A/N: Very dark fanfiction with implied rape and torture. Major violence and whumpage for Brandt. Ethan/Brandt slash. MI4 does not belong to me and I am just borrowing the character for fun. Reviews are like cookies, can't never have enough of them. English is my third language so I sincerely apologize for any mistake. I welcome anyone who wants to be my beta and help me improve my English.
Chapter 1 – It was never supposed to end up like this
It was never supposed to end up like this. Brandt lies in Ethan's arm, brutalized, naked, and bleeding.
Five days ago, Brandt posed as a Ukrainian bureaucrat to draw out an American military commander who has been selling U.S. military secrets to foreign governments. The trade took place in Kosovo, where the commander was stationed. Somewhere between exchanging a briefcase of cash and the U.S. operational intelligence, Ethan and his team lost Brandt's audio feed. By the time Ethan and Jane kicked down the warehouse door, Brandt and their target had vanished. The only thing on the filthy cement floor was Brandt's Rolex Watch with the GPS tracker.
Four hours ago, after exhausting all Ethan's assets and their resources, they located Brandt in the backroom of Kosovo's notorious brothel.
Brandt's hands are bounded and he is suspended in the air with a rope hung from the ceiling and it's attached to his wrists. His ankles are also tied together and his feet barely touch the floor. Whip lashes and cuts decorate his pale skin. Groups of several small and red burned marks cover Brandt's inner tights and chests. However, what has caught Ethan's attention is a trail of blood tracing between Brandt's legs.
The mixed smells of blood, sweat and urine overwhelm the senses and Ethan hears the sound of Benji vomiting right outside the room.
Raw rage burns inside of Ethan, making his blood boiled. Ethan has never felt this kind of hatred and fury. They kidnapped, tortured and hurt one of his team members. He will hunt down every last one of them and make them pay dearly for their actions. This is not a mission, this has just become revenge.
"Jesus…"Jane whispers
For thirty seconds, Ethan stands glued to the floor, not sure if Brandt is alive or dead. But then a small whimper escapes Brandt and Ethan leaps into action.
He throws his IMF issued Swiss knife toward Jane and pulls over a nearby chair that most likely had been used to torture Brandt as well.
Jane quickly rushes over and stands on the chair to cut the ropes that bound Brandt's wrists.
Ethan catches the deadweight of the agent and sinks to the floor with Brandt in his arms. The action causes Brandt to moan softly and Ethan apologizes quietly.
"Get Benji's jacket." It is not a request, but a command and Jane nods silently.
It was never supposed to end up like this. Brandt lies in Ethan's arm, brutalized, naked and bleeding.
Ethan grabs the Swiss knife that Jane has discarded on the floor and cuts the ropes that bound Brandt's ankles. Ethan carefully reaches up to check for a pulse. However, with unimaginable strength for someone in Brandt's condition, he suddenly shoves Ethan backward and collapses ungracefully on the filthy ground.
Ethan is shocked by the move, but quickly eases forward and lifts the injured agent off the ground.
Brandt is beyond caring. Five days of continuous interrogation and torture have broken his body and shattered any hope of being rescue. Ethan is going to be greeted with a body. Brandt will never see the Rome again like Ethan has promised and their dreams of counting the stars under the sky will perish. And Ethan…
The terror and the despair of the situation start to creep over Brandt as the memory of what has happened yesterday with the four men returns.
A chilling cry escapes his throat and follows by a painful cough as Brandt struggles to draw air into his lungs. A muscle spam suddenly takes hold of Brandt and he is left grasping for air. The pain overwhelms all his senses and takes any dignity that is left in him. He grips tightly onto the arms of his captor not caring if he was one of them that brutality penetrated him.
"Brandt, it's ok. It's me!" The helplessness and the anxiety of first discovering Brandt return with full force to Ethan. He is a man of action and protection. But right now he neither knows what to do nor how to protect.
Ethan reacts instinctively and cradles Brandt close to his chest. He whispers softly beside his agent's ear just like how he did the night before this mission.
"It will be ok William, I am here."
Brandt relaxes slightly against Ethan's body and slowly opens his eyes. For five days, Brandt dreams of this moment. For five days, he cries for Ethan in his nightmares. For five days, he aches to see his boss one last time.
Here…at this moment, Brandt has no regrets.
Brandt's cracked lips part slightly and Ethan bents forward to catch the heartbreaking words of his partner.
"You found me…"
Tbc…
It was never supposed to end up like this,
You lie in my arms while life slowly slips away.
Tears fall, my heart aches, and you simply smile and give me a good bye kiss,
Heaven knows this cruel, but it still cannot just let you stay.