Author's Notes: And we're back to Jules for this chapter, and of course more Jules whump. Things are going to heat up with the next couple of chapters so I hope you continue to enjoy it. Thanks for the wonderful reviews; they mean the world to me. WARNING: This chapter contains rough language (including the F-word) as well as difficult to read conversation and scenes, but it doesn't get too graphic.
Disclaimer: The show Flashpoint and its characters were created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and belong to them and the networks who air the episodes. Since the show has ended, our only way of getting new Flashpoint is through fan fiction. This story is my attempt to help fill the void, and the only profit I make is the warm fuzzy feeling reviews give me. Anything that does not come directly from the show is my own creation and should not be used without my permission.
Break Out
Chapter 7
Jules wasn't sure what bothered her more. Her wrists that hurt from the way the plasti-cuff was digging into her skin so that her hands felt swollen and tingly from being confined so long. Her ribs that protested every breath she took; she was pretty sure they were only bruised or maybe cracked instead of severely broken since she was able to breathe normally, but the knowledge didn't lessen the pain any. Her jaw that ached both from the roll of gauze jammed awkwardly into her mouth and from the repeated blows she'd endured. As bad as all that felt when she shifted her position on the floor slightly, she realized she really did know which injury was the most painful: her leg.
After first realizing she had pieces of shrapnel piercing her leg earlier, she'd avoided really paying attention to it, not that she'd really had time to focus on her aches and pains. She'd learned as a small child that not looking at an injury made it easier to push the pain aside. It was as if not paying attention to a wound made it almost disappear. It was a trick that had come in handy at times in her adulthood as well, especially at times like now when she was injured on the job but still had to focus on the task and not the injury.
Now, sitting on the floor trussed up like a turkey, she finally had no choice but to acknowledge she was hurt and nothing but time to check out how badly. She looked down at her leg. The dots of blood she'd first noticed had spread a little but not as much as it would have if the shrapnel wasn't still sticking in her leg. She couldn't help but think about how agonizingly painful it was going to be when a doctor finally got around to picking out the shards, which varied in diameter from the size of a really small sewing needle to a quarter inch screw. She couldn't help but wonder if she would survive to reach the point of a doctor being able to treat her.
Stop it, Callaghan, she mentally shook herself. No getting morbid just because you are hurting, scared, and in a bit of a pickle. You're tougher than that. You'll do whatever you have to do to survive and you'll trust the team has your back.
With the team in mind, she glanced back toward the door. By now, surely Barrett had gotten Parker to safety. The team would know where she was being held, who they were dealing with, and were probably making a tac plan. She knew they couldn't just storm in, even though she secretly wished they would. It would be too dangerous to her and the other hostages if they did. But they would plan something and they would be close.
A slight movement at the door caught her eye and her breath caught in her throat. There was no mistaking the snake cam that had been slid under the door. The team - Sam? - was right on the other side, closer than she'd even hoped. Unbidden tears fill her eyes. Help was so close she could practically taste it. She wished there was some way she could signal whoever was on the other side, give some indication she knew they were there and feed them information. She was helpless to do anything though.
She turned her head away from the camera. As much as she wanted to hold on to that tenuous connection she had to her team, she didn't want Bear, Dog, or Snake, the three that had paid her the most attention, to look over and wonder what she was staring at. Sure enough, Bear was coming back toward her. He knelt beside her and checked to make sure she was still tightly bound and gagged. He noticed the tears in her eyes and wiped them away with his thumb. Jules flinched at the touch, not because the motion hurt but because every touch from one of these monsters made her wonder if they were finally going to give in to those urges to do more than just hurt her.
He chuckled. "You scared of me? You should be; I could break that pretty little neck without much effort at all. I could do the same to practically every bone in your body. I'd enjoy it too. I can hurt you so much that you'd beg me to kill you just to put you out of your misery. Right now, Dog just wants me to watch you and made sure you're good and shut up. That's what I'll do. You don't have to worry about anything else though. Dog put me in charge of you for a reason. He knew I wouldn't disobey him."
"Bear, come here a moment." Dog called out.
Jules looked over to him. The phone had been hung up so the team wasn't hearing anything anymore. The leader of the group was pacing back and forth, looking increasingly agitated. Jules knew that kind of agitation was dangerous, made him more dangerous. There was nothing she could do to try to calm him down though. The gag made negotiating with him impossible. Bear moved away from her obediently. Her eyes followed him. She had to pay attention to the two of them, try to listen as much as possible so she knew what they were planning.
She was so focused on the two of them, that she practically jumped when a hand shifted her hair, playing with the ragged end that had been cut off by Dog's makeshift weapon. A throaty chuckle filled her ear. "Scared ya, did I? Good, you should be scared of me."
Her stomach twisted. Snake. She'd hoped after Dog had busted him in the nose, he would finally give up on her. She should have known someone like him would only be more drawn to his target the more he was denied it. Something wet touched her cheek where she'd been cut. She realized it was Snake's tongue as it licked the injury. A hard shudder ran down her spine.
"Don't let Bear fool you. The idiot isn't that obedient. He ain't tried anything with you because you ain't his type. That's the reason Dog put him in charge of you. He knew he could trust Bear not to even want to touch you when he couldn't even trust his own restraint. Fool don't know what he'd be missing out on. Maybe once he sees the rest of us having our turn with you, he'll change his mind."
With him being behind her, she couldn't really see what he was doing, just shadowy movement in her periphery. She didn't want to turn her head to get a better look, not wanting her face any closer to him. She felt him shift slightly. His fingers tugged slightly at the neck of her t-shirt, slightly exposing her neck. Then his mouth closed in on the area at the base of her neck. A couple of his teeth sank into the skin as his mouth started to suckle.
Every fiber in her body wanted to squirm away, but she forced herself to remain absolutely still. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. When he finally pulled away, she was pretty sure she'd have a rather large hickey there as evidence. She wished her hands were free, her feet, her mouth, wished she had some way to fight back. Given the opportunity, she would make him regret ever even thinking about putting his hands or mouth anywhere on her.
She figured at any moment, Dog or Bear, or even any of the others would look over and notice that Snake wasn't doing what Dog had commanded. She didn't want to depend on her captors for protection but she'd take the help however it came. Snake didn't seem worried about being seen.
"Don't worry about them." Snake urged as if reading her mind. "After seeing me being punched by Dog, none of the rest of these guys will even look in your direction. They don't want to risk his anger since they want you about as much as I do. And since they saw Dog almost lose it over you as well, they know you're too dangerous to even look at. That gag'll keep you from distracting Dog and Bear from their work trying to get us out of here. Too bad though. I get off on the screams and the begging as much as I do the sex."
While he was talking, his hands were far from idle. They had found the soft swell of her breasts and were squeezing them roughly. His thumbs kept brushing over her nipples through the material causing them to involuntarily stiffen. Jules closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about who might be manning the snake cam right then and what he was probably thinking watching her being manhandled in such a way. She knew no matter how much the person would want to rescue her from this torture, they couldn't do anything without jeopardizing everyone. Part of her hoped it wasn't Sam; she didn't want to put him through that kind of pain. At the same time though, she didn't relish the idea of anyone else witnessing her humiliation.
She felt him shift position. Without stopping his slow torture, Snake moved from kneeling behind her to straddling her legs. Fortunately, he kept his weight off her legs but he was still close enough to her that she could feel an increased pressure on the shards embedded in her leg. He was also close enough that she could once again feel his arousal. She opened her eyes again, the look flashing in them pure venom. Snake merely laughed.
"Look at you, looking at me like you want to tear me to shreds. I bet you probably could too if'in you weren't all tied up like you were. I ain't see someone look at me with such fire since the night I fucked three generations in one night. I'd already had the woman, a pretty little brunette much like yerself. She kept begging me 'my child, my little girl.' Hell, I thought she was making me an offer; who was I to turn her away? Wasn't the first time I'd ever done a kid but she was definitely the youngest, hadn't even started to grow her some tits yet. I don't know who screamed louder, the kid or the mom. Just got me harder. Then the granny came in and well, hell, couldn't leave her out, could I? Might have been a mistake though; I'm pretty sure the mama was the one who gave the coppers my description and got me arrested. I guess she figured I screwed her so she'd screw me back. But somehow I think having you might beat even that hat trick. I can't wait to find out."
His squeezes of her breasts switched to hard pinches of her nipples as his mouth once more found her neck. For the moment, she was glad to have the gag that kept him from plundering her mouth the way he'd tried to do the first time he'd tried to attack her. He licked and suckled the area at the base of her throat, right at the pulse point. She was screaming curses at him but the gag muted the sounds to mere grunts. He moved slightly to the right to an area just above her clavicle. It was probably the most sensitive spot on her neck. Though Sam was always careful not to leave marks, he'd quickly learned that kissing her right in that same spot Snake was now attacking with a vengeance would have her reduced to putty in his hands in no time. It made her sick; though her body wasn't reacting to Snake's slobbery attack the way it would to Sam's sensual kisses, he was making a mockery of everything she held dear with the man she loved.
Despite being bound and gagged, Jules fought back as best she could, forgetting any earlier resolve to remain stoic. She squirmed and bucked, doing everything she could to dislodge his mouth from her neck, his hands from her chest, his body from being anywhere close to her. Even if she couldn't do successfully rid herself of him with her limited mobility, she at least planned on making it as difficult on him as possible.
A couple of the imprisoned guards shouted out protests, having just noticed what was happening to her. The reaction was swift. Bear was back to her side in just a couple of long strides. He grabbed Snake's neck with one of his beefy hands, pulling him backwards. Snake's teeth scraped against her skin as he was wrenched away.
Jules looked up at the large man, grateful the attack had been stopped however the help had come. The large man's eyes never left her face as his hands made one swift moment in opposite directions. With a quick snap of Snake's neck, Bear then released the man, letting him drop to the ground right beside Jules. Her would-be attacker stared up at her with lifeless eyes.
A scream of horror welled up from deep within her soul but was swallowed whole by the gag. She shook her head, not quite believing she'd just watched a man be killed right in front of her. She'd seen people die before, had even been the one to pull the trigger to end someone's life, but it had never seemed as brutal as this. Bear knelt beside her on the other side and grabbed hold of her hair and gave it a jerk.
"Told you I could snap a neck without any effort. Look at you, looking at me like I've done something horrible. Maybe you were enjoying the attention he was giving you. Don't worry though 'cause soon enough you'll have more than you can handle. If he could have kept it in his pants until Dog gave the go ahead, I wouldn't have had to kill him. It whatn't like he wasn't warned to stay away from you. Idiot should have listened. Not like you were worth getting killed over. Let it be a lesson to you. I halfway liked him but that didn't stop me for offing him when he didn't listen to directions. Imagine what I could do to you if you make the same mistake."
A litany of curse words bubbled up from within and only the gag kept her from spewing forth every vile name she'd ever heard or could think of. She was glad that the attack had been stopped, but nobody, not even someone as vile and heartless as Snake, deserved to die so brutally. She was shaking all over and she wasn't sure how much of it had to do with the shock of what Snake had been trying to do or with witnessing his murder.
Apparently satisfied that his point had been made, Bear released his grip on her hair and stood again. He stalked off back to where Dog had watched everything that had happened without protest or encouragement. Alone once again, Jules found herself drawn once more to Snake's lifeless body. Even in death, he felt like a threatening presence. She shuddered again and forced herself to look away from him. Her eyes then traveled to the door as if to seek the reassurance that the snake cam, and through it her team, was still there.
A couple of tears ran down her cheeks only to be caught by the gauze bandage holding the gag in place. The camera was still there. Help was still so close. She wondered who was on the other side of the camera, who had witnessed what Snake had tried. Again she felt torn. She didn't want to put Sam through the pain of helplessly having to watch her be manhandled in such a way but couldn't stand the thought of anyone else, not even her dearest friends, seeing her in such a way. She knew she'd done everything she could to stop what had happened, knew she wasn't to blame for what he'd tried, knew none of her friends would think less of her, but it still embarrassed her that anyone had seen it.
She knew her teammates saw her as an equal when it came to the job. As much as she might have had to fight and work her ass off to get her place on the team to start with, she'd more than earned it. She'd proven that she was just as capable of doing the job as any man could. She was good at her job - period, not just good for a girl. Snake's treatment of her, the threats that Dog had implied would happen to her if they got out of this building, were just freaking blinking reminders that she was different from the rest of the team, had different threats that faced her on some calls that wouldn't happen if it had been one of the guys in her position. She hated that almost as much as she hated feeling Snake's mouth on her neck and his hands on her breasts.
It didn't matter that she knew her teammates wouldn't treat her differently because of what had happened. Sure, they would be worried and concerned, not to mention outright furious at the treatment she'd been put through. But it wouldn't change the way they saw her or her ability to do the job. They loved and respected her too much for that. Yet, she would be reminded of the differences between her and them for awhile and she would hate that feeling for much longer than she'd sport the bruises of the day.
The phone rang. Though Dog had talked on the phone a couple of times since returning the receiver to its base, this was the first time a call had been initiated from the outside. It was probably Sarge, having been alerted to what had just happened. She could imagine the barely controlled worry in his voice when he asked if everyone was okay, wanting to know but not wanting to give away his secret knowledge that everything was not okay. He'd once again try to negotiate the release of the hostages without letting on that there was no chance in hell that anyone was going to let these dangerous men out of prison. She didn't envy his job. Negotiations of this sort were always difficult, knowing and caring about one of the hostages only made it even harder.
"Hot damn. I knew you'd come through. We'll be ready." Dog hung up the phone, looking almost gleeful.
Jules was confused. What the hell had Sarge told him that would make him that happy? It didn't make sense.
"Get ready." Dog warned them. "Our ride will be here in about five minutes. We're getting out of here. I told you it would work."
"The cops are giving us the vans?" One of the inmates asked, starting to sound as excited as Dog himself, although his excitement was tinged with a little suspicion.
"Hell no. That was Lenny, my friend from the outside laundry services, the one who was supposed to have the van waiting when we set off the explosives. He'd gotten tied up at one of the other buildings, some sort of lice infestation or some shit that he had to get special instructions on. That's why he wasn't there. Because the place has been on lock down since this all started, he's been stuck where he was. Now that the stupid cops are convinced the problem is here only, he's been given clearance to leave. He's gonna swing by and we'll get in the van and he'll drive us right out of here. The cops won't even know what's happening. They'll still be scratching their heads wondering how to get their friends out and we'll be long gone."
No! Jules wanted to scream. This wasn't supposed to happen. The team was supposed to work out a way to get them out. The camera could pick up images but not sound. The team had eyes but not ears in. They would see them if they left the room but they wouldn't know what was happening. There wouldn't be time to come up with a plan to turn things around. She refused to believe the bad guys would win this one. It couldn't happen; her life and the lives of the captured guards depended on Team One working through a solution.
"Hey Dog, they really gonna let Lenny just drive right out of here without checking the vehicle?"
"Of course they are. I told you, they already cleared Lenny. They trust him. Why would they suspect him of harboring escaped fugitives? Besides, if they do search, they'll see us threatening to kill their co-workers. The guards at the gate ain't those think-they're-smarter-than-us SRU type cops, they won't risk their friends' lives by trying to be heroes. They'll let us go just to save them."
One of the inmates looked around the room. Jules could tell he was silently counting and trying to figure out how they were all going to fit inside one van. "We're taking them all with us?"
Dog nodded. "Yeah, they all go with us just so we can get past the gate if the guards do give us static. Once we're out and safe, we'll dump the guards somewhere." Jules noticed he didn't specify whether the guards would be alive or dead when they dumped them. She had a feeling it would more than likely be the latter rather than the former. Dog crossed the room and leaned down toward Jules. He grabbed her uniform shirt and pulled her to her feet. He pulled her close. "Except for her that is. I've got plans for her. Once I'm through with her, then the rest of you can have a go at her. Then once we've all gotten our fill of her, we'll think about letting her go. If she's still alive that is."