The Song Remains The Same
Chapter 3
oooOOOooo
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
A/N: Thanks to everyone who is keeping up with this one. Things are just getting started.
oooOOOooo
The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare
Thane Yost
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Gordon walked into a bar near the motel he and the hunters he'd organized were staying. His followers were sitting at a back table, each of the five men were hunched over a beer and staring at nothing in particular. He slipped into the empty chair and leaned forward, his elbows on the table and his hands clasped in front of him.
"I made contact with Winchester and ran him out of town."
One of the hunters looked at him. "What was the point of that?"
"It puts them all off-center," Gordon said to Allen, as if the answer was obvious.
"When are we going to take the boy?" the same hunter wondered. "Wouldn't it have been easier to take him when it was just him and his brother on the road? What are we waiting for?"
Gordon glared at him. "We're waiting for the right time."
"Do you know where Winchester went?" Dave, another hunter asked.
"He met up with his sons. They're headed back to North Carolina."
"To that fortress of a safe house?" Allen demanded.
"It's hardly a fortress," Gordon scoffed.
"Look, when you recruited us, you said we were after Sam Winchester because of his connection to the demon that killed his mother and because of his visions. That's all well and good, but we had the perfect opportunity to get him before he knew anyone was on his tail. Now, not only does he know, he's teamed up with his father. I don't want to go up against John Winchester."
"He's just a man. A man who's been injured and isn't in top shape anymore."
"This is sounding more and more like revenge than hunting something supernatural," Allen said as he stared at Gordon.
"Who are you to talk to me that way?"
"This is bullshit," Allen said. "I'm not going to play this game anymore."
"Where are you going?" Gordon demanded as the other man stood up and tossed a few dollars on the table to cover his beer.
"I'm finished with this." Allen stood up and marched out of the bar. Gordon hesitated only a moment before following him.
---
Dave was sitting on top of his bed when he heard a knock at the door. He and Allen had been sharing a room and he hoped it was his friend knocking; it had been over three hours since he left the bar with Gordon on his heels and neither had been seen since. Dave called his friend's cell phone number several times, but only got his voice mail.
Holding a gun behind his back, he looked through the peep hole, then kept the weapon at the ready as he opened the door.
"Jeffrey, what are you doing here?"
The young hunter slipped into the room, looking into the parking lot behind him quickly.
"Close the door," he said, clearly nervous.
"What's going on?" Dave closed the door and faced Jeffrey, putting the gun on the small table that was next to the door after engaging the safety.
"Gordon has lost his mind, man."
"What do you mean?"
"Come on, you saw him. And I think he killed Allen."
"What?" Dave asked.
"Have you seen Allen since he left the bar?" Jeffrey demanded.
"No,"
"He's not interested in killing that Winchester kid because of his connection to a demon. He wants revenge."
"That's what Allen said. Revenge for what?"
"Gordon tried to kill him and the kid ended up turning him in to the cops. He broke out of prison, man."
"How do you know that?"
"I finally got in touch with someone who knows Gordon. He's been underground for a while; working on something, so it took a while for him to get back to me. He knows all kinds of stuff it woulda been nice to know before getting involved with that freak. He's done a lot of bad things, man. I'm only here cuz Allen is – was – your friend. You deserve to know. Me, I'm heading out of here with the rest of the hunters and getting away from that guy."
Jeffrey pushed past Dave and with a shaking hand, opened the door. "If I was you, man, I'd get out of here, too."
As Dave watched, Jeffrey disappeared into the darkness. He closed the door and sank down into the nearest chair. He'd only been hunting for a couple of years and his mentor was recently killed in a battle with a demon. Dave had never met John Winchester, but he had heard as many good things about him as bad. Making a sudden decision, Dave quickly packed and jumped onto his motorcycle, parked just outside his room. A few minutes later he was on the way to Mountain Lodge, North Carolina.
oooOOOooo
When the Winchesters and their friends got back to the safe house in Mountain Lodge, it was nearly dawn and they were tired. Kristine's most trusted staff member had made up rooms for them after performing a thorough check of the house. It was always protected by symbols and rituals, but those things were only for supernatural creatures.
The phone call that Kristine made before they left the diner hours before had been to someone who could take care of other types of physical security. They would be trained on the provisions made in a few hours. After a quick check of the house themselves, they all settled into bed and it wasn't long before everyone was asleep.
---
The house was a large, white Victorian with six original bedrooms. Some other rooms had been converted and now there were ten, with space for more hunters, if it was needed. Generally, there were no more than five or six at any one time, but three had been times when more needed shelter. Other times, like now, the house wasn't being used and the Winchesters and Bobby had it to themselves for the time being.
The house also contained a large library that, in the past had only housed fiction, particularly great works of literature. Kristine's father had been an attorney and some of his law books had a home in the library as well. Now, there were books the hunters could use for research. thanks to Bobby. After Pastor Jim's death at the hands of one of the yellow-eyed demon's children, some of his books had also been moved to the safe house.
Kristine's family bought the land and built their home and the outbuildings nearly one hundred years before. They were among the founders of the town and Kristine still had social and political obligations due to her family's status, but that also gave her important contacts that were helpful to the hunters.
Kristine didn't normally sleep in the estate house. She had made a home out of what used to be a caretaker's cottage on the edge of the property and that's where Dean knew he would be able to find her when he woke up later.
---
He'd been asleep for almost five hours and was wide awake when his eyes opened. Out of habit, he looked toward the bed next to his and saw Sam still sleeping. He got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans, then wrote a note for his brother before leaving the room. Dean checked on his father and Bobby on his way downstairs; both were still sleeping in a shared room.
Dean hadn't wanted Kristine to be by herself, but the best he'd been able to do was get her to agree to stay in the house rather than in the cottage. He looked in the bedroom she'd settled in last night and wasn't surprised to find it empty. When he didn't find her in the kitchen, either, he opened the back door and headed to the cottage.
It was almost a mile from the house on a dirt road through the property. He could have walked it with no problem, but took the Impala instead. Arriving at her small house, he sat behind the wheel for a moment, watching her on the porch. She was sitting on the top step, her hands clasped between her knees. She was wearing the same clothes from the day before. Dean got out of the car when she turned toward him.
"I thought you were going to stay in the main house." He sat down next to her.
"I did. I've only been here for a few minutes."
"It's dangerous to go off on your own."
"I guess. Sorry."
Dean knew something was wrong, not that it took any advanced powers of deduction to figure that out.
"You want to talk about it?"
Kristine shook her head.
"You take your medicine?"
She looked at him, her expression somewhere between hurt and embarrassed. "Yeah," Kristine whispered.
"I'm sorry, I just –"
"It's okay."
"Kris –"
"No, really. It's okay." She leaned against him for a moment and then stood up. "You want some coffee?"
Dean followed her into the house.
oooOOOooo
John didn't like being in a defensive position, so he rarely let it happen. He didn't have all of the pieces to the puzzle, but he'd been afraid the safe house was compromised before he contacted Kristine and when Gordon found them in the Richmond hotel, he knew he'd been right. It wasn't Kristine's fault; she'd been making sure the house was safe from demons and other supernatural creatures. Keeping it safe from people was no more a concern for her than for other people.
The person Kristine had contacted the day before to beef up the security was someone John trusted. In fact, he had originally introduced them a few years before. John figured that Gordon would either follow them to the estate or assume that's where they would go. Either way, it wouldn't be long before he made an appearance.
"Good morning," Bobby said when he joined John in the kitchen. "Working on any other devious plans?"
"Why don't you just make a formal announcement, Bobby?" John grumbled as the older man poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Sam is still upstairs and I don't see Dean or Kristine here."
John grunted as Bobby sat down across from him. The house had a formal dining room, but they were in the breakfast nook connected to the kitchen. The windows overlooked part of a professionally maintained garden.
"I heard Kristine leave early this morning. Dean's probably with her."
"She wasn't looking so good."
John nodded an agreement and rubbed his face. "I don't know what's going on."
"You're kidding."
"Even I don't know everything, Bobby." John finished his coffee. "Thanks for your help with this."
"No problem. Those jobs needed to be done and I always like spending time with the boys. I still don't know how you found out that Gordon was after Sam."
"There was talk at the Roadhouse."
"So, Ellen does know what's going on?"
"Ellen knows some of it."
Bobby nodded. "You think it's a good idea for Kristine and Dean to be off by themselves?"
"They'll be okay."
"You know I still don't like the secrecy."
"I know."
"They're adults."
"I know."
"They'll be pissed if they find out you've orchestrated a lot of this."
"I know."
Bobby sighed and took a long sip of coffee. He and John looked at each other when the doorbell rang.
---
"Can I help you?" Bobby asked when he opened the door.
"My name is Dave Elliot. I need to see John Winchester."
"Why?"
"I – I have to talk to him about Gordon."
"Let him in, Bobby," John said, standing off to the side and out of sight of the door.
A few minutes later, Dave, Bobby and John were sitting in the living room. Sam walked in and brief introductions were made.
"How do you know Gordon?" John asked.
"He recruited me to work with him. He's after Sam." Dave cast a glance at the youngest Winchester. "He convinced me that Sam had a connection to demons and….I've only been doing this for a couple of years. The man who was training me was killed recently and I guess I thought Gordon could help me. I didn't know…."
"Didn't know what?"
"I didn't know he'd escaped from prison. I didn't know he had a personal vendetta against Sam. I –" he looked to Sam again. "I'm sorry."
"How did you find out?" John asked.
Dave told him about the conversation he'd had with Jeffrey and about their fear that he'd killed Allen.
"Do you know what his plan is?"
Dave shook his head. "None of what he's doing makes sense. We had the perfect opportunity to get Sam before you all met up and Gordon didn't want to do it. It's like he wanted to make this as hard as possible."
John looked at his son over Dave's shoulder. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was blank.
"Bobby, how about you take Dave here into the kitchen and get him some coffee?" John suggested.
"Sure. I'll make some breakfast, too."
Once they were alone, John looked back to his son. "You okay?"
"I honestly don't know."
"This isn't your fault."
"I know."
"You did what you had to do."
Sam pushed away from the wall. "I should have just killed him."
John was shocked into silence and Sam left the room. He didn't even acknowledge Dean as he walked into the front door.
"Sam?"
John joined his older son in the foyer.
"What happened?" Dean asked.
John gave him short recap of what had gone on so far that morning.
"He said he should have killed Gordon?" Dean asked, sounding as shocked as John had felt.
His father nodded.
"I'll go talk to him." He glanced at Kristine and she nodded. A moment later, she went into the kitchen with John as Dean climbed the stairs.
---
"Sammy?" Dean slipped into the room they'd been sharing and found his brother lying on his unmade bed. His hands were clasped behind his head and he was staring at the ceiling. His expression was clouded with anger.
Dean sat on his own bed and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "Dad told me what you said."
"Yeah?" Sam's voice was quiet.
"What's up with that, Sam? You think you should have just killed Gordon?"
"He wouldn't be after me now. He wouldn't be recruiting young hunters who don't know any better. You and Dad wouldn't be in danger – Bobby –"
"Don't do this, man."
"Don't do what?"
"Don't blame yourself for things that aren't your fault. This is all Gordon."
"Yeah. And if I'd killed him – when you wanted me to – this wouldn't be happening."
"Sam, that isn't you."
"Dean," Sam sighed and sat up. "I spent my whole life with something after me. I thought it was over….If I'd just killed him or let you do it…."
Dean looked at his brother. He saw the pain on his face and he hated it. Sam was right. They'd lived under a dark cloud for a long time and even though they were still hunting, it wasn't like before. They weren't trying to find the thing that killed their mother and they didn't have that huge weight on their shoulders anymore. Sam had begun to feel free; Dean knew not just because they'd talked about it, but because he could see it. At least he could until their father's phone call the day before.
"Sam, this isn't like before. Gordon's no demon; he's just a really sick fuck. And we'll deal with him."
Sam glared at his brother. He wasn't angry with Dean and they both knew it. "I'm going to kill him this time, Dean."
Before Dean could say anything, Sam left the room. He heard the bathroom door close and Dean rubbed his face nervously.
oooOOOooo
"Is your brother okay?" John asked when Dean came into the kitchen nearly an hour later.
Bobby had made breakfast and other than the plate he'd left for Sam and Dean, everything had already been cleaned up.
"No."
John looked up from the newspaper. That wasn't the answer he'd been expecting; Dean was always able to handle Sam. "What?"
"He's not okay. Where is everyone?"
"Bobby is checking the protection symbols around the house. Kristine is helping Dave get settled in."
"He's staying?"
"Probably not for long, but he's exhausted. Now, talk to me about Sammy."
Dean pretended to be interested in his food and moved the eggs around the plate for a moment, but gave up and dropped the silverware onto the table. "He's right back where he was a few years ago. Dad, he's been doing so good, ya know? Since the demon….he enjoys hunting again and isn't always looking for something else. He's been happy with what he has – not settling, but really happy. Now? It's like the last couple of years never even happened."
"What about after we deal with Gordon?"
"He says he's going to kill Gordon."
"Is that what he needs to do to be okay?"
"Dad…."
"I'm not saying he should go out and kill some innocent person. I'm asking if he needs to kill Gordon, the man who tried to kill him – and you – just because Sam had visions. What do you think the end result of this is going to be? Gordon skips on back to prison?"
"No, but –"
"But what? You figured you'd be the one to pull the trigger?"
Dean didn't answer.
"Dean?" John's tone wasn't accusatory. He knew the answer. "You might have to let him have this one, Dean."
John saw the tears spring into his son's eyes. He wanted to reach out to him, but instead he waited for Dean to compose himself.
"He – he can kill supernatural monsters, ya know? That's okay. He can kill evil things because that's what we do to protect other people. But even then…." Dean pushed the plate away angrily.
"Even then," John put his hand on Dean's wrist. "It's you who pulls the trigger most of the time."
"I always wanted Sam to stay innocent, ya know? I never wanted this stuff to touch him – even before you told me….It wasn't supposed to hurt Sammy. None of it was. I don't want him to get hard, Dad. I want him to keep that irritating sunny outlook he has. He thinks people are inherently good. Even Gordon….he called the cops instead of wasting him last time. I –"
Dean tried to pull away, but John held him tighter.
"You've always been a good brother, Dean, a good protector. Hell, you've been a better father to Sammy than I have and you know him better than I ever will. But there's one thing I do know. Sometimes, you have to let him fight his own battles."
---
Sam stood just outside of the kitchen, listening to his father and brother. He closed his eyes for a moment; he'd had no idea how Dean felt. It seemed like no matter how close they got, there were always things about his brother that surprised him. He idly wondered if it was because he didn't pay enough attention or if Dean was really that good at keeping things from him.
He took a few steps backwards and coughed before going into the kitchen.
"Hey," he said, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
"Hey," John smiled at him as Dean picked up the fork and began to eat.
"Are we going to work on a plan?" Sam asked as he sat at the table with a cup of coffee.
"Bobby left a plate in the oven for you," John told him.
"I'm not hungry. Dad, how are we going to find Gordon?"
"If I'm right, we won't have to. He'll come here. I want to show you something." John stood up and led the way to the attached garage.
Set up on a work bench that was situated against the far wall were four computers. John explained that Nick Shaw, the security expert that Kristine had called the day before set everything up. While there were some surveillance cameras pointed at the entrances to the house now, most of what he had established was pointed toward the property perimeter. There were a few cameras, but most of the new toys were designed to find invaders in other ways.
John gave them a basic summary of what had been installed and what the computer monitors were showing, but his understanding was limited.
"Nick will be here soon to go over all of it," John said.
Sam looked closely at everything. "Dad, why didn't you tell us about this stuff before?"
"We got here late last night and everyone was exhausted. This morning, Dave showed up unexpectedly. I haven't been hiding it from you intentionally; we just hadn't had a chance to talk about it yet."
As they walked back into the kitchen, there was a change on one of the monitors. A moment later, John's cell phone rang.
oooOOOoo
"Dean," John said as he got off the phone. "Find Kristine; make sure she and Dave are in the house."
"What's going on?" Sam asked.
"That was Nick. He's monitoring things remotely and he said one of his toys picked up something that could be Gordon. Someone is out there; southeast to the house."
That was all Dean needed to hear before he went off to find Kristine.
"Sammy –"
"Weapons, got it." Sam read his father's mind and left the kitchen.
John was about to call Bobby's cell phone when the man came in through the back door. He must have interpreted John's expression correctly as he immediately shifted into hunter mode.
"I can't find Kristine or Dave," Dean said when he rushed back into the kitchen several minutes later. "She's not answering her cell. There's no land line at the cottage; I'm going over there."
"Hold on," Sam said as he came into the room with a large canvas bag. "I'll go with you."
"That's a good idea," John agreed as Sam hefted the bag onto the table.
A moment later, they each had their weapon of choice and at least one back-up. Sam and Dean were headed out of the door when Dean's cell phone rang. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Kristine's name on the called ID display.
---
"Kristine –"
"Try again, Romeo."
"Gordon."
"Ah! Congratulations."
"Where's Kristine?"
"With me."
"And you're –"
"Somewhere you won't find me."
"I swear to God, Gordon, if you hurt her –"
"That's pretty funny, Dean. You, swearing to God. Do you even believe in God?"
"I want to talk to her."
"Not now. You'll be hearing from me."
Dean growled when he heard the call end. "Son of a bitch!"
"Gordon has Kristine?" Sam asked.
"Can we find out where he is with those machines in the garage?" Dean asked, looking at his father.
"Only if he's on the estate," John said as he dialed Nick's number and headed out to the garage. The others followed.
oooOOOooo
Kristine sat in the large wooden chair, her wrists and legs tied to it securely. She glared at Dave as he stood across the room, a rifle balanced in his arms that were crossed over his chest. Even though she'd been blindfolded as Dave navigated to their destination, she recognized where they were. It was an abandoned warehouse at the north end of town. The building had recently been purchased by the county and was on schedule to be demolished to make way for a new elementary school.
"Dave, why are you messed up with someone like Gordon?" she struggled to keep her tone even despite the headache and nausea that was no doubt caused by whatever Dave had used to knock her out.
He said nothing and looked away from her.
"He's not a good guy, Dave. He's dangerous."
Still no response.
"Dave, listen to me. Gordon tried to kill Sam and Dean a few years ago. That's why he was in prison. He doesn't distinguish between good and evil; he just kills what he wants to."
"Oh, now that will be quite enough," Gordon said as he came into the room. He'd been happy to introduce himself when Dave brought her to him half an hour earlier. "I talked to Dean and told him you'd be spending some time with me."
Kristine stared at him.
Gordon smiled at her. "I know what you're thinking. You figure the great Winchesters will find you. Maybe they will. In fact, I'm counting on it."
"Tell me you're not going to set up some lame booby trap like you did the last time," she said, her tone condescending.
Gordon's smile faded.
"They told me about it."
"Yeah, well, you don't need to worry about what I'm going to do."
Kristine didn't miss the change in his body language and tone and her therapist instincts were warning her that he was extremely volatile.
oooOOOooo
Nick Shaw was just getting to the estate as he led John through the preliminary steps to analyze the data his machines were recording. It wasn't long before he was walking into the garage; the Winchesters and Bobby were watching the video from the camera poised to watch the French doors that led out of the library and into the garden. Kristine had been blindfolded and appeared drugged.
Sam stood next to his brother and could feel the anger roll off of him in waves. He saw Dean clench and unclench his hands and noticed that his shoulders were straight and tense. He moved half a step closer so that their arms were touching and Dean glanced at him, but didn't move away.
"Well, there's no one on the estate from what I can tell," Nick said. "If that was Gordon out there, he's gone. Obviously that Dave guy took Kristine and I can tell he went north when he left the estate, but that's as far as the equipment can see."
"Gordon wants us to find him," John mused. "He's not going to be hiding anywhere too hard to figure out."
"If he headed north, then he went through town. There aren't any other roads until you hit town limits," Dean mused, his tone barely contained. "Gordon isn't going to hide there…."
"So, let's assume Dave continued through town," John took up Dean's line of reasoning. "Still most likely he continued north; not a lot of choice for a few miles anyway. Hey, is that warehouse still on the edge of town?"
Nick looked up from the computer monitor. "I passed it on my way here. There's a fence around it and some kind of construction company signs, but I didn't look that close."
"The building is still there?"
Nick nodded.
"Makes sense," Sam agreed.
John began to pace. "If he made it that easy, he probably set something up."
"Like last time," Sam said gravely. "The place where he was holding Dean was booby trapped."
---
It was already late afternoon and the darkness of night would be upon them soon. Even though Gordon would be expecting them, it made sense to wait until nightfall when fewer people would be out and about. John and Bobby made a quick trip to the warehouse to verify that was, indeed, where Gordon was holding Kristine. Of course, Dean had wanted to go, but John was afraid he wouldn't be able to leave once he was there and they had things to do before they confronted Gordon.
They went about making preparations. Weapons were checked and rechecked, plans made and discarded in favor of something else. Nerves were calmed only to get tense again.
Sam's anger and guilt over not killing Gordon when he had the chance, and not letting Dean do it either, were still there, but Sam's concern for his brother overshadowed those feelings. He knew how Dean felt about Kristine and he knew that his brother was exercising great control by not just rushing the warehouse.
Sam couldn't see how Dean wouldn't be blaming him for their current situation and he was almost afraid to talk to his brother. He avoided looking at him as he was sure he would see anger in his brother's eyes; anger directed at him. Sam also tried to avoid thinking about what Kristine might be going through.
He didn't know a lot about her hospitalization, but he knew some. He'd gone to California to attend Rebecca's Stanford graduation and exorcise some of his own demons while Dean meandered toward North Carolina. Sam knew that Kristine been hurting herself and had taken the initiative to find help after Dean arrived, but that was about everything his brother had told him. He knew there was more to it, but that was just instinct talking.
Sam remembered when Patrick, Kristine's late brother-in-law, had been possessed and kidnapped her. She's been tortured and hung from hooks in a motel room; left for dead. He didn't want to think about how a second kidnapping would be affecting her, but he guessed that was all Dean could think about.
His brother was sitting on the couch, cleaning a gun he'd already cleaned. Sam watched him for a few minutes, then forced himself to sit down next to him. Dean had called Kristine's cell phone more than once, but it went directly to voice mail. There had been no more contact with Gordon.
"You okay?" Sam asked.
"No."
Sam wasn't prepared for such an honest answer and wasn't sure what to say. "Dean…."
"Don't worry, I'll be able to handle myself."
"I know you will. You know, Dean, there's no reason for Gordon to hurt her. He wants us."
"No reason except he's a sadistic motherfucker. I swear, Sammy, one hair on her head…."
"I know, man. I feel the same way."
"And I'm going to waste that little shit, Dave, too."
Sam's response was interrupted by the doorbell. The brothers exchanged a look before heading to the front entry. Their father and Bobby were already there, weapons at the ready.
Nick opened the door and the woman on the porch gasped when she saw the guns pointed at her.
"Wow. Nothing subtle about you Winchesters."
"Lenore?" Sam began. "What are you doing here?"
Lenore was a vampire the brothers had met in Red Lodge, Montana the first time they encountered Gordon. She led a group that had vowed not to drink human blood and sustained themselves with cattle. Gordon had been after her clan and Sam helped her and the survivors escape while Dean kept Gordon occupied.
---
"Word travels among vampires," Lenore explained once introductions were made and they were settled in the living room. "I heard that Gordon was out of jail and after you. I want to help. I've got others with me."
"We can use the help," John said. "You did a great job of getting past the electronic surveillance out there."
She shrugged. "I'm a vampire. We don't tend to show up on such things."
"Good point," John agreed. "Okay, let's do a quick readjustment of the plan and get to it."
oooOOOooo
Kristine tried to control the shaking, but in addition to her fear, she'd missed two doses of medication. She hated being so dependant on it, but there were worse things, she supposed. Like the darkness she'd found herself in and the numbness that drove her to find increasingly violent ways to experience any kind of feeling.
She'd tried to loosen the bonds that tied her; she didn't think she'd really be able to escape, but she had to try. The rope was too tight and Dave was keeping too good an eye on her. Gordon was in and out of the room, which had been an office when the warehouse was occupied. She didn't know where he went when he left; she didn't hear a car and assumed he was checking out the rest of the building.
Kristine gave up trying to talk to Dave. It had become obvious that he wouldn't respond to her and, after a while, she didn't trust herself to speak. She was afraid, she was tired, and she needed her medication. Her thoughts kept flashing back to the motel room she'd been left in by a possessed Patrick. The injuries had long-since healed and there were only minor physical scars, but the emotional ones were intense. Some things would never completely disappear.
---
"Well, well, well," Gordon began as he came back into the room. Kristine could smell the hamburger he'd recently eaten and her stomach growled. "Looks like your boyfriend doesn't think you're so important. I would have expected him to have made an appearance already."
Kristine knew what Gordon was trying to do and she wasn't going to let him. He wanted to undermine what little confidence she already felt and he would do or say anything to get to her. Kristine knew she hadn't been forgotten; she also knew the best time to strike would be after dark and she could tell from the window high in the room that the sun was setting.
She looked toward Gordon, hoping she was managing a glare. He only glanced at her.
"You're probably getting pretty stiff sitting in that chair. And I know you're hungry. Well, this should all be over soon and none of that will matter," Gordon walked around the room, staying close to the wall. "Dave, why don't you leave us alone for a few minutes? There's food in the other room."
Dave nodded and walked out of the room. Kristine tensed as Gordon approached her.
"You know, you should never bring the police in on hunter business. They don't understand our ways. Sammy did the wrong thing with that."
Kristine turned her eyes to look at Gordon as he began walking around her in a small circle.
"I didn't like prison. I didn't like it at all." His voice took on a far away tone. "Things happen in prison that are worse than any hunt."
Standing behind her, Gordon breathed into Kristine's ear. She tried not to react.
"What about that hospital you were in? Bad things happen there?" he asked.
She stiffened.
"Oh yeah, I know about that. You still like to hurt yourself?"
Kristine closed her eyes.
"You still like the rough stuff?"
She didn't respond.
Gordon laughed and then walked across the room.
tbc