Slow Burn, Chapter 7/21

CHAPTER SEVEN

Dina was still bleary from the pistol-whipping as the leader of the intruders hauled her up to a sitting position on the divan.  The reporter watched him with half-lidded eyes as he knelt and produced several coils of rope from a duffel bag.  Then she winced and gasped as he jerked her hands behind her and tied her wrists to one another.  He quickly turned his attention to her ankles, which he served in similar fashion.  Dina wanted to struggle, but her muscles were slow to respond, and the man had little trouble forcing her to comply.

For good measure he coiled several loops around her thighs, pausing as he did so to squeeze them in a possessive fashion.  Dina was revolted.  Her revulsion was only slightly lessened when the touch of his rough hands was replaced by the scratchy sensation of the ropes across her olive skin.

Lastly he passed a rope through each of the bonds, running it behind her.  He tied the two ends together, effectively hobbling the reporter.  “There,” he said, “at least you can sit.”  He leaned back against Captain Hawkins’s desk.  “Comfy?”

By this point Dina’s head had cleared enough to muster a sullen “No.”

“Hah.”  He chuckled.  “You should consider yourself lucky.  You’re in here with me instead of with those animals out there.”  He flexed his fingers.

“Who are you?” Dina ventured.  She thought she almost recognized his voice…but from where?

“Ah, that’s none of your concern.  Though I might ask you the same question.”

Dina briefly pondered whether there was any advantage in concealing her identity, but couldn’t think of one.  “Dina Reed.  Channel Seven.”

“Reed?  Hm…Reed…” Dina imagined his brow furrowing underneath the ski mask.  “Right!  The lingerie model who moonlights as a reporter, yes?  I’ve heard of you.”

Dina bristled, though this was hardly the first time she’d met with boorishness on this particular point.  “I prefer to think of myself as a reporter who moonlights as a model,” she said curtly.

“I have no doubt,” he chuckled.  “Though…”  He cocked his head.  “I thought I would have…ah.”  He stepped toward her, and took rough hold of her blouse.  With her hands bound, she was powerless to resist.  Drawing the cotton material tight with his right hand, he used his thumb to flick each button through its corresponding buttonhole, one after the other, in sequence from her neckline to her navel.  Then he peeled back the open halves of the magenta garment till they were bunched around her elbows, laying bare her taut stomach and matching lacy balconette brassiere.

Dina stiffened in the sudden coolness.  “There we are,” he said softly.  His eyes weren’t on her face.  “Didn’t quite recognize you with your clothes on.”  He stood and paced over to the window.

Dina’s face was hot with humiliation, and she glared at him with burning eyes.  Unable to do anything herself at the moment, she yearned for someone to stick up for her honor, to work justice upon the smug face she was sure resided behind the black mask.  Someone like…Nick!

Dina had been too caught up with immediate events to wonder about Nick’s whereabouts.  But now her thoughts raced, fuelled by a high octane mixture of anxiety and hope.  Could these creeps have done something to him?  She hadn’t heard a fight or – God forbid – shooting, and she was sure Nick wouldn’t just knuckle under without resisting.  Maybe he was still outside when this all started.  Maybe he saw the whole thing!  Her heart surged.  The cops could already be on their way!

Just then there was a knock at the door.  “Come,” said the man at the window.  A tall man in black that Dina had not seen before entered.  “Yes, Pullman?  Any sign of Captain Cunt?”

The newcomer shifted nervously.  “Uh, no, sir.  I actually wanted to ask you about the guy here in the hallway that we zapped.  What do you want me to do with him?”

Dina’s heart sank.  Guy?  That had to be Nick.  Zapped…?

The leader’s reply was sharp.  “Put him with the others and tie him up, what’s the big deal?”

“Well, the thing is boss, I’m not sure he’s breathing.”

The leader was drowned out by Dina’s outcry.  “Nick!”  She veritably leapt off the divan, though she only succeeded in toppling pitifully to the ground.  “Please!” she cried from her position on the floor.  “Please let me see him!”  Please, no…

“Shit,” the leader said, somewhat taken aback.  “Fine, come on.”  He strode over and picked Dina up by the crook of one arm, and dragged her out of the office.

Sure enough, Nick lay on his back in the hall, very still.  He didn’t seem injured – but Pullman had been right.  It didn’t look like he was breathing.

“My God, Nick!”  Dina’s eyes brimmed as she threw herself down onto her knees by his side.  With her hands still bound, there was nothing for her to do but lay her head down on his chest, listening for the sound of his lungs and carefully watching his mouth for signs of movement.  She didn’t see any.  Shitshitshitshitshit…

Suddenly she heard a faint rasp, and Nick stirred ever so slightly.  Dina raised her head again, tears of anguish and relief on her face.  He’s not dead – not dead!  But something’s not right.  He’s barely breathing.  She turned haughtily to her captors, who stood awkwardly above the scene.  “What did you sons of bitches do to him?”

The two looked at each other uncertainly.  “Just tasered him, that’s all,” said Pullman sheepishly.

For the first time Dina noticed the secondary holsters each man wore.  “Tasered?! He has epilepsy, you bastards!  He’s probably had a seizure!”  Her voice shook with fury and urgency.  “He needs to get to a hospital, now!”

The leader spoke softly.  “No fucking way.”  But for the first time since he’d burst on the scene, he sounded worried and uncertain.

Next Pullman piped up.  “I’m pretty sure one of the gals Ybarra zapped back there is a paramedic.  Maybe we could let her take a look at him.  When she wakes up.”

Dina’s voice rang out again.  “Please, you have to do something!”

The leader looked pointedly at her.  “What makes you think I care what happens to your friend here?”

She stared him down, speaking in cold earnest.  “Because you’ve gone to considerable lengths to avoid killing anyone so far.”  This supposition was going out on a limb – she couldn’t know how true it was – but she thought she’d read the man correctly.  “You won’t just let him die now.”  A long pause followed, the silence broken only by Nick’s erratic labored breathing.

“Fine,” the stocky man said finally.  “Pullman, put him with the others, and see what you can do about waking up that paramedic.”  She’d guessed right.  Dina allowed herself a small victorious smile.

The leader saw it, and his stance shifted into an aggressive one once again.  “But you’re not going anywhere.  Come with me.”  He grabbed Dina’s arm again, wrenching her to her feet and dragging her into the office again.  “This is far from over, missy.”

Dina caught one last sidelong glance at Nick before the door shut.  She prayed it wouldn’t be the last time she saw his face.