The metallic scent of blood stirred his conscious, along with a damp mustiness that reminded him of a cold cave. Ryan drew a breath; the movement caused a sharp pain to radiate through his chest, broken ribs? Other parts of his body ached and throbbed, at least he knew he was alive. Death wouldn’t be this painful. Ryan wanted to open his eyes but they felt stuck together like bad conjunctivitis. He’d taken a few hits to the face, how many exactly he’d lost count, but they would have caused the swelling. He must look amazing if how he felt was any indication.
He breathed again, less painful now as he grew used to the familiar pain, but this time he noticed a hint of something sweet. Like the last remains of perfume days after it was applied.
Something cold and wet touched his forehead and he flinched, causing himself more pain. What the hell was it? Suddenly he felt water rolling down his face as if he’d been crying.
He felt the air shift and felt the presence of someone else in the room. Where was he? For a second he panicked.
‘Stay still,’ came soft feminine words. ‘It’s okay,’ she added. Her Filipino accent was thick.
Then it came to him. He was in the cell. Jamison’s cell that he uses for his girls. This poor abused girl was helping him. It only made him feel worse. It should be the other way around.
‘Thank you,’ he mumbled through cracked split lips that were dry and tasted like blood.
As if she had read his mind, he felt a wet cloth dabbed across his lips, making them feel heaps better. Then the cloth shifted back to his eyes and around his face. He must be a right bloody mess.
‘You take much pain,’ she said. ‘You hurt?’
‘A little,’ he said truthfully. Actually it was a lot, but with all of the pain from different spots all competing to be felt, it almost dulled into one ache. He focused his mind on Jaz, as he always did when things got too hard.
He’d taken the beatings, the questions, and stuck to his guns, repeating the same story. Only he knew it was just a matter of time before Jamison dug deep into his identity and found some anomaly. He was trying everything in his power to win Jamison over, to prove to him he was loyal. Even mentioning Annaliese and being worried about her. He could tell Jamison was unsure but it was Randall who was taking control of things. The big man took great delight in pounding his flesh, trying to get him to confess.
‘How long have I been out?’ Ryan asked the girl. The days were hard to keep track of.
‘Long time. Other girl taken,’ she said softly. ‘Can you sit up? Drink?’
Ryan felt his chest; his clothes had been taken off except for his pants, his skin was slimy and crusty at the same time. ‘I think so.’ He pushed himself up into a sitting position, his hands protested as they pushed against the manky bed. The girl sat beside him and he felt a cup pressed against his lips. He drank the whole lot. ‘Thank you.’
Ryan dragged his body backwards until he could lean back against the wall. He tried to use his legs but the muscles screamed out, his feet felt like they were cut.
Overall, his injuries were ones that could be hidden later. If Jamison found nothing, maybe he would let Ryan go back to work and his daughter. If that was the case he couldn’t go back too damaged. Missing fingers and other body parts would be hard to explain. For now Jamison and Randall were keeping it all above board, well, as much as you could with torture.
‘Will they come for you again?’ she asked.
‘I reckon so.’
‘You strong man,’ she added. Her tiny hands touched his chest as she continued to clean him up.
Ryan almost laughed, he didn’t feel so strong right now. He wanted Jaz. Holding her again was the only thought getting him through at the moment. He would suffer whatever Randall wanted as long as he could kiss Jaz again. Nothing else mattered.
He wished he could pry open his eyes and see the girl helping him. Did she have raven hair like Jaz? ‘How long have you been here?’ he asked her.
‘Two days. They come for you then I clean you. So much blood,’ she said. ‘What you do, mister?’
‘I’m not actually sure what I’ve done wrong,’ he said. Ryan wasn’t taking any chances. For all he knew they could be watching him now, recording him, you name it. The girl could even be a plant to get him to talk. ‘Thank you for your help,’ he said, trying to find her hand. It was so slender. ‘How old are you?’
‘Nearly sixteen.’ Her words were whispered.
Oh my God, thought Ryan. His stomach turned and he felt the worst he’d had in days.
A sound of a door shutting echoed nearby and Ryan felt the girl’s hand tense against his skin. She moved away from him and he felt the bed move as she sat at the end. Good girl, she was already learning that she needed to distance herself from him. He hated to think what she’d been through already. Without even seeing her he got the feeling she was a fighter.
‘Hey, he’s awake.’ Randall’s voice was playful.
He loved his job far too much. He heard the shuffle of more feet and keys jangling as the cell was unlocked.
‘He looks like shit, Randall,’ came Jamison’s voice.
‘He’s a tough nut to crack, sir. But I will. One way or another we will have our answer by tomorrow.’
Shit. Ryan knew what that meant. They were making a decision soon. Ryan didn’t like his chances with Randall, who would love to kill him, or Jamison who hated any little blip in his plans.
He hoped if they killed him the poor girl wasn’t around to see it. She’d been through enough already.
‘Come on then, time to get reacquainted,’ said Randall.
His big hand wrapped around Ryan’s arm, gripping it like a vice as he pulled him up off the bed. Ryan clenched his teeth, refusing to cry out in pain. He stood on his tender feet and went where Randall pushed him, each step feeling like it was on broken glass. Putting out his hand he tried to feel for a wall or a door, instead finding the cold metal of the cell. He tried to keep track of where he was going, if only he could prise open his eyes. The water the girl had washed them with was helping, he felt the blood that had helped glue them shut starting to soften.
He worked out they went through the door to the other area of the warehouse, where he’d been taken each time for his torture. This is where they had the pulley chains that hung from the ceiling, which they tied his hands into. Randall had enjoyed lifting him off the ground for hours on end, his wrists bruised to the bone from the heavy chains.
Before the beatings had started Ryan had seen the area they’d taken him. It was behind a half wall that segregated the open space, this place being where the sorting of fish was done; the other side was where the forklifts brought the crates in from a locked sliding door on the side. So if anyone happened to come in they were still hidden from view. Ryan wondered if the crew ever noticed his blood on the floor, or did it just mix in with the blood of the fish? Maybe Jamison had given them the week off? Ryan did recall hearing noises, the beeping of machines and the squeal of forklift tyres on the concrete floor, so he assumed they had worked some days. Maybe it was only when the boats came in with the fish?
Maybe Randall had one of the Shesha Serpents clean up after he’d spilt Ryan’s blood all over the floor?
Even though Ryan couldn’t see, in his mind he knew exactly where he was. His wrists were bound together again, the cold chain instantly causing pain and he wasn’t even lifted up yet. Jaz’s picture came to mind as he tried to escape to another place where the pain wouldn’t touch him.
The clang of the chains rattled through the shed as Randall had the pulley lift Ryan’s arms up above his head.
‘So have you got anything to tell us, Reece? Is your name Reece?’ said Randall.
‘Yes, my name is Reece Lancaster. I want to see my girlfriend. Is she here? Can I see her?’ he said, starting his usual tirade. He tried to think like an innocent person. What would they say? ‘I’ve told you, Randall, you’re barking up the wrong bloody tree. You will see,’ he said confidently.
And that’s when Randall hit him in the chest on one of his broken ribs. Ryan fell forwards, struggling for breath and wondering if it really was blood he was tasting in the back of his throat. A wave of nausea hit him and if he could see he was sure it would all be fading to a hazy grey. Randall always got mean when Ryan talked so confidently. He knew he was pushing his buttons, but he wanted Randall to see him as sure and smug. He wanted Randall to second-guess what he’d seen but if he wasn’t careful, Randall might just accidently kill him so the boss never found out if Randall had been wrong or not. It was a deadly game of cat and mouse to play but Ryan was confident with Jamison around.
‘Reece, I hate seeing you like this,’ said Jamison. ‘I know Annaliese would like to see you again but you understand we have to be sure.’
‘I understand, sir. I don’t know who Randall thinks I am but I do love your daughter and I’m loyal to you. Randall is just threatened, scared I’ll take his job,’ said Ryan quickly, before he felt the next blow. He needed to put the doubt into Jamison’s mind, had been working hard on it over the last few punishments, but he couldn’t tell if it was working.
‘If we can’t find anything, you are who you say you are and you’re not working for the police or my enemies, then you have nothing to fear. And to compensate for this unfortunate situation you find yourself in, I will make it up to you, buy you and Annaliese a new house and cars, and you will have earned some trust.’
Jamison sounded sincere but Ryan couldn’t bring himself to trust him. If he’d learnt anything over the last few months working for Jamison, it was that he was slippery like oil. No wonder the police couldn’t find anything on him, it was hard enough for the agency to gather information on him. But Ryan had collected bits to put him away, if only he survived.
***
Jaz watched from the dark shadows as Tilly hoisted Cody up onto his shoulders. Cody was armed with a spray can and coated the camera in seconds. It would only be noticed if someone had been watching the camera, but they were counting on them being busy with Ryan. Tilly waved them over so they ran through the darkness in silence, guns in their hands, loaded and safety off. They all wore black, Jaz wore her hair up and under a hat as a disguise.
Jaz nodded to them all. Tilly, Cody, Tay and Ian. They knew their parts in the plan. They all signalled back and Tilly pressed in the code. It unlocked and he slowly opened the door as silently as he could. When the gap was big enough, Ian and Tay scooted through to one side and then Tilly and Cody to the other. Jaz crept down when she got inside and made sure the door shut behind her silently. Except the lock clicked back into place loudly, causing her heart to pound in her chest. She looked to Ian who signalled all was okay. Soon she realised why. Just as the door had clicked shut a rumble of chains had masked the noise. A moment later she heard the chains rattle again, and voices.
Ryan! She’d know his voice anywhere. He was still alive.
Right then Jaz felt the most amazing euphoric high. They weren’t going in to retrieve a body like Ryan ended up doing with his mate Chris. Thank God because Jaz didn’t think she’d be able to handle that. But Ryan was alive. He was bloody alive!
With her pulse racing, she followed Ian around behind the forklift where they hid, Cody and Tilly circling the other side behind some crates. Jaz saw a man step into the light at the last second, he was tall and one of Jamison’s men. Jaz managed to catch her gasp before it gave them away when she recognised Wilkins.
When Wilkins turned around Tilly was behind him within seconds, his hand over Wilkins’ mouth and the glimmer of a blade at his throat. For a split second Jaz didn’t want Wilkins to die, she’d come to know him through the pub and the thought of his bloodshed made her uneasy. But she shouldn’t have worried, for Tilly just made him pass out then dragged him back slowly into the dark where he would then tie him up with the cable ties in his back pocket, which they all carried. And tape over his mouth for good measure.
She was relieved, she’d rather Wilkins go to jail and have a second chance than being slaughtered.
Ian and Taylor crept forward, getting closer to the voices. Ian indicated that he saw three men and one was Ryan. Jaz trembled with excitement. Ryan was so close. She slowly moved forward so she was near Ian, she needed to see Ryan for herself. Her gun gripped firmly in her hands, ready to maim or kill.
Ian moved back so she could take a quick peek around the corner of the freezer they hid behind. It was level with the half wall that separated the room. Jaz moved her head out as far as she dared, just enough for her to see Jamison, another man and Ryan.
Oh my God!
She moved her head back and took deep breaths. Ryan looked like death warmed up, his chest a canvas of blood patterns and purple to black bruises. He was strung up like a cow for carving, his arms stretched out above his head. Jaz could cry at the state of him, the pain he must be in, but she bit down on her lip and glanced to Ian.
He gave her the nod then signalled to Tilly that they were to move in three seconds. It was the longest countdown Jaz had ever experienced. Each millisecond seemed like hours as she waited to save her soulmate.
Just as Tilly and Cody stood up to move, the main door opened and two guys walked in. There was a moment where Jamison’s men and the agency’s guys just looked at each other, trying to determine friend from foe, and then guns were drawn.
‘Who are you?’ one of them shouted.
Jaz cringed as she heard Jamison and his man go silent as they listened. She hoped they didn’t decide to shoot Ryan then and there. Ian signalled to her, his aged face serious and almost scary in the half-light. He wanted them to act now.
Ian and Tay rose with their guns drawn and aimed towards Jamison. ‘Don’t move,’ yelled Ian.
This caused confusion with the men at the door, they were trigger-happy and fired off bullets causing Tilly and Cody to dive for cover. While this went on, the man beside Jamison went for his gun and fired off bullets in their direction. Tay cried out and ducked behind another freezer while Ian and Jaz went back to their hiding place. The stench of fish clung to the freezer as she pushed her body against it for protection.
Jaz signalled to Tay, asking if he was okay. He lifted his arm, it was bleeding.
‘Just a flesh wound,’ said Ian, putting her mind at ease. Ian had practically yelled as the firing of guns and pinging of bullets made for a hell of a racket in the warehouse.
She tried to see how Tilly and Cody were going. They were hunkered down behind a box with nowhere to go. Jaz rose enough to see the two men by the door and took aim. She fired just as she realised one was Bud. He was flung backwards and to the ground.
Oh shit.
Bud.
She didn’t have time to contemplate the nature of his wound because bullets were now coming her way. She dropped to the floor and found Tilly and Cody by her side.
‘Nice work,’ said Tilly. ‘Drawing their fire.’
‘Thanks,’ she said back, while her mind was worrying about Bud.
‘Who are you?’ bellowed out a voice.
Jaz risked a glance at Jamison’s man, he had his gun pointed in their direction. Jamison was hiding behind Ryan with his own gun poised.
Cody stood up, thinking he was hidden from the man at the front door and Jamison, when a bullet slammed into his shoulder, sending him sliding to the ground.
‘Shit.’ Jaz was stunned momentarily. Where had that shot come from?
‘The corridor,’ said Tilly, pointing to the opposite side, and he grabbed Cody’s good arm and dragged him to their shelter.
A man with a bald head and looking like Vin Diesel had appeared from another area. Jaz could see sectioned-off rooms. Damn, how many were hiding back there? Were they outnumbered? This wasn’t good.
Tilly lay on his back, Jaz unsure of what he was doing, then he pushed himself along the ground so his head and gun were sticking out from behind the freezer. He took aim and shot the Vin Diesel man before he even saw Tilly slide out. Jaz grabbed his feet and yanked him back to safety.
‘Cheers,’ he whispered before moving to check Cody’s wound.
‘I’m okay,’ she heard him say.
Ian motioned to Tay, he wanted him to take down the guy at the door. Tay nodded and shifted behind them all, trying to make his way back down the warehouse towards the door. This was his test, his time to learn and grow. Jaz was shit scared for him.
At the same time Ian and Tilly stood up, aiming their guns at Jamison and his man. There was a round of bullets fired, she could hear them fly past and through the tin wall behind her. Jaz wanted to stand up and scream at them to stop before they hit Ryan, but she had trust in Ian and Tilly’s aim.
The only thing on their side was that Jamison and his man were cornered. They couldn’t get out from where they were without getting shot. All they had was Ryan to hide behind.
The warehouse went quiet as they stopped to reload.
Jaz heard the click of a gun. For some reason it made her skin prickle.
‘Move and I shoot this man dead,’ said Jamison’s man.