Twenty minutes passed before the amorous couple finally wrapped up business. The whole time, Shawn had done his best to focus on the sounds of the waves and the muted blast from distant ships. Some things just couldn't be drowned out though. Though by no means a prude, his face still felt hot by the end of their little interlude. Or maybe it was just wind-burn. Actually, now that he thought about it, his whole body was starting to feel a bit warmer. He'd stopped shivering at any rate. He supposed, if Gus were here, he'd tell him something about early onset hypothermia or something. Personally, Shawn couldn't give a damn. In fact, he felt he could just drop on his side and take a nice nap…
He jerked as something crushed his hand. Shaken violently from his stupor, Shawn ground out a curse as he pulled back his hand from beneath Andrew's heel. Behind the behemoth, Erin stood, smiling sweetly. "Oh my gosh, I totally lost track of time! You must be freezing!"
Shawn could hardly move, much less put up a fight as Andrew reached out swiftly and clasped both his wrists in one giant paw. Erin, meanwhile, had produced a key, and swiftly removed the manacle from his ankle.
"You know," she continued, smiling benignly, "I really wanted to keep you out here till the tide rose. But Andrew insisted you wouldn't last that long. He can be such a party pooper, can't he?"
Shawn abstained from responding, choosing instead to study every move the couple made as he was hauled roughly off his feet and carried, like a sack of grain, to the waiting truck. He clenched his teeth together as Andrew dropped him into the box. Unfortunately, he'd managed to land on his left side, and his shoulder was protesting the move, loudly. There wasn't time to wallow in pain, however, as Andrew produced a roll of duct tape and skillfully bound his wrists and ankles.
"You k-know... that's g-g-gonna hurt like a b-b-bitch when you t-tear that o-o-off again."
Andrew didn't respond, but Erin smiled at the suggestion. "Sounds stimulating. But trust me, I have far more exciting activities in mind. Sweetheart, you are just going to love it!"
Shawn wasn't certain if she was addressing Andrew or himself, but either way, he really didn't like where this was going. Andrew had finished with the tape on his limbs, and he used a final piece on Shawn's mouth. That accomplished, he grabbed a heavy dropcloth and draped it over Shawn's body. Through the fabric, Shawn could hear the two walking back to the cab and getting in. A moment later, the engine kicked over angrily, shaking the frame of the truck. A minute later and they were on the move. Though blessedly cut off from the wind, the metal beneath Shawn's back was still cold. And he was shivering worse than ever. He knew it would take more than getting off the beach to restore his body heat, and the drop-cloth just wasn't up to the task. The canvas over his head rippled as the truck drove onward. However, Andrew must have secured it well, because it remained firmly in place over Shawn's body. That didn't prevent him from trying to kick it off though. If he could just manage to get out from under it somehow… and if he could catch the notice of another driver… or a pedestrian… And then the truck suddenly slammed to a stop, throwing Shawn into the front of the box. He heard the driver's side door open, and heavy footsteps walk around to the back. The tailgate dropped down with a squeal and a bang. Then, a hand grasped his ankles from beneath the canvas and yanked him backward. The canvas flipped back, and Shawn had just seconds to curl away as Andrew began beating him with his fists- striking him furiously… and without a sound. Andrew wasn't particular where he struck, but he seemed to favor Shawn's exposed right side. At one point, Shawn heard a dull crack, and hot pain shot out from the point of impact. He tried to scream, but his cries were muted through the tape over his mouth. This seemed to satisfy Andrew, however, as the attack stopped immediately after that. The canvas was secured again, and the tailgate slammed back into place. Shortly after that, they were under way once more. Shawn could only lie in the same position, breathlessly stiffening his body as the truck rumbled down the road. That snap he'd heard had to have been a rib… and having cracked a few in his lifetime, that sort of pain wasn't a stranger to him. That didn't mean he hurt any less through familiarity though. That was like saying dinner with his father became less awkward because it happened regularly.
… Actually, that was a bad example. Lately, dinner with dad HAD gotten a little less tense. Shawn wasn't completely sure, but it seemed to have been around the time he'd solved the case his dad had asked him to work on. Wow, had THAT been out of the blue! Seriously, he'd never have thought his dad would ever, in a katrillion years, ask him to help him do anything… much less in a professional capacity. And the expression on Henry's face when he…
The truck came to a stop, cutting off Shawn's musings mid-ramble. He tried to slide away from the tailgate, but the least bit of movement left him breathless. Instead, he decided to lie extremely still and allow Andrew to rip away the tarp and grab his ankles again. He really wasn't looking forward to this next part. However, before he could be moved farther, Erin appeared at the back of the truck. Shawn was more worried about the expression of glee that she wore than the sight of Andrew cracking his knuckles. Erin hauled herself into the back of the truck and flipped her sun-kissed hair over her shoulder. If anything, her grin grew larger. "Hey babe, how was the ride?" Without warning, she reached out and tore away the tape on his mouth.
"Gaahhhh-crap! You know, I've been told that can severely damage the delicate skin on the lips. And trust me, in spite of our experiences together, I still plan to use mine again… on someone else… preferably someone sane…"
Erin ignored his protests, patting his lightly on the cheek. As she slid out of the truck again, she shot him another disturbing smile. "Sorry, but I just didn't want anything to get in the way."
Shawn frowned. "Get in the way of wha… AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" He screamed as Andrew ripped him from the truck and threw him to the ground. For the second time in as many minutes, he felt himself frozen in pain. However, he was given no time to recover as Andrew pulled him off the ground and dropped him on his enormous shoulder. This time, he couldn't even whimper… it just hurt too much. Through hooded eyes, he saw a look of disappointment flash through Erin's eyes, and for the first time since second grade, he felt the urge to punch a girl. Trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his side, Shawn examined everything within his vision. The truck was parked in a dirt lot at the back of a shabby split-level. There was a paved street at the end of a short drive, and Shawn could just make out the back of an x shaped sign, and a set of railroad tracks beyond it. Then, Erin was back in his line of sight, and her palm was swinging towards his face. He jerked back, but her nails still raked his cheek.
"I suggest you keep your eyes down… or lose them."
Shawn worked his jaw, shutting his eyes tightly. "With that sort motivation how could I possibly argue?" Of course, she hadn't said anything to him about using his other senses. He could still hear the ocean, meaning they couldn't be far from the coast. And there was the steady rumble of traffic, meaning the interstate couldn't be far. And he could smell Italian… probably a pizza delivery place; a regular restaurant wouldn't start their dinner menu until later in the day. He heard a door open, and then they were proceeding inside. He hazarded a peek and saw Erin closing the heavy oak door. As she turned back around, he screwed his eyes shut quickly. He heard them walk across a large, thickly carpeted room. There was another door at the opposite end, which required a key to open it. A flip of a switch, and they were headed down a flight of wooden stairs, each one squeaking distinctively. There was yet another door at the bottom of the stairs, and another lock. On the other side of the door, the temperature dropped a few degrees, and Shawn started shivering almost immediately. He hadn't even noticed when his body had begun to warm up. He heard the hum of fluorescent bulbs coming to life, and then he was roaring through clenched teeth as his body was dropped, again, to the ground. This was getting way, way old.
"Let me guess", he gasped when he could finally talk. "This is where you b-bring in the thumb screws right?"
Erin giggled from somewhere to his left. "Oh, thumb screws are so 'Godfather' don't you think? Trust me, I can be far more creative than that. Oh, and you can open your eyes now."
Shawn opened his lids slowly, breathing shallowly to minimize the movement of his ribs. It didn't really seem to be helping much. It did confirm his side of a debate though… intense pain in one area… really didn't make you forget pain in other areas. In spite of the line of fire burning across his midsection, his face still ached miserably. Gus definitely owed him five bucks- he had this theory beat. A glance at Andrew had him quickly altering his choice of expression. Beat wasn't a word he even wanted to think around that guy. Noticing his look, Andrew grimaced. Or… wait… maybe it was a smile. It was really hard to tell in this light. A pair of bare feet walked into his line of vision, and Erin was by his side once more. She'd removed her coat, revealing a dark shirt and jeans still peppered with sand.
"Sweets, could you get set up? I want to hit the shower fast before we get started. Oh, and if you get done in time, you can join me!" She trailed her finger along Andrew's jaw. Then, giving Shawn a heated glance, she walked from the room. Now Shawn was certain Andrew was smiling.
"Dude, you gonna wait on that? Seriously? You know, I could just leave you two alone and-AAAAHHGGGGG!" Andrew's boot felt like it went all the way through to the other side. He wasn't exactly grateful it was the opposite side from his busted rib… but he was pretty sure he'd be bawling if it hadn't been. Andrew stepped over him and walked a few feet to the left. He heard something heavy being shifted around, and then Andrew was back. Shawn bit his lip, stifling his cries as best as he could as he was manhandled upright and dropped into a wooden chair. Producing a large knife, Andrew sawed through the tape at his wrists and ankles. Shawn was just preparing to kick the gorilla in his throat when he felt something pointy at his jaw line.
"I just remembered, you're kinda feisty… and I wouldn't want the fun to start too early." Whispered Erin close to his ear. Andrew hadn't even paused in his work, and Shawn was soon bound to the chair with more tape at his ankles, and a pair of handcuffs trapping his wrists behind the wooden chair back. As soon as he was secured, Erin removed the small blade and walked around to the front. "You just relax for a bit… you need a break. Andrew and I will be back later. If you need us for anything… just give a shout." Winking, she took Andrew by the hand and led him from the room.
Shawn just wanted to curl up; the position he was in pulled agonizingly at his side. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to relieve it. Instead, he decided to employ the same coping method that he used when Gus started describing the new oral acne medication on the market. An image of the Hawaiian coastline firmly in place, Shawn began to study his new digs. Straight ahead were two more rooms, dividing up the basement. Both had their doors firmly shut, so he could only guess at what they contained. However, judging from the pipes running across the ceiling, it was a fair bet that the right-hand room was a bathroom. On his right side was a locked cabinet, and Shawn suppressed a shudder at the sight of it. It screamed "toy closet". There was a drain in the middle of the floor, the drain guard removed leaving just a hole. Images of large rats and insects started to invade his inner luau, so he quickly turned his head to the left… and gasped in astonishment. A small table stood where he'd first come in… and on it, its plastic casing aged and stained, sat a phone!