chapter 18 : Deborah's Suffering

When Deborah regained consciousness, she was in a very poorly lit room, the room was so dark that she could not even see two meters in front of her.

 As she tried to move she felt her head hurt a lot and it was the same for her right ribs, she had three broken ribs.

 With a loud groan of pain, Deborah tried to sit up as she struggled to breathe properly due to the pain, she didn't even have her clothes on but just her underwear.

 Deborah: ngh! Where am I?! (moans) I'm in pain, is anyone there?! HELP !!

 She tried to get up but immediately came back down because something was holding her hand while squeezing her arm, they were handcuffs, Debra was handcuffed to something.

 With her free hand, she tried to feel around to touch a rusty metal heater attached to a wall. The woman realized she had been kidnapped and began to panic.

 " WHO ARE YOU ?! WHY DID YOU KIDNAP ME ?! I'M HURT." She cried out in distress and waiting for a response, she started again several times before giving up because of her rib and head pain.

 While stressing in the dark two hours later, she heard a noise and the door to the room opened with a squeaky metallic sound and then a group of people entered.

 One of the people pressed a button and the room light was turned on to obstruct Deborah's vision for several seconds.

 "Good evening, Mrs. Grayson. How are you feeling?" a woman's voice was heard and Debbie saw clearly the members of the group, they were two women and three men.

 In front of them was a blonde woman in her thirties with short hair and a swastika tattoo on her neck.

 Deborah : Who are you?

 Woman: Oh sorry, me and my bad manners. My name is Cassandra Müller and these are my friends, Kate, Terry, Bjorn and Daniel. Does that suit you as an answer?

 Deborah : You seem to know me, why did you kidnap me?! What do you want ?!!

 Cassandra: Think carefully Ms. Grayson, I will bet your first guess will be correct because I know you are an intelligent woman.

 Bjorn: We're wasting our time-(Interrupted)

 Cassandra: SHUT UP BJORN, Mrs. Grayson is thinking.

 Deborah: (Sighs) Let me guess, you are relatives of my husband's victims and you want revenge?

 Cassandra: PRIMA (Great ! ) Ms. Grayson, you really did not disappoint me. (Turns towards the others) See? She's a smart woman, these Asians are very smart people.

 Deborah : Look, I'm really sorry about your-(interrupted)

 *Struck*

 Kate immediately kicked her in the face to shut her up.

 "Shut up you old bitch, I don't even want to hear you say excuses with your bitch mouth" Kate said with immense hatred in her eyes becoming wet and the others immediately grabbed her to hold her back.

 Cassandra: Kate, get out of here. You're way too tense to stand there.

 Kate looked at Deborah with contempt and hatred before walking out of the room. Cassandra took a tissue out of her pocket and crouched down in front of Deborah who had a nose hemorrhage from the kick she had just taken and she began to wipe Deborah's blood.

 Cassandra: I am deeply sorry Ms. Grayson for Kate's behavior. She and I were in the special forces, she is a woman who has trouble keeping her calm but she remains a good friend.

 Deborah: (Moans) I understand her anger very well.

 Cassandra: (Sighs) You are truly an intelligent woman, I even regret that we attacked you but it was the only way to achieve our goal.

 Deborah: Which one?

 Cassandra: Mrs. Grayson, have you ever lost a child?!

 Deborah: (Sighs) My youngest son.

 Cassandra: My condolences, what was his name?

 Deborah : Lucas.

 Cassandra: Scheisse (Damn), Mrs. Grayson!! Your boy had the exact same first name as my son killed by your husband and your other son. What a great coincidence!

 Deborah : My son didn't want to kill anyone.

 Cassandra: But that's what he did. Ah, wait, I have photos to show you.

 She pulled out pictures of her leather jacket to show Deborah.

 "Look, here's my little Lucas here. He was only 8 years old and celebrating his birthday the day he was killed. According to firefighters, he was trapped under the rubble for hours before dying from his injuries and lack of oxygen.

 There you have Katniss and Johanna, Kate's twin daughters. They were my boy's two childhood friends, they were born a month after him because their mother and I got pregnant around the same time.

 Here is Kimberly, Bjorn's fiancée and they were going to get married soon when she was killed. This lady there is Amanda, Daniel's mother, she was suffering from cancer in the hospital and finally, in the last photo, it is Bella, Terry's late wife, she was giving birth when the hospital It collapsed and Terry was there. Miraculously, he survived with a few broken limbs.

 All these people were good people who mattered to us Ms. Grayson and your family killed them"

 Deborah said nothing, she was also a mother and experienced the pain of the death of a child but could not say anything to these people, she was even beginning to guess what was wanted of her when Cassandra spoke again.

 Cassandra : Mrs. Grayson, I was a very big fan of your Husband. He was an ideal person, a big, strong, unbeatable white man who destroyed everything that could undermine his greatness as a hero, but this man took the life of my boy, my little Lucas. We were thirsty for revenge but look at us, simple weak humans and with our own hands, we cannot touch your son who is almost as powerful as his father gone, it would be collective suicide to try. 

 Deborah : So you kidnapped me to kill me and hurt my son, right?

 Cassandra: Almost, Ms. Grayson, you are truly an intelligent woman. At first I wanted to kill you but my husband had a much better idea, we brought together this very surprising team united by pain for a simple goal. We will ask your son to commit suicide in exchange for your life, Mrs. Grayson.

 Deborah looked at her before smiling then starting to laugh when a dark-haired man entered the room. When Cassandra saw the man, she went to kiss him and he hugged her.

 This man was Liam Müller, Cassandra's husband and he was one of the world's greatest mercenaries or hitmen as well as a neo-Nazi.

 Liam: Good evening Mrs. Grayson, I suppose my wife has already explained to you the purpose of our maneuver. Listening to your laughter just now, you don't seem convinced but you greatly underestimate what a boy can do for his mother and especially if he sees her suffering. By the way, sorry about the clothes, we wanted to make sure you weren't carrying any trackers or devices on you.

 Kate came back with a camera and a stand and they set everything up to frame it on Deborah .

 Liam: We are going to record a short video with you which will be broadcast on all the airwaves with a little touch of violence to make it more convincing for your son Mrs. Grayson. I sincerely want to apologize for the rest.

 Terry: Do we really have to come to this? She has nothing to do with what Omni-man and Invincible did.

 Kate: Shut up, if you don't want to continue then get out of there.

 Terry: If we hurt her when she's innocent then how will we be any different from Omni-man?! I lost my wife and my newborn but none of that was caused by her.

 He tried to get between her and them even Daniel punched him and he ended up on his knees on the ground.

 Liam: Terry, you were the first to hurt her from the moment you volunteered to be our hacker and find his trail and all the information we needed. It's too late to feel remorse now.

 "I'm not going to participate in this." he said as he left the room under the contemptuous looks of the others. They all wore masks and walked towards a table that was in the room.

 On one side of the table were Deborah's clothes and next to them were several items including a crowbar, a baseball bat, an iron pipe and two batons which they all grabbed before positioning herself next to Debbie who knew what was coming next and took deep breaths.

 They started recording and Liam in front of the camera started talking for a while and at the end of his speech they started beating Deborah who was doing her best to protect her already sore head and ribs.

 Terry outside heard the banging noises, screams, moans and cries of pain from Debbie who even begged for them to stop at one point.

 When they came out, some of them still had their hands shaking from what they did. Terry went to look inside to see Deborah's condition and what he saw there shocked him so much that his legs gave out and he fell backwards.

 Debra was lying in a large blood mark on the ground and both her arms were broken as were her fingers from protecting herself with them. She had a lot of marks on her body and her face was bloody.

 "What did we do...?" He whispered while crying as a violent guilt invaded his being. He immediately went to get equipment, a lot of equipment before coming back.

 [In Arligton]

 Saeko had already returned from the amusement park a long time ago with Mark and Eve, she was alone at home and Deborah was still not there even though it was already getting late.

 However, she didn't worry much because Debbie had assured her that GDA had agents to watch over her safety and it could be that she wanted to sleep today at the family home . The idea of ​​Kidnapping never comes immediately in these cases.

 Amber entered the house and they greeted each other, Amber had left her mother's house to live there at the request of Debbie with whom she got along more than well.

 When she asked after Deborah , Saeko told her that maybe she was going to sleep over at her family's house and they spent the night watching movies before going to sleep.

 None of them or Mark who was currently making love to Eve could know what had happened to Deborah . Mark knew his mother had moved in with Lucas to feel better and had even spotted officers watching her just in case.

 In the GDA offices, Cecil was sweating and shouting at the agents trying to find her, but apparently the ones who kidnapped Deborah weren't amateurs and had someone who succeeded to cover their tracks.

He was deeply angry and frustrated at the incompetence of his men, he was ashamed and knew he had to act quickly.

 On the top floor of one of Arlington's most luxurious buildings, Art Rosenbaum sat in front of the window drinking a glass of whiskey in his large loft.

 He was a little frustrated and thought Deborah had stood him up, they weren't really dating but had gotten very close and being old acquaintances they were a support for each other.

 He looked at his Smartphone sighing before trying to make a call for the 6th time but it was a failure again so he told himself that maybe Deborah needed to be alone for a while, she had left the house to That or she was very busy.

 Normally, it would not be realistic to immediately think of an abduction when someone does not answer calls especially knowing all the emotional difficulties that the person had gone through in recent months like Deborah , perhaps she needed space A little.

 [Under Manhattan]

 Terry had set up a bed in the room where Debbie was and laid her on it after cleaning her wounds and administering emergency treatment.

 On a drip , she was lying with bandages everywhere and looked silently at Terry who was sitting next to her completely consumed by guilt.

 Terry: I'm sorry Ms. Grayson, I'm so sorry. Pain has made us into perfect monsters.

 Debbie : I...I understand...your...*hungh*your wife and your...child, I feel sorry for them. All the pain I feel now *Uhrph* I consider it my punishment for loving Nolan and swallowing all his lies for over 20 years. I loved him but in his eyes I was just a pet.

 Terry: I saw how you faced him, you deserve nothing of what was done to you and I will never forgive myself. However, revenge is a feeling that has devoured our reason.

 Debbie : I…understand.

 Terry: Can I get you something? Food ?

 Debbie : In...in my jacket there's a pill. I am suffering from the beginnings of a brain tumor, this pill helps me cope with migraines and I always take an extra with me just in case because the pill box can be forgotten somewhere. When you took me away, the box remained in the car. Can you bring it to me with some water please?! I...my head really hurts.

 Terry:…

 Debbie: Don't worry, look at my condition. What can I do like that ?! And I will have no benefit from committing suicide because I trust my children to save me.

 Terry: Humph, I'd be surprised if they succeeded. If invincible tries anything then you will die and that would be a shame. (Sighs) Very well, I'll be back soon so don't move, Mrs. Grayson.

 Debbie: Thank you…thank you very much.

 Terry came back later with a little bit of food and a glass of mineral water, Debra couldn't use her hands anymore so he helped her eat before going to dig the pill in Debra's jacket and he helped her to drink it.

 Deborah , exhausted, sincerely thanked him but she was tired so she lay down to sleep while Terry left the room to let the poor woman rest from their abuse.

 While sleeping, she was suddenly forcibly awakened by a terrible pain in her stomach.

 The feeling was hot and it was as if what was in her stomach had become lava.

 Despite all the pain she felt, Deborah was clear enough to tell herself that it was the effect of the pill and buried her face in the mattress to muffle her moans of pain.

 After more than five minutes of terrible agony, the burning sensation began to spread from Debbie's stomach to her blood vessels and it became a real torture, she felt like burning insects were traveling through her body. its veins and arteries.

 All over Deborah's body, you could see the veins appear, first turning black and then taking on reddish-orange hues like red-hot metal cables.

 Debbie's burns weren't just sensations because she was actually burning from the inside out. On top of the pain she already had, she also had to endure this internal burning that literally made her shed tears because it was so unbearable and honestly, she didn't know how she was able to cope with all that .

 She started to ooze, to sweat a lot but there was not only sweat but also steam, a lot of steam was coming out of the pores of her skin and an unpleasant smell began to reign in the room.

 The red veins finally came up through the neck further accentuating the pain and this time, Deborah screamed under the effects of the pain even if the noise was still muffled by the mattress wet with perspiration.

 When the heat reached Deborah's brain, the latter, under the pain this time truly infernal, lost consciousness while some objects in the room began to vibrate slightly, they were objects made of metals.

 An hour later, Terry came back into the room to see Deborah's condition and was shocked by the terribly high ambient heat in addition to the strange smell there.

 He approached Debbie to discover that she had a high fever but figured it was because of the beating. He immediately went and took a small towel which he moistened before placing it on his forehead and taking his temperature.

 "69°?! It's impossible !!!!! At this rate she will die." He said with great concern before going to alert the others, they came and noticed Debra's condition.

 Kate proposed to finish her off and Cassandra supported the idea, Bjorn was neutral while Liam, Daniel and Terry were against.

 Liam and Daniel couldn't get rid of her now because she was important to put pressure on Invincible and Terry couldn't accept being killed because she was innocent.

 In the end, they decided to leave her there for the next 24 hours to see if her condition would improve and if it didn't then they were going to kill her or rather finish her off because this fever was certainly the fruit of their beatings.

 Throughout the night and much of the next day, Deborah slept soundly, very soundly, but her fever had subsided and her condition had stabilized.