Three Weeks Later

Being back in her office, Alex found it difficult to work on the cases in front of her. She blew through her lips then tried desperately to put her mind on the latest case she received this morning. However the words kept blurring together and she threw her pen down in frustration. How was she suppose to focus on anything when her husband was still missing? She took a deep breath then once again attempted to work on the paperwork.

Her phone rang and she quickly picked it up thankful for the distraction. "Alex Cahill-Walker speaking."

"Mrs. Walker, this is Susan Wright from Paschal High School. I'm afraid to report that your daughter, Angela Walker got into a fight this afternoon with another girl."

Alex's shoulders slumped forward as she fought the urge to cry. "Thank you so much. I'm on my way to pick her up."

After hanging up the phone Alex got up, grabbed her purse then headed out of her office making sure to lock the door behind her. As she hurriedly made her way through the courthouse she prayed that she didn't get stopped. Unfortunately as she rounded a corner she quickly spotted Jimmy heading her way.

"Alex!" Jimmy jogged up to her with a huge smile on his face. "Got time to talk?"

Alex shook her head. "Unfortunately not right now." She took her keys out of her purse as she rushed past her close friend. "I have to pick up Angie from school."

"What? What happened? Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure, Jimmy." She quickly wiped her eyes as the tears started to fall. "If it's important we can talk on the way there."

Jimmy quickly ran up while frantically nodding his head. "Oh, it is!" He held the door open for Alex then caught up to her just as she reached the car. "We believe we have a major lead in the case."

Alex snapped around to gauge Jimmy's attitude and when he gave her his boyish grin, she nearly collapsed on the sidewalk. "How? What is it?"

"It was so simple, we're kicking ourselves for it." The grin quickly faded as he shook his head. "Let's get in the car and talk." Once inside he took a deep breath then turned towards Alex. "There's a doctor out of Houston that has been missing for nearly two months. After some careful checking by Hess we found he had booked a flight to Denver, Colorado the exact same day the men went missing. It could be just a coincidence…."

"Or he could be connected somehow. What is his specialty?"

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "A family doctor who works for a larger office." He shook his head. "Why are you picking up Angela?"

Alex took a deep breath then shook her head. "Angie got into a fight at school." Her voice quivered as she spoke to her friend. "I'm not really sure what is going on with her."

"Did the school explain to you what happened?" Alex shook her head. "Then don't worry, maybe it's nothing at all."

High School

The principal's office was eerily quiet as Angela sat waiting for her mother to show up. She held ice to her throbbing eye which she knew will be swollen and black later in the day. Next to her sat Officer Andy Collin, who appeared rather flustered at being called in to arrest Angela. Maybe he knew Angela's father, wouldn't surprise her one bit if he did.

Officer Collin checked his watch then stretched his arms over his head. "So, what really happened, Angela?"

Angela sank farther down in the chair, her face beat red as anger rose within here. "She told me I was fool for believing that my father was still alive."

"Then why are you here?" He sighed heavily then shook his head. "Are the parents pressing charges?"

"I hope not, I'm only fourteen." Angela turned her head to the door to see her mom walking in with Uncle Jimmy right behind her. "Mom, Uncle Jimmy."

Her mother's hand shot up to her mouth, her eyes wide in shock. "Angela, sweetie what happened?"

Principle Moore came out of a room with a shake of her head. "Mrs. Cahill-Walker and Angela please come into my office."

Once inside the principle's office, Angela wearily sat down in a chair wishing she could take back what she had done. Unfortunately she acted purely on anger, which her father has told her repeatedly not to do. However he wasn't here right now and the thought caused a sour frown to spread across her face.

After several minutes of silence Principle Moore finally took a deep breath and leaned on her desk to get a better look at Angela. "Mrs. Cahill-Walker your daughter started a fight with a girl during lunch. The girl's parents want to press charges, which means Angela will have to be seen in juvenile court."

Her mother sat up straighter then shook her head. "I want to know how the fight started."

All the attention was on Angela who quickly lowered her head in embarrassment. "I threw the first punch." Alex gasped showing her surprise at Angela's statement. "Kelly told me that I was a fool for believing that my father was still alive." Angela sniffled. "She told me that she had an uncle who went missing at the same time dad did and he was found dead."

Principal Moore took a deep breath then nodded her head. "Very well, but you shouldn't have started a fight."

Alex slowly stood and stuck out her hand for Principal Moore to shake. "Thank you, Mrs. Moore." She gave the woman a card then motioned for Angela to get up. "I'll be in touch."

Confused as to what was going on, Angela obediently followed her mother out of the office. Uncle Jimmy quickly got to his feet, his face showing the bewilderment that Angela felt. What was mom up to? Why did she leave the office so quickly?

Officer Collin shook his head as he stood to his feet. "She can't leave…."

"Texas Ranger, James Trivette will watch over her." Snapped her mom in a voice Angela rarely heard her use. "Now, excuse me."

"Mom, what the hell is going on?" Alex snapped around, her eyes misting with tears. "I'm sorry that I did this…."

Alex took a deep breath then cut a glance to Uncle Jimmy before she stopped in her tracks. "Jimmy, that man…."

"I know, I'll look into it." Uncle Trivette put a hand on Angela's shoulder. "Let's go. I'll take you back to the Company."

Compound

The days have started to blur together for Walker and he would have lost track if it wasn't for the scratches in the wall next to him. He laid on his bed, hands laced under his shaved head and his mind thinking about the events that has taken place in his life. For the last two weeks he has fought twice, bringing his record to four wins and only one loss. Because of that his team has gotten some very nice rewards, one of which was another fleece blanket to sleep with it. Out of the five men in the room, there has been eleven fights won in total. A big victory which led to better food, treatment and more free time.

Unfortunately, not all was perfect. Two weeks ago he had another incident with one of the guards that left him with permanent damage to his vocal cords. During one of the moves to the infirmary to check the damage done to his throat, Walker's fighting spirit took over. He had started to pull at his restraints and once his hands had been free he took a swing at Nathaniel. Furious, Nathaniel had taken hold of Walker's neck and squeezed so hard it nearly killed him.

Walker's hand gently massaged his throat wishing he could take back that day. Sadly the damage was done and he now had problems projecting his voice above a whisper. Thankfully his windpipe and esophagus was spared, although they were still slightly bruised making it difficult to eat.

Patrick made his way over to Walker's bunk, his thin frame showing the effects of malnutrition. Even though the ski mask men have started to feed them better, everybody has lost a lot of weight. The smallest of them, including Walker now looked very sickly and on the verge of collapsing.

"Hey Boss." He glanced around the room then leaned in closer. "Have you seen Nathaniel? Ever since he did that to you, we haven't seen him."

Walker shook his head. "Nope." He grimaced at the harshness in his voice. "Wouldn't be surprised if they killed him." He slowly sat up and started to rub his throat. "Sorry."

"Not a problem." Patrick went, got a notebook then handed it to Walker. "If it hurts to talk, don't. You need to let your voice rest up."

Theo shook his head. "Why you, Walker? Why did you get the brunt of the injuries?"

"Because he has never backed down!" Said Hector as he stood up from the table. "He is one tough hombre, messing with the guards like he has."

Joseph shook his head. "When do you think we'll fight next?"

"Not sure." Walker grimaced and wrote down the rest on the notebook. He then gave it to Patrick so he can read it out loud.

Patrick brought the paper close to his face and took a deep breath. "Walker says: 'They told us they were giving us a break, it could be any day now.'"

Hector scowled. "I don't like this." He slumped back into his chair and ran his hands along his shaved scalp. "I'm not sure I can handle this place anymore."

Theo nodded in approval. "Hector is right, I need to get out of here. It's been almost three months since I've seen the sky or felt grass." He started to pace the room, his hands on his hips. "My body aches, I have bruises that won't heal and I'm tired of being hungry all the time." A smile crept across his face. "Man what I wouldn't do to taste some crawdads right now."

The door opened and everybody in the room stood to attention while five ski mask men came inside. Terry, the shortest of them shook the shackles he had in his hands then made his way towards Walker.

"Mr. Smith wants to see you, 0535."

XXXX

The office was a far cry from the rest of the building and almost could be mistaken for being part of an upscale high-rise. Joseph Case loved his luxuries and made sure his apartment had the best to offer for it's location. He took a sip of water then slowly sank down into the plush office chair to await Walker's arrival. Things have taken an unexpected turn in the fight ring and he had no other choice but to start giving men back to their families. Thankfully though, if all worked out for him he will have another location and will resume the fight ring he left here.

He rocked back in his chair as the door opened to reveal Terry and Walker. "Terry, sit 0535 down in front of me. Take off his blindfold." Walker remained quiet as Terry left them alone and only stared ahead at Case. "Sorry for what my man did to you." Case took a breath as he laced his hands behind his head. "I've taken care of him, he is no longer with us." When the ex-lawman remained quiet Case actually laughed. "Relax! My men need to know that I mean business. Just like you, they can't cross me without facing the consequences." He took a deep breath. "Now, we must tattoo you."

Jasper and Marshall took hold of Walker's arm and head while Newman got his gear ready. The man began to fight the men's hold on him, but in his weakened state he couldn't do anything but to rock the chair around. Newman barked out orders to Walker which seemed to rile the ex-Ranger up even more.

Newman snapped around to face Case. "If he keeps moving like this, the tattoo will be unreadable."

With a nod of Case's head, Jasper and Marshall flung Walker onto the floor then trapped the man so he couldn't move. Newman proceeded with the tattoo till he was finally finished and motioned for Walker to stand up.

Case got to his feet and made his way around the desk to get a good look at his best fighter. The last three months of fighting has taken a huge toll on the man, possibly more so than any of the other fighters in the ring. His left eye drooped and was glazed over, his right eyebrow had a scar through it and deep, red scars on his neck showed where he had been electrocuted.

He laced his hands behind his back then glanced over at Doctor Galloway who had come into the office during the tattooing. "How is 0535's overall health?"

Doctor Galloway gave him a shrug. "His right arm appears to have healed completely, though a bit stiff. He sees out of his right eye, however Nathaniel's temper could have cost 0535 his voice." He crossed his arms then shook his head. "Given his age, he may not last much longer."

Case snapped his fingers at Walker who quickly came forward. "Show me your right hand." The man held out his arm so Case can check it out. "Any pain?" Walker shook his head. "Okay, make sure the tat is taken care of. I don't want him dying of infection." He glanced once more in the blue eyes, happy to see no defiance in the once prideful lawman. "If you were to get out of here, you will not remove that tattoo."

"And what if I was to do so?" Walker's voice was very low and harsh. "What would you do to me?"

Jasper quickly wrapped his hand around Walker's throat causing the lawman to loudly wince. "Nobody talks back to Mr. Smith…."

"ENOUGH!" Case roared out startling everybody in the room. "Do you really want to die the way Nathaniel did?" Jasper hesitated for a moment then quickly took his hand away from Walker's throat. The man started to cough as he fell to his knees in obvious pain. "0535, are you okay?"

Walker sputtered then looked up at Case. "Why do you care?" His voice barely came above a whisper and Case could see it caused the man a bit of pain to speak.

"Because your cell is the number one team." Case took a deep breath. "Very soon we will be leaving this location and taking you and five others with us." He went around and knelt in front of Walker. "Everybody here will get a tattoo, the special ones will get a small brand above the ear." Jasper reappeared with a small, soldering iron in his hands. "I'm going to give you a more permanent reminder of your time here. It will only hurt for a little bit."