Houston Goes to Washington

The following is a spin-off of my three-part series, "Houston." To understand the full context of this story, I suggest you read that series as well. This story is set a few months before the events of "

Revenge in Advance: The Briefing

," and includes an appearance by Oscar Warren, the main character in that series.

If you haven't read them yet, I suggest you read the first two parts of this story to fully understand what is taking place.

As always, constructive comments are always welcome and appreciated. Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc. (Yes, I do moderate comments. Please remember, this is a work of fiction, meaning that it is not real in any way, shape, matter or form.

...

Ending of "Houston Goes To Washington, Part 02":

"Houston?" he called when he opened the door. He heard nothing and looked inside. He saw the guards on the floor, their weapons still in their holsters. Looking around, he saw signs of a struggle, and noticed Houston's purse on the bed. He checked the room as Oscar looked after the guards. There was no sign of Houston anywhere. He looked at Oscar, who shook his head.

"They didn't make it," he said.

"Damn," John said. Then he saw a piece of paper on the dresser. It was a note from Nancy.

"If you ever want to see your wife alive, be at my house at 2:00 pm -- alone," the note read. It was signed, "N."

"They have Houston," John said. He looked at his watch. It was already 1:15 pm.

...

And now, Houston Goes To Washington, Part 03:

John grabbed his tablet and connected to the Company's secure VPN as Oscar made arrangements to have the two bodies picked up. Moments later, he and Oscar were looking at the craggy face of Alpha One.

"Boss, we have a problem," John said.

"Yes, I know," Regis said. "Senator Legstrom's wife abducted Houston. According to her tracking ring, she's at Legstrom's Georgetown residence."

"I'm going in," John said.

"I've already got assets in the area," Oscar said. "I was planning to arrest her this afternoon."

"Well, it looks like you can add kidnapping to the list of charges against her," Regis said. "I'll have aerial support in the area in 15 minutes. John, you do what you have to do, understand?" John nodded his head.

"I understand, boss," he said.

"Well, don't just sit there, Goddammit, get to it," Regis said, ending the call. By then, Oscar's team was in the room, removing the two dead guards.

"What does that mean, 'do what you have to do'?" Oscar asked.

"Alpha Sector isn't known for taking prisoners, Oscar," John said. "When they took Houston, they signed their death warrants. That aerial support Regis spoke of? There's probably enough firepower to level a few city blocks. They declared war, and you can believe Regis will go scorched earth on them if need be. You can take Nancy into custody if she survives. Deal?"

"John, you can't just kill her," Oscar said. "I understand how you feel, but we need whatever information we can get from her."

"Alright, Oscar," John said. "I'll try not to kill her. But she may not give me any choice. We'd better get going. We don't have a lot of time. Let me just grab a few things." John checked his weapon, then pulled out some clothes for Houston in case she needed them. He shuddered to think what Nancy and her goons might do to his wife. He swore to himself that if they touched her, he would kill them slowly, painfully. Thinking Houston may need some fresh clothes, he put a t-shirt, a pair of shorts and some shoes and socks in a small gym bag and left the room, with Oscar on his tail.

"At least take some body armor with you, John," Oscar said. John nodded his head.

"Good idea," John said. Oscar ran to his vehicle and came back a few minutes later with a vest.

"How long do you want me to wait before we move in?" Oscar asked as John put the body armor on.

"No more than two minutes," John said. "Nancy said to come alone, so that's what I'm going to do. She didn't say anything about anyone coming later."

"Alright," Oscar said. "Watch your ass out there, John. These people play for keeps."

"Yeah, well, they have my wife, Oscar," John said. "I'm not going there to 'talk' or chew bubble gum if you know what I mean."

"I know," Oscar said. "Just be careful."

"I will," John said. "Remember, two minutes. I'll see you there." With that, they left the hotel.

...

Franklin Legstrom, the "esteemed" senator from the state of Wyoming, sat at his desk, reviewing a piece of legislation that had been brought over from the House. He tried to focus on his work, but found that he was unable to do so. His mind kept going back to what happened earlier with Oscar and John. Suddenly, the door to his office opened and one of the guards came inside.

"Yes, what do you want?" Franklin asked the guard.

"Senator, you have a secure call coming in," the guard said.

"From who?" Franklin asked.

"Just take the call, sir," the guard said in a neutral tone of voice. Franklin looked at his computer just as the notification came up. He clicked on the "accept" icon and instantly saw the craggy, one-eyed face of Alpha One filling the window. Franklin saw the angry look on Regis' face and wondered what was going on. Regis never calls unless it's an emergency.

"Regis," Franklin said with a smile. "What can I do for you today?"

"Senator, I just got a very disturbing report," Regis said. "It seems your wife has abducted one of my top agents. Would you care to explain yourself?"

"Regis, I don't know what you're talking about," a surprised Franklin said.

"Bullshit, Franklin," Regis said. "I've known you for too long. What the fuck do you think you're doing, kidnapping one of my agents?"

"Honestly, Regis, I have no idea what you're talking about," Franklin stammered. Regis glared at Franklin with his one good eye. Franklin saw the veins popping out in his neck and knew the Director of Alpha Sector was beyond pissed. Regis leaned closer to his camera.

"You'd better not, Senator," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Is there anything I can do?" Franklin asked. "Do you want me to call someone?"

"No, we're taking care of it, Senator," Regis said. "I want you to stay right where you are and do absolutely fucking nothing. Don't even pass gas. The guards there have instructions to keep you right where you are until further notice. And Senator?"

"What?" Franklin asked, scared.

"If anything happens to my agent -- anything at all -- I swear to God they won't even be able to scrape up enough of you for a DNA sample," Regis said. "You understand me?"

"I... understand," Franklin said. Regis growled, then abruptly ended the call, leaving Franklin frightened and shaking. He knew Regis' reputation and believed the crusty director would take him out without batting an eye. He considered calling Nancy and reached for his phone, but saw the guard shake his head. He withdrew his hand and sat in his chair, hoping for the best.

...

When John pulled up to Legstrom's Georgetown home, he looked around and noticed no activity outside. He also saw a number of cameras that covered every inch of the grounds. He knew there was no way he could sneak in without being detected. He climbed out of the car and made his way to the front door, pistol in hand.

He was almost at the door when he heard the sound of automatic weapons fire. It was a short burst, maybe three to five rounds at most. And he recognized the staccato report as coming from an AK-style weapon. Shit, he thought. He ran the rest of the way to the door and tried the knob -- it turned, and the door opened.

Holding his pistol with both hands, he peered first in one direction, then the other, and saw no one. Stepping in the door, he looked around, cautiously, waiting for someone to show up. As he slowly began to work his way to the basement, he heard another burst of gunfire and a man carrying a large knife ran into the room, frightened. John's reflexes took over, and he took the man down with a punch to the throat.

As the man lay on the floor, gasping for air, John kicked him several times and considered putting a round in the back of his head. Finally, the man lay still and John took the knife and checked him for a pulse. He was still alive, so John patted him down, looking for another weapon. Finding none, he kicked the man one more time.

"Don't move," he growled in the man's ear. Standing back up, he made his way to the stairs leading to Legstrom's basement "club." He stopped as he heard a woman's voice. It was Houston. Thank God she's still alive, he thought. He listened further.

"I said, get your fucking eyeballs off my boobs," she yelled. What the fuck, John thought. Then he heard another short burst of automatic gunfire. He peered down the stairs as he stepped ever so carefully. He saw one man lying on the floor at the foot of the stairs. Before he could look further, he heard Houston's voice again.

"I don't believe you slimy pieces of shit actually thought I'd let you fuck me," she yelled. He could hear the fury in her voice and for a moment, he pitied whoever it was she was yelling at. But only for a moment. He listened further.

"Look at you," she yelled. "Your tiny little dicklets are what, three or four inches long? HAH! My husband's is three times bigger than you and he knows how to use it." John smiled and felt like he was ten feet tall. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't you understand fucking English? I said, quit looking at my boobs, Goddammit!" Another short burst of gunfire. "And you'd better not be getting a hard-on! So help me God, I'll blow your fucking balls off if you do!" What the hell is going on, John asked himself.

He carefully worked his way down the stairs and saw another man lying on the floor. Then he looked at the small stage. There, he saw Nancy on the floor in a corner, huddled with the three large goons who fucked Naomi earlier. All of them were shaking and scared shitless of the woman standing before them. Then he took in his wife.

There she was, wearing the tattered remnants of a short dress, her bare feet spread just a bit more than shoulder-width apart. It looked as though the top had been almost completely torn away and he could tell she wasn't wearing a bra. The bottom of the dress had several long tears, all of them ending above her waistline.

Her hair was wild and she held an AK-47 with both hands. Another AK-47 was slung over her shoulder. She reminded him of one of those scantily-clad, sword-wielding female warriors he saw in some of those graphic magazines he used to read years ago when he was in the service.

As he watched her, he found himself getting excited. This was a side of her he had never seen before, and he had to admit, it turned him on to see her like this. Looking around, he decided it was time to join his wife, so he stood up and made his way into the basement club. He walked next to Houston and looked at the four people trembling on the floor. He couldn't help but notice they had wet themselves.

"Well, here I am worried that you're in trouble and it turns out you decided to go behind my back and bogart all the fun," John said with a smile. He saw the front of her dress was almost completely gone, baring most of her breasts and her nipples were hard.

"Thank God you're here," Nancy said from the floor. "Your wife is crazy or something."

"SHUT UP, BITCH," Houston yelled. "Or I swear the next bullet is going right between your fucking eyes! Please, John, let me kill them. Just once. I promise to make it slow and painful."

"I think Oscar wants to have a word with them first, dear," he said calmly. "Maybe after he's finished with them, you can kill them, okay?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said.

"Everything all right down here?" John heard Oscar ask from behind him. He turned and saw Oscar with a group of heavily armed federal agents. "I thought I heard gunfire, so I decided to move in."

"I think so," John said. "I'm trying to figure out who needs to be rescued from whom, though." Oscar chuckled and turned to the federal agents with him.

"Secure the rest of the premises," he told them. "Get the forensics people in here. Looks like we'll need another ambulance for these two," he added, pointing to the men on the floor. "And put those four into custody. Don't let them touch their necks, by the way."

"Yes, sir," one of the agents said before giving directions to the others. Oscar reached toward Houston.

"I'll take those if you don't mind," he said. Houston handed him the AK-47 she held in her hands after putting it on "safe," then slid the other off her shoulders. "You really know how to fire one of these?" he asked her as he cleared them.

"Yes," she said. "I was taught how to operate quite a few different weapons."

"I'm impressed," he said. Houston's eyes were drawn to Nancy as she was being Mirandized and put into cuffs.

"Wait," she called out to the agent, who was preparing to lead Nancy away. The agent stopped and looked at her for a moment, trying not to be distracted by the state of her clothing. She walked up to Nancy and got right in her face. Then she hawked up some phlegm and spat in Nancy's face.

"Cuckold THAT, you scuzzy bitch," she snarled, causing the other agents to chuckle. Oscar walked over and looked at the side of Nancy's neck. Then he looked at the three men. Sure enough, all four of them seemed to have the same poison capsule under their skin.

"Keep the cuffs on 'em until we can get the medical folks to examine them and remove those capsules from their necks," he told the senior uniformed agents.

"Will do, boss," the agent said. He led Nancy and the three men out, not bothering to wipe the phlegm from her face. John took his body armor off and handed it to Oscar.

"Thanks, Oscar, I don't think I'll be needing this anymore," he said as Oscar took the vest. Turning to Houston, he slipped off his windbreaker and put it around Houston's shoulders to cover her up. "As much as I like what you've done with that dress, I don't want to see you get arrested for exposing yourself in public," he told her with a smile. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking her in the eye. She nodded her head.

"I am now," she said.

"Good," he said. "Listen, why don't you go into the washroom over there and collect yourself a bit. I have to report in, and I brought some fresh clothes for you."

"Okay," she said. "Thank you for thinking of me." He smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I always think of you," he said. "I love you, you know."

"I love you more, John Smith," she said before walking into the restroom.

"That's one helluva woman you've got there, John," Oscar said.

"Better believe it," John said as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Listen, I've got to wrap things up here," Oscar said. "I'll also need to speak with the senator. I'll swing by your room when I'm done. Could be a couple hours or so, though."

"That's fine," John said. "I'll see you then. Thanks for the backup, by the way."

"Any time," Oscar said. John called the secure number that went straight to Alpha One's desk. Regis answered on the first ring.

"What's your sitrep?" Regis asked.

"All clear at this end," John said.

"And Houston?" Regis asked.

"Safe and sound, boss," John said. He could hear Regis breathe a sigh of relief. "Oscar is clearing the site. We'll have a full report for you as soon as possible."

"I look forward to that," Regis said. "And John," he added in a softer tone, "take care of our girl."

"I will, boss," John answered before Regis ended the call. John put his phone away and went to his rented car, where he grabbed the bag with the stuff he pulled out for Houston. He went back inside and knocked on the closed door to the washroom. Houston opened the door and looked at her husband.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said. "Just washing up a bit."

"Here's some clothes for you," John said, handing her the bag. "Not much, just a t-shirt and a pair of shorts."

"Perfect. Did you think to get me some shoes?" she asked. "I don't know where mine are."

"Yeah," John said. "There's some sneakers and a pair of socks."

"Thanks," she said, taking the bag. "I'll be right out." With that, she closed the door. A few minutes later, she came back out, wearing the clothes John brought. He took the bag from her and looked around for Oscar. When he spotted him, he waved.

"Heading out now," he said. Oscar nodded his head.

"I'll call before I come over," Oscar said. "Remember, it could be a couple hours or so." John gave a thumbs-up and escorted Houston out of the house. He walked with her to the car and helped her inside. After putting her bag in the back seat, he jumped in and headed out.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" John asked, turning on his audio recorder. He set it in one of the cup holders between them. Houston nodded her head.

"Yeah," she said. "Right after I got your text, I heard a commotion out in the hallway. I heard arguing and sounds of a struggle. I got scared and thought that maybe Legstrom was planning to abduct me, so I took two of those pills Regis gave me, just in case.

"Suddenly the door opened. I guess they got the key from the guard. There were three of them, really big guys. Two of them brought the guards in the room and dumped them on the floor. The third guy shot me with a dart. I didn't have time to react or do anything.

"I got real groggy and had a hard time standing up. I couldn't really even think straight. Two of them kinda carried me down to their van and threw me inside. One of them sat close to me and watched over me while the others got in the front.

"I could hear them laughing and joking, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. The next thing I knew, they pulled up behind Legstrom's house and carried me inside and down to the basement. By then, I was starting to get my senses back.

"I saw Nancy coming toward me. The three guys who did Naomi were standing on the stage next to the padded table. She had something in her hand -- it looked like some kind of tool for injecting something, but it was a lot bigger. One of the big guys tore my clothes and cut my bra off. Then he cut my panties off. I was still out of it a bit and didn't fully realize what was happening. I vaguely remember Nancy said something about me joining her stable, and that I needed to be prepared," she said.

"Prepared for what?" John asked.

"They were going to force me to cuckold you with those three guys," she said. "I remembered what happened with Greg and I decided that even if it cost me my life I would never do that to you. I remember telling Nancy they would have to rape my dead body because I was not going to go along with her plan.

"She laughed and said that I didn't have a choice in the matter. Then I thought back to my training and I remembered something my close combat instructor told me -- that when things get so bad there doesn't seem to be any way out, to get mean. Mad dog mean, he said. That's what I did. I got mad. I felt my whole body shaking with anger. Then I just lost it," she said.

"What do you mean, lost it?" John asked.

"I just acted," she said. "I lashed out and went nuts on them. I think it surprised them because they didn't know how to react. I kicked, clawed, scratched and bit them as hard as I could. Somewhere along the line, I grabbed a gun from one of the guys who was holding me and I hit him as hard as I could, right across the face. I hit the second guy a few times and I remembered him falling down.

"I think I hurt those guys pretty bad," she said.

"That's okay," John said. "They were bad guys so they deserved it. What happened next?"