Inked and Dangerous

35 ~ Ryan

Ryan pounded the dashboard every time he heard the crack of the whip, and Fulton cursed at him as they drove back to the station.

"I can site you for willful damage to government property!" 

Ryan ignored Fulton's threats. He needed to focus on Felix. She had not made a sound during the whole ordeal, and somehow her bravery made it harder to take. As he listened to her labored breaths, he imagined her sitting anxiously on the plane in desperate need of an ally. Not even her therapist intervened. The schmuck. Whatever it took, Ryan would see to it that every man on that flight received a lesson in respect. 

They arrived back at headquarters and Fulton bolted for home, leaving Ryan in charge of monitoring the radio. Grabbing a coffee from the break room, Ryan sat at his desk, scribbling case notes and glancing at the time on his phone – three forty AM. How far away was Felix now?

"We will be landing soon, Felix." Carlos' voice murmured from the radio receiver, and Ryan glared at the blue screen, his heart rate spiking. "I need to put this blindfold on you. Donovan's orders."

Felix remained quiet, and her mute behavior fueled Ryan's anger further. The silence continued for another twenty minutes until Ryan heard the sound of a decelerating engine. The plane was landing, but on which runway? Blindfolded, Felix had no way of knowing where she was, and only Carlos's voice punctuated the silence as he directed her out of the plane, across the tarmac, and onto a golf cart. Not once did Andy speak up. Apparently, Carlos was staking his claim.

"How long do I have to keep this stupid blindfold on?" Felix's throat betrayed her anxiety as she choked out her question.

"Until we say you can take it off," came the reply, although Ryan didn't recognize the voice.

"Why are we taking a golf cart instead of a limo? I thought Donovan had more class." The strength had returned to Felix's voice, but she didn't press her luck when her comment was met with silence. Another fifteen minutes passed before Ryan heard more scuffling.

"You can take your blindfold off now, Felix. I'll walk you to your room." Andy was taking a stand. "Do you need anything? Water? A toothbrush? Company?"

"I just need privacy, Andy."

Ryan heard men talking in the background, but their words were muffled, and it wasn't long before Carlos had reclaimed his position.

"I will be right next door if you need anything, Felix." Carlos' voice had lost its lustful undertone, and Ryan could only hope Felix had read him correctly when she decided to help the bastard support his family. Ryan's gut told him those family ties might be more con than compassion.

"What I really need is a couple hours of sleep and some aloe vera gel, if you can get your hands on any." Based on the sounds that followed, Ryan assumed Felix had closed herself in a room, as the next time she spoke it was in a whisper. "I'm alone now, if anyone is listening out there. I'm in a second floor bedroom with an attached bathroom that opens to a hallway. I've been blindfolded for the past forty-five minutes, so I have no idea what town I'm in, but there's a window in my room. Hopefully, it will give me a clue.

"Okay, I see a huge body of water from my window. It looks like a bay or a river. There's a city on the other side. A pretty big city, and there's a... Holy shit. I know where I am. Toronto. There's the CN Tower. I must be on one of the islands across from the city, whichever one has an airport. I don't know if Donovan is here. I haven't seen him, but we're supposed to have a breakfast meeting in the morning. I'll get you a description of the house or the address as soon as possible. I sure hope you're getting all of this, Ryan. I feel like a sitting duck out here."

Ryan grabbed his phone and immediately dialed Harris, who answered with an annoyed growl.

"We have Donovan's location," Ryan said. "An island across the harbor from Toronto, the one with the airport. Fulton went home but I'm at headquarters. I'm going to head out as soon as I round up a team."

"Okay, it sounds like you've got the situation handled. Just make sure Fulton is part of the team. Call me when you get there. I need three more hours."

The phone went dead and Ryan huffed before depositing it in his pocket. Clearly, he caught Harris in the middle of REM sleep. Some serious shit was about to go down and Harris preferred to snooze through it. Ryan gripped the radio receiver like it was his lifeline as he organized a team, listening to Felix talk to Carlos when he brought her some ointment for her wounds. Then he listened to her curse as she treated herself in the bathroom.

"Damn that Hector. I'm going to castrate him with his own whip."

PLAYLIST SONG: The Chemicals Between Us by Bush