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Just a short note:
Don't worry, the story is finished :-) and there will be regular updates, probably twice a week.
Chapter 2:
Staring down at the prone form of Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, Claire stood there silently for almost a full minute, allowing all the grief and hate in her heart to seep to the surface before she finally heaved a deep sigh and carelessly wiped the dried tears from her face.
Bending down she opened her backpack and pulled out two pieces of thin red rope. Briefly pressing her fingers against Steve's neck the woman nodded sharply when she found a strong pulse for she had no intention of killing her victim right now. No, she had other plans for the man in front of her; she was intent on making him suffer the same way she had suffered all those past years.
Completely ignoring the heavily bleeding wounds on Steve's left temple and on the back of his head she took one of the ropes and wrapped it tightly around his ankles. Then, with a complete lack of gentleness, she rolled Steve's limp body onto his stomach, tying his hands up behind his back.
Clearly satisfied with her work she quickly searched Steve's pockets, stowing away his car key as well as his cell phone in her backpack before she slung the bag over her shoulders.
Taking a deep breath Claire grabbed Steve's bound feet and started to drag him along the small path. It was a hard and arduous task to move the motionless body, even more so because Claire's shoes sank deeply into the mud with every step she made, but the woman was determined to reach her goal. Slowly walking backwards she breathed heavily from the exertion and after about fifteen minutes she had finally reached the small clearing she had been heading for.
Wiping the sweat from her face Claire knelt down, letting her hand travel through some loose brown soil directly in front of her until she'd dug out a metal plate. Curling her fingers around the edge of the plate she pulled forcefully and the plate turned out to be the lid of a buried metal box of about three by three by five feet.
Pensively staring into the empty box a small sad smile played around her lips but it quickly disappeared when she heard Steve breathe out a low moan. Turning her attention back to the unconscious man by her side she noticed a faint movement behind the still closed eyes.
Losing no time she jumped to her feet, pushing and pulling forcefully until Steve's body ungracefully toppled into the narrow box, not caring that he landed uncomfortably on his bound wrists. The wound on his left temple was still bleeding sluggishly, painting a gruesome mask on McGarrett's face before the blood ran down his neck and into his dark blue top. Large parts of his body, of his clothes and even of his hair were covered in a more or less thick layer of mud.
After a few moments of silence there was another pained moan and Claire could see McGarrett's eyelids hesitantly fluttering open. Unfortunately the woman was familiar enough with Navy SEALs to know that even tied up and barely conscious, Steve could be dangerous to her. If she wasn't careful her entire plan could be capsized in the blink of an eye.
Quickly rummaging through her backpack, Claire made a small step back out of Steve's reach. Right now the man didn't seem to be capable of trying anything – obviously the task of opening his eyes and focusing on his surroundings was an effort almost too tremendous – but better safe than sorry.
"Stay where you are," Claire said coldly when Steve's bleary gaze finally settled on her. Pulling a small black and yellow taser out of her backpack she crouched down near his head, prepared to do everything necessary to keep the man under control.
"Who… who are you?" Steve asked hoarsely, swallowing laboriously and blinking slowly as he stared at her in confusion and anger. "What do you want from me?"
His head was spinning and he had trouble concentrating on anything other than the agonizing pain that spread from his left temple through his entire skull. Calling his vision blurry would have been the understatement of the century and if anyone had asked, Steve would have sworn that there were at least two identical women talking to him. Only belatedly he noticed that his hands and feet were bound and that he had been squashed into a box too small for him to stretch out completely.
Struggling weakly against his bonds Steve tried to get his feet under him but the restricted space inside the box and the heavy dizziness he was experiencing made it almost impossible to move his body at all.
"Don't move!" Claire exclaimed forcefully when she noticed his intentions, her shrill voice sending spikes of pain through Steve's consciousness.
"What do you want?" he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut in a vain attempt to block out the pain and to clear his vision. The dizziness retreated a tiny bit but now he was slowly becoming aware of all the other parts of his body that hurt apart from the agonizing headache. Having his hands tied up behind his back made his shoulders scream from the unusual angle they were forced into and the added pressure of lying on his hands didn't help at all to soften that pain. Trying to wiggle his fingers to check the bonds Steve gritted his teeth when a sharp pain rushed through his arm and feeling the sickening crunch in his right wrist he instinctively knew that at least one of the bones was broken. His ankles were throbbing mercilessly in sync with his heartbeat and when he looked down he could see bloody scratches under the mud that covered his bare legs.
"What do you want?" Steve repeated, clearing his throat as he let his unsteady gaze travel over the woman next to him, trying to find a way out of his misery.
Closing her eyes for a short moment, Claire took a deep breath before the expression on her face became cold and hard. "I want you to suffer the same way I did," she whispered slowly, her bright green eyes burning in her pale face. "I want you to experience the same pain I have been in constantly over the last ten years."
"But I don't know you…" Steve uttered, blinking in confusion because the pounding headache made it really difficult to concentrate on her words. Even if the woman looked vaguely familiar to him he had no idea who she was or what she was talking about. The only explanation he could come up with was that she was obviously mentally ill, a fact that made her probably even more dangerous. Tensing his muscles, McGarrett gathered all of his remaining strength, ready to put everything he had into one desperate move to overcome her.
"No, but you knew my son," Claire cried out, her voice half angry and half sad. Noticing Steve's efforts to get up her face contorted with hate and in one swift move she raised her right hand that held the small taser.
Steve tried to shrink back when she approached him but his body just didn't obey his wishes and even if it had, the metal wall that pressed against his back would probably have blocked any movement.
Gritting his teeth McGarrett menacingly growled deep in his throat when Claire pressed the device against his neck but his resistance was futile. For a short moment he was sure he saw a hint of regret flickering in her elusively familiar green eyes but then she blinked once and the next thing he felt was an all-consuming, white-hot pain. He held his breath when all the muscles in his body involuntarily cramped but he couldn't prevent the agonizing groan when the back of his head connected painfully with the sharp edge of the metal box he was in. A gray veil slowly clouded his already restricted vision, seconds turned into hours when his muscles started to tremble from the ongoing strain.
And then all the pain was gone from one moment to the next when Claire finally removed the taser and his body relaxed exhaustedly. His breaths came in fast, shallow gasps and Steve blinked feverishly against the darkness that threatened to take control over his mind. But obviously he had hit his head harder than he wished for because his eyelids slowly closed on their own and everything around him gradually faded away into nothingness.
He never saw or heard the metal lid close over him with a deafening bang that reverberated ominously through the deserted forest.
Throwing one last hateful glance at Commander McGarrett's unconscious form, Claire forcefully slammed shut the lid before she started to meticulously seal the metal box. After having checked that everything was tightly locked she turned around and without looking back she grabbed her backpack and left. She didn't even bother to cover the box with soil, confident that the clearing was far enough away from the regular path for any hiker to find it.
It was barely fifteen minutes later when Claire reached the parking lot, relieved to find no other cars beside her own compact car and Steve's dark blue Silverado. Pulling the stolen car key out of her backpack she opened the door and climbed into the passenger's seat of the pickup truck, not caring at all that her shoes left behind a huge trail of mud inside the vehicle. Forcing open the glove compartment a satisfied smile crept across her lips when, as expected, she found McGarrett's SIG-Sauer P226.
Quickly stowing away the weapon she let her gaze travel across the empty parking lot, making sure that there were still no other people around. Throwing a look at her watch Claire smiled contentedly when she noticed the time. It was five minutes past seven; everything went almost exactly according to plan.
The smile on her face grew even bigger when she took Steve's cell phone and swiftly started to type a message. After having hit the send button the woman pocketed the phone and slowly exited the truck, carefully locking the door behind her.
Taking a deep breath she slowly headed toward her own car, tiredly dropping down into the driver's seat. There was plenty of time before she needed to put the next step of her plan into action and Claire allowed herself a few minutes of rest.
A single tear slipped down her cheek when she thought of everything she had lost and she could feel hate and grief struggling for supremacy in her heart. Choking back a sob, she angrily wiped away the tears and her green eyes sparkled dangerously when she started the engine and left the parking lot.
(tbc)
Sorry for another short chapter - I promise the following chapters will be longer.
Have a great time, see you in a few days...
