Taken
Taken - Chapter 8
Author: Tay_21
Title: Taken
Fandom: Primeval
Pairings: Connor/Abby
Rating: PG - 13
Genre: violence hurt/comfort, angst, romance
Warnings: Violence. Possible Rape. Gun shots fired. Be warned
Disclaimer: Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: This is my first fanfic, so please leave lots of comments and any thoughts on the story. Thanks to Wilemina_29 for the helping with the huge rewrite of this chapter and as always pulling out my Americanisms. In this chapter: Dayton makes his move, can Connor get there in time????
Summary: Abby and Connor find themselves in a very dark situation with only the other to rely on, if they can learn to trust each other.
Chapter 8 - Knight Without Armor
Connor had been working for three days solid. His twelve-hour work schedule was exhausting. However, he was making huge strides toward unlocking the information he needed from the anomaly device in order for his plan to work.
Dayton was definitely back around, but Tom had taken to escorting Connor everywhere he went. He would even station himself outside the bathroom when Connor was using the facilities.
Tom had even made sure that the soldier outside of Abby’s room understood in no uncertain terms that Dayton was not to be allowed in that room.
Connor really appreciated all the effort Tom was going through to keep Dayton away from him, and Abby. This eased his worries a bit and helped him to focus.
He was so close to being able to put everything into play. His work was reaching that point of frustration though, where he knew he could do it, but it was still a matter of getting the right pieces to snap together. The theory worked, it was just the practicalities of it.
That was about the point he heard Abby scream.
****************************************************************
Abby had just gotten dressed after finishing her morning shower. She came out of the bathroom and wrapped her robe around her. It was chilly. She had her back to the door when she heard it open.
“I haven’t decided what I’m going to be cleaning today, so I don’t know what I need yet,” she called without looking back. The soldier didn’t say anything, so she turned around to see what he wanted.
She saw several things at once.
First, the guard who was usually at her door during the day was not the man standing in front of her. The man standing in front of her was the same man who had been spinning Connor’s keys on the day she was abducted. Close cropped hair, built like a brick house but trim and fit. He matched Connor’s description of Dayton to a tee. And he didn’t play fair.
Second, the guard who was usually outside her door was slumped against the wall out in the hallway… unconscious.
Third, Dayton was closing the door.
“Connor. CONNOR! CONNOR! HE’S HERE. CONNOR HELP. HELP, He--”
Abby’s cry for help was cut short by Dayton’s fist slamming into her stomach doubling her over. This was followed by a quick hard punch to her mouth that knocked her backwards to the floor. Her head smacked hard into the linoleum. She lay on the floor completely dazed.
Dayton hadn’t expected her to react like that. Last time they had fought she had responded in pure fight or flight fashion, no screaming involved. He bent down, grabbed the tie of her robe and quickly bound her arms behind her back.
He worked swiftly. She was starting to come around already. Good, he wanted her to be fully awake for this. He stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth. He then quickly removed his belt.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back.
“Connor,” she whimpered softly.
He stuffed the washcloth into her mouth. She started to struggle and tried to push it out with her tongue. He wrapped his belt over her mouth and pulled it tight behind her head. Now she really started to struggle. He pulled her up by her hair and slammed her down onto the bed.
Abby screamed but the gag in her mouth muffled it almost completely. Her eyes were wet with tears. She felt like she was suffocating. She kicked out at him catching him with a glancing blow off his shoulder.
Dayton crawled onto the bed and was now working on pinning her legs, his knees on either side of her hips. He licked his lips as he looked down at her. He was going to enjoy this. He reached down and tore open her shirt reveling a black sports bra.
Abby writhed in her bonds, trying desperately to wriggle out from under him. She screamed again.
He leaned forward and closed his left hand around her throat while his other hand moved to his zip.
************************************************
It took Connor all of about two tenths of a second to react to the scream. He jumped up from his chair upsetting a large portion of the contents of his desk. The soldiers reacted before Tom could and they pulled their guns on Connor. Two of them forced him onto his stomach and secured his arms behind him.
“Tom, please, it’s Abby. I know I heard her. Please I have to help her. PLEASE. What if it’s Dayton?”
“Stand DOWN!” Tom yelled at the soldiers. “Stand down.”
The guards slowly backed off of Connor.
Tom pulled him to his feet and freed his wrists.
“Go,” he told Connor. “We’ll be right behind you.”
Connor nodded and took off down the hall. It felt like he was running in slow motion, like the door to his room kept getting farther and farther instead of closer. He saw someone lying on the floor outside his room. For a second he hoped it was Dayton, but as he drew closer, he recognized the day guard. He didn’t stop to see if he was OK; Tom had said he’d be right behind him.
He crashed through the door and took in the scene in a quick flash. He felt his blood boil at what he saw. It was exactly like the scenes that had so often played out in his nightmares.
Dayton was astride Abby on the bed. She was bound, gagged and staring back at him in wild terror, her shirt torn open. Dayton had one hand poised on his zip, his other hand on her throat, and he was just turning to look at the door.
Connor snapped before Dayton even fully realized he was there. He launched himself at Dayton with a primal growl that was all his own fueled by sheer adrenaline. Connor’s shoulder caught Dayton just under his right arm. Both of them went flying off the bed, across the small room and into the wall.
Connor heard the satisfying crunch of breaking bone from Dayton’s left shoulder followed by a grunt of pain. Dayton made to grab Connor around the throat. Connor ducked his chin and head butted him instead. Dayton’s head snapped back into the wall.
Connor reached up and grabbed his hair just like Dayton had done to him a few weeks before. And just like before, Connor slammed Dayton’s head against the wall. When Connor shifted position, Dayton took that opportunity to slam his meaty fist into Connor’s jaw. Connor fell back onto the floor, dazed. Dayton moved to position himself over Connor. Connor made a well-placed kick to the inside of his knee, and was rewarded with the sound of another satisfyingly loud snap. A scream of pain issued from Dayton and he grabbed at his leg. This threw him off balance and Connor rolled onto him.
All the frustration, pain, fear and helplessness of the last two months filled Connor with a rage he had never known. Memories began to cloud his vision: the pain of a beating that lasted for hours. He punched Dayton as hard as he could in the face. The feeling of electricity flashing across his ribs while he writhed in agony. Another punch. The image of Abby being dragged into the warehouse. Punch. The searing pain of a whip being plied to his back. Punch. The view of Abby, tied down and beaten. Punch. The feeling of hot coffee being poured down his back. Punch. The scene that had just greeted him as he came through the door. Punch. Punch. Punch.
With each blow that Connor landed he half growled, half screamed with a savage satisfaction. He couldn’t stop. Everything else in the room blurred out. His fists kept flailing harder and harder.
The next thing he was aware of was Tom pinning his arms to his side and pulling him back.
“Connor. Connor stop. He’s no longer conscious, Connor. Stop.”
Connor stopped trying to fight Tom off. His screams of rage had fallen into sobs of desperation. He sagged against Tom’s arms and Tom let him stay there for a moment while Connor tried to gain control of himself.
“Connor… Connor, go help Abby. She needs you.” Connor took a big shaky breath and pushed himself up off of Dayton’s unconscious body.
One of the soldiers was reaching up to pull the gag off Abby’s mouth. Connor batted his had away.
“I got it.” He reached around behind her head and undid the belt, gently loosening it from her face. He pulled it free and cradled her head. He took a hold of the washcloth and carefully drew it from her mouth. He pulled her robe closed so she wasn’t exposed to everyone who came in the room. He wiped the tears away from her face.
“Are you alright sweetheart?” His voice was still shaking with emotion.
“Your hands.” She said.
He looked down at his hands. His fingerless gloves were shredded at the knuckles and bloody. His fingers were gashed and raw in several places and, like the rest of him, his hands were shaking furiously.
“I’ll be f-fine… you… you should see the other g-guy.” He laughed a nervous laugh that was half a sob, but when Abby started to look over he reached out and turned her head back to him.
“Don’t, please, it’ll just add to the nightmares. I know it’s going to add to mine. But, I don’t think he’ll hurt you anymore.”
He pulled Abby up into a sitting position and undid the robe tie that served to bind her wrists. It took him a minute for his fingers to loosen the knots. They had been pulled incredibly tight.
As soon as her arms were free she wrapped them around Connor’s neck, burying her face there as well.
“I thought you weren’t going to get here in time,” she sobbed. “He caught me off guard. I’m sorry I wasn’t alert like I promised.”
“Hey, I got here didn’t I? It’s OK. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. I tried, but there was a mix up with some of the soldiers. None of this is your fault. You hear me? None of it.” His fingers were under her chin looking at her closely. Both her upper and lower lips had split in the altercation. “Are you OK?”
“My head hurts and my vision’s a little blurry. I bashed it pretty hard on the floor when he punched me.”
“Tom, can you check her head, I think she might have a concussion or something,” Connor called over his shoulder.
Tom had been working on Dayton, but he got up and came over to them immediately.
“I’ll need to check you out as well Connor. Let me go get my kit.” Tom left the room leaving one of the soldiers to guard Dayton just in case he woke up. Nobody really thought that was going to happen. Not anytime soon anyway.
Connor sat down next to Abby and pulled her onto his lap.
“I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I heard you scream. I got up to come to you right away, but the guards wouldn’t let me. If Tom hadn’t intervened…”
“You got to me Conn. I’m OK. Just some cuts and bruises. I’ll be fine. You’ve certainly had a lot worse while we’ve been here.”
He looked down over her small frame. He took her hand and gently pulled the sleeve of her robe back. Angry red splotches and scrapes circled her wrist.
“You put up a fight didn’t you." Connor lifted each wrist to his lips and kissed them. "Good girl.”
“Yeah, but you saved the day.” She leaned up and kissed him lightly.
Tom came back with his kit and started checking the two of them out. He had Abby put a cold press on the back of her head. He bandaged both her wrists. Connor’s hands had to be heavily bandaged as well. Two of his fingers were sprained and purpling. Tom said he had a sneaking suspicion that he may have fractured a few knuckles as well. Connor thought it was well worth it if Abby was safe from that bastard. Connor’s only other injuries were a bright red knot on his forehead where he had head butted Dayton and a badly bruised jaw.
As Tom was finishing up with Connor and Abby, Mr. Canalla stepped into the room.
“What is going on?” He looked from Tom to Connor to Abby. Connor and Abby involuntarily shrank back behind Tom. “Why do I have a nearly dead soldier on my hands and another one also barely conscious in hall?”
Tom spoke up, “Lieutenant Dayton attacked John the day guard with the intention of doing Miss Maitland harm. Connor came to her defense.”
“And how did Mr. Temple come to be in this part of the building at this time. Isn’t he supposed to be working?”
“I heard her call for help…” Connor started, but Tom silenced him with a look.
“I gave him permission to come to her aid. Surely you would not condone the actions of Lieutenant Dayton?”
“No, I loathe rape, unless I can use it to my advantage. This does nothing for me. It’s going to delay my entire plan. I’m assuming it’s going to be a few days before he can even type again.” He motioned disgustedly to Connor’s purpling fingers.
“Uh, yes, sir.” Tom replied.
“Damn it.” Mr. Canalla turned towards Dayton. He asked one of the soldiers for his sidearm. Connor looked over in alarm. Without warning Mr. Canalla fired three shots into Dayton’s head, which effectively exploded onto the wall behind him.
“Jesus!” Connor cried, pulling Abby away from the fine red spray that filtered through the air.
Mr. Canalla turned back to the stunned soldiers, “clean that up,” he ordered, and stormed from the room.
Connor had his arms wrapped tightly around Abby pressing her head into his chest so she couldn’t see; his hand covered her ear to protect her from the sound. He squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could get them and rocked methodically back and forth with Abby.
Tom put his hand on Connor’s shoulder, “It’s over; he’s gone. It’s Ok, Connor.”
Connor slowly stopped rocking and opened his eyes; his ears ringing. “Who… who does that… who kills their own guy like that… with no remorse… no thought...”
Connor was shaking even more than before. God he hated Canalla. But, at this moment he couldn’t decide if the stronger emotion that he felt was fear or hatred. He was leaning towards fear, mostly due to what he had just witnessed.
Tom turned back to Connor and Abby. “I suggest that you two lie low for a couple days. Get some rest; recuperate. Connor, keep a close eye on Abby, wake her up every so often if she falls asleep. I’ll be back to check on you both in a few hours. If you need anything, just knock on the door as you usually would.”
Connor swallowed hard and nodded quickly in agreement. He was trying very hard to not look in that direction.
Tom glanced over at the bloody mess that was what remained of Dayton.
“On second thought, give me a second.” He stepped out of the room to converse privately with another soldier. He returned a moment later.
“Abby, can you walk?”
“Um, I think so.”
“I can get her where ever she needs to go,” Connor answered.
“Good,” Tom replied, “both of you follow me.”
Connor steadied Abby on her feet. They started to follow Tom out of the room and away from the gory scene in the corner. Abby faltered with her balance and Connor, not saying a word, picked her up and cradled her to him. She laid her head on his shoulder as they walked and closed her eyes.
Tom led them back to the door of the courtyard.
“It’s cloudy out today, but I don’t think it’s going to rain. Even if it does, the edges of the courtyard are roofed in, so you two should be fine. I think it will be better for you to wait here while they clean up your room, than to actually be locked up in there with a dead body.”
Connor looked up at him, “Thank you, Tom. You have no idea how grateful I am to you right now.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just get through the next few days OK? Oh, and Connor, with regard to what happened between you and Dayton… it was him or you, or worse Abby. If it was me, I would have done the same thing.”
Connor nodded silently in acknowledgement and stepped through the door. He felt Abby breathe the fresh air in deeply. He walked to a corner of the courtyard and lowered Abby and himself down onto the ground. He rested his back against the wall and pulled Abby back onto his lap. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh air himself. When he opened his eyes he looked down and saw that Abby was watching him intently.
“Are you sure you’re Ok?” Connor asked her again.
“I’m fine, just keep a close eye on me, like you always do, and everything will be all right.”
He wrapped his arms around her tighter. She snuggled in closer.
“Can I ask you something?” Abby queried.
“Whatever you like.”
“Where did you learn to do what you did,” Abby asked, “back there, when you were fighting Dayton?”
“Becker,” Connor responded. “Danny, him and me spent the weekend at his flat a few months ago and he had us watch one Bruce Lee movie after another. The man has a serious martial arts fetish. You know I think Danny was right… we’ve really got to get him a girlfriend.”
Abby burst out laughing.
“Ow, don’t make me laugh Connor. It makes everything hurt.”
“Sorry. Here’s hoping all this will be over soon and we can actually get to be with our friends again.”
It started to drizzle a little and Connor found the sound quite peaceful. He leaned his head back again and closed his eyes letting it soothe him.
“I’m so ready to go home.” Abby laid her head back down on Connor’s chest.
“Me too,” he replied, “me too,” a single tear slipping down his cheek.
His plan had to work. It just had to. He couldn’t stand being here anymore.
Author: Tay_21
Title: Taken
Fandom: Primeval
Pairings: Connor/Abby
Rating: PG - 13
Genre: violence hurt/comfort, angst, romance
Warnings: Violence. Possible Rape. Gun shots fired. Be warned
Disclaimer: Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: This is my first fanfic, so please leave lots of comments and any thoughts on the story. Thanks to Wilemina_29 for the helping with the huge rewrite of this chapter and as always pulling out my Americanisms. In this chapter: Dayton makes his move, can Connor get there in time????
Summary: Abby and Connor find themselves in a very dark situation with only the other to rely on, if they can learn to trust each other.
Chapter 8 - Knight Without Armor
Connor had been working for three days solid. His twelve-hour work schedule was exhausting. However, he was making huge strides toward unlocking the information he needed from the anomaly device in order for his plan to work.
Dayton was definitely back around, but Tom had taken to escorting Connor everywhere he went. He would even station himself outside the bathroom when Connor was using the facilities.
Tom had even made sure that the soldier outside of Abby’s room understood in no uncertain terms that Dayton was not to be allowed in that room.
Connor really appreciated all the effort Tom was going through to keep Dayton away from him, and Abby. This eased his worries a bit and helped him to focus.
He was so close to being able to put everything into play. His work was reaching that point of frustration though, where he knew he could do it, but it was still a matter of getting the right pieces to snap together. The theory worked, it was just the practicalities of it.
That was about the point he heard Abby scream.
****************************************************************
Abby had just gotten dressed after finishing her morning shower. She came out of the bathroom and wrapped her robe around her. It was chilly. She had her back to the door when she heard it open.
“I haven’t decided what I’m going to be cleaning today, so I don’t know what I need yet,” she called without looking back. The soldier didn’t say anything, so she turned around to see what he wanted.
She saw several things at once.
First, the guard who was usually at her door during the day was not the man standing in front of her. The man standing in front of her was the same man who had been spinning Connor’s keys on the day she was abducted. Close cropped hair, built like a brick house but trim and fit. He matched Connor’s description of Dayton to a tee. And he didn’t play fair.
Second, the guard who was usually outside her door was slumped against the wall out in the hallway… unconscious.
Third, Dayton was closing the door.
“Connor. CONNOR! CONNOR! HE’S HERE. CONNOR HELP. HELP, He--”
Abby’s cry for help was cut short by Dayton’s fist slamming into her stomach doubling her over. This was followed by a quick hard punch to her mouth that knocked her backwards to the floor. Her head smacked hard into the linoleum. She lay on the floor completely dazed.
Dayton hadn’t expected her to react like that. Last time they had fought she had responded in pure fight or flight fashion, no screaming involved. He bent down, grabbed the tie of her robe and quickly bound her arms behind her back.
He worked swiftly. She was starting to come around already. Good, he wanted her to be fully awake for this. He stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth. He then quickly removed his belt.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back.
“Connor,” she whimpered softly.
He stuffed the washcloth into her mouth. She started to struggle and tried to push it out with her tongue. He wrapped his belt over her mouth and pulled it tight behind her head. Now she really started to struggle. He pulled her up by her hair and slammed her down onto the bed.
Abby screamed but the gag in her mouth muffled it almost completely. Her eyes were wet with tears. She felt like she was suffocating. She kicked out at him catching him with a glancing blow off his shoulder.
Dayton crawled onto the bed and was now working on pinning her legs, his knees on either side of her hips. He licked his lips as he looked down at her. He was going to enjoy this. He reached down and tore open her shirt reveling a black sports bra.
Abby writhed in her bonds, trying desperately to wriggle out from under him. She screamed again.
He leaned forward and closed his left hand around her throat while his other hand moved to his zip.
************************************************
It took Connor all of about two tenths of a second to react to the scream. He jumped up from his chair upsetting a large portion of the contents of his desk. The soldiers reacted before Tom could and they pulled their guns on Connor. Two of them forced him onto his stomach and secured his arms behind him.
“Tom, please, it’s Abby. I know I heard her. Please I have to help her. PLEASE. What if it’s Dayton?”
“Stand DOWN!” Tom yelled at the soldiers. “Stand down.”
The guards slowly backed off of Connor.
Tom pulled him to his feet and freed his wrists.
“Go,” he told Connor. “We’ll be right behind you.”
Connor nodded and took off down the hall. It felt like he was running in slow motion, like the door to his room kept getting farther and farther instead of closer. He saw someone lying on the floor outside his room. For a second he hoped it was Dayton, but as he drew closer, he recognized the day guard. He didn’t stop to see if he was OK; Tom had said he’d be right behind him.
He crashed through the door and took in the scene in a quick flash. He felt his blood boil at what he saw. It was exactly like the scenes that had so often played out in his nightmares.
Dayton was astride Abby on the bed. She was bound, gagged and staring back at him in wild terror, her shirt torn open. Dayton had one hand poised on his zip, his other hand on her throat, and he was just turning to look at the door.
Connor snapped before Dayton even fully realized he was there. He launched himself at Dayton with a primal growl that was all his own fueled by sheer adrenaline. Connor’s shoulder caught Dayton just under his right arm. Both of them went flying off the bed, across the small room and into the wall.
Connor heard the satisfying crunch of breaking bone from Dayton’s left shoulder followed by a grunt of pain. Dayton made to grab Connor around the throat. Connor ducked his chin and head butted him instead. Dayton’s head snapped back into the wall.
Connor reached up and grabbed his hair just like Dayton had done to him a few weeks before. And just like before, Connor slammed Dayton’s head against the wall. When Connor shifted position, Dayton took that opportunity to slam his meaty fist into Connor’s jaw. Connor fell back onto the floor, dazed. Dayton moved to position himself over Connor. Connor made a well-placed kick to the inside of his knee, and was rewarded with the sound of another satisfyingly loud snap. A scream of pain issued from Dayton and he grabbed at his leg. This threw him off balance and Connor rolled onto him.
All the frustration, pain, fear and helplessness of the last two months filled Connor with a rage he had never known. Memories began to cloud his vision: the pain of a beating that lasted for hours. He punched Dayton as hard as he could in the face. The feeling of electricity flashing across his ribs while he writhed in agony. Another punch. The image of Abby being dragged into the warehouse. Punch. The searing pain of a whip being plied to his back. Punch. The view of Abby, tied down and beaten. Punch. The feeling of hot coffee being poured down his back. Punch. The scene that had just greeted him as he came through the door. Punch. Punch. Punch.
With each blow that Connor landed he half growled, half screamed with a savage satisfaction. He couldn’t stop. Everything else in the room blurred out. His fists kept flailing harder and harder.
The next thing he was aware of was Tom pinning his arms to his side and pulling him back.
“Connor. Connor stop. He’s no longer conscious, Connor. Stop.”
Connor stopped trying to fight Tom off. His screams of rage had fallen into sobs of desperation. He sagged against Tom’s arms and Tom let him stay there for a moment while Connor tried to gain control of himself.
“Connor… Connor, go help Abby. She needs you.” Connor took a big shaky breath and pushed himself up off of Dayton’s unconscious body.
One of the soldiers was reaching up to pull the gag off Abby’s mouth. Connor batted his had away.
“I got it.” He reached around behind her head and undid the belt, gently loosening it from her face. He pulled it free and cradled her head. He took a hold of the washcloth and carefully drew it from her mouth. He pulled her robe closed so she wasn’t exposed to everyone who came in the room. He wiped the tears away from her face.
“Are you alright sweetheart?” His voice was still shaking with emotion.
“Your hands.” She said.
He looked down at his hands. His fingerless gloves were shredded at the knuckles and bloody. His fingers were gashed and raw in several places and, like the rest of him, his hands were shaking furiously.
“I’ll be f-fine… you… you should see the other g-guy.” He laughed a nervous laugh that was half a sob, but when Abby started to look over he reached out and turned her head back to him.
“Don’t, please, it’ll just add to the nightmares. I know it’s going to add to mine. But, I don’t think he’ll hurt you anymore.”
He pulled Abby up into a sitting position and undid the robe tie that served to bind her wrists. It took him a minute for his fingers to loosen the knots. They had been pulled incredibly tight.
As soon as her arms were free she wrapped them around Connor’s neck, burying her face there as well.
“I thought you weren’t going to get here in time,” she sobbed. “He caught me off guard. I’m sorry I wasn’t alert like I promised.”
“Hey, I got here didn’t I? It’s OK. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. I tried, but there was a mix up with some of the soldiers. None of this is your fault. You hear me? None of it.” His fingers were under her chin looking at her closely. Both her upper and lower lips had split in the altercation. “Are you OK?”
“My head hurts and my vision’s a little blurry. I bashed it pretty hard on the floor when he punched me.”
“Tom, can you check her head, I think she might have a concussion or something,” Connor called over his shoulder.
Tom had been working on Dayton, but he got up and came over to them immediately.
“I’ll need to check you out as well Connor. Let me go get my kit.” Tom left the room leaving one of the soldiers to guard Dayton just in case he woke up. Nobody really thought that was going to happen. Not anytime soon anyway.
Connor sat down next to Abby and pulled her onto his lap.
“I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I heard you scream. I got up to come to you right away, but the guards wouldn’t let me. If Tom hadn’t intervened…”
“You got to me Conn. I’m OK. Just some cuts and bruises. I’ll be fine. You’ve certainly had a lot worse while we’ve been here.”
He looked down over her small frame. He took her hand and gently pulled the sleeve of her robe back. Angry red splotches and scrapes circled her wrist.
“You put up a fight didn’t you." Connor lifted each wrist to his lips and kissed them. "Good girl.”
“Yeah, but you saved the day.” She leaned up and kissed him lightly.
Tom came back with his kit and started checking the two of them out. He had Abby put a cold press on the back of her head. He bandaged both her wrists. Connor’s hands had to be heavily bandaged as well. Two of his fingers were sprained and purpling. Tom said he had a sneaking suspicion that he may have fractured a few knuckles as well. Connor thought it was well worth it if Abby was safe from that bastard. Connor’s only other injuries were a bright red knot on his forehead where he had head butted Dayton and a badly bruised jaw.
As Tom was finishing up with Connor and Abby, Mr. Canalla stepped into the room.
“What is going on?” He looked from Tom to Connor to Abby. Connor and Abby involuntarily shrank back behind Tom. “Why do I have a nearly dead soldier on my hands and another one also barely conscious in hall?”
Tom spoke up, “Lieutenant Dayton attacked John the day guard with the intention of doing Miss Maitland harm. Connor came to her defense.”
“And how did Mr. Temple come to be in this part of the building at this time. Isn’t he supposed to be working?”
“I heard her call for help…” Connor started, but Tom silenced him with a look.
“I gave him permission to come to her aid. Surely you would not condone the actions of Lieutenant Dayton?”
“No, I loathe rape, unless I can use it to my advantage. This does nothing for me. It’s going to delay my entire plan. I’m assuming it’s going to be a few days before he can even type again.” He motioned disgustedly to Connor’s purpling fingers.
“Uh, yes, sir.” Tom replied.
“Damn it.” Mr. Canalla turned towards Dayton. He asked one of the soldiers for his sidearm. Connor looked over in alarm. Without warning Mr. Canalla fired three shots into Dayton’s head, which effectively exploded onto the wall behind him.
“Jesus!” Connor cried, pulling Abby away from the fine red spray that filtered through the air.
Mr. Canalla turned back to the stunned soldiers, “clean that up,” he ordered, and stormed from the room.
Connor had his arms wrapped tightly around Abby pressing her head into his chest so she couldn’t see; his hand covered her ear to protect her from the sound. He squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could get them and rocked methodically back and forth with Abby.
Tom put his hand on Connor’s shoulder, “It’s over; he’s gone. It’s Ok, Connor.”
Connor slowly stopped rocking and opened his eyes; his ears ringing. “Who… who does that… who kills their own guy like that… with no remorse… no thought...”
Connor was shaking even more than before. God he hated Canalla. But, at this moment he couldn’t decide if the stronger emotion that he felt was fear or hatred. He was leaning towards fear, mostly due to what he had just witnessed.
Tom turned back to Connor and Abby. “I suggest that you two lie low for a couple days. Get some rest; recuperate. Connor, keep a close eye on Abby, wake her up every so often if she falls asleep. I’ll be back to check on you both in a few hours. If you need anything, just knock on the door as you usually would.”
Connor swallowed hard and nodded quickly in agreement. He was trying very hard to not look in that direction.
Tom glanced over at the bloody mess that was what remained of Dayton.
“On second thought, give me a second.” He stepped out of the room to converse privately with another soldier. He returned a moment later.
“Abby, can you walk?”
“Um, I think so.”
“I can get her where ever she needs to go,” Connor answered.
“Good,” Tom replied, “both of you follow me.”
Connor steadied Abby on her feet. They started to follow Tom out of the room and away from the gory scene in the corner. Abby faltered with her balance and Connor, not saying a word, picked her up and cradled her to him. She laid her head on his shoulder as they walked and closed her eyes.
Tom led them back to the door of the courtyard.
“It’s cloudy out today, but I don’t think it’s going to rain. Even if it does, the edges of the courtyard are roofed in, so you two should be fine. I think it will be better for you to wait here while they clean up your room, than to actually be locked up in there with a dead body.”
Connor looked up at him, “Thank you, Tom. You have no idea how grateful I am to you right now.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just get through the next few days OK? Oh, and Connor, with regard to what happened between you and Dayton… it was him or you, or worse Abby. If it was me, I would have done the same thing.”
Connor nodded silently in acknowledgement and stepped through the door. He felt Abby breathe the fresh air in deeply. He walked to a corner of the courtyard and lowered Abby and himself down onto the ground. He rested his back against the wall and pulled Abby back onto his lap. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh air himself. When he opened his eyes he looked down and saw that Abby was watching him intently.
“Are you sure you’re Ok?” Connor asked her again.
“I’m fine, just keep a close eye on me, like you always do, and everything will be all right.”
He wrapped his arms around her tighter. She snuggled in closer.
“Can I ask you something?” Abby queried.
“Whatever you like.”
“Where did you learn to do what you did,” Abby asked, “back there, when you were fighting Dayton?”
“Becker,” Connor responded. “Danny, him and me spent the weekend at his flat a few months ago and he had us watch one Bruce Lee movie after another. The man has a serious martial arts fetish. You know I think Danny was right… we’ve really got to get him a girlfriend.”
Abby burst out laughing.
“Ow, don’t make me laugh Connor. It makes everything hurt.”
“Sorry. Here’s hoping all this will be over soon and we can actually get to be with our friends again.”
It started to drizzle a little and Connor found the sound quite peaceful. He leaned his head back again and closed his eyes letting it soothe him.
“I’m so ready to go home.” Abby laid her head back down on Connor’s chest.
“Me too,” he replied, “me too,” a single tear slipping down his cheek.
His plan had to work. It just had to. He couldn’t stand being here anymore.