Introspections Ch. 14

"Where are you taking me?"

The bastard smiled down at her menacingly.

"If I'd wanted you to know that I would have told you already. I can come up with a distraction if you'd like. Unfortunately my rather abrupt departure meant leaving my favorite toys behind but no need to worry, there will be a steady supply where we are going. I don't trust you not to bite without a gag, but in the meantime you can put those pretty little hands to good use."

He rubbed the crotch of his pants suggestively and she scowled at him angrily.

"Do you remember the first time we met? I told you to go to hell. My opinion hasn't changed."

One minute he was laughing at her, the next minute he yanked the girl up by her hair and slammed her head against the window hard.

"I'm sure I will eventually, but that's not going to happen today. Remember slut, I know how to make you beg. Do you really want to find out how much pain you can take before you give in? I don't need any toys for that demonstration."

Hannah's instinct was to continue defying him, but reason won out. She would only have one chance for escape and it had to happen before they reached their intended destination. The odds of her being able to act when the opportunity arose were significantly lower if he disabled her in some way.

She gritted her teeth and slumped down, not resisting when he unzipped his pants and reached for her hands, wrapping them around his rapidly swelling member.

She was glad he wasn't demanding a blowjob but she hadn't practiced her masturbation skills and her movements were awkward and obviously reluctant. Her captor didn't seem to care, he was more interested in submission than the actual service she was providing. He was barely focused on what she was doing and it took awhile to actually get him worked up but even as disengaged as he was he couldn't hold out forever. Eventually he exploded, splashing cum into her face and onto her naked breasts. She moved a hand toward her face to wipe it clean and he slapped it away.

"Leave it slut."

She dropped her hands to her lap and slumped down, trying to appear as dejected as he intended her to feel. Let him think he had won. She hadn't even come close to breaking. She was no longer holding onto hope that James would rescue her, she was going to get herself out of this mess on her own.

His attempt at humiliating her completed he slid away from her and occupied himself with his phone. Though she couldn't come close to looking out the window she focused on what she could figure out by using other senses. The men in the front seat were eerily silent so she paid careful attention to their rate of speed and the road. They seemed to be going quickly and the road seemed fairly smooth so she surmised they were on a highway or freeway but she rarely heard anything indicating they were passing other cars so she decided to bide her time. Escaping while naked in the middle of nowhere wasn't going to significantly improve her situation.

As light faded into dusk she became antsy and started shifting about nervously, carefully testing the bastards response. He paid no attention to her discomfort, much to her relief. Suddenly they slowed and the driver swore under his breath, griping to his copilot about construction. Before she could decide if she should act they gained speed again, but this time she could tell they were regularly passing other cars. She decided her best bet was to make a move when there was a reasonable amount of traffic with a hope of somehow drawing attention to the vehicle.

She inched gradually toward the center console, watching cautiously to see if she was drawing attention to herself. The bastard seemed to have decided to once again pretend she was invisible and this time instead of leaving her desperate for acknowledgement it was working in her favor. The driver slowed and swerved as if to miss another vehicle and she took advantage of the moment. Lunging herself over the console she dived toward the driver kicking and screaming like her life depended on it, because it likely did.

The bastard acted first, swearing as he tried to grab her legs. The driver took a hand off the wheel to push her away and gave her the opening she needed. She grasped the wheel as hard as she could and wrenched it to the right. There was an impact as the car sideswiped another vehicle and belatedly she realized she was putting others at risk but she didn't have time to dwell on the fact.

The bastard screamed at his driver to keep going and grabbed the girl by the waist, pulling her back into the back seat. He wrapped his hands tightly around her neck and began squeezing with all of his strength. She heard the welcome sound of sirens in the distance but as spots formed in her vision she realized they might reach her too late.

She was yanked suddenly back into consciousness by the pain in her scalp as the bastard drug her from the car by the hair. By the time she was fully coherent she was standing in the bastard's grasp at the side of the road with his knife against her neck. She watched anxiously as two officers approached them with guns drawn, attempting to verbally subdue the bastard. Screw that, she knew the bastard wasn't going to simply give up and hand her over and she hadn't crashed a car and survived being strangled just to stand naked on the side of the highway listening to a pointless negotiation.

Taking a deep breath she dropped down to make herself deadweight and simultaneously twisted toward him, shoving a finger into his eye. She felt a sharp pain as the knife dug into her neck but she didn't waste energy trying to figure out how bad the cut was. As the two officers moved in she crawled away from the bastard on her hands and knees. Only after she felt she was far enough away to be out of danger did she put a hand to her neck and press against the wound, trying to stop the flow of blood. Moments later an officer was by her side, pushing her hands out of the way and applying a cloth.

As the confused scenario slowly stabilized she was swept off the ground into a waiting ambulance, where a medic thankfully wrapped a blanket securely around her before evaluating the wound. He must have been satisfied that it wasn't serious, after securing a bandage with medical tape and asking her a couple questions to ensure lucidity he let a waiting officer move in toward her.

"That was gutsy."

She wasn't sure if that was a compliment or a rebuke, and frankly she didn't care.

"It worked, I'm still alive. Is the other car okay?"

That seemed to throw the officer off for a minute before he realized the source of concern and assured her the car they had impacted had only minor damage and no injuries. With that reassurance she shifted her attention toward the fate of the bastard.

"He's wanted by the FBI."

The officer nodded.

"We know, one of his men is singing like a canary. We've already talked to a couple agents on the case. You're apparently wanted as well."

She tried to shake her head in denial but the pain abruptly put an end to that motion.

"No worries, from Agent Simeon's tone I'd say his interest is more personal than professional. He's on his way, he's about three hours out. We're going to transport you to the hospital and get you cleaned up and then we'll get a complete statement."

At the hospital they reevaluated the wound in her neck and confirmed it wasn't serious before finally allowing her to shower and adorn herself in a hospital gown. The gown didn't cover much, but it was better than total nudity and for that she was thankful. Another officer came in and took her statement, providing assurance the bastard and his men were behind bars waiting for the FBI to arrive.

She breathed a sigh of relief when James finally walked through the door, a WalMart bag in hand. He held it out, offering it to her.

"I was in a hurry so it's nothing fancy, but it beats a gown."

She accepted the bag graciously and slipped into the bathroom to change. When she emerged she hesitated slightly before he extended his arms toward her. She fell into them instantly and he held her tightly.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I shouldn't have left you."

She pulled away reluctantly and looked up at him.

"Don't you dare blame yourself. You had a job to do. Don't waste energy blaming Agent Perkins either. Is her sister okay?"

"She's fine. She was being held at the compound, she was practically untouched. We need to talk about what's going to happen next Hannah. We have plenty of evidence against the bastard, your testimony would be helpful but even without it we've got enough to charge him with. But we don't have anything solid on Shawn sweetheart. Right now he's not a priority target, at best they'll charge him as an accessory. At worst he will plead out and avoid serving time altogether. However, if you choose to testify, your statement and the evidence of the emails he sent would implement him directly in your kidnapping.

You need to know though that they will likely try to use our relationship as evidence your testimony was coerced. If you choose to testify we will have to keep our distance until the trial concludes. That could be months. I'll support you regardless of what decision you make."

She sat down on the edge of the hospital bed before responding.

"I need to testify."

He smiled at her sadly.

"I knew you'd say that. I've already talked to your parents, they're on their way. I figured you should at least consider moving in with them for awhile."

She looked surprised, but not angry, much to his relief. He'd worried contacting them without her consent would upset her.

"I don't want to put them in danger, are you sure that would be wise?"

He nodded back at her.

"I'll make arrangements for a decent alarm system to be put in, but I don't think you need to worry. The FBI is already in the process of freezing the bastard's assets so I don't think he'll have the resources to send someone after you, even though you did apparently manage to piss him off immensely. You do realize it's only because of you we managed to get him before he left the country? Even my supervisor admitted that."

She gave him a weak smile.

"I promise next time I'll let you be the one to catch the bad guys. I'm done with being kidnapped and held naked at knife point."

He extended a hand to her and pulled her up off the bed.

"I've made arrangements for us to wait at the police station for your parents to arrive. The doctor said there is no need for you to stay here. Let's get a late dinner if you are up to eating and then head over there."

They were both pretty quiet over dinner, but it was a comfortable silence. She welcomed the time to try and sort out her thoughts. It seemed like much more than a day had passed since they had arrived at the hotel where this chaos had begun. At the station he sat with her nestled against his side and finally, exhausted after the day's events, she fell asleep on his shoulder. After awhile he gently shifted her so she could lay down across the bench. Covering her with his jacket he stood over her, contentedly watching her as she slept.

He shook her gently awake several hours later.

"Rise and shine sweetheart. I just heard from your parents. They'll be here shortly. I figured you'd want to freshen up a bit."

In the bathroom she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Dark purple bruises ringed her neck, broken up only by the white bandage taped over the wound on her throat. She shook her head, albeit gingerly, in an effort to clear her thoughts. Throughout her entire captivity she had honestly never feared for her life, knowing she was of more value to the bastard alive than dead, but she was looking at solid evidence that he wouldn't have hesitated to kill her to save himself. The thought was sobering.

James was waiting when she came out of the bathroom and he grasped her hand reassuringly as he led her down the hallway. As they approached the lobby the elevators opened and her parents emerged. They stopped abruptly when they saw her standing there and her mother hesitantly stretched out her arms. Hannah didn't hesitate. For the first time in her life she embraced her mother willingly. After more than a few tears were shed they followed James to a room where they were able to talk privately. James lingered in the doorway, unsure if he should stay or go, until Hannah firmly ordered him to take a seat.

Hannah fielded their questions cautiously, effectively evading answering any that were too emotionally charged. She kept it simple, assuring her parents that the bulk of the last few months she had been reasonably safe. After awhile her mother excused herself to go to the restroom and Hannah accompanied her to show her the way. Hannah's father looked James over seiously before speaking.

"What have you done to my daughter?"

The tone was inquisitive, not accusing, and James wasn't sure how to respond.

"What do you mean?"

Her father raised his eyebrows.

"I've fathered that girl for over two decades and I've never once seen her hug her mother without being as stiff as a board. I highly doubt she learned that from her kidnappers."

James shrugged.

"I suspect Hannah's learned over the last several months that she's much stronger than she ever could have imagined. A better question may be what has your daughter done to me."

Hannah's father eyed him knowingly.

"You've fallen for her."

James smiled back at him wryly.

"Hard."

"Are you going to pursue her?"

Sighing, James replied, "No. I'm going to give her space. When this is over she'll figure out what she wants and go after it. She's stubborn that way."

The other man chuckled, "Now that's the girl I know."

The two men's commiserating was interrupted by the return of the women and a short time later the reunited family was ready to head out. James pulled her aside before she walked out the door and kissed her softly on the forehead.

"Goodbye sweetheart. Please try to stay out of trouble."

She didn't think she could put her thoughts into words so she didn't even try, simply smiling gently over her shoulder at him and slipping quietly out of the room to join her parents.