And a new chapter for you all. By the way, if you feel like it, check out a story called Dear Diary, by a writer called Zeiloo. Very good. Leave them some review love. And me :o)

Disclaimer: see chapter one, plus, title from this chapter taken from Christina Aguilera's Mercy on Me. No profit made.

Warnings: Well, Jim is taking revenge, so, I guess you can imagine what will follow. More or less.

Chapter 13: God bless the man that I have scorned

Nancy York was the first one on Jim's list. It had only taken him a little research to find out the woman's first name. Sebastian had found her in a matter of hours and brought her to the basement of Jim's house in the country. Nobody would hear her scream.

When Nancy woke up from the blackness that had hit her suddenly, she found herself bound to a pole in the middle of a cellar. She was on her knees, with her hands and feet tied to the pole as well as a cord around her neck that fixed her head to it. The cord was tight; breathing proved difficult. She looked around. Nothing was there. Nothing but the tall blonde man watching her. She recognized him. He had been sitting in the train next to her, reading Men's Health and listening to his Ipod. Both had gotten out at Clapham Junction. And then- nothing. Her head hurt. He must have knocked her out. She felt panic coming over her. He must have been one of those perverted people, who kept women as slaves in their basement. This can't be happening.

Now, the man smiled, "Nancy York. Pleasure to meet you. My name is Sebastian Moran, and I will be your host for tonight."

Nancy did her best to sound brave when she asked, "What do you want from me?"

Sebastian tilted his head, "What can you offer me?"

"Money."

"Is that all? I don't need money. Look at my suit." He cocked an eyebrow. "Is that all?"

Nancy had to admit it was. She had nothing else to offer. "I… I… That's all." She lowered her gaze. "Please, don't hurt me. I have a family."

"Is that so?" Sebastian sighed. "I have no family. Well, I do. But I got disowned."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Nancy muttered. "Why?"

"Dishonourable discharge from army. I… had special ways of interrogating people, which some people thought were… out of line. But don't worry. I got myself a pretty good alternative to family. A good friend."

Nancy had no idea what the man was up to, but she had dealt with a lot people, and she had found out that some killers- and she was sure the man opposite her had killed people- found it hard to murder someone if there was some sort of a personal connection established. And she knew right now that was the only thing she could do. "Friends are good. I have friends too."

"Oh, yeah, I know. Joel Johnson, Harry Cooper, Matthew Durkan, Joshua Taylor and Christian Carlisle, right?"

"How do you…?"

"Research. Great bunch of people, I hear. Stick together no matter what. I have a friend like that, too. I'd do anything for him. I'd even go as far as die for him."

Nancy felt less at ease with every word the man uttered, "That's… loyal. I'm sure he's a lucky man."

"Not lately, no. Been through a bit of a rough time. But I'll fix that." Sebastian licked his lips, got up from the chair and moved towards her. He sat down in front of her and caressed her cheek.

She flinched, but couldn't shy away from the touch due to the cord around her neck. "Please… don't."

"Don't what?" Sebastian run his hand over her top, down to her skirt, letting his fingers wander over her knee. Finally he slid his hand under the skirt. "Do you want me to stop?"

"Please…" She could feel the first tears dwelling up in her eyes. "Please, I beg you…."

"You know what? I won't do it. I might let somebody else do, it though… What do you say, boss?"

Nancy's eyes darted to the corner of the room that was in complete darkness when she saw a movement. And then she screamed.

Jim stepped out of the shadows. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt, tie. Hands in his pockets, he walked over to Nancy, still limping a bit. "Hullo, Mrs York. Do you remember me?"

Tears were now flowing over her cheeks, and she was shaking, "No. Not you. Not you. No. Please not."

"Oh, are you scared? I'm sorry I frightened you." He remained standing next to Sebastian. "But remember, I told you I look quite dashing in a suit. Even if I have to admit it fitted me better before I was starved. Don't you think I look good?"

She was now sobbing, "Please… please… Oh my God…."

Jim rolled his eyes, "Get a grip on yourself, damn it. You were much more fun when you thought you were superior to me. But well, I guess being at the complete mercy of another person shows the true strength of character. Sebastian, would you mind taking your hand away from there?" Sebastian did. "Thank you. Now, Mrs York… I gave you already a taste of what I am capable of. Christian barged in and interrupted us…"

"No… no… please not, please don't do this to me…."

Jim shooed Sebastian away and took his place, looking straight into Nancy's eyes, "Did you tell your friends that? Did you say, 'Please, don't do this to him' when they planned on raping me?" She shook her head. "Why? Because it didn't matter to you, right?" She nodded. "Are you worried? About what it will be like, living with this shame?" Again, she nodded. "Did you ever, for a split second, think about what it would be like for me? Did you try to stop them?" She shook her head, now weeping. "At least you're honest." He now proceeded to slide his hand under her skirt, ignoring the wailing that it elicited. "Are you regretting it? That you insulted me? Said I was disgusting?" She nodded again. "And you still feel the same about me? Oh, how I would love to pound you, knowing I repel you so much. It would give me real satisfaction." His hand moved closer to her panties. "What do you say; shall we just get over with it?" His fingers were only an inch away now. "You know what?" Half an inch. "I won't do it. Just because I can." He brushed her thigh, just slightly, when he brought his hand back and stood up again. Nancy had a crying fit now, screaming hysterically. Jim walked back to the corner where he had been hiding earlier, passing Sebastian, who had waited patiently, leaning against the wall. "Are you still interested, Seb?"

Sebastian shook his head, "I don't like the begging type. Unless she would be begging for me, of course."

"You could try and make her beg for you."

Sebastian grinned, "Nah, really not. Look at her. Pathetic."

"Agree." Jim turned his head, watching the sobbing figure one last time. "Make it hurt, Sebastian. Make her scream for me."

"I'll make her sing for you, boss."

"And make sure the face remains flawless. I want to send her head to someone special."

Jim remained in his armchair for the whole session. He watched indifferently how Sebastian made Nancy scream, all the while whistling Twisted Nerve. That alone was quite unnerving for Nancy. She screamed, she begged him to stop. But Sebastian just shook his head and continued, acting like it was the most natural thing in the world. Jim had to admit that watching Sebastian work was like a masterpiece the greatest painters in the world couldn't have created. He moved with the grace of a tiger and attacked with the ferocity of one. At some point, Nancy was just hanging in her bonds, too exhausted to even cry, her nice dress covered in crimson blood.

Sebastian knew they only had a few more minutes. So he got up, walked over to Jim and held out a knife to him. "She's all yours, Jim."

Jim took the knife from him, "Thank you, Sebastian. You've been great." He looked at the knife and walked over to Nancy. There he knelt down and murmured, "Any last words? Something you want to tell your husband and children? I'll be sure to deliver them. Along with your head."

She sobbed, her voice barely audible, "Please… don't…."

"Okay, I'll put that on the note. Last words to the family, 'Please don't '."

"I love them."

He smiled, "Much better. Try to not contort your face too much. We don't want Cassie, Myra and George to see how you suffered." He brought his lips close to her ears. "Don't worry, you're not going to be alone for a long time. Your friends will follow." With that, he rested the knife on her left breast, and drove it into her flesh, slowly. She only squeaked. Jim watched the blood flowing from the new wound. Watching life leaving the body of Nancy York. He had to swallow. She had laughed at him, had tried her best to make him feel bad. He had stopped her laughing. Just like he had done with Carl Powers. Nobody would ever laugh at him again.

He left the knife sticking in her heart when he got up again. "One down. Sebastian, I will leave the next four to you. I'm busy making plans. Once you get Matthew though, I want you to bring him here and call me."

"Of course, boss." Sebastian looked at him. "Do you feel better now? At least a bit?"

Jim shook his head, "No. I imagined it would be more satisfying. I guess revenge isn't everything. Revenge cannot wipe away scars." He shrugged, "Oh well. Doesn't mean I'm not going to take revenge, though. Make sure the head is delivered to the Yorks as long as it's still fresh."

"Of course. I'll be in touch." Jim gave him a smile and left the cellar. Sebastian watched him walk away and sighed. He had hoped that killing Nancy York and tormenting her family would be enough to put his boss back on the right track. But as much as Jim was trying to hide it, the things he had suffered through had affected him. The whole pain lay deep beneath the cold surface, and a simple torture session could not make the pain go away. Sebastian walked over to his travel bag, rummaged through it and brought out a saw. He hoped that, when it was finally Matthew's turn to die, Jim would finally feel better. Sebastian would hurry up, killing the other four. He couldn't watch Jim suffer like this anymore.

Ashes, Ashes, all fall down...