Mercy looked to her right where something had fallen through the cracks of the floor a few moments ago. The man had been showing Kate that he had her badge and ID, her gun, and something else he had called old-school. Whatever that had been, it had bounced on the floor almost musically over her head before rolling through a crack in the floor and striking the dirt floor.

Shed thought nothing of it at first but was now thinking that if her abductor had taken it off of the agent, it might be useful. Mercy walked over to it, shuffling her legs in what she was sure must be a very comical way since they were still tied together and she could not stand up completely. She craned her neck to see where the woman was in position to the thing that had fallen. Mercy could see slight movement through the boards just a few feet overhead and to her left. She then looked away and to the floor. It was much darker down here than it had been on the barns main floor but she could make out the basic shape of it.

She wasnt sure what it was at first, not until she got down on her knees. She was able to reach down and pick it up, again thankful that her captor had taped her wrists together in front of her rather than behind. She clumsily turned the object around in her fingers, unsure of what it was. It was long and slightly cylindrical, just a little longer than a key. The head of it was almost shaped like a key and that was the clue that told her what she was holding in her hands. It was some sort of tool to help pick locks.

She felt defeated. The tool was absolutely useless to her. It wasnt like she was tied together with locks, now was it?

But after that initial defeat passed, she realized that if she could angle her fingers right and maybe bend her wrists awkwardly, she might be able to puncture the loop of duct tape that had been placed around her wrists.

It took her a few moments to bend her fingers just right. She dropped the pick several times in trying to find the right position. When she had it, she shuffle-stepped over to the wall. It was mostly dirt just like the floor but with wooden struts running up the side here and there. She braced her back against one of these struts to take the burden of standing on her tied-together legs and started trying to push the head of the pick through the tape.

Above her, the man slapped Kate again. The sound surprised Mercy, causing her to drop the pick once more. With tears brimming in her eyes, she bent down to pick it up.

You can do this, you can do this. Just concentrate…