Taking it out in trade. (Closed)

[darkest_dreams]

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Hanna was tired of hiding, of always having to look over her shoulder everywhere she went. To never be able to relax in public and to make friends and just to feel like a normal 22 year old again. But that wasn't going to happen, she was hiding for a reason and that reason was the Russian mob. She hadn't meant to ever get involved with them, who does? She'd made the mistake of falling for the wrong man.

Nikolas had been the perfect man to begin with, she'd met him on a night out with her friends at a bad time in her life. Her mother had recently passed away and as she'd never known her father she'd been left without the one person who loved her and the realisation that she was going to be on the streets soon. He'd swept her off her feet. He was so protective, insisting from the start that she would pay for nothing whilst she was with him and quickly becoming her whole life. But she'd quickly realised what she thought was him being protective was actually him being possessive. Nikolai would refuse to let her see her friends, would not let her go anywhere without his permission and would threaten that if she ever tried to leave him he could hunt her down. But the final straw came when she'd witnessed something that had made her blood run cold. Hanna had witnessed him beating a man to a pulp and in that moment she had known that she would have to run. So, she'd managed to stash cash he'd given her here and there for clothes and when the moment came...she ran. And she'd been running ever since.

3 year on and she was tired of running, tired of having to change her hair colour and definitely sick and tired of motels. It was getting to the point where she was running out of money. She'd be ok for another couple of months but if she didn't find some money soon, she'd be screwed. 'Story of my life!' she thought. With a sigh, she lay back on the uncomfortable matress- on top of the sheets in case she needed to get out fast. The knife she'd never used and hope she never would underneath her pillow within easy reach. Safe in the knowledge she'd covered every base, she fell into a fitful sleep.

 

[Niceandbrutal]

Sergei let out a wry chuckle at the memory of Nikolai's tantrum. He'd come home to find his mistress Hanna gone and had flown into a rage of biblical proportions. He'd wasted no time in sending out word of a reward for anyone capturing her. After every bumblefuck in Europe had either missed her going right past them or had managed to let her escape because of their fuckups, Nikolai decided to call in the big guns, the players, the heavy hitters.

Sergei was considered one of these, being one of Nikolai's more competent enforcers. With Spetsnaz training and a propensity for inventive violence, Sergei was not a man to be trifled with. He'd singlehandedly cut a swathe through ranks of opponents during several mob wars and was respected and feared.

Standing 6'3" tall and having a body he kept in shape by training and working, Sergei was a prime physical specimen at the age of 31. His shock of blonde hair and piercing blue eyes would have earned him a role as the german fanatic in every Hollywood war movie available. He dressed casually elegant and had a high standard of grooming. He emanated menace in every move and gesture.

He'd violenced his way through the european underworld, leaving four men hospitalized with internal injuries and dozens with broken noses and/or limbs.
He'd demanded one thing. Where was the girl? No reply until he reached Greece, where an intimidated small time crook had seen a woman matching her desription entering a fleabag motel. Sergei paid him and told him to be quiet if he knew what was good for him.

Greece being in a financial crisis, it was all too easy to bribe the clerk to give him a key under the pretense that he was her lover, here to surprise her.
He snuck up to her room and unlocked the door. He entered the room.

 

[darkest_dreams]

Hanna's dreams or nightmares more like ran into eachother in an endless jumble of images and memories. Flashes of the beating Nikolai had given the man haunted her dreams and she would often awaken covered in sweat, a scream dying in her throat. Needless to say, she didn't get much sleep. Couple that with the fact that she'd tried her best to train herself to react to the slightest sounds, always worried that her time would be up. That they'd come for her. Her waking thoughts were filled with imagining who would come for her...would it be Nikolai? The thought alone would make her shudder, she could only imagine his anger.

Hanna was thrust into awareness at the click of the door closing, fear flooded her body and trying her best to appear as if she was moving in her sleep...she slid her hand beneath the pillow, her fingers curling around the knife's handle in a trembling grip. Hanna fought the urge to panic, to jump up and try to make a run for it. She was aware that she was at a disadvantage but if she could catch whoever it was unaware and seize her chance...that's what she'd do. At 5'7 and not weighing more than 8 and a half stone she'd have to rely on the surprise factor as opposed to her strength or lack thereof.

 

[Niceandbrutal]

Sergei listened intently. Her breathing had changed. She'd heard him. For all he knew she was already awake, waiting to surprise him. Fuck! Sergei didn't need this! She looked frail, sure. But Sergei had learned that even the frailest body could put up a fight if cornered. And if she'd aquired a weapon...

He exhaled sharply. He knew her to be a regular firecracker, this Hanna. She was more than likely to put up a fight. He couldn't leave the door, she'd bolt in a second. She was fully dressed, ready for flight. If he talked with her she'd only try to buy some time and then try to escape and/or hurt him. There was only one thing for it. Pounce and pin.

He leaped on top of her, trying to pin her arms.

 

[darkest_dreams]

Hanna felt like she could choke on the tension that filled the room. Felt it trying to wrap around her mind and cloud her judgments. Why hasn't he done anything?! Why the fuck haven't I moved yet?! she thought. Her whole body tensed as she heard him exhale the hand holding the knife gripping it even tighter, slipping in a hand that had begun to perspire in her panicked state.

Suddenly she felt a rush of air and instantly kicked into fight mode.pulling the arm holding the knife from under the cushion and blindly swinging at the shadown above her, feeling triumphant as what she assumed was a grunt of pain left her assailant's lips. But his weight was crushing her to the bed. And her only option was to struggle violently, twisting and turning beneath him as she tried to get a better shot. Grimacing with exertion as she fought to push the knife towards his chest. Her face a mask of fear and steely determination. There was no way in hell she was going without a fight.

 

[Niceandbrutal]

A knife. Great. He flinched backwards, grunting as the knife nicked his arm. It was a scratch, but he'd have to mend the jacket later. She was quick. Before he could grab and pin her overextended knifearm she'd retracted it as she tried to get a better shot at him. And he was not to cause her undue harm. That was Nikolai's order. Niko wanted to hurt her himself. Okay. Defensive and subduing techniques only.

She was trying to stab his chest. He resisted with his left arm, then he suddenly relented as he still held her arm, causing her to surge forward as he simultaneously rolled to his right. She was now on top of him, much to her surprise. He again resisted both her hands as his legs and groin shot upwards and ensnared her ribcage. He started to squeeze the breath out of her, holding her arms in check all the while.

 

[darkest_dreams]

God the man was powerful. He couldn't have just sent her a puny guy that she could easily fight off, oh no...it had to be a big wall of muscle that weighed a god damn ton on her slight frame! It was clear he knew fighting tactics whereas her tactic was fight for your life and hope somehow to get out of it, but hope was fading with each hit he blocked.

As she was trying to push forward with the knife, his resistance suddenly was gone and she swooped lunging for him but suddenly felt herself yanked to the right on top of him. Her eyes widened in shock and confusion a curse flying from her lips that was quickly cut off as he wrapped his arms around her ribcage and began to squeeze. Hanna whimpered as she felt herself begin to panic. Trying to breath through her nose impossible when your ribcase was being crushed. Her eyes sought his in the darkness, panic filled eyes that asked what she herself refused to say. Spots danced in front of her eyes and she fought to stay conscious the hand holding the knife beginning to loosen.

"Can't...fucking...breathe."

Even in her situation she couldn't just let him see how scared she was, couldn't beg. She'd run for too long...and fought too hard to give up so easily.

 

[Niceandbrutal]

"You being unable to breathe is the general idea, Hanna. Now, why don't you do the sensible thing and throw the knife away? I can do this all night" Sergei said, giving an extra squeeze with his legs for emphasis. He was rewarded with a fresh groan from her.

The maneuver he'd just executed was one he'd perfected with the Spetsnaz. Sambo training was a part of their curriculum, and he'd excelled in the discipline.

He had to give her credit, though. Although obviously untrained she fought fiercely, something the fresh cut on his arm attested to. He couldn't help but admire her for that. And she was pretty too. It really was a shame...

 

[darkest_dreams]

Oh great, and he was sarcastic to boot! Hanna felt the overwhelming urge to laugh an obvious effect the nerves and lack of breathing was causing. All night?! Jesus, she'd be dea- her thought was cut out as he gave her an extra hard squeeze to prove his point and a groan of pain escaped her lips. Her bright blue eyes flickered to his, searching for any sign of mercy and seeing nothing but his own piercing ones staring back. In any other situation, Hanna would have noted that he was a very good looking guy but when that said guy was trying to crush the air out of your lungs- looks went out the window.

Hanna couldn't take much more. And as she felt the world begin to slip into the darkness, she dropped the knife reluctantly.His face swam in and out of focus and she focused in on where she assumed his eyes were. "Let...go."

 

[Niceandbrutal]

She let go of the knife. Good.
She asked to be let go, which meant she still had too much breath left in her. She was still able to put up a fight. He continued squeezing her until she collapsed in his arms.

He placed her on her side, ensuring she breathed properly. Then he set about tearing up sheets. He made a few strips to tie her hands and feet together with. He also made a gag which he'd keep handy if necessary. He found her knife, a vicious double edged dagger and placed it on the nightstand. Then he went into the bathroom to look to the cut she'd given him.

When he returned, she was awake.

 

[darkest_dreams]

Hanna's eyes fluttered as she waited for him to reply the room getting blurrier and blurrier until she felt herself fall into the darkness. It wasn't long before she opened her eyes slowly, coughing as she finally got her rush of air that she'd desperately needed. The bastard had made her pass out! And after she'd done what he'd asked. Charming! She went to mover her hands and the horrible realisation dawned that he'd tied her up. A slow whimper of fear was dragged out of her mouth. Eyes frantically searching the room for her knife, zoning in on it on the nightstand she started trying to shuffle her body over to it but stopped mid motion as his body filled -and she meant filled the doorway.

Taking a good look at him standing up, he was a pretty intimidating sight. A wall of muscle, short blonde hair and eyes that seemed to see straight through her. Hanna swallowed hard, tugging her lip between her teeth and chewing it. A nervous gesture she'd had from a young age and couldn't seem to stop. Nikolai had learnt it pretty quickly and almost enjoyed making her nervous, must have got some kick out of it. No matter what she was feeling, she tried her best to look as confident as one could look whilst tied up.

"So Nikolai wasn't good enough to find me himself, he had to send the hired help to get me?"

 

[Niceandbrutal]

"Nikolai is a very busy man, running his bizniz. That is not to say he likes it when girl takes off, showing him disrespect and taking money from him in the bargain. This you will regret, I think. What posessed you to do such a thing? Did he not provide for you? Did he not cater to your every whim? What else you want?"

Sergei shook his head. Women! They didn't know a sweet deal when they saw one. This one had thoroughly impressed him, though. In addition to fighting like a mother bear protecting her cubs, she'd eluded hitmen for years. Always one step ahead, only to be undone by a greek junkie and smalltime hood. It wasn't really fair, he mused. But then, life wasn't fair.

 

[darkest_dreams]

Hanna had to laugh, shocked that this man made Nikolai sound like the perfect gentleman as if the man had never lay a finger wrong. Hanna shook her head. "The man might as well as put me on a leash because he treated me like I was his pet! Or his possession. Nickolai is a violent thug who I wish I'd never layed eyes on. I saw him..." she took a deep shuddering breath as the images of him beating a man to a pulp his bare hands dripping with his blood. She swallowed and looked him in the eye. "I saw him beat a man into a mess, into something that no longer looked human. And you think I would have stayed with him? I couldn't even bear to be near him after that. So yes, I took him money and got the fuck out of there like any sane person would have done."

Hanna took another deep breath, tugging on the bonds at her wrists. Trying to see if they would loosen, but she grimaced as it only seemed to tighten the knots. Hanna's eyes flickered to his and away, "If you're here to take me back, I'd rather you kill me. Although a man who sneaks in whilst I'm sleeping sounds like a fucking coward to me."

What the fuck was she doing?! Fear obviously made her say ridiculous things. But she couldn't take it back now, Hanna didn't like to back down. It's why she'd kept running when she just wanted to give up. Her lip went back between her teeth as she bit it anxiously. Eyes flickering to the knife, to him and away. God nerves were a bitch.

 

[Niceandbrutal]

"Oh! So you are total oblivious as to what Nikolai is when you became his girl? Did you have romantic visions of brutal bad boy with a soft core, like in the movies? You are not this stupid, please. You must have known what you got into. You see violence and decide Nikolai is bad man? So you fuck him over! Take his money and run. And you want Nikolai to accept this? That you fuck him like he is your bitch. No, this is not Nikolai's way."

He saw her eyeing the knife. He went over and grabbed it.

"This is a good knife Hanna. I think you want it, no?"

He was on her like a shot, the knife pressing against her throat, almost breaking her skin.

"You want I should kill you now? You want to feel the knife slide into you, causing you excruciating pain even as you start to feel life ebb out of you? This I will not do. But I owe you a cut."

With a casual flick with the knife he made a little cut in her arm. Nothing more than a scratch, really, but painful.

"Youthful bravado, begging for death. Foolish."

 

[darkest_dreams]

Hanna became more and more infuriated with each word. Almost laughing at the fact that this man just would not listen to her. It was obvious he couldn't give a shit what she said and was in love with the sound of his own voice and refused to believe anything she tried to say. "I don't know what bullshit Nikolai has told you, I had no idea at the beginning who he was. All I knew is that he would insist on paying, insist on looking after me. But I saw through it in the end, he's just a controlling asshole- you're the proof...he says jump and you all say how high? I wasn't going to let him hurt me like he hurt that man. I couldn't give a flying fuck if it was Nikolai's way...it wasn't mine!" Hannah took a deep breath to calm herself, the fear had only succeeded in making her anger worse. And there was something about this man that set her off.

Hanna regretted looking at the knife the second he grabbed it. Her eyes going wide with panic, knowing that a man that looked like him...who worked for Nikolai would know how to use it properly. Hannah cried out as he jumped on top of her, flinching back from the cold blade. Her breathing coming in short gasps. Hanna's eyes filled with dread at his words. And before she could react she felt the cold edge slice into her skin, a pained whimper dragged from her lips. The burning instant. Hanna swallowed back her overwhelming urge to cry. Raising her chin, eyes locking with hers. Trying to shift her body from the awkward position she was in. Hanna wondered at why a man with such beauty yes lethal as it may be- but beauty none the less...why he would do such a thing.

"Why do you work for him?" The question had slipped out without her meaning it too. And a slight blush tinged her skin. She doubted he'd get her meaning but she cursed herself for letting herself think like that if only for a split second.

 

[Niceandbrutal]

He'd never met a victim like her before. Even helpless and at his mercy there was a strong defiance in her. It was admirable, but futile in the end.

Then the last question hit him and he was floored. No-one had asked him that before. Why did he work for Nikolai. There was the obvious answers like job security, pay and him being able to employ the military violence he'd been taught. What else was there? What did she mean, asking him a thing like that?

"What do you mean by that?" he asked her, not being able to hide the confusion in his voice. "This is a very peculiar question, I think."

 

[darkest_dreams]

Hannah squirmed beneath him, damning herself for being...well...such a woman! But she'd have to be blind to ignore that he was a very good looking guy...perhaps it's why he was hired? Maybe they thought women would willingly follow him if he batted his eyelashes and curled his finger. Not her. If this guy was anything like the arsehole she'd run away from, then she would fight like a hell cat the whole way back.

Hannah cleared her throat, unable to look him in the eye. "I didn't mean anything. It was just a question...it's not rocket science." Fuck! What was wrong with her?! The sarcasm wasn't going to help the situation she was in. If anything it would make it worse. She wondered if she got in the right position and caught him by surprise...she could knee him where it hurts. That would change the Russian's deep husky voice into a falsetto! A giggle burst from her lips at the image and she cut herself off. Eyes widening and flicking to his.

 

[Niceandbrutal]

Was she laughing at him?

"No question is ever just a question. What did you ask me that for? And why are you laughing at me?"

This woman was fast becoming an annoyance as well as a puzzle to Sergei. He thought back to the fight he had with her. She was indeed resourceful. What if... In a flurry of activity he ran around the room checking that all windows and doors were securely locked.

"Are you playing for time, Hanna? Do you have friends ready to come to your aid? I like to live, so tell me truthfully: Do you have nasty surprise planned for me?"

 

[darkest_dreams]

The paranoia made her want to laugh even more and she almost did. She watched him run around the room with a small smile playing on her lips. She was enjoying being the one who wasn't panicking for the moment. It made her feel kind of powerful. If that's what he'd thought up in that confused little Russian head of his then let him think that. "I'm allowed to laugh am I not? Or am I meant to be cowering here like some helpless nitwit... I just... " she contemplated what good it would do to make him think there was something behind the laughter other than finding him attractive and the image of him crying out on pain in a falsetto voice.

"I'm just confused as to how you got into this world..." She let her eyes sweep over his body, noting how his Tshirt clung to his muscles. Hanna shook her head in exasperation with herself. A blush colouring her face. She tried to regain her defiance, hating to appear vunerable to a man who was happy to hurt her it seemed. "Now why would I tell you if I did have friends on their way? That would be a stupid thing to do." Hannah shifted on the bed, frowning at the uncomfortable stiffness in her bound limbs. "Is the big bulky Russian afraid of surprises?"

 

[Niceandbrutal]

"Did I not tell you I was Spetsnaz? I was only ever good at one thing, and that is violence. I might as well get paid doing what I am good at. And as for surprises, I am very fond of living. If you have friends come to save you it will be unpleasant for them and me both."

He looked her over. Was she flushed? He found himself drawn towards the bed where she lay, defenseless. She was beautiful, no doubt about that. Several scenarios ran through his head. But no! She was Nikolai's! If he crossed Nikolai, he'd be sought just as sure as the girl.

"Tell me Hanna, did you imagine you could run indefinitely?"

 

[darkest_dreams]

The man really had no clue, you really had to tell him straight what you meant and there was no way she was going to do that. Let him spin on it, she if she cared! Her face scrunched up at the casual way in which he referred to what he did for a living. He obviously saw no wrong in it. Probably didn't care what Nikolai did. How could he when it was what he did himself? But still she felt the need to push it. Almost as if she enjoyed pushing his buttons... What was it about this man that made her act so recklessly?!

"So no interest in being a painter?...An architect maybe? No? Just killing and hurting people for money? Oh! And kidnapping women... My bad, how could I forget that one when I'm sitting here bound like a fucking turkey?!"

Hannah's eyes followed him as he moved closer to the bed. Her body tensing, used to him moving quickly by now. There was a fluidity to his movements that you wouldn't expect with a man of such bulk that obviously came from being a good fighter. Hanna sighed at the question. "Despite what you think I'm not stupid, if I thought I could run forever I wouldn't carry a knife with me. I'd feel safe in the knowledge that no-one was hunting me, dreading the day I might have to use it. Although it must be said... It wasn't so hard to use." The lie slipped out, there was no way she'd admit to feeling sick just thinking that she'd cut his skin. Her own cut throbbed at the thought. But he didn't need to know that.

 

[Niceandbrutal]

He laughed a full hearty laugh when she suggested he be a painter or architect.
She had no clue about the life he'd led, how that incident so many years ago had made him resolve to never again be weak and to never back down from a fight.

"Violence to me is now a way of life, Hanna. I wouldn't expect you to understand, you obviously being brought up sheltered and pampered. After something... happened to me I resolved to never again be weak. And I excelled. To such a degree that I ended up one of Russia's elite soldiers. But cutbacks left many of us without a job. Violence being the only thing we excelled at we gravitated to jobs where we could employ our skills. The stupid gloryhounds sought work with the police, the unambitious started working as bouncers and bodyguards. Only a few of us ended up as enforces for biznizmen. And for the record, you are the first civilian I've hunted down. Nikolai mostly used me for intimidation, although I've taken on a few wet jobs for him. But your escape and evasion so riled him that he called in the big guns."

He checked himself. Why did he tell her all this?

Her little jibe about using the knife he left unanswered. She was an amateur in all matters of violence, and it showed.

 

[darkest_dreams]

Hanna's eyes widened as his laugh filled the room, he should laugh more often...it filled his eye with light and made his ruggedly handsome face look even better if possible. Fuck! Obviously being made unconscious had messed with her brain. But to be fair...Hanna hadn't been in the company of a man since...well...since she was with Nikolai. She'd thought Nikolai was good looking but he didn't hold a flame to the man standing before her. Hanna listened, frowning as he mentioned something about his past that had changed him. She found herself wondering what it was, what possibly could send a man into such a violent world? So she was his first civilian capture? And had she really been that good that Nikolai had called in 'the big guns.' That bought a smirk to her lips to imagine how much it would have irritated him.

Hanna could imagine this man using intimidation tactics, his eyes alone did something funny to her. And she wasn't too sure if it was all bad. She imagined what other tactics he'd used to get information. Hanna groaned with annoyance, why couldn't Nikolai send an ugly bastard to collect her? Not that it mattered. But she found herself trying to get a reaction from this man. "Are you all so scared of me that you have to send the big guns? I must have earned quite a reputation. Is violence the only thing you're good at?" Where in the world had that question come from?! Hanna was horrified, biting down harder on her lower lip before blurting "I- I didn't meant...you know...I just meant...can't you do anything else?" Jesus! She should just shut up and not open her mouth. She shifted uncomfortably on the bed, avoiding eye contact.

 

[Niceandbrutal]

She seemed flustered, confused.

He found himself smiling just a little at her as she tried to provoke him. She was all of 22 years old and champion of the world. Just because she had eluded a bunch of amateurs.

"Hanna, no-one is afraid of you. You are frightened little girl running from big bad wolf. Okay, you elude a bunch of incompeten tmorons not being able to find own ass with map and flashlights. No, you dishonored him and you will pay."

As her final question sank in he became more confused still.

"Are we making polite conversation now, little girl? Am I good at anything else? Yes. I am. Why do you ask?"

 

[darkest_dreams]

If Hanna wasn't bound at the legs she would have kicked him in his smug face. For calling her a little girl. Why did this man bother her so much? He seemed to touch all the right buttons to set off her emotions and it was really getting on her nerves. "I will pay? What does that mean?" Hanna frowned, surely he would have hurt her by now if that was the plan? But she hoped Nikolai wanted her back in one piece. " you can't hurt me anyway, Nikolai would kill you. No matter what I did he thinks of me as a possession." It disgusted her but it was true, she was like some valuable object to him. Ridiculous.

Was this guy serious?! How did he not hear the meaning in her words?! How could he not know he was good looking ? Nikolai didn't hire them for their brains obviously! "I obviously didn't mean juggling or oragami. And stop calling me little girl. I'm a grown woman for fuck sake!"