Chapter 20 #3
“It wasn’t until we were in the air and approaching our target that Rodney went off the rails.
He refused to stick to the plan and changed our course.
He insisted we take a different route, despite knowing from our briefing that it would likely draw enemy attention.
I reminded him of that. He laughed and said, ‘What did I or a bunch of paper-pushers back at command know?’ He said he wasn’t following a woman on such a critical mission.
“Command overheard him. All of us were telling him to resume the original course and to follow me. He refused. He convinced the other four pilots to follow him. They altered course. There was no way I could accomplish the mission without them, so I followed even though I knew we’d unlikely make it. ”
Astrid paused to shake her head and sigh. You could tell she was seeing that day in her head.
“As expected, we ran right into the enemy.
It became a fight. We were there to destroy their weapon depot.
Instead, they were using it against us. After two planes exploded midair, killing the pilots due to an anti-aircraft missile hitting them, the rest of us knew our fate.
Our planes were already hit and smoking.
Rather than be killed the same way, we ejected.
“No surprise we ended up landing in the middle of enemy territory. We knew we had to get our asses out of there pronto. I studied the maps extensively back at HQ. I told your brother and the other three which way was the best chance of evading capture. Rodney laughed at me and said the opposite direction from it was best. I argued that it would take us deeper into the enemy’s territory, not out of it.
Again, he refused to listen, and so did the others.
“Even though he was wrong, I knew there might be safety in numbers rather than striking out alone, so I followed them. God, you have no idea how often I regret that. I wish I hadn’t been right, but I was.
It wasn’t long before we were surrounded by the enemy and taken captive. We were carried off to their camp.”
Astrid began pacing. I saw the faraway expression on her face. She was about to relive her greatest pain. I was no longer held by Maniac. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her from behind.
I rested my chin on her shoulder and whispered to her, “I’m here. I’ve got you. No one is gonna hurt you, Fury.”
Astrid gave me a grateful look, then turned to face Baker.
His forehead was scrunched down, but he wasn’t saying anything.
My brothers had stuffed one of the rags back in his mouth.
They wanted him to hear what was said, not yell and talk over her.
Giving her a light squeeze, Astrid resumed talking.
“Our captors wanted information on US military movements, camps, and anything else we might know so they could destroy us. They assumed that because I was a woman, if they started with me, the guys would break easily to stop them from hurting me more. They were wrong. Not a single one of them showed any concern. All they cared about was that, aside from a few punches here and there, they were left alone. Those fuckers happily watched me be tortured and raped for three days.”
She leaned over, so she was level with his gaze. “So no, I didn’t willingly tell them anything. I kept my mouth shut. No matter what they did, I stayed strong. And it was rape, I promise you, not consensual, you fucking bastard. If you think I’m lying, look at this.”
Suddenly, Astrid twirled in my arms, presenting her back to Baker, and her arms went to the back of her hips.
Understanding what she wanted to do, I pulled up her shirt, and she lowered the back of her pants.
I watched Baker’s eyes widen. My brothers burst into angry chatter and cursing.
I’d told them she’d been whipped and had scars, but seeing it was different.
It drove it home and made it more real. When she pulled up her pants, I let her shirt drop.
I saw the pain on her face. I gave her a loving kiss before letting go.
She smiled tentatively before turning back to him again.
“I never broke. Not even when they pulled a train on me. You said you wanted to fuck me to death. Well, that’s been tried, and I survived.
When they realized I wasn’t breaking and would die keeping my country safe, they moved on to the men.
The two with your brother and me quickly died.
They took less than a day to croak. However, I will say this.
They never gave the enemy any information they could use against us.
“That left Rodney. It didn’t take much, just some beating and a few fingernails being removed, for him to start blabbing.
He told them everything he knew. I kept shouting at him to stop.
He told me to shut the fuck up. That he was planning to live.
I knew none of us would. Right after he was done telling them everything, I was preparing for them to kill us.
Except that’s when a SEAL team arrived to liberate us.
They snuck into the building where we were held and tortured and killed the five men in there with us.
“We were sneaking out, trying to get out of the camp unnoticed. Again, your brother didn’t listen to the SEALs and went in a different direction, insisting it was a better way to go.
We were seen and the alarm raised. This meant we had to fight our way out.
I asked a SEAL for a gun. He handed one over to me, and another SEAL gave a gun to your brother.
It was crazy. Bullets flew everywhere. Two of the SEALs were hit but not seriously.
We ducked, weaved, and hid behind things where we could.
That’s when it happened. Rodney was shot in the chest and died immediately.
Instead of leaving him, though, one of the SEALs hefted him onto his shoulder and continued fighting one-handed.
“Somehow, I don’t know how, we got free of the camp.
We were running for the extraction point.
Along the way, the SEAL team called in an air strike.
The Navy had planes on standby nearby to act as air support.
They came in and finished off the enemy encampment.
It was after that that the Marine Corps and Army sent in people, and the other bodies were recovered to send home to their families.
That’s what Snyder never told you. The only person responsible for your brother’s death is your brother.
Rodney killed himself and four others, and left me with scars and trauma for the rest of my life. And I’ll tell you one more thing.”
Astrid pulled out of my arms and went to stand close to him, bent over, drilling her gaze into his. “I’m happy that motherfucker is dead,” she hissed.
This confession set Baker off. He was screaming behind the gag and fighting to get loose, despite it being impossible. His face turned so red, I thought he would stroke. When Astrid faced me again, there was determination followed by retribution on her face.
“Let’s get this show on the road. I think it’s only fair that he gets a taste of what I survived.
It’s an old one, but the removal of all ten fingernails hurts like you can’t believe.
I thought my nails would never grow back.
The funny thing with mine is that when they did, they came back stronger and grew longer.
Go figure. Then, we’ll see what else we can do to him. ”
As much as I wanted to exact vengeance for Astrid, she needed it. I’d make my desire second to hers. “Whatever you want, baby. Let’s get the pliers, and I’ll show you what other toys we have in those lockers.”
Taking her hand, I walked her over to the lockers.
Gravel had gotten there first and opened every one of them.
There was a vast array of items. She took her time scanning them.
My brothers quietly and patiently waited.
Baker kept yelling and trying to get loose.
Even if he did get loose, he wasn’t leaving here alive.
He confessed he intended to torture and rape my woman. That was a death sentence in this club.
It wasn’t long before she picked up the pliers, and we returned to Baker. I waved for her to proceed when she gave me a questioning glance.
“I want his gag out. I need to hear him scream and beg. His hands need to be uncuffed. Leave his legs secured for now.”
It was me and Crusher who jumped to do as she asked. Baker strained and tried to prevent us from moving his arms in front of him, but he was no match for us. We had more strength on our side. Each of us held onto one of his wrists, stopping him from hiding his hands.
Without hesitation, Astrid came up to him. She stared into his eyes after latching onto his pinkie nail on his left hand. She yanked the nail free. Baker’s scream was loud and high-pitched, echoing in the large bunker.
“Yeah, that hurts, doesn’t it? But I can tell you this, from personal experience. It gets worse.”
Slowly, she removed the ring finger nail on the same hand.
Astrid allowed time in between for the pain to fully register before removing the next nail.
As Baker bled, he swore at her, calling her every dirty name in the book.
Her eyes didn’t flicker once. When the thumbnail on that hand was removed, Baker slumped into the chair, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. My woman slapped his face.
“Stay awake! You can’t pass out. We have another hand to go. I didn’t pass out, pussy,” she taunted.
Our captive glared at her as he straightened.
His expression was daring her. What a dumbass.
Astrid moved to the right hand, starting the process over again, starting with the pinkie.
Now that he knew what it felt like, it was more painful due to the anticipation of the pain to come.
It was a repeat of the first hand, except by the end, he did pass out.
Contemptuously, Ink tossed the remainder of the water in the bottle Baker had been drinking in his face.
He sputtered as he revived. With his fingernails gone, Astrid headed back to the lockers for the next toy.
She hadn’t gone into too much detail about what was done to her.
This process would tell me some of them.
I dreaded it. But I thought it could be very cathartic for her, so I’d deal.