"Melissa. Could you not eat at the computer?" Ryan complained. She had been
picking up after the teen all morning. A sock draped on the kitchen chair, a
hair tie in the sink, Ryan's teddy (which the girl had worn without her
permission) on the living room floor..
"Sorry, sorry," she grumbled. "What crawled up your ass?" she snickered.
"No one...." she laughed at Ryan's obvious celibacy. Shooting the girl a
withering look, Ryan gathered her bathrobe tighter around her waist as she
bent over to pick up the blue lace teddy Ken had given her. She held the
familiar material to her chest. She knew the girl was right. It had been so
long she didn't think she remembered what it felt like....
A knock pounded at the door and she stared down at herself. Barefoot,
wearing only a thin bathrobe (which was clinging to her still wet skin,
making it almost completely see-through) with her damp hair hanging loose,
she knew she was a sight for sore eyes. She peered through the windows to
see Bell standing there. "Shit," she murmured.
She opened the door and stood in the entrance. He gave her a smile, then
let his eyes wander down to her outfit. "Uh...sorry...bad time?" he
stammered.
"No, no. come in, sit down. I'll..uh..be right back," he walked in, noting
the smell of soap and apple shampoo as she brushed quickly past him to her
bedroom. He saw Melissa, cleaned up, sitting at the table with Ryan's
laptop. She seemed intrigued by his presence.
"You here to lay Kathleen? Someone should," chewing on a piece of toast she
continued. "She needs a good bonk. She's too uptight," he stifled a laugh
and seated himself on the pale pink couch.
"No...no. I'm not," he said. She frowned and turned back to the computer.
Ryan's door creaked open and she walked back in wearing a short summer skirt
and a tank top that didn't cover much more than the robe did. "You? In a
skirt?" he feigned shock.
"Too damn hot for anything else," she shrugged. "So what's up?" he rarely
payed visits to her house, and she was rather curious.
"Ken found out that Bates is back in town," he told her. She buried her
face in her hands. "He put out a warrant for his arrest," he told her.
"What's the charges?"
"Conspiracy," he smirked. "I personally don't think he can make it
stick..but...you know Ken," he watched as she smiled bitterly.
§¤§¤§¤§
He watched as the girl hopped into Bell's truck. The truck pulled out of
the driveway, leaving Ryan home alone. Perfect....
Knocking on the door, he waited impatiently for her to answer. She opened
it, and shock registered on her pretty face. One hand waved to her slightly,
while the other was behind his back, holding the syringe filled with a
sedative so powerful, it would knock her out the minute it touched her
skin...
"Jerry? What—" she didn't get to finish. He pushed his way into her house
and slammed the door. "What the hell are you doing?" she yelled. He grabbed
her arm, preparing to shove the needle in it. She lifted one leg and kicked
him upside the head, sending him flying back. He regained his composure and
cursed himself. Stupid. He KNEW she had taken karate.
He ran at her and knocked her in the stomach. She was knocked on the floor.
Preparing the syringe, he pinned her down with his knees and shoved the
needle in her forearm. He watched as she went limp. Picking her up, he slung
her over his shoulder and exited out the back door....
§¤§¤§¤§
Strange lights played in front of her eyes as she forced her heavy lids
open. The room she was in smelled dank and musty. Her head hurt like a bitch
and she was dizzy. Her stomach was heaving and her head spinning. Looking
around the room with blurred vision, she saw only a small window with two
metal bars. The source of the light. Looking around a little more, she saw
three tiny cots with moth eaten thin sheets. The floor was cold and stone,
and the door was metal with no door knob.
The realization had sunk in. He had kidnaped her. She looked down at her
aching feet, and saw that they were chained together. She felt a wave of
despair wash over her, but she quickly pushed it way. She would be okay.
Someone would find her...
§¤§¤§¤§
"Man, I'm am getting worried. It's been two days. Where the hell is she?"
Wick asked again, pacing the floor. No one had heard high nor low of her and
there was a full search party in effect. Ken had ordered all his best men on
the case to find her. Follow every lead. Follow every hunch.
"Wick, they're going to find her," Bell said, rubbing his eyes. "I'm just
glad her mother and sister aren't anywhere in California. They'd be going
even crazier than you are," he tried to joke. Truth was, he was scared. She
would never just up and leave without saying a word to anyone. He knew her.
"Bates has somethin' to do with this. I know it," Wick said, never slowing
down. "I KNOW it," he was getting so mad. Mad that he didn't know where she
was. Mad that he hadn't taken what Bates had said seriously. He hated not
being able to do anything.
"Maybe. Ken is checking that out, man. He's doing all he can."
That didn't help Wick any. It wasn't good enough. He HAD to know....
****
The door creaked open and a small frame of light filled the cold room. Ryan
was shivering from the cold that her short outfit wasn't covering. She heard
footsteps, and turned to see Jerry. She gasped and shrunk back.
"Why, good morning, Kathleen. Or is it night? Or does it matter?" he
laughed. "Here you go...breakfast. Eat up," he handed her a glass of water
and a piece of bacon. "Sorry it's not much. But we can't have you getting
fat." he left the room, closing the door behind him.
She shivered and left the food on the floor. Struggling to stand, she went
over to the small window where she cried softly.
"Wick. Michael. Please....please help me..." she whispered.
§¤§¤§¤§
Captain Durfee stood somberly against the wall. The whole station was
eerily silent. No one felt like talking or smiling when they had no idea
where Ryan was, or if she was even alive. Wick was in the kitchen pouring
some water into a glass. He popped a headache reliever and sighed heavily.
Bell walked in and looked him over.
"You look like shit my friend," he said.
"Yeah, well so do you."
"Hi guys," Carla said, coming into the room. Looking at their expressions,
she sat on the counter. "There going to find her. She's going to be okay,"
she assured them. Bell gave her a weak smile.
"Thanks, Carla. We can only hope," he said.
§¤§¤§¤§
Bates walked in the room again and stared down at Ryan. She was asleep. He
leaned over and blew warm air across her neck. She stirred slightly. He
grabbed her and twisted her onto her back. He handcuffed her hands and
slapped her hard across her face. She awakened and immediately tasted blood
in her mouth. She was terrified by the look in his eyes...
He stood and removed his shirt and pants. Her eyes widened at the
realization of what he was about to do to her. He got back down on the floor
and watched as she tried to slither away. He sat on her legs and removed her
clothes. She had on a bra and lace panties underneath. He stood again and
removed his underwear, laughing the whole time.
She was completely terrified. She willed her eyes up towards the ceiling
instead of on him. Tears were pooling in her eyes and she realized it wasn't
even worth fighting it. She had nowhere to escape to. She had nothing to do
to stop him.
He removed her undergarments and laid down on top of her. "Shut up!" he
ordered when she began whimpering. He punched her in the stomach and she
tightened into a ball and tried to disconnect herself from what was
happening. He'd had enough. Digging his nails into her arms, he did what
he'd come for, relishing the feel of her young sweetness and just the
feeling of being inside her. Standing and quickly dressing, he unchained her
hands and left the room. Outside the room, he grinned triumphantly. Man...he
didn't expect her to have been THAT good..
Seeing that he was truly gone, she dressed gingerly and curled up in a ball
on her bed. Bruised and humiliated, she rocked back and forth, wishing
desperately that someone would find her... Wishing that she could erase the
filth he had forced upon her...
§¤§¤§¤§
"Rescue 77, child injured. Across from Pier 19 on West Cannon and Broadway.
Time out 10:32." the dispatch called. Groggily, they headed to the ambulance
and jumped in. Casting a sorrowful eye to the empty backseat, Bell pulled
out of the station.
They arrived at Pier 19 and saw a teenage girl waving her arms. They
hurried over and immediately saw a young child curled on her side. "What
happened?" Bell asked the frantic teen.
"She fell, and she said her arm hurts real bad. But...she's bleeding and I
don't know why!"
"She fell on a nail," Wick said, noting the sharp, rusty nail sticking up
beside the girl's arm. He did a quick check of her head, then turned back to
the girl. "Do you know if she's allergic to any medications?"
"No–I don't know of any..."
"City base, Rescue 77."
"Go ahead 77."
"We have a female approximately eight years old, possible broken arm, and a
deep puncture to the right shoulder."
"Origin of puncture?"
"Rusty nail in board."
"Copy that."
"City, patient is conscious. BP is 130 over 90, heart rate is 28 palp."
"Over. Bandage puncture, splint arm, start saline IV and transport."
"77, copy," Wick pulled off the headset and carefully lifted the girl onto
the backboard. Bell put a c-collar around her neck as Wick started the IV
and splinted her arm. They loaded her in the back, and allowed room for the
teenager to hop in, also.
They pulled out of the area and headed towards the hospital.
§¤§¤§¤§
Jerry watched as the ambulance pulled back up at the station. Bell and Wick
absently stepped out and walked inside. He chuckled. Soon..very soon
now...they were playing right into his trap.....
