Chapter Six

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN MORTAL KOMBAT OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

Sonya, Johnny, Kenshi, Takeda, Jacqui and Jin were in Special Forces Headquarters. They had been frantically, relentlessly searching for Cassie for hours. They were back in Headquarters looking through their computers and monitors to try and find Cassie.

"It's been 24 hours. Why hasn't Kano contacted us by now?!" said Sonya, worried and pacing up and down. "Why is that asshole taking so long to talk to us? Why won't he tell us what his plans are with Cassie? Is he mind fucking with us?"

Johnny leaned against Sonya's desk. His hand was on his forehead because he had a huge migraine. He was so scared and worried about Cassie that his head was hurting. He knew that his daughter was tough, but Kano was a complete psycho. Johnny was terrified about what Kano was going to do to Cassie. What if Kano was torturing Cassie right at this moment? How was Kano physically hurting Cassie right now? Johnny was trying not to think about it, but he couldn't help it. If Kano did hurt Cassie...if he even touched one hair on her head...he would kill him with his bare hands.

"Oh shit...Johnny..." said Sonya with a look of fear on her face, "...what if...what if Kano already killed her? What if...what if Cassie...what if she's dead?"

"Sonya...Sonya..." said Johnny gently. He went up to Sonya who was panting. He gently hugged her. "Hey...look at me."

Sonya looked up and stared into Johnny's eyes. She was still panting.

"Sonya, I know you're terrified. I'm terrified too. But we have to be positive. Cassie's a tough kid. She can handle that asshole Kano. She's going to be okay. We're gonna get her home safe and sound. Okay?"

Sonya nodded and hugged Johnny even tighter.

"Guys." said Kenshi, who walked into the room. Johnny and Sonya released their hug and looked at Kenshi.

"Kano finally contacted us and he wants to talk to you two." said Kenshi.

Sonya and Johnny anxiously looked at each other, then they quickly followed Kenshi. Kenshi took them to the Conference room. Takeda, Jin and Jacqui were in the Conference room as well. Kano was on the big screen monitor. He had a smirk on his usual smug face.

"Kano…" said Sonya, angrily glaring at her arch enemy.

"Where's Cassie you son of a bitch?" Johnny asked angrily.

"So much hostility." said Kano, smirking. "Can't we have a nice chat? Can't you guys ask me, 'Hi Kano, how are you? How was your day?' No, you guys just say mean things to me. So rude, the lot of you."

"Stop kidding around asshole!" Sonya yelled. "Answer the fucking question! Where's Cassie?"

"Cassie has been hanging out with her dear Uncle Kano. We're getting to know each other." said Kano, smirking.

"Listen to me Kano and listen to me good. You have two choices. You either let Cassie go, or we're gonna track you down, get Cassie ourselves and kill you. I stopped Sonya from killing you in the Refugee Kamp. But believe me, when I find you this time…I'm going to kill you myself." Johnny threatened.

Kano laughed.

"That's so cute that you think you can track me down." said Kano. "There's no way you'll be able to find me. Also, I'm the one in control here mate. You're the one that has two choices, not me. Choice one…give me what I want and Cassie goes free. Choice two…don't give me what I want and I kill your little brat."

Sonya sighed.

"What do you want Kano?" Sonya asked.

Kano smirked.

"I want you to give me all the data on Special Forces. Give me all the files, Intel and technology. Give it to me in a disk and I let little Cassie go."

Everyone in the Conference room had a look of horror on their faces. Giving Kano all the information on Special Forces would completely compromise the Special Forces. But what could they do? Cassie's life was in danger and they needed to save her. They didn't have a choice but to give into Kano's demands.

"We'll give you whatever you want Kano. Just don't hurt her." said Sonya.

"If you touch one hair on her head Kano…I swear…" Johnny threatened.

"Let's meet tonight at midnight." said Sonya. "We'll meet at the junkyard by the abandoned textile factory. We'll give you the data and you give us Cassie. Got it?"

"Hmm, let me see…am I free tonight?" Kano said. He put his hand under his chin like he was pondering. Sonya angrily gritted their teeth and Johnny angrily clenched his jaw. Kenshi, Takeda, Jacqui and Jin were so pissed at Kano. Everyone was tired of Kano's mind games.

"Nah…I don't wanna come out tonight. I think I'll relax at home and watch me favorite soap opera." said Kano, smirking. "I'll call you later when I decide when and where we should meet. Adios!"

"KANO!" Sonya and Johnny yelled.

It was too late. Kano disconnected the call and the screen went blank. Sonya angrily punched the table.

"THAT PIECE OF SHIT!" Sonya yelled.

"Jacqui, Takeda, Jin...were you able to trace him?" Johnny asked.

"Sorry Mr. Cage, but I wasn't able to." said Jin.

"Whatever technology the Black Dragons are using…it's completely untraceable." said Takeda.

"Great. Now we have to wait for Kano to call us again and who knows how long that will be." said Johnny.

"And the longer Cassie's in Kano's custody…" said Jacqui.

"…the more danger she's in." said Jin.

Back in the Black Dragon Headquarters…

Cassie was lying on her back, rubbing the chain against the bars. She wasn't giving up…she had to try and escape. Just then, she heard footsteps approaching.

"Shit." said Cassie to herself. She quickly sat up and moved away from the bars. Wyatt came up to the bars. He opened the door and walked inside. He held a tray. On the tray was a bowl of noodle soup, a spoon and a bottle of water. He handed the tray to Cassie.

"Eat." He said.

Cassie scoffed and didn't take the tray.

"I'm not eating that shit." said Cassie.

"You've been imprisoned here for 24 hours. You haven't eaten anything. You need to eat to keep your energy." said Wyatt.

"Why do you care? You wouldn't give a fuck if I starved to death." said Cassie, giving him an angry glare.

"I would care if you starved to death. You better not die." Wyatt thought to himself. "You intrigue me. You make me have feelings. Feelings of contentedness...not feelings of anger, rage and hatred. For some reason you give me some fulfilment. If you died, I would feel like my heart was ripped out of my chest. What the fuck Wyatt?! Why does this girl make you feel so…so weird?!"

"The only reason I don't want you to starve, is because Kano needs you alive. He's using you to get revenge against your parents. You need to stay alive to fulfil his agenda. You're just a pawn. I could give two shits about you." said Wyatt out loud to Cassie. He lied because that was not how he really felt.

"Like father like son. You're an asshole and you're ugly, just like your old man." said Cassie, smirking.

Wyatt chuckled.

"This woman and her sharp mouth." Wyatt thought to himself, amused as usual by Cassie.

"I am an asshole…but I'm certainly not ugly." said Wyatt, smirking and staring at Cassie.

Cassie felt her heart beating faster as she stared back at him. Yes, she hated to admit it to herself...but Wyatt was far from ugly. He was very handsome. But she sure as hell wasn't going to admit that to him.

"Aw, you're in denial. You poor ugly thing." said Cassie, smirking.

"Will you just shut up and eat?" said Wyatt, who put the tray down next to her.

"No fucking way. For all I know, you guys could have poisoned the food. Or maybe you guys are trying to drug me." said Cassie.

Wyatt sighed. He bent down and picked up the spoon and bowl of soup. He took a spoonful of the soup, put it in his mouth and ate it. He ate a few more spoonfuls. Cassie looked at Wyatt in shock as he was eating. After he ate a little, he put the spoon and bowl of soup back on the tray. Cassie kept looking at Wyatt with surprise. Wyatt wiped his mouth.

"See. The food is perfectly safe to eat. It wasn't poisoned or drugged. Though it could use a bit more seasoning." said Wyatt, with a look of disgust on his face.

Cassie chuckled.

"Actually…make that a lot more seasoning. Ugh." said Wyatt.

Cassie kept chuckling and Wyatt chuckled a bit and smiled. They stared at each other.

"What is it about this girl?" Wyatt thought to himself as he looked into her beautiful blue eyes.

"You're not as bad as Kano or the rest of the Black Dragons." said Cassie. "You're different."

"No I'm not." said Wyatt, quickly standing up. He turned away from her and crossed his arms.

"Why didn't you kill me when we fought in Special Forces Headquarters?" Cassie asked. "You trapped me. I couldn't escape. You could have shot me in the head, but you didn't. Why?"

Wyatt didn't reply and he didn't look back at her.

"It's because you are different Wyatt. You're not like your father…right?" Cassie asked.

"You don't know anything about me. Just be grateful that I didn't kill you that day. Because I could have." said Wyatt, walking away.

Wyatt opened the barred door and walked out. He looked at Cassie, who was also staring at him. He locked the door, turned and walked away.

"There's something about that guy…" Cassie thought to herself.

Days later…

Cassie had been imprisoned by the Black Dragons for four days. She refused to eat anything. However, she did drink bottled water. Cassie needed to drink water because she needed to have some energy. Although she hadn't eaten for four days, Cassie was a soldier. She was tough. Even though she was very hungry, she still had a lot of energy. She was a bit tired, but she was still very strong. She could still kick some serious ass if she needed to.

Cassie had been trying to break the chain of the collars, but the chain was way too strong. Cassie still wasn't giving up. Whenever there wasn't someone guarding the door, Cassie would rub the chain against the bars. Right now, Owen was guarding the door. Cassie sat on the concrete floor. She was bored, frustrated and angry. She wanted to get the hell out of this place. She missed her parents. She missed her friends. She missed home. Cassie sighed and put her head between her knees.

"I'm sure your boyfriend misses you huh?" asked Owen.

Cassie looked up and saw Owen standing outside the barred door. He was smirking at her. Cassie gave him a disgusted look.

"What?" Cassie replied with a scowl on her face.

Owen went up to the door and held one of the bars.

"I'm sure a sexy bitch like you has a boyfriend huh? And I'm sure he misses you. And you miss him too right?" Owen asked.

Cassie didn't reply. She kept giving him an angry, disgusted look.

"Don't worry sexy…I'll make you not miss your boyfriend anymore." said Owen, looking lustfully at her. He was sticking his tongue out like a horny cartoon wolf. "How about I bang your brains out?"

"Go to hell." said Cassie.

"Come on, stop playing hard to get and suck my dick." He said, grabbing his crotch and wagging his tongue like a pervert.

"How about you go fuck yourself? Oh wait…you probably already do that huh?" Cassie said, smirking. "I'm pretty sure you've never had sex. No woman would be desperate enough to sleep with a hideous loser like you."

"You better watch your mouth bitch."

"Why you so mad? It's not my fault no one wants to have sex with you because you're so ugly."

"Shut up bitch!" Owen yelled. He unlocked the door and burst inside. He charged towards Cassie and punched her. Cassie wanted to punch him back, but when she tried to, she got shocked by the collars.

"AAAAAAAHH!" Cassie screamed in pain as she was shocked. Owen punched her again and again and then grabbed her by the neck. He started choking her. Cassie was struggling to free herself.

"That will teach you to disrespect me, you fucking whore!" screamed Owen as he kept strangling her.

Cassie kept struggling and gasping for breath.

"I would kill you…but Kano needs you alive. But I'm gonna choke you until you pass out!" said Owen.

Just then, someone punched Owen from behind. Owen let go of Cassie. She fell to the floor, coughing and trying to breathe normally. Owen turned around and saw Wyatt. Owen had a look of fear on his face when he saw Wyatt. Wyatt was completely enraged. Whenever Wyatt got enraged…that wasn't a good thing. Especially if his rage was towards you.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Wyatt screamed. He was so angry that his face was red and his veins were popping out of his neck.

"I-I wasn't gonna kill her man! I swear! I was just teaching her a lesson!" Owen tried to explain.

Wyatt didn't care to hear Owen's explanation. Wyatt was pissed off that Owen would dare put his hands on Cassie. He gave Owen a powerful uppercut which sent him flying in the air. Owen landed hard on the ground and Wyatt got on top of him and punched him. Owen tried to defend himself, but he was no match against Wyatt. Wyatt punched him again and again and again. Owen's face was bruised and bloody.

"WYATT! NO! STOP!" Cassie screamed as Wyatt kept punching him.

Wyatt continued to punch him.

Cassie crawled up next to Wyatt. Wyatt raised his fist to hit Owen again, but Cassie grabbed his fist. Wyatt stared at Cassie as she held his fist.

"Enough Wyatt! Please." said Cassie.

Wyatt kept staring at Cassie and breathing heavily from anger. As he kept staring at her beautiful face, he started to calm down. He took a deep breath and stood up. He looked at Owen angrily and spat on the floor next to him. Owen was panting and looked up at Wyatt.

"You better not touch her ever again Owen." said Wyatt. "Now get the hell out of here. I'll stand guard."

Owen got up and gave Wyatt and Cassie an angry glare. He quickly left the cell. Wyatt turned to Cassie.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Are you?" she asked with concern over his anger.

"Your neck…" he said. He saw red hand marks on Cassie's neck. He sat on the floor next to her. He gently touched the bruises on her neck. Cassie's heart was beating fast as his hands touched her neck. She felt butterflies in her stomach.

"Cassie, what the hell is wrong with you? Get a hold of yourself girl." Cassie thought to herself.

"Sorry about Owen." said Wyatt, still gently touching and inspecting her neck. "He's a complete Neanderthal. Seriously, I think his IQ is lower than a pigeon."

Cassie chuckled.

"I'll be okay, thanks. Thanks for sticking up for me." She said.

Wyatt smiled a little.

"I appreciate you helping me out, but you went too far. You could have killed Owen." said Cassie, looking at Wyatt with concern. "You have so much rage in you. You got so angry that it's like…it's like you weren't even here. I mean, you were here physically but not mentally. You know what I mean?"

Wyatt sighed.

"Yeah, sometimes I get so angry. So angry that it consumes my entire body…my whole mind. When I get that enraged, I become even stronger…more dangerous...I try very hard not to give into that rage." said Wyatt.

"I'm not surprised you have so much rage." said Cassie. "Being the son of Kano must be tough."

Wyatt scoffed and said, "You have no idea."

"Actually I do believe it or not." said Cassie, chuckling. "My mother isn't a murderous psychopath like your dad. However, she is super hard on me. She always has been. It's like, no matter how hard I work, no matter how much good I do…I can never meet her expectations."

"How about your dad? Johnny Cage right? Is he hard on you too?"

"Me and my dad are best friends. I've always been a daddy's girl." said Cassie, smiling. "So, how's your mom like? Is she crazy like your dad too?"

Wyatt's face became sad.

"My…my mother is dead. She died when I was 2 years old."

"Oh Wyatt…" said Cassie sadly. She gently put her hand on his shoulder. "I am so sorry."

"You don't need to be. Death is ironically a part of life, is it not? We're born, we live, we die." said Wyatt, who still had a sad look on his face.

"I'm still sorry anyway. What was her name?"

"Her name was Alba. She was a Black Dragon as well." He sighed. "I barely remember her. Sometimes I have flashbacks of her. I remember her smiling at me, carrying me, hugging me. Even though she and Kano weren't dating, Kano cared about her. He barely speaks about her. But when he does, he speaks fondly of her. He tells me that she was the toughest Black Dragon he had ever seen…apart from himself. He also thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world."

Wyatt pulled out something from the pocket of his combat pants. He handed it to Cassie. It was a photograph of a beautiful, slim, Latina woman. She had olive skin, brown eyes and long, jet black hair. Both her arms were a sleeve of tattoos.

"That your mom?" Cassie asked, smiling at the picture.

"Yeah. I carry that picture of her wherever I go. It's the only picture I have of her."

"She was beautiful." said Cassie.

Wyatt smiled.

"So, she and Kano weren't dating?" Cassie asked, handing the photo back to him.

"No. They weren't together. As Kano told me, they 'were friends with benefits'. Eventually, she got pregnant with me." said Wyatt, putting the photo back in his pocket.

"Thanks for sharing that photo with me." said Cassie.

"You're welcome." said Wyatt.

"I told you, you're different from your dad. You know you are." said Cassie.

Wyatt looked away and didn't say anything.

"You're not a douchebag like Kano, Owen and the other Black Dragons." said Cassie. "Please Wyatt…I can't stay trapped here. I miss my family. I miss home. Please, you have to help me escape."

Cassie gently put her hand on his shoulder. Wyatt slowly turned and looked at her.

"Please Wyatt." said Cassie.

Wyatt sighed.

"I'm sorry Cassandra, but that's not possible." said Wyatt.

"Wyatt, I need to get the hell out of here. Kano's a complete psycho. If I stay here he's going to either torture or kill me. Or he'll torture me until I die. I don't wanna stick around to find out."

"Kano isn't going to torture or kill you." said Wyatt. "He's going to give you back to your parents in exchange for Special Forces Intel. I reassure you...Kano has no intention of killing you."

Cassie sighed.

"Okay, so when's the exchange happening then? I've been here for four days. How long is he gonna keep me here before he decides to let me go?"

"Kano hasn't told me when he wants the exchange to happen. When I see him later today, I'll ask him and I'll let you know."

"Thanks Wyatt. I would really appreciate that."

"You're welcome Cassandra. I'm sure the exchange will happen soon."