P. Stormcrow

“I told you we need a bigger crew.”

“Just stay here and keep an eye on them while we go make sure we’ve lost them.”

The phrases made little sense to Finn at first as she drifted in and out. The pounding headache didn’t help and when she tried to lift her head, bile rose from the back of her throat. Holy mother of all hangovers. Whatever shit-ass excuse for booze she downed the previous night was not one she ever wanted to repeat. And that was saying something for her.

A long screech of a chair being dragged across the floor made her wince.

“What do you think? Looks like the kitten is stirring from her catnap.”

Someone else tried to reply, but the words were so muffled, she couldn’t make out what they said. Not that it mattered. The fog cleared from her head as memories of the events leading up to this point resurfaced with painful clarity.

“Oye.” 

The chair she sat in tipped before it righted itself, rattling her.

“No point in pretending. I know the spell is wearing off.”

She cracked her eyes open at last, crusted as they were, and squinted as she waited until she grew accustomed to the dim light. She tried to raise her arms to rub her face and clear her vision only to find herself bound. Fuck.

“Here.” Muscles held a disposable water bottle to her lips.

Yeah. Right. She eyed it, then diverted her glare up at him. 

In return, he shrugged and chugged half the drink himself before pulling it away with a crinkle of plastic and a sigh of contentment. 

The bastard.

Another muffled protest coming from her right reminded her they were not alone. She turned her head to find the one she did all this for in the first place, tied to a chair just like her. Eric fucking Byler. 

Absurd gratitude and relief washed over Finn. Unlike Eric, who seemed as if he had seen better days, at least they hadn’t gagged her and she didn’t sport any bruises. Yet. She doubted the latter part would remain true.

“In case you’re wondering, the cavalry isn’t coming for you. We made sure we lost your tail.”

She ignored Muscles who must, for entertainment, decided to try to get a rise out of her, and scanned the room despite the light driving knifes into her skull. Solid wooden beams criss-crossed over a high ceiling while stairs led to a second floor where doors to individual rooms lined across one side. Pitch blackness filled the windows. Wherever they were, it was somewhere remote, away from the city. 

How much time had she lost? Was it still the same night?

“Hey, girlie.” Muscles snapped his fingers in front of her face. 

Right. Smoker and Salt-and-pepper were either sleeping upstairs or not here. Would she be able to overpower him alone? She tested the knots and found there to be little give from the zip ties holding her.

“So, what does a Stranger want with us?” He folded his arms over the back of the chair he sat, amusement written all over his face.

Finn cocked her head backwards in shock.

He dangles the now inert slap bracelet. “Standard issued, I believe?”

Shit. That, combined with the lack of her jacket meant they had searched her, but her sidearm was nowhere in sight. Did they get her boot knife too? The patch? It was hard to tell in the position she was in, especially with the throbbing pain in her temples still.

“Going for silence now? Where did all that sass go?” Muscles tipped forward. “You should consider answering my questions. It’ll be easier on you. The others, when they come back won’t be asking so nicely.”

His threats did the job. Fear spikes in her but she struggled to keep her head clear. He was a talker. Maybe there was a wealth of information to exploit here. 

One. Smoker and Salt-and-pepper had left for now. 

Two. He knew she was a fed.

Three. He asked her what she wanted with him. Which meant he might not have realized she was here for Eric. Could she use that?

The door opened, and the others stomped in, dashing what sliver of hope she had that she could outwit Muscles somehow. It didn’t help when he offered her an apologetic time and rose from his chair.

“We’re good.” Salt-and-pepper glanced at Finn. “Anything?”

“Nada. She ain’t talking.”

Smoker shook his head, but it was Salt-and-pepper that walked up to her and pinched her chin with his forefinger and thumb. “We have the cabin warded and precautions in place. It’ll take them a while even if they are dowsing for your location. In the meantime, tell the real reason you’re here and who set you on us. Or we can extract the information from you with other means. Your choice.”

She would not get out of this unscathed. The idea was to stay alive. Because she didn’t believe for a second Damien would abandon her. So delay.

She clamped her mouth shut.

He sighed and waved someone over.

Both Smoker and Muscles drew near to free her from the chair. Finn was tempted to lash out, but they never cut the tie binding her wrists together, nor the one around her ankles. Still, she dropped her weight as they tried to drag her.

A curse. She wasn’t sure who it was from, but before she could register what was happening, they had taken her to what looked like a laundry room.

Muscles squeezed her shoulder with a gentleness that surprised her, then walked out, closing the door behind him. His previous warning echoed in her head.

It didn’t take her long to discover why they brought her here. They braced her against a deep stone basin. The sound of the running tap was a roar in her ears.

“No,” she whispered.

“We don’t have to do this. Tell me what I need to know.”

She was aware of how this would go. She should. But the longer she hold out, the better chance her team had to find her. It was a risk to weigh how badly they wanted the information versus how much patience they had. Her stomach sank even as she made the harder decision and shook her head.

Salt-and-pepper fisted her hair and dunked her into the sink.

She didn’t get to take air or hold her breath before water shot up her nose on impact and she began to choke. As her world turned into fiery agony, she tried to straighten, but they kept her under. Panic and dear overwhelmed her mind while an eternity passed by.

Just as her vision went from blurring to shrinking, her captor yanked her out. Air rushed back into her body, but having swallowed water, she coughed and spluttered. But as she started hoping she may catch a clean breath at last, he thrusted her into the sink again, choking off her scream of terror.

He kept going two more times, each she thought longer than the first, each she was certain he would gauge wrong and she would die before he let her up once. At the last time, however, he released her hair and allowed her to vomit up all the liquid she swallowed.

“Ready to talk?”

She was. The burning in her chest reminded her of the abuse her lungs just suffered. She wanted to tell him everything if it meant they would allow her to continue breathing this sweet air. 

Finn glared at him and smirked. “Fuck you.”

He slapped her hard. She reeled backwards, stars filling her vision, but he didn’t stop as he punched her in the gut. She crumpled, but Smoker hauled her up before she could curl up on the ground. Salt-and-pepper pinched her chin again and lifted her face up, looking her in the eye. 

“You should have talked.” The pity in his eyes could have fooled her. “I’ll give you some time to think about it.”

He nodded to Smoker who let her go. She landed sideways on to the hard floor, trussed up still. Then, to her surprise, they rose and left, only to turn off the lights before they closed the door behind them. 

Pitch blackness filled the room. Finn shuddered.

***

It took all of Damien’s willpower to remain level-headed, but his control was slipping. “What do you mean the spell isn’t working?” he demanded. He had provided them with everything, from Finn’s travel mug still sitting in his car to a strand of her hair they found in her jacket.

“They must have warded wherever they are keeping her against divination spells,” Allen explained, his voice tight.

“What about the van?” he asked.

“I’ve got an APB out already.” Olivia didn’t look up from the scrying crystal she was dangling over a paper map of the city.

Everyone was trying their best. But it still wasn’t working, and he was certain Finn was running out of time. He pressed on the patch under his ear again. “Finn, can you hear me?”

Still radio silence. What was the use of his reputation as The Ground when he couldn’t even track down his own partner?

Wait.

“Koo, can you take us to the last spot before we lost them?”

“I’ll get you close.”

It took Agent Koo longer to find a place to stop nearby than it did getting there. As soon as she came to a halt, he flew out and inhaled a deep breath of the night air.

Magic. Just as he thought. It wasn’t light either. Whatever they used to cloak the vehicle had to be large enough to cover the entire thing. A mirthless grin tugged at the corner of his lips as he returned. “Keep the window open and put the siren on. I’ve figured out how to track them.”