From Pemberley to Manhattan [COMPLETED]

Chapter 81

NINE HOURS KIDNAPPED

SECRET LOCATION

"Who are you?", Nat inquired a third time, agonizing over the pain she believed her captors would apply most diligently on her any moment now. She'd been dozing off and waking up for the past hours, but, finally, the effects of the drug they'd given her seemed to be wearing off.

At the beginning, as she woke up the first time, she had come up with many terrifying theories. At first, she'd imagined, since she saw Darcy nowhere in the premises, maybe this was a gang that would do unimaginable cruel things to her. The suspicion alone had made her close to tears for a long time, but she had pushed that thought away once she realized her captors were army trained and seemed not a least bit interested in her. They only wanted to make sure she didn't move.

Then came her second theory: maybe those were the same people from the Government that had taken her the last time. Since she and her family had provided no relevant information, they had decided to use more... compelling techniques to make her talk. Nonetheless, they seemed to be zero worried about what she might have to say. So she scratched that possibility as well.

At one point she considered the prospect of having been kidnapped by aliens, something Bobby had suggested to be possible, even though Ethan ridiculed him every time he made such statements. Bobby would have loved if this had been the case, so Nat would have many stories to tell him once she returned, but that also didn't seem to be the case, once she believed them to be on Earth, instead of out in space.

They were in a cold, humid room, dimly lit by a few candles spread on the old, squeaking hardwood floor. The walls were also made of wood, she guessed pine, and there was just one room in that construction besides the one she was in.

She guessed they were in a log cabin, with its few windows boarded up with plywood, the same material some people used to protect windows from hurricanes back in the States. Nat also believed them to be in Europe, even though she had no idea how long she'd been out. That thought gave her an idea. Maybe, it was time to change her question.

"How long have I been unconscious?" The men didn't budge. There were three of them in total, all in military uniforms, just like the ones back in Versailles. These ones, however, were covering their faces with masks as well. She could hear the rain outside, and she could smell the woods that surrounded them. She could scream, but that would only make the men mad, and she knew what she needed to do.

Important information number one: Darcy was alive, for she'd heard him calling for her a few minutes back, and she'd yelled too, making sure he knew she was fine as well. Important information number two: they were far away from the civilization, otherwise these men would have left her passed out, or put something in her mouth to gag her (not duct tape, tough, for, unlike all Hollywood movies shown in tense scenes, Ethan had once proved to her and Bobby it didn't work at all).

"You've hurt me, haven't you? You're perverts!" She decided to push a little further. She finally got something: one of the men baulked. So, he didn't like having her accusing them. She imagined it to be a good sign: perhaps, they were not there to hurt them. "You've raped me on my way here, while I was out!"

"No, we didn't!" The guy who had flinched the first time affirmed, his voice giving in his age. He must have been in his early twenties, at most, Nat calculated. "It took us just a couple of hours to bring you here and you were never left alone and–"

"Shut up!", the tallest one of them ordered. His voice was hoarse and aggressive, but he didn't move as he spoke. He didn't yell either.

So, they were silent again. At least, now Nat knew she couldn't have been that far from France. After all, the young guard had told her they'd just had a few hours to move her and Darcy, passed out, to wherever they did.

Concluding she wouldn't get anything else from them, she decided to wait. And wait. And wait a little more. Twenty four minutes later, which felt like twenty four years to Nathalie, someone opened the door of the cabin, letting the sunlight in, almost blinding her. The new man in the room was small, about five feet six, had a round belly and smelled of cigars. That was all Nat could tell of him, since he was in a dark suit, mask and a black hat.

"Let me go!", Nat commanded-slash-begged, after three whole seconds had passed and the small man had pronounced no words.

"Of course I will", the man's voice was like a shriek, and his accent was definitely British. What was it with her and Brits lately? She'd never met any, and now it seemed as she couldn't get rid of them! At least, his words had brought some hope into her heart. She was tired of being kidnapped. Speaking of which, where the shell was The Professor? He'd promised to protect her and Darcy, had he not? "As soon as you answer my questions."

Oh, no. What was he about to ask? "Depends on what you want to know."

"Who is the man who was with you?" It was an innocent enough question. And those people, whoever they were, certainly knew the answer. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone into so much trouble to take them from Versailles.

"Darcy", she answered flatly.

"Right. Very good", he sounded like a proud teacher. "And where is Darcy from?"

"England. Like yourself." Again, no problem answering that question. They'd heard Darcy speaking (or yelling), so they'd guessed, by now, he was British.

"And when is he from?", the little man asked simply.

"Screw you, fatty." She would never give these men what they wanted.

"I am truly sorry to hear that", the small man said and, surprisingly enough, his tone was not cruel, but calm and even sweet. That crept Nat out even more than if he'd slapped her or yelled at her. "Do it, gentlemen."

She had no idea what the little man had meant, but it was definitely something sinister. He was probably ordering them to torture her somehow. It didn't matter. She wouldn't sell Darcy out.

The men entered the only room in the cabin and brought back a TV and a VCR. They turned on the TV and pressed play on the VCR. It was playing an episode of Seinfeld.

"What the–"

"When you are ready to talk, just call for us", the small man said and left the cabin. The three soldiers followed him, without looking back.

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