An Evening with Genji

Chapter 10: The Dinosaur and the Bumblebee

Warning: The first scene describes what happened when Neal was held prisoner and may be too graphic for some readers. If puncture wounds are a trigger for you, please skip the first scene and begin reading after the scene break.

* * * * * * * * * *

Azuma Bank. December 9, 2004. Thursday evening.

It must have been at least thirty minutes since Hiroki and Shogo hustled Neal to the garage. He'd tried to remain conscious throughout the ordeal, but he was sure he'd blacked out more than once. The pain from the skewer was relentless.

How long had it been since Shogo plunged it into his side? Maybe an hour? Seemed like an eternity. The first minutes of going down endless stairways were a blur. Hiroki had allowed him to collapse on the floor when they finally entered the utility closet. He had no choice. Neal's legs were shaking so badly he couldn't support himself.

At the moment, they thought he was still unconscious, giving him a chance to think of a brilliant scheme to free himself. What did he have to work with? Hands? Not much help there. His wrists had been zip-tied behind his back before they left the guard station. If he'd been alone, he might have been able to free them, but not with his two captors practically on top of him. Watch? Broken. He'd seen its cracked face when Hiroki slammed his wrist against the guard's desk. It probably wasn't sending a signal. There was no sign of the cavalry.

Neal pressed his wrist against the floor. If he could force the parts together to make contact, there was a chance it could still transmit a signal. One stroke of luck. The watch was on his left wrist. If it had been on his right wrist, the side where the skewer was, he couldn't have managed it.

Shogo was crouched next to him. He was keeping a firm hand on him next to the skewer. Neal had been warned against making any sound or he'd plunge it in deeper.

Shogo and Hiroki were whispering in Japanese. The words came too fast for his sluggish brain to process. Something about police, guns, a car ... what to do with him. Hiroki was arguing they needed him. Yeah, you want to keep me alive. Shogo wasn't happy about it but agreed.

The space they were in was barely deep enough to contain them. Heavy steel doors. Concrete floor with electric conduits and meters on the walls. The cold penetrated his bones, reinforcing the pain. Neal willed himself not to shiver but his body wasn't cooperating.

Hiroki slapped his face. "Hey, Nick, old boy, wake up."

After a few more slaps it was obvious Hiroki wasn't taking no for an answer. Neal slowly opened his eyes.

"That's better. We're gonna take a little trip now. You behave yourself, and we'll drop you off after we're outta here. Sorry we had to hurt you, but we couldn't take a chance you'd do something silly like try to escape."

Neal concentrated on faking a greater weakness than he felt. If they left the closet, he might have a chance to break free and escape. It was the best chance he had. Billy had told him to be an orchid. Time to cowboy up and be a flower.

Hiroki and Shogo got on either side of him and hoisted him up. When Shogo had first skewered him, Neal screamed so loudly that he retracted it a little. It might work again. 

Neal focused on the pain and amplified it. His head dropping forward, he let out a low moan. Hiroki cursed at Shogo in Japanese for being too rough. Neal moaned again. His plan nearly backfired when Shogo grabbed his shirt and caused the skewer to move. Neal reeled, his senses swimming, as Shogo hissed, "Not another sound if you want to live."

"Cool it! " Hiroki ordered. "He's our shield in case the cops are out there. He's in such bad shape it won't be easy getting to the car. Don't make it worse."