Lisa Ch. 03: Learning

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To be continued ...

(Six months later)

"Morning, " Riley said, pulling the magazine from Jessica's hands. She obviously hadn't heard him come in because she looked up at him in surprise. Her face contorted in a moment of surprise and fear, she snapped her head down, chin to her chest.

Angus and Riley had always scared Jessica, much more than the other men did. But ever since the men had a strange change of direction in their dealings with her, Angus and Riley scared her even more. She couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"What have we here?" he asked flipping through the pages of the magazine he'd taken. It was a comic book.

"What happened?" Josh asked, returning from the kitchen.

"Nothing," Riley replied, tossing the magazine to him. "I believe this is yours."

Josh looked at the cover.

"It's Jessica's," Josh replied, holding it out to Jessica. Head bent, she didn't see him. He placed it on her lap.

"Really," Riley said. He moved to the kitchen. It was early and he hadn't had breakfast yet. Surely that had to account for the emptiness he felt in his belly. What the hell was she doing reading a comic book? Things had changed considerably, but he hadn't realized they'd changed this much.

Looking back he saw Jessica pick up the magazine and leaf through the pages until she'd found the one she'd been reading last. As if neither he nor Josh were there, she resumed her reading, her brown hair hanging in ringlets around her face, her expression casual as if she hadn't been interrupted at all. Was it just him? It was if everything, yet nothing, was different.

The front door opened and the rest of the men came in. Each carried a rifle, which they placed into the gun rack.

"Morning Jess, " Scott and Jim said walking by Jessica. Jessica raised her head.

There was a barely perceptible nod of Jessica's head in response.

Riley was again disturbed by how much the plan was off track when Angus followed behind Jim. Jessica snapped her head down and sat statue still.

That was the last straw.

"Josh," Riley said to Josh who sat on the sofa next to Jessica, apparently reading a comic book of his own.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Take Jessica downstairs."

Josh blinked at him and didn't move.

"Am I speaking in a foreign language or something?" Riley demanded. "Take her downstairs."

"But it's nine in the morning," Josh replied, "we're not meeting till tonight."

Riley stared at Josh. It only took a moment before Josh jumped to his feet.

"Come on Jessica," he said.

Taking the magazine from her hands, he tossed it on the sofa and then led her by the arm to the basement door. They disappeared behind it. The basement was the one place Jessica was guaranteed not to escape from ... extra precautions were practiced anyway.

"You sure she can't come eavesdrop at the door?" Riley asked when Josh reappeared.

"I handcuffed her to the sofa ... " Josh replied.

"Good. Sit down," he said to Josh and Scott, who were the only ones still standing around the table.

"What's up?" Scott asked sliding into an empty chair.

"I've been re-evaluating, and I don't think things with Jessica are where I want them to be."

"She hasn't made an escape attempt in months," Jim said.

"Not good enough," Riley replied.

"What more can we expect from her?" Scott asked, "I don't know about you, but I'm glad she isn't taking every possible opportunity to scratch my eyes out."

"Now that's your problem," Riley said, "that's the problem you all have. We agreed that our ultimate goal is complete compliance from Jessica, heart and soul, she needs to be ours."

Scott shook his head as he looked at the barred window near the front door. To minimize the chance of escape the men had changed the windows to open in, and added bars. It was too hot to not have open windows, and given their livelihood, they were likely to need alternate exists from the house, so the bars they installed had combination locks so they could be removed in an emergency. The window stood open now, a slight breeze blowing in.

"What can we do about that?" Josh asked, "You've said no to drugs ... we've stopped talking about her family. Knowing Jessica, this is going to take a long time. The first six months we had her were a nightmare. The way she cried, fought like a wildcat, and schemed to escape. And yeah, the next six months were quieter. She cried less, fought less, but still schemed. But now, who knows what state she is really in. She barely cries anymore. Never fights anymore. But does she scheme? That a question none of us can really answer. It's taken over two years to get to this ... " Josh continued, "it could be another five before we can truly trust her."

Josh looked at Angus who was slumped on the kitchen chair, arms folded, scowling. He'd snickered when Josh had spoken. When he realized that they were all looking at him, he leaned forward, elbows on his legs, hand clasped in front of him.

"We are never going to be able to trust her. Unless we fry her brain ... which for some reason Riley's not willing to do, we can never trust her. And to be honest, even if we drugged the shit out of her, I would not trust her."

"What kind of a victory would it be if she capitulated because we'd drugged her?" Riley said, "We've made some progress ... we just have to speed things up."

"By speed things up, " Jimmy said, "I sure as hell hope you don't mean beating the crap out of her. We haven't gotten this far with violence."

"We're painfully aware of your take on this," Angus muttered to Jim.

"Yes, Jim, just what do you see as the secret to your success?" Riley asked and he couldn't keep a hint of jealousy out of his voice.

"I'd say getting rid of that damn leash was a good start," Jim replied. His cheeks flushed pink as old emotions surfaced. He had fought long and hard for that, despite Riley and particularly Angus' resistance.

"That's right, " Scott jumped in. He wasn't in the mood for a repeat of the turmoil that had surrounded that decision. The harness and leash had been discarded months ago and as Jim had predicted, she had not made any attempts to escape since.

"Something has changed with her. She's been ... friendlier ... lately." Scott continued. On reflection he realized that she was likely responding to his actions. It had never occurred to him that things would turn out like this. He never thought they'd keep her. He never thought he'd like her, never thought he'd share her with the other men. But that's how it had turned out.

"She's duping you," Angus shouted at Scott as he sprang from his chair. "Have you forgotten what she's done to you? One morning we're going to find you with your throat slit Scott ... " Angus said jabbing his finger in Scott's face.

"Knock it off," Riley said stepping between Scott and Angus. "This has all been a good start. What we need now is compliance on her part, and not only on things that she's forbidden to do. Now we need to focus on getting her to be proactive. To get her to behave in certain ways in certain situations over and over again. Once she's done that long enough, human nature will dictate that she will begin to believe that she is ours."

"What ways?' Josh asked. He, much like Scott and Jim had felt things improving with Jessica. There was still an element of distrust. She wasn't allowed to be alone. She had to be watched at all times. But there always seemed to be something impeding progress. For his part, he knew that the fact that he couldn't fully trust her, kept him from letting his guard down. He suspected that it was the same for her. It seemed that when he and she were alone, things were better then when they were with the other men. He had no idea how this could be changed ... but if there was a way, he knew Riley would find it.

"It all begins with expectations. Until now we've worked on getting her to not run away, to not fight us at every turn. I agree with Scott, that something has changed with Jessica. She's not trying to escape at every possible opportunity. That's great. But we've also tried implementing codes of behavior for her that we haven't been enforcing."

"Like?" Angus replied.

He sounded exasperated. Riley looked at him and paused. Riley knew that in order for this to make sense to Angus, he'd have to frame it in that context of how it would help get pay back for their families.

"What do you think Stewart would appreciate more in atonement for his death?" Riley asked, and saw Angus' face constrict at the mention of his brother's name.

"Two years ago we enacted what we had hoped would be suitable revenge for our families," Riley continued. "Even though there weren't many of us left, our hatred made us more powerful than the small army they gathered to protect them. We attacked Jessica's parents and her family. We'd meant to kill them all, but somehow Jessica survived. I think that was a sign. We brought Jessica home with the intent of breaking her. Now we can do more than just break her. Think about it ... her parents had big plans for her. Remember the research we did on her? They'd expected her to go to West Point. They were expecting her to be one of, if not the first, woman President of the United States. We have a chance here to make her ours. Imagine that ... going from a potential Presidential candidate to serving us. To catering to our every desire."

Riley looked to each of the men.

"I do remember that Riley," Scott said. "And I remember that we had laughed our fool heads off at the thought that Jessica could go anywhere near West Point much less be a future President. But Jessica has turned out to be surprisingly strong. She's not just rolling over because we've told her to."

Riley dropped his chin to his chest. And then nodded.

"Riley ... don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy sticking it to her over and over again ... " Angus replied, "but I don't know if using her as our sex toy has really helped in breaking her spirit."

Despite himself Angus couldn't help but be impressed by that very fact. Until just recently, when the leash was removed on promise of better behavior from her, Jessica's level and intensity of resistance had not diminished.

"And that's why we have to aim for something more ... total submission. We've told her that she is to give us each a kiss first thing in the morning, before going to bed at night. We've told her to look us in the eye, to answer our questions ... verbally and audibly. Does she do any of that?" He looked at each of the men. They all shook their heads.

"The answer for Stewart," Riley said looking at Angus, "and the rest of our loved ones, who we have lost, is that Jessica become not only physically but mentally and emotionally, ours. The more she is forced to comply with behaviors that cause her to actively do something rather than passively comply, the more she will be forced into that position."

"Then Sean and the others can eat crow too," Scott added.

"I wouldn't hold my breath," Riley replied. "Even if this all works to plan, things'll never be like they were with Sean and the others. Contact with them, or anyone from the outside, will risk undoing anything that we accomplish with Jessica. She can in no way be reminded of her family and the circumstances that got her here. You all understand that right?"

He looked from Jim, to Scott, to Josh. Angus he wasn't worried about.

And while he and Angus were just as happy living in a little log house, set deep into their property, far from any road, any neighbor, he knew the others would choose otherwise if they could pick their ideal situation. They were frequent visitors to others in the clan, and even town.

He looked back at Scott. He just realized that Scott had used to go into town almost every night that he didn't have with Jessica. Somewhere along the way he had stopped. Actually, it seemed to stop after the shooting. Scott couldn't go to town while recovering ... he never seemed to pick up the habit again afterwards. But he still did like to check in on his horses.

"So Scott, your increasing urge to keep tabs on the horses you've trained needs to be put in check" Riley had continued.

"And to be fair Riley, you keep tabs on any sick dogs you've treated," Jim said.

"Thanks for pointing that out," Riley said, ready to cuff Jim. It seemed that the calmer things became with Jessica, the rougher they became with Jim. But in this case, Riley had to admit that as a self-taught vet, who also acted as a pseudo doctor for the men, Jessica, and in some extreme cases, others in the clan, he often felt compelled to follow-up on his "patients". "I think you get the point that I'm trying to make."

The men nodded. Despite contact for business with the outside world, or others in the clan, the only people they could trust were themselves. To a lesser extent it had been that way all of their lives.

"Scott, are you going to be able to live with that? I know you used to like the company of ... friends, in town. " Riley asked, Scott was something of a lady's man.

Scott nodded. They had Jessica to share among themselves. And recently, he had begun to avail himself of the opportunity.

"You two?" Riley asked Jim and Josh.

"Got it," Josh said. Jim nodded his agreement.

"But I think we'll have to do more than force Jessica to kiss us in the morning. We have to find a way to get her to feel that she belongs." Jim said.

"You work on that Jim, " Riley said unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice. "In the meantime, we're going to get her to follow the rules."

Jim shrugged. He'd have to keep on doing his own thing and work on Scott and Josh. He was getting somewhere with them. Despite Riley and Angus' rough edges, he knew that eventually he'd have them convinced also. Riley was an expert at training dogs. Behavior modification was his expertise ... but when it came to people, women, he was lacking. They both wanted the same thing in the end, whether Riley knew it or not. They both had the same goal. Regardless of what Riley and Angus believed, Jim wanted Jessica to capitulate also, but in a different way.

They had all started with a common purpose, a common plan. The irony was that their initial plan was a long time forgotten. Jessica's spirit and resolve had kept her from capitulating, and at the same time earned Jim's respect. Though the others were loath to admit it, she'd earned theirs as well. That respect translated into a strange sense of affection.

Riley didn't seem to realize that he made it abundantly clear that he had affection for her by changing the goal from having her shoulder the humiliation of her family, to having her forget her family, her past, who she had been. As frustrating as it was to have to work so hard at breaking Jessica's will, that was what endeared her to them. And that endearment was going to lead the men to wanting Jessica to feel as though she belonged with them.

"Remember, we've had some success already. When we changed her name from Lisa to Jessica she'd fought that tooth and nail. Remember how good it felt when she finally acknowledged the new name. Victory will be ours." Riley finished.

"Getting her to acknowledge a new name is not the same as getting her to forget who she is and how she got here," Josh said. How, could she forget? He knew he would never forget her screams in the middle of the night.

"She'll never forget," Angus grumbled. "She'll find some way to escape."

"If she escapes, we'll find her and kill her. That's all there is to it." Riley said.

"Amen," Angus said.

Josh looked from Jim to Scott to see if they had as hard a time believing that as he did. Neither Riley nor Angus had been able to kill her two years ago, nor when she shot Scott. What made them think they could now?

He looked down at the comic book he held in his hand. Here was the one thing that had got him an in with Jessica. They shared a love of comic books. When they were alone, things were much different than when they were around the others.

Okay, Jim and Scott didn't seem to affect things much, but Riley and Angus made a big difference in how he and she related to one another. He knew the same was true for Jim, he'd seen him playing cards with Jessica before. He knew that Scott was always giving Jessica updates on the horses, that seemed to be a bond for them ... But Riley and Angus had nothing. He hoped for Jessica's sake, that Riley's new plan would work. If not, there could be a lot more pain coming for her.

"Since that's agreed, you can go get Jessica now Josh," Riley said.

Josh disappeared into the basement. Riley looked at the comic book that lay on the sofa. Since when had Jessica owned anything? Josh had said that it was Jessica's.

Riley checked himself. There were other things to worry about than this. Jessica had sat on the sofa reading a comic rather than formulating some new plan to escape. That was good enough for Riley.

Jessica pulled hard against the cold steel of the handcuff. It didn't matter, she knew from bitter and long experience that there was no way out of the basement.

At least now she had an excuse to just sit and think, rather than run around the basement frantically pulling on the barred windows, and trying to find a loose brick in the foundation.

She laughed despite herself. As far as she could figure it was almost two years since her family had been murdered and she'd come to this disgusting place.

For a year she'd been put in the stupid basement and for the past few months she'd been off the leash and left untied. Without fail, every time she was free to move around, she would frantically search the same windows, the same walls, with the same outcome.

It didn't seem to matter though, because she knew she'd do it again, the next time she was uncuffed. She raised her eyes to the ceiling and wished she could get some indication as to whether her family forgave her for the concessions she'd made to get herself free of the leash. She felt even guiltier because she knew that under no circumstances would she let herself be put back on the leash.

"Sorry," she whispered out loud.

She couldn't help but find the little bits of happiness that she was getting with Jim, Scott and Josh, likable. If she pretended enough, she could actually forget that these three men had anything to do with her family's deaths, with her own ordeal.

"I'm weak ... " she muttered, dropping her head against the back of the sofa.

Her eyes landed on the universal gym that sat in the middle of the basement floor.

She spent hours, daily, sitting on this sofa, watching Jim, Scott and Josh work out. Riley and Angus used it as well, she knew, but she was never brought down to watch them.

An idea dawned on her. Rather than waste her time trying to find an exit where there wasn't one, maybe she could use the time on the universal gym. They always double bolted the basement door when they left her downstairs. She'd hear the bolts open, giving her plenty of time to get back to the sofa before one of them came down the stairs.

She may be morally weak, but physically, she wouldn't have to be.

How could she account for the sweat though? It was too easy. She could just pretend to be asleep and having a bad dream. She sweated like crazy when she dreamed about her family. She'd do it ... she'd have to make sure that she wasn't handcuffed though. Somehow, all of this would lead to her escape. She had to believe that. She heard the locks on the basement door tumble. Her heart raced. Couldn't they just forget her down there for a while ... forever maybe?

Josh closed the basement door behind him and Jessica.

The men had settled around the table again, drinking coffee. Riley watched Jessica stand silently beside Josh.