A Curious History part 20

A Curious History part 20
Haley slept soundly for the next few hours… that is until Jerome decided it was time to "wake sleeping beauty"… which included sneaking into her room and cocking his gun under her chin.
Needless to say she was up in an instant. The moment the gun cocked she was up, nearly breaking his wrist as she wrestled the gun from his hand.
Chance raised an eyebrow from the doorway at this and Jerome smirked back at him in silent communication.
Haley narrowed her eyes at the two, trying to figure out their angle before speaking.
"Let me guess, training?" she asked a bit testily.
"Bingo." Jerome winked at her motioning to Chance to toss her a pair of cut off shorts and a navy blue tank top, "Get dressed. Breakfast is in 10 and training starts directly after… DON'T be late." He threatened, prying the gun back from her grip and walking away, "I don't think I have to tell you or else by now. It's pretty much implied… just to be clear." He smirked back at her before heading down the stairs.
Chance gave her a helpless but apologetic shrug as he shut the door and she sighed before throwing on the clothes which surprisingly fit. She wondered briefly if he'd gone shopping while she was asleep to. Did he EVER sleep? … Or maybe he just had people working for him down at Wal-Mart or something, his own "personal" shoppers.
When she was finished she slid down the railing and made her way to the dining room with a smug smile. If she was afraid of going down to the basement she wasn't going to let anyone see it. She was through being weak. No one was ever going to trap her again… she'd make sure of it. Besides, the world was full of basements and tight places. Any room could be a prison if you really thought about it. The trick was to learn how to turn a prison into a trap.
She thought about this over breakfast and smiled; practically drooling over the sight of so many blueberry pancakes and muffins in front of her as Ratam and Dick returned with a plate of scrambled eggs for everyone and a cup of black coffee for Jerome.
She studied Jerome out of the corner of her eyes as she shoveled down her eggs and started on her third muffin. She didn't think she could trust him… she couldn't really trust anyone but she could at least respect him. He seemed to be first and foremost a business man who expected nothing less than the best from anyone he hired. She noticed that even as he joked he was always serious underneath. He obviously had done something to terrify both Ratam and Dick because although they stuck to his side like glue they seemed ill at ease under his gaze even if he seemed in a pleasant mood. She wondered briefly how he'd managed this and wondered if someday she'd be able to inspire the same fear he struck in them.
She paused in thought now as she spun the last bite of her eggs around on her fork. If she was ever going to attain that status however she had to make sure that no one else had that power over her. She wasn't about to be anyone's puppet.
She closed her eyes for a second before sliding the bite into her mouth and smiling broadly in determination as she looked directly at Jerome and he glanced back at her with a reserved but curious expression.
"So what do you have against basements exactly?" he asked, taking a long sip of his coffee after asking but maintaining eye contact with her over the rim of the cup.
She gave him an even look now and her smile dropped from her lips.
"Spend three years locked in a dark basement where a hose qualifies as your monthly shower and your meals are so horrible a starving dog probably wouldn't touch them and you tend to want to avoid a repeat of the experience." She explained intensely, bending her fork slightly in anger without realizing it and then returning to her muffin.
"How'd you escape?" he asked, more curious than sympathetic.
This time she set the muffin down and looked him directly in the eyes with a smile that chilled him to the bone.
"I burned them alive in their own prison and didn't leave until the screaming had stopped and the house was nothing more than ash." She said callously, her eyes never leaving his.
Chance paused in the middle of eating when he heard this and looked at her sadly. She'd told him what had happened but not like this. He now saw what his father had seen in her: Someone capable of not only extraordinary things, capable of unthinkable callous, but someone who had been robbed of their innocence in exchange for a lesson in just how cruel the world could be…
Haley crossed her silverware over her plate now and rose from her seat.
"Are we through? I'd like to get this over with." She asked impatiently and Jerome smiled, rising to his feet as well and dropping his napkin over his plate before leading her to the basement stairs where again she hesitated but only for a moment this time before stealing herself and heading down the stairs.
"Take care of the dishes will you Chance?" Jerome called back and Chance nodded, although barely registering what his father had said as his thoughts revolved around the girl in front of him who was now disappearing into the basement with his father.
He found himself remembering what he'd overheard her say the night before.
"You escaped one prison and sentenced yourself to an eternity in another one..." he repeated to himself, listening as his father not only shut the door to the basement but locked it as well.
Haley whirled around on Jerome the moment the lock clicked and narrowed her eyes at him, barring her teeth in warning.
"If you know what's good for you you will unlock that door now before I make you wish that you had." She threatened menacingly and Jerome smirked, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.
"No, if you want this door open you're going to have to open it yourself. I'm tired of the talk, I want to see what you can do." He grinned and a determined smirk traced her lips.
"Careful what you wish for…" she said, realizing for the first time that there was a hard bulge in her right back pocket.
She smiled as she pulled it out to see that it was a pocket knife.
Jerome smirked at this.
"Well aren't you persuasive? You already have my son helping you." he laughed but then sobered up, "Except knives don't do you much good if you're opponent has a gun." He said, aiming the gun at her and firing as she ducked and threw one of the training dummies at him before rushing at him.
"They do if you use them correctly." She smirked, holding the blade to his throat for a second before her feet were thrust out from under her and he held the gun to her forehead.
"Again." He ordered, yanking her to her feet and shoving her back away from him.
She smiled in determination now and nodded.
"Again." She repeated.