"Dude, where the hell have you been? I thought Ed was going to bust a blood vessel when you weren't down there to meet Delinda."
"Delinda… I still have to stay with Delinda," Danny mumbled to himself as he walked down the hallway leading back to the security offices.
"Okay, Danny, you're really starting to freak me out. What the hell is going on and why did Mitch see you coming out of Mary's apartment? I thought she was in Miami."
"What?" Danny's mind was in a million places right now. Mary was pregnant. Just from the agonizing phone call earlier he could only imagine the horrors she was having to endure. There was no question in his mind that he would do whatever it took to get Mary back alive, but would it be too little, too late to save their baby? Their baby…the words seemed so natural in his head and he realized that any doubts that may have surfaced under normal circumstances were completely erased. It seemed crazy since he'd only known about this baby for twenty minutes, but he already couldn't imagine their lives without it.
Shaking himself out of his trance Danny tried to think of an excuse to get Mike off his back. "Yeah, she is…I just…I'm not feeling well. I think I might be coming down with something so I crashed on Mary's couch for awhile. I'm sorry you had to cover for me."
"It's okay, man, but does Mary know you're breaking into her apartment when she's not around? Unless…it's Mary, isn't it?"
"What?" Danny looked nervously around the hallway. If Mike found out Mary had been taken they might hurt her.
"You and Mary are back together, right? She's the one you've been sneaking around with for the last month."
"Yeah," Danny shook the cloud from his brain, relieved that his friend was on a completely different track. "Listen, Mike, I've got to get to Mystique." Danny did an about face and headed back out onto the casino floor.
"That's it? Danny, this is some major news…come on, man—give a brother some details."
He knew it wasn't Mike's fault—he had no idea what was going on--but his blasé attitude pushed Danny over the edge. "I don't have time to sit around and gossip with you! Just stop messing around and get back to work, okay!"
Mike stood there gaping at Danny's retreating form. Even on the worst day of Danny's life, he had never spoken to him like that. Something was definitely up and Mike decided to take his concerns straight to the top. He picked up his phone and hit the speed dial.
"Hey, boss. I think we might have a problem."
---
The small airstrip was deserted, but it would do for their purposes. As the pick-up truck slid to a halt in front of the metal hangar, the passenger hopped out and disappeared inside the building. The large doors were pushed back and the driver pulled the truck inside. Once the vehicle was safely out of sight, one of the men jumped onto the tailgate and opened the door of the tool box across the bed of the truck.
The squeak of the rusted metal hinges startled Mary and she realized they had reached their destination. She had been in this small space for what seemed like days. Her hands were bound loosely to accommodate the rapid swelling of her broken left arm while her ankles were more securely tied. The duct tape which had been on her mouth since she'd first woken up to this nightmare was still in place and a blindfold kept her in terrifying darkness. For the millionth time she wondered what they had in store for her. She knew from what Danny had told her that this group had let two of their hostages go, but it was the thought of what had happened to the third victim that remained fresh in her mind.
Mary wanted so much to be strong for Danny and their baby, but it was getting harder with each passing moment. They'd twisted her arm until the bones snapped and she hated that she'd been unable to control her screams. Mary knew she had passed out more than once from the pain since then and she couldn't be sure how much time had gone by. The one thing she did know was that the heat had been almost unbearable in that tiny enclosure. Even in February the desert sun could be brutal and Mary could sense she was on the verge of dehydration. She once again debated whether or not to tell her abductors she was pregnant. If they knew, they might be more careful—more sensitive to her condition, but she had a feeling that they'd only use it to their advantage—giving them one more thing to hold over Danny and most likely endangering her baby even more. For now, she would keep the secret to herself and pray to God that they didn't do anything that would harm her unborn child.
Suddenly, Mary flinched as she felt hands on her body. She drew her knees up to her chest in an effort to protect her stomach from any possible blows, but none came.
"Settle down," one of the men told her. "We're going to move you out of here and the more you struggle the more you're going to get hurt." The man pressed a finger to the sensitive spot on her cheek; reminding Mary of what had happened the last time she had tried to fight them.
She relaxed her muscles only a fraction as she felt herself being lifted by one man and then handed off to another. They carried her a short distance, then down a flight of stairs and through several doors before she was set on her feet. Mary struggled for balance before a hand grasped her shoulder firmly—helping her stay upright. The bindings on her feet were the first to go and then with surprising gentleness a pair of hands removed the ties on her hands.
"We're miles away from anyone who could hear you so don't try to scream." Mary let out a small cry as the tape was ripped from her skin. She cradled her injured arm against her chest as the blindfold was finally removed. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light, but when it did Mary found herself wishing again for the darkness. Four men stood in front of her—their faces concealed by grotesque masks.
The man closest to Mary turned her towards a small opening in the floor. "Watch your step," one of the other men said with an evil laugh.
"Please, please don't…I need water and a doctor. Please don't put me in there," Mary pleaded with her captors.
One of the men stepped forward and pulled Mary's injured arm away from her body. "Get the morphine."
"NO!" Mary called out. She'd endure the pain—she had to for the sake of her baby. "I'm…allergic. I can't have any pain killers. Please, just let me go." Mary couldn't stop the soft sobs that escaped her.
"Everything you need is down there and if your loverboy does exactly like he's told then you'll see a doctor soon enough. Your arm will be fine until then."
The man pushed Mary towards the opening again and she awkwardly fell to her knees in order to climb down into the hole. It was difficult using only one hand, but she managed to lower herself into the three foot space below the floor before the metal hatch was slammed closed—leaving her in the pitch black once again.
Mary crawled around the space—cautiously feeling the walls to familiarize herself with the surroundings. She found a string along the far wall and pulled it until the room was lit with harsh light from a lone bulb. The space was about 10 feet by 6 feet with concrete on all sides. There was a small pallet in one corner of the room, a case of bottled water and a paper bag full of beef jerky and granola bars. In the other corner was a bucket and Mary cringed as she realized this was for her to relieve herself.
She was exhausted—both physically and emotionally—and she wanted nothing more than to collapse into oblivion, but she needed water and the baby needed food. She managed to get one of the bottles open and drank the liquid steadily down. She tore open one of the granola bars and took a couple of bites before she felt bile rise in her throat. Breathing deeply through her nose—she managed to keep it down and prayed that it would be enough to sustain the tiny life inside of her. As she lay down on the pallet and closed her eyes, tears spilling through the lids, she tried to imagine Danny's arms around her—keeping her and the baby safe.