Page 80 of Found

"You saw what I wanted you to see. I created the memory for you through suggestion."

She shook her head. "I know what I saw."

"You saw a body with a beat-up face. It was unrecognizable in the dark, and I promise it wasn't your friend. It was this Judas, the traitor Phinneas. You were the one who said the name Imogen to me, and I went with it, feeding you ideas and a new experience while you wrestled with the pain you were in. In the end, you believed it was her with a level of certitude that validated the memory. The longer time went on and the more you spoke of it, the stronger and more vivid it got." He stood up and came over to her. "It was really quite brilliant."

"Where is she then?"

His arms came around her. "I don't know, and I don't care," he whispered in her ear. "Stand up, Lottie." He helped her up. "Take your sweater off."

"No." She tried to back up, but the table blocked her.

"That's not how this works." He yanked her toward him, pulling the sweater over her head. She didn't fight him. "Take your bra off."

She unclasped it at the back and let it fall to the ground. Sokolov ran his hand over her stomach. "It's beautiful," he said softly. "And it's ours. We created it together. The pain, the pleasure, it belongs to you and me forever." He slapped her across the face, stunning her. "But you ruined that. You whored yourself to that bastard." He turned her around and pushed her chest against the table. "That's what we're going to carve on you now, whore. That is your punishment." He whistled again and Phinneas and Ivan appeared out of the mist. "Hold her." Phin went to the opposite side of the table and held her shoulders while Ivan opened his box of scalpels and knives.

"Please, you don't have to do this," she said to Phinneas. "They'll take you back."

"Shut up." He pushed on her harder, the thin points of her shoulders driving into the table.

"Please," she cried.

Sokolov brushed her hair back off her face. "Shh. You know what to do. Accept the pain for what it is, and then if you're a good girl, I'll help you find the pleasure." The knife cut into her back, slicing her several times. She screamed. William ran across the field, barking. He lunged at Ivan's leg, holding on for dear life. Ivan dropped the knife he was using, trying to kick the dog off him. Shouts could be heard in the fog. They were getting closer. The next thing she knew, she was pulled up and Phinneas held her around the neck with his arm. He had a gun pointed to the side of her head and was jerking around, trying to find out what direction the voices were coming from. Sin, Gabriel, Carmichael and Wraith came through the mist, guns drawn.

"Where's Sokolov?" Gabriel asked.

"He ran into the field," Charlie said. William had Ivan on the ground and stood over him snarling, his hackles raised in a stiff crest down his back.

"Shut up, or I'll put a bullet through your head," Phinneas shouted.

Carmichael and Wraith ran into the fog after Sokolov.

"Let her go," Sin said to Phinneas. "She's innocent in all this."

"You don't know anything. This bitch messed up the hit that night. If she hadn't shown up, you'd be dead, and I'd be a very rich man." His grip on her tightened, the tip of the gun pressing harder into her temple.

"So, you did tip off Sokolov?" Sin asked.

"He approached me," Phin spat. "It was the easiest choice I've ever made."

"Phinneas, put down the gun," Gabriel said in his calm, hypnotic voice. "You swore an oath. It's not too late, brother, to come back to us."

"Fuck The Watch," he said angrily. "I never wanted to be a part of it. I was forced into it. I had no other choice until Sokolov approached me."

"It was you who cut the power at the Tower," Sin said. "Wasn't it?"

"I needed to see if the colonel's mighty fortress was penetrable."

"And Michael?" Sin asked.

"I killed him. He was sniffing around about that bitch Imogen. It was just a matter of time before he found her. And if he found her, you would know we never had her. He made it so easy and led me straight to you."

"Phinneas, put down the gun, brother," Gabriel said again. "I know you don't want to kill her."

"You don't know what I want." Charlie could feel him shaking. He was scared.

"Drop the gun and we'll let you go." Gabriel took a step forward. "We won't follow you."

"He will." He motioned to Sin. "I'm not a fool."

---