Serious Times Call for Serious Measures

I groaned as my head lulled forward, pain rushing into my face. My arms ached, and as I tried to move them I realized why. My hands were cuffed behind me around the back of a chair, with my own damn cuffs. Hesitantly, I cracked open my eyes getting a better view of my situation. I was in a small room, the walls were a vial puke green, and floor was a carpet of dirty beige. Two mattress were in the center, one falling off of the other, and past them was a small door. I looked down at my feet. Tied.

That's just great. I shook my head letting out an exasperated sigh.

"So you're awake?" I looked towards the voice, in a corner behind me.

"For now." I muttered. She was small and thin, her boney knees pulled to her chest and her arms crossed over top. Her skin was pale and speckled with freckles, with blue and red splashes blooming up to her face. Her lips were pink and swollen, probably from being struck, and her brown eyes and heart shaped face were framed by straight blonde hair, some of which was caked with blood. A baggy t-shirt hung off her shoulders. It wasn't much, but the fact she was still wearing some kind of clothes was a good sign.

"Where are we?" I faced forward as I asked, straightening my back and lifting my shoulders to stretch and pop my back.

"I don't know. They moved us." Her voice was flat as she replied.

"When?" I asked twisting my head and popping my neck before letting my head roll down in defeat.

"A few days ago. They threw us in a van. I couldn't see where we were going or where we came from."

"We were at the docks. Did you hear anything as they were driving? Busy traffic? Trains? Boats?"

"No. Why were you alone? Aren't you a cop? Don't you have like, partners and stuff?"

"I am, and I do. I was off duty at the time."

"Didn't you think to call back up?" Her voice broke slightly.

"I did, but I didn't want to wait around and risk someone getting killed."

"You mean me." I turned my head slowly to look at her. Tears were pouring down her cheeks as she peered back.

"Yes." I sighed. " Are you tied up?"

She shook her head in response. I jerked my head towards the door.

"It's locked." She muttered.

"What about the one over there?" I nodded in the door past the mattresses.

"It's a bathroom." I pursed my lips at her response.

"Well, you mind untying me?" I turned back to her, trying my best not to sound annoyed.

"You're cuffed." She stated blankly.

"My hands are, my feet aren't."

"What good will that do you?" She muttered.

"We won't know until you untie me." I couldn't help the bite in my voice as I snapped back at her. Slowly, she got up looking to the door before walking over and kneeling in front of me. Her fingers began working at the knots that secured my feet to the chair. After a few minutes she managed to get the both loose enough for me to slide my boots out. Groaning I pulled my self up awkwardly, pulling my hands out from behind the chair. I bent backwards slightly stretching more of my sore muscles before walking a little ways and squatting down. Pulling my arms to the back of my feet, I managed to get my feet to step over them, pulling my arms back in front of me. I reached one hand down to tug on the handcuffs wrapped around my wrists. They weren't too tight, but they were by no means loose. I walked across the room, marching across the mattresses and towards the bathroom.

"What are-" I paused and turn to see she had walked a little ways after me, her eyes wide with worry. "Where are you going?"

"Six Flags," I felt like an ass when I saw her bottom lip tremble at my response. "The bathroom. Maybe I can use some water to slide these off." I lifted my hands jiggling the chain in front of her. She nodded slightly crossing the room to my side. I didn't realize until she was beside me just how small she was. Her hand shot out twisting the nob and walking into the bathroom, and turning on the faucet. I followed in behind her my hands shooting in underneath pausing momentarily to stare at my reflection. I wasn't a small guy by any means. Taking after my grandfather I stood at 6'3". I had a bulky frame from years of training the in military, and my standard black uniform fit in a way that accentuated my muscles. I took a lot of crap from the guys at the precinct who liked to poke fun by calling me 'Jock' of 'Ladies man' when they weren't calling me 'Dick'. I had let me hair grow but only slightly since the military the result being a tuff of dark hair that laid flat against my head. The dark color of my hair contrasted well with my pale skin and green eyes.

"Is it working?"

"Hm?" I turned to see the woman had taken a place on the tiny counter to me right.

"The water. Is it working?" I looked back down at my hands which were placed under the running water.

"Eh…Oh! There!" I nodded my head towards a tiny bar of soap i could see in the shower. "Grab the soap that should help."

She snatched the soap turning back towards me and rubbing it against my hands and wrists, occasionally stopping to pick out pieces of soap that got lodged in the cuffs.

"So your name is Helen right?" I asked looking up as her eyes brightened at the sound of her name.

"Ya." She whispered. "What's yours?"

"Greyson." I muttered. The name wasn't mine, but I'd used to so long it was second nature. Besides it'd be hard to explain why my name was Smith, but my badge said other wise.

"Greyson." She repeated.

"So how long have you been married." I gestured to her ring.

"Oh, um it would have been a year." Her hand came up to wipe at the tears which were once again traveling in heavy streams down her cheeks. "They killed him. They---shot him in the chest." Her voice broke between the sobs.

"He wasn't dead when I talked to him."I smiled down at her.

"He's alive?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Like I said he was when I talked to him." My face became stern. "But I'm not going to lie they got him good, but with that kind of strength…I think he'll pull through." Her hand came up to her mouth barely covering her smile.

"Okay, okay…hold on." Once my hands were well lathered I pulled them out from the water, one hand reaching down to clasp the cuff on the opposite wrist. i gritted my teeth as the metal grazed my skin, pulling the hairs on the back of my hand. "My hands are too soapy you try."

"Okay." She nodded hopping off the counter, wiping her hands on her shirt before putting them to work on the slippery cuff. Twisting it back and forth she managed to slide the cuff up my knuckles. Using my other hand I tried to squeeze my hand, attempting to make my knuckles easier to slide over.

"I--," She paused looking up at me. "I can't get it off."

"Hold on…you just…" A puff of air escaped my lips as I stared at the cuts popping up across my hand. "Alright. Just do it. Pull as hard as you can."

"But--" She glanced from the cuts back up at me.

"It's fine I just need one hand out, so pull. Hard as you can." I took a deep breath grinding my teeth and her fingers latched to the back of the ring and started pulling. With a light pop, the cuff slid over my knuckles leaving large bare spots in its wake that began bleeding.

"I'm sorry." Her hand attempted to cover the new scratches.

"It's fine, just scratches." I smiled weakly, trying to show her it was nothing despite the fact the soap was burning the cuts like hell. She opened her mouth to say something else, before her mouth shut with an audible snap. I turned to follow her line of sight, only to find a rather amused looking Joker behind us.

"Oh shit."

Author's Notes: Alright, I'm churning the chapters out fairly fast. I must warn you though, Soft Cell's Tainted Love just popped up in the playlist so you can bet the next chapters are gonna get kinda messy. You are forewarned. There WILL be graphic content…or as graphic as writing can be.lol Thanks to everyone for reading!