Guilty Until Proven Innocent

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya stared at Hank for a long moment, sizing him up. Then with a nod of her head she picked up one of the smaller ones and walked over to sit down by him on the couch.

"I assume you know the basics, trigger, saftey, etc," She said,"At least you know how to put the saftey on before aiming it at your dick so that shows a bit of common sense." Referring to in the hotel room when he had put the gun in the front of his pants. "The most basic mistake a person makes when not familiar with guns is to jerk the trigger instead of pulling it back nice and smooth. That can cause a backlash and will make you miss your mark every time. Stand up."

Once Hank had stood, she came up behind him, holding the gun out in front of him and placing his hands on it, hers on top, her arms around him.

"Okay, this one isn't loaded so you don't have to worry about it going off. Look down the barrel of the gun to aim. NO! Don't close one eye. You need both to see. Close one eye and, again, you miss your target. Keep both eyes open, look down the barrel and target that picture on the wall. Now, you have to pick a spot to hit. Never shoot to kill unless your life is in danger if your enemy isnt in the morgue. I don't like killing. If I have to I will but that is always a last resort."

"Leg, arm, shoulder, shin," Those will slow them down or make it hard for them to hit you if they have a gun. Shoot the shoulder and he wont be able to use it. Shoot the leg and he's on the ground, understand? Okay, neck, head, chest or stomach means you will have a dead or dying man and some long explanations to the local police. They take exceptions to having homicide papers to fill out. If I see you aiming at any of those places unless there is no way to get out alive unless you do, you will feel how effective a shoulder wound really can be. Got it? Good."

Her arm tightened about him, pulling her up against his back as she placed her finger lightly over the one of his that was hooked in the trigger so that it wouldn't interfer with his pull on it but she could see how lightly and smoothly he pulled it. "You have your target, you've sighted him and picked a spot to take him down and get him out of the picture until you can run or arrest him. Depends on if he has friends and how many. Now, pull the trigger. Remember, lightly and smoothly. It doesn't take much to make a gun go off."

She waited until he had done as she instructed. "Well, good for a first try but you are still pulling with too much force. Aim and try again. It only takes a light touch and you can keep it steadier that way. And dont pull up when you shoot. TV cop shows suck. You keep the barrel aimed at your target. It takes more time to shoot, point it to the ceiling and then aim again. It's all theatrics. You keep it steady, aim, shoot, the gun will react to the bullet's exit but not as much as you see on TV. It shouldn't take more than a split second to readjust your aim for a second shot if the first one misses or doesn't take him down. Get a guy whose high on some hard stuff and you are going to be aiming at him alot. And until he's dead he won't stop. But some joe who simply didn't like the thought of being in jail for a drunk driving/reckless endangerment charge is going to go down the moment the bullet hits the leg."

"Okay," She said, readjusting herself behind him,"Once more. Aim, pick a spot and shoot. Better, much better. You learn quickly. Don't know if that's good or not but at least you'll be able to defend yourself." She stood back and her face seemed a bit flush from the close contact but she refused to give anything away with the look on her face. "Remember...I'm watching you as much as the bad guys. Don't make me take you out of the picture for your own safety. I would hate to explain to your folks why their son is in the hospital with a leg wound from my gun when I was supposed to be working for the family...not against it."

Running a hand through her hair, she looked at him. "Get some ammo in the thing and lets get going. We have a jumper to find."

 

[catlover]

Mr Taylor

My phone rang. It was Tony. "we got her", he said "she was in the park and one of my boys spotted her and knocked her out. She's locked in the cage here where we keep the cunt on ice until they agree to whore for us. She's a looker. I think I'll go work her over and then turn the boys loose to do a train on her."

That'll teach her for running out on me that night

"After we break her she and I will have a little talk and I'll call you back. Ok?"

I asked him if he had talked to Brandon and he said "no - we couldnt find him, but we knew he hung out at the ArmPit so we kept an eye on the place and suddenly Jill appeared and we got her"

I hung up te phone and thought about her and how much I wanted her. I left my office and headed over to the whse (that's warehouse - not whorehouse) where Tony ran his operation.

When I got there and got through his security guys, there was Jill barely dressed and tied to a chair, with naked Tony yelling at her and telling her she'd bettrer put out if she knew what was good for her. With that he jammed his cock into her face and said "and this one is the best"

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Jill Meyers

Jill struggled to remain in that delicious state of unconsciousness.
Somehow, instinctively, her mind knew it would be better to remain in that dark ignorance.
But that was not to be.
There were voices around her now … deep … angry …
Her mind was fogged … she couldn’t make sense of how she was feeling.
Her eyelids fluttered, but it was too much effort to open them.
She moved her heavy head restlessly to the side and gasped sharply as she rested her weight on the congealed blood of the wound from where she had been struck.

There was a man close to her now.
Was he famililar? What had happened?
Had she been in an accident? Was she in hospital?
”B-Brandon..?”
She croaked out and managed to pull her eyes open.
”Brandon…”
She insisted calling for him and hearing unpleasant laughter nearby.

She blinked focusing on the man who towered above her.
Still her head was fuzzy and unable to remember.
What had happened? Who…?
”Aahhh!”
She gave a soft startled cry as she felt hands at her blouse, hands that tore the fabric apart.
She didn’t understand … her head spun …
She heard another man’s voice, she felt her arms being pulled roughly as she was hauled upright.
Almost keeling over with the dizziness that flooded her brain, Jill did not resist as they stripped her to the waist.
It was barely necessary to tie her to the chair.

She flinched as the man raised his voice.
There was something very wrong.
The sight of him swung and then fell into focus again ….
Naked…? … was that him. ..or her … ?
What was he asking her … what was he shoving in her face …?
Surely not ….. ?
Jill’s eyes snapped open as she desperately tried to make her brainwork.
She had no idea what was happening, but she knew she was in big trouble!

 

[catlover]

Mr Taylor

I grabbed a chair. Jill looked drugged or maybe just in shock. I told Tony to hold off until she was wide awake. he told one of his boys to bring a bucket of water, which he threw in her face. She blinked and looked up. It seemed as though she was now aware of what was happenning. She looked at me and said "You bastard!"

I was hurt because I really loved her. Since I had met her I hadn't had sex with anyone else except my right hand, thinking about her and how much I wanted to be close to her, but after the incident at the party where Tony put me in an untenable positioin I didnt dare even ask Jill for a date. Now look where we were.

I said "Jill I'm sorry to put you through this, but you got into my computer and I think you found something private of mine. You saw what kind of operation Tony and I run, and you are now in it up to your eyeballs, whether you like it or not. In fact I suspect you have been doing much the same thing which accounts for a lot of our success at the magazine. Want to tell me about it? or shall I tell Tony to go ahead and give you something else to think about before he turns his whole gang loose on you, me included

 

[Rhovan]

Brandon Smythe

Brandon ran from the Post office, he was now near to six hours out of jail, and still hadn't be caught by either side. "I must be good at this," he thought as he jogged. However his sides were now hurting, his feet were forming blisters from shitty shoes and his legs were chafed from the jeans he wore.

"Today is not a good day for running," he puffed to himself as he drew in breath. Another twenty minutes went by and he was there, on the outside edge of the parking lot of Jerry's Armpit. Ducking between two cars he sat, drinking his water and trying to catch his breath. Five, ten, then twenty minutes past before he got up again. He trotted right to the back door of the club and waved at the pair of bouncers. They were dealing with some strung out coke head that desperatly wanted in. One of the bouncers broke off, and he was a thick italian man. Solid muscle, but only a little over five feet tall.

Yes. Yes, he was compensating.

Brandon broke into a smile at the sight of the man, walking him out of ear shot of the other bouncer.

"I need a gun Vinny...but all I have on me this." Brandon pulled the tiny camera from his pocket. Then he remembered the fact that he had withdrawn five hundred dollars from the ATM, which was stuffed in his shoe. "Wait a minute...I've got some cash." He stuffed the camera back in his pocket as he figured it might be useful.

"I need me a pistol...something with a 14 or 15 shot capacity, lots of extra ammo, and I want it to kill quickly. How much for that?"

Vinny looked around, making sure that nobody was watching, then he waved Brandon to follow him, out to his car in the parking lot. They opened the trunk to find a veritable array of weapons. Just about anything you could find. If you needed it, Vinny had it, and everyone knew it.

He picked up a Glock 22. .40 caliber, 17 shot capacity. Light weight, and lined up with three safeties. He set it down in Brandon's hand, with 117 bullets. The magazine and 100 more.

"Three Fifty," Vinny said. He was promptly paid and then Brandon was off. He stopped and turned back to Vinny.

"For $150, will you keep quiet about me buying this?"

Vinny looked back at him, "Unless they pay more than that, yes."

Vinny was all business, and turning an extra buck. Brandon knew that, in fact, everyone knew that. Vinny was not a man for secrets, but was a man for fencing. He was connected to everyone, but beholden to none. One of those rare free agent information brokers/gun runners.

"Probably die soon," Brandon thought about himself as he decided not to waste the cash on his silence, he nodded and ran back into the parking lot, looking for a place to go to ground for awhile.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Jill Meyers

Jill gasped loudly as the water cascaded over her.
She coughed, spluttered and shivered as it ran off her half-naked body.
Moving her head and blinking to get the droplets out of her eyes, the shock began to clear the haze from her mind.
She tried to move her hands to her face and became aware of her bonds for the first time.
Confused she looked down.
She had been partially stripped, her hands tied to the chair and now …
She raised her head and saw Taylor sat in front of her his eyes focused on her in rapt attention.

"You bastard!"

Hate and disgust overrode fear for the minute.
She pulled weakly at the ties on her hands and eyed him helplessly.
Somehow … she had been brought here … to fulfil some perverted fantasy he still had about her?
Or perhaps he knew … but how…?

"Jill I'm sorry to put you through this, but you got into my computer and I think you found something private of mine.
You saw what kind of operation Tony and I run, and you are now in it up to your eyeballs, whether you like it or not.”

The words dropped like chips of ice.
He did know and now she was involved.
The information she’d gathered was more damaging to him than she’d imagined.

”In fact I suspect you have been doing much the same thing which accounts for a lot of our success at the magazine.
Want to tell me about it? or shall I tell Tony to go ahead and give you something else to think about before he turns his whole gang loose on you, me included.”

Jill tried to hold back the shiver of revulsion, but she knew he had seen.

”You bastard!”

She repeated, taking refuge in anger rather than letting the panic sweep over her.

”You know damn well I’m not prostituting myself for you damn magazine! You’ve never been able to accept that there are honest ways of doing business. Did it ever cross your mind that I might just be damn good at my job?”

She sneered at him letting her contempt for his accusation show clearly on her features.

She saw his eyes still trained on her.
She knew he was looking at her naked torso and tried to quell the fear of what he might do.
She tried to ignore the threat he had made … to let Tony and the “gang” and himself lose on her?

She pulled her eyes away from him and focused on the floor just in front of her feet.
She was helpless. She knew it and he knew it.
She could feel her heart beginning to beat out the terror that was creeping into her veins, chilling her much more than the deluge of water ever could.

 

[catlover]

Mr Taylor

'Jill, sorry about the pun but you are all wet."

"I have loved you since the first day I met you. I was delighted at your reaction to that indecent proposal Tony put to me at that party, but I certainly didnt expect your reaction accusing me of sexual harassment. It put me in the position of not letting you know how I felt and still feel about you."

"I have the greatest admiration for your work at the magazine, and have told you so repeatedly and given yoiu several nice raises and bonuses to reward you for it"

"Now it has all changed. Yoiu saw what Tony and I do, and you are in it. You have the choice of becoming my lover and letting me protect you against the rest of this mob, or telling me no and me getting Tony back in here and then the rest of his guys until you wish you could just play with a gentleman like me. You have one minute to make up your mind"

"We will also do a little filming as soon as we can find our photographer, and then you will be in our little gallery along with Melissa and April and June and Susie and the rest of the models you know"

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Jill Meyers

'Jill, sorry about the pun but you are all wet."

She raised her eyes to his with a look of contempt for his stupid joke.

"I have loved you since the first day I met you.
I was delighted at your reaction to that indecent proposal Tony put to me at that party, but I certainly didn’t expect your reaction accusing me of sexual harassment.
It put me in the position of not letting you know how I felt and still feel about you."

Jill kept her peace.
This bastard claimed he loved her!?!
How sick was he?!?

"I have the greatest admiration for your work at the magazine, and have told you so repeatedly and given you several nice raises and bonuses to reward you for it"

And everyone she earned above board, she wanted to scream at him! … but kept her peace.

"Now it has all changed. You saw what Tony and I do, and you are in it.”

She tried not to flinch as he moved closer to her, his eyes intent as he held her gaze.

”You have the choice of becoming my lover and letting me protect you against the rest of this mob, or telling me no and me getting Tony back in here and then the rest of his guys until you wish you could just play with a gentleman like me.”

Jill paled, her body trembling as he laid out her options.
He thought himself a gentleman did he?
But compared to the other thugs, especially Tony, who made her flesh crawl …

”You have one minute to make up your mind"

Her eyes flew open, aghast at the proposition he laid before her.

"We will also do a little filming as soon as we can find our photographer, and then you will be in our little gallery along with Melissa and April and June and Susie and the rest of the models you know"

Jill felt so revolted by the whole scenario.

”Noooo! … no cameras… no … “

She cried out before she could stop the words.
Cursing her stupidity, she dragged her eyes away.
She was so bloody idiotic!
How could she let him know how repulsed she was by that!
It was bad enough that she would be made to … but with the cameras as well …!!

”Please… Mr Taylor … “

She paused realising that she did not even know her boss's first name.

” …. 20 …..25 ….. 30 ….”

He had counted off half of her precious time, before he raised his eyes to hers.

”Yes .. Jill …?”

His eyes raked over her body as she shuddered before him.
What choices did she have?
She was way out of options.
She knew that this man was the only guy who could keep her out of Tony’s hands.
As to how many this “gang” was made up of …

” .. 45 …”

Jill felt overwhelmed by terror.

”Please… just … just keep Tony away from me … and… “

Her voice seemed to break as she swallowed hard.

” … and … the rest of them …. “

She whispered choking on each word.
She wanted to beg him not to use his cameras as they …
But no more words would come.
She squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears still spilled over.
She was so humiliated that she would be driven to consent to be this man’s “lover”… surely he would not expect her to give herself willingly?
But if she didn’t … then would she be raped by him or by ….?

 

[catlover]

Mr Taylor

I leaned over and kissed her closed eye, which opened and looked at me with contempt. Then my hand lifted her chin and i kissed her mouth. It was firm and rigid, but after the second kiss it softened and again she said "please - - - ", ad looked at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.

I fondled her naked breast and leaned over to kiss it while I played with the other one.

Then I untied her hands so she could stand. Her legs were still tied together so she couldnt run, but it also made it impossible for me to finish undressing her. I picked her up and carried her into the next room, a bedroom with a nice bed that we used to make the pictures. Brandon's cameras were still there, which were a useful reminder to her of the filming I had threatened if she didnt play it my way. I wondered if she would recognize them as being his. I wasnt yet ready to let her know that Brandon was our photographer, and he was the one that told us about her when we had the opening at the magazine, and suggested to her that she submit a resume to us.

I laid her on the bed and untied her legs, and tied one to the bedpost. "Just as a reminder, my love, that you are now my love slave, but only mine as long as you cooperate"

She looked at me with some apparent disgust, but when I leaned over and kissed her breast again her arm went around the back of my neck and pulled me close.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Jill Meyers

Jill’s tears continued to brim over as she felt Taylor reach over and plant a kiss on the closed lid.
She pulled her eyes open and glared at him.
Let him see her cry!
Let him see how much she hated having to do this!
She suffered his touch on her chin and allowed him to draw her face upwards.
She resisted his first kiss, but the panic rose in her once more.
He was acting as if he loved her then why…?

He kissed her again, but as he moved his lips away, Jill whispered a plea.

"please - - - "

If he would only help her, release her, if he would …
But no. His hand moved instead to her breast.
She felt him rub and squeeze.
She felt his mouth as it encircled the other fear-hardened nipple as the tears continued to fall silently.

Numbly she rubbed her wrists as he untied her.
Wordlessly remained inert as he picked her up and carried her into a room nearby.
She lay on the bed where he placed her and looked around.
She felt like whore, even though she was being threatened with far worse than any of those other girls … or was she …?
The rope around her leg was untied, but before she could scoot instinctively away to the far end of the bed, Taylor had one leg secured tightly to the bedpost.

"Just as a reminder, my love, that you are now my love slave, but only mine as long as you cooperate"

Jill shuddered.
Just beyond him lay a camera.
And beyond the door was Tony.
And beyond him there were God knew how many men …

Her tears checked, dried in terror as she watched Taylor lean forward once more.
Again he kissed her breast.
She shivered revolted by the feel of his tongue dragging across her flesh.

”This… isn’t love … “

She choked and then whimpered as he moved his mouth to attack her sensitive neck.

”You might force me to do this… but … it has nothing to do with love…”

She whispered, meeting his eyes as he turned once more to meet her terror filled gaze.

 

[Vergis]

Hank followed Tanya's instructions, and understood clearly enough. Ignore the lessons taught in Die Hard, and he'd be ok. No problem. He made no comment of her pressing up against his back, no made a reference to her once the lesson had finished. He had too much in his mind to go adding to it by flirting away with every broad that presented herself, even if she ran around waving guns about.

He loaded the gun, and secured the safety before snuggling it into the small of his back behind his belt and under his shirt. The leather jacket was added as an after thought when looking through his bag for his watch. "Rock n Roll." He whispered while closing the clasp around his left wrist and following Tanya to the door. "Shall we take my car?"

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Lucus Taylor (Narration)

OOC: Okay, going to post this for Jill to react to. Getting up a second post with Taylor with an interaction with Tony that should tie things together. I hope.

IC:

Lucas Taylor looked into her eyes, his seeming to bore straight through and into her soul. There was something ice cold about that stare. As if everything that had once made him human had long ago frozen inside of him. Jill could see no mercy, no love and no escape in their grey depths. What she could see is that she was a possession that had escaped his grasp once and he was not a man who liked to have things he desired taken away from him.

For the longest time, the two stayed like that, neither giving way and then Taylor stepped back, raised his hand...and brought the back of it down and across Jill's face with such force that her head rocked to the side and she could feel the handprint on her right cheek and she knew that she would continue feeling it for a long time to come.

His mouth was curled into a snarl as he looked down at her naked form and, when he spoke, the voice was filled with poison, each word like a dagger, meant to wound and fester.

"Bitch!" He said, his tone controled but anger simmering underneath,"You are my possession. Do you not understand that? I can do with you what I want. I could take you right now if I desired and you could not lift a finger to stop me."

Walking to the dresser where a pitcher of water and glass stood, he poured a drink and, turning, looked at Jill and put the glass to his lips, the liquid moving to flow between them. When he took the glass away, Jill could see the drops of moisture on his lips, reminding her of how thirsty she was. The only water she had had in a long time, certiantly since before she had been captured, had been a bucket full that was dumped on her head. She had had not time to take even a mouthful to slak her thirst.

Placing the glass of water down on the dresser directly in her view, he grinned cruelly. "See, I control everything down to your last need or want. You can't even piss without my permission. I wonder how long it will take for that cocky, holier-than-thou attitude to crumble when your throat is so dry you cant talk. Or your bladder is so full you double in pain."

He comes back to the bed and towers over her. One hand goes to her stomach to slide slowly up it, the fingers barely touching her skin. Moving his hand up to cup her right breast, he teases the soft mound for a moment before taking her nipple and rubbing it lightly between thumb and forefinger. A minute, two pass in this manner and then he savagely pinches and twists the nub he is holding, hard in spite of herself from his treatment. Pain shoots through her like a rocket and he chuckles at the reaction.

"Or maybe you like pain? Is that it, Jill? Do you like what you are feeling now? I hope so because you are going to be feeling alot more of it and by my hand. You are going to know very little time with me that you are not in pain. There will come a time when you beg me to let you give yourself to me. You will willingly do anything if only I stop the pain. Or maybe you will even beg me to give you more pain as I savagely fuck you while watching you writhe beneath me for my own pleasure."

He releases Jill's nipple and stands there watching her. "And you will tell me where you have hidden what you took from me. You will tell me because you want to or because you are afraid or when you finally understand that there is nothing else you can do. I will win. I always win. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can start enjoying yourself. I can give you everything, Jill, or take away whatever you have now. Think on that while I make arrangements with your host for your extended stay, would you? You will be saving both of us a lot of trouble if you come to your senses and cooperate willingly."

Reaching down, he grabs her left hand and jerks it above her head, not caring if he hurts her or not and snaps the handcuff that is attatched to the brass headboard above her, and that she has not noticed until now, around her slim wrist. With one more deft move, he does the same to the right before moving down to her feet and untying the rope from her ankle.

"Can't have you getting cramps in your legs, can we," He sneers as the rope comes free and he tosses it to the ground. "You will need them fully mobile for what I have in mind for you next, little bitch. I won't give away the surprise though. No, I think I will let you lay there for a bit thinking about your immediate future."

He goes to the door and opens it, preparing to step out and into the next room. Pausing, he turns back to smile coldly at her. "Oh, and feel free to thrash around and scream if you think it will help you. The walls are sound proof and no one knows you're here. In fact, I can pretty much guarentee that no one is looking for you. No one at all."

With a sharp laughter he leaves, pulling the door to and Jill can hear the lock click loudly as she is sealed in the windowless room to think over his words and what they mean.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Taylor and Tony (Narration)

OOC: I think I have the plot smoothed out up to now. If I left anything out that needs to be brought out before we get down to serious business, pm me and let me know. I will make sure to bring it up in later posts.

IC:

Lucus Taylor turned from locking the door, looking over to the man seated at the one table that occupied the middle of the room. Except for some crates, chairs and dust, there wasnt much else in the large space.

"I take it by the look on your face she didn't talk?" The dark and menicing man said, throwing the deck of cards he had been playing Solitare with down on the table. "Dammit, Taylor, she could blow our whole operation. If word gets out not only does a sweet deal go down the drain but we have the cops to deal with not to mention my people aren't going to be happy at all. And they are not the kind of people you want putting you on their hate list."

Lucus scowled at the man and went to pull a chair up to the table, sitting down and lighting a cigarette before replying.

"Get hold of yourself, Man," He said not losing his composure,"How are the cops going to find out? We grabbed her before she could talk to anyone or else we would be hip deep in cops by now. I called my office and everything is going along smoothly. That would be the first place that they would come if they had that information. Relax and sit back, let her sweat it out for a bit. She'll see reason. She's a very sensible girl. She's just pissed right now. Once she calms down she will understand that life doesn't have to be so bad, so black and white and you can enjoy the grey areas if you know how to."

"She could have talked to someone," The other man was not convinced,"What about that boyfriend of hers, the one you use to photograph the girls? You let him get away. I thought that you said that pinning that murder on him would keep him under wraps while it led the cops somewhere else besides our doorstep. Okay, so faking the girl's death with one of the models was a good idea. That way we can keep her here for a long time without anyone looking for her. And pinning it on the boyfriend was another one. That way they don't look into it too closely and dig up stuff we want kept buried. But you should have left him rotting in jail. Then he wouldn't be out right now and probably doing the digging himself."

"Shut up, Tony," Taylor's voice had a warning edge to it,"I have explained that already. The longer the trial goes on, the more likely they are to figure things out. If we make him disappear than we have one, got another hold over our little snoop and, two, if that doesnt work we can kill him and make it look like suicide caused by grief over his heartless murder. Whether he jumped bail or ends up dead, the trial is put on hold and it buys us time to get what we want and make sure there is no evidence linking us to anything. The fact that he got away was the falt of your men. If they hadn't tipped him off somehow we would have him here in another room and we could be playing the two off to get that information back sooner."

Tony only gave a snort and picked up the cards and continued his game. "They have a bounty hunter after him. The Man Hunter. She's got a rep for being a bad ass and a score card that makes alot of people nervous."

Taylor did not look impressed. "Reputations are based on heresay and gossip. Any time you have someone in the spotlight you have stories that are told so many times they push the person into an almost superhuman frame of thinking. And, so what? If she's as good as they say and she brings down Smythe than she has just solved our problem for us. If he takes her out than he has another murder to add to the list and there is no way in hell they are going to find him anything but guilty. It's a simple matter to arrange a suicide in the jail for our photographer friend and our problems are solved. No bounty hunter, no Mr Smythe poking about and we still have the girl. No matter how you look at it we win. I tell you we are going to walk out of this without a scratch."

Tony was not convinced. "My boys tell me the girl's brother has been seen around asking questions. Not very subltly either. What about him?"

Taylor laughed. "That fool is no threat to us. Between him and Smythe I think our man would come out on top. And we still have the same solution. One of them dies, no matter which one and things still go according to plan."

There was a moment of tense silence between the men as Taylor smoked and Tony played his game.

"You sure, Smythe doesn't know anything about what really goes on with the girls?" Tony finally spoke up, not looking at Lucus.

"Do you really think he would have reccommended Jill for the job if he knew exactly what was happening? The fool thinks we run an escort service and the girls are doing it because they need more income or other reasons. If he hasn't caught on by now he never will. Besides, we have something hanging over his head that makes it a sure deal that, even if he did know something about it he would keep his mouth shut."

"You got a thing for blackmail," Tony observed.

"Stick with what works," Sneered the other man,"It's gotten me this far, why waste a good tactic."

Tony shrugged and went back to his game. But he was not done with his protests yet.

"I still don't like it."

"You don't have to. All you have to do is make sure she doesn't get away and round up your best man with a camera. After Miss Meyers chills out for a bit I am going to arrange for a little photo shoot. We may as well have some fun and profit while we wait for her to spill where the evidence is."

Shrugging again, Tony threw down the deck and made for the door that led outside of the warehouse. He stopped as Taylor spoke again.

"Oh, and Tony, tell your men to keep their hands off of the girl. She is not to be touched except by me and only when I say so. I have a personal interest in this one."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Jill Meyers

Taylor’s eyes lock with hers and Jill knows that he sees her contempt, her fear, her revulsion.
Jill trembles fearfully but cannot drag her eyes away.
It is as if she’s mesmerised by the pure evil she sees there.
As one is drawn to the sight of an accident, even though the sight of the injured and dying is sickening, so Jill watches the emotions harden in his face with a macabre fascination.
Gone is the pretence of loving her, of offering her protection.
His hatred of her now is almost tangible.

The blow across her face takes Jill totally by surprise.
She cries out in pain, the force throwing her sideways on the bed, her hands fly to cover and soothe the flaming mark he’s just inflicted.
Tears of pain start in her eyes, reflexive tears for she is beyond sobbing now.
Her head is spinning anew with this assault.
Jill looks dazedly up at Taylor, recoiling as he spits angry words at her.

”Bitch! You are my possession. Do you not understand that?”

His controlled anger is all the more terrifying now.

”I can do with you what I want.
I could take you right now if I desired and you could not lift a finger to stop me."”

Jill flinches as Taylor moves around the bed, her eyes moving to the water, as he pours and drinks as if to calm himself.
At any minute … any minute he could lose control …
Jill swallows.
She suddenly realises just how parched her throat is; dried up with horror.
She watches unmoving as he puts the glass of water before her, tormenting her, denying her from quenching her thirst.

"See, I control everything down to your last need or want.
You can't even piss without my permission.
I wonder how long it will take for that cocky, holier-than-thou attitude to crumble when your throat is so dry you can’t talk.
Or your bladder is so full you double in pain."

Jill’s stomach lurches and for a moment she feels as if she will actually throw up.
She struggles for control then gasps as she finds Taylor looming over her and feels his hand move to her queasy stomach and trail upwards.

His fingers move … light .. teasing … as if experimenting …
Does he think she will react to him?
No matter how gentle he is now, how can he think that ….

"AAAHhhhhh!”

The cry tears from Jill’s parched throat as pain sears through her breast.
Her eyes fly to Taylor’s face watching his amusement as he taunts:

"Or maybe you like pain? Is that it, Jill? Do you like what you are feeling now?
I hope so because you are going to be feeling a lot more of it and by my hand.”

A soft whimper escapes Jill, his words slowly sinking into her numbed brain.

”You are going to know very little time with me that you are not in pain. There will come a time when you beg me to let you give yourself to me. You will willingly do anything if only I stop the pain. “

Her mind is screaming ”Nnnooooooo!”, but she remains silent.
The only sound in the room is the sound of Taylor’s softly spoken threats.

”Or maybe you will even beg me to give you more pain as I savagely fuck you while watching you writhe beneath me for my own pleasure."

Her gasp, partly of shock at his words, partly one of relief as he finally releases her aching nipple, is involuntary.

"And you will tell me where you have hidden what you took from me.
You will tell me because you want to or because you are afraid or when you finally understand that there is nothing else you can do. I will win. I always win.”

His measured tones leave her in no doubt as to his determination.

”The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can start enjoying yourself.
I can give you everything, Jill, or take away whatever you have now.”

Again … how can he imagine that she could ever take any enjoyment from this!

”Think on that while I make arrangements with your host for your extended stay, would you?
You will be saving both of us a lot of trouble if you come to your senses and cooperate willingly."

Before she has the time to even process the last part of his statement, Jill feels her left hand wrenched painfully.
Her feeble cry of pain doesn’t even seem to register with Taylor.
Unable to evade his rough grip, Jill feels first one wrist and then the other snapped into unseen cuffs as she is shackled to the brass headboard above her.
Vainly, she tries to ease her hands away into a more comfortable position, but the cuffs are too high causing the harsh metal to bite cruelly.

"Can't have you getting cramps in your legs, can we,"

Releasing her legs is not an act of kindness.
Only now does she realise the frightening numbness that has crept through her feet.
Only now as the blood begins to flow properly around her lower body does the painful pulsing start.

"You will need them fully mobile for what I have in mind for you next, little bitch.
I won't give away the surprise though.
No, I think I will let you lay there for a bit thinking about your immediate future."

Jill watches aghast.
What can he mean? What surprise?
And … surely he wasn’t going to leave her trussed up like this?
Her eyes fly to his face entreatingly as he turns in the doorway.
His smile is cold, merciless.

"Oh, and feel free to thrash around and scream if you think it will help you.
The walls are sound proof and no one knows you're here.”

Jill threw a glance taking in the thick walled claustrophobic room.

”In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that no one is looking for you. No one at all."

Jill wonders at his words, his laughter.
The door shuts heavily. The lock clicks home.
Jill fails to quell an irrational need to call him back.

”Noooo…. Stop …. You can’t leave me in here … like this…. Please … !”

Jill knows it’s useless.
He can’t hear her.
And even if he did, he would not help.
In truth she knows she is safer alone in that locked room.
But …
She glances cautiously around the silent cell.

Jill tries to move position; tries to get some small iota of comfort, but her wrists are chafing, her feet throbbing, her head hammering and her cheek stinging.
Wearily she hangs her head to one side, partially supported by the arm pinned above her.
She closes her eyes and feels her head spinning with a sickly force.

”Brandon… oh .. God … “

She whispers his name, seeking comfort from the image of him she allows to fill her mind.
Surely he would realise … come looking for her.
They had argued … but … surely ….
They always argued … and he always came back …
They needed each other … they were so good together …
Volatile … but … passionate …
Her smile turns to a grimace, her head suddenly filled with images of Taylor;
Taylor touching her, torturing her …

”Brandon…”

She sobs softly to herself, finally finding the relief of tears.
How she needed him now.
How she ached for his arms, his comfort.
Only he would be able to make her feel safe again.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

oops!

*blushes*

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

The weapons quickly disappeared from the table and were placed in Tanya's jacket. She sighed. This went totally against her better judgement. Not to mention the fact that her close contact with Hank had her flustered. And she didn't like being flustered...it wasn't good for the job.

Tanya was not one to get close to others, either physically or emotionally. Everyone she got close to ended up either hurt or dead. When that happens too often you tend to avoid the possiblity of letting someone past your defenses.

The fact of the matter was, with Hank's height and build, she had had to get closer than she liked to in order to show him how to work the gun. He seemed to ignore the fact that she had had to press up against him which she was grateful for. Most men would have made a lewd comment or tried to go farther and she would have been forced to put her boot up his ass in the process. She didn't like doing that to people who were involved in things in spite of themselves and she was glad she didn't have to do it to Hank.

Shrugging on her jacket, she grabbed her cell, cigarrettes and keys. "Separate cars," She said, placing the last weapon in the small of her back as Hank had done. She deliberatly left his gun on the table. If shooting or a death occured she didn't want that kind of evidence linking Hank to anything. Even if he didn't shoot the gun it would be linked through ownership and could put him in a bad spot. Right now he had a gun of hers, the fault would land squarely on her shoulders. She had taken the heat for gun play before, it wasn't anything new to her. Hank, on the other hand, had enough on him mind and didn't need the extra burden.

"Meet me there, I know the man I want to talk to. If there is any info around it can be 'pried' from him. By one method or another." Walking out the door, she waited for him to follow and locked it tight then headed to her car. Pulling out into traffic, the doubt about having Hank with her hit her again. Damn her soft heart. She just hoped it didn't get the man killed. His parents had enough on their mind as it was.


Arriving at the place, Tanya slid from the car and looked around. Hank was just pulling in a few parking spots from where her car was parked and the place was already jumping with business. Who would have thought that there could be so much sleeze in one city. Unless you were used to working with sleeze as Tanya was, that is.

Walking up to the door, she tapped one of the bouncers on the shoulder. He was short but built. Tanya was tough but she had a hard time with this one, she knew, she had had to try it out a couple of times before.

"Hello, Vin," She said with a smile, getting her cigarrettes out and lighting one,"Long time no see."

The bouncer turned to look at her and groaned. "Man Hunter," He said,"Hasn't been long enough for me."

"Yeah, yeah, spare me the sentimentallity, will you? I'm getting misty eyed here. I need some info on a certain jumper. Brandon Smythe. He's been known to frequent the place and I know you have an eye for customers and a memory like an elephant. And don't bother saying you don't know what he looks like. He's been in all the news and its your job to make sure no hard core offenders get inside and bring attention to the place. And you're good at your job, aren't you, Vin."

Vinnie gave her a go to hell look. "I'm as good as I have to be. So, you're the one they sent out after Smythe, huh? Poor bastard. Wonder if they'll invite me to his funeral."

Tanya ignored the statement and reached into one of her pockets, producing a fifty. "Lets see if I can ease your grief at the prospect of our man being among the dearly departed. Have you seen Brandon Smythe?"

The money disappeared and Vinnie shrugged. "Sometimes my memory isn't that good. We're busy and I'm not the only bouncer." Another fifty is produced and disappears. "I haven't seen anyone who looks like Smythe," Is the answer, the emphasis deliberate ment to catch her attention and get more money in hopes for more information. "Seems like he might have come around recently, yeah." As another one is waved above his open hand.

Tanya held back the money. Those who paid her prices didn't realize how much went to gathering information. And Vinnie was not cheap. She knew where to start with him and she knew that he could put a dent in her pocket. "Two more just like it for a description of what he looks like now and what you sold him, Vinnie. We both know why he would stop by here now dont we?"

The man looked at the money, calculated what he had already gotten from her plus the two extra bills that were promised and compared them with what Smythe had or had not given him for his silence. It didn't take long before Tanya had a new visual of her man and what he was carrying. Placing all three bills in his hand, she said,"Didn't pay you to keep silent, did he Vin?"

Vinny shrugged and pocketed the last of the money. "His funeral," He said as he went back to his job.

"Better his than some other innocents," Tanya said under her breath as she moved to join Hank. She had not bothered with paying Vin for information on where Smythe was going. If he knew well enough to come to Vin for a weapon, he knew the bouncer well enough to know that any amount over what he paid for his silence would land any information spilled into the hands of the people he didn't want having it.

Tossing her butt away, she nodded to Hank. "He's been here. He is also smart...and armed. Not to mention looking nothing like his picture. That won't help us now."

"You know the man, Hank, any idea where he would go?"

 

[Rhovan]

Brandon Smythe

Following along with a troup of Guerrilla warriors in Uganda, Brandon learned a lot of things. Most of them didn't apply here because he didn't have a supply of Poison Dart Frogs, or access to land mines and bazookas. However one thing he learned was know your enemy.

As Brandon saw it, he had them all over the place, and having come to Vinny, Brandon knew where he could find that enemy.

Resting comfortably on his back, Brandon watched Vinny at the door. He had taken a very circular route to get to the particular car he was under. His head was propped on a rock as he looked down the length of his body at Vinny on the door.

Then a woman approached Vinny, and money started to change hands. Brandon thought to himself below the car, "Odd...who is she?" Now Brandon didn't know for sure if she was following him, but she was paying Vinny and it looked like quite some cash. At least four bills, might have been five. Then she turned and entered the club, joining a pair of feet whos corresponding body was blocked by another car.

Brandon rolled from under the car and stood up, stuffing the gun into the back of his pants he ran back over to Vinny.

"$50 if you point at the car that woman you were just talking to arrived in."

Vinny looked about, obviously ill at ease, but it was business. "$100" he said.

Brandon pulled the money from his pocket and looked at which vehical Vinny pointed at. Brandon waved and trotted off to the car, approaching it. Touching and listening to the hood, he was aware of the fact that the car was recently driven. He went around the back of the car, and using his small digital camera, took a shot of the license plate.

Brandon moved to the drivers side again, he looked about until he found a rock which was promptly thrown through the window. Using the edge of his shirt, he leaned in and pulled both the hood release and the trunk release. He ran to the front and popped the idiot latch on the hood, then started ripping wires out of their connecting terminals. He popped off the water covers for the battery and filled it with sand, and did the same with the radiator, then he lowered the hood and relatched he.

He quickly ran around the other side of the car and looked in the trunk, curious as to what might be found there.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

After her brief talk with Hank, she motioned him to follow her into the club. It was not the kind of place she frequented but they might gain additional information about Smythe in here as he was known to frequent it quite a bit.

Walking past the bouncers, they entered a semi dark room with heavy with the smell of smoke and alcohol. Half dressed waitresses bounced around showing off their goods for bigger tips, loud music with unintelligble words blared out over a loud speaker, a bar with a large and angry looking bartender lined one wall (you definatly didn't come here to tell your problems to this guy) and a small raised floor was set in the middle of the room for nights when they advertised strip dancing, wet T shirt contests, talent shows turned free for alls and other various activities. Anything to turn a buck, that was Jerry's policy.

Pushing past the large titted watresses, Tanya led the way to a booth away from most of the controlled choas inside. Sliding in, she motioned for Hank to take a seat on the other side of the table and motioned a waitress over, ordering a scotch and waiting while Hank placed his order and the waitress flounced off before she turned and began to speak to him.

"Okay, Meyers," She said as low as she could considering she had to talk over the music,"You said you introduced your sister and Smythe. Now give me the inside story on the man. Where did you meet him, how long have you known him, what the hell would make him do something like this and anywhere else you think he might show up. Get me into his head as much as you can so I can plan my next move."

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Taylor let Jill stew awhile. He waited until Tony had come back with a photographer and he had sat down and discussed the shots he wanted to get in this session, paid the photographer half up front and told him that there would be many more shoots if the pictures turned out to his satisfaction.

When all was agreed upon, he led the way and unlocked the door to Jill's room, knowing full well that whatever real time had passed it would have felt like much longer in her small, confined room, especially in the state she was in.

Telling Tony to stay behind, he admitted the photographer and told him to set up his equiptment while he went over to where Jill lay in a pained daze. He could swear he could hear her whispering something but could not make out what it was.

It didn't matter anyway. Soon she would be doing much more than whispering and he would be able to understand every word of it. He smiled cruelly at the thought. Coming to a stop by the bed, he reached down to caress her cheek softly.

"Time to come back to the real world, my little starlet," He said in an almost soothing tone. "Your surprise is here and I am dying to see your reaction to it."

Stepping back and out of her view, he let her see the man setting up the camera and lighting at the other end of the room.

"I have been assured by Brandon that you are a very good subject for photography. In fact, I believe he has told me that he has several pictures of you. Private ones, more the pity but I thought that it would be nice to have some of my very own and, in the process, you will become a star. Oh, I know, not as well known as those on stage and screen but, I assure you, that as many, if not more, people will view you than all those that gawk at models in a magazine."

"Now, our photographer is setting his equipment up and now we have to make sure the woman of the hour is ready as well. What say we get you a little bit more comfortable so that you can be at your best for the shoot?"

That said, he reached above her head and released her hands but, before the feeling could come back into them, he grabbed her shoulders, yanked her into a sitting position and dragged her wrists together and behind her where she felt new cuffs that were attatched to the bottom of the headboard snap into place so that her hands were kept together, her shoulders pulled back painfully straight and her chest pushed almost obsenely out.

"There," Taylor said in a pleased voice,"Much better, don't you think?"

Coming to stand by the bed, he looked down at her taking in her full body with his gaze. Slowly it traveld up and down her form as if devouring her with his eyes until it seemed that they would burn right into her.

"Well, it's better but I think we can improve on it," He stated as if coming to a decision. Sitting down on the bed beside Jill, he took one breast in each hand and began to squeeze them while rubbing the tip of her nipples lightly. Both of them could feel them spring to life, swell and elongate as a natural response to the stimulation.

"See, Jill," Taylor talked to her as he fondled her soft mounds,"It doesn't all have to be pain. There can be some pleasure too. In fact, if you cooperate, there can be alot of pleasure for you."

Bending his head, he took one of her nipples in his mouth and began to suck gently on it, flicking it lightly with his tongue as his other hand continued to work on her other breast and nipple.

Lifting his head, he gazed into her eyes, his own holding a wicked gleam. "Alot of pleasure, Jill," He said, his fingers still working her stiff nipples,"All you have to do it tell me where the information you took from me is and I will get rid of the photographer and show you just how much pleasure you can enjoy."

 

[Rhovan]

Brandon Smythe

Brand looked in the trunk and was surpised. Three cartons of Tanya's smokes sat on top of a blanket covered bundle. Brandon looked down at them for a second, then he heard a voice.

"Hey man...whats going on?" It was one of the club patrons who was coming to investigate. Brandon snatched up a carton and sent it end over end into the man's head, watching the carton bounce up and then back down into the man's startled hands.
"Get the fuck outta here man!" Brandon hissed at him, as he threw the other two cartons over his shoulders. He watched the man move off before he opened the trunk fully and moved the blanket.

"Bitch must be a mercenary.." He thought to himself as he looked inside. Under the trunk was a shot gun, mounted in brackets to be removed quickly. Brandon pulled the gun down, removed the trigger and action which he threw into the road near the club and re-mounted the gun. He shuffled through a couple files on the top of the pile and held up a knife. It was a massive hunting affair and it was in a bag that was sealed shut and marked with the words, "Evidence." Brandon promptly removed it from the bag and stuffed it into the belt of his pants, sheath and all.

Then Brandon started throwing everything out of the trunk and onto the ground around the car. Everything. He emptied the trunk and then pulled up the carpet to remove the spare tire. Once he had everything on the floor, he moved between the cars, rolling under some and making sure Vinny would have lost sight of him, before crossing the street and hiding under a trunk there. He laid so he could see Tanya's car, and settled himself in, prepairing to wait and see what form of transportation she got in. He held his camera ready, to try and get a shot of the license plate of any other vehical she might use.

 

[Rhovan]

Hank Meyers

Hank followed along behind Tanya, still unfamiliar with the feel of the gun in his waist band. He stuck close to Tanya's side, he wasn't exactly afraid, but he was very aware of the fact that he stuck out in the joint like a sore thumb. Tanya seemed calm, cool and collected...well as much as she had ever seen, so he followed close to her. Not so close as to be on top of her, but close enough that he felt she could protect him.

He didn't hunt people for a living...this was not his kinda work.

Hank watched the waitresses more than his own feet, but he did keep enough werewithal to avoid falling down. He enjoyed a good show, and these women were doing just that. Sure, they didn't have the same pinache that Tanya had, but they also didn't carry guns and point them at Hank on a regular basis.

Hank moved around the waitresses, aware of the fact that Tanya just bowled through them. He slid into the booth with Tanya, his feet immediatly getting tangled with hers. He quickly pulled his legs up and away from hers, afraid she would stomp on his foot or something for 'impeding her ability to run." he watched her order a scotch, and then grimiced a bit as he ordered himself a Bacardi Silver. He didn't drink much, especially when he had a gun in his pants.

"Okay, Meyers, You said you introduced your sister and Smythe. Now give me the inside story on the man. Where did you meet him, how long have you known him, what the hell would make him do something like this and anywhere else you think he might show up. Get me into his head as much as you can so I can plan my next move."

Hank dropped his elbows on the table top, running his hands down from the back of his head and then to rub his eyes, which were stinging from the smoke in the room.

"Smythe...I met him through a friend John. They hung out when John went to Equador...John is my best friend...anyhow. They met at some mission...John was in siminary at the time...now he's a lawyer...go figure."

He grabbed his drink as soon as it hit the table and dofted off half of the bottle with one go, then he started talking again. "Right...so we were hanging out for quite awhile...seven months or so...it was kinda random that he met Jill. He knew where she worked, but they hadn't seen one another except for a real grainy picture of Jill I had on my digital camera. Let me tell you, that thing was piece of shit...anyhow. Brandon is an arrogant son of a bitch...he might have killed Jill just to prove he could do it...he was always running off at the mouth...if he thought you'd argue, he'd bet he could pee for longer or farther than you can."

He sipped from his drink again, shaking his head. "I have no idea where he might show up...his apartment, Jill's place...his work...he doesn't even own a car. If I were him, I'd of stolen a car and dodged town by now...but he's entirely to arrogant to do something like that...probably going back to Jill's to get pictures of the crime scene or some shit...the sick fuck."

Hank's voice dripped venom, when it wasn't totally choked over with sorrow now that he was actually thinking about what had happend. Previously he was in a blind murderous rage, but Tanya had talked him out of that, and it finally hit him that Jill was dead. His baby sister was gone, and there was absolutly nothing he could do about it. He wiped an errant tear and steeled himself.

"You sure when we catch him, I can't just shoot him in the head? Please?" Hank was deadpan serious when he said it, with just a tiny bit of hope shining in his eyes.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya lit a cigarette and sipped at her drink as she took in what he was saying. She mentally ran down the list of places he would go.

His apartment, that was a good possibility. He might need some things from there and every jumper she met usually headed toward familiar places. The most intelligent of them would sneak back in their house, knowing that the cops were staking it out, just to see their live in girlfriend or wife or kids. Home pulled you that way, she guessed even if it wasn't the smartest move.

Jill's place? That might be too risky even for him. But worth checking out. She didn't think that he would be stupid enough to go back to where the girl was killed and, contrary to popular belief, not all criminals returned to the scene of the crime.

His work? Why? Sure his boss had bailed him out but now he was looking for him as well as the cops and herself. No, she couldn't see that as anything but a last resort.

As he talked she could hear him go from angry denial to acceptance and sorrow. He was still angry but now it was a calm anger and that was the most dangerous kind of all. Give her a wildly yelling perp instead of one that was calm and seeming unflappable every time.

Tanya rubbed her forehead. She so sucked at giving other people comfort. Hell, she sucked at giving it to herself. Her hard and fast method was, if she couldn't deal with it, ignore it. If it came back to bite you later at least it was a bigger target and you could hopefully have a bigger gun by that time.

"Hank," She said trying not to sound exasperated,"If you are going to run with me you have to realize one rule that I never deviate from. Shooting is the last...the very last option! Too many people can get hurt. People who don't deserve to get hurt, people who had nothing to do with what caused you to have to hunt another human being down. If I see you even try to draw your gun without your life being in danger you will have that wrist in a cast for a long time. I don't want you or anyone walking in on a scene getting killed. Your parents have gone through enough hell as it is. Don't make them bury another child. You don't know how long eternity is until you spend it hating yourself for bringing sorrow to those you love. As the old saying goes, keep the gun in your pants."

She drew a long breath and tried to change the subject. "Okay, we go to his apartment first. If we turn up nothing, your sister's and then, as a last resort, his work. The last two are very slim possiblities but overlooking any possibility could be a very big mistake. A few more questions before we go. How was their relationship? From what I dug up they were prone to having fights but some couples can fight all day long and still defend each other to anyone else that takes a swing at them. Did your sister ever mention to you that she was afraid of him or feared for her life? Did you ever catch him being violent to her in any way?"

 

[Rhovan]

Hank Meyers

"Hank, If you are going to run with me you have to realize one rule that I never deviate from. Shooting is the last...the very last option! Too many people can get hurt. People who don't deserve to get hurt, people who had nothing to do with what caused you to have to hunt another human being down. If I see you even try to draw your gun without your life being in danger you will have that wrist in a cast for a long time. I don't want you or anyone walking in on a scene getting killed. Your parents have gone through enough hell as it is. Don't make them bury another child. You don't know how long eternity is until you spend it hating yourself for bringing sorrow to those you love. As the old saying goes, keep the gun in your pants."

Hank rubbed his hand over his hair again, then he looked at her, his eyes hard with determination.

"You keep saying that...me and my parents don't get along...me and Jill are just barely on speaking terms. Mainly that I tell her I'm not dead, and she tells me to screw off. But don't get me wrong Tanya, we might not like one another but we don't want one another dead. Someone pissed in my pool, and I plan on shitting in theirs. I wont shoot anyone...fine, but that doesn't mean I wont beat the hell from him."

"Okay, we go to his apartment first. If we turn up nothing, your sister's and then, as a last resort, his work. The last two are very slim possiblities but overlooking any possibility could be a very big mistake. A few more questions before we go. How was their relationship? From what I dug up they were prone to having fights but some couples can fight all day long and still defend each other to anyone else that takes a swing at them. Did your sister ever mention to you that she was afraid of him or feared for her life? Did you ever catch him being violent to her in any way?"

He shrugged at her questions, then spoke again after draining his drink. "I didn't talk to her much...he was never violent around me, or her as far as I know, but he did do a bunch of work over seas in war torn countries and such. He's bound to have picked something up from his travel companions. I however have seen him with plenty of scratches and slap marks. They fought constantly, but it was rarely serious. He was always pissing her off, and she was always straightening him out. He said he loved her, because, "She wont take any of my shit...it's great!" If I had to make a guess...I would say they were really in love...but I've seen couples like that end with someone murdering...the...otherone."

He set his drink aside and stood up, looking around the club. "Lets get out of here before I loose my mind...loud, shitty music doesn't help a converstation."
He offered his hand to help her out of the booth, but looked towards the door. He was trying to be nice, but he highly doubted that she would take his hand.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Tanya

Tanya sighed again. It looked like he was going to have to work this one out on his own. She shouldn't have tried to do the pep talk, she knew she was lousy at it. How could she tell him that she had been through much of the same shit he had without opening up and becoming vunerable? Tanya hated vunerable. She had tried it before, it had almost ended up in her own suicide.

Looking at the hand that Hank held out to her, she started to refuse it and then shrugged, placing her hand in his and rising from the booth. When she stood, she was very close to him, had to brush by him to make her way out, making a path towards the door. Tanya managed to not jerk away from the contact as habit told her to do. It wasn't that she didn't like physical contact or want to be close to someone. She had just learned that keeping people at a distance was alot easier than letting them close. It hurts too much when someone betrays you or gets killed.

Making her way to the parking lot, she paused and told Hank."Okay, I'll follow you to his address. I have it but it will be much faster if you lead the way. If he is still in town we don't need to waste any more time and give him the opportunity to escape."

That brought forth the question of why, exactly, he hadn't skipped town yet? He had had plenty of time. And why come for a gun? Unless he was planning on gun play. He may have heard he was being chased, he may be getting ready for the police when they came, he may be planning on ending his own life in sorrow over what he had done. But the amount of ammo he had bought...no, he was either planning on going after someone for some reason or holing up and preparing for a stand off. One he couldn't win. And she didn't think he was that stupid. Who the hell would he go after? Jill's parents? Hank? Sometimes when they murdered their lover they came back to finish off the close family too. She would have to put in a call to the police and Jill's parents and warn them. She now knew that Smythe was armed and very, very dangerous.

She was some distance from her car when she realized something was very, very wrong. The hood and trunk were up and there was shit thrown all around behind it. A gun appeared in her hands from one of her pockets even as she took off at a run. She didn't expect whoever had done this to have stuck around but she was taking no chances.

Reaching the car, she circled it at a distance, her gun at the ready, safety off. No one around the hood, no one around or in the trunk. Flattening herself against the car, she peered into the windows, noticing her driver side window had been smashed but there was no one hiding in the small car. Having made sure that no one was hanging around, she clicked the safety back on and put the gun away again going to the hood to check out the damage there. She knew it was damaged, the wires were all over the ground in front of it.

What she saw did not bring a look of pleasure to her face. Angry was a mild word for how she looked as she examined what had been done.

"Shit!" She yelled to no one in particular,"Goddamn it! Some mother fucker is going to pay for this and I don't mean only in cash!"

Going back to the trunk, she looked at the stuff on the ground, taking inventory and then rummaged through it doing the same.

"Goddamn!" she yelled again, her head and upper body in the trunk so that it was a bit muffled,"Son of a bitch took my smokes! No one messes with my smokes! Asshole is asking to be hung out to dry!"

Standing up, she scowled. The hunting knife she had in there was gone but her rifle was still in it's mount. Grabbing the rifle, she jerked it out and examined it. It didn't make sense to take a knife and leave the gun. The gun would have brought in more cash if it was a robbery and more of her stuff would have been missing. Noticing the parts that were missing, she threw it back into the trunk and slammed her fist into the car.

"Fuck!" She said through gritted teeth,"Who the hell would have..." She looked around the parking lot at the cars that were there. Alot of them were more expensive than hers, had more stuff that would bring in better cash if it was a robbery and none of them had been touched. She had already ruled out robbery anyway from what had not been taken from the car. No, this was a personal attack.

Tanya could think of alot of people who would want to attack her in this way. Hell, the list was endless. But there was only one person she knew had been in the area recently. One person who would want her without transportation. Somehow word had gotten to him that she was on his trail.

"Smythe," She gritted out and hit the car again. "You have just upped the stakes on your worthless hide, you bastard."

 

[Rhovan]

Brandon Smythe

Brandon watched from under his car...it took only about five minutes after he had found his hiding spot that she found her car. He knew it was her car, because the first thing she did was draw her weapon. He zoomed his camera in on her as she ran, snapping digital shots of her.

"Wonder who she is..." He thought to himself as she checked inside of, and around her car. He saw her look under the hood,
then he heard her voice carry across the parking lot, soft but clear. "Shit! Goddamn it! Some mother fucker is going to pay for this and I don't mean only in cash!"

He smiled to himself as he took her picture, she was mad as hell, and he felt a certain sense of pride over that fact. Then he saw her go towards the trunk, kicking the items about on the ground and moving things with her hands. Then she dove into the trunk and whatever she said next was entirely to muffled to hear from his distance. When she stood up, she looked much more mad than she had before. It was kinda amazing really. He watched her grab the shot gun from the trunk lid, check it briefly and then threw it into the trunk and buried her fist into the side paneling.

Brandon repressed a low whistle at the punch, she was obviously strong, and she probably had a hell of a pain tolerance level. He couldn't hear her, but from the dawning look of understanding and the movements of her lips, Brandon knew what she said.

"Smythe"

He watched her slam her fist into the car again. Then Brandon noticed the man that was near to her, trying to talk to her. She looked like she was ignoring him, but he could no longer see her mouth or hear her, so he aimed his camera at the other man.

Zooming in and snapping away, Brandon suddenly relized whom he was taking a picture of. Hank Meyers. "What the fuck is he doing here?" Brandon thought to himself, as he tracked the duo with his eyes.