When Opportunity Knocks - 20. Chapter 20

Kyle was exhausted. Sleep had been elusive more often than not. That and the fact that they were woken up often and randomly by loud pounding footsteps overhead. He had no clue how much time had passed and Kim just shook her head when he asked her. There were no scratches in the windows to let in any light. Greene, or his brother had made sure of that.

Other than occasional bathroom breaks, the brothers had kept him and Kim tied to chairs. They were able to move their feet a couple of inches to each side of the chair legs, but that was all. Their hands were secured either behind them, or to their sides, the chains tethering them not long enough to do anything other than raise their arms to just above hip level.

Kyle had been trying his damnedest to get out of the cuffs. As a kid he had extremely flexible joints and could twist his fingers in odd ways that allowed him much more leverage than one would imagine. His hands had also been half the size they were now and besides, no matter how tight Noah thought he had made the knots, they were never tight enough. Now Kyle could feel his wrists chafing with the constant rubbing. He was beginning to wonder if he should try to dislocate his thumb to give himself a better chance at sliding out of the metal loop.

At some point, during one of their bathroom breaks, Greene, or maybe it was the brother, Paul, noticed his swollen wrists. The man scowled and shoved Kyle back down onto his chair before hitting the button on the remote for the shock collar. Kyle’s back arched as the volts shot through him. It felt like a thousand bees had somehow flown into his body. A long, painful moaning sound came from somewhere deep within himself.

“You’re making this difficult for yourself Kyle. Now why would you go and do that? You’re being quite naughty and naughty little boys must be punished. I like that idea. You go take care of your business and then you’ll get what you deserve.”

It was the brother who spoke. Kyle had picked up on a very subtle difference in their voices. Greene’s pronunciation of words were classic, no trace of any discernible accent. His brother would occasionally let slip a certain diction that was noticeable. He would add an ‘R’ sound to words that had no letter R, like idea. He pronounced it ‘idear’. It was a typical and perfectly acceptable New England thing to do. Plus the asshole had a much more sadistic streak in him.

Kyle allowed himself to be hauled off of the chair and Thing Two practically dragged him to the bathroom. His cuffs were undone so he could piss and wash his hands, the creepy pervert watching the whole time. As Kyle turned to place the hand towel back on the rack, pain exploded across his face as the asshole’s fist slammed into him. Blood trickled down his chin from where his lip split open. That fucking hurt. Several more hits rained down on him before his so-called punishment ended.

Kyle didn’t bother trying to fight back. He lacked the energy from being deprived of food and sleep. Thing Two shoved him back into the main room where Kim let out a cry of distress at the sight of him. He shot her a look to let her know that he was alright. Stumbling and falling, Kyle was pushed to the floor. He managed to catch himself, but landed hard. The thin carpet wasn’t much in the way of cushioning and slamming into the concrete underneath was going to leave a bruise. He heard Greene rummaging around in a cabinet that was on the other side of the room. The next thing Kyle knew was that he was being rolled over onto his stomach. Each wrist was duct taped to create a barrier between the unyielding metal and his skin. The cuffs were snapped back into place with a loud ‘click’.

Thing Two hauled him into a sitting position and propped him up against the cold cement wall. It was all Kyle could do not to fall over. For some weird reason he thought about an ancient TV commercial for these toy people called Weebles. They were a rival to Fisher Price’s popular Little People line and were made by a company called Romper Room. They had a catchy commercial jingle for it where kids were singing “Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down!” He came across it when he had done an English paper on the evolution of commercials when he was in high school. So many of those old commercials were classic. Now the damn jingle was stuck in his head. He caught himself just in time before he giggled out loud. Damn, he was tired.

Thing Two brought Kim to the bathroom and made sure she was secure before stomping back up the stairs. He was not a quiet individual. It was easy to tell when he was up and about. It often sounded like an elephant was stampeding above them and he had most likely been the one who kept them up on purpose.

Kim looked at Kyle, her brows pinched with worry. “Are you alright?”

Kyle sighed. “I’m okay. Just so damn tired.”

“That’s part of their plan. Make us exhausted and we’re much more apt to behave. That’s how they did it before. They’re trying to break us down.”

“Yeah, I can see why sleep deprivation is used as a torture technique.”

Kim nodded. They both were quiet for a while, nodding off into a light doze. Real sleep wasn’t possible when your body and brain were in survival mode.

Several hours must have passed, it was hard to tell. The next bathroom break gave Kyle a glimmer of hope. The cuffs had been removed so he could aim and as he was holding his dick he realized that the idiot had wound the duct tape around his wrists at least a dozen times. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

Thing Two snapped on the cuffs and shoved him to the floor again. This time he did topple over. He lay there until the clomping disappeared up the stairs. Now it was time to get to work. Kyle spent the next few hours? Days? Minutes? However long, slowly working his fingers under the edge of the duct tape, gradually unwinding it from around his wrists. It was painstakingly slow work, the sticky tape generally getting in the way and trying to sabotage his efforts.

He managed to roll so that his back was to Kim and she became his eyes for him, making suggestions when he got stuck.

“Do you have a plan for when you get free?” she asked when he had managed to unravel about half the tape on his right wrist.

The damn shit stuck to everything. Whoever had invented it was a brilliant genius as well as a sick bastard. How is this so sticky? Kyle’s fingers were all gummed up, and on top of the sheer exhaustion he was feeling, he was starting to get frustrated.

“Nope. But I’ll think of something. You know how the saying goes. You never know what’s possible until you try.”

He turned his head and saw Kim smile at him. Even with the distance between them, Kyle could see the fatigue and worry that etched her face. Her eyes though. That was a different story. Her eyes reflected a fiery determination. A simmering rage within her. Kyle knew without a doubt that once she got free she would easily kill either of those bastards if she got the chance. He both admired her and was scared shitless for her at the thought.

“I’m banking on the element of surprise. That and hopefully a major rush of adrenaline. Both of them are strong fuckers, Thing Two more so, probably from his time in prison. Survival of the fittest, blah, blah, blah,” Kyle mocked, rolling his eyes.

“Let’s just hope they don’t have us out in the middle of nowhere. I can’t imagine they would’ve gone too far. The snow was really starting to come down. It feels like we’ve been holed up here forever.”

Just then Kyle got a good grip on the duct tape and managed to swiftly unravel the last two or three loops, swearing as the last strip peeled off a layer of skin. The cuff now had a lot of wiggle room. The tightness of the duct tape had also served as a compression bandage and most of the swelling that had been there earlier had gone down as well. Kyle took a couple of deep breaths and started working the cuff over his right hand. He hesitated when heard commotion above them. His heart kicked it up a notch and he could hear his blood pounding through his veins.

Kyle and Kim were both startled when one of the Things came barging through the door at the top of the stairs and slammed it shut. As he engaged the locks it sounded like a war had broken out upstairs. Loud bangs and yelling could be heard. Muffled shouts filtered through from upstairs and Kyle swore he heard barking and growling just before a series of gunshots went off in a staccato burst of loud noise.

The Thing that had come down the stairs had to be Marc Greene. Even faced with what seemed like an impossible situation he kept his cool. He hurried over to a cabinet in a dark corner of the room, swiftly unlocked it and pulled out a couple of guns. Kyle couldn’t get a good look at them, but from the number of clips the man stuffed into the pockets of his cargo pants, it would pack a punch.

A loud banging came from the top of the stairs and Greene looked directly at Kim. “Don’t get your hopes up Sweet Girl. That door is reinforced so securely it could be used in Ft. Knox. It should take them a while to get through. If they can. Doesn’t matter anyway, by then we’ll be long gone.”

Greene set about untying Kim from her chair. Kyle watched as he fit a shock collar around her neck so that she, like himself, could be controlled at the push of a button. The banging at the top of the stairs got louder and the walls shook with the reverberation. Kyle gave a little smile when he saw a look of worry flash across Greene’s face.

He was still working on getting his hand out of the cuff and had nearly been there when all the ruckus started. Now time was out and he gave a massive tug on the metal. He felt his skin scrape off and for a moment he thought he may have broken his thumb. Thank fuck Greene had his back turned because there was no way Kyle could have held back the grimace of pain that he knew was written all over his face.

Greene grabbed Kim’s elbow in a death grip and shoved her toward a door that Kyle had thought was a closet. “Come, my pretty, let’s go. “Oh, wait. I forgot to take care of something.’ He raised his gun toward Kyle. “Can’t leave any loose ends now can we? It’s too bad my brother had to die. At least he’s probably dead. That was my plan anyway. He was always meant to be the sacrificial lamb. As for your little friend here? He’s expendable too.”

Kyle’s heart seemed to explode as several things happened at once. There was a loud roar of the gun being fired and Kyle felt a searing pain in his skull. Fuck!! He’d been shot! His vision showed Kim struggling with Greene. She had both of her hands wrapped around his wrist, the one that was holding the gun. Kyle felt blood running down his head and his vision blurred. He was able to get to his knees and watched in horror as Greene started to overpower Kim. As the barrel of the gun began to swing toward her head the door behind them, which they had been heading toward, suddenly burst open and hit Greene’s hand. The gun went flying and skidded across the floor.

The next moment was the scariest of Kyle’s life. A massive blur of fur and snarling teeth came barrelling through the broken door at the same time Greene reached into his waistband for a second gun. Greene shoved Kim and Jett caught her as he came barging into the room. Kyle watched in horror as Greene took aim at Bruce as the huge Shepherd leapt toward him. Greene fired at least six shots rapidly. Bruce’s yelp pierced the air as he spun sideways from the impact and hit the floor with a thud, lying still.

Kyle didn’t think, he dove for the gun that had skidded across the floor and had come to a halt a few feet away. He never remembered actually taking aim, but the sound of rapid fire shots exploded in his ear as he pulled the trigger, his lessons in keeping the barrel steady put to real life use.

Marc Greene’s eyes locked with his as his body jolted from the multiple hits. He seemed to fall in slow motion and the thunderous roar Kyle heard turned out to be his own voice, screaming rather primordially.

Deafening silence took over as the cacophony of pandemonium faded away. Several heartbeats later noise rushed back in as the team breached the door at the top of the stairs. So many things happened at once, Kyle was overwhelmed until he was engulfed in Jett. Not just his arms, but his whole body. It felt like the mountain of a man was trying to absorb Kyle right into his skin. Kyle let himself be engulfed. Just for a moment until reality crashed back in.

“Bruce!” he cried.

Both men turned their attention to the large mound of fur and Kevlar. Relief flooded through him and he felt Jett sag against him when the dog picked up his head. Jett hurried over as the rest of the team swarmed down the stairs, assessing the danger and adjusting their actions accordingly when it was discovered that Greene was dead and the rest of them were alive

Kyle pushed Jett off to the side so he could assess Bruce’s injuries. Other than a bullet tearing through his left ear flap that was profusely, there didn’t seem to be any other penetrations. Jett helped him remove the vest and Kyle ran his hands all over the big dog. Bruce emitted soft whimpers when Kyle hit a few sore spots. The Kevlar had done its job and protected the canine officer that would have laid his life down for any one of the humans he considered his. Bruce would pay the price of some heavy bruising and needed to have his ear stitched up, but he would be fine.

Kim came over and Jett and Kyle both enfolded her into their embrace. As soon as she was safe in their arms she started to shake, the adrenaline crash causing violent shudders. Kyle felt more than a little shaky himself and even Jett wasn’t immune to the jittery feeling you get when you realize your life almost ended.

Jett swore when he saw where the bullet had grazed the side of Kyle’s head, just above his temple. It wasn't deep, but like most head wounds, bled like a motherfucker. Jett motioned for one of the medics, who quickly came over to assess the wound. The medic handed Jett a few thick gauze pads and told him to keep pressure on it. He looked at Kyle, and one beautiful smile from the man erased the worry and concern that had been embedded in him the past several days.

Jackson’s team quickly took over the situation and led Kim and Kyle upstairs. Jett followed, carrying Bruce like a baby, anxiety still written all over him. The main floor looked like a bomb had gone off. Windows were blown out, scorch marks seared surfaces that had borne the brunt of flash bangs. There were bullet holes all over the place and Paul Romano’s body was splayed out, half on the couch, half off, a fully automatic AK-47 next to him.

The Crime Scene Investigation unit pulled in and unloaded their team. More commotion ensued, but it was an organized commotion. An ambulance was brought in and Jett insisted that Kyle and Kim get checked out at a hospital. Arrangements were made to have Bruce brought to Kyle’s clinic and Carter would meet him there and take care of his ear and do a complete assessment. Jett knew he would be in good hands so he followed the ambulance to Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis.

While Kyle and Kim were being given a thorough once over, Jett made some much needed phone calls. Jim answered the phone when Jett called, his voice groggy with sleep. It was six-thirty in the morning and the skies were still inky black, a lighter indigo just starting to paint the eastern horizon. Jim perked right up when Jett gave them the good news that Kyle and Kim were safe and sound. He asked that they wait until they heard from him before trying to head to the hospital. It would take awhile before they would know if Kyle or Kim needed to be admitted for any reason and there was no sense in everyone just hanging around a waiting room. He could hear Lynn sobbing with tears of happiness in the background.

His own parents were just as relieved and said they would let his siblings know what was going on. Jett promised to call them when he had more information. He held off on telling them about Bruce for the moment.

Kyle was sitting upright on the hospital bed, fidgeting as he waited for Jett to come back. There was a restlessness within him that would only be quashed with the reappearance of his boyfriend. He didn’t have much longer to wait and his entire being nearly melted when Jett pulled back the curtain from his little exam cubicle and crossed the small space in two strides.

The crashing of their lips together was driven by a primitive need to connect. Jett loomed over Kyle, nearly covering the smaller man’s upper body with his own. Kyle took just as much as he gave. Tongues battled for dominance and hands roamed all over, each trying to touch as much of the other as possible. Feeling. Making it real.

When Jett pulled back Kyle saw tears in his eyes. It hit him, right then and there how much he loved this man. Not another moment would go by without saying it either.

“I love you.”

Kyle and Jett broke out laughing as they had both said it at the same time.

Kyle reached up and stroked Jett’s face, rough with stubble. He knew his own scruff was worse. It had been four days since he had last shaved and they had been a rough four days. “I really do. I love you Jett. You kept me going. Knowing you were out there looking for us, that’s what kept us strong.”

Jett slid off of Kyle and perched his ass on the side of the narrow bed. Kyle scooted over as much as he could to give his giant as much room as possible.

“I love you too. I was going crazy. I felt so helpless until the end. You scared the hell outta me. But you know what? I had every bit of faith in you. I know exactly how strong you are and I knew you’d be okay because I really don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t.”

Kyle pulled Jett toward him and this time their kiss was slow and sweet. This was the type of kiss you could never get sick of. It was a kiss that said ‘I love you’.

They were interrupted by the arrival of the ER doctor. Kyle grabbed Jett’s hand, a clear cut indication that he wanted him to stay put. Other than a slight concussion from his head wound, he was dehydrated and slightly bruised and battered, but was in good health otherwise. His head wound had been taken care of with surgical glue. He'd have a small scar, but he didn't care. Dr. Ross wanted him to stay and finish the bag of I.V. fluid that he was hooked up to him before being discharged. They both thought that sounded reasonable.

Jett gave Kyle a quick kiss, this time mindful of the cut that was starting to sting again after all the attention from Jett’s lips.

“I’m going to go check on Kim and see how she’s doing.”

Kyle nodded and then leaned his head back against the thin, crinkly pillow the hospital provided and closed his eyes, letting the hum of activity that surrounded him lull him into a light sleep.

He had no idea how much time had passed. He had fallen further into sleep, exhaustion catching up with him. He was woken when one of the nurses came in to unhook the I.V. that had finished dripping replenishing fluid into him. Jett was sitting on a chair and smiled at him. Kyle shook the cobwebs out of his brain and smiled back. He only half paid attention as she went over his discharge instructions.

Kyle was loath to put on the clothes that he had worn for four days. He could see that his shirt was stained with blood all down the front where his lip and head had dripped. Jett noticed his dilemma and asked the nurse nicely if there were any scrub shirts Kyle could have. His jeans weren’t as bad, denim held up much better than the thin cotton of his now ruined t-shirt. She nodded and left the cubicle, returning less than five minutes later with a faded blue scrub top that fit him rather loosely. While she was gone, Jett led him into the bathroom and helped him wash the dried up blood off of him. It was a sobering moment for both of them, one that hit home hard how close Kyle came to being killed.

Jett made sure he was dried off well and helped him get dressed. Kyle left the non-skid socks that the hospital provided on. His own socks could have probably stood up on their own. He balled them up and tossed them in the trash. The hospital socks were thick and made his boots a little tight, but hell, he wasn’t going hiking up in the mountains.

Kim was ready to be discharged as well, so Jett herded them through the back of the hospital and out a side door that led to the ambulance bay. Apparently the media was camped out in front of the hospital.

Once they were all in Jett’s SUV he asked, “Where to?”

“Anywhere the media is not,” was the only answer Kyle could give.

“Our place it is then. I’ll have a patrol car keep access to the cul-de-sac limited. You guys can deal with everything later. Right now you need food and sleep in that order and I know just how to make it happen. Are you guys up for a little bit of company before you crash? Kyle, your parents have been blowing up my phone for the last two hours and my parents are a close second. My mom has a virtual feast for an army ready to be brought over and heated up. If you’re not up to it, say so and we’ll go straight home, shove a sandwich or five into you guys and then you can sleep.”

Kim had been pretty quiet ever since they left the house on the Bay. “I’ve got about an hour left in me. Can you ask your parents to bring Tater? I need my dog.”

It was the first indication that Kim gave that showed her vulnerability.

Kyle seconded her motion. “Yeah. I need to see Rosie too. I can deal with just the parents and Megan for about an hour. Let your mom bring food. We can eat, give them a Cliff Notes version of events, get smothered and then go to bed for the next three days. That sounds like a good plan.”

Jett made the phone calls before pulling out of the hospital lot and by the time they got home both parents' cars were parked in front of the house. Beth Anderson had a spare key and had let everyone in. Kyle’s mom, dad and sister nearly suffocated him when he walked through the door. They didn’t get much of a chance to fawn all over him before an ungodly howl was heard. Rosie let out a sound the likes of which had never been heard from her before. It sounded like the call of a wolf crossed with a dying cow.

Kyle laughed as he broke free of his family and found himself with an armful of blonde fur, furiously wagging tail and a faceful of Rosie kisses. Kim was in a similar state, her hands full of an excited, wriggling ball of Tater who decided his only job now was to lick his owner’s face off.

When the dogs settled a bit, Beth took over and gave marching orders to Chris, Jim, Lynn and Megan. In no time there was an array of breakfast food set out buffet style on Jett’s counter. Kyle piled his plate high with an assortment of pancakes, eggs and bacon. He polished off every bite and went back for more, this time scarfing down a massive cinnamon roll and more bacon. One could never have enough bacon.

While they ate Jett gave them a rundown of events from his perspective, glossing over most of the shooting that had taken place and downplaying Bruce's injury. Neither set of parents needed that kind of reminder, nor were they fooled.

When everyone had finished eating Beth threw covers on all of the leftovers and put them in the fridge. Paper plates and plastic cups were tossed in the trash and utensils rinsed and put in the dishwasher. Kyle was amazed at the speed in which everything was cleaned up. He had no idea what Jett could’ve said to both sets of parents but almost exactly an hour after they arrived home, Kyle’s parents and sister and Chris and Beth were gathering their things and heading toward the door.

Kim assured everyone that she was fine and was going to take a shower and then go straight to bed. She promised to check in with Jett and Kyle when she woke up.

Megan hesitated before pulling on her jacket and exchanged a knowing look with Kyle.

He gave her a quick nod.

“Kim, would it be okay if I stayed with you? Just in case you need someone? I’ll just read or watch TV while you get some sleep,” Megan asked shyly.

When Kim hesitated, Beth stepped in. “Oh, that’s a wonderful idea. I’d feel better if Megan stayed with you, dear. You’ve been through a helluva lot these past few days and you don’t need to do this alone anymore. We take care of our family.”

Kyle watched tears well up in Kim’s eyes. He loved Jett's mom and his sister for stepping in and making sure Kim was taken care of. She was part of their families, whether she realized it or not.

Kim’s voice choked up, “Thank you, I think I’d like for you to stay Megan.”

With that settled, it was only a few minutes later before the parents were gone and Megan went with Kim and Tater next door. Quiet descended around them like a blanket.

Kyle reverted back into a semi stupor and was rapidly losing steam. He allowed Jett to lead him into the master bathroom and strip him down. Hot water had never felt so good. Neither had Jett’s hands as he washed four days worth of sweat, worry and grime off of him. Kyle couldn’t do much more than stand there as Jett scrubbed his hair, careful of his cut, and then gently washed the rest of him. He was barely aware of Jett rubbing him dry with a fluffy towel and just about managed to raise each foot when told to so Jett could pull a soft pair of sleep pants up and over his hips.

Jett led him to his big bed and got him settled before sliding in behind him. The last thing Kyle remembered before dropping off was how warm and safe he felt with Jett’s arms wrapped around him, his bare back nice and toasty from the heat wave coming off of Jett’s chest. He wanted to stay like this forever.