Part 16

Tom moaned in his sleep as dreams tormented him. His father was there whispering words to soothe him, comforting him, and gently stroking his hair. Then suddenly, the peace and security of his dad's presence shattered as Lyam Ryan's voice turned into that of Dr. Leonard. The hand stroking his hair dissolved into that of the doctor. Suddenly the repulsive hands were roaming over his body, lingering in intimate places. His heart was pounding and he was gasping for air as he suddenly woke up. As he lay there trying to calm his heart and lungs, the doctor spoke. "It's okay now. It was just a bad dream. Here, let me help you sit up."

Tom flinched slightly at the man's touch, as memories of the dream lingered. Dr. Leonard noticed, but mistook it for pain from the injuries. "Let's get you some more to eat. You need to get your strength back." Reaching into his bag, he retrieved a full can of the supplement and extended the straw to Tom. He briefly thought about refusing, but common sense won over rebellion. He had to get some strength back as soon as possible. The doctor allowed him to empty the can this time and again brought water when he'd finished. Tom drank only half the water, allowing the rebellion to be a small victory.

Dr. Leonard dumped the rest and stood looking down on the patient for a moment. "Do you need to use the facilities? I'll help you over there if you do."

Tom swallowed hard. He did indeed need to relieve himself, but the thought of the doctor so near while he did so made his stomach turn. After deliberating a moment or two longer, he finally nodded. As Dr. Leonard gently pulled him to his feet, a small groan escaped. Arriving at the corner bathroom, the doctor spoke again. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you out of the restraints. Georgie would kill us both if he found out. I'm going to have to help you."

When he felt the doctor's hands begin to lower his shorts, Tom nearly lost the contents of his stomach. He was thankful the doctor didn't make any unwanted advances. He kept his eyes firmly closed until the process was completed. He never saw the way the doctor looked at his patient's exposed body while he tended to his task. Tom was determined to make it back to the cot himself when he finished, but was too shaky and the doctor had to assist him. When the detective was back on the cot, Dr. Leonard fastened the leg irons to the cot with the handcuffs before he spoke again. "I think we'd better see to that shoulder now. It's still bleeding quite a bit and the area around it is getting a lot redder, probably from an infection. Are you up to it?"

Taking Tom's silence as consent, he gathered the needed supplies from his bag. As the patient was about to protest, the door opened and George reappeared. "I see I'm just in time. Hurry it up, Doc. We have a phone call to make." Tom clenched his aching jaw as well as both fists while the doctor cleaned and re-stitched the wound. Feeling dizzy and weak, he lay back on the cot when Dr. Leonard had finished.

He screamed in pain when George grabbed the injured shoulder and pulled him back to a sitting position. "You can't rest yet, boy. We have to talk to your father. You're going to tell him nothing other than the fact that you are fine. Do you understand?" Tom nodded, but still the madman roughly grabbed his injured jaw. "You say one wrong word and you will be sorry! Don't you dare cross me!"

George took out a cell phone and dialed the captain's number. Holding it to Tom's ear, he leaned in close enough to hear for himself what Harry said. He nodded approval at Tom's first words. When Tom strayed slightly to answer Harry's questions, George angrily squeezed Tom's injured shoulder. Tom cried out in pain and immediately went back to the instructed conversation. Tom collapsed back onto the cot as George yanked the phone away to speak with Harry himself.

Tom waited for the knives in his shoulder to dull while George finished the call. He braced for more of the man's anger as soon as he heard the call disconnect. George's voice boomed soon after the phone clicked shut. "I told you to stick to the plan! You just can't seem to do anything right, Son. Now I'm going to have to punish you." Tom screamed again as he was yanked to a sitting position. George grabbed the prisoner by the throat and squeezed, cutting off his air. "Aren't you ever going to learn, boy? Do you like pain?" Spots danced in front of Tom's eyes and the hand finally released him. His vision hadn't sufficiently cleared to see the blow coming to the side of his head. He slumped to the cot, only dimly aware of what was happening around him.

Suddenly, the doctor stepped forward to intervene. "Georgie, don't. He can't take much more of that. And anyway, isn't it time for you to leave now?" George stepped back from the cot and stood glaring at the doctor.

Looking down to check his watch, he responded. "One of these days, you are going to push me too far, Doc. I just hope he's worth what's going to happen to you." The ice in his voice seemed to lower the temperature in the room by several degrees. After glaring at the pair for a moment longer, he abruptly turned and left the room.

Before the door could close completely, the doctor was at Tom's side. He gently stroked the relatively uninjured side of Tom's face. "It's okay now, Tommy. He's gone. I promise I won't let him hurt you anymore. Not ever." The comforting words echoed in Tom's fuzzy mind as he retreated into the darkness.

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Cassy St. John sighed wearily as she pulled her car into the station's parking lot. It was barely six o'clock in the morning. She turned to the bodyguard in the passenger seat. "He's still here. There's his car. Let's go see what's happened."

As they entered the station and proceeded to the captain's office, she replayed the morning's events in her head. Frannie had tried to call Harry at their pre-arranged time of 5am, but after five solid minutes of constant ringing there was no answer. She'd then tried to find him at the station. Receiving no answer there either, she was frantic when she called Cassy. "Something's really wrong, Cassy. Heschey would never miss our time, not with this maniac on the loose. He's at the station, but he won't take any calls. Not even from me. You have to find out what's wrong, what's happened."

"He was pretty upset last night when he left for home. There were more photos and a note waiting when we got back from dinner. He took it pretty badly. The guilt is really eating at him. Look, I know you really want to be here with him, but I still think you should stay put. We all know how much he needs you, but it's just too dangerous for you to be here right now. You're just going to have to help him deal with it long distance for the time being."

"I have a reservation for the ten o'clock flight tonight. I made up my mind after we talked last night. It was the first flight I could get. He's just going to have to accept it. Can you pick me up at the airport?"

" Frannie, you're not listening! It's too dangerous for you to be here. We went over this last night. If anything happened to you, it would kill Harry. He really couldn't handle something like that right now and we both know it. Look, I'll head to the station and see what's going on. If something broke with the search, someone would have called me by now. There has to be something else. I'll give you a call after I've talked to him."

Frannie wasn't going to be dissuaded so easily. "Okay, I'll wait until you've talked to him, but I'm not canceling my reservation. I still think I should be there with him. He needs me there, with him."

She came back to the present as she reached Harry's office door. It was closed, but she could see him standing at the window, staring out into nothing. She knocked, but received no response. Deciding to enter uninvited, she slowly turned the knob and stepped into the office. "Harry, Frannie's worried sick. She said you wouldn't take her call. Has something happened?" Receiving no reply, she pushed further. "Come on Harry. You're really scaring me here. What's going on?" Her voice was demanding, yet frightened at the same time. It took him several moments to choke out a response.

"I talked to him this morning."

"What? You talked to Stein? When? What did he say?"

Cassy's blood froze at his next words. His answer was quiet and pained, almost a whisper. "No, not Stein. Tom. I talked to Tom."

"Tom? You talked to...Tom? Oh my God! Where...how...is he...? Did he get away? Where is he now? Harry, talk to me!" Cassy's head was spinning as she tried to process the thoughts running through her mind.

"He's still being held. He didn't get to say much, just that it was him and that he's okay." Harry didn't want to discuss Tom's condition, but she insisted.

"How did he sound? Did he say anything that can help us find him? Please, Harry! I have to know."

Harry finally turned away from the window to face her. "He sounded bad, Cassy. Really bad. He sounded so weak...like he was in a lot of pain. I don't think he can take much more. He tried to say something about them having him, but they cut him off. Then someone else came on the line. I assume it was Stein. I can't say for sure."

Cassy sat in a chair, trying to process the captain's words. Suddenly realizing what he'd said, she questioned Harry. "You said they. Why did you say 'they had him' and 'they cut him off'?"

Harry gave her a startled look. "That's what Tom said. 'They' still have him. And Stein said 'You'll be hearing from 'us' again.' Why would Tom say 'they'? Unless..."

Cassy finished the thought for him. "Unless there is more than one person holding him. I'll look through the file again. Maybe we'll finally get lucky and find something on who might be helping him." She paused to evaluate Harry's reaction. "This is the first thing resembling a break we've had in a while. You don't look very happy about it. Why? What aren't you telling me?"

Harry gestured to the desk. "These were waiting for me when I got in this morning. He's not going to last much longer. If we don't find him soon, it's going to be too late." He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shut out the pain. "And it will all be my fault."

Cassy looked down to the photos. Tom's jaw was more swollen and there were bruises covering his chest and abdomen that hadn't been in the photos the day before. His eyes were open in one of the photos. What Cassy saw there scared the hell out of her. Harry was right. Tom didn't look like he'd be able to endure much more. "No, it's NOT going to be too late when we find him. And none of this is your fault, Harry. Do you hear me? It-is-not-your-fault! Now come on, let's get busy and find him."

End Part 16

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