Page 10 of Protecting Josie
Josie had never seen anyone waterboarded before. Didn’teven know how one went about torturing someone with the technique, but she was getting a firsthand education now.
It went on for what seemed like forever. She could hear Nate gasping for air under the wet towel as water was poured over the top again and again. It pooled on the concrete floor under him, creeping over into her cell as well.
Inside, Josie was screaming in horror. Nate was drowning right in front of her, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it! She could draw attention to herself somehow, but what good would that do? Instinctively, she knew it wouldn’t do anything. These men were enjoying themselves too much to let anything stop them.
And they weren’t even asking Nate any questions. They were simply torturing him to torture him, because they could. And the fact that he’d voluntarily put himself in this situation was what hurt Josie the most. He could’ve been long gone from here. And yet, he’d stayed, knowing this torture was coming.
It was more than she could bear. Closing her eyes, feeling cowardly, she did her best to block out the sight and sound of Nate’s suffering.
Finally,finally, the men seemed to get tired of messing with their captive. The guy who spoke English whipped the towel off Nate’s face and sneered down at him. “Had enough?” he asked.
“Enough,” Nate croaked.
His response seemed to please the leader tremendously.
“Maybe in a few hours you will answer our questions,” he said. “If not?” He shrugged. “We can have some more fun. How long will you last, I wonder?”
Nate stayed silent, which was a relief for Josie. She had a feeling he wanted to cuss the guy out. Tell him to bring it on. But he didn’t say a word, simply glared at his torturer.
The man who seemed to be in charge laughed, then gestured for his men to follow him out of the cell.
At the last minute, before the door to the cell closed, Nate said, “Thanks for the water. I needed that.”
The leader looked furious when he spun around. He strode toward Nate and began to kick him. Over and over his foot made contact with Nate’s body. He’d curled himself into a ball to try to protect his head, but he wasn’t able to keep the blows from landing everywhere else.
Blood mixed with the water on the floor, turning it a sick color of pink.
“Fuckin’ Americans!” the man said, then spat on Nate before turning and slamming his cell door shut. Before he left the room, he told Nate, “I think next time, we’ll start withher. See how long you can hold out when she screams.”
Josie shivered as the man’s words sank in and the door to their prison slammed shut.
“Don’t listen to him,” Nate slurred. “He’s not going to touch you. Give you my word.”
She wasn’t so sure. If the leader came back, there wasn’t anything he could do from his side of the cell. But his words still made her feel a little better.
“Anything from my team?” Nate asked, pointing to his ear.
Josie was confused for a moment, then realized he wanted to know if she’d heard anything through the receiver in her ear. She shook her head.
“Okay. Give me a little bit to get my bearings, and I’ll takethat receiver back. It won’t be long now, hear me, Spirit? We’ll be out of here drinking a pink drink with an umbrella in it before you know it.”
Josie didn’t smile. She couldn’t. Nate might’ve made light of what just happened, but she’d heard his gasps for breath. Had seen the panic in his eyes when the towel was removed from his face. He’d been through hell…forher.
Moving before she knew what she was doing, Josie scooted to the bars that separated their cells. She held her hand out toward him, not even sure what she was doing or asking of him.
Amazingly, Nate maneuvered himself slowly across the floor, through the pooled water, toward her. To her shock, when he got close enough, he put his cheek on her outstretched hand. His beard was surprisingly soft against her palm.
He sighed. A long sound that seemed to reach out and grab hold of Josie’s heart and squeeze it tight.
He was hurting, that was obvious. And somehow, her touch seemed to relieve some of that pain. They stayed like that for several moments. His cheek resting against her hand, connecting as human beings in a situation that had tried to suck out every ounce of their humanity.
Then Nate lifted his head and pierced her with a fierce look. “We’re getting out of here, Spirit. I’d never let them put one finger on you. I’d do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen, but I won’t have to do anything, because Flash, Smiley, Kevlar, and the others are coming. Soon. I’m going to lie here and try to regain some strength, but I’ll beready when they arrive. Come hell or high water, we’re getting out of here. Together.”
He couldn’t know the affect his words had on her. His reassurance. His protectiveness. His absolutely certainty that they were going to escape. His vulnerability in admitting his current weakness.
This man had turned her life upside down, and that was saying something, since it was already pretty well fucked.
Okay.
