Jason stepped away from Sam. She was struggling fiercely to free herself but he knew that she couldn't. He knew she was smart and strong and had made sure her restraints were very secure. He reached over and turned on the overhead light.
Sam squinted for a moment at the brightness of the light. Jason watched her eyes widen in shock when she saw that he was her attacker. Jason gave Sam his best imitation of an evil smile before walking into her kitchen. She watched him pick up one knife after another until he had selected her newest and sharpest one. He smiled at it and nodded his head in approval and began to approach his bound and gagged victim.
Sam had been frightened when she was attacked in the hall. That had given way to anger when her escape attempt failed. Shock took over from there when she realized that her attacker was her supposed friend and partner. Now, as she watched Jason approach her with the knife she was truly convinced that he had suffered some sort of psychotic break and that she was about to die.
Jason watched the emotions play across Sam's face. He saw her eyes get wide and ever more terrified as he continued to advance on her. He was having a war within himself. One side of him was screaming at him for terrifying her like that. Another side of him was reminding him that he had to do this now so he could convince her that she was in danger and get the answers from her without actually hurting her. From somewhere else a third voice chimed into his head to watch the clock because he still had to make an example of the drug dealer who was using their shipping lanes.
"Stay on task!" Jason shouted to all three voices in his head. This was going to be hard enough to do without getting distracted by the various parts of himself that were all clamoring for attention. In the end, Jason's self discipline won out and he was able to shove all the voices away and focus himself completely on the task at hand.
Jason continued his slow advance on Sam until he was standing next to her. He slid the back of the knife up her chin until the blade came in contact with the cloth he had her gagged with. She watched every move with obvious terror in her eyes. He could also see that she was struggling not to show him that fear. He leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear.
"Are you ready to behave now? Can I take the gag off without you screaming?" He whispered fiercely into her ear.
Immediately Sam began nodding her head up and down ever so slightly. She was careful not to get cut in the process. Jason knew he had her right where he wanted her at that point. She would be compliant and pretty easy to control as long as he could maintain the balance between keeping her in fear and giving her hope of getting out unharmed.
Jason slit through the cloth that was servicing as a gag. It fell into a heap on Sam's lap. She moved her jaw around to loosen the stiffness. Like she had promised, Sam did not scream. Jason nodded at her.
"I know it sounds a little cliché but there are two ways we can do this. The easy way or the hard way" Jason stated matter-of-factly. He followed it up with a hard look. It was effective on just about everyone he had used it on. Sonny tended to refer to it as Jason's "prison yard" look despite the fact that Jason had never been to prison.
"It seems to me like you already picked the hard way. You are supposed to be my friend. I thought we were a team and we had each other's backs. I never expected you to be the one to attack me. I trusted you!" Sam spat back at him.
"Trust? How dare you speak to me about trust. You are informing on me and/or Sonny to the cops!" Jason absently picked up the knife again. He watched Sam stiffen. "You know the penalty for that kind of betrayal…."
Jason had always been good at telling if someone was telling him the truth or not. When he had first started working for him Sonny had referred to him as "the human lie detector." It was a skill that still served him well. He watched Sam closely for her reaction. Her body language as well as her words would tell him a lot. He just hoped he got the answer he was wishing for.
Sam's reaction was intense and immediate. Her eyes got wide in shock and she began forcefully shaking her head no at him. The part that convinced Jason though was how fast the color drained from her face. Her cheeks had been flush from anger but now she looked deathly pale as the full implication of what he had said registered in her head.
"I have not betrayed you or Sonny. I swear it!" Sam stated forcefully as she looked Jason directly in the eye.
"Then you need to explain some things to me Sam. It looks like you are a traitor to the organization right now and you know what happens to traitors."
"I'll tell you anything you want to know." Sam told him intently. She continued to look him directly in the eye while speaking to him.
Jason nodded and put down the knife. He made sure it was still within easy reach. So far his plan was working. She was cooperating with him and he needed to keep that going. He needed to show her he was really willing to listen and consider what she was saying. Putting down the knife lowered the fear of imminent harm but by keeping it in reach he was reinforcing to her that he had complete control of her fate.
Suddenly an image of Robin being tied to that chair appeared in his head. Her terror shone by the deathly pallor of her skin. Her eyes pleaded with him to help her. Jason jumped up so suddenly that the chair he had been sitting in overturned. He had to clear his head so he went into the kitchen. Not knowing what else to do he opened the refrigerator door and peeked inside. The change in scenery was enough to help him regain control of his emotions. Once again he pushed everything else out of his mind and continued to be the cold, hard enforcer of Sonny Corinthos.
Sam had started to relax a little when she saw Jason put the knife down. She was beginning to think that he would really listen to her explanation and would see that she was not the traitor that he thought she was. When she watched him jump up like that and go into the kitchen she became afraid again. From where she was sitting it appeared as though Jason were fighting voices in his head. She could only hope that the voices weren't telling him to kill her. Her restraints were too secure for her to get out of right now so she couldn't mount an effective physical resistance. She needed to rely on her brain and find a way to convince him that she was on his side, that she was not a threat.
A moment later Jason closed the refrigerator door. Sam saw that he was holding two diet sodas in his hand as he returned to the living room. He certainly looked much calmer now and she was hopeful that he had regained control over the voices in his head. She wasn't sure how long the control would last and figured she better convince him fast!
"Are you thirsty?" Jason asked her as set the sodas down on the table. He returned the chair to it's normal position and sat down.
"Yes." Sam said as he nodded her head in affirmation.
"If I loosen your right hand will you behave?" Jason asked her.
"I promise." She assured him immediately.
Jason watched her carefully. He could almost see the thoughts running through her head right then. She would most definitely be trying to decide if she could effectively mount a rescue attempt with only one hand freed. He watched her mind speed through the calculations and reach the same conclusion that he had. Jason had a knife, both guns, and superior physical strength and was not hampered by any restraints. They both knew that she had no real chance of escape. By bringing her a soda and then loosening a hand so that she could drink it, Jason was lowering the level of fear that she was feeling. He was giving her an incentive to cooperate.
Sam watched Jason retrieve a length of rope from her bag in the closet. Like most others involved in the higher levels of mob activity, Sam had a well stocked "go bag" which she could grab at a moment's notice and contained the items she used most often while on assignment. It had been a friendly tip from Jason that prompted her to have a second "go bag." He told her that he kept one in his apartment and one in his suv and she immediately recognized the wisdom of that and had done the same.
Within a couple of minutes Jason used the length of rope to allow Sam enough movement of her right arm that she could drink her soda while still being fastened to the chair. She was disappointed that he had not completely released her arm. On the other hand, she knew that it made sense from a tactical standpoint. While the restraints were firm, they were not painful and she was glad for that.
"Here you go" Jason told her as he handed her an open soda. He remembered just before he handed it to her that she would be unable to open it herself.
"Thank you." Sam told him as she took the soda. She really was thirsty and was thankful to have the cold soda to drink right then.
"How do you know Detective Spencer?" Jason asked her once he returned to his chair.
"We met about six months ago. He and Robin were playing a game of pool while she was waiting for Patrick to show up. At first I didn't know he was a cop."
"What is the nature of your association with him?" Jason asked her. It briefly dawned on him that he might be beginning to speak like Spinelli. He pushed through that discomforting thought and continued his interrogation of Sam.
"We are kind of dating." She told him quickly. He recognized it as the truth but not the whole truth. There was more and he wanted to know what it was. He had to know what it was. His and Sonny's futures depended on him getting all the information from her.
If he allowed himself to feel anything at this point he knows how awful he would feel. It takes a special kind of monster to threaten a bound woman with a knife. However, it was do it this way or Sonny would insist she be asked the questions another way and they would not just threaten to hurt her. He was only threatening. She did not know that. If he had any doubts at all about that, they were allayed when he saw her stiffen again when he picked up the knife.
"I assure you Samantha that now is not the time to trifle with me. Tell me the truth, the whole truth or we will have to go to the hard way." Even Jason is surprised at the coldness in his voice as he utters this statement.
Author's Note: I hope you are continuing to enjoy the story. Many of you have added this story as a favorite and I really love that. Thank you very much. Please be sure to submit a review on each chapter. I love to find out what you think of each step as this story progresses.