CHAPTER 7-CAPTIVITY

Oh, wow, it's been way too long since I updated this. Sorry the chapter is so short, but inspiration has been a little lacking. I want it to be better than my previous Equalizer effort. If David seems familiar by his description, it's because I had Daniel Craig in mind when I wrote him. Yummy. :)

Nicole surfaced to consciousness slowly, feeling like a very enthusiastic 10-piece brass band had taken up residence in her head. She groaned, then went to put her hand to her head, only to discover that both her hands were tied behind her back.

Groggily, she opened her eyes; she was sitting on a cold stone floor, in what seemed to be a basement of some sort, and it was quite dark, but she could see the familiar figure of a woman, similarly bound, on the other side of the room.

'Amy!' Nicole's limbs ached, and her head protested very loudly as she began to crawl across the floor on her knees to her friend.

'Nicki!' Amy was already in tears. 'Oh, Nicki, I'm so sorry! You shouldn't be here-this is such a mess, I...'

Then, with a loud clang, a door behind them burst open, and both women sprang apart, turning to the doorway. Immediately, Nicole recognized the man described by the bank teller, the man whose portrait she still carried in her pocket. Unless he had already taken it.

'Ah, Miss Baker, you're awake.' He had the greasy smile of a used-car salesman, and probably about as much trustworthiness. 'So nice to finally meet you.'

True, this guy was handsome, with his light brown hair, icy blue eyes and posh accent. But there was nothing but a kind of mania, bordering on psychosis, reflected in those eyes, and Nicole felt the first thrill of fear. Was he going to kill her? Amy too?

Great, she thought. I meet a boy I actually like, and now I might get killed!

She couldn't believe she was actually thinking about Scott at a time like this. Trouble was, she did like him, already. And while she knew it was wrong to think of Robert's son in such a way, she couldn't help it. He was cute and sweet and...

Hello, Baker! Imminent death here?

Jerking her head in the guy's direction, she asked Amy, 'So, you wanna tell me who he is now?'

'David Phillips.' He replied smoothly, before Amy could say anything. 'I'm Amy's husband.'

'No, he's not.' Amy retorted wearily. 'He's lying, Nicki. We were engaged once, a few years ago, but I ended it.'

'Yeah, that's right.' David charged suddenly, and Nicki tried to stand up as Amy cowered in fear. She couldn't let this happen again, couldn't be the damsel in distress who just sat back and let people hurt her, or try to hurt people she cared about.

Things were starting to become a little clearer now, though. This guy was a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

'You left me!' David was screaming in Amy's face. 'You abandoned me! I loved you!'

'No, David.' Amy replied, keeping her voice calm despite her obvious fear. 'You loved my money. Which is why you did all this. You never loved me, just my bank balance!'

She practically spat the last two words at him, and as he raised his hand to strike her, Nicole piped up, 'Hey, is it any surprise? I mean, it's pretty obvious you're a nutjob!'

She expected the blow, but not its ferocity; his backhand knocked her against the floor, and she tasted the metallic tang of blood in her mouth, even as Amy screamed for him to stop. Immediately, she bounced back up, grinning through her pain. No way was she giving this crazy son of a bitch the satisfaction of showing him he'd hurt her.

Turning her head, she spat blood onto the floor, then glared at him. 'That all you got?' She taunted, surprising even herself now. 'Because believe me-I've had worse.'

David just gaped at her for a moment, then started to laugh. 'You've got guts.' He told her. 'Of course, playing private detective means you must have guts. I saw you going into that fat man's shop, trying to be Sherlock Holmes. Pity it didn't work out.'

'Bobby!' Nicole gasped, afraid again now. 'If you hurt...'

'Are you joking?' David chuckled. 'He's a lot bigger than I am, no point in risking serious injury over someone who saw nothing, who knows nothing. As for the policeman and your gentleman friend, well...neither of them will ever find you, so where would be the point in senselessly drawing attention to myself by hurting them?'

Dread formed a cold ring around Nicole's heart. She didn't even know where they were, never mind Jefferson or Robert, or even Mickey or Scott. As she looked over at Amy and the resigned expression on her face, she realized that her friend and mentor had already given up hope on getting out of here alive.

But she wouldn't. She couldn't. She didn't know Jefferson well enough to trust him (and since he was a cop, trusting him might never happen anyway), but as long as Robert McCall was out there, looking for her-and she knew he would be-she refused to give up.

She flinched as David suddenly began to untie her, whistling cheerfully as he did so. 'Since neither of you have very much longer to live,' he said calmly. 'I don't see any sense in keeping you tied up. Bit heartless, really.' Then she felt cold metal press against her side, unmistakably a gun, and he hissed, 'Of course, if either of you so much as breathe in a way I don't like, it'll be the last breath you ever take.'

Momentarily, Nicole considered attacking him, but quickly dismissed the notion as suicidal. As she had once learned to her extreme detriment, nobody could outrun a bullet. And she had no desire to die sooner than she had to.

He untied Amy just as quickly and efficiently, still pointing the gun at them, then announced, 'I need to take a little trip, ladies. Don't worry, I won't be long. Feel free to move around-you'll find no convenient escape routes.'

As soon as the door was slammed shut and locked, Nicole turned to face Amy, her expression one of exasperation and weary anger.

'So,' she sighed. 'You wanna tell me how you got involved with that fruitcake?'...

Coming up: A devastated Robert fears the worst, but refuses to give up his search for Nicole. When I was writing the part when David struck Nicole, all I could picture was Robert finding out-we know how he feels about violence towards women and children. By the time this story is over, I imagine Robert will have more reason than ever to exact revenge. Sorry again for the delay-please R&R! Ellen.