p class="p1"span class="s1"Disclaimer: I don't own 5-0./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p3"span class="s1"Chapter Five/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Leilah woke dazed and confused to the soft rocking of a boat. It took her a minute to clear her mind and recall the events of the night. She remembered being beaten by Delicious and her cronies, making it back to her room and collapsing on the bed. That was the last she remembered. Her heart began to race as she realized she was not where she was suppose to be. Whatever had happened must have happened while she was unconscious./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Not wanting to alert any captors to her being awake, she slowly opened her eyes just enough to make out her surroundings. She was indeed in a boat, below deck in some dingy cargo area. The sway of the waves gently rocked the boat and made Nicole's head sway. She could feel her face swollen where Delicious had kicked her and feel the bruises dotting her back and abdomen. She had also been stripped down to her bra and panties, though they had left her stilettos on. Odd, she thought./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" She felt the solid thump of the boat hitting the dock and tensed. Footsteps moved around topside and voices drifted down, though Leilah couldn't make out what was being said. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" The door to the cargo area suddenly opened, filling the small space with moonlight. A big burly man came down the stairs, too big to stand up straight, and seized Leilah by the hair. She cried out at the sudden pain. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "No funny business," The man's cold, hard voice whispered in her ear. He yanked her up the stairs and onto the deck where was smaller man was waiting in the starlight. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Keep her quiet," The smaller man ordered. "We don't need any curious eyes."/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Before Leilah could make a sound, the burly man clapped a strong hand over her mouth so tightly, she could feel bruises forming along her cheeks. Heart still pounding and tears forming in her eyes, Leilah forced herself to look around, to notice details so she could either escape or find a way to get word to Danny and the others. She already knew Malia wouldn't care and probably didn't even know she had been taken./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Leilah looked around, quickly absorbing details she could make out in the starlight as they made their way up the dock. The boat they had arrived on was small, just a recreational boat so they couldn't be far, probably one of the smaller islands to avoid being detected. They were in a secluded area, probably a private beach, that was lined with trees and dense foliage. Leilah also tried to glimpse the stars to see if she could tell where they were based on the constellations, but they had reached the trees and the night sky disappeared in the branches. They walked through the dark on a footpath for half an hour before a worn down house came into view. Though they hadn't lit any lights to get here, the lights in the house were lit and Leilah could see several figures moving in the windows./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" She caught sight of the numbers on the house, cracked and faded, before she was hauled inside. 713. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Inside, the living area had been emptied out and a crowd of people filled the area. A circle had been left untouched in the center of the room that everyone seemed to be hovering anxiously around. Leilah noticed at least six other people like her, stripped to their underwear and restrained by others. Several of them were covered in bruises and dried blood. One guy had a particularly nasty black eye and his arm bulged oddly; it was probably broken./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" The burly man holding Leilah passed a wad of cash to a slender man in a sharp suit with slicked hair. The man grinned and stepped into the circle, causing the crowd to fall silent./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Welcome, ladies and gentleman," The man's oily voice was quiet yet full of authority. "Glad you all could make it out this evening despite last months…unfortunate accident. Rest assured that we've taken every precaution in security and the police have no leads."/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" He must be talking about the bodies found that put Leilah on the case. Leilah had to force away thoughts of Starla being in the same place as she found herself now./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Let's get right down to it, shall we?" The man paused as several people cheered and hollered. "First up tonight, let's pair the new girl," He gestured to Leilah, then tapped his chin thoughtfully, "With Gimpy here." He gestured to the man with the broken arm. "Let's find out how good she is." The crowd cheered as the burly man holding her pushed Leilah into the circle. The man with the broken arm stepped forward, holding his broken arm close while he kept his eyes on Leilah./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm not going to fight you," Leilah's words were mostly drowned out by the crowd. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You have to," The man mouthed. "We don't have a choice."/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" With that, he lunged forward, catching Leilah off guard and bringing her to the ground. The crowd erupted just like the pain in Leilah's stomach. Choking back a sob, she threw her arms up just in time to block the man's punches. He only struck with his good arm but Leilah could tell he was good. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You have to fight," The man breathed between punches. "Give them a good show and they won't kill you. Just give them a good knock out and it will be over. If they don't get a good show, you get a beating."/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Leilah didn't want to fight, didn't want to hurt this man that was obviously in enough pain already, but she had to stay alive until Steve and Danny could find her. She had to survive long enough to figure out how to get these people out alive. Timing her strike, she waited until the man raised his fist for another blow before she lashed out, aiming her own punch at his broken arm./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" The man howled in pain and rolled off her. Boos and cheers came from the crowd. They must be placing bets on the fighters. Nicole rolled and came into a crouch, watching her opponent closely. He took several breaths before lunging at her again. She rolled to the side and sprang back up, her adrenalin keeping her balanced even on her stilettos. The man rushed her again, but she sidestepped and brought her elbow down on his back. He collapsed and Leilah quickly finished with a punch to his head, knocking him out. Better to end his misery quickly and keep him alive until they could be rescued./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" After Leilah's win, she fought two others before she was paired with a strong looking woman with fierce eyes. As soon as the match started, she knew she was outmatched. The woman was fast and mean. She quickly brought Leilah to the ground. Leilah fought with all her might, struggling to get away from the woman. As she squirmed and kicked her way away, the woman grabbed her ankles and pulled her back, ripping a stiletto off her foot./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" A blinding pain shot up Leilah's leg. The woman had shoved the stiletto into her calf. Tears ran down Leilah's cheeks as the woman stood above her. With a deadly glare, the woman brought her foot down on the injured leg. With a scream of pain, Leilah's vision blurred and her consciousness faded./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p3"span class="s1"Chapter Five/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Leilah woke dazed and confused to the soft rocking of a boat. It took her a minute to clear her mind and recall the events of the night. She remembered being beaten by Delicious and her cronies, making it back to her room and collapsing on the bed. That was the last she remembered. Her heart began to race as she realized she was not where she was suppose to be. Whatever had happened must have happened while she was unconscious./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Not wanting to alert any captors to her being awake, she slowly opened her eyes just enough to make out her surroundings. She was indeed in a boat, below deck in some dingy cargo area. The sway of the waves gently rocked the boat and made Nicole's head sway. She could feel her face swollen where Delicious had kicked her and feel the bruises dotting her back and abdomen. She had also been stripped down to her bra and panties, though they had left her stilettos on. Odd, she thought./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" She felt the solid thump of the boat hitting the dock and tensed. Footsteps moved around topside and voices drifted down, though Leilah couldn't make out what was being said. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" The door to the cargo area suddenly opened, filling the small space with moonlight. A big burly man came down the stairs, too big to stand up straight, and seized Leilah by the hair. She cried out at the sudden pain. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "No funny business," The man's cold, hard voice whispered in her ear. He yanked her up the stairs and onto the deck where was smaller man was waiting in the starlight. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Keep her quiet," The smaller man ordered. "We don't need any curious eyes."/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Before Leilah could make a sound, the burly man clapped a strong hand over her mouth so tightly, she could feel bruises forming along her cheeks. Heart still pounding and tears forming in her eyes, Leilah forced herself to look around, to notice details so she could either escape or find a way to get word to Danny and the others. She already knew Malia wouldn't care and probably didn't even know she had been taken./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Leilah looked around, quickly absorbing details she could make out in the starlight as they made their way up the dock. The boat they had arrived on was small, just a recreational boat so they couldn't be far, probably one of the smaller islands to avoid being detected. They were in a secluded area, probably a private beach, that was lined with trees and dense foliage. Leilah also tried to glimpse the stars to see if she could tell where they were based on the constellations, but they had reached the trees and the night sky disappeared in the branches. They walked through the dark on a footpath for half an hour before a worn down house came into view. Though they hadn't lit any lights to get here, the lights in the house were lit and Leilah could see several figures moving in the windows./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" She caught sight of the numbers on the house, cracked and faded, before she was hauled inside. 713. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Inside, the living area had been emptied out and a crowd of people filled the area. A circle had been left untouched in the center of the room that everyone seemed to be hovering anxiously around. Leilah noticed at least six other people like her, stripped to their underwear and restrained by others. Several of them were covered in bruises and dried blood. One guy had a particularly nasty black eye and his arm bulged oddly; it was probably broken./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" The burly man holding Leilah passed a wad of cash to a slender man in a sharp suit with slicked hair. The man grinned and stepped into the circle, causing the crowd to fall silent./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Welcome, ladies and gentleman," The man's oily voice was quiet yet full of authority. "Glad you all could make it out this evening despite last months…unfortunate accident. Rest assured that we've taken every precaution in security and the police have no leads."/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" He must be talking about the bodies found that put Leilah on the case. Leilah had to force away thoughts of Starla being in the same place as she found herself now./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Let's get right down to it, shall we?" The man paused as several people cheered and hollered. "First up tonight, let's pair the new girl," He gestured to Leilah, then tapped his chin thoughtfully, "With Gimpy here." He gestured to the man with the broken arm. "Let's find out how good she is." The crowd cheered as the burly man holding her pushed Leilah into the circle. The man with the broken arm stepped forward, holding his broken arm close while he kept his eyes on Leilah./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm not going to fight you," Leilah's words were mostly drowned out by the crowd. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You have to," The man mouthed. "We don't have a choice."/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" With that, he lunged forward, catching Leilah off guard and bringing her to the ground. The crowd erupted just like the pain in Leilah's stomach. Choking back a sob, she threw her arms up just in time to block the man's punches. He only struck with his good arm but Leilah could tell he was good. /span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You have to fight," The man breathed between punches. "Give them a good show and they won't kill you. Just give them a good knock out and it will be over. If they don't get a good show, you get a beating."/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Leilah didn't want to fight, didn't want to hurt this man that was obviously in enough pain already, but she had to stay alive until Steve and Danny could find her. She had to survive long enough to figure out how to get these people out alive. Timing her strike, she waited until the man raised his fist for another blow before she lashed out, aiming her own punch at his broken arm./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" The man howled in pain and rolled off her. Boos and cheers came from the crowd. They must be placing bets on the fighters. Nicole rolled and came into a crouch, watching her opponent closely. He took several breaths before lunging at her again. She rolled to the side and sprang back up, her adrenalin keeping her balanced even on her stilettos. The man rushed her again, but she sidestepped and brought her elbow down on his back. He collapsed and Leilah quickly finished with a punch to his head, knocking him out. Better to end his misery quickly and keep him alive until they could be rescued./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" After Leilah's win, she fought two others before she was paired with a strong looking woman with fierce eyes. As soon as the match started, she knew she was outmatched. The woman was fast and mean. She quickly brought Leilah to the ground. Leilah fought with all her might, struggling to get away from the woman. As she squirmed and kicked her way away, the woman grabbed her ankles and pulled her back, ripping a stiletto off her foot./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" A blinding pain shot up Leilah's leg. The woman had shoved the stiletto into her calf. Tears ran down Leilah's cheeks as the woman stood above her. With a deadly glare, the woman brought her foot down on the injured leg. With a scream of pain, Leilah's vision blurred and her consciousness faded./span/p
p class="p2" /p
