. No matter what her feelings were towards the group, she couldn't deny her curiosity. She didn't trust them, she didn't trust anybody but her family and Jason, and she wanted nothing to do with the group; but that didn't change her need to know. "If they're okay, that will ease her mind."

"Well…" Sinjin lowered his voice and Jesse glanced sideways at him as though warning him. "Since you asked, I ran into Jade. She seems to be doing okay." Trina raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

"Any concern at all for Tori?"

"I didn't get a chance to ask, and she seemed happy." Trina blinked and looked away.

"Oh…" Her heart broke and she felt a sting of tears in her eyes. It was painful, but not surprising to hear Jade didn't seem to be worried. "I see. I don't have a lot of respect for them, or faith in them, but I hope they'll start showing some concern for her if I can get her out of here."

"If you'd like, I might talk to her some more?"

"Seriously? You'd do that?" She shot him a skeptical look. It was hard to trust him, much less anyone at this point. "I don't know. I mean what good would it do?"

"I don't know, but maybe you guys would like to hear how they're doing."

"Up to you, but talking to them may just get you killed at this rate."

Jesse grunted and shook his head. "No. I won't let that happen." Trina chuckled, curious the closeness of these two. "Dude's one of my closest friends. I know how much my brother wants to kill him and display him to you guys like a fucking flag. I won't let that happen. I won't let my brother win…"

"I see. Why the hell are you two even here?"

"Little choice in the matter."

"Yet you're free…" The two men fell silent and looked away from her as they continued to walk her through the underground corridors to the elevator that would take them to the boss's office. She steadied her breathing once there and slowly shook herself as a shiver ran down her spine. "Here goes nothing."

Half an hour later, Trina was returned to the cell. Her muscles were tense and a tremor ran through her body as she stumbled towards her family. Tori looked at her with a worried and frazzled look, she hurried over and threw her arms around her. Trina flinched and slowly wrapped an arm around her sister, burying her nose into Tori's shoulder.

She was too choked for words. Her eyes drifted to her mother, seated next to Gary, who was beginning to wake. Anxious and nervous, she waved the woman over, her voice trembling. "Momma." Holly left Gary's side and moved to her daughter. Trina placed her head on Holly's shoulder, fighting back her tears. "I negotiated a deal. You…you're free to go." Holly gasped and Tori cracked a smile.

"Way to go, momma."

"W-Why me?" Holly asked. The woman shook her head. "I won't leave my babies."

"He wouldn't accept anyone else. It has to be you." Holly whimpered, her voice weak and filled with uncertainty. "You just have to be careful. Don't let…Don't do anything that would endanger yourself."

"Like what?"

"Don't tell people."

Holly shook her head, quickly rejecting the idea. "No, I can't do that. I'm not going to do that."

"You have to momma, that was the deal."

The cell door opened and Holly was quickly ripped from them. "Sorry about this," Jesse muttered, "But they need her out now." Tori cried out and Trina dropped her hands, clenching her fists tight. "Come along Mrs. Vega."

Saying their goodbyes before parting, Trina glared at the PA speaker on the wall and shook her head. Her stomach clenched tight as she filled with disgust. "Come on," she whispered, "Let my mother go home." Once they guided her out, a television set was rolled in.

Trina raised an eyebrow at the screen, which showed a wide desert somewhere in the midst of southern California. It took a while, but Holly was eventually guided outside.

The woman staggered outside, shielding her eyes from the sun with her forearm. "I don't care what they said." Trina's eyes widened at the sound of her mother's voice. Her heartbeat started to slow and she shook her head. There was a rattle in her breath and she started to murmur. "I'm going to get help. I'm going to tell someone what's going on."

"No mom." Trina shut her eyes as the urge to vomit shot up. "God no." At least Holly was out, so maybe there was some hope.

When she opened her eyes, she heard Tori and her father scream. Tensing up, she looked at the screen in time to hear a gunshot and see Holly's body lurch forward. Her heart shot up and she ran to the bars, filling with anger. "No! Momma!" Her hands clutched the bars as she watched her mother's lifeless body bleed on the desert sand.

Sliding to her knees, Trina felt like a part of her soul had just been ripped away from her. "No…" Tori collapsed into a fit of tears and David started to cough and curse. Trina raised her head, her tears streaming down her face like rivers. "Goddamn you! Goddamn you, that wasn't the fucking deal! You said you'd let her go, you fucking asshole!"

She breathed heavily, glaring at the speaker on the wall. It took a minute, but his voice finally answered, cold and calculating. "No, Trina." She growled, gagging at the sound of his voice. "The deal was to let your mother go free…so long as you convinced her to keep quiet and not seek help." Trina pressed her forehead against the bars and slammed her eyes shut. "Clearly, she was not convinced and was going to seek help. Therefore, Holly had to be put down."

Trina screamed in frustration and slammed her palm into the bars. Her screams turned to sobs, and her body jerked with each painful cry. "I hate you. I hate you! I fucking hate everything about you." Her body shivered as the anger and pain tore her apart. "Hate, hate, hate."

"I feel so happy to hear that. Don't worry Katrina, I'll make sure you're the last one to die, after your father of course. After all, you're just that special to me."

"Fuck you!" Her stomach ached and her heart beat hard against her chest. "Fuck you…" Her lips trembled and saliva dripped with the tears falling from her face. She dropped further, planting her forehead against the ground and wailing at the top of her lungs.

The rage in her heart overtook her as she raised her head, her eyes turned upwards and glared at the speaker on the wall. Sick to her stomach, and filled with disgust and shame, Trina closed her eyes and moved her fingers to her throbbing temples. "You know what?" She breathed heavily and her nostrils flared. "I hope Jason finds you. I hope he finds you and tears you the fuck apart. I hope they kill all of you…"

"Your military boyfriend? Really? You think he'd possibly look for you; trust him that much? No one's looking, your family's going to die behind those bars." She watched Sinjin and Jesse glare at the speakerphone, both seething with rage and horror over what had just happened.

She chose to remain silent, knowing nothing she did or said would make the situation better. If anyone were looking, she believed it would be Jason; as much as she doubted anybody was. "He's the only person I trust now," she whispered, "And the only reason I haven't gone insane like my parents; but I will do whatever it takes to protect Tori."

Sinjin eyeballed her. He was standing close enough that he likely heard. The man took a slow and deep breath and moved his right hand over his left wrist, holding them in front of his waist.

Her final sentence rolled off her tongue as though it were nothing, and it felt like nothing. "I hope it doesn't come to murder." In her heart, she knew better than to resort to violence-despite growing up with such violently overprotective parents. She could never hurt Tori like that, never scare her poor sister in such a way; and Jason helped her learn to be patient and calm despite her anxiety and stressors. Now, in all the chaos that was happening, she didn't know how much longer she could hold on before resorting to violent measures.

Trina feared it wouldn't be much longer, and she was beginning to see that same fear in Tori's eyes.

Thoughts?