The nagging urge of having to pee woke Jenna up from a dead sleep that night, and she groaned to herself as she struggled to turn over on the rather uncomfortable cot. It had been a constant battle of being unable to get comfortable while she tried to remind herself it was better than sleeping on the floor. Being the type of sleeper who would, unaware, sprawl out completely to take up the entire bed's space, the cot made this near impossible, and whenever she would allow for her arms or legs to hang off of the edge, she would grow too cold, and retract them back and stay hunched in a small ball under the blanket. Now, as she slowly opened her eyes, her bladder burning, she realized quickly how sore her back and neck had become, and she closed her eyes tightly as she forced herself to sit up. A shock of pain ran up her back and lingered on her neck, and as she reached her left hand up to place it on the back of her neck she reached behind her to search for her knife with her right. Once her fingers found it, she placed it in the pocket of her sweat pants and stood up to head over to the door.
She slowly eased it open and peered outside of it. The lights up ahead were dim, barely illuminating the space in front of her, and her eyes wandered over to the left to look at Bane's closed door. When her eyes roamed back over to the right, however, she noticed two of his henchmen, who had been sitting on a torn couch of sorts, had turned and were glaring directly at her. She tried to ignore them –she wasn't doing anything wrong– and she finally stepped out of the chair room to start over to the stairs.
"Hey!" One of the henchmen yelled as they both stood up quickly from the couch, their giant machine guns clutched in each of their hands. They sprinted to the stairs, and Jenna instantly grew furious when one of them reached out to take a firm hold of her upper arm before yanking her down on the stairs. "Where you think you're goin'?" The man who had her arm asked, and he ignored her angry glare.
"The bathroom," Jenna retorted rudely as she glared into his eyes. "You mind?" She raised her eyebrows as she dropped her eyes down to her arm, and the man glared at her before he finally let go of her arm to point a finger directly into her face.
"You have three minutes," he told her, and Jenna rolled her eyes before she started up the stairs to head down the hall. The glowing green exit sign above to the door to her right caught her attention, and as she walked past it she turned her head slightly to look at the door. No, she thought to herself. There's no way it would be that easy... Would it?
Thoughts of escape had long ago left her mind, but as she walked past the door, she had to wonder... it was so close, and it really would be easy. Due to that day she had seen the area of the building, all she would have to do is run out of it and take off into that field, where there were plenty of areas to hide as she made her way toward the river, where once she crossed it would be a free run back into town. It was possible, and she knew she was more than capable, but at the same time there were too many factors that held her back.
Where would she go? She frowned as she pushed open the bathroom door, and she sidestepped the hair that remained under and near the sink as she headed toward the toilet next to the shower. Her parent's were dead, and it would make sense she would retreat back to her house to hide, wouldn't it? Bringing Rodger into any of this was out of the question, and wandering the streets was the first thing that would cause her to be dragged right back here.
But how much longer could she go on like this? As she struggled to fall asleep that night, memories and future worries flooded her brain. Bane's constant questions toward her not only confused her, but concerned her. Why did he care to know them? It freaked her out, to be honest. Here was this large, intimidating man, who was capable of tearing down an entire city, and yet he went out of his way to spend time with Jenna, and ask her questions that nobody else had ever cared to wonder. It made her feel like he had some sort of trick up his sleeve, or like if she was to give him a wrong answer, her death would come sooner than expected.
But the problems on her side were even more terrifying. Why did she always catch herself staring at him. Not in fear, and not completely in anger anymore, but rather in... interest. Jenna growled to herself as she flushed the toilet now before stepping over to the sink, and she planted her feet in front of the hair before she leaned over to wash her hands, surprised there was even soap in the dispenser. Her mind wandered back to Bane now, and she pictured him in that tight black shirt again... It was difficult to process, and her actions only made her furious with herself, but she couldn't help but to at least look. It was as if some unrecognizable force made her do it whenever he was around.
Escape made sense, though at the same time, it didn't. What if she was to try; if she failed and was brought back, would Bane kill her then? "Killing you would be a waste, and if I didn't keep you here you'd run and do something stupid", Bane had told her earlier. If she did run, would killing her still be a waste? Would his frustration overpower these odd feelings he had been dealing with and make him do it anyway? Was he referring to her dying for running as being the 'something stupid' he had mentioned earlier?
Regardless of these thoughts, however, the urge to try would not leave her, and as she stared at her ugly reflection in the mirror, her black hair that still smelled strongly of the dye thrown in her face, she thought about the good that would come of it. First and foremost, she would be away from Bane. If she truly succeeded she would no longer have to fight for her life. She could leave Gotham, somehow, and live her life the way she wanted. With further thought, it started to make sense to her that Bane wouldn't go after her or want her dead anymore. He had said it himself, he didn't want her around. So if she was away from him, or dead, what was the difference? She had no desire to go to the authorities. Those people were never any help, and if anything Bane would be expecting her to do that as well. But she wouldn't. She would leave, never to be heard of again, and everyone could get on with their lives. Bane had access to her father's weapons now. She had done his favor, and she knew she was good for nothing else toward him. Escaping made sense, and it seemed right now would be her only chance...
She slowly eased open the bathroom door and peered down the dark hallway. At the foot of the stairs in the basement, she could hear those same two henchmen talking and laughing about something, and her heart began to race as she slowly stepped out of the bathroom, not bothering to close the door. It would be close, for the second she would even touch the door those two goons would be chasing her outside. She would have to run in a direction they would not expect... she would have to take off around the corner and run off the property in an awkward location, but she could do it, even with bare-feet. And if she did die trying... well...
She swallowed, unsure about how she felt about that. She didn't want to die, she was still firm on that, but at the same time, would anything be better at this point than living the way she was now... with Bane? Bane was wrong on so many levels when he told her her situation was better than a Hell on Earth. Like hell he could read that in her eyes; he was just making up stuff, he had to be. But as Jenna continued to creep down the hall, approaching the door, it was now or never. So regardless of her thoughts, it was a last second, brainless decision as she instantly turned on her bare heel to lunge toward the door, the men shouting behind her as they started up the stairs, the weapons ready to be fired.
She threw open the door, her heart threatening to burst out of her chest, and the air was bitingly cold as she stepped onto the small concrete porch. Her eyes detected nothing as she grabbed the railing with one hand before she swung her legs around the iron to land firmly on the ground, four or five steps below, but just as she took her first running step forward, an arm obstructed her, and she gasped as the limb pulled her back toward a body.
"Whoa!" Came Isaac's voice as he let go of her to turn her around, and Jenna's eyes went wide as she glanced up to the him, his body and face illuminated by the dim lights over the two opened garage-like doors, and she noticed a cigarette was in in between his lips. "Leaving so soon?"
She was unable to answer for two reasons: one, she had no idea what to say, and she was shocked when Isaac stuck a cigarette in between her own lips. Before she could remove it, he held the lighter up to it, and she inhaled before she grabbed the cigarette to take from her lips just as the door above her burst open, and she jumped as she turned to watch as the two henchman jumped down the stairs.
"Hey, hey," Isaac said as he held up his own hands, his cigarette in between his fingers, and he stepped in front of Jenna. "What's goin' on?"
"She was runnin' away!" One of the thugs accused as he took another step forward, but Isaac held his ground, and everything started to spin as Jenna watched the odd situation unfold.
"We saw her!" The other one chimed in as he pointed at her with his gun, and she flinched as she took a step back, her heart still going at a million miles a second.
"You saw her comin' out for a smoke," Isaac lied. "With me," he added.
"Man that's bullshit!" The man who had pointed the gun at her exclaimed as he lowered it to spin around to look in the opposite direction, obviously frustrated.
"Isaac, we're all getting sick of you defending her. I saw what I saw. There's no way you invited her out here."
"About ten minutes ago I went down there to invite her out, and I told her to come if she wanted. Took her a while, but she did. You wanna go to Bane with this? At three in the morning?" Isaac went on, and surprisingly Jenna's heart started to slow as she started to calm down some. How weird...
The two henchmen continued to stare at him, their expressions giving Isaac his answer.
"Didn't think so," he went on as he lifted his cigarette to his mouth to take another hit, and he nodded at the door as he exhaled. "You're dismissed," he added a second later with a small grin.
They continued to glare at him a moment longer before they finally turned to head back into the warehouse, going through the garage-like doors as they mumbled to each other, and Jenna let out the breath she had been holding when she heard a door slam. Isaac turned to her now, and he grinned at her.
"You're welcome," he said simply as he turned to start over to the doors. Jenna watched him go for a minute before she stepped over to him.
"Why did you do that? And don't give me any of that Bane's orders shit."
Isaac shrugged as he took another hit. "Bane's orders," he said anyway. "He wants you alive, here, so alive and here you will stay," he added in a cheery, matter-of-fact tone of voice. Jenna continued to stare at him until finally Isaac rolled his eyes. "And," he went on. "You're fucked by this point if you leave. Consider this a favor. Those two would have blasted your head off in a fuckin' heartbeat, and if you did get away, you'd be hauled right back and die anyway. You're so desperate to live right? So why leave?"
Jenna was still staring at him, completely thrown off by his actions. He was still following Bane's orders, but at the same time he had just done her the kindest favor anyone had done in a while. "Why not leave?" She asked him now, she couldn't help it. "It's hard being here. Everywhere I go everyone wants to kill me. It couldn't get worse..." she shook her head as she tucked her hair behind her ear, and she let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes when the strand fell back into her face. Isaac was grinning as he stared at her.
"Cutting and dying your hair isn't the end of the world, you big baby," he went on. "Sometimes life throws you a bad hand. You gotta man up and play the game anyway."
"Easy for you to say," Jenna said. "You're like... the second in command here. If they aren't listening to Bane, they're listening to you."
"And it took me a long time to get to that point, it wasn't all rainbows and butterflies when I was ta... when I came here here," Isaac returned, tripping over his words as he glanced back to her, his grin gone. "It sucks, I get it. You feel like the most unfortunate person in Gotham right now, but I can tell you that in no time you'll be happy to be working on the inside. I know what Bane's general plans are now, and I'll tell you, if all this didn't happen, you'd be living in a nightmare."
"Because I'm not already," Jenna mumbled as she rolled her eyes, and a shock ran up her spine when Isaac took a large step over to her.
"You're too stubborn for your own good, you know that?" he asked now as he glared into her eyes. "Give it some time, but you'll see I'm right. For some reason I like you," he admitted easily. "You're kind of a huge brat, but I know there's more to you than that, and Bane knows it too. You're able to hold your own, you're strong. Kind of stupid sometimes, which you proved tonight, but smart about most things. I'll bet you're a fast learner," he went on, grinning again, and Jenna finally exhaled the smoke as she stared at him.
"What makes you think that?"
"I'd bet money on the fact that you won't try to run out of here again," he answered, and he could tell that Jenna was considering this as she looked away from him. He continued to stare at her, feeling true to what he had admitted, and he took another hit from his cigarette. "Your black hair, by the way, doesn't look as bad as you think it does. You want my opinion?"
"No," Jenna answered as she crossed her arms, a cold breeze blowing by, but she knew Isaac would give it to her anyway.
"You look better," he replied quickly, and he turned around suddenly without anything more to say. Jenna glanced up at him now, watching as he headed toward the garage doors, and she furrowed her eyebrows. How was it that right when she figured her situation couldn't get anymore complicated, it always found a way to. Her heart had finally returned to its normal tempo, and she took another drag as she started over toward the garage doors.
"Are you the 'second in command' here, like actually?" Jenna asked now, and he turned around to look at her, surprised she had followed him and opened her mouth to ask him anything at all.
"Yup," he answered.
"You said it took a while to get to that point. Why?"
Isaac shrugged. "I wasn't instantly appointed to the job. It takes time to prove yourself."
"How did you even... get here?" Jenna asked him now, watching as he tossed his cigarette onto the ground before squashing it with his boot, and he glanced up to her with unreadable eyes.
"That's a story for another time," he replied with a small smile, and he turned around again to walk under the garage doors. Jenna watched as an automatic light instantly turned on due to the movement, and her eyes wandered over the various cars that were parked in there. She watched as Isaac made his way toward a table before picking up a tire iron, and already she was uninterested. She finished her cigarette before she carelessly tossed it on the ground in front of her, and she stepped up to the doors just as Isaac had started to squat down in front of the flat, front right tire on a black car that had been jacked up.
"Do you think I could steal one more cigarette?" Jenna asked him, and he glanced over to her before a small grin slid onto his lips, and he reached into the pocket on his shirt to toss her the rest of his pack before he tossed her a red lighter. She glanced down at them before she quickly glanced back up at him. "Hey, do you think... I mean, will they try to do anything when I go back down there?"
Isaac let out a small laugh as he instantly started to take the bolts off of the flat tire. "So she is afraid," he said with a grin. "Nah," he finally answered her a second later when he detected her annoyed face from the corner of his eye. "They won't do anything."
He spoke his answer confidently, so Jenna finally started to turn and head toward the door from which she had run out of. "Thanks," she told him before she disappeared out of view completely. It was unknown to both him and her whether she was thanking him for the cigarettes, the rescue, or both, but neither of them said as word as Jenna finally started to climb the stairs to head back inside.
The same two thugs were staring at her as she descended the stairs to head over to her room, and she kept her eyes firmly planted on the ground in front of her as she headed to her door. Once she was inside, she closed it behind her, took her knife out of her pocket, set her cigarettes and lighter on the floor by her, and laid down on the cot. As she rested her head on the pillow, she let out another prolonged sigh as she closed her eyes, and she couldn't help but to still feel dizzy. She had just barely convinced herself that running away would be a good thing, though clearly it was nothing but a death wish. Sure Isaac had been grinning all the while, but she could hear the seriousness in his words. If she wanted to stay alive, she had no choice but to stay here, where the source of all her problems and the man capable of carrying out her death was sleeping in his own room just a mere ten feet from her door...
–
Sleep did not come easily for Jenna after her run in with Isaac. She tossed and turned, growing frustrated with her back and neck pain, and by the time she heard various voices outside of her door she felt even more exhausted than ever. Now, she laid with her back to the door, the comforter pulled all the way up to her chin, and she kept her eyes closed, hoping and praying that it was not her time to wake up yet. She was sure if she could just get at least one hour of sleep she'd be able to function on that, but not even a second after that thought had crossed her mind she listened as someone opened her door, and she listened to the heavy footsteps as they made their way toward her.
She kept her eyes closed as Bane stared down at her, his eyes wandering over her balled up body underneath the blanket, and as his eyes wandered back up to the profile of her face he had to wonder how Jenna was capable of making her body curl into something so small. He could tell she was not asleep, so with a small grin he brought back his foot before kicking the right front leg of the cot, causing the bed of sorts to rumble and shake violently, and Jenna jumped as she sat up slightly.
"Rise and shine!" Bane's boasting voice boomed throughout the room, and Jenna closed her eyes tightly as a shock ran up her spine. "Today's the day you prove your value to me, if you have any..." Bane added in a mumble, and he continued to stand there, waiting for Jenna to look at him. When she finally did, after forcing her eyes open with a prying force and turning her head to look up at him through her black hair, he bowed his head slightly. "Do you have any value, Jenna?"
Her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced away, and she pushed her hair out of her face and kept her hand on the top of her head as she let out a yawn. "I don't know," she mumbled after the yawn had passed, and she jumped when Bane let out a loud, booming laugh through the respirator of his mask.
"Well for your sake, let's hope you do. Isaac bought food this morning, so if your smart you'll get up and eat something. Now," he added with a slight growl, and Jenna watched as he turned to exit the room, a shock running up her spine when she noticed he wore another tight black shirt. Only it was worse this time around... much worse. Long sleeves did not cover his arms, and instead they were entirely exposed under the short sleeves of a t-shirt. Jenna stared at them, her eyes roaming down the thick muscles of his upper arms and forearms as he strutted out of the room, and she closed her eyes, angry at herself, once he rounded the corner. Those shocks had not ceased, and the room began to spin as she threw off the blanket before standing up. She wanted to yell and scream at herself for being so stupid, but what was the point? She knew that would not help anything.
She marched out of her room, not completely sure of where she was going, but the second the smell of some sort of food hit her nostrils, she paused, her stomach clenching in pure hunger as she realized finally it had been a couple days since she had last had something to eat.
"Hey, you hungry?" Came Isaac's voice beside her, and she turned to look at him before watching as he took a large bite from some sort of sandwich.
"No," Jenna lied, but her stomach growling loudly told Isaac otherwise. He shrugged.
"Starve then," he said before he wandered away from her, and Jenna's eyes followed his back before she inhaled more of the delicious aroma. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was eating in front of people, but as her stomach growled again she knew she'd have no choice. She glanced up to the stairs, noticing that the two men who had previously wandered up there were now coming back down with food of their own, so figuring it was upstairs she started over to them. But once she reached the counter near the bathroom door where the rest of the food remained in the McDonald's bags they had been purchased in, she instantly made a face when she noticed they were filled with nothing but disgusting breakfast sandwiches. She glanced at the clock, eight twenty four, and frowned as her stomach grumbled. She began to dig through the bag, and she felt a small sense of relief as she pulled out three hash browns. She knew they would do nothing to satisfy her hunger, but Bane's orders, Isaac's logic, and her hunger made her take a bite. She rolled her eyes to herself as she started back to the stairs when she realized that she, too, was now following Bane's orders, and she shook her head to herself once she reached the bottom of the stairs.
She started over to her room, wanting to eat in solitude, but as she started past Bane and his door, his reached out to stop her with his arm, and she glanced up to him just as she had swallowed. He stared at her firmly as he shook his head, understanding where she had been going, and with a pout she stepped back to stand next to him. She leaned against the wall as she used her free hand to pick off a section of her hash-brown rather than biting it, and she put the small piece in her mouth and chewed it slowly as her eyes wandered over the various henchmen who were scarfing down their food like pigs. A thought occurred to her suddenly, and she stole a glance up at Bane. He stood with his feet shoulder length apart, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes fixed blankly ahead as he waited, and though another shock ran up her spine at the site of his muscles, she had to wonder... how did he eat?
That mask obstructed his mouth completely, and she wondered if he could take it off. Even more importantly, why did he wear that mask anyway? What purpose did it serve? So far she had only ever seen him with it on, and as she stared at it it only heightened her curiosity. However, when Bane turned his head to look down at her, she quickly glanced away, her heart dropping to her stomach, and she picked off another piece of her second hash-brown, deciding if she could work up the courage later, if or when they were alone, she would ask him about it. If was only fair, right? Bane could ask her any question he wanted and expect an answer, so why couldn't she?
A few moments later, after she had finished eating, Bane ordered her back to her room to change into something she "could easily move in". Still starving, she closed the door behind her before she began to rummage through her bag. Minutes later, she emerged from her room again, and Bane glanced over at her when he saw her in the corner of his eye. He wished quickly that he hadn't glanced over, however, for he could not stop his eyes from wandering over her body. She wore tight, black leggings, and a long, red shirt over it that ended just past her ass, and the material was barely see-through. On her feet, she wore black boots that ended just below her knee, and as she made her way over to Bane his eyes slowly wandered back up her body until he was looking into her eyes, and a small dizzy spell overcame him when he realized she had witnessed his eye movements.
She stared back at him, those shocks staring up again due to witnessing his eyes wander all over her body, and he looked slightly furious now as once she approached him. She swallowed as she stared up at him. "Is... is this... okay?" She asked, unable to help but feel a little nervous that he was angry with her over her choice of clothes. She certainly did stand out; while everyone else wore black or gray shirts, cargo or army pants and thick, heavy combat boots, she appeared as though she was ready to hit the club. But these were the only clothes she had that allowed her to move around easily, which is what Bane had specified.
She watched now as he blinked, that angry look going away temporarily, and he nodded firmly at her.
"It certainly calls attention to yourself, but for the sake of today this can be excused. For the future, however–" he paused, and Jenna held her breath as he reached out to take the lower hem of her shirt in between his fingers, and he gently pulled it out. "–you'll have to invest in something a little more... coordinated, to the rest of us." He let go of the material, and it snapped back against her hips, and she couldn't help but to flinch.
"But here's where she complains that cargo pants and combat boots aren't her style," Isaac suddenly chimed in as he walked past, and Jenna turned to glare at him while Bane chuckled at his side comment.
"That won't matter," he spoke loudly as he started to follow Isaac, Jenna following the both of them now. "It's not her decision to make."
Frowning, Jenna followed them up the stairs and out of the exit door, and the conversation died down as they made their way to the vehicles. Jenna watched as the vast amount of Bane's henchmen loaded themselves into the trucks, and she stopped behind Bane, unsure of where she was supposed to be going. She watched as Bane got into one of the larger, square-shaped vehicles, and right before she could step up to it, Isaac grabbed her arm and led her toward his own lifted pick-up truck.
"You're coming with me," he told her once they approached the passenger side door, and Jenna opened it before climbing inside. Once Isaac closed his own door behind him, he wasted no time with starting the truck to instantly start off of the warehouse's property.
"What's the plan?" Jenna asked him as she kept her gaze focused out of the window.
"You, me, and a few others will follow you up to the security room, which I'm assuming you know the location of, correct?"
"Yes," Jenna answered flatly.
"We take out the system, then meet Bane and rest the in the back. We'll secure the main floor, and you'll proceed to lead us to the weapons warehouse underground."
Jenna swallowed, wishing she didn't have to be a part of this. Her mind was picturing the worst, and she didn't even want to know what Bane's plans were with her father's weapons. They were high tech machinery, and unlike anything any normal citizen had seen before. Long ago her father had explained the function of some of them that at the time were still being developed, and she remembered as a child thinking how crazy and made-up they sounded. But she had seen prototypes of these weapons, and she knew by now they were well past this stage. She let out a quiet shaky breath as she brought her feet onto the seat to wrap her arms around her legs, and Isaac glanced over to her before he looked back over to the road, four other truck-fulls of dangerous henchmen following behind in a neat row.
The ride to her father's largest dealership went by quicker than Jenna had hoped, and before she knew it, Isaac was swinging the truck around in the parking lot to park a few rows in front of the building. Jenna watched in her side view mirror as six or seven other henchmen jumped out of the truck that had parked behind Isaac while the other two vehicles headed around back. As the men secured their weapons under jacket's and shirts, hidden from view, Jenna lowered her feet and glanced over to Isaac as he did the same.
"Aren't you scared of drawing too much attention to yourself?"
He laughed, not bothering to look over at her. "You're asking me about attention?" He asked as he finally glanced over to her, nodding at her outfit. Jenna rolled her eyes.
"No, I mean look at you all. Everyone is going to know that something is going on."
"By the time they figure out what is going on," Isaac started as he opened the door, and he looked over to her. "It'll be too late." He grinned at her, bouncing his eyebrows up and down once before he jumped out of his truck, Jenna doing the same, and she sucked in a deep breath as her and Bane's crew started toward the front of the building.
The main floors of the dealership were barely crowded, with just a few people looking at the cars inside while a couple others were sitting at the desks of salesmen. Donna, the main receptionist lady who Jenna had met a few times, glanced up, her eyes instantly finding Jenna's when she glanced over, and she smiled warmly.
"Good morning, Jenna," she called out. "You're visiting awfully... early..." Donna trailed off as her eyes roamed down the group of alike men following her, and Jenna just nodded as she continued on toward the back. Donna started to stand up. "Do you... have business with your father today? Because he's not in the office yet," she went on, sounding more worried and confused as she went on. But Jenna continued to sadly ignore her, and she quickened her pace, Isaac and rest following her actions.
Donna remained behind her desk as she watched Jenna led the rest toward the back, and her eyebrows furrowed once the group rounded the corner toward the stairs that led to the security room. Her heart beginning to pound, she instantly turned toward her phone, picked it up, and dialed the four digit security number of the building.
"Ben?" She asked once the head of security had answered. "I-I think something bad is about to happen..."
"Bad?" Ben asked on the other end, sounding annoyed. "What do you mean, Donna?"
"Mr. Silvera's daughter and a ton of guys just started up to the security room.. I-I think-"
She trailed off when Ben suddenly hung up, and right when she glanced up again a gunshot in the distance suddenly echoed throughout the building, and just when the violent jump and shutter had passed her body, loads of other men dressed like the ones who had been following Jenna suddenly poured into the rest of the building, large machine guns in each of their hands. Donna screamed along with the rest of the customers as she ducked behind her desk when more gunshots echoed through the large room, and she closed her eyes tightly as she curled her body into a tight, terrified ball.
Taking out the security room went quicker than Jenna had expected. The head of the security, a nice but very stuck up man named Ben had instantly left the lone room in front of them, and he didn't stand a chance once Isaac instantly fired a round into his head. Jenna had screamed slightly and jumped at the surprise, and she tried to catch her breath as Isaac pushed her forward. She stopped at the door, however, and crossed her arms over her chest as the men piled into the room, and she closed her eyes tightly as more gunshots fired around in the room and down below. It was over all within a matter of a minute, and once it grew silent upstairs and down, Jenna opened her eyes and glanced into the blood-soaked room, and rather than focusing her attention on the few dead security men, she noticed all the monitors and controls had been fired upon, and once Isaac exited the room behind the others he grinned at her before he started back for the stairs, Jenna following with shaking legs behind him.
The entire show room had been secured by the men who had entered behind them, and Jenna glanced around at the lifeless people sprawled down on the floor, swallowing when Isaac pushed her ahead of him
"Lead the way," he said, and Jenna clenched her hands into fists as she started toward the back on the opposite side of the cars salesmen's desks, toward the stairs that would lead them toward the underground weapon's warehouse.
Their first pit stop was at the back door, the glowing exit sign nearly blinding as Jenna glanced up to it, and she waited as Isaac pushed open the door to let Bane and the rest of his crew inside.
"The showroom is secure and the security room has been taken out," Isaac informed Bane as he stepped inside, and Jenna's eyes roamed up his body until she found his obstructed face.
"You never disappoint," Bane complimented as his eyes searched for Jenna, and once he found her small frame in the back of everybody, he held out his hand, motioning for her to step over to him. "C'mon," he said cheerfully to her in that machine-like voice. "The faster we do this the faster we can go home."
Jenna swallowed once she approached him, and though for some reason she had been expecting him to gently place his hand on her back to lead her in front of him, her flinch was more exaggerated when he took a firm hold of her upper arm to force her to walk next to him in the front. She gritted her teeth as the rest of her arm dangled lamely in front of her, Bane's crushing force from his fingers sure to leave bruises, and she took in a deep, steadying breath as she tried to keep up with his quick pace.
Not before long they reached the first door that led to the basement, and Jenna stopped along with Bane, not bothering to look at him as he reached into his pocket to bring out her father's ID card. He scanned it under the scanner near the door, and Jenna kept her eyes focused on the ground as the door opened before she was tugged along into the hallway. Her heart started to race, and she allowed herself to focus on her worrisome thoughts rather than focusing on the spurts of pain that were shooting up and down her arm under Bane's crushing force.
As they continued on, and as Jenna listened to the sound of heavy boots hitting the floor and cargo pants material rubbing together noisily, Jenna sadly glanced up to the cameras that were littered on the ceiling, wishing the security inside the weapons warehouse could see what was coming, but she knew this was impossible. Isaac had destroyed the entire camera system, thus shutting down all the security in the entire building. She thought to herself the layout of the warehouse and estimated who would be there, and how many of them there would be. There were usually ten to fifteen security men who wandered about the facility and kept an eye on the cameras, but Jenna knew they would not stand a chance against Bane's army, who as they followed her and Bane, Jenna had to guess there was over twenty of them. The workers would be defenseless. They worked in a weapons warehouse, surrounded by artillery, yet by the time they realized what was going on, it would be too late, and they would be unable to defend themselves.
As the large door approached, Jenna let out a sigh as she bowed her head, and she jumped a second later when Bane tugged her forward again, Jenna not realizing she had started to slow behind. Her teeth gritted now, her jaw clenched so tightly it was starting to hurt her head, without thinking she tried to rip her arm free from Bane's grasp. But it proved useless however, just like she figured it would, and Bane glanced down to her. When she looked up at him, she cowered back immediately, able to tell Bane had gone in full mission mode, his eyes determined and fierce, and a simple look was all he had to give her before Jenna finally allowed herself to be tugged along and forced to try and forget her anger. It wasn't fair. Sure she could be considered a hostage, but what gave Bane the right to just control her like that? Jenna shook her head to herself. It was a stupid question, hostages never had the upper hand, but Jenna couldn't help to feel like her situation was more unique. With her, Bane was not about murder threats and torture, at least not yet, and because of this, being treated like an actual hostage, or even a child, got under Jenna's skin more than it should have. But she couldn't help but to be annoyed. She didn't want to fear him, and although she did slightly, she was still determined not to let it show. So with her eyes focused dead ahead of her, she tried once more to free her arm, struggling not to flinch when Bane tightened his grip out of annoyance, and right when they reached the large door to the warehouse she gasped when Bane tugged her closer to himself. When she turned her head she saw he was glaring directly at her, and still determined not to let her fear show, she forced herself to glare right back.
"Stay out of the way," Bane murmured harshly to her, and Jenna's eyebrows widened when he suddenly let go of her arm, the release causing the most intense pain yet. Jenna's hand instantly flew up to hold her throbbing upper arm while Bane swiftly turned away from her to step over toward the ID scanner, and her eyes went from staring at him to glancing over the army as they readied their weapons. Still surprised she had actually gotten Bane to let go of her arm, she still found herself following his orders when she stepped backwards to stand near the wall on the side of the door, out of the way for the army to run inside. She felt dizzy when she realized this, so with an annoyed deep breath in, she told herself she had only stepped out of the way so she wouldn't get trampled. She was not listening to Bane, she was merely using her own common sense to better benefit her, not him.
The sound of the automated door opening seemed louder than ever, and Jenna found herself holding her breath and sliding her eyes closed as soon as the first steps toward the warehouse began. Following Bane, the men entered quickly, and Jenna couldn't help but to jump when the first gunshots were fired, and she wondered sadly to herself who had died already. Maybe, hopefully, it was someone on Bane's side. Perhaps there would be hope after all. Maybe the security would pull through; Bane's army would be wiped out, Bane included, and Jenna would be free. An odd pang that rang through her heart at her thoughts suddenly caused her eyes to snap open, a shock running up her spine, and with a grunt she leaned off of the wall to peer inside the warehouse.
In just a matter of seconds all hope was lost. Directly in front of her, five security guards lay in the puddles of their own fresh blood, and her stomach dropped at the site. Swallowing, she glanced up to stare directly down the first large aisle of weapons, all wrapped and ready to either be shipped or tested, she froze when her eyes suddenly found Bane. Her lips parted slightly as she stared at his tall, intimidating frame, and she barely comprehended that her uncle, co-manager of her dad's business, was struggling against him. Muscles flexed, Bane easily turned her uncle around, and she jumped when he suddenly slammed his head down on the metal table, her uncle falling like a ton of bricks onto the floor. She had taken a small step back at this, and she jumped again when she watched as Bane kicked her uncle's body out of the way like he was nothing more than a useless rag doll, and weight nothing more than one as well. A sick feeling crept onto Jenna as she remembered her vow of not letting anyone else close to her die, and as she stared at her uncles suffering frame, she realized that already, in just one day, she had broken that vow...
The doors starting to close suddenly tore her away from her thoughts, and she absentmindedly rushed inside the warehouse as to not be locked out, and she found it astonishing that all she had just done and witnessed all happened within a matter of a seconds, the amount of the time the door stayed open. She quickly stepped back out of the way as one of the henchmen came charging past her, and her heart began to race faster as more gunshots echoed throughout the warehouse. Screams of the female workers echoed off the walls, and all the commotion was near deafening as Jenna hopelessly stood there. She had lost site of Bane, something she was actually grateful for, and she crossed her arms over her chest, flinching at the pain her upper arm gave out.
It seemed it was all over in a matter of minutes. The entire staff of the warehouse had been wiped out, and with their free pick of futuristic and diverse weapons loaded, it seemed as though it was time to go already. But Isaac running up to her with an incredibly dangerous task in mind for her was all it took for Jenna's troubled thoughts and feelings to intensify by one-hundred and ten percent. Before she could fathom what was going on, he suddenly tossed her the keys to his truck.
"Take my truck and pull it around back," he commanded quickly, but before he could go on Jenna was instantly shaking her head.
"No!" She replied loudly and firmly as she took a step back, only to jump with a flinch when Isaac reached out to take a firm hold of her upper arms.
"Now, Jenna!" He yelled at her, and after turning her around he shoved her toward the door. Jenna quickly caught her footing, and when she nervously glanced over her shoulder she saw Isaac was gone. Swallowing, Jenna pushed the button to open the door, and right when it had opened enough for her to slip past, she allowed her shaking legs to carry her out of the door before she broke into a sprint down the hall. The task Isaac had given her was the most dangerous and scariest task anyone could have given her. Why? Jenna had never learned how to drive...
Her heart threatened to burst from her chest as she ran, her breathing slow and even as she started up the stairs to main showroom of the dealership. At the moment she was not focusing on the fact that here she was, following orders yet again, or even the fact that Isaac, and perhaps even Bane, had trusted her to do this, trusting that she would not drive his car away to safety and freedom. No, Jenna was worried on actually driving the truck. Was it even an automatic? Jenna wanted to cry.
She tried to ignore the site of all the dead bodies littered in the show room as she rushed toward the main doors, trying to remember where Isaac had parked. Unfortunately, his truck was in plain view in the parking lot, and Jenna ran right up to it, stopping near the door at a sudden halt to unlock it. Heart still racing, she climbed into the truck, growing relieved when she saw the truck was not a manual, and with a shaking hand she struggled to stick the key in the ignition. The truck roared loudly to life once she turned it, and with a large swallow she put the truck in gear, reminding herself frantically the 'D' meant drive, and she held her breath as she gently pushed her foot down on the gas pedal to start to drive through the open parking space in front of her. But what she thought had been gentle was not gentle at all, and she screamed as the truck lurched forward, heading directly toward the curb. Her body trembling, she immediately turned the wheel, her body being thrown to the left as she just barely missed hitting the curb, and she slammed on the brakes once the truck was facing straight again, ready to head to the back. A disgustingly strong shudder ran up her back when she heard a loud and heavy scratching sound erupt from the passenger side of the truck, and only when the alarm of another car started to go off, and after she had frantically glanced out of the passenger side window, did she realize she had rubbed Isaac's truck directly against another parked car. Her mouth fell open as she jerked the truck to a sudden stop, just wanting to melt into a puddle and slip away under the floor-mats and hide forever, but when she saw the back door burst open suddenly she was reminded of her task, and she accidentally floored the truck toward it.
Other henchmen were pouring out of the door and heading to their own vehicles, and after putting the truck in park, Jenna thinking 'P' for park as she did it, she immediately scooted her shaking body over to the passenger side, deciding there was no way in hell she was driving anywhere else ever again. Her body was still shaking violently when she saw Bane suddenly come forth out of the door, and she watched as he tossed a large bag at another henchmen who had run out the door behind him. The man caught it swiftly and headed toward one of the large square vehicles while Bane instantly started toward the running truck, parked a good twenty feet from the door. He threw open the driver door and instantly pushed the seat forward to climb into the back, and only once Isaac, the last one out of the building, ran toward his truck, did Bane finally notice how badly Jenna was shaking. Closing the door behind him, Isaac instantly threw the truck into gear and bolted out of the parking lot. Jenna hugged her legs on the seat as she stared at the floor, her body noticeably trembling still with no sign of stopping, and Bane stared at her with furrowed eyebrows, wondering why she was so shook up suddenly. He knew he'd figure it out sooner or later, so with that final thought he glanced out of the window, deciding to just be happy with the fact this mission had gone quick and just as he had planned.
The ride back to the abandoned shipping warehouse had gone faster than the ride to her father's work, and for this Jenna was grateful. All she wanted was to shut herself up in the chair room and be alone, but unfortunately for her, Bane had other plans. As soon as Isaac had stopped the car, Jenna threw open her door and hopped out of the truck quickly, Bane right behind her, and she kept her arms crossed as she made a beeline directly toward the back door. She stepped inside behind one of the henchmen, who carried a large bag in his hand, and she remained silent as she quickly started down the stairs. Her actions were confusing to Bane, but nonetheless he continued to follow her. Right when Jenna had reached the chair room, she pushed open the door to step inside, but when she turned to slam it closed, she jumped when the door smacked against Bane's foot, and he gently kicked the door back open before he stepped inside. The room was dark, the only light coming from the main area of the basement to illuminate the room in a very dim light, and Jenna stared at him for a minute before she suddenly thought of her uncle's pain and Isaac's face when he discovered the large scratch on his truck, and she groaned to herself as she turned to head over to her cot.
"What's got you acting like this?" Bane asked as he took a step further into the room, and as Jenna rubbed her hands up her arms she glanced up to him. The movement of more henchmen heading down the stairs stole her attention, and she watched them for a moment before she glanced back up to Bane, and she shook her head as she glanced away.
"You killed my uncle," Jenna accused as she focused on the corner of the room, and she took in a deep breath through her nose before continuing on. "And I scratched Isaac's car..." she mumbled. She jumped when Bane let out a loud laugh, and she glanced back over to him, her eyes widening as a powerful shock ran up her spine while Bane stepped closer to the cot.
"That's all?" He questioned as he turned to sit next to her on it, and her heart began to race at his actions. "You barely tremble when you witness your parent's die... yet you grow terrified upon inflicting very minor damage on a vehicle. Doesn't that sound... absurd, even to you?"
Jenna frowned as she glanced down, able to see Bane's sitting frame next to her in the corner of her eye, and she closed them, wishing those shocks would stop tickling the back of her neck.
"No," she mumbled.
"What do you think he is going to do, Jenna? Kill you?" Bane asked as he stared at her. "Or just simply take the scratch out and drop the worthless issue."
It was clear that Bane found this issue as nothing more than humorous, and Jenna knew her thoughts on the matter were irrational, but she could not stop herself from shaking. She ran her hands up her arms further, only to flinch when her hand wandered over her still painful upper arm, and she quickly lowered them as she leaned back slightly.
"I don't know," she mumbled.
"Then sit here in the dark and cower in fear over something that will not happen," Bane replied with a sigh. "Like a child," he added with a hidden smirk, just to get under her skin.
"I'm not acting like a child," Jenna said suddenly before she could stop herself, and she turned to glare directly into Bane's eyes, which seemed to glow through the dim lighting.
"You grow so offended at that word," Bane stated as he stared back. "And I know why."
"Fuck off," Jenna spoke again before she could stop herself, and she felt her stomach drop at these daring words as she rolled her eyes to look away from him. But without thinking himself, Bane reached out swiftly to take a firm hold of her jaw, and he dug his fingers into her skin as he forced her to look back up at him. He felt Jenna jump at this, and her eyes widened as she was forced to stare back at him, her jaw already starting to throb.
"You allow yourself to get so offended because you know it's true," Bane explained as he absentmindedly leaned in slightly closer, and he maintained firm eye contact with her. The truth burned behind both of their eyes, and Bane was easily able to watch as realization flooded her gaze. But as he knew she would, she denied it.
"That's not true," she forced herself to say, but when she tired to glance away, Bane firmly forced her head back in his direction.
"Around here there will never be the time nor the place to let childish antics get in the way. Learn what's acceptable to worry about, and what is not. If you're so determined to live you'll start doing so."
Jenna continued to stare into his eyes as he did the same to her, and once he figured she would not saying anything smart or stupid back, he loosened his grip on her face, only to freeze suddenly when his fingers just barely and gently brushed against her skin. Jenna had frozen too, her body going cold and stiff, her eyes unable to look away from him, and a small shock ran up Bane's spine, the same feeling overwhelming him from the last time his fingers had made that type of contact with her skin. Only this time he did not angrily pull away, and instead curiosity got the best of him, something he had trained his mind never to allow. But it was too powerful this time around, the feeling brand new, and as Jenna stayed frozen, Bane allowed himself to curl his fingers, the tips of his calloused skin brushing gently against her soft face. Jenna's lips parted slightly as she sucked in a quiet, sharp breath, and the most powerful of all shocks ran up her spine and caused her to shudder slightly as she went lightheaded, her vision blurring around the edges. Bane was staring at her lips or cheek, she was unsure which, and she released the breath she had drawn in when Bane uncurled his fingers, his fingers running against her skin again, and the lightheaded feeling grew stronger when Bane finally removed his hand from her face, allowing his fingers to slid down her face gently. Her skin was flawless, and by far the softest element Bane had ever felt, and once his hand was lowered, realization of what he had just done slammed into his mind. But he did not let himself get angry, and instead he remained staring into her electric aqua eyes for a moment longer before he finally stood to exit the room. Jenna focused on trying not to pass out as she listened to Bane's heavy footsteps head toward the open door, but right before he could exit she quickly turned her head in his direction, able to still feel where his fingertips had been.
"Wait," she said suddenly, and Bane halted in the doorway. "Can I shower?"
"I don't know," Bane returned in a slightly humorous tone, a tone that Jenna had not expected him to have after that, whatever it had been, and he glanced at her from over his shoulder. "Can you?"
Jenna frowned. "What am I supposed to say, may I?"
"You don't have to say anything," Bane answered. "There's nothing stopping you from carrying out normal human necessities. Do what you need to do." Without another word Bane finally stepped out of the room, and Jenna watched with furrowed eyebrows as he disappeared into the depths of the basement.
Her heart was racing faster than it had been when she was forced to drive Isaac's truck, and suddenly that issue was no longer important for the time being. Instead, as she unzipped her suitcase with shaking hands to take out her toiletries and a change of clothes, all she could focus on was wondering what the fuck had just happened.
After traveling up the stairs and entering the bathroom, she closed and locked the door before she turned to head over to the rather nice shower in the grungy bathroom, figuring it was something had been installed not too long ago. She set her items down on the closed toilet lid, and instead of worrying about a towel she stood near the shower, frozen, thinking back to Bane's actions. When he had first taken her, his fingers had brushed against her skin as well, but that had been nothing more than an accident. This time around, he had allowed himself to do purposely, and Jenna hated herself for allowing those shocks to consume her as she gave into those strange feelings. But she raised her head up slightly as a new found thought entered her mind suddenly. Whatever strange and inappropriate emotions she was feeling toward him as her situation unfolded, Bane was feeling them too...
Jenna might as well have been a zombie as she showered, the hot water welcoming as she washed the absolute hell out of her hair with her favorite brand of shampoo she was fortunate to have taken with her. Her face remained emotionless as she inattentively carried out all of her shower's tasks, and the entire time all she could focus on was the feel of Bane's fingers. The were rough, calloused, and even when he was being gentle, firm, but yet, as they brushed against her, they were soft in their own way, and unlike anything Jenna had ever felt herself. She knew she would never be able to pinpoint or decide the logic behind the action, but as she rinsed her smooth and hairless body free of soap, she was of two minds on the outcome. Her body, her worst enemy at the moment, wanted to actually enjoy the feeling, though at the same time her mind was ready to murder her for even considering it. Her mind and body agreed on one thing, however, and the thought scared her more than any murder threat or another driving experience ever could: Bane's large and thick muscles haunted her thoughts nearly every minute of every day and night, and now, more than ever, she wanted to actually know how they felt in her own hands.
As she shut off the shower, the desire to touch him angered and confused her, but not enough for her to talk herself out of it. Her situation was so unique to the point of it confusing the absolute fuck out of her. Why didn't Bane want to kill her? What uses did he think she would serve to him? Why did Jenna allow herself to stick around, deciding death would be worse than all of this, and why were they both experiencing these feelings? Sure her life before had been just as shitty as her situation now, but at least it hadn't been confusing or too unpredictable.
Due to the lack of having a towel, Jenna dabbed the water droplets from her body with her old shirt before dressing in a clean pair of gray, baggy sweatpants and a black spaghetti strap, where the bottom of the shirt ended right at her bellybutton. This shirt used to show off her bellybutton ring perfectly, but those days were dead and gone, and with this thought Jenna reached up to her eyebrow, her finger running over the healing hole on her skin. She frowned, but she knew this was the least of her problems now.
Her heart began to race slightly as she opened the bathroom door to head back into the basement. She was scared suddenly of seeing Bane again, unsure now more than ever what to expect. But fortunately, Bane was nowhere in site, and after she dropped her dirty clothes off in the chair room, she grabbed a cigarette from her pack and a lighter, and started out of the basement and toward the exit door.
As soon as she stepped into the cool, crisp air, the sun hiding behind a thick mass of clouds, Jenna suddenly remembered the damage she had caused on Isaac's car, and a shock ran up her spine when she noticed he had parked his car inside the large garage. She lit her cigarette before cautiously stepping down the stairs to peer inside the garage. She blew out the smoke slowly when her eyes found Isaac squatting down in front of the passenger side of the truck, and her stomach dropped slightly as her eyes ran over the long, thick scratch on the door, the mark ruining the flawlessness of the black paint on the rest of the vehicle. Isaac glanced over to her suddenly, and she took a small step back when she saw the angry look in his eye.
"How the fuck did this happen?" Isaac asked as he stared at her, though his tone was not as bitter as Jenna had been expecting.
"I-I don't know," she said. Isaac continued to stare into her nervous eyes, and suddenly he remembered the previous thought that had occurred to him once he had first noticed the scratch. He grinned suddenly as he looked back to the scratch, his action confusing Jenna, and Isaac finally spoke when he glanced back to her with that same smirk.
"You don't know how to drive, do you?"
Her face was easy to read, Isaac didn't need her to answer, but regardless Jenna rolled her eyes and looked away as she took another drag of her cigarette.
"I never had the need to learn."
Isaac laughed. "Oh, that's right," he said as he stood up from the ground now. "There was always a limo ready to take you anywhere you wanted." He turned to step over to the work bench to grab the tools he'd need to buffer out the scratch, and he grinned again when another thought popped into his mind. "Doesn't that bother you?" He asked, turning to glance over at her again. "Being twenty-three years old and unable to drive a car?"
Jenna shrugged. "I guess not."
Isaac laughed again and shook his head. "That'll have to change then," he said as he turned around to head back over to the truck, foreign tools being carried in his arms. "Eventually you're going to have to drive."
"What makes you think I'll be around long enough for that to happen?" Jenna asked as she stepped closer to the garage now.
Isaac shrugged. "I'm sure you will be," he answered.
Unfortunately, Jenna figured she would be too. If it hadn't been for Bane's actions, this thought would cause Jenna to go into full-on worry mode, but her thoughts were still primarily focused on what had happened only half an hour ago in the chair room. The thoughts caused another shudder to run down her spine, and now more than ever she did not want to see Bane. So instead, she stepped into the garage and sat down on the ground, crossing her legs in front of her, and she glanced up to Isaac when he glanced over to her. He said nothing, however, and merely grinned as he looked back to his truck while Jenna took another drag of her cigarette, figuring spending time with Isaac at the moment would not be a bad idea, as long as it kept her away from seeing Bane...
So excited to have updated this week! College has been kicking my ass and keeping me from my true passions... But as always, I can't thank you enough for the reviews, alerts and favorites guys, so PLEASE keep it up! Leave me your thoughts!