As Steve was drug into the dark, dank room; he saw the young woman. Her hands were chained above her head from the ceiling, just as they were doing to him. She stood, barely holding herself up on her toes. Her shoes and socks were gone; presumably to keep her from running away.
He could tell that she had suffered already; one of her eyes was blackened and dried blood streaked from the corner of her mouth. His eyes locked onto hers and he felt something familiar about the woman.
He could see the terror in her vibrant green eyes. Her body was shaking, but he couldn't decide if it was from fear or the coldness of the room. He leaned towards fear. Once the men had suspended his hands from the chains in the ceiling, they left the room. His toes barely touched the floor. He looked at her, "What's your name?"
She watched as they brought in a man. He was tall and looked strong. He fought against the four guards as they chained his hands above his head, causing him to stretch on his toes. He made eye contact with her, and asked her name. As she opened her mouth to respond, WoFat appeared at the door to the room.
"Steve, so glad you could join us." Stated WoFat, as he walked into the room, his creepy smirk stretched from ear to ear. He didn't lay a finger on Steve, instead he walked over to the young woman; she flinched as his hand gently caressed her face. "I want to introduce you to our sister, Azucena Santiago."
Steve and Azucena both took in the words presented to them, and then looked at each other. She noted his height. That was the only thing she found to be similar to herself. However, he saw many more similarities to the rest of his family. She had Mary's nose, his dad's green eyes, and his grandmother's auburn hair color.
WoFat interrupted Steve's assessment of Azucena, "You see Steve, your mother faked her death, unbeknownst to everyone. As it turns out, she was pregnant at the time of her 'death.'"
WoFat changed his focus to the restrained girl, running his hand along her body. She moved to escape his touch as he talked, "You, young lady, were raised by a CIA agent, who kept your entire family a secret from you. Your father wasn't the Columbian who was killed in the cross hairs of the drug trade, but an Irish-American man named John McGarrett. Your Argentinian and Columbian backgrounds are non-existent. And although your Spanish is impeccable, it's not your true native tongue."
WoFat continued his tirade, "Steven, did you know that Azucena lost her mother when she was just 8 years old? That was what, 11 years ago?"
He looked at her, as if he expected an answer. She just stared at him, and waited for what she knew was coming. "Claudia Santiago was killed in a house fire."
He paused, looked to both of them, and then continued, "And just like Doris McGarrett, she was an active CIA agent, but her cover in this instance was as a bookkeeper for the Italian mob in Kansas City, Kansas."
He planted himself in front of the girl, "Azcuena, who is Shelbourne?"
The young woman looked confused, she had never heard this word in her life. He stared at her and her confusion showed in her face, "I don't know what you are talking about."
He pulled back his clenched fist and punched her in the face. The force of the punch caused her feet to come out from under her and her body swung on the chains. It took her a minute to work through the pain in her cheek and eye. Her breath coming in ragged gasps.
Steve fought against the chains screaming, "Leave her alone."
WoFat walked back up to Azucena, grabbed her face with one hand and squeezed. He forced her to look at him; his hand was like a vice grip. She knew she would have finger shaped bruises on her face when this was all over and done with, "That's the wrong answer."
He walked around the young woman again, this time trailing his hand along her collarbone and down her back, "Azucena, who is Shelbourne."
"I don't know what that means." She paused, Steve could tell the poor girl genuinely didn't know who or what Shelbourne was, "I don't know this name!"
WoFat grabbed a handful of her long, wavy auburn hair and pulled it hard. Her head snapped back, she screamed from the pain he caused her. He screamed in her face, "You aren't telling the truth!"
He let her hair go and as she relaxed from the release of her hair, he punched her in the back, right in the kidneys. The air went out of her lungs; she hung limply from the chains as she worked to recover from the pain. Steve fought against the chains, "Quit hurting her!"
WoFat left the young woman to recover and walked over near Steve. He made sure he was far enough away from Steve that he couldn't be reached, "Steven, we are going to continue this line of questioning until she tells me everything she knows about Shelbourne."
"She doesn't know anything! Can't you see that?" Steve responded, anger coursing through every fiber of his body. He could withstand torture. As a SEAL, it was part of the training. He would rather be tortured than watch someone else endure the pain and agony. Steve read people and situations for a living. The word Shelbourne was a new word to this woman. She had no clue who or what Shelbourne was.
He walked back to Azucena and started brushing hair out of her face, "Beautiful little sister, tell me who Shelbourne is and I will let you go."
"I have never heard that name before. I don't know." She answered, a hard edge in her voice and her posture defiant. Steve could tell she was steeling herself for the next blow. WoFat pulled back and punched the girl in the ribs, once with his left hand and again with his right hand. Steve could hear her gasp for breath. He knew the agony of a rib punch, let alone two in a row.
By now the girl had tears streaming down her face from the pain. WoFat walked over to her, using his finger, he lifted her chin to look him in the eye. "Little sister, tell me what you know."
"I don't know anything." She spat out, her body hanging limply from the chains overhead.
He punched her across the face, this time assaulting the eye that hadn't already been injured. She swung with the chains. Her body screamed from the pain and she was scared. It took some time, but she found her footing. By this time, Steve had screamed himself hoarse, and the chains binding his hands were digging into his wrist and they had begun to bleed.
"Little sister" WoFat said softly near her ear, "We will do this until you tell me what I want to know."
"I can't tell you what I don't know." She answered, anger boiling in her battered person. WoFat punched her in the ribs again, only this time he struck her left side. She couldn't breathe, she gasped for air and tried to stand up, but her body was struggling to keep up.
As she struggled to right herself, WoFat walked over to Steve. He kept his distance, but stepped close enough to taunt him, "Tell me about Shelbourne."
"I don't know anything about Shelbourne."
"Don't lie to me Steven!" he yelled at the other man. He turned around and started attacking Azucena, blow after blow hitting her in the face and stomach. The woman was a punching bag for the enraged man. Steve fought against the chains and yelled for WoFat to stop, "Stop! You're killing her!"
"Steven, tell me who Shelbourne is."
Steve gave up; he couldn't watch this poor woman continue to be beat to a pulp. "I found the name in a toolbox in my parent's house after my dad died."
Steve watched the young woman struggle to gain her feet back under herself. Eventually, she found her footing and stood on her toes, and she watched as WoFat questioned Steve. "Tell me more Steve."
"There's not much more to tell. I don't know who or what Shelbourne is. I found the name on a map."
"LIAR!" WoFat screamed, "You know more!"
WoFat all but ran over to Azucena, preparing to inflict more damage on the young woman. Azucena knew what was coming next and she'd be damned if she was going to allow it to happen again. As WoFat approached her, she concentrated every ounce of energy she had into her legs and abdomen. Holding onto the chains with her hands, using her core, she kicked both legs up and into WoFat's face.
He yelled in pain, blood spraying everywhere, "You stupid bitch! You broke my nose!"
She found irony in the fact that he was upset that she broke his nose when he had beat her to a bloody pulp. The adrenaline that rushed her system quickly dissipated when he stood up and launched a roundhouse kick to her left side. There were no words to describe the pain that shot through her body. There was not enough oxygen in the world in that moment. She was certain he broke some of her ribs.
He grabbed her face with his hands, knowing in this weakened state she wouldn't have the strength to kick him again, "We are not done and it is going to get much worse."
She was barely able to breathe, she didn't say anything. The tears from the pain streamed down her cheeks and all she could hear was Steve yelling, "Leave her alone!"
What neither Azucena or WoFat had noticed when WoFat turned to assault Azucena, was Steve working the pin Jenna had provided him into the chains above his head. He was trying to get the chains off in time to help her. He could barely stomach watching WoFat torture the girl, he figured things weren't going to get better, so taking out WoFat would have to happen for them to escape.
WoFat retreated from the room, nursing his broken nose as he left. Steve continued to work the pin into the keyhole of the cuffs above his head. Jiggling the pin a few times, he was able to release the cuffs above his head.
He dropped down to his bare feet and rubbed his wrists where the chains had dug into his skin. He quietly ran over to Azucena who was so engrossed in the pain and difficulty breathing, she hadn't noticed Steve free himself.
"Shh," he whispered, "I'm going to get that stool over there and stand on it to work the lock loose."
She slowly nodded her head, her pain radiating through her body more and more.
Using the pin Jenna provided, he worked through the padlock and managed to release her from the chains, he grabbed her body before she could collapse on the ground. As his hands connected with her torso, she moaned. He grab under her armpits to help hold her up as she found her footing and he said softly, "Shh, shh, shh, I know it hurts. But we have to be quiet and get out of here."
She managed to get her feet under her body; she held herself up with his shoulders. He gently put his hands on both sides of her face, looking into her eyes, asked softly "Can you walk?
"Yeah." She wheezed, as she looked at him with fierce determination. She wasn't going to stay in this room any longer than she had to. She would find the strength within her to follow this man out of this prison.
"Good girl." He could only imagine the pain she was feeling, however they had to get out of this place. He grabbed her hand and half pulled her out of the room. He could tell she was exhausted and in terrible pain, but she was giving it every ounce of energy she had to keep up with him.
Steve silently took down the guard watching their room via a sleeper hold through barred doors. He took the keys from the guard's belt and pushed the body away from the door. Unlocking the door through the bars, it creaked as they pushed open the cell door.
Steve grabbed her hand and looked to the young girl, "Stay close and be as quiet as possible."
She nodded her head in understanding, trying to internally minimize the pain she was currently feeling. The adrenaline of possibly being caught provided a little numbing relief. They quietly and quickly scurried through the bunker, ducking into small enclosures when footsteps were heard and waiting for guards to pass.
This underground bunker was like a maze, but following his instinct, Steve was able to find access out of the bunker and above ground. There was a sense of relief for the light. It took their eyes a few moments to adjust. That adjustment time was their downfall.
Once they managed to step foot above ground, they were attacked by a group of men. The men surrounded them, and try as he might, Steve tried to protect her. Two men went after the girl and the remaining five tangled with Steve. The adrenaline helped her fight, but the sight of the Steve being cold cocked by the butt of a gun caused her to lose her concentration. The next thing she knew was the pain of being hit over the head and darkness.