An FBI Archive

Chapter Seventeen

Nia slept better than she had in years. No nightmares, no fears, just hope. She spent the morning waiting for her phone to ring until she remembered that it would take Shirley time to track down her children, so instead her mind found its way to Joe. Their relationship had always been a confusing one, he was her captor, yes, but he also sewed up her wounds and bought her things she asked for like blankets or crayons and even birthday cakes. She hated him, the first man that raped her, that allowed other men to rape her, but there was also something else, something that no one could define. An understanding. The world sucked and they were both drowning in the anger, fear and just the horrid nature of it all.
So Nia dressed for work but instead of heading further into the city she headed out to the prison, to Joe. She went through the metal detectors and the pat down until she could sit and wait for him to be brought to her, if he would see her.
"Hey good girl" He smiled as the officer tugged him over to the table and cuffed him to it, Joe waited until he left before he spoke again "I didn't expect you to come back and see me, especially not so soon"
"I wanted to say thank you, for telling me about the kids" He shrugged.
"I'm going to die in here anyway, why not take someone else down with me"
"How are you?" he shrugged again.
"Same old, same old" Nia nodded "What do you want Lavinia?" She sighed loudly.
"Honestly? Fuck if I know" She shrugged, earning her a smile "The rest of them I couldn't give a shit but you, well, it's like you said I'm your good girl"
"You could rat me out to the FBI for the other stuff-"
"You mean when you raped me"
"Yes. My point is, you owe me nothing. I owe you a lot of things but you're not going to get them"
"Maybe it's your unrelenting honesty" She joked.
"Why did you come back here?" He repeated.
"You and me, our relationship is different to everyone else"
"What do you want?"
"Why did you pick me? Why did you tell me about my kids? You saw how I protected the others, why didn't you stop me?" Joe sighed, his cuffs clinking as he adjusted his hands.
"I picked you because I liked your eyes. Nothing more, nothing less. I told you about your kids because I was getting bored in here, I thought that maybe I could get out of here someday"
"You still might"
"Doubtful" He sighed.
"And the rest?" He stayed silent "I used to stand in my doorway and pose for them, talk to them, ask them what they liked-"
"You took it all for them, well, not all"
"Some of them liked little girls" Nia muttered.
"Lacie was-"
"Fuck off. Don't you dare tell me what Lacie was"
"Like I said pretty eyes, I owe you nothing"
"Why didn't you stop me?" She asked, hoping that he wouldn't mention Lacie again.
"I got paid as long as they had something warm and young to fuck" Nia nodded.
"Lacie was beautiful. She was full of hope and joy and you took that from her-"
"I took it from all of you"
"And she hung herself from her treehouse when she was ten because she couldn't forget what those men did to her" Nia couldn't hold back her tears "A fucking treehouse" She half laughed "The ultimate symbol of childhood"
"You are strong-"
"I'm strong because someone had to be. I could take it, the rape, the whipping, the cuts, the burns, I could take it all for them because it fucking sucked getting hurt but I would for them" Joe remained silent, both of them understanding that the conversation was over.
Nia's phone rang out and she pulled it out of her pocket and placed it against her ear after answering.
"Hey El" She answered, moving away from the table and Joe.
"Nadia's looking for you and she doesn't look happy"
"They haven't found the kids?"
"Nothing yet, I'm sorry"
"It's okay, I know that it's going to take time"
"I was also going to ask what you're doing later? Maybe we can not think about it for a while?" He suggested.
"That sounds great. Tell Nadia I'll be in as fast as I can"
"Will do. See you soon, Sutton" Nia hung up, quickly checking the time before she slipped her phone back into her pocket. She was late by 30 minutes and by the time she got out of the prison and drove over to work she would be well over an hour late.
"Boyfriend?"
"My mother, she says hi" Nia teased.
"See you later, pretty eyes"
"See you later, Joe" Nia gave him a small nod before she left.

Nia moved off the elevator and headed into the squad room. 
"Hey Shirley-" Nia noticed the pissed off look on her face "What did I do now?"
"You saw Joe. You went to the prison and saw him"
"Yes, and?" 
"He kidnapped you! He kidnapped all of you! And you paid him a visit"
"You know that's its complicated between us, it always has been" 
"Tell me" 
"What?" 
"Tell me what you didn't tell us when we found you. Tell me what you hid for him" Nia scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. 
"You think a guy like Joe took a kid and kept her safe and happy for six months? He raped me in his van when I was semi-conscious, after all, he had to have his piece" 
"Why did you keep that a secret?" 
"Leverage" Nia shrugged. 
"Loyalty" 
"Good girls get rewards. You think I could forget that?" 
"He raped you" 
"So did a lot of them! Simon gave Lacie a teddy bear after every time he had her. Joel bought me chocolate and sweets. And Frank used to bring me anything I asked for, for the girls as long as I sucked his cock" Nia sighed, calming herself "With Joe it was different. I would put the girls to bed and talk to him in his office, he let me take the brunt of them for the other girls. Forgetting five years of enforced rules is harder than you think, and I always followed the rules"  
"You owe him nothing" Elliot spoke up. 
"I owe him a lot. He let me protect them, he got them things because I did what I was told, he made sure me kids were safe even when he didn't have to. I hate him, don't get me wrong, but I owe him more than you can all understand"