Chapter 37: (Getting rid of a delusion makes us wiser than getting hold of a truth – Ludwig Borne)

Gregory sat staring at the computer frustrated that he could not seem to locate his friend Baby Doll. His ghoulish mentor, who seemed to be online all of the time, was unusually unavailable. He only wanted to tell him how well things were moving along. Finally giving up, he shut the system down, and grabbing the bowl of lukewarm broth started to head down to the workroom to resume his project. Deciding he was a bit hungry himself, he changed his mind and went back to the kitchen, figuring his guests weren’t going anywhere, so he had all of the time in the world.

Kate fought against her restraints again; anxious to get to Laura and see how badly she had been hurt. Nothing she tried worked, so in a last ditch effort she started to call out to her friend, hoping to get some sort of response.

"Laura! Laura can you hear me?" Kate called across the room. "Hey! Girlfriend, come on, talk to me."

Laura stirred. She had actually been semi-conscious since Gregory had left the room, drifting in and out, uncertain of anything except the pain in her ankles, and the stiffness in her muscles from being strapped down for several hours. Vaguely she thought she could hear someone calling her. Doing her best to orient her attention in the direction of the voice, she attempted to speak. Nothing came out of her mouth, but a dusty sounding whisper. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried again.

"Hello…?" Laura whispered.

"Oh Gods! Laura!" Kate called back.

"Katie? Is that you?" Laura replied.

"Honey its me. Oh Laura," Kate started to cry, "are you okay?"

Laura tried to lick her lips, but they were still dry. "I’m okay babe. A little dry maybe, and my goodness don’t I hurt."

"Laura, I’m sorry. Listen, we have to get out of here. I just don’t know how." Kate’s voice took on a sound of panic.

"Well sweetie, I can’t see you, but I am sure you can tell that I can’t quite get off this table. Where are you, and more importantly where are we?"

Gregory returned in time to hear the last bit of conversation between the friends. "Well there. Looks like our girl survived round one. What do you say there Laura? In the mood for something to wet that whistle of yours?"

Laura, still uncertain who her torturer was tried to lift her head to get a better look. "Come closer, Dr. Dipshit. I want to see the moron who carves up women for fun."

"Laura! Sshh! Gregory will only hurt you again. He may even kill you." Kate sounded panicked.

Frowning Gregory loomed over his captive. "She’s right you know, bitch. I could kill you in a heartbeat if I were so inclined. Tempt me again, and I may get bored and end this game now."

Gaining a little better control of her faculties Laura lashed out again. "So, Gregory huh? Figures some girly-man like you would stoop to capture and torture. Geez, what ever happened to a good old close range fistfight? Or did your mamma tell you it wasn’t polite to hit girls. Some how I doubt it. Listen pig boy, come on and let me loose. Hell, what are you afraid of? Short, overweight dyke like me? Shoot, I don’t stand a chance, but it would be a hell of a lot better than this redecorating crap. Come on little man turn me loose."

His face a sick purple-red color, Gregory set the bowl of soup aside and grabbing the nearest scalpel, began to slash unevenly at the next bit of tattooed artwork on Laura’s leg. It had been his original plan to remove this particular piece in sections, to prolong her agony, but at the moment he was so angry he determined to give her the highest level of pain. Cutting along the lower part of the drawing, he slipped the scalpel under the image, and quickly removed the three inch pink triangle. Blood seeped freely, leaving a small pool on the edge of the table.

Laura gasped at the initial contact, and then gritting her teeth forced herself to remain quiet, not willing to give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Kate cried openly, not believing that her friend would be so stupid as to harass their captor into injuring her again, this time in a fit of anger.

Again she fought against her restraints, only to receive a resounding crack in the jaw from Gregory as he angrily paced back and forth between the two women. Moments later he slipped the small piece of flesh into one of the saline trays, and throwing the bloody scalpel onto the instrument tray, turned and stalked out the door, slamming it as he cleared the threshold.

Once she was sure he was gone, Laura finally gave in and allowed the tears to fall. She had begun to feel faint again, and knew that it would only be a matter of time before her diabetes and the shock of the torture would put her out for good. She wasn’t even sure in her own mind why she egged Gregory into attacking her again, but a small part of her wanted him gone, to give them time to figure a way out of what was looking more and more like a hopeless situation. Closing her eyes, she let the pain overcome her, the sound of Kate’s quiet sobs becoming distant in her mind.

Jessie signaled to make the last turn down the dark, damp road that led to the warehouse where they were certain Kate and Laura were being held. Glancing at April, she was surprised to see her companion’s eyes shut, her breathing steady as though she were sleeping. Shrugging her shoulder, Jessie slowed down and surveying the surroundings, decided to shut her headlights off, and drift in under the cover of early darkness, and scattered clouds from the prior storm. April sat up the minute she heard the click of the headlight knob.

"Hmm, I was wondering how the hell you could sleep right now…" Jessie murmured, the unknown ahead enough to cause her to whisper.

"I wasn’t sleeping. I was…praying…to whomever would listen. I can’t lose Laura…I can’t." April stifled a sob.

"Don’t fall out on me now April. We need to keep our wits about us, and stay strong. I know he is capable of doing harm to them, but I am not sure he has the guts to kill them, and I don’t want to find out the hard way." Jessie angled the big car through the trees, the warehouse beginning to loom in front of them.

"I won’t fall apart Jessie. I’m a former Marine, remember? When the going gets tough, the tough kick ass. First things first, what do you remember about this place?" April set her face into a concentrated scowl.

"I remember that it is roughly rectangular, few windows, and I know there is an upper level with offices and a lunch room or some such. Our biggest problem is going to be getting in without getting caught. If I remember correctly, there is an old iron staircase running up the back that let’s you into the upper level. If we can get up there, we might be able to sneak past Gregory and whoever he has helping him guard the place." Jessie’s mind was warming up to the coming tasks.

"Okay, then here’s what I want to bring with us…definitely the dart gun. Even if it doesn’t prove lethal, at the very least it can buy us some times. And, I want the flashlight, the rope, the axe, and some of those flares from your roadside kit. The rest we can leave in the car until we get everyone out." April counted off the items on the ends of her fingers.

"How in the hell are we going to carry all of that stuff? And do you have matches for the flares?" Jessie was beginning to think April was crazy.

"No, Jessie, we don’t need matches. The flares have a striker in the cap. They act like a match on their own. I have a small knapsack to put most of the stuff in, and I can hook the axe into belt temporarily." April smirked at the look on Jessie’s face.

"Okay sure action hero. Then you lead this little mission if you’re so smart." April’s face darkened in the dim light.

"April, it’s okay. I trust you to do what’s right. Again, the two most important things we need to do are get Kate and Laura out alive, and not get injured ourselves. The Feds can handle the rest." Jessie attempted to soothe her companion’s nerves as she maneuvered the big car around the back of the building and under the staircase.

As she backed the car up, so that if necessary they could make a quick escape, Jessie noted that the last section of the staircase had been removed. That meant that they were going to have to do some climbing in order to reach the next section up. Pointing that fact out to April, she stopped the car, and the two of them quietly got out to more closely assess the situation. Uncoiling the rope, April slung the backpack over her shoulders, tossed the rope over the nearest rail of the staircase, and bracing her boots against the wall gripped both ropes as she hauled herself within range of the last step. When she was safely seated on the rail, she tied the rope off, and dropped the end down to Jessie. Not to be outdone, Jessie followed April’s example and soon was sitting next to her.

"Here’s where it gets a little dicey." Jessie whispered.

"Yeah, I’m with you. Let’s hope that door is unlocked, and that the hinges don’t squeak. Otherwise, we’re sitting ducks." April was about to stand and climb the stairs when the door above swung open.

Signaling to stay quiet, the two women froze in place. Risking a look up, Jessie jumped slightly when she realized that it was Gregory who had opened the door. He stood silently in the doorframe smoking a cigarette, and gazing towards the rising sun. Fearing that if he looked down, he would see them Jessie bowed her head, and indicated that April should do the same. It was still possible that her blond hair would show up in the dim light, but Jessie hoped that it wouldn’t be so noticeable. Moments later Gregory stepped back through the door, apparently not noticing the two intruders, or the big red car parked just below. He also made the final fatal mistake by leaving the door open to let some air in.

Jessie looked at April and shrugging her shoulders counted to twenty and began her ascent to the open doorway. April took a last moment to scan the sunrise and guess how much more time they might have before it was completely light, and then followed her friend up the stairs. Drawing herself in as tight as possible against the outer wall, Jessie listened intently for any movement inside the building. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. Echoing through the door was the sound of Gregory whistling a light tune as he skipped jauntily down the stairs into the main warehouse. Jessie froze, counting to fifty, assuring herself that Gregory was far enough away from their position on the outer stairwell. Nodding her head towards April, the two women slipped into the dark, musty interior of the building.

Gregory felt…better. Whistling the theme song from the Kendra Knight show, he fairly danced down the steps, ready for more fun with his captive audience. His thoughts strayed to Jessica. He shivered with anticipation, excited about the prospect of regaining his control over her. After the current obstacles in his play/workroom had been eliminated of course. So much to do, so little time.

Stepping through the door to the workroom, he was surprised to see Star still on the floor unconscious. A brief buzz of concern ran through him, afraid that he might have killed her before he could turn her over to Baby Doll. Nudging her with his foot elicited a slight groan, relieving his concern. He redirected his focus to the pair of sea green eyes that were watching his every move. Stepping over to Katie his features softened for a brief moment.

"You know, I can see in a way why she might have been attracted to you. You are kinda cute in a little angel kinda way. She probably figured on using you, and extinguishing that angelic glow before moving on to someone more in keeping with her stature…like me. You’re not good enough Katie, not for the fiery soul that dwells inside Jessica Ryan. I own that soul. It’s mine, and it will never be possessed by anyone else." He smiled beatifically at her before his evil mask slipped back into place.

"You can rot in hell, Gregory. She doesn’t love you or want to have anything to do with you. And she will surely make you pay for this!" Katie shouted at her nemesis.

Moving closer to his captive, he backhanded her across the face, and then waited for her response. Katie fixed him with a threatening glance, intent on injuring, and maybe killing him should she escape her bonds. Not very pleased with her response, Gregory hit her several more times, leaving Katie with numerous cuts and bruises over the better part of her face. Backhanding her a final time, he received an almost euphoric rush when he heard her nose crack. Blood gushed from her nose, dripping down the front of Kate’s shirt. Kate never cried out or flinched much during his abuse, but the shattering of her nose was all she could take. Her chin touched her chest as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Satisfied that he had rid himself temporarily of a minor annoyance, Gregory set his sights back on Laura and made preparations to remove the large tattooed portrait of Jessica as Kendra Knight from her back. This was the piece that he planned to preserve for the future as a reminder to Jessica of who was in charge in this relationship. Turning Laura onto her stomach, he reached for the scalpel when he heard a loud clanging noise coming from the area beyond the workroom door. Dropping the scalpel onto his tray, he grabbed the tranquilizer gun and dashed for the doorway.

Jessie and April had already hidden themselves in the shadow of equipment stored not far from the door of the workroom. Moving quickly when Gregory ran to investigate the noises, they slipped into the workroom, and were stunned by what they saw. April nearly blew their cover by beginning to raise her voice in anguish over the condition of Laura and Kate. Clapping her hand over April’s mouth, Jessie signaled to her to regain control and be quiet. Spying Star on the floor, and recognizing the vague resemblance, Jessie began to formulate a plan.

Grabbing April’s hand she got her to help drag Star out and stash her behind the same equipment they had hidden themselves behind. Star opened her eyes briefly, fear crossing her injured features. Jessie smiled at her, and had her slip her jacket off. Donning the jacket, Jessie whispered to her to remain hidden and to stay quiet, and they would make sure she got out alive.

Leaving April with Star, Jessie took the dart gun and returned to the workroom and lay down on the floor in Star’s place. Her gaze traveled past Kate, and her heart nearly froze with pain from what she saw. Putting her head down, she waited for Gregory to return, vowing silently to make him pay for all he had done to her lover and their friend.

Continued in Chapter 38………….