The Blonde Bowstring: Steelgray's Story

5

When she came to, she could tell her head had been hanging for hours because of the blood rush and ache in her neck. The woman looked around and immediately saw three masked men. Or three masked women who were extremely bulky.

"Uh?" she asked. Her hazel eyes looked from one red skull mask to the next until they all had the pleasure of making eye contact with the Nicole Steelgray.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bacey," the masked one in the middle said. She frowned in confusion. The man next to him pushed him out of a back door in the warehouse while the third one stayed upfront.

"Hello, Miss Steelgray."

"Oh, don't tell me I have to sit through another depressing comedy act," the blonde said, annoyance clear in her voice as she threw her head back and rested it on the back of the chair.

"Do you find this funny?" the red skull asked, pulling out a gun from somewhere behind him.

She lifted her head slowly to see what it was. Immediately her eyes went alert upon meeting the firearm. "I find it dangerous, so maybe now I'll just shut up."

"Tell us what we need to hear and you won't have to worry no bit, perty lady," one of the more well-behaved men said, coming back into the room.

"I really hope that's not how you pick up the ladies," Nicole said with a disappointed voice.

"Just ask her already," the first masked man said, agitated and hushed to his colleague.

Nicole agreed. She wanted to know the reason she was here before miraculously breaking free of the zip ties currently bounding her hands. Her expression was naturally boring, so she tried to force some fear onto her face.

Apparently, these men really needed the head start.

"Did your father survive the accident?" the illiterate man asked. Although now it seemed like he knew how to talk.

"I don't know who you men are or what elaborate prank you think you're pulling but-AHHH!"

She completely missed the taser as she was too busy rolling her eyes. But she definitely felt the jolts. It wasn't the worst that's been done to her, not by a long shot, but it was directly in front of her heart.

Nicole allowed a single tear to fall from her eyes. "Ooh, right in the flat chest. You know if you boys really wanted to be this close to my boobs, you could've just swiped right- AHH DAMN," she screamed again as the taser once again made contact. She grit her teeth as the man furthest away went on.

"Now, we have some questions. And you're going to answer them, Goldilocks."

"Okay," she squeaked out. Obviously, they weren't kidding, and Nicole thought it'd be easier to comply. It would keep her from getting shocked again. Her heart was already going one million beats per minute, and her chest was rising and falling faster and faster. Nicole knew her breathing wouldn't return to normal for at least an hour.

"Your father. So he survived the accident. Then what happened?"

"I never said he survived, ok? He didn't. He drowned in a struggle to get in the life raft."

A high-pitched laugh rang in Nicole's ears. It was the taser-wielding man. Nicole wanted to smack it out of his hands. And she could've, but her hands really hurt after dislocating her thumb, so maybe she'd humor them a couple more minutes.

"You want me to believe some people actually fought your dad, the man who owned the Steelgray Voyage, for a life raft?" said the jokester.

Nicole shrugged and bit her lip. "You'd be surprised what someone can do when faced in a life or death situation." She looked at the man right where his eyes should be behind his mask. Then her eyes drifted to the guy behind her. "Say, when someone's pointed a gun at their face."