Porcelain and Wood


Gabriel clenched his teeth feeling the porcelain slide. He took a deep breath, relaxed his jaw. "You have two choices," he said, "you can leave on your feet or on a gurney."

The man strapped to the chair thought about the offer for a second. Just a second. The thought was interrupted by the throbbing on the left side of his face, the blood in his mouth, the pain of every breath as his lungs touched his broken ribs. He had no intention of telling Gabriel what he wanted to know. He wasn't leaving here on a gurney either. He had too much to live for. Things were better at home. His daughter just got married and was expecting a baby.

Gabriel would slip eventually. That would be his moment to escape. His wrist were still strapped firmly to the chair, but he had managed to wear down the tape strapping his ankles. He'd have to be quick but he could stand up, he just had to slam the chair into the wall hard enough to break free. He had done it before. This would be no different. All of these old mob type guys had an obsession with wooden chairs. Great too look at, but when it came to torture, not your best choice.

Gabriel paced the room gritting his teeth once more. Visibly upset by Denzel's lack of cooperation. He places his head to the wall and mumbles to himself. Sure, Gabriel was a mob boss but he hadn't gotten his hands dirty in a long time. He didn't understand how this worked anymore. The young guys were the ones taking on all the real work now. He couldn't let them see he didn't have it anymore. A few punches weren't working like the days when he was coming up. Things were different now. He tangled with reporters and detectives in the past but he never tangled with someone like Denzel. He wasn't an old alcoholic whit a family he could threaten. He wasn't a reporter who couldn't take a punch. This was breaking Gabriel

This was Denzel's moment. He used all the force he could to swing his legs forward, tearing at the tape. It didn't work and his shuffling had caused Gabe to turn around. Gabriel approaches him ready to swing again. This time Denzel swings free and rushes him. He doesn't have time to break the chair and he's not going to be able to swing back but he can tackle him. The recklessness catches Gabriel off guard as he's taken from his feet to the ground.

Denzel hopes for a lucky fall. No luck, the chair doesn't break. He rolls back and forth attempting to break free by slamming the chair on the floor. Gabriel stands up in a rage and starts to kick. Denzel struggles under every kick. If he could get free, he'd have an opportunity but the chair wouldn't break. Some deity must have been on Denzel's side that day. The chair didn't break but he was able to slip his hands through the tape with all the sweat he had worked up.

Denzel wasn't a trained fighter or anything like that. He knew enough. He knew that any many with two hands had a chance in a fight. That's exactly what he planned to do. He planed to fight his way out. The only thing between him and freedom right now was Gabriel. If Gabriel was going to kill him, he'd have to work for it.

Read pt. 2