Nothing Compares To You

And Don't Come Back

"Iain?" Her voice was soft and insistent. "Iain, are you awake?"  She sounded like she was right next to him, her perfume filling his nostrils.

Opening his eyes, it wasn't Debbie he saw. Oh no.  It was Tom.  He stared down at him, a smug smile on his face.

"See, I told you he would wake soon." Her voice floated over his head, and he realised where he was and a groggy image of what had - to him - just happened.

He groaned and rubbed his eyes.  Or at least, he would have if he could have moved. His hands - what exactly HAD happened to his hands? He struggled to sit up and realised his hands were taped together in front of him.

"What the FUCK!" He exclaimed and Tom put a hand on his shoulder, raising the other.to his lips.

"Shhhhh," he soothed. "No need to shout. This is where I speak, and you listen. Now you can do it voluntarily or I can make you." He looked up above Iain's head and nodded.

An unseen pair of hands held out a piece of tape.

"You let me go, you BASTARD. I'LL MESS YOU UP!" Iain shouted.  Tom shook his head.

"Ok, I'll make you."  The tape was slapped on Iain's mouth. He was so shocked he instantly fell quiet.

"Now. You and I are going to have a little chat. No, let me rephrase that." Tom pulled up the coffee table and sat on it in front of him as he sprawled on the sofa.  "I'm going to talk, and you? You are going to listen."

Iain struggled again, and this time, a pair of hands pressed him back into the seat. Another voice - was that Simon or Joe - asked if Debbie wanted to leave the room.  Didn't want to see any more.  Suddenly Iain was afraid.

Debbie slowly walked round and stood behind Tom. "No. I'm staying right here." As Iain looked at her, he could see the bruised face, the swollen and discoloured eye, and the pure hatred emanating from her.

He tried to mumble some sort of apology, but all that came out was an indistinct wail. 

"Now. I believe you like to hit women?" Tom was quietly sinister.  Iain shook his head, eyes wide with fear. "I'm sorry? What did you just lie?" He bent closer, his eyes hard, his jaw set. "Have you SEEN your handiwork?"  He beckoned to Debbie who came and joined him. "Look.At.What.You.Did."

Iain was terrified. Like all bullies, when cornered, he was a coward.

"Now, I bet you went to Sunday school didnt you Iain?"  He looked towards him, nonchalantly examining his nails. He looked up. "Well?"

Iain nodded wildly.

"Good Boy." Tom turned to the hidden 'hands'. "Time for some gloves I think." Iain watched in terror as a pair of black leather gloves were passed over. Tom stood, carefully putting them on, smoothing the fingers down one by one. It was chilling to watch. Like a cross between Al Pacino in Scarface and Lawrence Olivier's dentist in Marathon Man. Iain prayed he wasn't about to be Dustin Hoffman.

Gloves donned, Tom sat back down.  "Now.  You are going to listen to me." He patted Iain's cheek, and he nodded.  "Good.Boy." A hard tap for each word.

"Get on with it, Tom, we don't have all day.  Just do it already.  Stop playing with him."   Simon's voice was strident and sounded very, VERY, frustrated.

Tom looked up and smiled.  "You don't appreciate the finer aspects of this. It takes time to get a point across. Time and effort.  Both of which I have in spades."

"Now, Iain. You know that Sunday school I mentioned.  Did they ever teach you about an eye for an eye?" Tom cracked his knuckles.  He raised an eyebrow and waited.

Iain felt himself lose control of his bladder.  This was taking a very dark turn.  He nodded. 

"Good. Now. There is also the "as ye sow so shall ye reap?"  Again, the eyebrow.

Again, a terrified nod.

"Well.Done." The leather of the glove was cold on his sweating skin.  "Sit him up."

Hands sat him up and he felt the tape being prised off the corner of his mouth. "Now, you make a single noise and this isn't going to end well.  Nod if you understand."

He nodded.  The tape was ripped off.

"You fucking bastards you wont...." his mouth was forced open and before he knew it a ball gag forced into it. 

"You really have no clue do you?" Tom bent down and whispered in his ear.  "Now, I am sure you realise that Debbie asked you to go, and you, quite obviously, declined. She tried to be reasonable. I believe she even offered to pay your fare.  Me? I'm not so amenable. Especially when you decide to harm the one person in the world - the only person in the world - I would kill for." His eyes flashed with anger. 

If Debbie hadn't known better, she would have been very, very worried.  She watched as Tom walked around and stopped behind him. Taking what in truth was just a spoon, he held Iain's head back and drew the metal handle across Iain's throat.

She hadn't known until that point that a man could whimper quite so piteously.  She felt no remorse, no pity. Iain deserved every minute of this exquisite torture.

"So," Tom leaned in and whispered in his ear. "This is the deal.  You pack tonight. You leave tonight. You dont EVER see or speak or contact her in any way again." His voice was low and menacing, his body language threatening.   "If I find out you've so much as THOUGHT about her, I will find you, and I will kill you.  Make no mistake. "

Iain whimpered again. Tears leaked from his eyes, nausea filled his throat.

"Now. I am going to take the gag off.  If you make a noise, I will silence you, and it WON'T be with tape.  Do you understand? Good."

Iain coughed as they removed it, and he looked around.  Apart from Debbie and Tom, Simon and Joe stood in the little room. They too we wearing gloves and there was a plastic sheet on the floor, ready, it seemed to wrap something.  He prayed that something wasn't him.

"Im so sorry." He whispered, looking at her.

"Oh, I bet you are!" She retorted, all her anger directed at him. "Sorry I came to my senses." she turned on her heel and walked away. As she did so, she called out.

"I'm going Iain, and you will NEVER see me again. Do you understand. You will FedEx anything of mine in the apartment in Houston."

Iain nodded.  Debbie paused, coming back and  running her fingers along his cheek.  She looked into his eyes. "You could have been so much more Iain. Instead, you've become a sad little man who likes hurting women.  Your loss."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked out.

This time, Simon walked forward.  "My turn.  You hurt my BSF, and now I'm going to hurt you.  Alot." He sneered, rolling up his sleeves. He, too, wore gloves.  Joe whispered something in his ear, and Simon laughed.  "Yes, I think it would look good too, but he would need them again!"

The two of them paused, looked at him, and smiled coldly.  Iain's blood ran cold.

Before he had a chance to dwell, they hoisted him onto his feet.  Again, the cold metal of some kind of weapon was terrifying against his neck.

Tom frog marched him to the front door.  Before he opened it, he hissed in Iain's ear.  "You forget your place, you forget you're no longer welcome, or you forget that Debbie doesn't even know you exist? You'll find me in your every waking moment. There is nowhere you can hide, no crevice you can occupy where I won't find you. You'll long for something as sweet as pain."

As he turned Iain to open the door, he drew a large knife out of a sheath attached to his belt.  Flipping it in his hand, the way he'd used a hundred times for Loki, he thumped the handle into Iain's stomach, making him double over.  Tom's face was set in a hard grimace.  As Iain stood, sweating and gasping for breath, Tom hit him again, this time knocking him off his feet.

"And THAT is me just a little annoyed." He added.  "Now, get out of  this house. " he walked a few feet away, then turned back. "And dont come back."

Iain stumbled into the street, dazed and confused. He had to get home.  He had to get away from here and go back to the States.  These people were barking mad. No woman was worth this.