Chapter 14

Kelly walked up the gravel drive to the little shack and banged on the door three times in quick succession.

Their painfully obvious secret knock.

The door cracked open, revealing Fred's scowling face.

"Get inside." he ordered. He opened the door and stepped aside to let her through.

Kelly pushed past him and walked inside. She immediately sensed that something wasn't right. No one else was here.

"So, you didn't tell us you were an amateur photographer." Fred said casually, shutting the door.

Kelly willed her panic to not show.

"What?"

Fred gave her a forced smile.

"I think you know. Come on, I have someone who wants to talk to you."

Kelly paled. Had they been seen?

Fred grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her across the room. Once farther inside, she noticed a man standing behind some crates that she had personally stacked.

Peralta.

Kelly hitched a breath. She was in a great deal of trouble. She suddenly realized that in her exhausted stupor, she had failed to call Sabrina and Jill to tell them where she was going. Was she now going to pay for her careless mistake with her life? Fred yanked her towards him and then halted, her arm gripped tightly in his hand.

Peralta stood up and smiled at her as he approached them.

"So. Who are you, really?"

Kelly put on a charming smile.

"I'm Kelly." she said innocently.

Peralta delivered a brutal slap to her face. Kelly's head whipped around and she nearly lost her balance before righting herself again.

"Don't play with me. Who are you?" he snarled.

"Hey, I'm just a girl trying to make a buck, that's all. What's going on?" she said fearfully, still playing innocent.

Peralta struck her again, the blow sending her to the floor.

"You have one last chance. Are you a cop?" he asked, standing over her.

Kelly cowered on the floor, shaking in feigned fear.

"No, please sir, I'm not a cop." she said quickly.

Peralta turned to look at Fred, her convincing performance having raised doubts in him.

That was what Kelly had been waiting for.

She shot her foot up and connected solidly with Peralta's groin. He gasped in pain and came crashing to his knees. Kelly's foot shot out again, her heel slamming into his Adam's apple. Peralta let out a strangled wail and sank to the ground.

Kelly scrambled to her feet and bolted for the door. Her only obstacle was Fred.

He reached out and grabbed her jacket as she ducked around him. Kelly whirled around and slammed her knuckles into his eye, earning her a shrill scream of pain from Fred. When he didn't release her, she sent another quick punch to the side of his head. He cursed loudly, but managed to keep his hold on her and sent a fist flying in her direction. Kelly easily dodged it and threw her hip into him, using his momentum to send him flying over her shoulder and to the floor.

Before she could resume her escape, something hard and heavy smashed into the back of her head. Bright lights exploded in front of her eyes as she felt her legs give out from under her.

Kelly crumpled to the floor, stunned by the heavy blow.

Her mind spinning, she desperately tried to get up, but found that she couldn't. Someone pulled her off of the floor. She was dragged to a back room and pushed into a chair.

Half conscious, she struggled weakly against her attackers, trying to free herself, but it was no use. Her arms were pulled behind her and her wrists roughly lashed together behind the chair. She felt her legs pull back as her ankles were secured tightly to the bottom rung of the chair. She was trapped.

Someone slapped her face just hard enough to get her attention.

"Hey, don't go to sleep. Right here." he said, jerking her chin up to face them. Kelly struggled to focus her eyes. Her head was throbbing and she could feel blood trickling down her neck.

She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to get her double vision to clear. He slapped her again.

Deciding she was lucid enough to understand him now, the man leaned his face into hers.

Kelly's vision focused enough to realize that it was Peralta.

"Nowhere to run." he said with a cocky grin. He snapped his fingers in her face. "Look at me."

Kelly glared at him.

"That's better." he said pleasantly. Kelly could now see his ugly face clearly in front of her. She couldn't help but be pleased with how raspy and harsh his voice sounded. If only she had kicked him harder.

"Now, tell me who you are."

"I already did." she muttered.

Peralta backhanded her hard across the face. Kelly tasted blood in her mouth, but gritted her teeth through the pain.

"Wrong answer." he hissed at her. "Try again."

"Kelly." she answered angrily. Peralta slapped her.

"I know that much. Your last name." he said, tilting her chin up. "It would be a shame to damage this pretty face of yours any more."

"Kelly Garrett." she said softly. What did it matter if he knew her name?

Peralta patted her shoulder. "Now we're moving in the right direction. Now, Kelly Garrett, what are you really doing here?"

"I've been working here." she answered. Peralta hit her again.

"Kelly, you're starting to test my patience." he said calmly. "Are you a cop?"

Kelly worked her jaw, trying to alleviate the soreness where she had been hit.

"No."

Peralta sighed. "Why were you spying on me? Who do you work for?"

Kelly smiled at him. "Well, until a few minutes ago, I worked for you. Obviously, I'll be quitting now."

Peralta shook with fury at her facetiousness. He slammed his fist into her midsection over and over again, mercilessly pounding her until she couldn't breathe. Kelly groaned in pain, but refused to answer his question. When his fit was over, he walked away from her, his hands laced over his head, trying to decide what to do.

Kelly watched him, a twisted grimace of pain on her face. Her breathing was harsh and uneven, it hurt to inhale deeply. Peralta might hurt her, but she was no stranger to abuse. It was her friends she was worried about. She had to buy time for Sabrina and Jill. If she had been seen, then so had they. Hopefully, she could find a way out of this. She wasn't sure how much more punishment she could physically take. She licked her lip, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth. Her nose and lower lip were both bleeding, sending a trickle of blood down her chin and she could feel her left eye starting to swell, diminishing her vision. Kelly took a deep calming breath. Peralta had apparently decided to take a break and she was glad for the temporary relief.

Her relief turned out to be very temporary. Fred walked into the room and made a beeline for Peralta. It was a small consolation to Kelly to see that he was limping.

"There's three of them. I think they're undercover cops. Giorgio said he saw them drive off in an orange Pinto and a white Cobra." Fred said quickly. "He staked out the Pinto for awhile. Tried to get them both in a parking lot, but they got out of the way in time."

Kelly stiffened as she heard him describe her friend's vehicles and apparent close encounter. They had been seen in the parking lot exchanging information. She cursed herself for not being more careful.

"An orange Pinto?" Peralta echoed in disbelief.

"Yeah, I guess only two of them have class." Fred joked.

Peralta ignored him. "What did the girl driving the Pinto look like?"

Fred shrugged. "Tall, thin brunette, dressed nice."

Peralta cursed loudly.

"I think I know who she is. Damn, right under my nose the whole time." He punched his fist hard in frustration. "Tell Tom to take care of her." he said to Fred. Fred nodded and hurried away.

He turned his gaze to Kelly. She was unnerved by the way he was looking at her. It was the look of a cold blooded killer and she bravely accepted her fate. She tensed as Peralta walked back up to her.

"A cop, huh?" he said, roughly shoving her head backwards. " I know where one of your friends is now. Where can I find the other one?"

Kelly clenched her jaw, determined not to give her away.

"Tell me, and maybe I'll let you go." Peralta said casually.

Kelly scoffed. No, he wouldn't, she wasn't stupid.

At her continued silence, Peralta smacked her on the side of the head with his open palm.

"I'm waiting!" he yelled in her face. "Where is your little blonde friend with the Cobra?"

"I don't know." Kelly answered defiantly. Peralta hit her hard. The force of the blow sent Kelly's chair tilting sideways on two legs for a moment before crashing back down to the floor again.

"Tell me!" he shouted again. He was rapidly losing his patience with her.

Kelly glared at him and kept her mouth shut.

He took a deep breath, reigning in his temper.

"Kelly, don't be stupid." he reasoned in a softer voice. "Would she really do the same for you?"

Kelly smiled. Probably, she thought to herself.

Her grin enraged him and backhanded her viciously across the face again, straining a muscle in her neck as her head whipped sideways. He grabbed her hair and yanked her head up, leaning in close to her.

"Where is she, Kelly?" he asked in a sugary voice, his rage barely suppressed.

Kelly defiantly spit blood in his face.

Peralta jerked back in disgust and wiped his face, his hand trembling in fury. "You'll pay for that." he seethed at her.

"It'll be worth it." she whispered harshly.

Peralta's face darkened and he sent blow after blow to her head and shoulders, wailing away at her in a rage. After awhile, he stepped away and took a deep calming breath, leaving her beaten and panting in her chair. He stepped outside and returned a few moments later with a long piece of heavy metal pipe.

"Ok. One more time. Where is your friend?" he said wearily.

Kelly looked up at him, hardly seeing him through her swollen eye. At the sight of the pipe, her stomach turned. She was terrified, and channeled her fear into anger.

"Go ahead and kill me with that. You coward!" she snapped.

Peralta ignored her.

"Now, Kelly. You do know what members of the Italian mob are known for right?" he asked, tapping the pipe ominously in his hand.

Kelly thought for a moment.

"Their spaghetti?"

Peralta swung the pipe at her left knee. She screamed in agony as it smashed into her kneecap with a sickening crack.

"Kelly, you can walk out of here if you just tell me where to find your friend." Peralta said coolly. He pushed the pipe into her face, taunting her.

Kelly glared up at him, trembling in pain. "They'll probably find you before you can find them." she spat at him.

Peralta swung the pipe again at the same knee. Kelly twisted and thrashed in her chair, writhing in agony and moaning through her gritted teeth.

"Start talking, Kelly." he sang. Kelly glared at him murderously, her breathing shallow and ragged as she fought to compose herself against the unbearable pain.

She opened her mouth and cursed him loudly.

Peralta lunged forward, grabbed her shoulder and raised the pipe high. Kelly cringed as she waited for him to crush her skull with the heavy piece of metal. She was surprised when the fatal blow didn't come. She opened her eyes as Peralta released her, breathing heavily and sagging with relief.

Peralta lowered his weapon and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. He dropped the pipe, letting it clatter to the cement floor.

"You know what? I'm not going to kill you just yet." he said, a slow smile spreading across his face. "I'm going to wait until I have your blonde friend here. And then I'm going to kill her first. And you're going to watch me.

He leaned his face close to hers. "It won't be slow either, Kelly." he whispered in a patronizing tone. "She'll have you to thank for that."

Kelly's temper suddenly flared at his continued threats on Jill's life, and despite her pain, she jerked her head forward, butting Peralta solidly in the face. He jerked backwards in surprise and let out a string of crude curse words as he savagely grabbed her by the throat. Suddenly, as if he just remembered his earlier threat, he again released her and stepped away, having learned his lesson.

He smiled sweetly as he straightened his jacket, all trace of his previous rage now gone. "You'll be begging for me to kill you before I'm done with your friend."

Kelly looked away, still waiting for the pain in her knee to subside.

"We're already going to take care of Sabrina Duncan." he sneered at her.

Kelly's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't look up.

"That's right." he said. "You can wait in here while we find her."

He dug in his suit pocket and pulled out a large handkerchief. He rolled it up and roughly forced it into Kelly's mouth, securing it in a tight knot behind her head. Peralta reached out and stroked Kelly's hair, eyeing her lustfully. She jerked away from him in revulsion.

"When I come back, maybe me and you will have some fun." he said pleasantly. "We'll talk later, Kelly." He patted her on the cheek and walked calmly out of the room, closing the door behind him. She heard him lock it.

Kelly sighed in relief. At least her physical torture was over for the moment. She was frightened for her two friends. They knew about Sabrina and she prayed that her friend would escape whatever fate they had set in store for her. And hopefully, they wouldn't even find Jill.

She had to somehow get free and warn them before it was too late.

She tested the ropes around her wrists and ankles and was dismayed to see that they were hopelessly tight. She would never be able to loosen them. And moving around was causing her far too much pain. Her entire body ached. She lowered her head in defeat. Several drops of blood dripped down into her lap from a cut above her right eye where Peralta had split the skin with his fist. I must look like a mess, she thought grimly.

She gingerly moved her leg and gritted her teeth as hot searing pain shot through her left leg. He had probably fractured or cracked her kneecap. She took several quick breaths, trying to calm herself down.

After strugglingin vain for a few more minutes, her exhausted body could try no longer. Unable to keep her eyes open, Kelly rested her chin on her chest and felt herself slowly fading into unconsciousness.