Other Fan Fiction ❯ Stolen ❯ The Past ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 8 - The Past

Nearly a month had passed and Jackson was still unprepared to leave Lisa with unfettered access to the house. He'd just finished a call with his employers and he was needed on business. It had been one month to the day and he smirked. These guys didn't screw around. A month is what he thought they'd give him and that's exactly what he received. Luckily for Lisa, or probably unlucky from her point of view, he was only needed for three days. That meant a day of travel there, three spent with his employers and then one for the return trip. He'd originally made arrangements for durations of up to ten days with her all alone and confined to the single room. Five was not going to pose a problem.

The plan was simple enough in both its conception and its implementation. Give Lisa enough food to last for the span of his absence and everything should be fine. Baring any outside factors, he could probably supply her with enough food to last her months inside that little room but it was the outside factors that didn't make that a viable option. Time spent with only herself for company could give her too many ideas. She might build up the courage, with enough private pep talks to herself, to start rebelling against the hold he now had over her. His constant influence on her in the attempt to slowly erode her sense of personal identity was vital but he didn't think five days would undo any of the progress that he'd made.

He also wasn't entirely sure how she'd react to being left all alone on the island. After all, it was a house she couldn't possibly understand with the table scraps of information he'd provided her. He was positive that she didn't even understand the mechanism that locked the doors. There was always the possibility that she might develop a nasty case of claustrophobia and do something rash to herself. He really didn't want that to occur but he was still confident that she had a strong enough mind to avoid such a `tragedy'.

From one of the large storage sheds outside the house, he grabbed a dolly using it to haul a small refrigerator, about the height of a standard counter and a couple feet wide as well as deep. This would serve nicely to ensure that she had fresh fruits and processed meats available during his absence. He finished gathering everything he needed her to have while he was gone and decided to let her in on the news. He could only imagine that she'd be pleased to hear it.

He gave his customary warning knock before letting himself into her room. He knew Lisa had just finished showering and enjoyed the idea of suddenly appearing now. It wasn't that he thought he might get a look at her. She'd been finished too long but he knew her hair would still be wet. He liked the way it looked while it was still damp. He wasn't entirely sure why but that was beside the point. Also, he knew it would fluster her.

There were a few things that she had begun to pay less and less attention to as the weeks went by. For one, she no longer sat on her chair as though he could attack her at any time. His constant docile physical behavior had caused her to let her guard down in that respect. She also no longer toyed with her food like she once did when she had the habit of visually inspecting it and even sniffing at it before finally deciding to eat.

His plan was already having the desired effect on the helpless woman. Without her even being aware of it, she was slowly settling into a routine that she was comfortable with at some level. That wasn't to say she was happy about her current situation but she was definitely becoming complacent and Jackson gave himself a mental pat on the back for the approach he'd decided to take. There were still areas he needed to work on though. She was still incredibly quiet and she only spoke when he really got on her nerves. It didn't help that most of the topics he only mildly attempted to start centered on subjects that would make her uncomfortable. The most notable of such conversations had taken place three days ago and she hadn't said a single word since.

Her scar.

He'd been curious about it on the plane but he'd been too busy trying to kill neutralize the Keefes for his employer's clients at the time to ask many questions about it. He'd forgotten about it after stealing her until he had to change her out of her old cloths.

Getting rid of any personal belonging to the birds was another form of mental attack. There was nothing they could cling to, nothing that would remind them of their old lives and nothing to provide them comfort. Even though he'd seen all of her, it had not been sexual in the least. She'd been in the same cloths for three days by that time and it was not the erotic activity that others might think it could have been. All he did was remove them, cleanse her body with a cloth and then redressed her in the fresh cloths he provided. However, the activity had reminded him of that scar that had seemed to distress her even more than she already had been on the plane.

They'd been sitting at the table, eating cold cut sandwiches for lunch when he decided to broach the subject once more.

“So how did you get that scar Leese?” There it was again, that look of complete and utter discomfort. He knew at that moment that this conversation would be interesting if he actually was able to get her to talk. He was confident however as he tended to be very good at achieving what he wanted.

She didn't even cast him her usual scathing glare like she did with all other topics of conversation that he brought up in which she'd no desire to participate. She just stared at her hand that still held the turkey on rye.

“Let me guess.” He took a sip of his water while looking up at the ceiling as if in deep contemplation. “You…were…let's see, how about an auto accident.” He looked at her for a response but she was still staring at the same sandwich. It looked like she was starting to shiver as he leaned down to get a better look at her downcast face.

“I'm going to take that as a no. So, it must have been something worse in terms of emotionally traumatic eh?” She still didn't move. “Were you mugged then?” Still, no response came from her side of the table. “I'm going to take that as another no.” He saw her tears begin to glisten inside her eyes as they began to gather volume in preparation for a daring escape.

“More traumatic than being injured with a knife in a mugging?” Now she looked at him for only for a moment before immediately tearing her eyes away from his once more. “Wow,” he said with mock astonishment, “it must really have been something terrible.”

She started to get up and head to her room but didn't make it that far.

“Sit. Back. Down.” He hadn't used such a commanding tone with her in so long that it had the desired effect. Before when she'd done something she thought he wouldn't like, he just ignored her but this time he seemed genuinely upset at her attempted exit. She sat back down.

“Was it…” his tone became what would have been comforting if it had been delivered by anyone else, “of a sexual nature Leese?”

She closed her eyes and the flood gates were opened. A single tear escaped simultaneously from each eye and Jackson watched with concealed glee at the impact his words had. So she was raped.

“Was it rape, Leese?”

“Why are you so cruel to me?” She asked quietly.

“What do you mean? I had nothing to do with that but since you're talking now; when did it happen?”

She was silent again.

“Leese, don't make me ask again. I don't think you'll appreciate the manner in which I will.”

She nodded her head. He let her get away with that form of answer for now, just pleased she'd answered without him having to resort to other methods.

“Someone you knew?” He asked, genuinely curious about this event in her life that he'd had no prior knowledge about and he thought he knew everything there was to know. She obviously hadn't pressed charges because nothing in the database had indicated that she'd ever been involved with the cops for more then a speeding ticket. He found it odd considering her father was retired from the force.

She shook her head `no' but said nothing and continued to look out the window to the ocean breakers below.

“I'm surprised it happened to you.” He said in all honesty.

She shot him a confused and angry glare. She didn't want to talk about this, especially with him of all people. She'd never told anyone, not even her father. She hadn't seen his face, he'd used a condom and she hadn't even been able to scratch him. She hadn't wanted to live through the insanity of talking to the police only to be told that they rarely catch guys like this. She knew how the system worked; her father had imparted enough knowledge on her to know that.

For the longest time she was terrified to go outside alone but started concealing it better after her dad started getting concerned over her new behavior. She didn't want him to know because he would insist that she go to the department no matter how much time had passed since it happened. She'd always heard about how so many women felt ashamed after the incident. She did too but not because of the rape but because she played the coward and told no one.

Later she berated herself even further when she realized that her not coming forward might have put other women at greater risk. She'd acted so selfishly. What if the cops had been able to find something or the guy had a pattern. The scar was more than a reminder of that terrible day in the parking garage; it was also a memento of her cowardice and failure.. Every time she saw it, she mentally apologized to her father. He'd taught her better than that and she'd ignored it.

“What's that supposed to mean?” She spat.

“Rapists usually attack women who are weak, mentally and physically. You should have been one of the last on his list. I've never seen either of those traits in you.” It was true. He didn't think she was either of those things. That was the reason he'd chosen her. He'd had the opportunity to obtain birds that were far more beautiful than Lisa with physical attributes much more to his liking but he'd never even considered bringing them here. To put it simply, he liked a challenge and that's exactly what Lisa presented. She was already taking longer to mold then any other bird he'd heard of and he was sure that he was probably better at it than any of his associates that had already tamed theirs.

Lisa stared at him in open mouthed wonder. Had Jackson Rippner just paid her a compliment? When she realized how she must have looked, she turned away again and said nothing in response to his puzzling comment.

“How long ago?” He asked, wanting to learn everything there was to know about her, especially fascinating bits like this.

She sighed. He already knew and she didn't want to fight him on this. He'd get it out of her somehow and just telling him would get it all over with that much faster. “Two years.”

“Why didn't you go to the cops?” She looked at him puzzled so he clarified. “I know everything about you Leese. A rape charge filed by a Lisa Reisert would have popped up in my dossier on you.”

She turned away from him again and returned her gaze to the outside world. “I didn't want to put up with the hassle of an investigation.” If she'd been looking at him, she would have seen him smirk.

This was great information. It was best that he knew it now rather than later. Had he tried to proceed with getting her to do more interesting activities, he might have been met with unexpected and progressively disastrous results. It also got the wheels turning. Usually rape victims are more docile the first time as the situation they're in is just too unbelievable for them to handle but they become hardened to that stimuli quickly. Even if he tried to simply force her, he'd probably have to deal with a kicking and screaming bed partner for months, perhaps even years. He had no desire to deal with that debacle and besides, he wasn't into forcing himself physically on women. It wasn't arousing to do so. It wasn't from a sense of decency that this sensibility sprung from but rather a bit of laziness on his part. He wouldn't be able to focus on his own pleasure if he had to concentrate on keeping her restrained and bondage didn't do it for him either.

He was a creature that preferred mental control over people, not physical. There was nothing more appealing then getting someone to do something that they didn't want to by using words alone. He would get Lisa to choose to let him touch her. He wasn't sure yet how he was going to accomplish this feat and he was pretty certain she'd still be against the idea even if he did succeed in getting her to choose it, as it would undoubtedly be under some form of emotional duress. That didn't matter though. All that did was winning the little challenge he'd just set before himself.

Jackson pulled himself from the memory of that day as he knocked on her door. “Lisa, I've got something you need to know.” There was no answer but he didn't expect one as he let himself in. Lisa was going to get her reprieve but it would be short lived.