Enemies At First

Protection

The ride on the bus was long and silent. When she first got on, the bus driver was shocked at her appearance. She did look pretty bad. Her dress was torn and her hair had fell out and was a mess. Thankfully, Sam had gave her his number to contact him if she needed help.

The bus had finally stopped and Ash got off. The place that she has been living in for the past 3 years, was at least a mile a way so she had to walk. She finally reached her destination, a big mansion with a tall gate.

After Ashley had met up with her brother and took a shower. She had to tell the news to her Boss. Great. She thought. This isn't gonna go well. Walking into the living room, Ash walked up to the man sitting on the couch. "Hello Ashley."
"Good evening Hamilton."
"I know why your hear and I'm very disappointed in you." She said angrily.
"I'm sorry sir. They out numbered me and I couldn't get it." She replied calmly.
"You had one simple job and you managed to fail. Now you are to pay." He said before standing up. Hamilton was a sick bastard. Before Ashley's parents died, they had borrowed money from Hamilton. Because they died not to soon after that, Hamilton never got paid back. After 18 years, he found out they had children. He then kidnapped Ash and James and threatened to kill them if they didn't do what he told them.

Ashley's thoughts were cut off when Hamilton yelled at her. "Get on your knees!" He shouted. She kneeled down wondering what he was going to do. "Take you shirt off." He said amused.
"What?" She asked scared.
"Just do it!" He yelled again.
She then slowly removed her shirt. Hamilton then summoned a guard up to him.
"Grab my whip." He said. What?! Oh god. Ash couldn't help thinking of what was about to go down. Of course he owns a whip. He sadistic and loves to torture anyone.

Suddenly a cracking sound went off as Ash felt a burning pain in the middle of her back. She cried out in pain as another slice was cut into her back. Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! Those words were the only things going threw her head as this torture session went on. Finally, Hamilton kicked her onto her side and put down his whip.
"I hope that taught you a lesson, Ashley. Because you failed me, I'm decreasing your time. You now have 3 months to lead me to that treasure or your dead." He said with satisfaction.
"But that's not-"
"Shut your mouth. I'm not in the mood to deal with you anymore. Head up to your room." He said before walking away. James then ran up to his sister with a blanket and put it around her. "Come on, let's go clean you up." He said silently. I'll get him back for that. She thought as they to her bedroom.

"We're leaving." Said Ashley breaking the silence. James was cleaning her back and patching it up. When they kids, James always wanted to be a doctor. He went to school for a while and learned a lot. But of course that ruined when Hamilton took their freedom.
"Huh? When?" He asked
"Tonight."
What?!" He shouted
"Shhh idiot! They'll hear us. Look, I met someone at the auction who is in the same boat as us. He offered to help and I think he can." She said while putting her shirt back on.
"Are you sure? Do you even know who they are?"
Ash sat there and thought for a moment. I guess I don't. "I know their names. And look James." She said putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's the best we got right now. I'm not staying here any longer. After saying that she stood up and grabbed a back pack. She then proceeded to throw random clothes into it. 
"I don't know Ash." James said with caution.
"Just trust me, ok?" She said with a reassuring smile. He smiled back after a long thought process. "Now go pack dummy." She said before throwing a bag at him.

A few hours had passed. Ashley and James had waited for everyone to go to bed. The people who are awake are the guards outside. Which means they can't just walk out of the door. The had tried to escape before but that didn't work. The punishment for that way worse then getting whipped on the back. Let's just say that it resulted in Hamilton giving Ash a scar on her face. It went across her nose and it wasn't small. When she went out into the public, Hamilton would force her to cover it with make up. That wasn't gonna happen this time. James had devised a plan and his plans work.

Soon they headed out. Ash led the way as they made their way out the window. Getting down from the roof was gonna be the easiest way down considering how noisy her brother was. The had leaped down and hide in the bushes. Ash looked around for any guards on patrol. Ahead of them was one guy who stood in their way. "Stay here. I'll signal you when it's safe." She said. James nodded and she made her way to the guard. He was way taller than she was, hell, most people were. She was only 5 foot 5 inches which is short. For being 30, she looked 12. After having that go through her head. She kicked the guards knees. Now that he was kneeling, Ash could properly put him in a head lock. She cut off his wind pipe and he soon passed out from having no oxygen. She waved her hand and James ran out of the bushes. The soon made it to the gate. "Alright, you can climb it right?" Ash whispered to James. "Ya, I think so." He replied. He then proceeded to climb the gate and make it to the other side. Ash was starting to climb when suddenly a round of fire went off. She looked behind herself and saw four men shooting and shouting at her. She kept climbing, hoping that the bullets would miss. She made it to the top when a bullet hit her arm. The impact caused her to lose her balance and fall of the gate. With a loud thump, Ash hit the ground. Just struggled to get up because the fall had nocked the wind out of her. James grabbed her arm and said something that she couldn't make out. They ran and eventually lost them.

They stopped at a nearby town, knowing that Hamilton wouldn't dare shoot at them in a public place. They found a phone and Ash called Sam.
"Hello?" Said the man on the other line.
"Is this Sam?" She asked tiredly. Her arm ached and her back was on fire. The fall hadn't helped with slashes on her back.
"Ya."
"It's Ashley."
"Oh, hey. Couldn't get me out of your head so you had to call?" He said with a chuckle. She could tell he had a grin on his face.
"Get over yourself." She said teasingly.
"Haha alright, then why else are you calling?" He asked, this time seriously.
"We got out and need somewhere to stay, so I was wondering if we could come to you." She asked, hoping he would agree.
"Of course! I'll tell you where the hotel is." He replied before telling her the coordinates.
"Alright, we'll be there soon."
"Awesome" replied Sam. "And be careful." He then added.
"Will do." She said, then hung up.

They eventually made it to the hotel. It had started to rain so her and James were now soaking wet. This day has been quite eventful Ash thought. She then knocked on the door while wiping the water off of her face. Sam was the one who opened the door.
"Jesus, come in." He said looking at their wet clothes. They kindly obliged and walked in. "I'll get you guys some towels." Said Sam before he headed to the bathroom. Sully walked up to them and held out his hand.
"We didn't formally meet, my names Victor Sullivan." He said with a cigar in his mouth.
"Ashley Royal." She said before shaking his hand. "And this is my little brother, James." She added while putting her arm around his shoulders. He laughed at her comment. "I'm only younger by 6 minutes sis." He stated as he pushed her away while chuckling.
"I take it you two are identical twins." Said Sam while handing us towels. Ash just nodded her head and took her bag off of her back. She then kneeled down and opened it. "Great." She said, grabbing a shirt. "Our clothes are drenched." She then proceeded to lift up the shirt for proof. James then checked his bag. And of course they were also wet.
"James looks like my size so you can borrow some clothes from me." Offered Nathan. "That would be great, if you don't mind me wearing them." He then walked over to Nate and they started to talk. Sully had made his way back to the table, pouring himself another drink.
"Well your not my size, but you can still borrow a shirt." Offered Sam. "Uh, sure." Said Ashley in reply. They walked over to Sam's bed. She then proceeded to dry her hair with the towel. She observed the hotel room. Sure it wasn't like her previous home, but she felt a lot more relaxed here.
"Here's a shirt." Sam said handing her a long, plain blue t-shirt. Only then had he noticed the hole in her arm. "Holy shit! What happened." He said while gently touching her arm. "Some guards saw us and shot at me. It's nothing really." She said. Yet she wasn't fine. She worried about Hamilton and what he would do if he ever captured is again. She then began to shake a little as flashbacks of her last attempted escape came flooding back. The pain she felt when he cut her face was unbearable and just going back to that memory make her feel sick.
"Hey Ash? Are you alright?" He asked while putting his hand on her cheek. She looked at him with scared eyes and he knew what she was thinking. "I'm guessing your boss is the one who gave you that scar?" He said while looking at her nose. All she could manage was a small nod. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." He said with a reassuring smile.